A midweek challenge by Gila.
Some ingenious anagrams today, especially 10a and 21a with their plausible surfaces. 4d is an idea I’m sure I’ve seen before, and 6d was fairly obvious because both the case and the truck seem to crop up a lot in crosswords, but there was plenty to enjoy in other clues. 17a held me up for a while because I had the definition but couldn’t parse it, until I twigged that A didn’t need to be inserted alongside AN. Thanks Gila for the fun.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | OPERATING SYSTEM |
Windows maybe get smeary points when tampered with (9,6)
|
| Anagram (when tampered with) of GET SMEARY POINTS. | ||
| 9 | BAD |
Terrible, second-rate plug (3)
|
| B (second-rate, as in exam grades A-E) + AD (plug = slang for advertisement). | ||
| 10 | EXONERATING |
Upsetting the members of Generation X can be liberating, perhaps (11)
|
| Anagram (upsetting the members of . . . = rearranging the letters) of GENERATION X.
Exonerate = to clear someone of blame. |
||
| 11 | THEIR |
That person’s closer to that one who’s next in line (5)
|
| Closing (end) letter of [tha]T + HEIR (one who’s next in line to inherit property).
Originally plural meaning “belonging to those people”, but now often used as a non-gendered singular. |
||
| 12 | LIABILITY |
Large facility absorbing current debt (9)
|
| L (abbreviation for large) + ABILITY (as in “a facility for languages” = a natural ability), containing I (scientific symbol for electrical current). | ||
| 15 | LETTING |
Allowing the removal of vital fluid? (7)
|
| Double definition. Permitting; or as in bloodletting = old practice of draining blood for medical purposes. | ||
| 17 | CANASTA |
Card game players holding an ace (7)
|
| CAST (players in a stage performance) containing AN, then A (abbreviation for ace in playing cards). | ||
| 19 | EXECRATED |
Hated corporate VIP given an appraisal (9)
|
| EXEC (short for executive = corporate boss) + RATED (appraised). | ||
| 20 | PILES |
A lot of beer bottles break in the middle (5)
|
| PILS (otherwise known as pilsner = pale lager beer), containing (bottling) the middle letter of [br]E[ak].
Slang term for a large quantity, as in “I’ve got piles of work to do”. |
||
| 21 | SLEEPYHEADS |
Dozy people pay less heed, stupidly (11)
|
| Anagram (stupidly) of PAY LESS HEED. | ||
| 24 | RAN |
Some sexagenarians – after retirement – entered a marathon (3)
|
| Hidden answer (some . . .), reversed (after retirement), in [sexage]NAR[ians]. | ||
| 25 | EXPRESSIONISTIC |
Like a certain art style, say. It’s ionic, possibly (15)
|
| EXPRESS (as a verb = say) + anagram (possibly) of ITS IONIC. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DEAD CENTRE |
New e-car dented right in the middle (4,6)
|
| Anagram (new) of E-CAR DENTED. | ||
| 2 | CAREER |
Work, and don’t go slowly! (6)
|
| Double definition. A person’s working life; or (as a verb) to move very fast and without control. | ||
| 3 | PILOT LIGHT |
Burner phone is less operationally tricky to begin with, and not too demanding (5,5)
|
| Initial letters (to begin with) of P[hone] I[s] L[ess] O[perationally] T[ricky], then LIGHT (not too demanding, as in “light exercise”).
A small gas flame used to light a larger boiler. |
||
| 4 | OGRE |
Ill-tempered individual thus turned up (4)
|
| ERGO (Latin-derived word for “therefore” or “thus”, used in logical proofs) reversed (turned up = upwards in a down clue). | ||
| 5 | GYRATION |
Circular motion helping after the first hints of gout, yes? (8)
|
| RATION (helping, as a noun = a measured amount served) after the first letters of G[out] Y[es]. | ||
| 6 | ETUI |
Little case in one truck from Sydney, heading north (4)
|
| I (one in Roman numerals) + UTE (Australian slang shortening of “utility vehicle” = pickup truck from Sydney in Australia), all reversed (heading north = upwards in a down clue).
A word that would probably be obsolete without crossword compilers and antiques experts: a small case to hold sewing kit, personal grooming equipment, or similar small items. |
||
| 7 | SMOGGY |
Small cat bad for asthmatics, in all likelihood (6)
|
| S (abbreviation for small) + MOGGY (slang for a cat).
A smoggy atmosphere is one with severe air pollution visible as a fog, which can be a trigger for asthma attacks. |
||
| 8 | ORBITAL |
Test incorporating part of major road around a city (7)
|
| ORAL (a spoken examination = test) containing (incorporating) BIT (a part).
Another word for a ring road, especially a large one such as the M25 motorway around London. If you prefer, add “of” to the definition and take it as an adjective, as in “orbital motorway”. |
||
| 13 | ARCHDEACON |
Sly agreement mostly not favouring church dignitary (10)
|
| ARCH (sly = mischievous) + DEA[l] (agreement) without the last letter (mostly) + CON (as in “pros and cons” = an argument not in favour of something). | ||
| 14 | INSULARITY |
Doctor is truly in a state of isolation (10)
|
| Anagram (doctor, as a verb = alter, as in “doctoring the evidence”) of IS TRULY IN A. | ||
| 16 | IRRUPTED |
Burst in … burst in without an up-front excuse, ultimately (8)
|
| I[nte]RRUPTED (figuratively burst in when someone else was speaking), without the final letters (ultimately) of [a]N [upfron]T [excus]E. | ||
| 18 | ARSENIC |
As a river starts to surge, everything nearby is consumed (7)
|
| A + R[iver] + starting letters of S[urge] E[verything] N[earby] I[s] C[onsumed].
As = chemical symbol for the element arsenic. If the first word of the clue is “As”, this definition is often a good bet. |
||
| 19 | EASTER |
English flower festival (6)
|
| E (abbreviation for English) + ASTER (family of flowering plants including daisies). | ||
| 20 | PASTIS |
Alcohol from India in former times (6)
|
| I (India in the radio alphabet) in PASTS (former times).
Aniseed-flavoured French alcoholic drink. |
||
| 22 | EXPO |
Big industry event in old post office (4)
|
| EX (prefix as in ex-soldier = old) + PO (abbreviation for post office).
Short for exposition: a trade fair for companies in a particular industry. |
||
| 23 | HUSH |
Quiet section of posh US hotel (4)
|
| Hidden answer (section of . . .) in [pos]H US H[otel]. |
Some familiar friends, but none the worse for that.
Very solver-friendly…and none the worse for that!
Impressive anagrams, well-contrived definitions, no obscurities. Nothing venomous or monstrous in this Gila.
Spot-on, both setter, and inevitably, by Ms.Q
Agree with solver-friendly but enjoyable and entertaining. Thanks Quirister and Gila.