A tough challenge from Wanderer this Friday. Needed help from Google along the way. Think a couple of parsings can be improved upon.
There is a nina running along the sides, and related to 5d.
FF: 8 DD:10
| Across | ||
| 1 | ATOPIC | A theme of allergic hypersensitivity (6) |
| A TOPIC (theme) | ||
| 5 | MOONSHOT | Drummer at bash for Apollo launch? (8) |
| MO (drummer) ON (at) SHOT (bash) ?? | ||
| 9 | YAHOOS | Louts say nothing when involved with house break-in (6) |
| [SAY O (nothing)]* with HO (house) coming in. | ||
| 10 | DRAMBUIE | Stupid idea: 50% rum-based liqueur (8) |
| IDEA RUM-Based* (50% of) | ||
| 11 | RAINFALL | Water dropping in river with own Scottish season (8) |
| R (river) AIN (own, scottish) FALL (season) | ||
| 12 | GIRLIE | Neil rightly backed contents displaying nude women? (6) |
| hidden, reversed in “nEIL RIGhtly .. “ | ||
| 13 | EPIC | Great online photo (4) |
| E-PIC (online photo) | ||
| 15 | SARCOMAS | Small luminous discharge round old woman’s tumours (8) |
| S (small) ARC (luminous discharge) O MAS (old woman’s) | ||
| 18 | SNEAKIER | New Nikes are more slippery (8) |
| NIKES ARE* | ||
| 19 | IVES | Composer of five symphonies (4) |
| “..fIVE Symphonies” | ||
| 21 | OUTBID | Offer more than I do, but get beaten (6) |
| I DO BUT* | ||
| 23 | UMBILICI | Liberal character returned, heading up chemical company in depressed areas (8) |
| [ LIB (liberal) MU (character) , reversed] ICI (chemical company) – didnt know this one | ||
| 25 | MONOLITH | Light aircraft carrying lion crashed into stone pillar (8) |
| LION* in MOTH (light aircraft) | ||
| 26 | ALMOND | Tree old man cultivated (6) |
| OLD MAN* | ||
| 27 | ESOTERIC | Hidden books man found on tablets (8) |
| ES (tablets) OT (books, old testament) ERIC (man) | ||
| 28 | NEEDLE | Bug River flows back, replacing current in much longer river (6) |
| EED (river = DEE, reversed) replacing I (current) in NiLE (much longer river) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | TIARA | Crown of Irish hill contains one (5) |
| TARA (irish hill) containing I (one) | ||
| 3 | PHOENICIA | Mobile phone company: one from 23 supported by a country in Asia once (9) |
| PHONE* ICI (company in 23ac) A | ||
| 4 | CO STAR | Actor’s upset his fellow actor? (2-4) |
| ACTOR’S* | ||
| 5 | MIDDLESBROUGH FC | Riverside club with a line in freshly crumbed dogfish (13,2) |
| L (line) in CRUMBED DOGFISH* | ||
| 6 | ORANGERY | Where fruit grows in bottom of gully below mountains in Oregon (8) |
| [RANGE (mountains) in OR (oregon) ] Y (bottom of gullY) | ||
| 7 | SOBER | Dry, therefore, by end of autumn’s months (5) |
| SO (therefore) BER (end of autum’s months, septemBER for example) | ||
| 8 | ORIGINATE | Father of unexpectedly great no.11 (9) |
| GREAT NO II* (11) | ||
| 14 | PENDULOUS | Writer from the French left, initially offended by American hanging (9) |
| PEN (writer) DU (from, french) L (left) O (initially Offended) US (american) | ||
| 16 | ORIFLAMME | Standard ordnance content’s replaced by sawn-off rifle and ammo (9) |
| OrdnancE [with contents = rdnanc, replaced by RIFLe and AMMo (sawn-off) ] | ||
| 17 | FIDDLIER | Violinist without upright character is harder to handle (8) |
| FIDDLER (violinist) without I (upright character) | ||
| 20 | OBTAIN | Get in and bat, getting out at end of over (6) |
| IN BAT* after O (over) | ||
| 22 | BLOAT | Swell cure for disease in livestock (5) |
| double def | ||
| 24 | CANAL | Italian painter’s half-completed Venetian scene? (5) |
| CANAL-boats (venetian scene, half completed)? | ||
*anagram
5c is Moon (Keith) + shot
23 is CANALetto
Great puzzle. Thanks for pointing out nina
In 22d, “cure” is another definition: “to dry (fish) partially by smoke”.
Yes, pretty tough. A few new words such as ORIFLAMME and didn’t get the Nina.
Just beaten by Andrew @2 for the explanation of 22d as a triple def.
Liked the ‘Italian painter’s half-completed’ wordplay and the ‘Composer of five symphonies’ surface.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs.
I think 5 across is Keith MOON (drummer with The Who) + SHOT (bash).
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
I agree with the Keith Moon parsing of 5A.
I had 24 the other way round: definition as ‘Venetian scene’ = CANAL, wordplay as CANAL(etto) (Italian painter’s half completed).
Shouldn’t the enumeration for 5D be 13,1,1?
For what it’s worth, I think 24d if half of Canaletto’s.
With the apostrophe s, otherwise it’s not exactly half.
The ODE tells me that the painter was born as Giovanni Antonio Canal !!
And that he is famous for his paintings of Venetian festivals and scenery.
Gives the clue an extra layer, doesn’t it?
I missed the triple definition for BLOAT but otherwise not one of Wanderer’s hardest puzzles.
[in my opinion, of course]
That said, seeing the nina left and right did speed things up.
Thanks Turbolegs.
You’re right, Sil. I must have run out of fingers! Nina? Well spotted!!
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Another enjoyable puzzle from this setter which I was able to complete over three shortish sessions during the day on Friday. I parsed MOONSHOT and CANAL as per the posts above but didn’t spot the third definition of BLOAT. Missed the nina down the sides as well – my ignorance of that part of England and details of the football team there would have been only conducive to understanding them in hindsight anyway.
Lots of interesting devices and definitions to keep the interest up throughout.
You call it tough.
I call it dreadful. Utterly dreadful