The serial number is probably a misprint online. Anyway, a rather good Rufus I thought – an &lit here and there, a couple of reasonable cryptic definitions. Overall a pleasant accompaniment to my first cup of tea of the day. And by posting this early I hope I’ve recovered lost karma points for being late on Friday.
Across
| 1 | RAN,CID – nice shift of meaning of “rank” from the surface to the definition. |
| 5 | PARA,NO,ID |
| 11 | CUT=score, AND=with, THRUST=truths* |
| 13 | P(IT)Y – &lit for the appropriate emotion when encountering extreme poverty. Well… we all give money to the homeless don’t we? |
| 14 | S[ill]Y,NDROME=modern* |
| 17 | FLAME,NCO – Sweetheart’s just FLAME here and not E or WEE. |
| 18 | CANT – two meanings. |
| 24 | ONE(SIDE)D – SIDE in done*. Good surface. |
| 25 | AS,SAS,SIN – ref. the Brit SAS special forces. Again, surface holds together well. |
Down
| 1 | A,MO,S – second is just a “MO” and our prophet is from the OT not the Koran. | |
| 3 | C,ATACLYSM=(stay calm)* – disaster is our anagrind and upheaval is our definition. | |
| 4 | DRAFTS=”draughts” – another nice clue with the surface misleading towards military DRAFTS. | |
| 5 | PUT ONES FOOT DOWN | |
| 6 | R(OAST)ING | |
| 8 | INVESTMENT – two meanings | |
| 12 | VILLA,IN,O,US – ref. Aston Villa (English football team). | |
| 15 | RECESSION=(once rises)* – nice &lit again. | |
| 19 | SCREAM – groan. As it were. | |
| 21 | DOG,MA – ref. DOG lead. | |
| 22 | BETA=beat* – I like “offbeat” indicating a jumble of beat but would a purist complain? |
20. Fiddlesticks
Got this from the wordplay .. but what’s the definition?
20. FIDDLES,TICKS: definition is ‘bows’.
Can anyone please explain why 9A (Contract)means pick up a bargain?
And why is 7D (Nicer)to be more exact?
9a Double definition: contract = pick up as in a disease; contract = bargain
7d nice means exact or precise (its original sense), so more exact would be nicer.
4D Can anyone explain how “draught” and “draft” are used in the UK? In the USA “draft” is used for all senses, except for “checkers”.
Not comprehensive, Ygor, but ‘draft’ is mainly used for writings, plans etc and ‘draught’ for almost everything else – drink from casks, current of air etc.
We draw a bank draft or have an overdraft, but have draught beer and play draughts. We might write the first draft of a novel, or get a draughtsman to draw up some plans. We don’t have a military draft any more, but if we did I think it would be the same spelling as in the US.
Many thanks.
Help ,can anyone give me the answer to 16 down and why. John D
INCENSES – two meanings