Fun and neatly clued – I particularly liked 20ac, 5dn, 6dn, 7dn, and 22dn. Thanks Chifonie for an enjoyable start to the week.
| Across | ||
| 8 | REPROACH | Shame salesman taking fish (8) |
| REP=sales representative=”salesman” + ROACH=”fish” | ||
| 9 | PIOUS | Further thoughts about obligation to be devout (5) |
| PS=post script=”Further thought”, around IOU=”obligation” | ||
| 10 | TIME | Mark enters relationship for a while (4) |
| M (Mark) inside TIE=”relationship” | ||
| 11 | SUNGLASSES | Serenaded girls showing viewing aids (10) |
| SUNG=”Serenaded” + LASSES=”girls” | ||
| 12 | SAMPLE | Old Bob’s big test (6) |
| S=shilling=”Old Bob” + AMPLE=”big” | ||
| 14 | ADAM’S ALE | A barrier to marketing of water (5,3) |
| A + DAM=”barrier” + SALE=”marketing” | ||
| 15 | REFRAIN | Stop umpire having shower (7) |
| REF=”umpire” + RAIN=”shower” | ||
| 17 | SEVERAL | A number cut in front of a learner driver (7) |
| SEVER=”cut” + A + L (Learner driver) | ||
| 20 | ASPIRATE | Don’t drop one’s aitches like Captain ’Ook, for example (8) |
| AS=”like” + PIRATE=”Captain ‘Ook, for example” | ||
| 22 | POTASH | Classy when receiving thanks for chemical compound (6) |
| POSH=”Classy” around TA=”thanks” | ||
| 23 | FOR THE CHOP | About to get fired? Away to ring president! (3,3,4) |
| FORTH=”Away” + ECHO=”ring” + P (president) | ||
| 24 | GIST | The way to follow soldier’s point (4) |
| ST=street=”The way”, after GI=”soldier” | ||
| 25 | CANAL | Lavatory beside a large waterway (5) |
| CAN=”Lavatory” + A + L (Large) | ||
| 26 | NEUROSIS | National currency is creating emotional disorder (8) |
| N (National) + EUROS=”currency” + IS | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HESITATE | Have an aversion to eating European perch? Think twice! (8) |
| HATE=”Have an aversion to”, around all of: E (European) + SIT=”perch” | ||
| 2 | BRIE | Gabrielle hides the cheese (4) |
| hidden in GaBRIElle | ||
| 3 | HASSLE | Badger lashes out (6) |
| (lashes)* | ||
| 4 | CHIN-WAG | Popular humorist supports companion in conversation (4-3) |
| IN=”Popular” + WAG=”humorist”; after CH=Companion of Honour I think the IN is meant to be indicated by “Popular” – it does also appear in the surface, but taking it from there would make”Popular” redundant |
||
| 5 | SPILLAGE | Small sack of waste (8) |
| S (Small) + PILLAGE=”sack” | ||
| 6 | CONSISTENT | Sibling wears comfortable uniform (10) |
| SIS=sister=”Sibling” inside CONTENT=”comfortable” | ||
| 7 | AS WELL | To boot a balloon (2,4) |
| A + SWELL=”Balloon” | ||
| 13 | PERSISTENT | Prettiness that’s rendered enduring (10) |
| (Prettiness)* | ||
| 16 | ISABELLA | Girl libels AA organisation (8) |
| (libels AA)* | ||
| 18 | ASSASSIN | One kills when crack troops go astray (8) |
| AS=”when” + SAS=”crack troops” + SIN=”go astray” | ||
| 19 | METHANE | Change the name of a fuel (7) |
| (the name)* | ||
| 21 | SCOTCH | Put an end to good spirits (6) |
| two definitions | ||
| 22 | POP OUT | Italian banker to sulk and exit briefly (3,3) |
| PO=Italian river=”banker” as in riverbanks + POUT=”sulk” | ||
| 24 | GLOW | German subdued ardour (4) |
| G (German) + LOW=”subdued” | ||
I only just twigged 23ac – thanks for the confirmation. Chiffonier does like to use capital/initial letters for abbreviations. Good Monday morning fun. Thanks all. (Thought “good” was superfluous in 21ac apart from giving an apparent surface meaning.)
Sorry Chiffonie – I know you are not a piece of furniture but my pesky auto-correct function insists you are.
I was looking for a president rather than P so not my favourire clue although the answer had to be that.
Liked the rest thoiugh.
My favourites were 18d, 26d, 11a, 17a.
It took me a while to parse FOR THE CHOP.
I also parsed CHIN WAG as IN=”Popular” + WAG=”humorist”; after CH=Companion of Honour.
Thanks manehi and Chifonie.
I liked forth echo p and po pout, as well as the tilt, Adam’s ale, once I’d got to dam for barrier (after trying bar and ban). A fun monday solve, as said. Agree with TerriBlislow, scotches range from the rough as guts to the sublime (tho perhaps the former aren’t really scotch). As good as a rest after Saturday’s Paul, thanks Chifonie and Manehi.
A blessed relief after Saturday’s teeth grinder! Thanks Chifonie and thanks Maheni.
This was a good puzzle to tackle on a train trip from the City to the Sunshine Coast and I liked getting it out without any “looking up”. I am another who failed to parse FOR THE CHOP but got it from the crossers. Had MEDITATE to start with for 1d but the parsing just didn’t feel right, so I am glad I persisted to end up with HESITATE, my LOI. It took me a while to spot 14a ADAM’S ALE, a clue I really liked as it was a phrase my Mum used to use. My other favourites have already been mentioned by others. Thanks to Chifonie and manehi.
Fun and neat and perfect for Monday morning
Thanks to Chifonie and manehi
I enjoyed the fact that I could work out almost all first rather than after getting the definition. Did not do so for FOR THE CHOP, however. Also didn’t get CH for Companion of Honour – will try and remember that one. Thanks for the help, Manehi.
Favourites were ASPIRATE, SPILLAGE and PIOUS among many.
Thank you, Chifonie.
Thanks to Chifonie and manehi. A fun Monday puzzle with some nice clues. It all unpacked quite readily for me and my favourite clues are the same as manehi. Thanks again to Chifonie and manehi.
Thanks Chifonie and Maheni
very nice. I liked 11a and 26a, as well as many others. Always a good sign when people don’t agree on the favourite clues.
Most enjoyable this wet morning in every way…
I found I struggled with this for a Monday – all good cluing and fair, but not obvious by any means, so congrats to Chif for that. It warmed me up nicely for a return to Saturday’s Prize which was looking a bit forlorn after a weekend away, but then tumbled pretty quickly thankfully. I’m not going to pick favourite clues here – I liked the puzzle as a whole, being a good balance of easy intros and chin-strokers, anagrams and charades. Light on DDs and CDs for a Monday I thought?
I really must learn to check my anagrams! I bunged in “Isabelle” for 16d, so a DNF for me.
Many thanks to Chifonie and Maheni.
I’m another who failed to fully parse “for the chop”. Interesting what some fine a TILT – I’d thought “adam’s ale” was relatively well known, although I guess it was more of my parents’ generation. As others have said, an enjoyable Monday crossword, thanks to Chiffonie and to Manehi.
ngaiolaurenson @15 I suspect that “Adam’s Ale” along with expressions such as “Bob’s your uncle” and “Shank’s pony” are all dependent on what our families said as they are not expressions anyone uses nowadays. Like so much GK, they’re obvious if you know them, but (as with “like gangbusters” the other day) seem pretty unfair if you simply never heard the expression used. That’s part of the joy of finding out what other people’s TILTs are, as you say.
Thanks both,
This was by no means a write in for me. 19 was my cod for the way the anagram was, to me, well hidden. Just right for a Monday.
Thanks to Chifonie and manehi. I agree- an enjoyable Monday puzzle. I’m another who struggled with FOR THE CHOP.
A nice Monday workout, which I didn’t quite finish, as I never heard the phrase FOR THE CHOP. A very clever clue, though, after I revealed it, and I also liked ASPIRATE.
One minor quibble: I don’t think ‘banker’ really works as a clue for a river in the same way that ‘flower’ does. A river flows, but it doesn’t bank. Not a serious complaint, as the intent was clear.
Thanks to Chifonie and manehi.
After Paul’s stinker on Sat, this was a doddle. FOI AS WELL, LOI 1d.
Excellent Monday puzzle, Chifonie. Many Thanks for an enjoyable start to the week. I’m fortunate that it has not rained here so far today in sunny Manchester. The crossword was great fun with some great surfaces. I also learned ‘Adam’s Ale’ which has passed me by until now.
At the risk of repeating everyone else, FOR THE CHOP was a struggle to parse and I still struggle with ECHO being a synonym for ring. This is also new to me.
Thanks manehi for the blog.
Another workmanlike puzzle from Chifonie. For some reason it took me ages to see HESITATE, obvious though it was.
I liked ASPIRATE.
Thanks Chifonie.
A very nicely pitched puzzle – Iike others I particularly liked ASPIRATE and HESITATE. Thanks to Chifonie and manehi
Seeing the allusions to the ease of Chifonie today compared to the difficulty of Paul on Saturday, I’m reminded that difficulty is to some extent in the eye of the solver. I found Saturday’s puzzle to be somewhat harder than this one, but on the other hand I solved Paul’s offering (at least I think I did — if so, a rarity for me) but missed one answer today, as I noted above.
As with JinA @7, this occupied a journey to the coast very satisfactorily, though in Surrey and Hampshire no sunshine was involved – torrential rain all day having ruled out a day at the cricket. Only coming here did I realise that my FOR THE DROP was wrong – just as unparseable as the right answer, except that I saw Ford as the president (as he so often is). To fit with that, I had 19d as REBRAND -‘change the name of’. It works, sort of.
Thanks to Chifonie and manehi.
Ed The Ball @21:
Ring is a very short echo, more like reverb – ‘the room rang with laughter’.
All been said really, good Monday fare, thanks Chifonie and manehi
Thanks to Chifonie and manehi.
Very enjoyable for a Monday – just tricky enough with some didactic intentions permed in. (DaveinNCarolina@19 – agreed about “banker” but I think it has been around so long that there is no point resisting. It’s a rarity these days I think so Monday “beginners” might need to be made aware of it?).
All has been said but I join in at this late hour to praise SUNGLASSES. It reminded me of the song I’ve been meaning to write for ages, along the lines of the Rose of Tralee, Mary from Dungloe or even Molly Malone, but dedicated to the un-sung lasses of Ireland. (Now where’s that rhyming dictionary……)
Good fun …. was I alone in putting in West for 24A (we = wing engineer, but there are SO many 2 letter abbreviations for different soldiers that without 24D I was scraping around for a word that = point …)
Dead easy, over in 10 minutes. Just got onto the wavelength right away. COD sample.
Ironically ‘TILT’ is a TILT for me.