As ever a few liberties taken here and there by Araucaria but on the whole a fair puzzle.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSALMS | S in PALM+S | the Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday. The implied Sunday has to be abbreviated for this to work. |
| 4 | APERIENT | APE + INTER* | took me a while to see this one as you need to read it as inter changed. 26! |
| 10 | PRINTING | ? | not sure about this one. PG = lodger (paying guest) though I had to look that up. How is RINTIN “Alsatian largely”? Full clue is, “Lodger keeps Alsatian largely to make an impression (8)” |
| 11 | FISH OUT OF WATER | dd | to fish out of water! |
| 13 | GOOSE LIVER | GOO + REVILES< | 1 is PATE but in true crossword sense can be read as PATE. |
| 14 | PERILUNE | PERIL+UNE | cf perigee. As is normal with Araucaria when a word is split over two lights each light is a distinct word. |
| 18 | SHEEPISHLY | SHE+EPIS+H(o)LY | “begins episcopate” leads to EPIS, a bit of a liberty… |
| 25 | LANDLADY | N in LAD + LAD + Y | …and another. Can Y = York without being part of NY? |
| Down | |||
| 2 | AMERIGO | ER in AMIGO | the explorer who gave his name to America. |
| 3 | MISCHIEF | M IS CHIEF | 21 is MON(K)EY BUSINESS. “M” is James Bond’s boss. |
| 5 | PURPOSELESS | O.S.E in PURPLE+SS | the E here is the start of eleven = XI. |
| 8 | TIGER LILY | (GRILL YET I)* | nice surface with (flower) bed well hidden. |
| 12 | UNINHABITED | UNI(o)N+HABITED | not sure about the surface here, at least the “…is desert” bit, but I like HABITED for “being dressed like a nun”. |
| 13 | GOLD MEDAL | OLD+ME+D in GAL | ME = the setter. |
| 15 | LIONS DEN | ON in D(a)NIELS* &lit | very nice. |
| 17 | NONAGON | NAG in NOON | 12 = NOON (not UNINHABITED!) |
10A Rin-tin-tin was an Alsation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rin_tin_tin
Thanks. I think that makes 10 a very difficult clue to cold solve. I know about Tintin but Rin-tin-tin was a bit before my time!
Whippersnapper….
12dn: The original meaning of ‘desert’ (as an adjective) is ‘uninhabited” – a desert island is one without people, not one without water!
10ac was my last entry to complete the puzzle, but once I had come up with PRINTING I spotted the “paying guest” and Rin-Tin-Tin rang a bell (onomatopoeic pun?) even though it is a bit before even my time…
I get the use of desert to define UNINHABITED, I just don’t get what it is meant to suggest in the surface reading.
Sorry, Colin! My interpretation was that ‘desert’ in the surface reading should be pronounced deSERT (with the stress on the second syllable), as in ‘(getting ones) just desert’, ie being dressed as a nun is the reward for a loveless marriage. If this explanation is correct, the clue might have read better with a dash instead of ‘and’.
12d “loveless marriage” = union without O plus “dressed as nun” habited
Aferick: Colin clearly understood the mechanics of the wordplay, it’s the SURFACE he’s questioning.
A few you missed, Colin. (Unless it’s just that my iPad doesn’t show them?)
9a. THEIST. T (time) + HEIST (crime).
21a. MON(K)EY BUSINESS. K=monarch.
23a. DOGTOOTH. DO (ditto) + TO in GOTH(ic).
24a. ADRIFT. AD (publicity) + RIFT (split).
26a. INDEED. Anagram of DENIED.
1d. PATE. Not quite PATER (father).
6d. RENOWN. Hidden in ‘furnituRE NOW Named’.
7d. EPISTLE. Anagram of SLEEP IT, but very loose clueing in terms of definition: Book with Psalms?
19d. HOSPICE. PIC (film) in HOSE (stockings).
20d. RECOIL. REC (play area) + OIL (fuel). REC is short for RECreation ground.
22d. STUD. Double def. Type of poker and adornment of nose/ear.
I thought FISH OUT OF WATER was brilliant.