Seems ages since I have seen a puzzle from Anax. As the temperature starts to fall it should provide a pleasant accompaniment to the first sounds of the central heating emerging from its summer hibernation.
And a pleasant puzzle it was. Has Anax been playing a lot of snooker lately? There does appear to be a large number of nicknames of famous snooker players present. The obvious ones I spotted were 5dn, 13dn and 14dn. Though there are numerous others. I never realised Steve Davis was the 6dn for instance but I do remember 27ac Eddie Charlton.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_snooker_player_nicknames
Favourite clues – 22ac and 23dn – 22ac for being so neat and 23dn promping me to remember how some Irish people would say Richard the third.
Many thanks Anax
Key:
Underline – definition; * anagram; Rev. reverse; DD Double definition
Across
1 Approaches very old people (6)
DD ANGLES
5 Sound of one feeding child an alternative to jelly (8)
Homonym diner (one feeding) + mite (child) = DYNAMITE
9 Native American chief would never, never return (8)
Rev. (Aga (cheif) + ‘d (would) + no (never) + no (never) = ONONDAGA
10 Turn right and head north to find battle-axe (6)
Go (turn) + r (right) + go (head) + n (north) = GORGON
11 I will gather wood for burning (2,4)
One (I) around fir (wood) = ON FIRE
12 You and I must cross rather winding canals (8)
Us (you and I) around (rather)* = URETHRAS
13 Clothes off, as rubber will do (4,4)
Wear (clothes) + away(off) = WEAR AWAY
14 Go out and sell a winger (4)
DD HAWK
16 Lacking Ecstasy, take glue (4)
Seize (take) – e (ecstasy) = SIZE
17 I get upset about some paper round’s starting point (8)
Rev. Ca (about) + quire (some paper) + r (round’s starting point) = ACQUIRER
20 Becomes weary with joint chief? (8)
Flags (Becomes weary) + hip (joint) = FLAGSHIP
22 Is against equality, heading to the far right (6)
Sexist (against equality) moving s to end (heading to the far right) = EXISTS
24 Weapon very good, many rounds (6)
Pi (very good) + Rev. (lots (many)) = PISTOL
25 Prayer and song after Cockney’s own Mass (3,5)
‘ave (Cockney’s own) + m (mass) + aria (song) = AVE MARIA
26 Acceptance of aid not unusual when out of work (8)
(aid not)* around op (work) = ADOPTION
27 Still sad, yet bubbly (6)
(sad yet)* = STEADY
Down
2 Erotic writer concerned with material (5)
Nin (Erotic writer – Anais) + on (concerned with) = NINON
3 Pass through US city’s ancient ground (9)
LA (US City) + (ancient)* = LANCINATE
4 Describing eclipse, calls up astronaut (8)
Rev. names (calls) around cap (eclipse) = SPACEMAN
5 Count bones, a hundred, and regularly upload (7)
Dr (bones) + a + c (hundred) + UpLoAd = DRACULA
6 Turning 24, receive a piece of wisdom (6)
Rev. Gun (24 = Pistol) + get (receive) = NUGGET
7 Tramp raised pack horse (5)
Rev. cram (pack) + h (horse) = MARCH
8 Arranged at Jarrow, new attack on Paris (6,3)
(at Jarrow + n)* = TROJAN WAR
13 Stab snake, resulting in rash (9)
Whirl (stab) + wind (snake) = WHIRLWIND
14 Mostly quick boxing to preserve fighter (9)
Hurried (quick) – d around can (preserve) = HURRICANE
15 Tyres may be so adapted, else burst right away (8)
(else burst – r)* = TUBELESS
18 Murderer’s caught fitting lead (7)
Cain (murderer) around apt (fitting) = CAPTAIN
19 Bite one pepper (6)
Chill (bite) + I (one) = CHILLI
21 Place for one to return clothing (3-2)
Rev. put (place) + eg (for one) = GET UP
23 An Irishman might say one can’t polish this bronze? (5)
Irish pronunciation of turd = THIRD
Never thought of snooker and their players whatsoever but enjoyable it was.
The Irish connection at 23d was lost on me but it was clear what Anax wanted us to do.
On the minus side I’m not sure that ‘You and I’ equals ‘us’ (in 12ac) but I’ve seen (and justified) it before – then forgot about it.
On the plus side, ye newbie setters, there’s a lesson to be learned from 14ac and 18d where cryptic grammar’s involved.
And. twenceslas, it’s a pangram!
Beautiful stuff. Sense of satisfaction for almost every clue solved. I think STEADY was perhaps the only write-in. Best clue for me for its lol moment was THIRD.
Well done spotting the snooker references – I go back long enough to remember Ray Rearden – Dracula indeed.
Got stuck several times but, after a lot of thought, solutions such as HURRICANE, WHIRLWIND and SPACEMAN opened things up for me.
Decided 3d was LA + anagram of ‘ancient’ which led me to guess LANCINATE, which is a new word for me. Had to use a word fit to get ONONDAGA, another new word to me. This then led me to guess NINON, yet another new word for me – a tough quadrant that one.
This just left 16a. I noticed the possibility of a pangram and noticed I was still missing a Z. Failed to get SIZE. Should have thought of SEIZE for ‘take’ but didn’t and didn’t know ‘size’ for ‘glue’.
Thanks all.
US is you and me, not you and I. You wouldn’t say, “He gave it to you and I”.
On the US v. WE debate, on the one hand I feel david@3 is correct, on the other hand I would say ‘it’s us against them’ or ‘it’s you and I against them’ for example.
I stared at the grid for a while before getting a foothold in the SE with STEADY, which remains one of my picks. Slow and STEADY thereafter, but snookered by the last few in the NW, which I didn’t manage to get in unaided. Grr!
I thought ADOPTION was clever and other favourites include ON FIRE, WEAR AWAY, DRACULA and THIRD.
Thanks to Anax and twencelas.
When I printed this I thought, blimey – Anax is recycling his clues! Of course, I was wrong and I’d just recognised them as I’d solved most of the puzzle with Flash last weekend in a drunken stupor. Memories of the solve are hazy, but I recall it being enjoyable and tough and liking 13a so thanks to The Dean for the puzzle and to Twence for the bloggage.
Definitely a tough one for me, particularly the NW corner which yielded three new words – the writer, the material and the American along with a word that hardly trips off the tongue at 3d.
Very pleased to finally manage to get a full grid and gave full marks to 11,26&27a plus 23d.
Many thanks to Dean and to twencelas for the review. The snooker references passed my by although with hindsight I did recognise 27a plus 13&14d.
Got the bottom right corner filled in very quickly and then had to do other things. When I restarted, the top right and bottom left didn’t cause too much bother, but then I got stuck and only managed to continue with a lot of cheating. In the end, I couldn’t get 16ac.
But I did like 23dn.
Annoyed that twencelas’s favourites were pricisely the ones I missed. But I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the puzzle, even if I’d never heard any of the snooker nicknames. Didn’t know size and lancinate, but was able to look them up.i quite lliked whirlwind and tubeless and get-up, but everything was excellent.
Many thanks Anax and twencelas
I came unstuck in the NW but that was my bad. I really like Anax. I’m not fussed about we/us as I loved 23d
Thanks for blog, puzzle etc.
Anax at his most devious (but fair!) and me at my least alert meant this was a struggle. Lots of cheating required with wordfinder and anagram solver, and several new words discovered in the process. Thanks, though, to setter and blogger.
too good for me in the NW corner, although all the necessary tools were clearly marked….what a brilliant clue for DYNAMITE
Thanks to Anax & twencelas