A fun and witty puzzle.
It’s not often we see Solomon on a Wednesday. But a welcome puzzle to blog – so thanks to the setter.
I can see ‘black’ and ‘white’ on the extremes of the grid, but no further overt pattern or theme.
BACK (help) to cover L[amp] (one end of)
SPRING (jump) + OFF (out) in front
(NEIL and DI ACT)* (*weirdly)
ST (virtuous woman, Saint) eating WEE (small)
THE (article) penned by LEAR (purveyor of nonsense)
CLASS (schoolchildren) + IC (in charge)
The classic (and often studied at school) novel by William Golding
A gem of a clue considering the plot of the book
(SAND + [dun]E (close to))* (*sculpting)
[Y]OR[k] (‘s centre-half) and CHE (left winger, Guevara) alongside STAR* (*an assortment of)
FORCE (police officers) + FE[e]D (American agent, drugged, i.e. containing E (ecstasy))
“WAY” (plan, “out loud”)
DID; (A + MO (second) + N (bridge player)) put in
W (wife); SALLOW (pale yellow) trousers
Cryptic definition
Referring to the NATO alphabet in which India follows Hotel
(PITTAS IN A)* (*distribute)
[U]KIP (leader leaving) + PER (a) + TIE (football match?)
‘Match’ is a bit cryptic here, so when the teams are even/match
C[aravanett]E (vacant) next to REC (playground)
BILL (something brought by the waiter) containing [d]R[y] (skinned)
ALEXA (artificial intelligence) supported by NERD* (*loaded)
Alexa is Amazon’s voice activated product found in many homes these days
KIT[s]CH (trash, S (spades) removed) + E[xtensio]N (emptied)
[t]O (finally) + C (see) + CU (copper) on [robbe]R (‘s tail)
([extort]IO[nately] (the centre of) + FLACCID)* (*bum)
PASS (go over) + AGE (70, say)
[der]IDE A S[cientist’s] (some)
GATE (those attending) + CRASH (car accident)
Cryptic definition
Drivers should not drink alcohol, so when in a bar/restaurant their order might be a soft drink
[l]OVER[s] (undressed) + DRAFT (sketch)
(L (left) among RECEIPTS)* (*a jumble of)
EVE (fruit thief, Biblical) smuggling (C[herimoy]A (peel) in OT (books, Old Testament))
W[higfield’s] (number one) by RAPPER (Eminem?)
A + DUP (political party, Democratic Unionist Party) containing D (500, Roman numerals)
I.E. (that is, id est); (S[erve] (beginning to) + AT) opening
Satie was a French composer, and music is written in bars, hence ‘barman’
HIT (knock) into WE (you and me)
In a game of chess, the white player moves first
Lovely puzzle, from BLACK to WHITE. Like our blogger, I cannot see any further connection – but wouldn’t be surprised if one turns up. Lots of trademark inventive cluing and left-field definitions. A very neat take on the chestnut that is ORCHESTRA; an amusing surface for ALEXANDER, a fun swipe at the politicians with KIPPER TIE (Oriel, I think the ‘football match’ is simply TIE in the sense of, say, a cup tie?). But, yes, the surface for CLASSIC is, well, classic and is, by some distance, COTD.
Thanks Solomon and Oriel
Liked CLASSIC, WEIGH, KIPPER TIE, FOLIC ACID and SOFT DRINK.
PASSAGE
I had ‘go’=’PASS’, PASS over AGE.
Thanks Solomon and Oriel.
Thanks Solomon and Oriel
25ac: I agree with PM@1 about TIE. Collins 2023 p 2065 has this as “14 sport, Brit a match or game in an eliminating competition: a cup tie“.
I wondered if there was a drinks theme. Black and White whisky, Brandy Alexander, Triple Sec, Water, Soft Drink and then a barman and a waiter in the clues??? CLASSIC is a gem.
I’d dispute Alexa as being artificial intelligence.
Mine’s as dumb as a Curry’s sales assistant
Most enjoyable. NHO cherimoya but that didn’t matter as all we needed were the first and last letters, but we then had to check EVOCATE, got from wordplay. in the dictionary. We liked 14ac for saving an overworked carthorse from radical surgery. Favourite, though, was CLASSIC.
Thanks, Solomon and Oriel.
I am afraid I am going to disagree with the general consensus. I usually enjoy and admire Solomon puzzles but I am afraid I did not like this one very much. There were too many oblique references and I had too many quibbles. I did like IDEAS, OVERDRAFTS (although usually do not like cryptic definitions), and CLASSIC. I will not bore you with my list of issues (except to agree with Mark A@5 that Alexa is not AI).
Thanks Solomon and Oriel
@5 Mark. However dumb Alexa is, this was a nice clue.
An enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks Solomon. There was a lot I liked including OFFSPRING, SWEET, CLASSIC, WEIGH, SWALLOW, and OCCUR. I revealed the nho KIPPER TIE & RECCE & I thought the definition for FOLIC ACID was a stretch but generally I enjoyed this. Thanks Oriel for the blog.
I didn’t have enough time to complete this, and doubt I would have done so even if I’d had another hour as I found it very difficult. I didn’t get WEIGH and must be missing something perhaps quite obvious because I don’t see how in 18 ac plan = way in any of their respective meanings. I agree CLASSIC and ORCHESTRA were good, and my favourites of those I solved. Had never heard of TRIPLE SEC but was able to guess it.
Loved it. Long live Solomon, for he is wise.
I found this one difficult. When I saw the answers for ones I missed, they weren’t that hard but I just couldn’t get on his wavelength.