Someone will have to explain 26ac to me… (and Muffin has obliged! – thanks, Muffin!)
…I think I may have a faceslap moment, but I just can’t see what “underemployed gallery” has to do with my answer, which of course may be wrong.
Apart from that, this was possibly slightly better than the usual offering from Rufus, and right up your street if you like double definitions and cryptic definitions.
Thanks, Rufus.
| Across | ||
| 9 | TRAMP | Ship, possibly a drifter (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 10 | CHAMPAGNE | Pretend to be ill, we hear, to get a drink (9) |
| Homophone of SHAM PAIN | ||
| 11 | BONECHINA | Graduate entertains a slimmer’s objective — eating off this? (4,5) |
| BA (“graduate”) “entertains” ONE CHIN (“a slimmer’s objective”) | ||
| 12 | CANAL | Waterway is able to dock everything (5) |
| CAN AL(l) | ||
| 13 | DEBACLE | Fiasco for young socialite with torn lace (7) |
| DEB + *(lace) | ||
| 15 | DRYEYED | Visibly unaffected by sorrow (3-4) |
| Slightly cryptic definition | ||
| 17 | GLEAN | Gather information alternately with the French (5) |
| GEN and LA “alternately”, so G(L)E(A)N | ||
| 18 | TEA | Pot plant? (3) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 20 | HOARD | Gather a large crowd, we hear (5) |
| Homophone of HORDE | ||
| 22 | APROPOS | A support thus returned is appropriate (7) |
| A PROP + <=SO | ||
| 25 | CALIBRE | Means of gauging a boring job (7) |
| Slightly cryptic definition | ||
| 26 | MINER | Underemployed gallery worker (5) |
| A miner works underground and apparently the gallery is another name for the coalface – you live and learn! | ||
| 27 | RURITANIA | Land of Hope? (9) |
| Ruritania was the setting for The Prisoner of Zenda, by Hope | ||
| 30 | AGINCOURT | A spirit to woo meant victory for Henry (9) |
| A + GIN + COURT | ||
| 31 | TRAIL | Dog track? (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | STUB | What’s left when objections are raised? (4) |
| <=BUTS | ||
| 2 | DAMNABLE | Extremely clever, but hateful (8) |
| At first I thought this was a double definition. Commenters below have pointed out what I’m sure was the setter’s intention, which is better than the “double definition” I thought I saw. | ||
| 3 | EPIC | Heroic tale from The Pickwick Papers (4) |
| Hidden in “ThE PICwick Papers” | ||
| 4 | ACCIDENT | I’d interrupted to stress something unexpected (8) |
| ACC(I’D)ENT | ||
| 5 | HAZARD | A leader of Zulus in tough venture (6) |
| A Z(ulu) in HARD | ||
| 6 | APOCRYPHAL | Happy carol that’s become legendary (10) |
| *(happy carol) | ||
| 7 | AGENCY | A representative business (6) |
| Barely cryptic definition | ||
| 8 | DEAL | Give players a hand (4) |
| Another barely cryptic definition | ||
| 13 | DOGMA | Pointer, maybe, to master’s belief (5) |
| DOG (“pointer, maybe”) + M.A. | ||
| 14 | CONSPIRACY | Plot links prisoners to criminal activity (10) |
| CONS + PIRACY | ||
| 16 | DODGE | A ruse to avoid (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | ACCURATE | Right to get junior minister to foot the bill (8) |
| Ac. + CURATE | ||
| 21 | ALBANIAN | European set to bail Anna out (8) |
| *(bail anna) | ||
| 23 | RANCID | Rank one can change in a way (6) |
| *(i can) in Rd. | ||
| 24 | SPROUT | Shoot something to eat (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | MEAN | Aim low (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 28 | TATE | Where hangings still take place in London (4) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 29 | AILS | Is indisposed to alter sail (4) |
| *(sail) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Rufus and loonapick
A miner is emplyed underground. The coal faces are termed “galleries”.
btw I enjoyed this a lot, with CALIBRE and RURITANIA favourites. I wrote AMASS instead of HOARD first, which was silly, as I’ve seen a very similar clue before.
I didn’t think DAMNABLE really fits either definition. A pity about the necessary “Papers” in 3d – not part of the hidden. TRAIL was a bit weak, and there are lots of places beside the Tate where similar “hangings” take place in London.
P.S. loonapick – very important; in 17a it’s ALTERNATELY rather than “alternatively”.
Thanks, Muffin, for both intercessions.
I parsed 2d as “Extremely clever” = DAMN ABLE (two words).
It’s extremely rare for me to beat the blogger to the line but that was the case this morning. That perhaps reflects the fact that this was an easier puzzle than average, though it was also very enjoyable. BONE CHINA brought a smile to my face and I also liked CHAMPAGNE and CONSPIRACY (which I think I have seen before). 26a and d were my last entries. Thanks to Rufus and loonapick.
ditto jeodesic @5
Thanks Rufus and Loonapick, I needed your help for RURITANIA, entered but not really parsed/understood.
Some excellent clues here, I loved BONE CHINA and AGINCOURT, enjoyment only slightly marred by some barely cryptic direct definitions. Surely a TRAMP steamer is so called only because it behaves as a tramp or drifter. DRY EYED & AGENCY fell into that category for me too.
Thanks to Rufus for an enjoyable puzzle and to loonapick for the blog.
My experience was similar to lancsolver with 26a MINER and 26d MEAN as my LOIs, and along with muffin and lancsolver, I appreciated 10a CHAMPAGNE, 11a BONE CHINA and 25a CALIBRE. I also liked 18a TEA and 1d STUBS.
Thank you Rufus and Loonapick.
Good start to the week after the usual struggles over the weekend. I also parsed DAMNABLE as did jeodasic @5, but I also tried to parse AGENCY, A + GEN + CY, but CY is a rare abbreviation for company so it cannot be an &lit. BONE CHINA was a laugh!
I really enjoyed this puzzle. My favourites were CHAMPAGNE, DAMNABLE, CONSPIRACY, DAMNABLE.
Thanks Rufus and loonapick
Did anyone else initially write in AMASS at 20 across? – though of course HOARD works equally
muffin @2 and quenbarrow @ 12: I did flirt with AMASS but I didn’t feel that did justice to the ‘we hear’ homophone indicator. AMASS wouldn’t require that, being a straightforward charade.
I’m following in the footsteps of several commenters who’ve already hailed CHAMPAGNE, BONE CHINA and CALIBRE. I parsed DAMNABLE as jeodesic, lancsolver and cookie and I think its extremely clever! (Though not quite as much as michelle @11) 🙂 For me, though, clue of the day is MINER – very witty.
Thanks to Rufus and loonapick
NIce to have a puzzle that doesn’t include SA as part of a answer…
Enjoyed this more than I normally do with Rufus – BONE CHINA was very good. DAMNABLE was last in.
Thanks to Rufus and loonapick
I’m with beery@15 – really enjoyed this offering. Absolutely loved 11ac, even though it was a bit too close to home for me!
Thank you Rufus & loonapick.
Thank you Mark @13. Carelessly had not noticed muffin@2 – and take your subtle point about AMASS vs HOARD.
Nice start to week. Favs were RURITANIA, GLEAN and BONE CHINA. Got momentarily stuck on RH side by putting in DRY EYES! Tried to shoehorn SIDLE into 16d! Silly!
Thanks loonapick.
Good stuff this morning from Rufus but over in a trice, sadly.
Liked the same as others before me.
The only minor quibble was AIM = MEAN which I couldn’t quite agree with.
Many thanks, nice week, all.
Mark @13
Yes – if AMASS had been correct, I would have complained about it!
William @19
“I aim to try tomorrow’s puzzle” = “I mean to try tomorrow’s puzzle”?
I was SO sure 20 was “amass”…
Thanks to Rufus and loonapick. I had the same problems already noted with HOARD-amass, MINER, and DAMNABLE and also paused over AGENCY, but I much enjoyed this one.
I sort of knew what a gallery was but I was still rather doubtful about MINER. MEAN was LOI so I didn’t have a confirming initial letter. The consensus seems to be that this was a good Rufus and I don’t disagree. I particularly liked CHAMPAGNE.
Thanks Rufus.
Some damnably clever clues here. Better than the average Rufus’ which are usually pretty easy. Lots of favourites including bone china and calibre. Thanks to everyone.
Having mislaid my pen, I gave myself a new experience today – filling in a grid that remained blank except for what I could visualise. [By the way, it’s easier than you might think.] The only problem was that when I came here to compare notes I found I had missed 2d DAMNABLE – a pity, because it was a damn good clue!
13a BONE CHINA was my favourite – it is not often that I have found Rufus to be so witty and elegant – and he was both original and elegant with 17a GLEAN. I was less fond of 15a DRY-EYED, 24d SPROUT and 7d AGENCY, but I won’t let these detract from a more enjoyable experience of a Rufus puzzle than I usually get.
Thanks Rufus and loonapick.
I very rarely comment on Rufus, and may as well not bother today either, as I would have written – pretty much word for word – what BH@15 has already offered.
I enjoyed this for the most part, but was another who had ‘amass’ at first for 20a. For ages I also tried to fit ‘digit’ in at 13d, having the ‘d’ and the ‘g’ – but not, of course, being able to parse it. DOGMA should have been obvious!
My favourites were BONE CHINA, AGINCOURT, and CHAMPAGNE.
Thanks Rufus and loonapick.
10a CHAMPAGNE/SHAM PAIN is a pun that I’ve come across so many times that I’m amazed that I haven’t seen it in a crossword before.
11a BONE CHINA was a solve first, parse later clue but raised a smile.
Thanks to Rufus and loonapick for an enjoyable puzzle.1
I got Heard rather than Hoard for 20a. Both work but agree Hoard is better
I’m another who toyed with AMASS before putting in HEARD, and missing the slightly better HOARD. It’s not often that there are 3 (in varying degrees) plausible solutions to a clue. My normal problem is finding any!
I thought BONE CHINA was an excellent clue, shining out among the typically Rufous cryptic definitions.