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SLORMGORM kicks things off this week…
A very solid puzzle, as one expects from this setter. I vaguely recalled SORGO from some previous crossword, but I have to admit that GADI was new to me. 15a evoked a chuckle.
Thanks SLORMGORM!
ACROSS
1. A small row after noon is more unpleasant (7)
NASTIER
(A + S (small) + TIER (row)) after N (noon)
5. State to arrest king? I don’t believe it! (6)
NORWAY
NO WAY (I don’t believe it) to arrest R (king)
8. Matter primarily used in plant to make an element (9)
GERMANIUM
M[atter] (primarily) used in GERANIUM (plant)
9. Blunt lover describes foremost of letdowns (5)
BLUFF
BUFF (lover, enthusiast) describes L[etdowns] (foremost)
11. Vacuous politician toys with cuts regularly (5)
EMPTY
EMP (politician) + T[o]Y[s] (cuts regularly)
12. Energy in sex helping repeated performance (9)
ITERATION
E (energy) in (IT (sex) + RATION (helping))
13. What can decide court battles in match around Kent (4,4)
TEST CASE
TEST (match) + CA (around) + SE (Kent)
15. It enables chap to get up though 50% of grates (6)
VIAGRA
VIA (through) + GRA[tes] (50% of)
17. Hip Antifa leader brought under suspicion (6)
HAUNCH
A[ntifa] (leader) brought under HUNCH (suspicion)
19. Do nothing in government about a failing Britain ultimately (8)
STAGNATE
STATE (government) about (A + [failin]G [britai]N) ultimately
22. One might take issue if head chases child (9)
KIDNAPPER
NAPPER (head) chases KID (child)
23. See German film about heads of the IMF (3,2)
GET IT
(G (German) + ET (film)) about (T[he] I[mf] (heads of))
24. Some stoners or goths will score grass (5)
SORGO
[stoner]S OR GO[ths] (some)
25. Drill mate sorted out for gym equipment (9)
TREADMILL
(DRILL MATE)* (*sorted out)
26. Voucher in court bitten by racoon in America (6)
COUPON
UP (in court) bitten by COON (racoon in America)
27. When to probe new friend in a nosey way? (7)
NASALLY
AS (when) to probe (N (new) + ALLY (friend))
DOWN
1. So-so description of low-seismic activity? (2,5,6)
NO GREAT SHAKES
Double (cryptic) definition
2. Bands get naked with soprano taking ecstasy (7)
STRIPES
(STRIP (get naked) with S (soprano)) taking E (ecstasy)
3. I figure on leaving one Latin country (5)
ITALY
I + TA[l]LY (figure, leaving one L (Latin))
4. Retsina I sent flying gets you most wet (8)
RAINIEST
(RETSINA I)* (*sent flying)
5. Song 2? (6)
NUMBER
Double (cryptic) definition
6. Erring ABC somehow preparing to have another hit? (9)
REBRACING
7. A brooding comic (7)
AMUSING
10. Flatly mundane rubbish essentially (13)
FUNDAMENTALLY
(FLATLY MUNDANE)* (*rubbish)
14. Delighted to pawn a cage for Spooner? (4-1-4)
COCK-A-HOOP
“hock a coup coop” (pawn a cage, “for Spooner”)
16. Ship’s doctor catching last of lancet fish (8)
STURGEON
SURGEON (ship’s doctor) catching [lance]T (last of)
18. Endure a Parisian leftist turning on Beat It (7)
UNDERGO
UN (a, Parisian) + (RED)< (leftist, <turning) on GO (beat it)
20. Books into a hotel by seedy soldiers’ home? (7)
ANTHILL
NT (books) into (A + H (hotel)) by ILL (seedy)
21. Cuddle when model visits is exactly what’s needed (4,2)
SPOT ON
SPOON (cuddle) when T (model) visits
23. Indian thrones seen in building a disappointment (5)
GADIS
[buildin]G A DIS[appointment] (seen in)
Hock a coop, no?
Thanks Teacow & Slormgorm
Thanks AGN@1 … I’ve fixed the spelling
I’ve never heard of spoon/cuddle. Is it a British thing? Collins says it’s “slang, old fashioned”. GADIS & SORGO were new to me. In this neck of the woods I’ve never heard napper/head. Didn’t parse GET IT, STAGNATE & COUPON. And I’m beginning to wonder whether ET is the only film crossword setters have seen!
Would someone explain just how “napper” is a “head”? Like GDU, I cannot find any reference to it.
Geoff, re “spoon” and “cuddle” : when you and your partner are lying down and facing the same way, and your arms are around her, and you are cuddling her, then you are shaped just like two spoons in a drawer. It’s even better if there are three spoons in the drawer!
Like you, “Gadis” was new to me as was “sorgo”, although I was familiar with “sorghum”.
Peter@4 for a change “napper” for head isn’t Cockney rhyming slang but underworld slang, origin unknown. In the song “Any Old Iron” you get the line “…you look dapper from your napper to your feet…”
Peter@4
Chambers:
napper(slang)
The head
Explained! 🙂
GADI
Gaddi is a Hindi word meaning ‘a throne’ (could also mean a cushion). Shortened to Gadi in English. Must have entered English during the Raj!
Not sure if this info will be useful to you: The d’s in gaddi sound somewhat like the French d.
Shame about the typo in the clue for VIAGRA. It’s in the app and the printable version – so presumably in the dead tree edition too. Spoilt the pdm.
Very enjoyable. Nothing to ruffle the feathers and plenty of smiles. My Dad always uses the word NAPPER so no problem there.
Good thing both GADIS and SORGO were hidden answers. I remembered the Chinese film RED SORGHUM which also helped. I laughingly agreed with Geoff re ET but it does rather narrow things down! Never actually saw it though. If setters expand their cinematic references to include arthouse fare, we’ll probably come unstuck!
Thanks to Slormgorm and Teacow.
How does EMP mean “politician”? MP is familiar. I cannot find any reference for this, other than “emperor/empress.”
Thanks Slormgorm for an entertaining start to the week. I enjoyed the many amusing surfaces including SORGO, ITERATION, and VIAGRA and I liked the anagram for FUNDAMENTALLY. I also thought GERMANIUM was good. Spooning as cuddling is commonly known in the US so it’s not just a British term. Thanks Teacow for the blog.
Like Cineraria @9, I too had a problem with EMP being a politician. Given that a Member of the European Parliament is an MEP, I had to assume that EMP stood loosely for European Member of Parliament.
An excellent and enjoyable puzzle, with thanks to Slormgorm and Teacow.
I admit that I’d forgotten that it was MEP not EMP. Maybe Slormgorm did as well? I tend to think of EMP as short for Electro-Magnetic Pulse but that’s not in Chambers either.
Can someone explain 5 down to me?
Beak @13: A song is often referred to as a number. A band may say, “for the next number we’ll perform … ” The numeral 2 is also a number. It’s a double definition.
Beak @13: Incidentally “Song 2” was a hit by the Britpop band Blur which added a level of cleverness to the clue for me.
Tony, Many thx. I assumed 2 was a reference to 2 down and couldn’t work out what “stripes “ had to do with anything
Beak@16 The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit, formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriting, vocals, guitar, piano, and bass) and Meg White (drums, percussion, and vocals). They were a leading group of the 2000s indie rock and garage rock revival.
Enjoyable enough, particularly a suitably wincesome Spoonerism, but Slormgorm seems to have a thing with politics today. Apart from the fact that, as Larry @11 points out, what we had before we lost our marbles were MEPs not EMPs, is “government” really a synonym for “state” in 19ac?
Thanks, both.