The last Filbert, about a month ago, was also on a Wednesday and I had the pleasure of blogging that as well. I commented on how it was harder than we have come to expect from Wednesdays and this one was no different, which is not to denigrate it: perhaps policy has changed. Apart from the incomprehensible 27ac I thought this was an excellent crossword (and no doubt when someone explains how 27ac works there will be no exceptions), and the fact that I failed eventually on 11ac (and stupidly on 8dn) was my own fault.
Definitions in maroon, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics.
The trouble with these crosswords that take so long is that by the end one heaves a sigh of relief and doesn’t look for a Nina. But I don’t think there is one.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BARELY | Bank chases graduate with little to spare (6) |
| BA rely [bank] — I am never confident with ‘chases’: it implies that things are moving, which they’re not, but if they’re moving at all it’s to the right, in which case the bank should be on the left and the graduate on the right, so that it’s relyba; when I see ‘chases’ I just give up and regard the word as a juxtaposition indicator | ||
| 4 | PRACTISE | Observe law that’s in force (8) |
| pr(act)ise | ||
| 10 | CLAPBOARD | Express admiration for directors’ American property deal (9) |
| clap board [of directors] — American property deal = the wood that is used on American houses | ||
| 11 | EXPAT | Date’s ending by dropping Madame at home in Chelsea, perhaps (5) |
| {Dat}e x [multiplied by] pat [as in cowpat] — I didn’t help myself by having an r at the end | ||
| 12 | GO TO THE COUNTRY | Ask the people to move down (2,2,3,7) |
| 2 defs, one as in a parliamentary election, the other relying on the strange convention that up = in town, and so if you leave town you go down | ||
| 14 | MILER | Athlete who looks pleased missing the start (5) |
| {s}miler | ||
| 16 | UPPERCASE | Like QC, say, making a profit from each brief (9) |
| up [making a profit] per [from each] case [brief] | ||
| 18 | OUTSPOKEN | Frank‘s fine punching put nose out of joint (9) |
| outsp(OK)en, the outspen being (put nose)* | ||
| 20 | HOTEL | Rent that’s surprising after rolling with this on Park Lane? (5) |
| (let oh!)rev. — ref. the Monopoly board, or perhaps not necessarily since there are lots of hotels on the real Park Lane | ||
| 21 | PROPER FRACTION | Large-bottomed figure needs decent French suit (6,8) |
| proper [decent] Fr. action [suit] — a proper fraction is a vulgar fraction whose denominator is larger than its numerator | ||
| 25 | MALTA | Country that La Marseillaise presents in revolution (5) |
| Reverse hidden in thAT LA Marseillaise | ||
| 26 | SACRAMENT | Host acts strangely putting noodles in a sandwich (9) |
| sac(ramen)t, the sact being (acts)* — ramen = noodles, something I was only vaguely aware of — ‘in a sandwich’ is just there I think to help with the surface | ||
| 27 | KAYAKING | Man on board attacked by bee, a bishop in a small boat (8) |
| I can’t see this at all: it seems to be something about a king, the man on a chessboard, and he is perhaps attacked by bee [b, or bishop], no …. goodness knows; what is the kay doing? Help please! | ||
| 28 | BEATEN | Unsuccessful target for dieter who’s a twelve? (6) |
| be a ten — the target for a dieter is to be a size ten | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BACKGAMMON | Rubbish partners second in a game of doubles (10) |
| back [second] gammon [rubbish] — and in the game of backgammon doubles (two dice showing the same number) are significant | ||
| 2 | ROAST | Tear a strip off meat (5) |
| 2 defs | ||
| 3 | LOBSTER | Throw up a lot of grim seafood (7) |
| lob [throw up] ster{n} | ||
| 5 | RADIO | Commercial port harnesses waves (5) |
| R(ad)io — the commercial is harnessed by the port | ||
| 6 | CLEANER | Cold with less covering, like you after a shower? (7) |
| c leaner | ||
| 7 | IMPORTANT | Big guy gripping ruby maybe cracks it (9) |
| i(m(port)an)t | ||
| 8 | EATS | Tucks in behind when cycling (4) |
| seat [behind] with the s cycled to the right — I had ears [tucks, well, sort of, … but not really I see now and I shouldn’t have stuck with it so obstinately and therefore failed to get 11ac], with the behind = the arse | ||
| 9 | LAME DUCK | Turkey meal liquidised to get down quickly (4,4) |
| (meal)* duck [get down quickly] | ||
| 13 | WELLINGTON | Spring fashion involves wearing a bit of Gucci footwear (10) |
| well [spring] (in [wearing] G{ucci}) ton [fashion] | ||
| 15 | LITERALLY | Really drunk, really drunk! (9) |
| lit (really)* | ||
| 17 | PINPRICK | Experience of a needle very quietly hiding in a haystack (8) |
| p(in)p rick | ||
| 19 | PEP TALK | Encouraging words kept pal jogging (3,4) |
| (kept pal)* | ||
| 20 | HECTARE | Charlie hides in funny tree, ha ha (7) |
| C in *(tree ha) — the abbreviation for a hectare | ||
| 22 | RISEN | English lesson’s ending after teacher turned up (5) |
| (sir)rev. E {lesso}n | ||
| 23 | INERT | With temperature dropping, bury dead (5) |
| inter with its t dropping to the bottom | ||
| 24 | AMOK | Brief reassuring message I’d send in a frenzy (4) |
| “am OK” is a brief reassuring message | ||
*anagram
Re 27a. Bee a bishop can attack kay a king on a chessboard.
I thought this was another superb offering from Filbert. So many excellent clues from the simple BARELY & EATS to the harder UPPERCASE, PROPER FRACTION, WELLINGTON & LITERALLY to name a few.
On the topic of “chases” in 1a, I agree with the sentiment expressed in the blog but have settled with chases = goes after as an explanation that I am happy with.
Had to look up “ramen” for 26a and couldn’t parse 1d. Didn’t know “gammon” could mean “rubbish” nor the significance of doubles.
Many thanks to Filbert and to John.
Another great puzzle from Filbert which was easier to finish (not that it was easy, mind) than to parse eg KAYAKING.
Quite a few foodstuffs in the downs I thought.
Many thanks to F & John
Thanks to John and Filbert
A shame there are so few comments on a more than decent crossword.
I entered KAYAKING thinking I’d come back and parse it later, but I never did. Hovis surely has it right but I’m not entirely sure I like it. A minor blemish for me, but at least Filbert is trying something new.
Didn’t like the sandwich bit of 26 though.
Thanks John, hello to Hovis, Baerchen, Dansar, thanks for commenting.
There’s always one particular clue I’m interested in the reaction to, and sure enough this time it was the kayaking one. The bee a bishop/kay a king equivalence looks so neat from my side of the fence, a shame it turned out to be so opaque. Thanks Hovis for getting it.
Throwing doubles in backgammon is an important part of the game, but there’s also the doubling of the stakes (the dice with powers of 2 on each face)
Re ‘chases’ in 1a, it’s your line of sight which moves left to right. If line of sight stays fixed, as with teletext, say, the letters move right to left, with the letters nearer the end of a word ‘chasing’ (or ‘following’, which I think you wouldn’t blink at) those at the front.