I found this quite a struggle. The compiler is new to me, which usually makes things a little trickier because you're not used to the way they express things.
I thought there was a lot of good stuff but a couple of clues were a bit too wide-ranging. Anderson is such a common name that it was difficult to work out which particular Anderson was required in 24A and lord on its own felt insufficient in 20D when there are so many peers or synonyms for the word. Some of the surface readings looked a bit contrived but there were many good ones (1D, 2D and 5D for example). 8D was my favourite clue for the simplicity and elegance.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BEDECK |
Get up and play cards? (6)
|
|
DD with a slightly fanciful second def. I presume it's in some sort of sense of supplying yourself with a deck of cards. |
||
| 4 | FARMYARD |
Fancy circles marry off stock holder (8)
|
|
Fad(=fancy) around marry* |
||
| 10 | SAME AGAIN |
A game is fixed, with an order for more? (4,5)
|
|
(A game is + an)* |
||
| 11 | TIPSY |
Less than tight clues back in Indy (5)
|
|
Tips + [Ind]y. Tight is a slang term for drunk, so less than tight might mean mildly drunk or tipsy. |
||
| 12 | FONT |
Set of characters performing in Fawlty Towers primarily (4)
|
|
On(=performing) in F[awlty] T[owers] |
||
| 13 | ART NOUVEAU |
French school form ran out, beginning to exclaim “Five gold rings!” (3,7)
|
|
(Ran out)*(form is the anagram indicator) + (e[xclaim] in (V(=five) + au(=gold in periodic table)). Rings indicates inclusion. |
||
| 15 | LENGTHS |
Stealing odd bits of sleep, night ghost stretches (7)
|
|
Odd letters removed from "sleep night ghost". |
||
| 16 | SLEIGH |
Reportedly take out bob on runners racing (6)
|
|
Hom of slay + very cryptic def which is some sort of reference to a bob sleigh on runners (although a bob sleigh is so-called because it uses bob runners, so the def seems a bit tautological). |
||
| 18 | DEJA VU |
When cycling, green light turns … same old story! (4,2)
|
|
Jade(=green) with the de "cycled" to the front + UV(=light)< |
||
| 20 | SEAFOOD |
American idiot’s back making posh belly of veal for main course (7)
|
|
Doofus<(=American idiot) with the U(=posh) replaced by [v]ea[l]. "Main course" could either be interpreted as a the principal course of the meal or as food coming from the "main"(=sea). |
||
| 23 | EASTER EGGS |
Remake of Grease gets bonus content (6,4)
|
|
(Grease gets)*. Easter eggs are bonus content on things like DVDs. |
||
| 25 | IN ON |
Party to love cracking pub (2,2)
|
|
O(=love) in inn(=pub) |
||
| 27 | TO WIT |
That is how one can move caravan (2,3)
|
|
Sort of DD with differently arranged letters. How to move caravan = tow it. |
||
| 28 | BURNISHED |
Did Polish brand start to invent junk? (9)
|
|
Burn(=brand) + i[nvent] + shed(=junk in the sense of "junking something") |
||
| 29 |
See 7 Down
|
|
| 30 | HEDGES |
‘Hard borders’ is deliberately vague (6)
|
|
H{ard} + edges |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BASHFUL |
Grumpy colleague finding it hard to make friends (7)
|
|
DD with first part referring to the Seven Dwarves. |
||
| 2 | DOMINANCE |
Men on acid lost control (9)
|
|
(Men on acid)* |
||
| 3/26 | COAL MINE |
Economical extracting business, perhaps? (4,4)
|
|
&lit. (E[co]nomical)* |
||
| 5 | AWNINGS |
They hang out in the sun: oily, topless, and beginning to sweat (7)
|
|
[F]awning(=oily topless) +s[weat] |
||
| 6 | METHUSELAH |
Quince’s second part’s in Hamlet – he’s playing patriarch (10)
|
|
[Q]u[ince](second part=second letter) in (Hamlet he's)* |
||
| 7/29 | APPLE TURNOVER |
Sweet place to see Ashes balls after short programme (5,8)
|
|
Seems to be app(=short programme) + let(=place to see) + urn(=ashes) + over(=balls) |
||
| 8 | DRY RUN |
Test two things paint can do (3,3)
|
|
Dry + run(=two things that paint can do) |
||
| 9 | PADRES |
Ministers about to enter residences (6)
|
|
Re(=about) in pads(=residences) |
||
| 14 | IT TAKES TWO |
Duet Italian gets the hang of in audition (2,5,3)
|
|
I{talian} + hom of "takes to" |
||
| 17 | GROUNDHOG |
Boring American government with plump monopolist (9)
|
|
G{overnment} + round(=plump) + hog(=monopolist) |
||
| 19 | USEABLE |
A blue novel about endless sex apt to be drawn on? (7)
|
|
(A blue)* around se[x] |
||
| 20 | SUGARY |
Sickly Lord Byron’s only character that descends (6)
|
|
Sugar(=Lord, referring to The Apprentice figurehead) + [B]y[ron] (the Y is the only character which goes beneath the line) |
||
| 21 | DENUDES |
Uncovers men boxing men, striking head (7)
|
|
Dudes(=men) around [m]en |
||
| 22 | SESTET |
Half a dozen lines established opening scene (6)
|
|
Est{ablished} in(=opening) set(=scene). A sestet is a six line poem or the last six lines of a sonnet. |
||
| 24 | SEWER |
Seam expert tipping about Anderson for one (5)
|
|
((Re(=about) + Wes(=Anderson for one, referring to the film director Wes Anderson))<. |
||
| 26 |
See 3
|
|
Really enjoyed this.
In 7/29 an APPLET is a short program(me).
In 1a, I had BE DECK as ‘play cards’ humorously.
In 14d, Italian is IT.
I suppose ‘play cards’ could mean to act the part of a pack of cards, i.e. to BE a DECK. Is that what you intended, Hovis?
17D must be a reference to Groundhog Day, which is today.
17D must be a reference to Groundhog Day, which is today.
17D must be… OK, I’ll stop.
Quizzy Bob. Yes, that’s what I meant. I also saw Gobbler’s Knob (hey, I didn’t name it!) in the news this morning.
I kept going back to the start and going over this crossword, till, finally, after a lot of repetition, I got it right.
Quizzy Bob @2: good spot. Punxsutawney Phil (the most famous of the U.S. groundhogs) predicted six more weeks of winter this year; here in Chicago, a mere six more weeks of winter would represent an early onset of spring, though. While our climate does seem to be warming, March is still firmly a winter month here, and snow in April is not rare.
Thanks NeilH. The parsing for 3/26 had completely baffled me. Further to Quizzy Bob @2: SAME AGAIN, DEJA VU. Bravo Quince. I wonder if you had Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston in mind @14D?
I enjoyed this despite an errant SLEDGE instead of Sleigh. Wish we would see Quince’s name more often
Liked AWNINGS, COAL MINE and I hate to disagree with the blogger but SUGARY.
Thanks NeilH and Quince.