An excellent challenge from ZAMORCA this Friday.
FF: 9 DD: 8
A pangram to boot.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GOSSIP |
Chatterbox is so rude interrupting Doctor (6)
|
| [ IS SO ]* in GP ( doctor ) | ||
| 4 | APLOMB |
Demolish lamb chop left by child with ease (6)
|
| [ LAMB chOP ( without CH – child ) ]* | ||
| 8 | ASSUAGE |
Calm since America’s revolutionary period (7)
|
| AS ( since ) SU ( america = US, reversed ) AGE ( period ) | ||
| 9 | DIVERSE |
Revised broadcast engaging with all kinds of people (7)
|
| [ REVISED ]* | ||
| 11 | DOWN AND OUT |
Drink with old university team leader who’s destitute (4-3-3)
|
| DOWN ( drink ) AND ( with ) [ O ( old ) U ( university ) T ( Team, starting letter ) ] | ||
| 12 | SEEK |
Look for son with cry of alarm (4)
|
| S ( son ) EEK ( cry of alarm ) | ||
| 13 | EIDER |
Kind of duck found in patchy reed round island (5)
|
| [ REED ]* around I ( island ) | ||
| 14 | PASSABLE |
OK, moral tale’s not religious at first, but includes saints (8)
|
| PArABLE ( moral tale, without R – Religious, first letter, with SS – saints ) | ||
| 16 | GOLF CLUB |
Maybe putter around in VW Lupo, not half bad to start with (4,4)
|
| C ( around ) in [ GOLF ( vw ) LUpo ( not half ) B ( Bad, starting letter ) ] | ||
| 18 | OOMPH |
Love and money put into ordinary pub brings glamour (5)
|
| [ O ( love, 0 ) M ( money ) ] in [ O ( ordinary ) PH ( pub , Public House ) ] | ||
| 20 | PUMA |
I’m not sure hiding in parking area’s way to find big cat (4)
|
| UM ( ~ i’m not sure ) in [ P ( parking ) A ( area ) ] | ||
| 21 | WRITTEN OFF |
Legal document has note ordering fines to be cancelled (7,3)
|
| WRIT ( legal document ) [ NOTE ]* FF ( fines ) | ||
| 23 | INTERIM |
Provisional time in training run’s entered (7)
|
| [ TIME IN ]* containing R ( run ) | ||
| 24 | VISITOR |
Tourist has very little information about riots (7)
|
| V ( very ) I ( Information, little ) [ RIOTS ]* | ||
| 25 | EXPORT |
Former partner left to sell abroad (6)
|
| EX ( former partner ) PORT ( left ) | ||
| 26 | AT ONCE |
Heavyweight champion’s boxing right now (2,4)
|
| TON ( heavyweight ) in ACE ( champion ) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GUSTO |
Delight in organising US tour (5)
|
| hidden in “..organisinG US TOur” | ||
| 2 | STUNNED |
Shocked by studies set up about shortage of fish (7)
|
| reverse of DENS ( studies ) around [ TUNa ( fish, shortened ) ] | ||
| 3 | IN GENERAL |
For the most part, army officer’s behind rise in tax (2,7)
|
| GENERAL ( army officer ) after reverse of NI ( tax, National Insurance ) | ||
| 5 | POINT |
Mark position (5)
|
| double def; latter possibly referring to a field position in cricket | ||
| 6 | OPEN SEA |
Work in French waters now and then, turning up far from land (4,3)
|
| OP ( work ) EN ( in, french ) SEA ( wAtErS, now and then, reversed ) | ||
| 7 | BY STEALTH |
Unobtrusively getting close to small bird on empty towpath (2,7)
|
| BY ( close to ) S ( small ) TEAL ( bird ) TH ( TowpatH, empty i.e. without inner letters ) | ||
| 10 | JOE PUBLIC |
People judge police violent arresting union boy (3,6)
|
| J ( judge ) { [ POLICE ]* containing [ U ( union ) B ( boy ) ] } | ||
| 13 | ELOQUENCE |
Fine words moved Queen taking look inside church (9)
|
| { LO ( look ) in [ QUEEN ]* } CE ( church ) | ||
| 15 | SHORTLIST |
Little tip for group of preferred candidates (9)
|
| SHORT ( little ) LIST ( tip ) | ||
| 17 | FLARE-UP |
Quietly supports upcoming artist during terrible fuel crisis (5-2)
|
| P ( quietly ) after { AR ( reverse of RA – artist ) in [ FUEL ]* } | ||
| 19 | MANSION |
Staff numbers climb with one occupying huge house (7)
|
| MAN ( staff ) [ I ( one ) in reverse of NOS ( numbers ) ] | ||
| 21 | WHIRR |
Briefly fancy luxury car’s making vibrating noise (5)
|
| WHIm ( fancy, without last letter ) RR ( luxury car, Rolls Royce ) | ||
| 22 | FROZE |
Put in cold storage with zero Fahrenheit setting (5)
|
| &lit; [ ZERO F ( fahrenheit ) ]* |
Very enjoyable, thank you Zamorca. Tried in vain to parse IN GENERAL — we don’t have National Insurance here. I wouldn’t have equated oomph and glamour, but I guess it works.
Thanks, Zamorca and Turbolegs!
Liked PASSABLE, GOLF CLUB, POINT, WHIRR and FROZE.
Good fun all round. Puma my favourite – the image conjured up made me chuckle.
Thanks Zamorca and Turbolegs.
I liked PUMA for the surface, too. In fact, I thought the surfaces were very smooth all round. Thanks, both.
One small query: how is LIST a tip?
Nick@5 If a ship lists it tips to one side.
Thanks for the blog, a very neat set of clues , PASSABLE was very clever.
Nick@5 think of ships listing as they are about to tip over.
The usual v. enjoyable puzzle from Zamorca with the now expected pangram. I couldn’t parse IN GENERAL either, took a while to see APLOMB and ASSUAGE and just about missed the hidden GUSTO. FROZE was a nice way to finish.
Thanks to Zamorca and Turbolegs
Thanks Zamorca for a top notch crossword with plenty of clever surface readings. My favourites included DIVERSE, DOWN-AND-OUT, WRITTEN OFF, AT ONCE, and OPEN SEA. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.
Most enjoyable, with the enjoyment enhanced by ticking off the letters of the expected pangram – last to gom in was J.
Thanks, Zamorca and Turbolegs.
Always enjoy a zamorca. Didn’t spot this was a pangram. Usual high quality crossword.