A new chapter …
This is the first Spectator puzzle to be blogged on this site – and, not being a regular reader, it’s the first Spectator crossword I’ve attempted. Luckily it proved to be quite gentle – the setter, Fire, has given us quite an easy ride for our first dip in the water. The rubric tells us five pairs of unclued lights are similarly linked. These turn out to be pairs of whole solutions, with some lights missing, in which the English term is matched to the American – thus:
BROOCH (1) with PIN (28)
CRISPS (7) with CHIPS (36)
TROUSERS (26) with PANTS (10)
TRAM (40) with STREETCAR (14)
LIFT (41) with ELEVATOR (24)
I was sad that braces and suspenders didn’t get an outing, remembering my desperately seeking braces for my pregnant friend’s trousers at closing time in Macy’s … they thought I needed a dentist. I imagine the title, Not Like Us, refers to the Americanisation – as in Shaw’s two countries separated by a common language, or Alan Jay Lerner’s There even are countries where English completely disappears – in America they haven’t used it for years.
Definitions of clued solutions are underlined.
Across
12 Finally, favourite coastal town gets special treatment (3,6)
RED CARPET
PET (favourite) after (finally) REDCAR (coastal town)
13 Seafront apartment housing readily available (2,3)
ON TAP
Hidden (housing) in seafrONT APartment
15 Conductor is in Costa in confusion (9)
TOSCANINI
Anagram (in confusion) of IS COSTA IN
16 Get comfortable in finest Levis! (6)
NESTLE
Hidden inside fiNEST LE vis
20 Shell-like gold relic smashed (7)
AURICLE
Gold (AU) + anagram (smashed) of RELIC
21 Could be made in reverse? (6)
CHEESE
Cheese could be EDAM (MADE in reverse)
22 Passionate time following Forest (6)
ARDENT
T (time) after (following) ARDEN (Forest in As You LIke It)
26 Openings of the best satirical poetry in little volume (4)
TBSP
First letters (openings) of The Best Satirical Poetry. TBSP is short for tablespoon in recipes. I feel it’s a little weird to clue it as (4)
27 Pull to the left in Winnebago (3)
TOW
TO + the left (first letter) of Winnebago
29 One of these? (4)
THIS
THIS being the singular (one of) THESE
32 Dominic’s ending former right to work (8)
CONCERTO
C (Dominic’s ending) + ONCE (former) + R (right) + TO
34 Aim in German for distinction in grammar (6)
GENDER
END (aim) inside GER (German)
35 Canoes sunk here? (6)
OCEANS
Anagram (sunk) of CANOES – the clue being &Lit
37 Looking for moving trains –not Southern! (7)
HUNTING
SHUNTING (moving trains) without (not) S (Southern)
39 Plant against illuminated fences (6)
INSTIL
Hidden in (fences) agaINST ILluminated
42 Fabulous Riviera’s holding large contests (9)
RIVALRIES
Anagram (fabulous) of RIVIERA’S + L (large)
43 Time of enchantment (5)
SPELL
Double definition
44 A lot of cider and some beer is on the side (5,4)
SCRUM HALF
SCRUM (a lot of SCRUMPY) + HALF (an order of beer). The scrum half would be in the side, but on the side is an alternative term.
45 Some blokes say silly things in writing (6)
ESSAYS
Hidden (some) in blokES SAY Stupid
46 ‘Steer with feet’ occasionally advisory for cyclist! (6)
HELMET
HELM (steer, with helm being a verb) + ET – even letters (occasionally) of FEET
Down
1 Make endless cereal (4)
BRAN
BRAND (a make, eg of cars) minus last letter (endless)
2 Swot up again on Shakespearean king and knight (7)
RELEARN
RE (on) + LEAR (Shakespearean king) + N (knight in chess terminology)
3 Likelihood of ten in the end? (4)
ODDS
Odds = likelihood in the sense of the odds are that … and T E N are the ODDS (odd letters) in ThE eNd
4 Charlie exhausted by golf career (7)
CALLING
C (Charlie in Nato alphabet) + ALL IN (exhausted) + G (= golf in NATO alphabet
5 ‘Perfect’ pickle not so great (8)
SPOTLESS
SPOT (pickle) + LESS (not so great)
6 Ship returning without Zoe? (6)
VESSEL
Reverse (returning) of LESS (without) + EV (electric vehicle of which the Renault Zoe is one – the question mark indicating it’s an example)
8 Way travelled by boat I hear? (4)
ROAD
Homonym (I hear) of ROWED (travelled by boat)
9 Argument about drunk returning shoe (8)
STILETTO
SET TO (argument) surrounding (about) TIL (LIT drunk, reversed – returning)
11 Plant weird arrangement in display (10)
SPIDERWORT
IDERW – anagram (arrangement) of WEIRD in SPORT (display)
17 In case of emergency, get something to reduce swelling (3,3)
ICE BAG
ICE (in case of emergency) + BAG (get)
18 Wipe nose with a broken arm (9)
WEAPONISE
Anagram (broken) of WIPE NOSE + A. Arm as a verb
19 Dull series of lectures in building protection (4,6)
DAMP COURSE
DAMP (dull) + COURSE (series of lectures)
23 Romeo overwhelmed by this tense desire (6)
THIRST
R (Romeo in Nato alphabet) inside (overwhelmed by) THIS + T (tense)
25 Running nuns veer into cows (8)
UNNERVES
Anagram (running) of NUNS VEER with COWS as a verb
30 Atop Etna, memorial bears term of endearment (3,4)
PET NAME
Hidden (bears) in atoP ETNA MEmorial
31 Easy to read, like outrageous libel cases (7)
LEGIBLE
E G (like, as in exemplo gratia) inside (cases) L IBLE -anagram of LIBEL
33 ‘Their’ mis-spelt over one hundred and three times (6)
THRICE
Anagram (mis-spelt) of THEIR around (over) T (times)
38 Supporter of Arsenal, extremely, extremely lucky (4)
ALLY
First and last letters (extremely) of ARSENAL + first and last letters (second extremely) of LUCKY
