A Saturday in July and a familiar adversary Nimrod has control of the clues today. Oh joy!
A mild outing by Nimrod’s standards or I was on a roll. I suspect the former.
I did like 12ac for its unusual construction, 22ac for its peculiar double definition style and 6dn for its originality.
Whilst the answer to 16dn is clear I can’t see the parsing
I really did enjoy this – perhaps I was better tuned to the setter’s wavelength than usual.
Thanks Nimrod
Key:
Rev. reverse; DD double definition; * anagram; underline definition.
Across
7 Didn’t you fancy engaging special nuclear defence outfit? (5,4)
(didn’t you)* around s = NODDY SUIT
8 Local papers going after a sucker (5)
Ph (local) + id (papers) after a = APHID
11 Consultant has no power to influence operation (5)
Expert (consultant) – p (power) = EXERT
12 Fast runner does it to slow runner (since there’s something very exciting about tortoises) (9)
gas (something very exciting) around lap (Fast runner does it to slow runner) + ago (since) = GALAPAGOS
13 Five types stressing about missing mixed gin and tonic (10)
V (five) + italics (types) – c (about) + (gin)* = VITALISING
15 Prow dismantled from freight ship (4)
Cargo (freight) – prow = ARGO
17 At back of library, badly-educated set? No (7)
Unread (badly educated) + y (back of library) = UNREADY
18 Fast counter service accepting orders for payment (7)
Rite (Service) around POs ((orders for payment) = RIPOSTE
19 New wine has an obligation to smell (4)
Triple definition MUST
20 Colony resettled with new land formation (6,4)
(colony + land)* = LONDON CLAY
22 As is characteristic of art critics, each asked for more of the same (9)
Characteristic is an anagram (reordered) of art critics each = REORDERED
24 Certainly not vanilla stout regular’s drinking (5)
Hidden stOUT REgular = OUTRE
25 Torture screened by alien land (5)
Gyp (torture) in ET (alien) = EGYPT
26 Might as well start off lifeboat drill? (5,4)
Power (might) + too (as well) + l (start off lifeboat) = POWER TOOL
Down
1 Ever so rude, Oxford’s top man when solving (9,5)
(ever so rude + o (Oxford’s top) + man)* = ENDEAVOUR MORSE
2 Five in a Choppers Con? Probably not (9,5)
v (five) in a dentures (choppers) + tory (con) = ADVENTURE STORY
3 Facetious policy-maker greeting Northern banker with what sounds like “Eh up” (9)
Rev. Hallo (greeting) + tay (northern banker) + a (homonym of Eh) = AYATOLLAH
4 To carry heavy load knight must stop for a breather (4)
Lug (to carry heavy load) around n (knight) = LUNG
5 Old city crook shifting international violin cases (10)
strad (violin) around ailing (crook as in sick) – i (international) = STALINGRAD
6 Perhaps reading all of the letters, this man would need help (5)
r (Perhaps reading) + alphabet (all of the letters) – abet(help) = RALPH
9 Detailed take on pinching Grand Hotel key (4-10)
hire(take) around g h (Grand hotel) + solution (key) = HIGH RESOLUTION
10 They’ve new crude record, done with piercing cries (9,5)
disc (record) + over (done) + w (with) in yells (cries) = DISCOVERY WELLS
14 Pen and record modern music with Hollies’ principal writer (10)
sty (pen) + log (record) + rap (modern music) + h (first of Hollies) = STYLOGRAPH
16 I’m hearing Joe Public’s allowed to attend (4,5)
OPEN COURT
21 Do what my boss does with hot girl (5)
edit (Do what my boss does) + h (hot) = EDITH
23 To begin with, ducks have feathers (4)
d (ducks to begin with) + own (have) = DOWN
Great clues as always although I was stuck on ZAPPA and for some reason RALPH was eluding me.
I cant fully parse 16 either except that “hearing” sounds like “caught”/COURT and public is OPEN-but there’s more to it than that,I’m sure.
Thanks twencelas and Nimrod. This and Arachne together helped to drown my football sorrows, as did Picaroon yesterday.
Thanks Nimrod and twenceslas
For 16 I read it as “OPEN COURT” = “I’m” as the subject of the statement “{I’m} {Open court is} [a] hearing Joe Public’s allowed to attend”. Knowing that we all appreciate Nimrod in his various guises for his complicatedness, he may just have lobbed a straightforward one in to throw us off the scent.
I had OPEN COURT as a cryptic definition, as Simon@2. Failed to get RALPH and wasn’t convinced with the definition for AYATOLLAH. Didn’t know LONDON CLAY or NODDY SUIT, but managed to work them out.
Normanlly have as much trouble solving Nimrod as anyone else, fiddling about trying to tune into his wavelength and making do with Radio Luxembourg-type reception in the 60s but this time I was right next to the transmitter and everything came through loud and clear.
Normanlly??? It’s all about me, of course.
I’ve got one of those days where I’ve so much to do I didn’t know what to do first until I found that today’s Indy was a Nimrod so of course that took priority
Note quite as tricky as some Nimrod’s have been in the past; the usual fun and I agree with Simon and Hovis about the parsing of 16d
Thanks to Nimrod and twenceslas.
Now I think Arachne can keep me company while I watch the tennis
While I enjoyed this very much, I don’t understand how an ayatollah can possibly be described as facetious! Am I missing something (probably!).
Well, it defeated me. I was out most of the day and only really got started when I got home a couple of hours ago, and I got less than half. But having confidently entered INSPECTOR MORSE for 1dn didn’t help.
The second definition of AYATOLLAH in Chambers is: (loosely) an ideological leader or policy maker. In other words, a facetious application of the word’s original meaning.
I have to confess that I had to use Chambers anagram finder and wordsearch for a few answers, although all is fair and above board as you’d expect from this setter.