The puzzle is available to download or solve online here.
Hi everyone. Kairos can be on the tricky side when he wants to be but for me this was typical Sunday fare, with just enough challenge to ensure a high enjoyment/time ratio. Lots of fun – my picks are 2d, 3d and 17d. Thanks Kairos!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Compliments a Eurovision runner-up (15) |
| CONGRATULATIONS — A double definition; the second the runner-up by one point in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, losing to the Spanish entry, “La, la, la” | |
| 9a | Has table in auberge at Southwark (4,3) |
| EATS OUT — The answer is found in aubergE AT SOUThwark | |
| 10a | Dear Ken’s running around with less on (7) |
| NAKEDER — DEAR KEN is anagrammed (running around). I had carefully avoided watching it until now but this clue links so perfectly to this that I couldn’t not do it! | |
| 11a | Letter about European Parliament’s accommodation (5) |
| TEPEE — TEE (letter) around (about) EP (European Parliament) | |
| 12a | Calm surrounds opening of gala appeal about wildlife reserve (9) |
| SERENGETI — SERENE (calm) surrounds the first letter (opening) of Gala + IT (appeal) reversed (about)
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| 13a | What slave traders did heading off Nubians? (3,6) |
| OLD PEOPLE — sOLD PEOPLE (what slave traders did) removing the first letter (heading off) | |
| 15a | Spirit regularly distilled from green rice (5) |
| GENIE — The solution comprises regular letters taken from (regularly distilled from) GrEeN rIcE | |
| 16a | Launch of TV dinners initially rejected (5) |
| DEBUT — Reversed (… rejected) TUBE (TV) and the first letter of (… initially) Dinners | |
| 18a | Colour of Manx cat eaten by rats? (9) |
| VERMILION — LIOn (Manx cat: cat without a tail) taken in by (eaten by) VERMIN (rats?) | |
| 20a | Italian contributes to aria duo composed for opera houses? (9) |
| AUDITORIA — IT (Italian) goes inside (contributes to) an anagram of (… composed) ARIA DUO | |
| 23a | Holy man’s upset by eviscerated Hindu (5) |
| SADHU — SAD (upset) next to (by) HindU without inner letters (eviscerated …) | |
| 24a | Exquisite requiem’s abridged by worker (7) |
| ELEGANT — ELEGy (requiem) is cut short (abridged) by ANT (worker) | |
| 25a | Covering letter enclosing lock of hair (7) |
| RINGLET — Here, coveRING LETter is around (enclosing) the answer | |
| 26a | Job with Buffalo Bill involving me and Miranda? (9,6) |
| SITUATION COMEDY — SITUATION (job) with Buffalo Bill CODY containing (involving) ME. This sitcom | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Where to keep artists’ busts? (6,2,7) |
| CHESTS OF DRAWERS — CHESTS (busts) OF DRAWERS (artists) | |
| 2d | Mark’s home with writer’s block (7) |
| NOTEPAD — NOTE (mark) + PAD (home)
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| 3d | President set free Green swapping sides? (9) |
| ROOSEVELT — LOOSE (set free) + VERT (green) swapping L (left) and R (right) (sides). I originally misparsed this, thinking that VELT must be an alternative spelling of veld/veldt and just changing the initial L to R. Fortunately I checked in the dictionary for the blog | |
| 4d | Man has ringing in the ears leaving pub (5) |
| TITUS — T[inn]ITUS (ringing in the ears) omitting (leaving) INN (pub) | |
| 5d | Aryan rule overthrown in roughly 354 days (5,4) |
| LUNAR YEAR — ARYAN RULE anagrammed (overthrown) | |
| 6d | Draw on nationalist symbol (5) |
| TOKEN — TOKE (draw, on a cigarette) on N (nationalist) | |
| 7d | Former head’s term of endearment (3,4) |
| OLD BEAN — OLD (former) + BEAN (head) | |
| 8d | Hospitality maybe something offered by stud farm? (7,8) |
| SERVICE INDUSTRY — A stud fam is, so to speak, an industry “servicing” mares. (I wonder if they have a cover charge?) | |
| 14d | Aviator with pilot’s case arranged to see singer (9) |
| PAVAROTTI — An anagram of (… arranged) AVIATOR with PiloT’s outer letters (case) | |
| 15d | Minimalist composer has change of heart with ordinary musical effect (9) |
| GLISSANDO — Philip GL[a]SS (minimalist composer) has change of heart (to I) + O (ordinary) | |
| 17d | Old footballer welcomes doctor and swallows drug for healing process (3,4) |
| BED REST — George BEST (old footballer) takes in (welcomes) DR (doctor) and also swallows E (drug)
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| 19d | Eluding exotic pet (7) |
| INDULGE — An anagram of (… exotic) ELUDING | |
| 21d | Headdress of Spanish relative worn by a queen (5) |
| TIARA — TIA (Spanish relative, aunt) enveloped by (worn by) A and R (queen) | |
| 22d | Cover entrance to lock? (5) |
| APRON — Double definition; the latter can be confirmed in Chambers:
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Thanks both. Musical terms and composers are far from my speciality so GLISSANDO went in as my second guess, otherwise entertainingly approachable, including TITUS, although providing the definition simply as ‘man’ feels a little sparse.
This was not as tough as this setter’s puzzles can be. I enjoyed it with 2d, 8d (nice one, Kitty – “cover charge”!) and 17d making up my podium selection.
Many thanks to Kairos and to Kitty.
Top faves: CHESTS OF DRAWERS, ROOSEVELT and SERVICE INDUSTRY.
Thanks Kairos for the enjoyable puzzle and Kitty for the detailed blog!
APRON
What is a lock in an airport?
KVa@3. Maybe Chambers is just confusing us by putting lock (as found on a canal) between two aviation related terms?
I spent too long chasing completely the wrong Miranda reference, never having watched the programme.
I’m puzzling over the relative conditions of naked, nakeder, nakedest…
Thanks Kairos and thanks Kitty for the picture at NOTEPAD which looks just like my Eric except he loses his collar as soon as I put it on him. Bad boy.
KVa @3 – Like Pete HA3 @4 I assumed a canal lock – the apron would be the concrete bit at the side here. I may well be wrong though.
Pete HA3 – I wondered about degrees of nakedness too, but I think it can be justified. Is Eric naked without his collar, even though he still has his fur coat, or just nakeder than he should be? He must be a cutie anyway, even if he is a naughty boy!
APRON
Pete HA3@4 and Kitty@5
Thanks both.
I have seen APRONs on the downstream (you can say ‘in front of’) of dams. They are
protective structures. I guess functionally they are similar in the case of locks too.
Thanks again.
Thanks to Kitty for the review and to everyone for their feedback.
I didn’t think I was going to have time for this, having got sidetracked this evening, and didn’t start until after 22:30, and I found it difficult to get started, And then, suddenly, I’d finished it. Not sure if I’ve parsed it all, though.
Rather overtaken by ‘other matters’ yesterday but I did complete this just before bedtime. Curious mixture of a puzzle and a couple of video clips that I could have lived without but I did rather like CHESTS OF DRAWERS & the SERVICE INDUSTRY – best bit of which was Kitty’s cover charge!
Thanks to Kairos and to Miss K for the review.