I wasn’t 100% sure who set this, since I solved it on the Crossword blogging site and that did not give a name. It does have the feel of a Tees but slightly more toned down than usual – not as many pop culture references and slightly obscure words.
Only 8 down referenced something I’d never heard of and, due to its similarity to another word, did make me think for quite a while there was a misprint. There weren’t any clues which really stood out for me, although everything was parsed well.
| Across | ||
| 1 | AFFABLE | Warm female appears in a wondrous tale (7) |
| F(emale) in a fable | ||
| 5 | PEANUTS | Paltry sum teachers formerly invested in vegetables (7) |
| NUT in peas. The NUT seems to have merged into the NEU, the National Education Union, hence “teachers formerly”. | ||
| 9 | OMANI | Arab chap coming in round island (5) |
| man in O i(sland) | ||
| 10 | ABORIGINE | Native area suffered without one soldier (9) |
| A(rea) + borne around I GI | ||
| 11 | ABOVE BOARD | Straight on table (5-5) |
| On(=above) + board(=table) | ||
| 12 | MYTH | Economy that contains false notion (4) |
| Hidden in econoMY THat | ||
| 14 | STEAMROLLER | Forcibly crush bread in vessel (11) |
| Roll in steamer | ||
| 18 | CONFINEMENT | Prison and hard labour perhaps? (11) |
| DD | ||
| 21 | RUMP | Drink provided with soft meat (4) |
| Rum + p, short for piano. | ||
| 22 | ARCHIMEDES | God outside agreed to create mathematician (10) |
| Ares around chimed | ||
| 25 | EXCALIBUR | Weapon of unknown gauge announced (9) |
| Hom of X calibre | ||
| 26 | UPSET | Surprise win brings distress (5) |
| DD | ||
| 27 | ECLIPSE | Cuts in central Greece producing blackout (7) |
| Clips in [Gr]ee[ce] | ||
| 28 | ENHANCE | Chaps gamble — neither begins to improve (7) |
| [M]en [c]hance | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | AMORAL | Lacking ethical sense, lifted large bouquet (6) |
| (L(arge) aroma)<. Amoral is used correctly here as meaning outside of or devoid of any moral content, although in practice the word is often confused with immoral. | ||
| 2 | FLAGON | Vessel carrying pennant? (6) |
| Sort of DD, carrying pennant = flag on | ||
| 3 | BOILER SUIT | Workwear required by tough old chicken hearts? (6,4) |
| Boiler (=tough old chicken) + suit (of which hearts, along with diamonds etc is an example) | ||
| 4 | ERATO | Inspiration from singer at opera (5) |
| Hidden in singER AT Opera – Erato was one of the Greek Muses. | ||
| 5 | PROGRAMME | Broadcast for lightweight? (9) |
| Pro(=for) + gramme(=lightweight?) | ||
| 6 | ARID | Help needed to cross river that’s dry (4) |
| Aid around r(iver) | ||
| 7 | UNICYCLE | Likely to cause slip, relative coming round on this? (8) |
| Icy with uncle around. | ||
| 8 | SHEPHERD | Say Corydon‘s fine to embrace boozer and start to drink (8) |
| Sheer(=fine) around PH (public house) + d[rink]. Corydon is apparently a stock name for shepherds in pastorals. I doubt I’m the only person who thought it was a misprint of Croydon. | ||
| 13 | PORTSMOUTH | Wines given opening in naval base (10) |
| Ports + mouth | ||
| 15 | EXECRABLE | Dreadful crustacean in river drained lake (9) |
| Crab in Exe l[ak]e | ||
| 16 | SCORSESE | Director tries to involve son with bridge player (8) |
| Scores around s(on) + E(ast). Not sure about scores here as a synonym for tries. A try is a score in Rugby but that could be construed as definition by example because there are different types of scores in other sports. | ||
| 17 | INIMICAL | Left endlessly bitter, given little, turning hostile (8) |
| (L(eft) + aci[d] + mini)< | ||
| 19 | EDISON | News boss, one young man, inventive sort (6) |
| Ed(itor) + i son. | ||
| 20 | TSETSE | African transmitter sets in hollow tree (6) |
| Sets in t[re]e – transmitter of disease | ||
| 23 | HORDE | Keep talking in mob (5) |
| Hom of hoard | ||
| 24 | FLOP | Film initially cut becomes failure (4) |
| F(ilm) + lop | ||
*anagram
Thanks Tees and NealH
May I add a small correction to the blog: 10 is A + BORNE around I GI.
The situation is becoming farcical. Having changed the title format so that the setters would show in the app version, I find that setters are still not showing on the app and have disappeared from the web site version. I’ll try to get both versions working properly, but in the meantime, here are this week’s runners and riders:
MONDAY 18/2 10,093 Tees
TUESDAY 19/2 10,094 Radian
WEDNESDAY 20/2 10,095 Eccles
THURSDAY 21/2 10,096 Serpent
FRIDAY 22/2 10,097 Phi
SATURDAY 23/2 10,098 Nimrod
SUNDAY 24/2 1513 Kairos
Thanks, Simon. I’ve updated the blog.
I would agree with the feeling that this wasn’t ‘usual’ Tees – took a bit longer to solve too
Thanks to him and NealH
This was by “anon” when i printed out but it seemed a bit Tees-ish which Simon S confirmed.
Fun to do a blind tasting but thats the case every day in the Times- and very difficult there as the editing seems to make them all confirm to a “house style”
Seems several people are commenting on a missing setter’s name. I printed mine out and Tees’ name appears. Admittedly, smaller than usual under the date.
Being rather a newcomer on here I find it interesting that so many people have a feel for the different styles of setters. I’m afraid I just plough through, although obviously finding some harder than others. I had to have two goes at this one but second time got it all. I liked the image of uncle coming round on his unicycle.
Ah, the pitfalls of a half-remembered classical grammar-school education. Saw ‘Corydon’ & in went a smug GOATHERD like a rat up a drainpipe. A little knowledge…
Good puzzle & I know it’s part of the ethos but I hardly ever look at the setter’s name first unless I’m blogging (when ‘IO’ strikes cold fear into my heart).
We got off to a good start with AFFABLE, PEANUTS and OMANI almost write-ins, but then slowed somewhat, but we completed it without help, although we got SHEPHERD from crossing letters and had to check in Brewer. Which now has us wondering how the Corydon Singers chose their name, not that it has any relevance to the crossword. Oh, and we weren’t sure that Archimedes was a mathematician but wikipedia tells us he was a mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer – so we suppose he should really be described as a polymath. Favourite, though, was EXCALIBUR.
Thanks, Tees and NealH
A similar experience to Allan_c’s for me, with a good start followed by slower progress. As Tees usually expertly dials down the difficulty when appearing on Mondays, I’d put the slow movement down to juggling solving with entertaining a couple of what I lovingly refer to as “sibsprogs” (please, will someone invent a nice collective term for nieces and nephews!).
I find myself in good company with today’s blogger in wondering if Corydon was meant to be Croydon. Ignorance is not always bliss: sometimes it’s a pain in the proverbial.
Enjoyed it all anyway, as expected. Thanks Tees and NealH.
These poor souls having to do a blind tasting: I would be outraged and angry if I had to do one.
I mean The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and now The Indy: all they give you is some clues. And a grid.
What can you do.
Thanks to all who posted, and to NealH for his usual great blog.
Cheers —-.