Rather a stiff challenge today from Slormgorm, but in the customary witty style
I got off to a flying start, but I felt as though I was really reaching for the last six or seven solutions. I have actually read a surprisingly entertaining book about the Beaufort scale: Defining the Wind by Scott Huler.
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | RUDE |
After drinking last of red, regret being offensive (4)
|
| RUE (regret) around (after drinking) last [letter] of [RE]D | ||
| 8 | RACONTEUSE |
Woman deftly spinning yarn murdered coarse tune (10)
|
| Anagram of (murdered) COARSE TUNE | ||
| 10 | CORPSE |
My back of thighs during exercises will get stiff (6)
|
| COR (my) + {last letter of (back of) [THIGH]S inside (during) PE (exercise)} | ||
| 11 | RAINLESS |
Stupid bishop leaves without having had a shower (8)
|
| [B]RAINLESS (stupid) minus (leaves) B (bishop) | ||
| 12 | SHANGHAI |
Round on board of a single, double and triple port (8)
|
| Double definition, the first referring to a feat in darts of hitting the single, double, and treble of the same number in one turn | ||
| 13 | LARDER |
Way to break into flipping concrete food store (6)
|
| RD (way) inside (to break into) REAL (concrete) reversed (flipping) | ||
| 15 | BEAUFORT SCALE |
One measuring speed of wind cruel oafs beat up (8,5)
|
| Anagram of (up) CRUEL OAFS BEAT | ||
| 18 | ICE TEA |
Drink and meth leads to total eventual addiction (3,3)
|
| ICE (meth) + first letters of (leads to) T[OTAL] E[VENTUAL] A[DDICTION] | ||
| 20 | INTIMATE |
Making love with prisoner? Ultimately inapt I admitted! (8)
|
| {Last letter of (ultimately) [INAP]T + I} inside (admitted) INMATE (prisoner) | ||
| 22 | SEARCH ME |
I haven’t a clue if marchese appears in disguise (6,2)
|
| Anagram of (if . . . appears in disguise) MARCHESE | ||
| 24 | MANURE |
Horse fed bit of nourishment by you to get this? (6)
|
| semi-&lit and MARE (horse) around (fed) {first letter of (bit of) N[OURISHMENT] + U (you)} | ||
| 25 | CONFERENCE |
Tory about to punch hot goods vendor in summit? (10)
|
| CON (Tory) + {RE (about) inside (to punch) FENCE (hot [i.e., stolen] goods vendor)} | ||
| 26 | ACTS |
Treaties lacking the power to get things done (4)
|
| [P]ACTS (treaties) minus (lacking) P (power) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | EUROPHOBIC |
Wildly euphoric about old Britain as some Brexiteers? (10)
|
| Anagram of (wildly) EUPHORIC around (about) {O (old) + B (Britain)} | ||
| 2 | RED PANDA |
Beastly type of revolutionary? Rubbish parent mostly! (3,5)
|
| RED (revolutionary) + PAN (rubbish) + DA[D] (parent) minus last letter (mostly) | ||
| 3 | BREECH |
Brother on drugs atop church displays buttocks (6)
|
| BR. (brother) + {E + E} (drugs) + CH. (church) | ||
| 4 | ANTILLES |
Topless undies worn by liberals in holiday spots (8)
|
| [P]ANTIES (undies) minus first letter (topless) around (worn by) {L + L} (liberals) | ||
| 5 | SELLER |
One marketing room in house on the radio (6)
|
| Homophone of (on the radio) CELLAR (room in house) | ||
| 6 | USES |
Does gear American carries save ensign at front? (4)
|
| US (American) around (carries) {first letters of (at front) S[AVE] + E[NSIGN]}. “Gear” is slang for “illicit drugs.” | ||
| 9 | CARRIER PIGEON |
Roaring epic novel written about queen in Homer? (7,6)
|
| Anagram of (novel) {ROARING EPIC} around (written about) ER (queen), with a capitalization misdirection | ||
| 14 | ELECTORATE |
Those who might cross runners in race tee lot off (10)
|
| Anagram of (off) RACE TEE LOT, “cross” in the sense of “marking a ballot,” and “runners” in the sense of “candidates” | ||
| 16 | FEATHERS |
Getting to grips with dance at last, old men will get down (8)
|
| FATHERS (old men) around (getting to grips with) last letter of (at last) [DANC]E | ||
| 17 | ARMENIAN |
European artist upset by abruptly servile knight (8)
|
| RA (artist) inverted (upset) + MENIA[L] (servile) minus last letter (abruptly) + N (knight) | ||
| 19 | TARIFF |
Menu little Barney goes over assessing rustic starters (6)
|
| TIFF (little barney) around (goes over) first letters of (starters [of]) {A[SSESSING] + R[USTIC]}, with a capitalization misdirection | ||
| 21 | TIMBER |
A warning possibly issued by Aspen in Fall? (6)
|
| Cryptic definition, with capitalization misdirections | ||
| 23 | EROS |
God is annoyed, having to show up (4)
|
| SORE (annoyed) inverted (having to show up) |
A good tussle I felt. LOI 17d as it took me all the crossers and then some time to see the definition, European. Not the first place in Europe one thinks of I dare say.
One of these days I’m going to remember that “bit of” can indicate the first letter of a word . . . that held me up with 24a, which in turn was holding up my 21d. Otherwise I found this reasonably straightforward. I couldn’t parse SHANGHAI, but I’m not a darts person.
A couple of superb clues stood out in this very enjoyable puzzle, notably carrier pigeon. Thanks both.
Btw isn’t 12a a triple definition with round on board meaning kidnap to become sea crew?
James P@4: Nice thought, but I think, technically, no. The clue, while suggestive of that maritime meaning of SHANGHAI, does not really lend itself to that parsing, IMHO, “board” pretty clearly meaning “dartboard,” unless we are allowing double entendres. Or else there is some third reading of this that I am missing.
Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria
12ac: Interesting thought from James@4, but I think “Round on board” needs to be part of the darts definition to justify the word “of” in the clue. (Added in edit: I am agreeing with Cineraria@5 here.)
17dn: My thoughts on solving were the same as Steven@1. However, the usual dictionaries are agreed that Armenia is in Asia, and I could not find anything that would justify Armenian to mean European in any ethnic sense. The nearest I could see was the language Armenian being described as Indo-European, but I do not think that is near enough. Can anyone find a convincing way to rescue this clue, or has Slormgorm slipped up?
My experience was similar to Cineraria. I also loved CARRIER PIGEON, and add MANURE. I also scratched my head at ARMENIAN.
Thanks S and C
Although Armenia is geographically in Western Asia, politically and culturally it is European due to its Christian heritage, historical ties, and strong alignment with European institutions. I think Slormgorm slides by on this one.
Finished in reasonable time (for me).
Some really clever clues in there with a few “D’oh” moments.
I too raised an eyebrow at ARMENIANS being European, but as Jay @8 says, they’re to a large extent culturally European, albeit not geographically so.
SHANGHAI was my last in, as the darts meaning was a mystery to me. Everything I know about darts terminology I learned from British crosswords. As a spectator sport it doesn’t rate here at all, and I’m so inept as a player that I’m lucky if my darts find the general vicinity of the dartboard, so I never learned anything that way either.
Well I didn’t do very well today but I learned what a shanghai is, and (innocent that I am) picked up a few new drug references. Crossword clues do seem to be unhealthily reliant on drugs. Two separate forms of addiction I suppose.
Babbler @11: this setter in particular is noted for his resort to (as they used to put it) sex, drugs, and rock n roll. It’s just sort of his shtick. He tones it down a bit for the FT; in the Independent (where he sets as Hoskins) it’s even a tad spicier.