I started in on this at a pretty good clip before getting bogged down about halfway. Ultimately, this proved nothing too strenuous for a Tuesday, with the usual fine assortment of clues from Artexlen.
I am not sure that I have seen AKEE before, and I got a chuckle out of HEADHUNT.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CHINCHILLA |
Relax feeding mate’s rodent (10)
|
| CHILL (relax) inside (feeding) CHINA (mate, in Cockney rhyming slang) | ||
| 7 | GASP |
Have difficulty breathing and quietly drop back (4)
|
| [P (quietly) + SAG (drop)] all reversed (back) | ||
| 9 | MANX |
Knight overcome by greatest of islanders (4)
|
| N (knight) inside (overcome by) MAX (greatest) | ||
| 10 | ANKLE-BITER |
Child learnt to move with bike (5-5)
|
| Anagram of (to move) {LEARNT + BIKE} | ||
| 11 | STENCH |
Bad smell adolescent half-heartedly masked in school (6)
|
| TE[E]N (adolescent) minus one internal E (half-heartedly) inside (masked in) SCH. (school) | ||
| 12 | TWANGING |
Sound from plucking gnat wing off (8)
|
| Anagram of (off) GNAT WING | ||
| 13 | ENTRANCE |
On hospital ward, family surrounding new arrival (8)
|
| ENT (hospital ward) + RACE (family) around (surrounding) N (new) | ||
| 15 | OHMS |
I’m surprised by mess after emptying units (4)
|
| OH (I’m surprised) + outside letters of (after emptying) M[ES]S, measuring electrical resistance | ||
| 17 | SPEC |
Spot pronounced design details (4)
|
| Homophone of (pronounced) SPECK (spot). Is there a minor plural/singular conflict here, or is this idiomatic in the UK? | ||
| 19 | LEANNESS |
Not so many gaining queen’s slender condition (8)
|
| LESS (not so many) around (gaining) ANNE (queen) | ||
| 22 | FLAGSHIP |
Loud convicts in important vessel (8)
|
| F (loud) + LAGS (convicts) + HIP (in) | ||
| 23 | CAPTOR |
One imprisons degenerate gang briefly in revolution (6)
|
| {ROT (degenerate) + PAC[K] (gang) minus last letter (briefly)} all reversed (in revolution) | ||
| 25 | GOBI DESERT |
Try to remain determined taking runs in desolate area (4,6)
|
| GO (try) + BIDE (to remain) + SET (determined) around (taking . . . in) R (runs) | ||
| 26 | ORGY |
Gallons shifted in distasteful drunken revelry (4)
|
| GORY (distasteful) with the G (gallons) moved right two spaces (shifted) | ||
| 27 | AKEE |
Baked peeled eastern fruit (4)
|
| [B]AKE[D] minus outside letters (peeled) + E (eastern) | ||
| 28 | DISCARDING |
Scrapping inspector’s vehicle with slight damage (10)
|
| DI’S (inspector’s) + CAR (vehicle) + DING (slight damage) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | HEARTEN |
Encourage that man painting edges in emulsion (7)
|
| HE (that man) + ART (painting) + outside letters of (edges in) E[MULSIO]N | ||
| 3 | NIXON |
Former national leader recalled Number 10 home (5)
|
| [NO. (number) + X (ten) + IN (home)] all inverted (recalled), referring to Richard M. Nixon | ||
| 4 | HEADHUNT |
Attila perhaps with time to seek out recruit (8)
|
| HEAD HUN (Attila perhaps, i.e., leader of the Huns) + T (time) | ||
| 5 | LIKE THE CLAPPERS |
Very quickly take to appreciative people (4,3,8)
|
| Double/cryptic definition, with LIKE (take to) + THE CLAPPERS (appreciative people) | ||
| 6 | ARENAS |
All there, soldiers all over fields (6)
|
| {SANE (all there) + RA (soldiers)} all inverted (all over) | ||
| 7 | GOING DOWN |
Declining being sent to prison (5,4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | STERNUM |
Bone monster numbly chews (7)
|
| Hidden in (chews) [MON]STER NUM[BLY] | ||
| 14 | RECOGNISE |
Understand nice ogre’s misrepresented (9)
|
| Anagram of (misrepresented) NICE OGRE’S | ||
| 16 | PANCETTA |
Cold in cooking vessel, evenly heat steak meat (8)
|
| C (cold) inside (in) {PAN (cooking vessel) + even letters of (evenly) [H]E[A]T [S]T[E]A[K]} | ||
| 18 | POLLOCK |
Fish cut up on bar (7)
|
| LOP (cut) inverted (up) + LOCK (bar) | ||
| 20 | SHOTGUN |
Japanese military leader pierced by tip of traditional weapon (7)
|
| SHOGUN (Japanese military leader) around (pierced by) first letter of (tip of) T[RADITIONAL] | ||
| 21 | SHIELD |
Protect top of leg in cast (6)
|
| First letter of (top of) L[EG] inside (in) SHIED (cast) | ||
| 24 | PROUD |
Arrogant pair, couple from south (5)
|
| PR (pair) + DUO (couple) inverted (from the south) |
Top faves: HEAD HUNT and LIKE THE CLAPPERS.
SPEC
I think specification (SPEC) could mean ‘a single design detail (or one item specified)’ or
‘a detailed description of various criteria (design details)’.
Good blog. Thanks Cineraria.
Nice puzzle. Thanks Artexlen.
I had a similar experience to Cineraria even down to laughing at HEADHUNTER. Overall, I enjoyed this crossword, with a good mix of interesting clues.
There were many good clues from which to choose and the favourites I noted along the way were NIXON, SHOTGUN, DISCARDING and, of course, HEADHUNTER
It does interest me where the setters focus. Aside from the rivers with less than 4 letters and the entire flora and fauna of Great Britain, it appears I am receiving a complete education in rhyming and prison slang. Not very useful in real life I have discovered, but an adventure nonetheless.
Thanks Artexlen and Cineraria
Thanks for the blog, good set of neat and clever clues .
I agree with KVa @1 . SPEC can mean a specification or the whole set of specifications.
27a I knew A[c]KEE and saltfish was the national dish of Jamaica. TiLTs: On its own it’s also the national fruit of Jamaica, native to tropical West Africa.
Latin name: Blighia sapida (“tasty”) – named after Captain Bligh of Mutiny On The Bounty (1962) fame. [cf. 22a & 23a] …
… 4d HEAD HUN[t]: Thatcher was nicknamed ‘Attila The Hen‘]
Thanks A&C
… [by Denis Healey]
12A reminded me of the great Duane Eddy, who died this year. I think that he still holds the record for the shortest song to enter the Billboard Top 40 with his 1959 hit “Some Kind-a Earthquake”. That comment sort of gives away my age!
26A: does one have to be drunk to attend an orgy? I wouldn’t know but it’s on my bucket list! Joke!
5D – new to me. I understand why “appreciative people” could be “clappers” but not how “clappers” means “fast”.
24D: Does “arrogant” really have the same meaning as “proud”? Surely “proud” is a good thing whilst “arrogant” is bad. I usually don’t consult a thesaurus when doing crosswords but I did today and I could not find one that used these words as synonyms.
Thanks to all. My ability with English improves every day that I visit this forum.
‘Ackee, rice, salt fish are nice
And the rum tastes fine any time o’ year’
(Jamaica Farewell, which my grandmother used to sing when I was a mere ANKLE-BITER)
And ‘like the clappers’ was one of her expressions too so it was good to be reminded of her with this fun puzzle.
Thanks to Cineraria and Artexlen.
Thanks Artexlen and Cineraria
5dn: Collins 2023 p 381 has go (also run or move) like the clappers as Brit informal to move extremely fast. I have known this expression since childhood, but I do not think I ever stopped to ask why it has that meaning.
24dn: Collins p 1604 gives us proud adj 3 having an inordinately high opinion of oneself; arrogant or haughty.
17ac: Further to earlier comments, Collins p 1904 gives us spec² informal n the constituents, appearance, performance, etc of a product.
I really enjoyed this. “Like the clappers”apparently originates from when Church bells were used to spread news. Rapidly rung bells meant something urgent.
5d LIKE THE CLAPPERS – Oed.com puts it in the entry for the CLAPPER of a bell:
‘… I.3.a. 1379– The tongue of a bell, which strikes it on the inside and causes it to sound. Slang phrase like the clappers: very fast or very hard.’, citing: ‘
1948 Like the clappers (of hell), very fast. Mostly R.A.F. E. Partridge et al., Dictionary of Forces’ Slang 42
1957 It was raining like the clappers. M. K. Joseph, I’ll soldier no More (1958) 16
1958 Seeing it’s you, I’m going to surrender like the clappers. J. Wain, Contenders ix. 193
1959 I’ve got to work like the clappers this morning. J. Braine, Vodi ix. 128′ …
… There’s also this in the entry for belt: ‘1959 We’ll have to belt it like the clappers out of hell. W. Hall, Long & Short & Tall i. 42′ …
We enjoyed solving this over our mid-afternoon cuppa. We liked 3dn where ‘No 10’ at first deflected our thoughts away from an American leader; and we also liked 9ac where ‘greatest’ was not used to clue ‘Ali’ for once.
Thanks, Artexlen and Cineraria.
… Maybe a link to the song The Bells of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling or the interjection “Hell’s bells!” …
… There are various other theories in this discussion from The Guardian‘s Notes & Queries (SEMANTIC ENIGMAS)😉.
Thanks A&C
On further research Eric Partridge has “like the clappers of f***. With the presumed reference to the speed that castanet shaped bits move during the sexual act.
Yes, like allen_c@14, I spent a few minutes on 9ac trying to think up a word for islander that uses “Ali”. The possible “i” ending further drew me in.
Yes, allen_c@14, I spent a few minutes on 9ac trying to think up a word for islander that uses “Ali”. The possible “i” ending further drew me in.