Leonidas provides this morning's examination in the FT.
It took me a long time to get into this puzzle. My first pass had only revealed about 6-7 answers, with very little in the way of helpful crossers, so I just had to slog my way through he rest of the clues, which were in the main very clever, with a lot of distractions and unusual definitions. Getting PEGASUS helped because I was convinced ON THE HOOF was ON THE ROAD which meant I just didn't see FORMAL at all. Similarly, I was convinced BEAN was right, but WONGA eluded me for a long time.
My only gripe is with ENEMY – an easy answer to write in, but I'm not happy with the ENE part – maybe just because I'm not a scientist?
Anyway, given I have a bad cold, I am just glad to have been able to complete the puzzle and to be able to parse all of the answers.
Thanks, Leonidas.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PAGODA |
Temple of Zeus perhaps old man guards (6)
|
|
PA ("old man") guards A GOD ("Zeus, perhaps") |
||
| 4 | RESCUE |
Save on small item one strikes with (6)
|
|
RE ("on") + S (small) + CUE ("item one strokes with") |
||
| 8 | TONNAGE |
Busy agent on duty for vessel (7)
|
|
*(agent on) [anag:busy] |
||
| 9 | DEPLETE |
Run down piano is in key (7)
|
|
P (piano, in music notation) is in DELETE ("key" on a computer keyboard) |
||
| 11 | REVELATORY |
A party member putting party first is enlightening (10)
|
|
A TORY ("party member") putting REVEL ("party") first |
||
| 12 | BALI |
Island overwhelmed by globalisation (4)
|
|
Hidden in [overwhelmed by] "gloBALIsation" |
||
| 13 | OILED |
Tight covering originally taken off wound (5)
|
|
C(overing) [originally] taken off (c)OILED ("wound"). "Tight" and "oiled" are synonyms of "drunk" |
||
| 14 | CORNERED |
Trapped deer wandering onto crop (8)
|
|
*(deer) [anag:wandering] onto CORN ("crop") |
||
| 16 | STAMPEDE |
Charge Mark for posting Paradise Lost finally (8)
|
|
STAMP ("mark for posting") + EDE(n) ("paradise") [lost finally] |
||
| 18 | PECKS |
Muscular things overheard getting kisses (5)
|
|
Homophone of [overheard] PECS ("muscular things") |
||
| 20 | BEAN |
Live next to a new bit of 21 down (4)
|
|
BE ("live") next to A + N (new) |
||
| 21 | WITHDRAWAL |
Large prize hard to return after comic’s retirement (10)
|
|
<=(L (large) + AWARD ("prize") + H) [to return] after WIT ("comic") |
||
| 23 | TOOTING |
Criminal got into part of Wandsworth (7)
|
|
*(got into) [anag:criminal] |
||
| 24 | PEGASUS |
Flier in continuous usage passed around (7)
|
|
Hidden backwards [in…around] "continuouS USAGE Passed" |
||
| 25 | FORMAL |
Official in room feeding newborn? (6)
|
|
Rm. (room) feeding FOAL ("newborn") |
||
| 26 | ASPIRE |
Aim high when half of pirate visible at last (6)
|
|
AS ("when") [half of] PIR(ate) + (visibl)E [at last] |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PROLE |
Use of Latin for section in writings is commoner (5)
|
|
Use of L (Latin) for (i.e. instead of) S (section) in PRO(s)E ("writings") becomes PRO(L)E ("commoner") |
||
| 2 | GENTEEL |
Well-bred egret not regularly missing fish (7)
|
|
(e)G(r)E(t) N(o)T [regularly missing] + EEL ("fish") |
||
| 3 | DOG-PADDLE |
Simple process to collar doctor over a stroke (3-6)
|
|
DODDLE ("simple process") to collar (GP (General Practitioner, so "doctor") over A) |
||
| 5 | ENEMY |
Rival discovered bits of DNA many essentially overlooked (5)
|
|
ENE (element for nuclear expression, which I presume is "bits of DNA") + M(an)Y [essentially overlooked] |
||
| 6 | CALIBRE |
Standard brace fixed across tips of lower incisors (7)
|
|
*(brace) [anag:fixed] across [tips of] L(ower) I(ncisors) |
||
| 7 | EXTOLLERS |
People who praise Dead Ringers? (9)
|
|
"Dead (bell-)ringers" could be described as EX-TOLLERS |
||
| 10 | COUCHETTE |
It’s painful sitting inside this French compartment (9)
|
|
OUCH ("it's painful") sitting inside CETTE ("this" in "French") |
||
| 13 | ON THE HOOF |
24’s slower option perhaps while in transit (2,3,4)
|
|
Double definition, the first referring to Pegasus being slower on the ground than in the air. |
||
| 15 | RAPIDNESS |
Speed ends up in Paris repackaged (9)
|
|
*(ends) [anag:up] in *(Paris) [anag:repackaged] |
||
| 17 | MUNSTER |
Herman’s other name for cheese (7)
|
|
Double definition. Herman MUNSTER was a character in an American comedy TV series, and MUNSTER is a cheese from NE France. |
||
| 19 | CHAPATI |
Bread and butter maybe dunked into drink (7)
|
|
PAT ("butter, maybe") dunked into CHAI ("drink") |
||
| 21 | WONGA |
Brass curlew on garden fencing (5)
|
|
Hidden in [fencing] "curleW ON GArden" |
||
| 22 | AZURE |
Extreme characters on river becoming quite blue (5)
|
|
A and Z ("extreme characters") on (River) URE |
I had gENEs for ‘discovered’ bits of DNA.
Today I have 3 of my all-time favourite setters to solve, so I’m a happy camper. DOG-PADDLE & TONNAGE were my last two. Didn’t know MUNSTER was a cheese but easy to guess.
Hovis@1. That makes sense – thanks!
I had ‘gENEs’ too but it took a time because I think DNA = bits of genes rather than vice versa, although doubtless some scientist will jump in to say me nay.
Similarly, I thought TOOTING needed some specialist knowledge, especially for our many eg American contributors.
But I personally forgave all for MUNSTER.
Playing the New Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford CT, I crawled beneath my dressing-table – as one should – to see which previous stars had signed their names on the underside & was delighted to find the name of Fred Gwynne, one of my favourite character actors.
Thanks to both for the puzzle, the blog and the memory.
DNA consists of several genes. Bits of DNA are genes. That’s cool.
PS: I am not a scientist.
This was hard-won (which is what I expect from Leonidas) but all the more rewarding for it.
I’d go along with the gENEs parsing from Hovis. Like Loonapick, I had tussles with FORMAL because my first thought was ON THE MOVE. As it happens, I didn’t get PEGASUS until I landed those two.
My LOI was REVELATORY for which I needed all the crossers; words like ‘party’, ‘member’ and ‘first’ throw up too many permutations.
I really liked BEAN/WONGA though, along with DOG-PADDLE, EXTOLLERS and COUCHETTE.
I agree that TOOTING is hard on overseas solvers (but smiled as it always reminds me of Citizen Smith).
Thanks Leonidas and Loonapick for your 11a blog.
Quite a challenge but we did complete it. One or two facepalm moments when we got, for instance, DOG-PADDLE and our last one in, RESCUE. We’re with Hovis et al on the parsing of ENEMY. But our CoD is WONGA for the lovely image conjured up by the surface.
Thanks, Leonidas and loonapick.
Didn’t get round to this until late afternoon, and the solve was interrupted for dinner. Finished in the SW corner, struggling for quite some time with 25a because I too initially had ROAD in 13d.
Seemed a long time since no 10 back in August. Thanks to Leonidas and loonapick.
As always I find Leonidas on the difficult end of the spectrum but clues like REVELATORY, OILED, and AZURE made my solving attempt worthwhile. I guessed TOOTING without much problem because what else could an anagram of “get into” be? I failed at PROLE, TONNAGE, FORMAL, and WONGA. Thanks loonapick for the explanations.
Was stumped by the Britishisms, but got most of the rest (apart from Herman Munster). And my French wasn’t sufficient to get 10d.
Thanks Leonidas and loonapick
My second Leonidas in a week, due to the backlog, and started the solve over a glass of pinot and some garlic prawns on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon. Only got it half done there and needed a few other sittings after getting back home to finish it off.
Had to use help, such as looking up Wandsworth to find TOOTING, check that BEAN had something to do with money (did remember that WONGA was though) and never did parse the ENE part of ENEMY.
Smiled at MUNSTER when the TV series finally surfaced back into memory and also at DOG-PADDLE earlier on.
Finished in the NE corner with EXTOLLER, DEPLETE (those computer keys are always the last keys to come to mind) and RESCUE (misdirected by the surface meaning of ‘save’).