Brummie raises a chuckle this morning.
A theme even I couldn’t miss for once. Most of the solutions include allusions to light entertainment (mainly comedy) as highlighted in the grid. It was quite an achievement by Brummie to get so many references into the completed puzzle. I was going to comment on the number of double definitions in the grid, but humour depends on puns and double entendre (even if these were not racy in the puzzle), so I think it’s OK in this instance. Some of the highlighted answers in the grid above may be stretching it a bit (MY EYE and GROSSEST, for example), but I gave the setter the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks, Brummie.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | LAUGH |
Something funny from US city that’s disgusting (5)
|
| LA (Los Angeles, so “US city”) + UGH (“that’s disgusting”) | ||
| 10 | AMPLIFIER |
Music enhancer, provided one’s in more spacious surroundings (9)
|
| IF (“provided”) + I (one) in AMPLER (“more spacious”) | ||
| 11 | BRIEFCASE |
Holder, accountant, wears pants with elasticated top (9)
|
| CA (Charetered “Accountant”) wears BRIEFS (“pants”) with E(lasticated) [top] | ||
| 12 | SET UP |
Was an establishment type wrongly implicated? (3,2)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | CENSURE |
Start to neuter rescue strays and put down (7)
|
| *(n rescue) [anag:strays] where N is [start to] N(euter) | ||
| 15 | STAND UP |
Do a ‘homo erectus’ and wash? (5,2)
|
| Double definition: for the second, think of an explanation or an excuse – would that stand up in court? = would that wash with the judges? | ||
| 17 | MY EYE |
Not some other viewer’s rubbish (2,3)
|
| MY (“not some other’s”) + EYE (“viewer”) | ||
| 18 | GAG |
Sally’s restraint (3)
|
| Double definition, the first being another word for a witty remark. | ||
| 20 | INTRO |
Played by band just starting to almost ring out (5)
|
| *(to rin) [anag:out] where RIN is [almost] RIN(g) | ||
| 22 | CABARET |
Nude in rude act? (7)
|
| BARE in *(act) [anag:rude] and &lit. | ||
| 25 | OWN GOAL |
In town? Go alone – the other side will appreciate it (3,4)
|
| Hidden [in] “tOWN GO ALone” | ||
| 26 | PUNCH |
Hit the drink (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 27 | MUSIC HALL |
Entertainment from such activity around one in shopping centre (5,4)
|
| *(such) [anag:activity] around I (one) in MALL (“shopping centre”) | ||
| 30 | APENNINES |
Mountains figure in Aspen resort (9)
|
| NINE (“figure”) in *(aspen) [anag:resort] | ||
| 31 | CLOWN |
Sovereign changes sides – fool! (5)
|
| C(r)OWN (“sovereign”) [changes sides, i.e. changes from R to L (right to left)] thus becomes C(L)OWN | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CLUB |
Iron a suit – not hem (4)
|
| CLUB(s) (“a suit”, not hem, i.e. the bottom)
An iron is a golf club. |
||
| 2 | AUDIENCE |
Poet outside independent church house (8)
|
| (WH) AUDEN (“poet”) outside I (independent) + CE (“Church” of England) | ||
| 3 | CHEF |
Cook big cheese after centre removed (4)
|
| CH(i)EF (“big cheese”) with centre (letter) removed | ||
| 4 | LAY AN EGG |
Utterly fail to produce a breakfast item? (3,2,3)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | SPIELS |
Piles rocks on top of soil to form pitches (6)
|
| *(piles) [anag:rocks] on [top of] S(oil) | ||
| 6 | DISSUASION |
Onus is said to melt caution (10)
|
| *(onus is said) [anag:to melt] | ||
| 7 | JILTED |
Jack’s partner getting end away with Bill’s partner, so dropped (6)
|
| JIL(l) (“Jack’s partner” in the nursery rhyme, getting end (last letter) away) with TED (“Bill’s partner” in the Bill and Ted movies) | ||
| 8 | PROP |
Support for piano (4)
|
| PRO (“for”) + P (piano, in musical notation) | ||
| 13 | COMIC |
Taking the —s out of universal wit (5)
|
| [taking the s out of] CO(s)MIC (“universal”) | ||
| 14 | UNEARTHING |
‘Turning up a hunter’s pants’ in German (10)
|
| *(a hunter) [anag:pants] + IN + G (German) | ||
| 16 | PROWL |
Discontented, poor, solemn type – creep! (5)
|
| [discontented] P(oo)R + OWL (“solemn type”) | ||
| 19 | GROSSEST |
Go mad with stress – most off-putting (8)
|
| *(go stress) [anag:mad] | ||
| 21 | TOOK A BOW |
Stole from a milliner and acknowledged public approval? (4,1,3)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 23 | BANTER |
Ten cooks in pub making jokey remarks (6)
|
| *(ten) [anag:cooks] in BAR (“pub”) | ||
| 24 | TIMING |
Making of a good joke? Turning it up on Dynasty (6)
|
| [turning] <=IT [up] on MING (Dynasty) | ||
| 26 | PEAK |
Top dictator’s little dog (4)
|
| Homophone/pun/aural wordplay [dictator’s] of PEKE (“little dog”) | ||
| 28 | COCK |
Bird’s tail pulled out of drink (4)
|
| TAIL pulled out of COCK(tail) (“drink”) | ||
| 29 | LINE |
Dash to cover the inside (4)
|
| Double definition |
Anyone else start by thinking Bill’s partner was Ben?
Thanks loonapick and Brummie
Well I missed the theme. I always do. Sally/gag was new to me and I didn’t know that LAY AN EGG could mean “utterly fail”. Otherwise a nice workout at Goldilocks level.
Yes, I’m of an age where Bill’s partner would be Ben, accompanied by Little Weed, but I remembered the US film reference fairly quickly. AUDIENCE was my LOI and needed the theme to realise what sort of house was being referred to. Agree with loonapick that getting so many theme-related answers was something of an accomplishment. Liked BRIEFCASE and MUSIC HALL. Thanks to Brummie and loonapick.
Almost no laughing matter when the helpful theme nearly made me put in COCO(a) instead of COCK before the obvious dawned on me. As said couldn’t miss the theme which was helpful given the abundance of theme related words even without taking a liberal approach to inclusion.
I also started with Ben as Bill’s partner before concluding JILBEN was perhaps not a word.
Chuckles for LAY AN EGG, COMIC and CABARET.
Thanks Brummie and Loonapick
I made a slow start on this tough puzzle. Foi 8d. Failed to solve 29d.
I was unsure how to parse 13d and 15ac stand up = wash.
New for me: crown coin = sovereign.
Like crispy@1, I first thought of Bill and Ben 🙂
I, too, am ancient enough to have thought of Bill and Ben rather than Bill and Ted.
Sadly, I suspect that Flob-a-dob, Flob-a-dob would be regarded as Obscure General Knowledge these days.
A couple which I couldn’t completely parse, but Loonapick’s explanations are convincing. Pleasant challenge to start the day with. Thank you, both.
Held up by entering CH(edd)AR for “cook” at 3d and PEKE for 26d: quite hard without crossers to tell which way round that clue should work.
Why does SET UP = “was an establishment type”?
My ancient P much prefers a STAND UP wash in the mornings to risking a slip in the shower, which is how I took that clue.
At one point I thought I was going to be left with three unfinished, but the respective pennies dropped.
Thanks to Brummie and loonapick
A dnf as like gladys@7 I had char instead of CHEF (a whole cheddar is quite a big cheese), so didn’t get BRIEFCASE until I revealed it, and still didn’t get AUDIENCE as I didn’t think of Auden when mentally listing poets’ names with U as the second letter. Also took a while to get APENNINES which I had thought had two Ps.
Liked many including STAND UP, INTRO, CABARET.
michelle@5 – I don’t think the crown here is a coin – both crown and sovereign can be adjectives meaning ‘of the royal family’. A crown coin used to be 5 shillings, and a sovereign coin was £1 so worth 4 times as much in face value.
Thanks Brummie and loonapick.
BRIEFCASE, CABARET, LAY AN EGG and COCK: my picks.
Thanks Brummie and loonapick.
Missed the theme, nho Bill and Ted. Ho hum.
My thanks to Brummie and loonapick.
gladys@7
SET UP (my understanding)
=established—-> slightly cryptically ‘was an establishment type’.
Nothing to do with the clues s d solutions, but I noticed Qaos yesterday and Brummie today coincidentally used the same grid.
Thanks loonapick. Two ”pants” looked like too many, but they were used in different ways in BRIEFCASE and UNEARTHING.. Made me laugh. Good one Brummie.
And ”taking a bow” from a milliner was not the first thing that came to mind. I suppose I don’t see enough of royalty pics, Just checked. Neither Camilla nor Melania had bows in their hats today. Otherwise no quibbles.
Favs SPIELS, LAY AN EGG, TIMING, BANTER, PROWL
gladys@7: I thought it a bit of a stretch but was ok with the idea that “His parents were wealthy and well-connected so he was set up for life” i.e. an “establishment type” as a person with money and good standing.
Thanks Brummie and loonapick – another “Bill and Ben” here too.
Theme? Oh well.
Was convinced I was looking for German pants, being an anagram of up a hunter’s and couldn’t get unterhosen off my mind.
Had to look up APENNINES to decide on 2 Ps or 2 Ns.
Lovely crossword in the Goldilocks zone as GinF says. Many thanks, both.
Maybe Times Educational Supplement TES = SET up ???????
SET UP
To add to what I said@12
You SET something UP—>You established something—->you ‘were’ (acted as) an establishment type (a witty def).
Can someone please explain in words of one syllable the “- not hem” bit of CLUB. I’m just not getting it.
Otherwise lovely crossword. Thanks Brummie and loonapick.
Crossbar@19, it’s a down clue, so I look at it, the hem is at the bottom of a skirt.
So “clubs” loses its bottom, S.
Of course. Thank you E.N.Boll& @20
I got the theme, raced through 95%, but just couldn’t finish off the bottom RHS.
Brain freeze. COCK was obvious as was CLOWN.
Great crossword though, very clever to get so many references to light entertainment.
Not sure I have seen LAY AN EGG before, but it became obvious from the crossing letters.
Thanks both.
Yes, never met Ted, bit I hope he enjoyed it …
Some deviously misleading clues here. For example I thought in 26d we were being told to remove the first letter of a dictator, before the penny dropped.
Like gladys @7 I didn’t understand the establishment type in SET UP so thanks KVa @12 and 18 for explaining it — very clever in retrospect.
I thought OWN GOAL was a great hidden and had a very nice definition, “the other side will appreciate it”.
Many thanks Brummie and loonapick.
Missed the theme of course, but was also bemused (rather than amused) by some clues. STAND UP = ‘wash’ eluded me though it had to be that. Thought ‘—s’ was clearly referring to a certain four-letter word rather than simply ‘s’, and initially had PEKE instead of PEAK as the clue can be read either way.
Missed the theme – solve and move on, I suppose. It always surprises me what expressions are new to fellow solvers but I think LAY AN EGG has appeared before.
Thanks both.
Good setting to get in all the references, although some highlighted may have been unintended. I liked the pants with elasticated top in BRIEFCASE, the misleading ‘starting to’ in INTRO, the CABARET &lit, the well-hidden OWN GOAL, the hunter’s pants in UNEARTHING, and the unexpected second definition of LINE.
Thanks Brummie and loonapick.
Oh, yes, light entertainment, though of course I hadn’t realised or noticed as per usual. Kept coming back to this as the morning wore on, but finally defeated by AUDIENCE, BRIEFCASE and an expression I haven’t come across before, LAY AN EGG. But the entertainment value excellent today, I thought…
A delight from start to finish, although I was another who spent a while wondering whether JILBEN could mean “dropped”. Favourites: BRIEFCASE, PEAK, MUSIC HALL and TAKE A BOW for the surface. Thanks Brummie and loonapick.
LINE my LOI, don’t get the 2nd definition. Otherwise fairly straightforward and fun.
Wolf @30, think about lining your stomach – before going out drinking, for example.
Or lining a coat!
Enjoyable puzzle, with some interesting constructions and good surfaces. Like beaulieu @9, APENNINES didn’t come to me immediately, as I thought it had two Ps (which it does in Italian: Appennini). Although I’m also of the Flowerpot Men generation, the solution had to be a past participle, so I wasn’t misled towards Ben.
I also enjoyed the twin usage of ‘pants’, and BRIEFCASE was my COTD.
Why ‘Do a homo erectus’? This seemed unnecessarily complicated and too much of a giveaway. Wouldn’t ‘Rise’ have sufficed?
Was there a theme? 🙂
Thanks to Brummie and loonapick
I didn’t have to look up anything today. That’s not to say I didn’t try, but when various pennies (not crowns) finally dropped, they did so unaided.
It was very unusual that I spotted the theme after only two clues, which helped me to then solve PUNCH, LINE, COMIC and CLOWN quicker than I may have otherwise. I glanced around for a few other words that could have realistically appeared, but to no avail (there is a Vail. It’s a 102-mile drive from Aspen).
I liked APENNINES, JILTED, AUDIENCE (LOI) and – scanning back through out of solving mode – PUNCH is very neat.
Thanks Brummie and loonapick
Crispy@1 no, but I certainly should have
Lord Jim@23 For 26D I had Tito and Toto running through my head but couldn’t get anywhere with that. Once 26A went in, the penny dropped.
By now I have internalized that “iron” is often a reference to the golf club.
And I completely missed the impressive theme.
Really liked LAY AN EGG. For some reason, maybe my lack of fondness for Auden’s work, AUDIENCE baffled me.
Thanks for the blog loonapick.
I liked the succinctness of PUNCH and PROP.
Since the second letter of 31A isn’t a crosser, I spent a while wondering if the answer was CROWN (Sovereign) or CLOWN (fool). In the end I tossed a coin – and got the right one!
Count me in as another whose first thought for Bill’s partner was Ben.
Bill and Ben are in a pub; Bill says, “Flob-a-lob-a-blob-a little weeeeed!”
and Ben says, “I’ll get these – you’re pissed.”
How did I miss the theme? Why am I still surprised that I missed it? 🙂
Favourite maybe 8d PROP (concise), but really a solid set of enjoyable clues. Like HIYD@22 the SE was stickiest, with 29d LINE loi
Thanks both
29,993 — only seven more to get to 30,000. Will they do something special for it?
I’m not convinced that making music louder makes it better.
I’m surprised that no-one has mentioned the 1929 Variety headline ‘Wall St Lays An Egg’. Perhaps too early for our transatlantic commenters.
Thanks Brummie and loonapick
Zoot @ 40 if you didn’t have an amplifier (and speakers or eargoggles) you wouldn’t be able to hear recorded music at all, so an amplifier definitely makes ir better.
Twisty, tricky with IMO somewhat loose definitions and sometimes likewise wordplay – oh yes it’s a Brummie :-). Actually unfair to criticise the wordplay as it’s actually quite precise once you see it LOL. Not my favourite setter but I struggled through, and vaguely think I can see a theme. Thanks Brummie, and loonapick for the explanations- which I needed for some things.
Simon S @41 An amplifier will make recorded music audible, but will not improve its quality. If out of tune, it will remain so. Similarly if poorly conceived or executed. The same applies to live music, especially that produced without technological assistance. An indifferent composition is still that while it is only notes on paper.
The theme must have been more obvious than usual given I managed to spot it. I also appreciated its extensive use. Favourites today were STAND UP and JILTED.
Good puzzle. I failed on BRIEFCASE and AUDIENCE, but they’re both fine clues.
I thought the CLUB clue needed a ? because iron is a DBE, I think.
Thanks, Brummie and loonapick.
Missed the theme entirely so thanks loonapick for the elucidation. Did anyone else balk at the caution/DISSUASION synonymy? The latter is active discouragement, the former mere warning. Just a quiblet. Great stuff from Brummie.
Like Zoot@40 I bristled initially at ‘music enhancer’ = AMPLIFIER; amplifying recorded (or mic-ed up live) music doesn’t enhance my musical experience, though it might enhance the visceral shock and awe. That said, I reckon ‘enhance’ here just means ‘increase the level of’, so it’s fine whatever your musical taste ☺️ great puzzle, thanks Brummie
Reassuring that I wasn’t the only one to miss the theme. 🙂
Hadrian#47 I agree. That is the meaning here, but the level increased is that of sound – decibels. The music remains unchanged. Its faults and deficiencies remain unenhanced, however much the listener’s subjective experience alters..
12A SET UP – we puzzled over this too. And the suggestions about being financially set up for life don’t seem to justify “was” an establishment type. How about: if you set something up, you establish it. So if you set something up (past tense), you were the establishment type.