SLORMGORM returns for this Monday's challenge…
An excellent start to the week – great variety of clues with some lovely surfaces. I think I've only ever come across 2d in a crossword before, but it was lurking somewhere in my mind.
Thanks SLORMGORM!
ACROSS
1. Airlines obtain whistle in case of ditches (9)
WINDPIPES
WIN (obtain) + (PIPE (whistle) in D[itche]S (case of))
6. Cheap wine set (5)
PLONK
9. Tory right to cut most of cost for authority (7)
CONTROL
CON (Tory) + (R (right) to cut TOL[l] (cost, most of))
10. Flash director singers knocked back in Fame (7)
STARDOM
(MO (flash) + D (director) + RATS (singers, informers))< (<knocked back)
11. Fat old worker eating slice of salami (5)
OBESE
O (old) + (BEE (worker) eating S[alami] (slice of))
12. Noisy couple love, primarily, to get passionate (9)
CLAMOROUS
C[ouple] + L[love] (primarily) to get AMOROUS (passionate)
14. Vessel in service after refurbs essentially (3)
URN
RN (service, Royal Navy) after [ref]U[rbs] (essentially)
15. Most unmanageable weed I insult angrily (11)
UNWIELDIEST
(WEED I INSULT)* (*angrily)
17. Thorny climber replanted using a pot (11)
PROBLEMATIC
(CLIMBER + A POT)* (*replanted)
19. Infusion of blood type given by companion (3)
CHA
A (blood type) given by CH (companion, of honour)
20. One enjoying a benefit of their golden years? (9)
PENSIONER
22. Noisily eat meal left out for Frenchman (5)
MUNCH
LUNCH (meal), L (left) out for M (Frenchman)
24. Outfit in German tank powerless to take town at front (7)
LEOTARD
LEO[p]ARD (German Tank, P (power)-less) to take T[own] (at the front)
26. Two heads will have a vegetarian dish (7)
NUTLOAF
27. Friend that’s put on Republican convention (5)
RALLY
ALLY (friend) that's put on R (republican)
28. At this moment in time, criminal enters into fold (9)
PRESENTLY
(ENTERS)* (*criminal) into PLY (fold)
DOWN
1. Eccentric with a cold fine after a turn (5)
WACKO
W (with) + A + C (cold) + (OK)< (fine, <after a turn)
2. Buff eager to give support to old relative (7)
NANKEEN
KEEN (eager) to give support to NAN (old relative)
3. A favourite city you recalled as eternal (9)
PERPETUAL
PER (a) + PET (favourite) + (LA (city) + U (you))< (<recalled)
4. She is one with The Force (11)
POLICEWOMAN
5. Relative fractions I solved … partly (3)
SIS
[fraction]S I S[olved] (partly)
6. Good doctor screening a music producer (5)
PIANO
(PI (good) + NO (doctor, from the James Bond novel)) screening A
7. A shade past it to get on the wine! (3,4)
OLD ROSE
OLD (past it) to get on ROSE (wine)
8. Manual promoting diversity in union? (4,5)
KAMA SUTRA
13. A man looking like Trump’s a stripper (5,6)
AGENT ORANGE
A + GENT (man) + ORANGE (looking like Trump)
14. Pollarded brown tree outside uni not loved by all (9)
UNPOPULAR
[d]UN (brown, pollarded) + (POPLAR (tree) outside U (uni))
16. Last month I joined up with soldiers in unit (9)
DECIMETRE
DEC (last month) + I + MET (joined up with) + RE (soldiers)
18. Private shot by a loony leader in error (3,4)
OWN GOAL
OWN (private) + GO (shot, attempt) by A + L[oony] (leader)
19. Prisoner meeting with kind partner (7)
CONSORT
CON (prisoner) meeting with SORT (kind)
21. One lake feeding river in the country (5)
ITALY
I (one) + (L (lake) feeding TAY (river))
23. Sizable broadsheet taken over by Hello! (5)
HEFTY
FT (broadsheet) taken over by HEY (hello)
25. Sink installed in Burundi, perhaps (3)
DIP
[burun]DI P[erhaps] (installed in)
I’ll accept that 4d & 20d are “cryptic definitions”, but reluctantly. I didn’t think they were cryptic.
Why is plonk set? The no in piano eluded me. And hey, I’ve a new addition to my list of British rivers!
Overall very enjoyable, with plenty of smiles. Thanks Slormgorm & Teacow.
20a, not 20d.
Thanks, Slormgorm and Teacow!
GDU@1
Agree with you that the crypticity index of PENSIONERS, as well as POLICEWOMAN, is low.
KAMA SUTRA is sweetly cryptic. Liked it.
GDU@1
PLONK=set (as a verb), I think.
I couldn’t find plonk/set anywhere I looked. I suppose if you plonk something on a table, you set it on the table. A bit of a stretch though, methinks.
Yea. That is the sense I was referring to.
Kama kama kama sutra with me
In position 31 it was terrific fun
In position 72 you were me and I was you
RIP dear Viv
copmus@7
‘promoting’ in a down clue has an in-built 69!
Good Monday enertainment from Slormgorm. I immediately thought that ‘German tank’ in 24a was going to clue “panzer” but no such luck. I didn’t know OLD ROSE as ‘A shade’ but bunged it in as fitting the wordplay as I couldn’t face an alphabet trawl.
Highlight was the excellent cryptic def for KAMA SUTRA; Slormgorm at his best.
Thanks to Slormgorm and Teacow
Yes, I concur; KAMA SUTRA on top!
And I liked AGENT ORANGE and NUTLOAF.
Thanks to Zamorca and Teacow.
copmus@7 – I’m a fellow fan of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band – I can’t resist the urge to post this again.
Viv Stanshall(1943-1995) and Neil Innes(1944-2019) were comedy and musical genii.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band
Here’s a short – 41 seconds – musical interlude. Kama Sutra from the LP The Doughnut In Granny’s Greenhouse(1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ2yjccMpsg
Thanks S&T
loi PIANO – spent far too long asking myself “How is No doctor?” when it should have been “Who is Doctor No?” Doh.
Needed to consult Chambers and OED because Wiktionary has no idea about OLD ROSE as a colour, or the “Buff” colour of NANKEEN.
It does know AGENT ORANGE ‘from the orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped.’
Thanks for the blog, great puzzle, a very friendly grid, I think every answer had a crossing first letter and they are the most useful.
NANKEEN seems to be one of those words that fits in certain areas , buff is one of those words with so many meanings.
The setter needs to use less “A”s in his clues. They often serve no purpose (see 26A, 13D). Fun puzzle though.
Jay @15
Not 13D though. The first ‘a’ is part of the wordplay and the second, if removed, would change the meaning of the surface completely … unless referring to a similarly orange male stripper!