A head-scratcher from Io this morning.
This was a tough puzzle to solve and an even harder one to blog. I didn’t want to hold up the blog and I have other things to do this morning, so two clues (those for THE ANCIENT WORLD and MIXED BAG) remain unparsed as I type this. I’ll keep my thinking cap on, but if any early commenters know how to parse them, feel free to put me right. [Edit – thanks to KVa (comment #1) for putting me right on THE ANCINET WORLD]
Thanks, Io.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1/9 | DEVIL’S COACH HORSE |
Six-footer cooks train outside rear of brasserie (6,5,5)
|
| DEVILS (“cooks”) + COACH (“train”) + HORS (“outside”) + [rear of] (brasseri)E | ||
| 10 | GANESH |
Drunk hangs around Elephant’s Head (he has one) (6)
|
| *(hangs) [anag:drunk] around E(lephant) [‘s head] | ||
| 11 | OPERA SERIA |
Jots on front of Otello programme? India rubber’s needed before a stage production (5,5)
|
| [jots on front of] O(tello) P(roogramme) + I (India, in the NATO alphabet) with ERASER needed before + A | ||
| 12 | HAIRDO |
Old HMRC busts were endowed with zero style (6)
|
| IR (Inland Revenue, “old HMRC”) busts HAD (“were endowed with”) + O (zero) | ||
| 13 | LADY CHAPEL |
Where fold receives aura of deity into a small place of worship? (4,6)
|
| LAPEL (“where fold”) receives [aura of] D(eit)Y into A + Ch. (abbreviation for church, so “small place of worship”) | ||
| 15 | GELATO |
Proceed to care for relation over 3 (6)
|
| GO (“proceed”) to care for <=TALE (“relation”, over) | ||
| 16 | FENCE |
Injury, but not from criminal (5)
|
| (of)FENCE (“injury”, but not OF (“from”)) | ||
| 19 | NIACIN |
Murderer looking back at white crystalline substance (6)
|
| <=CAIN (“murderer”, looking back) + IN (“at”) | ||
| 20 | SWEETHEART |
My beloved sons go to take the Knowledge (10)
|
| S (sons) + WEE (“go”) to take THE + ART (“knowledge”) | ||
| 23 | WIDGET |
Can device finish off extended answer? (6)
|
| [finish off] WID(e) (“extended”) + GET (“answer”)
A widget is a device in a can of beer that helps to produce froth when poured. |
||
| 24 | DIMINUENDO |
Dropping off obscure suggestion for those attending (10)
|
| DIM (“obscure”) + homophone/pun/aural wordplay [for those attending] of INNUENDO (“suggestion”) | ||
| 26 | RHOMBI |
Figures in endless runs when opening batting for both sides (6)
|
| HOM(e) (“in”, endless) with R (runs) when opening (i.e. going first) + BI(sexual) (“batting for both sides”) | ||
| 27/28 | PERIPHERAL DAMAGE |
Side-effects of injury made pied piper signal the arrival of a magician (10,6)
|
| *(piper) [anag:pied] + HERALD (“signal the arrival of”) + A MAGE (“a magician”) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | EMANATES |
Decided on a title for boosting issues (8)
|
| <=(SET (“decided”) on A + NAME (“title”, boosting) | ||
| 3 | ICE CREAM |
I see a lot of paperwork to secure the City cooler (3,5)
|
| I + C (see) + REAM (“a lot of paperwork”) to secure EC (postcode of the “City” of London) | ||
| 4 | SCHOOL OF THOUGHT |
Where Descartes did his course in self- actualisation? (6,2,7)
|
| Cryptic definition. The philosopher Rene Descartes is famous for the quote “Cogito ego sum” which translates as “I think therefore I am”. | ||
| 5 | BASE |
Foot transplant causing lamb to become lame? (4)
|
| The B in “lamb” becomes E in “lame”. so the E stands in for B, so B AS E
Think of an actor playing a part, so Anthony Hopkins becomes Hannibal Lecter, or in other words, Anthony Hopkins AS Hannibal Lecter |
||
| 6 | THE ANCIENT WORLD |
A forgotten Earth, was it once, land not as developed? (3,7,5)
*(erth w it once land) where ERTH is E(a)RTH with A forgotten and W is W(as) not AS.
|
| 7 | BODEGA |
Two details of origin when looking up Rioja here? (6)
|
| <=(AGE + D.o.B. (“date of birth”) (“two details of origin”), when looking up) | ||
| 8 | ASSIZE |
Salvation Army raised importance for old people sitting (6)
|
| <=SA (Salvation Army, rasied) + SIZE (“importance”) | ||
| 14 | DONNA |
Woman in Vatican retiring, and staying on (5)
|
| [retiring] <=AND staying ON
Donna is the Italian for “woman” |
||
| 17 | WARDROOM |
In elevation use painter to bring brass hats together (8)
|
| [in elevation] <=(MOOR (“use painter”) + DRAW (“to bring”)) | ||
| 18 | MIXED BAG |
Miscellany for us individually aces super crisp cask! (5,3)
|
| 21 | WAIVER |
Change involving a single act of forfeit (6)
|
| WAVER (“change”) involving I (one, “a single”) | ||
| 22 | ELICIT |
Extreme happiness outsiders are unable to attend occasion (6)
|
| [outsiders are unable to attend] (f)ELICIT(y) (“extreme happiness”) | ||
| 25 | NORM |
Which nasal pattern? (4)
|
| N OR M (“which nasal”) |
THE ANCIENT WORLD
A forgotten Earth=ERTH
Was it once land not as=W ITONCELAND
ERTHWITONCELAND developed
&lit
MIXED BAG (I am not convinced fully about my parsing)
Super crisp=MIXED (referring to ‘mixed and super crisp’, I think)
Cask=BAG
Def1: miscellany
Def2: us, individually aces
Do you have Aces and Super Crisp beers?
A cask with these beers will be a MIXED BAG?
Us, individually could be def 2 meaning that each of us is a MIXED BAG
“us” is italicised in 18d, which may be significant, but I can’t make anything of it.
An internet search produces two or three beers with ‘ace’ in their names, and says that ‘super crisp’ is a description applied to certain beers. There’s also cask beer (which, unlike the others, I have heard of). So individual components of a mixed bag (of beers) might be ace, super crisp and cask. Best I can do – if it’s what IO intended I think it’s way too obscure.