GOZO kicks off the week…
A fun puzzle, and a pangram to boot. My parsing of 1a could probably be improved…
Thanks GOZO!
ACROSS
1. Free of charge? (6)
ACQUIT
Sort of cryptic definition… (AC being charge and QUIT being free)
4. Garrison with pub counter and shelves (8)
BARRACKS
BAR (pub counter) and RACKS (shelves)
9. Composer’s car starts — jump aboard! (6)
CHOPIN
C[ar] (starts) + HOP IN (jump aboard)
10. Dissipated English rogue in depression (8)
DECADENT
(E (English) + CAD (rogue)) in DENT (depression)
12. Shrank back in pain and ran off round small island (8)
FLINCHED
FLED (ran off) round INCH (small island)
13. Collect from heartless horticulturalist (6)
GARNER
GAR[de]NER (horticulturalist, heartless)
15. Bird later seen in winter nest (4)
ERNE
[wint]ER NE[st] (later seen in, i.e. not TERN)
16. Steps on it for Indian meals (hot, not cold) (7)
HURRIES
CURRIES (Indian meals, H (hot) not C (cold))
20. A region reviewed in bygone era (4,3)
IRON AGE
21. Influential US guitarist from Fiji, missing (4)
JIMI
[fi]JI MI[ssing] (from, Hendrix)
25. The heart, we’re told, of the soldiers? (6)
KERNEL
"colonel" = KERNEL (the heart of the soldiers, "we're told") and the heart… a sort of double cryptic definition
26. Slash cost of fabric from Honiton (8)
LACERATE
LACE RATE (cost of fabric from Honiton)
28. Month passes very fast for insects (8)
MAYFLIES
MAY (month) + FLIES (passes very fast)
29. Deny old London prison has no women (6)
NEGATE
NE[w]GATE (old London prison, has no W (women))
30. Scraps with eccentric fellows on the way back (8)
ODDMENTS
ODD (eccentric) + MEN (fellows) on (ST)< (the way, <back)
31. Eleventh day musicians and smokers, apparently (6)
PIPERS
Double (cryptic) definition
Eleven pipers piping
DOWN
1. Frenetic chase for opponents? (8)
ARCHFOES
2. Not quite working out the answer (8)
QUOTIENT
(NOT QUITE)* (*working out)
3. I make out in freezing surroundings — that’s utter madness (6)
IDIOCY
(I, DO (make) out) in ICY (freezing) surroundings
5. Boy or girl will drink and kiss… (4)
ALEX
6. …such drinks are a sell-out (4,4)
REAL ALES
7. Freelances — as a char? (6)
CLEANS
8. Posed with your small woodland creatures (6)
SATYRS
SAT (posed) with YR (your) + S (small)
11. ‘We serve drinks in shifts,’ each admitted (3-4)
TEA-URNS
TURNS (shifts), EA (each) admitted
14. Adviser returning to wharf without question of land (7)
URUGUAY
(GURU)< (advisor, <returning) to [q]UAY (wharf, without Q (question))
17. Regularly torture Oxbridge sportsman — a real Tory (4-4)
TRUE-BLUE
T[o]R[t]U[r]E (regularly) + BLUE (Oxbridge sportsman)
18. Give a car a new look at father’s residence (8)
VICARAGE
(GIVE A CAR)* (*a new look)
19. Wife’s unflagging, with time off on the radio (8)
WIRELESS
W (wife) + [t]IRELESS (unflagging, with T (time) off)
22. A lad shortly adopts novel defiant posture, so armed (6)
AKIMBO
(A + BO[y] (lad, shortly)) adopts KIM (novel)
23. Ten about ready to have checked luggage (1-5)
X-RAYED
X (ten) + (READY)* (*about)
24. You old chaps with one Arab citizen (6)
YEMENI
YE (you, old) + MEN (chaps) with I (one)
27. Relish appearance in quizzes tonight (4)
ZEST
[quiz]ZES T[onight] (appearance in)
A few questions. Why is a real Tory = TRUE BLUE? Probably a UK-only clue. Why is Colonel “of the soldiers”? I get it that a colonel is a soldier, but “of the soldiers”? So LACE comes from honiton, does it? Really dislike Freelances without any separation indicator. And why did Inch Island, a sea lough in Donegal, not come to mind with “small Island”? So obvious! What is the purpose of “will” in ALEX?
Great blog, Teacow, for a puzzle that was not straightforward
Liked DECADENT, CHOPIN, TEA URNS and despite myself I liked ALEX
Thanks Gozo and Teacow
Went in quite quickly with no cheats, despite initially entering tern not erne.
Spotted the pangram which helped with the NW corner.
Liked Chopin, didn’t love kernel (only half works) or quotient (ditto).
It’s beyond a pangram, because each letter of the alphabet begins at least one answer, and nearly in clue/grid order. The E and the F words are the only reversals. Kudos to Gozo on a remarkable construction whilst keeping the clues and answers straightforward.
UB @3 that’s awesome!
Yes, ub@3. I agree, it is remarkable. It is not perfect, but it is mostly in alphabetical order too.
I just wish I noticed these things while solving!
QUOTIENT is an answer mathematically, so I’m not sure it only half works.
That’s an awesome achievement.
Thank you to Gozo and Teacow
Martyn @1 INCH means island. Scottish and Irish.
Agree with Shanne@6 about QUOTIENT.
Thanks ub@3 for highlighting the beautiful pangram+ feature.
Thanks Gozo and Teacow
Btw I just took 1a as a cryptic definition in its entirety.