Crossword 2740: Not so objective by Doc

The preamble states that we need a copy of Chambers 13th edition to hand – something I currently lack – maybe a Christmas present opportunity, if any family members are reading…

The preamble states that:

“The unclued lights (two of two words and two hyphened) are of a kind and all are listed somewhere in Chambers 13th edition.”

That ‘somewhere‘ suggested that maybe the words would be in one of the Appendices, so I got my ragged old pre-13th edition paper copy out, as well as an e-version I have which includes appendices. However, as usual with a Spectator with unclued entries, the only approach really is to get on with solving and see what ‘word shapes’ arise from any crossers.

I made reasonable progress, and the first likely one to appear was ‘OPINION’ at  32A. Not obviously an Appendix word, and nothing particularly notable about its definition, on first checking. The second likely entry was DEVIL-DODGER at 18D, again not obviously in the Appendices, but its definition had something that caught the eye:

“a preacher, esp of the ranting kind; someone who attends churches of various kinds, to be on the safe side.”

That sardonic/humorous twist at the end got me thinking that maybe the ‘objective’ness of the title was referring to those occasional Chambers definitions that are not so, well, objective. The two I knew of were ECLAIR (a cake, long in shape but short in duration) and MULLET (a hairstyle that is short at the front, long at the back, and ridiculous all round)!

And sure enough MULLET made an appearance at 2D, although ECLAIR led me on a bit of a wild goose chase around the grid…

And they all gradually fell into place, despite the non-availability of that 13th edition (maybe a lucky Listener win will send one my way sooner than Xmas?). A little wiki-oogling unearthed this little gem which, along with some searching through my various editions, helped to confirm them all except, maybe, OPINION:

• CHANNEL-SURF (to switch rapidly between different television channels in a forlorn attempt to find anything of interest)
• BAFFLEGAB (the professional logorrhoea of many politicians, officials and salespeople, characterized by prolix abstract circumlocution…)
• BOY BAND (a pop group, targeting mainly the teenage market, composed of young males chosen because they look good and can dance and sometimes even sing)
• VAMP (a featherless bird of prey)
• PINK (a person who is something of a socialist but hardly a red)
• REGIFT (to give an unwanted present as a gift to another person, in a process which is likely to continue indefinitely)
• HAVANA CIGAR (a fine quality of cigar, named from Havana, the capital of Cuba, fondly supposed to be made there)
• OPINON (what seems to one to be probably true) – sounds pretty straightforward definition, in my humble ‘opinion’! Maybe the ‘probably’ tips the balance?

My last port of call was to check the definition of OBJECTIVE: ‘…regarding or setting forth what is external, actual, practical, uncoloured by one’s own sensations or emotions, opp to subjective…’

And there we have it. I suspect some of those slipped in to the dictionary on a Friday afternoon, after a lunch-time pint or two?… Or maybe the constant stream of strait-laced checking, double-checking and cross-referencing eventually builds up a head of steam that can only be released by hiding these wonderful ‘Easter eggs’ amongst all that objectiveness…

 

My thanks to Doc for an entertaining and educational rummage through Chambers, and I trust all is clear (and objective) below…

 

Across
Clue No	Solution	Clue (definition underlined) Logic/Parsing
11	HUMERAL	A learner with rheum oozing from the shoulder (7) anag, i.e. oozing, of A + L (learner) + RHEUM
13	ALERT MIND	Clear thinking here rebuilding terminal by Dover with deliveries cancelled (5,4) subtractive anag, i.e. rebuilding, of TERMINAL + D(over) (cancelling over, or 6 deliveries in cricket)
14	SABRE	Switch sides of black sword (5) SAB(L)E, black, changing L (left) to R (right), so switching sides = SABRE, sword
16	RAFTS	Many craft, seaborne, included (5) &lit-ish(?) – hidden word included in ‘cRAFT Seaborne’, with most of the clue as definition as well
19	NERISSA	Shakespearean character returned as seductive woman (7) AS + SIREN (seductive woman), all returned, or reversed, = NERISSA [character from The Merchant of Venice]
21	RACE	W.G. loses his first competition (4) WG (G)RACE losing his first letter
24	SLAV	Czech, maybe, on square loo (4) S (square) + LAV (lavatory, loo)
25	LEALAND	Partridge guided round pasture (7) LE_D (guided) around ALAN (Alan Partridge, TV character played by Steve Coogan)
30	SAVE-ALL	Miser’s pinafore (4-3) double defn – a miser can be a SAVE-ALL, in pecuniary terms; and an apron or pinafore,protecting the clothes underneath, can also be a SAVE-ALL
31	UEFA	Some untrue facts exposing football association (4) hidden word in, i.e. some of ‘untrUE FActs’
34	ROLE	Last part of pâtisserie item? Yes! Part! (4) the last bit of (PROFITE)ROLE, patisserie item, is ROLE, an acting part
35	ORINOCO	Gold coin tossed over Womble (7) OR (heraldry, golden yellow) + INOC (anag, i.e. tossed, of COIN) + O (over, cricket notation)
37	STEIN	Padstow chef Rick’s beer mug (5) double defn. – Rick STEIN is a famous chef now based in Padstow, Cornwall; and a STEIN can be a beer mug
40	AGGER	Dirk, among others, dropped by deserted Roman rampart (5) (D)AGGER, for example a dirk, dropping D (deserted) [‘agger’ being a Roman defensive mound, or rampart]
41	MEDIATING	Acting as go-between, thinking, but losing time (9) MEDI(T)ATING, thinking, losing T – time
42	NIAMEY	Returned German flower you once sent back to capital (6) NIAM (German river, or flower, the MAIN, returned) + EY (ye, archaic, or once, for you, sent back) [the capital of Niger]
43	ENTENTE	Understanding it’s 10.10 out East (7) ENT + ENT (anags, i.e. out, of TEN and TEN!) + E (east)
44	TABLE NAPKIN	Board having a short sleep with family part of a setting (5,6) TABLE (board) + NAP (short sleep) + KIN (family)
Down
Clue No	Solution	Clue (definition underlined) Logic/Parsing
3	EMEER	Kuwaiti prince backing some agreement (5) reversed hidden word in, i.e. backing and some of, ‘agREEMEnt’
5	ARTY	Do without piano, being creative (4) (P)ARTY (do) without P (piano, muscal direction)
7	NUNATAK	Peak charge with nothing over, we’re told (7) double homophones, i.e. we’re told – NUN can sound like NONE, or nothing; ATAK can sound like ATTACK, or charge [‘nunatak’ being Swedish for a point of rock appearing above the surface of land-ice]
8	CESTODA	Tapeworms ruined Doc’s tea (7) anag, i.e. ruined, of DOCS TEA
9	GIBRALTAR	Girl at bar ordered rock (9) anag, i.e. ordered, of GIRL AT BAR
10	AFRICAN	In short, 24 hours in a prison – in Joburg, say? (7) A + CAN (prison), around FRI (Friday, 24 hours, in short)
15	BIBLE	Numbers found herein (5) CD – the book ‘Numbers’ can be found in the Bible
17	FUNFAIR	Ruffian ransacked seaside entertainment (7) anag, i.e. ransacked, of RUFFIAN
20	SYNAPTE	Litany of pay sent out (7) anag, i.e. out, of PAY SENT [‘synapte’ being a litany in the Greek church]
26	PENNY	Little girl having cash for thoughts? (5) double defn. – PENNY can be a diminutive, or little, girls name, from Penelope; and a PENNY for your thoughts is a phrase
27	GEORGIA	State of wild exaggeration after Texan left (7) subtractive anag, i.e. wild, of (EXA)GGERA(T)IO(N) minus the letters of TEXAN [US state, or the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, a nation state]
28	PORTREE	Left extremely rude sweetheart at island capital (7) PORT (left, nautical) + RE (extreme letters of RudE) + E (the heart, or middle, of swEet)
29	RIVIERA	Feeling seedy, I arrive at the Mediterranean coast (7) anag, i.e feeling seedy, of I ARRIVE
33	SCANTY	Revealing study – Tory gutted (6) SCAN (study) + TY (TorY gutted, or middle letters removed)
36	OKING	Approving and having a laugh, when judge has departed (5) (J)OKING, having a laugh, without J – judge departing)
39	TATI	French film director removes relative from Euston, say (4) (S)TATI(ON), for example Euston Station, with S_ON (relative) removed [Jacques Tati]