The puzzle may be found here:
https://www.fifteensquared.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Armistice-4Oct10_Redacted.pdf
This puzzle definitely felt like a change of pace for me, with some of the cluing outside the conventions of the puzzles that I normally solve. There were a couple of solutions that I could not parse without the setter’s explanations, which was not so much the fault of the clues as a result of my lack of the requisite GK.
There are multiple typos which I have left uncorrected in the clues and which I have ignored in the parsing, none of which substantially interfere with (or figure in) the wordplay. There is an obvious military/wartime theme in the clues and solutions, in honor of Armistice Day, according to the setter. The nina ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH appears around the perimeter, referring to the poem by Wilfred Owen, who was killed in action one week before the end of World War I.
| ACROSS | ||
| 6 | DRILL IN |
Investigate ‘privates on parade’ at home (5,2)
|
| DRILL (privates on parade) + IN (at home) | ||
| 7 | OMAHA |
Beach theatre, seldom a happy setting (5)
|
| Hidden in (setting) [SELD]OM A HA[PPY], referring to the Normandy invasion landing site | ||
| 9 | DOLL |
Repeat lines. Dummy (4)
|
| DO (repeat, i.e., ditto) + LL (lines) | ||
| 10 | POTENTILLA |
Flower, cut potentially, to make a move back (10)
|
| POTENTIALL[Y] minus last letter (cut), with the A moved to the end (to make “a” move back) | ||
| 11 | EPIC POEM |
‘Catalogue of women‘ , maybe, record Third Reich leading comprehensive plunder of european masterpieces (4,4)
|
| EP (record) + third letter of (Third) [RE]I[CH] + first letters of (leading) C[OMPREHENSIVE] P[LUNDER] O[F] E[UROPEAN] M[ASTERPIECES], referring to Hesiod | ||
| 13 | DRIVEN |
Obsessive geek returned for intravenous injection (6)
|
| IV (intravenous) inside (for . . . injection) NERD (geek) reversed (returned) | ||
| 15 | MAIR |
Arm I bent to get Scots more (4)
|
| Anagram of (bent) {ARM I} | ||
| 17 | ARRAS |
Wall hanging two artists backed at school (5)
|
| RA + RA (two artists) back-to-back (“backed”) + S (school) | ||
| 18 | MITT |
Cable to military intelligence for diigtal coverage (4)
|
| MI (military intelligence) + TT (cable, i.e., telegraphic transfer), “digital” here referring to the fingers | ||
| 19 | ORDEAL |
Test, spoken of in France included (6)
|
| DE (of, in France, i.e., in French) inside (included) ORAL (spoken) | ||
| 20 | ENFAMISH |
Starve old English fisherman, losing tip of rod,distraught (8)
|
| Anagram of (distraught) FISHE[R]MAN, minus (losing) first letter of (tip of) R[OD], with “old English” referring to this word’s being obsolete | ||
| 23 | OCEAN LINER |
Main means of troop transport (5,5)
|
| Cryptic definition, the “main” here referring to the sea | ||
| 26 | RAME |
Remark about losing borders of part of Cornwall (4)
|
| [R]EMAR[K] reversed (about) minus outside letters (losing borders), i.e., a peninsula and village there | ||
| 27 | SHIVA |
Branch of Islam very engaged with Hindu deity (5)
|
| SHIA (branch of Islam) around (engaged with) V (very) | ||
| 28 | REFLATE |
Match official slow to blow up again (7)
|
| REF (match official) + LATE (slow) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | YIELD CURVE |
Investment returnn made Euclid very excited (5,5)
|
| Anagram of (made . . . excited) {EUCLID VERY} | ||
| 2 | OLD PRO |
War horse doctor adapted to play polo (3,3)
|
| Anagram of (adapted to play) {DR (doctor) + POLO} | ||
| 3 | UNIT |
Brigade of peacekeepers heading international taskforce (4)
|
| UN (peacekeepers) + first letters of (heading [of]) I[NTERNATIONAL] T[ASKFORCE] | ||
| 4 | TORNADOS |
WW 2 airforce’s air forces! (8)
|
| Double definition. I think that there is a bit of confusion here. As near as I can tell, the Hawker Tornado fighter plane was only ever produced as a prototype during WWII. The postwar Panavia Tornado is probably the best-known warplane with this designation. | ||
| 5 | HAJI |
Bishopl left fritter for pilgrim (4)
|
| [B]HAJI (fritter) minus (left) B (bishop) | ||
| 6 | DROOP |
Flag Ed! (5)
|
| Double definition, the second referring to erectile dysfunction | ||
| 8 | AILMENT |
Complaint from first class officer about soldiers (7)
|
| {AI (first class, i.e., A1) + LT (lieutenant)} around (about) MEN (soldiers) | ||
| 12 | MARNE |
Battle scene where soldier at sea lost an eye reportedly (5)
|
| MAR[I]NE (soldier at sea) minus (lost) homophone of (reportedly) EYE = I | ||
| 14 | IN MEMORIAM |
Lament or I maim men horribly (2,8)
|
| Anagram of (horribly) {OR I MAIM MEN} | ||
| 16 | ARRACKS |
Eastern spirits remain after head of Banshees was exorcised from army camp (7)
|
| [B]ARRACKS (army camp) minus (after . . . was exorcised from) first letter of (head of) B[ANSHEES] | ||
| 17 | ALL CLEAR |
Spooners message to King to signal end of bombardment (3,5)
|
| Spoonerism of (Spooner’s) CALL (message to) LEAR (king) | ||
| 21 | FAR OFF |
Brylcream boysup and away in the distance (3,3)
|
| RAF (Brylcreem boys) inverted (up) + OFF (away) | ||
| 22 | SOMME |
Baker Steet Boys accepted award for prolonged campaign abroad (5)
|
| SOE (Baker Street Boys, i.e., Special Operations Executive) around (accepted) MM (award, i.e., military medal). I was unfamiliar with either of these references/abbreviations. | ||
| 24 | AVID |
Keen to miss nothing out (4)
|
| AV[O]ID (to miss) minus (out) O (nothing) | ||
| 25 | NERO |
Bowman hero topped by knight (4)
|
| N (knight) + [H]ERO minus first letter (topped), referring cryptically to “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” |
Challenging and enjoyable puzzle, some memorable clues.
Thanks Cineraria. I appreciate your efforts at negotiating my grammatical deficiences andfound your comments most helpful.
Adrian
No wonder I couldn’t get TYPHOONS to work! Aside from that, there were some very nice touches, eg. bhaji=fritter, mitt=digital coverage, and 8dn.
to avoid confusion the latter comment is by another Adrian bailey!