A typical Friday offering from BRADMAN, and a solid challenge which I found somewhat tough in parts …
FF: 8 DD : 9
| Across | ||
| 9 | ANATOMISE | To break down a tiny particle is impossible ultimately (9) |
| AN (a) ATOM (tiny particle) IS E (impossiblE, ultimately) | ||
| 10 | ADAGE | Saying a mild oath when knocked over (5) |
| A (reverse of EGAD [mild oath]) | ||
| 11 | COPEPOD | Crustacean has to manage when meeting lots of whales (7) |
| COPE (manage) POD (lots of whales) | ||
| 12 | TIMPANI | Makers of thumping noise may bring endless fear to tiny boy (7) |
| TIM (tiny boy) PANIc (fear, endless) | ||
| 13 | DON | Academic seen as part of Oxford once (3) |
| hidden in “..oxforD ONce” | ||
| 14 | RECONDITION | Restore company limited by performance (11) |
| CO (company) in RENDITION (performance) | ||
| 17 | DORIS | Woman bringing soldiers into a shady world (5) |
| OR (soldiers) in DIS (shady world, pluto’s abode) | ||
| 18 | MAN | Fellow’s location for avoiding tax? (3) |
| double def (isle of man) | ||
| 19 | CABLE | Conservative having the ability to deliver old-fashioned message (5) |
| C (conservative) ABLE (having the ability) | ||
| 21 | NICENE CREED | English Catholic taken aback, restricted by precise requirement to give statement of belief (6,5) |
| [ E (english) RC (catholic), all reversed ] in { NICE (precise) NEED (requirement)} | ||
| 23 | LEY | Straight line in fallow land (3) |
| double def | ||
| 25 | RINGLET | Phone and phone when coming back – that may be hairy (7) |
| RING (phone) LET (phone = TEL, reversed) | ||
| 27 | DANSEUR | Fellow of 15 sure to look silly as balletic performer (7) |
| DAN (fellow of 15, comic strip, dangerous dan) SURE* | ||
| 28 | TROVE | With sun disappearing, tried very hard to find treasure (5) |
| sTROVE (tried very hard, without S – sun) | ||
| 29 | IMITATIVE | This person’s one with rubbish – this person’s not original (9) |
| I’M (this person’s) I (one) TAT (rubbish) I’VE (~this person’s) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | LANCED | Cut grounds outside church (6) |
| LAND (grounds) outside CE (church) | ||
| 2 | DAMPENER | Bad dream restricts writer, a stifling influence (8) |
| PEN (writer) in DREAM* | ||
| 3 | COMPARISON | Convict receiving honour with capital city offering something odious? (10) |
| CON (convict) containing [ OM (honour, order of merit) PARIS (capital city) ] | ||
| 4 | BIRD | Turkey perhaps making offer to receive first of refugees (4) |
| R (first of Refugees) in BID (offer) | ||
| 5 | PERTINENCE | Suitability of money that includes insignia of Queen on metal (10) |
| [ER (insignia of queen) TIN (metal)] in PENCE (money) | ||
| 6 | WARM | After fighting maiden becomes affectionate (4) |
| WAR (fighting) M (maiden) | ||
| 7 | SAFARI | One flying group when going up to make special trip (6) |
| reverse of I (one) RAF (flying group) AS (when) | ||
| 8 | DEVIANCE | Going off course, not entirely wicked in waltz? (8) |
| EVIll (wicked, not entirely) in DANCE (waltz) | ||
| 15 | COMIC STRIP | Cartoon showing comedian’s holiday? (5,5) |
| COMIC’S (comedian’s) TRIP (holiday) | ||
| 16 | INCIDENTAL | Auxiliary volunteers inclined to wander around outside (10) |
| INCLINED* around TA (volunteers, Territorial Army) | ||
| 17 | DENDRITE | Leader of Druids to conclude ceremony, making mark on stone (8) |
| D (leader of Druits) END (conclude) RITE (ceremony) | ||
| 20 | BULLETIN | Possible killer in news report (8) |
| BULLET (possible killer) IN (news report) | ||
| 22 | CONDOR | Bird’s trick on spinning perch (6) |
| CON (trick) DOR (perch = ROD , reversed) | ||
| 24 | YORKER | Ball foxing batsman? See sign of hesitation (6) |
| YORK (see) ER (sign of hesitation) | ||
| 26 | LEER | Stagger after upset, giving nasty look (4) |
| reverse of REEL (stagger) | ||
| 27 | DAIS | Platform female from whom answer is demanded falling short (4) |
| DAISy (female from whom answer is demanded, not complete; refers to the song daisy bell) | ||
*anagram
Thank you for the review. I am talking about te history of crosswords on Radio 4 today at 1204-1216. If you are reading this too late, you can go to i-player and get Two Thousand Years of Puzzling Episode 5 should you feel inclined
Never heard of dangerous dan, perhaps you meant desperate dan. In 3d, why is ‘comparison’ = ‘something odious’? Guessed DAISy but didn’t know why. Daisy, daisy give me your answer do … Should have remembered that one.
I had the same question about ‘something odious’ but then I googled a bit and saw that there is an expression (first recorded in the 15th century) ‘Comparisons are odious’.
Thanks Sil. Never come across that before.
Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs. Much enjoyed this one. The comparisons-odious link had been around long enough to have Shakespeare’s Dogberry say “Comparisons are odorous.”
There was a nina
I am afraid that I do not see any kind of nina (and I had another very close look at the grid again).
And given that it’s now almost 3 hours after when comment #6 was posted, I think I’m not the only one who’s still in the dark.
Dear Bradman, you do mean nina? Or theme, hidden or not?
Don’t hesitate to tell us – please.
Bradman has included his own name across the three 3-letter lights. Not sure whether there’s meant to be any particular reason for that, or if there’s any more to it at all. I can’t see anything else myself.
Ah!
Thanks, Pandean.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Was kind of tough with a couple of new words – COPEPOD and my last in , LEY (the variant pasture spelling and the line between prehistoric sites. The parsing of a couple of them was also hard – the phrase about COMPARISONS (that I needed the blog for) and DAISY (until the song started to play in my head).
Would never have picked the nina and it still took a while even after Pandean had pointed it out – tried to see significant dates but couldn’t find any – I guess it was just a kind of signature !