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Apologies for the late and somewhat hurried blog – something came up earlier and I’ve only got back to to finish solving now. Enjoyed the solve nonetheless – thank you, Brummie.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | WESTWARDS |
Suggested right way for ambitious young man? (9)
|
| Reference to “Go west” as advice given to young men in the US in the 1800s [wiki] | ||
| 6 |
See 26
|
|
| 8 | INTERNAL |
Not without accepted rental adjustment (8)
|
| definition: not without, so within, internal
IN=”accepted” + anagram/”adjustment” of (rental)* |
||
| 9 | MARRAM |
Grass stuff going back and forth (6)
|
| definition: a coarse type of grass
RAM=”stuff [into something]”, written backwards then forwards |
||
| 10 | SHANDY |
Beach-like setting for hot drink (6)
|
| SANDY=”Beach-like”, around H (hot) | ||
| 11 | MARAUDER |
Pirate state acquires a Dürer composition (8)
|
| MA (Massachusetts, US state) + anagram/composition of (a Dürer)* | ||
| 12 | HOLMES |
Pads protecting large detective (6)
|
| definition: fictional detective Sherlock Holmes
HOMES=”Pads” around L (large) |
||
| 15 | PRAISE BE |
Parking increase – starts to break even, thank heavens (6,2)
|
| P (Parking) + RAISE=”increase” + starting letters to B-[reak] E-[ven] | ||
| 16 | EPICURUS |
Impressive old city takes on American philosopher (8)
|
| EPIC=”Impressive” + UR=”old city” + US=”American” | ||
| 19 | DIADEM |
Crown belittled by Duke – media frantic! (6)
|
| definition: a small crown, a royal headband
D (Duke) + anagram/frantic of (media)* |
||
| 21 | ASCENDER |
One on the up as college gets closer (8)
|
| AS (from surface) + C (college) + ENDER=something that ends/closes=”closer” | ||
| 22 | LOCALE |
Officer rejected beer event site (6)
|
| COL (Colonel, a rank of “Officer”) reversed/”rejected” + ALE=”beer” | ||
| 24 | EDISON |
Sound recorder: “World’s ultimate in noise modulation” (6)
|
| definition: Thomas Edison the inventor – see [wiki]
last/ultimate letter of [Worl]-D, inside anagram/”modulation” of (noise)* |
||
| 25 | ESPRESSO |
Disheartened England supporters crowd round for drink (8)
|
| E-[ngland supporter]-S, disheartened (the inner letters of the phrase removed), plus PRESS=”crowd” + O=”round” shape/letter | ||
| 26, 6 | BOLD TYPE |
Brash character that’s used to stress? (4,4)
|
| definition: bold typeface used to stress something important
a BOLD TYPE could also describe a brash person |
||
| 27 | ENSHEATHE |
After end of the Athens debacle, the man put sword away (9)
|
| end letter of [th]-E, plus anagram/”debacle” of (Athens)*, plus HE=”the man” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | WINCH |
Give a lift to wife married to creep (5)
|
| W (wife) plus INCH=move slowly=”creep” “married” indicating a join/connection between the other elements, not necessary for the wordplay but helping the surface |
||
| 2 | STERNUM |
Seabird requires total protection (ribbed support) (7)
|
| definition: the breastbone, connected to the ribs
TERN=”Seabird”, with SUM=”total” around/protecting it |
||
| 3 | WONKY |
Was successful Kentucky candidate unstable? (5)
|
| WON KY=won the state of Kentucky=”Was successful Kentucky candidate” | ||
| 4 | ROLLMOP |
Go round fair for fish appetizer (7)
|
| definition: a dish of fish wrapped around a filling
ROLL=”Go round” + MOP=”fair” ‘mop fair’ was a phrase for a hiring fair [wiki] |
||
| 5 | SAMARKAND |
In Polish, indicate a city with an ancient history (9)
|
| in SAND=”Polish”, are placed: MARK=”indicate” + A (from surface) | ||
| 6 | TURN-UPS |
Unexpected happenings might be the end of your trousers (4-3)
|
| double definition: an unlikely event; or the cuff at the bottom of a trouser leg being turned up | ||
| 7 | PEACEABLE |
Pacific place involved with a bee (9)
|
| definition: pacific, similar to a pacifist
anagram/”involved” of (place a bee)* |
||
| 13 | OPPOSED TO |
Not for nothing, stopped suffering with love (7,2)
|
| definition: Not for i.e. not in favour of something
O=zero=”nothing” + anagram/”suffering” of (stopped)* + O=zero=”love” |
||
| 14 | STRIDENCE |
Moving in secret to stifle deputy head’s shrillness (9)
|
| anagram/”Moving” of (in secret)*, around the head letter of D-[eputy] | ||
| 17 | CREASED |
Stopped admitting Republican folded (7)
|
| CEASED=”Stopped” around R (Republican) | ||
| 18 | SCREEDS |
What’s been written at great length of wall applications? (7)
|
| double definition: a screed can be a lengthy piece of writing, or a band of plaster applied to the surface of a wall | ||
| 20 | ANCIENT |
Old political party that is not without a centre (7)
|
| ANC (African National Congress) + IE=id est=”that is” + N-[o]-T without its central letter | ||
| 22 | LAPSE |
Decline when drinks announced (5)
|
| sounds like (announced): ‘laps [up]’=”drinks” | ||
| 23 | LISLE |
Vehicle-free place in Cumbria? That’s just a yarn! (5)
|
| definition: a type of cotton yarn material
[Car]-LISLE is the place in Cumbria, minus Car so “Vehicle free” |
I thought Brummie’s last puzzle was a step up from his usual work, but this one felt like a return to business as usual. I wonder if those who disliked Fed’s puzzle yesterday will prefer this one?
Quite liked OPPOSED TO, STERNUM & ANCIENT
Wasn’t so keen on the disheartened England Supporters – where do we draw the line? Could you dishearten an entire sentence?
And a couple of words that felt like they shouldn’t be words; ENSHEATHE & PACIFIC
Cheers B&M
I enjoyed this. Many thanks Brummie and manehi.
Thanks Brummie and manehi – I hope everything is now resolved satisfactorily
I liked DIADEM and BOLD TYPE. I wonder how many solvers went from “fair” to “mop” by way of Barnet?
Very tough.
New for me: MOP = autumn fair.
Favourites: SAMARKAND, EPICURUS, HOLMES.
I could not parse LISLE = vehicle-free place in Cumbria.
Thanks, both.
Oops. My post @2 was sent too early. My favourites were OPPOSED TO and MARAUDER. Found out more about Epicurus today – not quite as I imagined….
Earworm that had to be done follows… Happy weekend all 😎
https://youtu.be/LNBjMRvOB5M?si=71mfxP-ehzMOxeKs
Found this slipping in smoothly until I found myself puzzling for a while over what type of TYPE might describe the brash character at 26,6. Then had Scrolls instead of SCREEDS tentatively in place for a bit before loi ESPRESSO meant time for a celebratory cuppa…
I had not ome across ENSHEATHE with an E before. Is it a special term used in fencing?
Thanks Brummie. This took me two sittings to complete; what was mysterious last evening became clear this morning after a solid night’s sleep. (Funny how that works.) I liked many of the clues including LOCALE, EDISON, ENSHEATHE, OPPOSED TO, ANCIENT, and LISLE. I share the question from bodycheetah @1 regarding ‘disheartened’ covering multiple words. I thought the surface of CREASED read awkwardly and I didn’t like ‘of’ in SCREEDS as a word that joins two defintions. Minor quibbles in an otherwise solid crossword. Thanks manehi for the blog.
Well, thanks for the blog – been waiting! I puzzled over the MOP part of ROLLMOP but I didn’t think it could be anything else (I was wondering if there was a hair colour called ‘mop’). The other one I had some doubts over was SCREED – I thought it’s more usually applied to a floor rather than a wall – but my knowledge of plasterers’ terminology is scanty,
Everything else went in fine. Liked the misdirection in OPPOSED TO – also likes for WONKY, WINCH, STERNUM, ANCIENT, EDISON, LOCALE. PRAISE BE.
With ESPRESSO: not sure about ‘disheartened’ as a middle-letters-removal indicator, when the middle letters are spread over two words. I’d have rather seen “Leaders of England supporters…” or the like. But good surface.
Thanks to Brummie and manehi.
Tony @8 – how do you get to the crossword the evening before?
Spent a longtime staring at little white squares before edging my way in, then got there, slowly, and enjoyably.
Today I learned: MARRAM LISLE and MOP (in this context)
Assumed my parsing of Espresso was wrong because I didn’t realise you could dishearten a phrase. Accurate but not elegant?
Favourites PRAISE BE – a fond memory of a common saying of my mother, and ANCIENT for the surface misdirection.
Joffee @10
Different time zone?
Tony is in the US, Joffee, so when it comes online at midnight here it is early evening there.
[Balfour @13: Thanks for explaining.]
My last one in was ROLLMOP, having heard of neither the food nor the fair, but I guessed the ROLL part just fine, and ROLLMAP seemed even less likely. Looking them up, I don’t think I’d like rollmops much; but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, they always say.
Lots to like here, with many cleverly disguised and misleading definitions. Thanks to Brummie and manehi.
Thank you Brummie for a challenging but enjoyable puzzle, and manehi for a helpful blog which was worth waiting for – I was puzzling over ROLLMOP but your explanation is clear, concise and surely correct. I also hope that what came up has now been sorted to your satisfaction; and if your blog was in fact hurried in its construction, the fact doesn’t show.
I particularly liked the subtle misdirections with the closer in 21a, the fact that the creep in 1d isn’t a noun, and the fact that Polish in 5d is actually polish. And a hat-tip to any setter who gives us an ancient city that isn’t Ur.
Bodycheetah @1 – surely the reason they called the ocean Pacific is that it was thought to be peaceful. Just don’t mention the 2004 tsunami or Krakatoa East of Java.
MrP @15
Rollmops can be delicious, as long as they aren’t over-pickled.
All done and dusted. I knew ‘rollmop’, but if I ever knew about mop-fairs I had forgotten it. Tough going on The Times today, but worth the effort I think.
Very enjoyable puzzle. MOP = fair was a new one for me but it was interesting to read about the origins of it.
My favourite was LISLE with the lovely surface about traffic congestion in the Lake District. Brilliant.
Many thanks Brummie and manehi.
Thanks both. I enjoyed that. Sand and polish aren’t synonymous in my head (polishing=shining whereas sanding=smoothing) but that’s probably just me.
Nope, didn’t know about labour fairs dating from the 14th C, and didn’t think of Barnet either, so the roll”s mop was a shrug. I think that was the only one, tho it’s ages since this morning (hope all’s well, manehi). Otherwise. pretty cruisy from the Brum, ta both. Now going to look up and remind myself what Epicurus thought (I do remember it wasn’t all about good food …)
Surprised no one has mentioned the possibility of a theme, typical of the setter. I noticed the combo of STERN(UM) and Tristram SHANDY but couldn’t see anything else. This was a fun solve with only SAMARKAND a nho. Usually twig his themes but this one way was beyond me if it exists! Ticks for WESTWARDS, PRAISE BE, EPICURUS, ESPRESSO, BOLD TYPE, WONKY and STRIDENCE.
Ta Brummie & manehi.
I like Brummie because he crafts consistently great surfaces (esp liked 24ac and 1d). WESTWARDS, SCREEDS and ESPRESSO all took me too long (@8 Tony Santucci, don’t worry, some of us ALWAYS need more than one sitting!) but got there in the end; many thanks to Brummie and manehi. PS rollmop would never be my LOI, adore them.
AlanC @22
Mmm – wouldn’t it have had to be STERNE?
NeilH@16: Amusingly, Krakatoa is actually west of Java in spite of the film title.
AlanC@22 I came on here looking for confirmation that the theme is fonts. I suspected DIADEM was and confirmed it. Checked MARAUDER, EPICURUS and EDISON, BOLD TYPE was my way in. I’m sure there’s more but I’m done googling for today.
ASCENDER is typeface related.
Re ROLLMOPs – I think they’re the ‘Marmite’ of the fishy treats world: herring fillets pickled in vinegar and rolled around onion or other pungent fare. Definitely an acquired taste! I’m quite fond of them but Mrs L hates them.
Perhaps we should have a ballot of lovers and haters?
[Laccaria @28
Anchovies possibly even more Marmite than rollmops? I love them both (though I can’t bear Marmite!)]
Didn’t get a single across on the first pass, but got there in the end. Liked the two different uses of “not without”. Thought the disheartening was ok, but share bc@1’s wondering where to draw the line.
[Me@yesterday, major senior moment! Sorry for the noise, can’t promise it won’t happen again, but I’ll try.]
Thanks Muffin@12 Balfour@13 – makes sense!
I can’t decide whether “because the earth is a vast rotating sphere onto which humans have sought to place some organising conventions” is a simple answer to my question or a really mind-boggling one.
Well done Feliks @26: never in a month of Sundays would I have twigged that. muffin @24: you’re correct of course, but I was clutching.
Thank you manehi. Agree, an enjoyable solve.
My favourite is OPPOSED TO, for the wonderful definition not for and the deception of being in the phrase not for nothing, the nothing being part of the wordplay. Also liked the yarn about the vehicle-less place in Cumbria, LISLE.
I had to go to bed before this blog came up, and woke up (in the Antipodes) to see that Feliks@26 also had the theme as fonts. My first were BOLD TYPE and EPICURUS . Had seen the ASCENDER as did muffin@27.
Googling this morning expands the list to include ESPRESSO, INTERNAL ROLLMOPs, SAMARKAN(d), WESTWARD(s), WINCH and WONKY. I didn’t find these on any one list, so I don’t know what source Brummie used.
Amusing find on Wiki’s Typeface page was a font called Sans Forgetica , developed by a multidisciplinary team at the RMIT in Melbourne, Aus, to aid students in retention of what they were reading. It didn’t, it made it worse, like the camel as a horse designed by a committee?
My earlier stab at the theme was philosophers, Epicurus. Edison, Holmes, Stern, West, Ward. But just like with the fonts, if you go googling you’ll come up with anything that might fit, and increase your GK, for five minutes, until it fades from memory again.
Laccaria@28. I’m a lover of ROLLMOPs. In fact I had a quibble about the definition as fish appetizer. I consider them a meal.
I think fonts and typefaces were the theme. Epicurus, Espresso, Bold Type, Samarkan(d) Westward(s) etc
bodycheetah @1, I certainly fit your description of people who struggled with Fed yesterday and loved Brummie today. Thank goodness (and the editor) we have both of them, yes?
MOP was new to me. LISLE took a while to come to mind – I think it is a regular in these parts, and one day I will remember it. Otherwise, everything went into satisfactorily smoothly.
Roll on the Quick Cryptic so that I can hopefully solve a few clues.
So, fonts and typefaces the theme today…as usual I was completely ob(li)vious to the obvious?
Enjoyed this one, thanks Brummie and Manehi.
Slow solve for me to start with and had a few left till they all rolled in after a snifter loosened my brain this evening.
I had to hesitate over ROLLMOP because I was always given to understand that the singular was rollmops, and asking for a rollmop was a bit like buying a panini.
Jack oFT @25: Perhaps it was east of Java before it erupted…
I hadn’t heard of this meaning of MOP before I came to Birmingham so perhaps a regional usage?
I learnt quite a lot about EPICURUS studying Lucretius at school. Very different from what his name usually evokes.
Enjoyed this. Some glorious surfaces. Top marks for LISLE, BOLD TYPE and ENSHEATHE.
Nice and straightforward, at his best he is one I look out for, in the same way that I would look out for a Nutmeg. This not quite in her league, but still fun.
Though I struggled elsewhere, ROLLMOP was actually an early fill-in for me with a crosser or two; it’s a word I picked up doing Pinter 40 years ago, and it stuck in my brain. ENSHEATHE is a beautiful word.
NeilH @16: I certainly wouldn’t mention the 2004 tsunami and Krakatoa in relation to the Pacific, since they both occurred in the Indian ocean.
Always make time for a Brummie’s puzzle for its clever surfaces and misdirections. Here I especially liked BOLD TYPE, OPPOSED TO, HOLMES, WINCH, and EDISON.
Like the names of bands, almost anything can potentially be the name of a font or typeface: apart from BOLD TYPE I haven’t met any of those used here. Well done Feliks@26.
It’s probably far too late to post but thought I’d read the remaining comments. Just to thank Feliks@26. I would never have got the theme. Very well done 😎
Sorry, but I had no intention of a theme in this one!
Brummie @49. Seriously? I’ll be smiling all day about that. Thanks again. I really enjoyed it 😎
Thanks P in Brum. About half of my puzzles have a theme . As others have said, you can assume almost any word fits a font (or rock band) theme.
I solved this early yesterday and knew I’d have to be around today, so went off to do other things, missing the blog being published.
I love Brummie puzzles, and found this one entertaining, did look to see if I could spot an obvious theme, but couldn’t, so am amused by Brummie’s comments.
Thank you to manehi and Brummie.
Nice one Brummie.
Solved late, but much enjoyed! Glad to hear that fonts were NOT the theme — as a graphic designer I would have been extra-embarrassed to have missed it.
Ha ha brummie@ 49 No theme! Laugh’s on me. I had a lot of fun though, and enjoyed the crossie. Thank you.