Penelope fills the Tuesday Indy slot this week.
Penelope is a new setter in the Indy, and this is an impressive debut on ‘theme day’. Not too difficult, with some lovely surfaces, innovative anagrinds, and a theme that is referred to directly in 7ac. We are not fans of 7ac music, being much more into 24ac. 2d/7d (aka 15ac) was well known for both music genres and we enjoyed the biopic ‘Walk the Line’ which featured his famous performance at Folsom State 18d. He gave free concerts in several 18ds around the world. He died in 23ac. He did suffer from drug addiction, so we wondered whether we should highlight 17d as well, but decided against it.
Welcome to the Indy, Penelope – here’s to the next one!
DOWN (swallow) with LIE (concoction) in front (‘beforehand’)
An anagram (‘excited’) of OUTCRY round N (new)
First letters of She Would Only Remarry Nervously
IN (fashionable) SPIRES (points) round (‘retaining’) R (rule)
EARL (Lord) ON (working) round (‘across’) Y (year)
A reversal (‘spinning’) of I’M (Penelope is) + RAGE (mania)
An anagram (‘enigmatic’) of LAMBETH NICK AN
TOAST (warm) S (southern)
A homophone (‘sounds like’) of COR (‘blimey’) SIR (‘guvnor’)
An anagram (‘drunken’) of L (learner – ‘student’) and ELVIS NAH
Double definition
DON (mafia boss) ATE (‘put away’) D (diamonds)
An anagram (‘criminal’) of ALIEN TO
Hidden (‘discovered’) in ventuRE NOrth
JOHN (toilet – ‘can’) NY (New York)
ANT (worker) after (‘supporting’) an anagram (‘out’) of DINING
JUne, DIce, CIgs, ALes each missing the last two letters (‘not half’)
UTTER (complete) dANCES (‘cancans, say’) missing the first letter or ‘topless’
A homophone (‘for radio’) of LESSON (sermon)
CA (California – ‘American state’) + SH (hush)
An anagram (‘medley’) of SEEN MY
REHEAR (‘again listen to’) SING (squeal)
ED (editor) after (‘bolstering’) KNACK (talent) ER (hesitation)
An anagram (‘accidentally’) of VOMIT EAT
An anagram (‘wobbly’) of NOTES + D (first letter or ‘beginning’ of duet)
An anagram (‘fighting’) of RIP + SON (junior)
BEAT (pound) after (‘following’) U P (first letters – ‘to begin with’ – of Uruguayan peso)
C (circa) L (50) AD
UN (French for ‘one’) IT (sex appeal)
Thanks Penelope (congratulations on the debut) and BnJ
I think you can add 1D to the thematics: Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues includes the lines “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”.
I also included 17D, as mentioned in the preamble.