Tees starts the puzzling week.
I found this tricky in places but with enough relatively straightforward clues to afford a good toehold. I particularly enjoyed the smattering of literary references, to OSCAR WILDE, Anne HATHAWAY, John OSBORNE, Martin or Kingsley Amis and Dracula, with its delightfully cheeky surface. And, aside from being the south wind, Auster in 2d may also be a nod to the American novelist Paul Auster.
Elsewhere I had ticks for SESAME, MEDICI, BALDERDASH, GOALIE (which I reckon is an &lit, though others may disagree) and SERENGETI for the nifty anagram. Many thanks to Tees for the Monday morning fun.
Moh’s entirely arguable cruciverbial hardness scale rating: Calcite
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CAROUSAL |
Constant stimulation in boozy party (8)
|
| C (constant) + AROUSAL | ||
| 6 | SESAME |
Spy housing missile in oil-producing plant (6)
|
| SEE (spy) around (housing) SAM (surface-to-air missile) | ||
| 9 | ASIA |
Huge region over in USA is Appalachia (4)
|
| Hidden reversal (over in) in usA IS Appalachia | ||
| 10 | ALL THE RAGE |
Not mad about silver in great demand? (3,3,4)
|
| ALL THERE (not mad) around AG (silver) | ||
| 11 | MEDICI |
First doctor in old Florentine house? (6)
|
| Medic 1 would be first doctor, hence MEDIC + I for the Florentine banking dynasty | ||
| 12 | COMANCHE |
Coachmen transported Native Americans (8)
|
| Anagram (transported) of COACHMEN | ||
| 13 | NEW ZEALAND |
Containing enthusiasm, almost catch dawn breaking in country (3,7)
|
| NE[t] (almost catch) + anagram (breaking) of DAWN around (containing) ZEAL (enthusiasm) | ||
| 16 | EFTS |
French are binding feet for amphibians (4)
|
| Insertion (binding) of FT (feet) in ES (second-person singular form of the French verb être, to be, so ‘French are’) | ||
| 17 | AGON |
Any number attending earlier Greek festival (4)
|
| AGO (earlier) + N (any number), definition referring to ancient Greek competitive festivals such as the Olympics | ||
| 19 | OSCAR WILDE |
Writer‘s mark fresh and natural in Old English (5,5)
|
| SCAR (mark) + WILD (fresh and natural) inside O E (old English) | ||
| 22 | ISTANBUL |
American in frightful Butlin’s City (8)
|
| Anagram (frightful) of BUTLINS around A | ||
| 24 | TUSCAN |
In France you study Italian dialect? (6)
|
| TU (‘you’ in French) + SCAN (study) | ||
| 26 | BALDERDASH |
British tree died — remains rot (10)
|
| B (British) + ALDER + D (died) + ASH (remains) | ||
| 27 | GOSH |
Run pipe down well (4)
|
| GO (run) + SH (pipe down) | ||
| 28 | GOALIE |
One agile moving to catch ball? (6)
|
| Anagram (moving) of AGILE around (to catch) O (ball), &lit | ||
| 29 | HATHAWAY |
Mrs Swan perhaps doth show style (8)
|
| ‘Has a way’ (does/doth show style) in cod-Shakespearean English, for Anne Hathaway, wife of the ‘Swan of Avon’ as Ben Jonson dubbed Shakespeare | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | AUSTERE |
Bleak wind from south east (7)
|
| AUSTER (poetic name for a southerly wind) + E | ||
| 3 | OMANI |
Arab very shortly heading north (5)
|
| Reversal (heading north, in a down clue) of IN A MO | ||
| 4 | STAMINA |
Sons much appreciated Mrs Harker’s bottom (7)
|
| S (son or sons) + TA (much appreciated) + MINA (Mrs Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula), definition referring to staying power, esp of horses | ||
| 5 | LILAC |
Ring up to import island flower (5)
|
| Reversal (up) of CALL around (to import) I | ||
| 6 | SCHEMED |
Planned to have school on the Levant? (7)
|
| SCH (school) + E MED (eastern Mediterranean, which borders the lands known as the Levant) | ||
| 7 | SERENGETI |
Tiger seen roaming where lion holds sway (9)
|
| Anagram (roaming) of TIGER SEEN | ||
| 8 | MUG SHOT |
Assaults furious — still on police record? (3,4)
|
| MUGS (assaults) + HOT (furious), the definition using ‘still’ in the sense of a photograph | ||
| 14 | ZINFANDEL |
Wine unknown in cooler shown upside-down (9)
|
| Z (unknown) + IN + FAN (cooler) + reversal (upside-down) of LED (shown, as in shown/led to your seat) | ||
| 15 | ARC |
Bow of flood rescue vessel in sound (3)
|
| Homophone (in sound) of ‘Ark’ (flood rescue vessel) | ||
| 18 | GESTAPO |
Ruthless force goes out to limit minor strike (7)
|
| Anagram (out) of GOES around (to limit) TAP (minor strike) | ||
| 19 | OSBORNE |
Large book one Rex opens for dramatist (7)
|
| OS (outsized, large) + B (book) + ONE (from surface) around R (Rex opens). John Osborne, author of Look Back in Anger, among other things | ||
| 20 | RATCHET |
Chatter insanely but make steady progress (7)
|
| Anagram (insanely) of CHATTER | ||
| 21 | DEAD SEA |
Six feet under, tailless marine mammal in lowest lake (4,3)
|
| DEAD (six feet under) + SEA[L] (tailless marine mammal) | ||
| 23 | LOACH |
Fish advanced into Scottish waters (5)
|
| Insertion (into) of A (advanced) inside LOCH | ||
| 25 | SIGMA |
Author returns to pen good letter in Greek (5)
|
| Reversal (returns) of AMIS (Kingsley or Martin, English novelists) around (to pen) G |
GOALIE: Took it as a CAD falling short of an &lit by ‘one’. Liked the clue.
HATHAWAY and ALL THE RAGE were my other faves.
Thanks Tees and moh.
Agree with KVa on GOALIE. It’s sometimes referred to as a semi &lit.
Glad ZINFANDEL had easy wordplay since I don’t know my wines. AGON is a word I feel I should know but had to work it out and check.