Excellent puzzle as per. Any theme is lost on me although the grid suggests one.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 9 | IMMORAL — MM in I+ORAL — good surface though exam is often a giveaway. |
| 11 | CAPRICE — (R in ICE-CAP)* — definition by an opposite. |
| 15 | AESTIVATE — A + IV in E+STATE — classical quartet = IV and it adds to a nice surface. |
| 18 | RANK OUTSIDERS — (AROUND STRIKES)* |
| 21 | ADMIRABLE — (BARMAID)* +(a)LE — as a drinker of northern beer this is my favourite clue. |
| 25 | GENERIC — GEN. + ERIC — until I had checking letters in I was convinced this was a word similar to B+LURRY. |
| 28 | TRIVIAL — IV or VI in TRIAL — good cricket surface possibly lost on some. |
| Down | |
| 2 | TRIP ? — I don’t see this one. I can see TRIP hazard but not the rest. |
| 7 | SPINNAKER — A+K in SPINNER — a spinner is a type of cricket bowler who turns the ball by applying spin to it. |
| 8 | SIENA — (AN+E+IS)< — I don’t know my Italian geography but I expect this is semi-&lit |
| 10 | LANCET — double def. — The Lancet is a medical journal. |
| 14 | ALARM — territoriAL ARMy — TA fully extended… |
| 19 | UNBACKED — double def. — great surface. |
| 20 | GANGES — E in GANGS |
| 29 | IVAN — I + VA + N — and a fine &lit to close. |
No real problems solving this one, apart from two. 15ac I thought was quite tricky. 3d I’m still confused by. I think the answer must be circuses (entertainments). I can see where the ‘us’ and final ‘s’ come from, but if that’s right, how does ‘enchanting female’ get me to the rest?
Jon
I think it’s CIRCE, Jon.
Thanks! That’ll teach me to check online dictionaries before Google and then Wikipedia… While rushed at the end of my lunch time, admittedly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe
Jon
I think 2D is TRAP.
TRAP – that’s what I had too (golf, I think)
If you seek a theme, look for the ‘outsiders’ in the across answers.
Yes, I spotted the theme eventually after setting out to look for it when the grid was amost done. I guessed that RANK OUTSIDERS must be the key word, but the theme’s still well hidden – the ranks – private, general etc – making up the start of the first across and the end of the second in each of the other rows. That helped with a few of the final answers. Amazing composition!
Thanks for 2D. It’s so simple! If this had been the Times Championship I’d have lost on that one (not that I’m at all fast.) Once I thought about TRIP my mind was locked. I did think of the golf link and considered DROP but knew it was not a hazard. My golf knowledge stops about there.
I did think that RANK OUTSIDERS was key and noticed that ADMIRABLE was almost a rank but in my rush to blog a few clues I looked no deeper.
As ever, very, very clever. Too clever sometimes (for me at least.)
I did not spot it either – what an amazing construction by Virgilius! And a pleasure when you see it (even if it has to be pointed out).
These magnificent Virgilius Ninas are wasted. I can’t understand why they are not trumpeted louder – they are a definite part of the solution but the printed solution never says anything about them. I bet most people just complete the crossword and say that’s that.
Week after week Virgilius keeps producing these masterpieces, and they are then lost to posterity. They are worth a book on their own.