A typical Wanderer offering, thanks to whom for a pleasurable workout.
FF: 9 DD: 8
| Across | ||
| 1 | PLUMBS | What a skilled labourer does, after removing last of fat below sink initially (6) |
| PLUMp (removing last of fat) Below Sink (below sink initially) | ||
| 5 | MAIL DROP | Daily dash that’s made by postman? (4,4) |
| &lit; MAIL (daily) DROP (dash) | ||
| 9 | ORATOR | Rita the singer, model or public speaker (6) |
| ORA (rita, singer) T (model) OR | ||
| 10 | DEMENTIA | Mad teen stupidly swallows one, making trouble for older relative? (8) |
| MAD TEEN* containing I (one) | ||
| 11 | TOROIDAL | Like a doughnut or two, perhaps? Not with one lentil dish (8) |
| [ OR TwO (without W – with) ]* I (one) DAL (lentil dish) | ||
| 12 | BUREAU | Office desk (6) |
| double def | ||
| 13 | BIRO | Backbone shown by circular letter writer (4) |
| BIR (bone = RIB, reversed) O (circular letter) | ||
| 15 | ABLUTION | Washing a lion, tub gets smashed (8) |
| A LION TUB* | ||
| 18 | EAU DE VIE | Spirit of English vaudeville only apparent after sinking first very large double? (3,2,3) |
| E (english) vAUDEVIllE (without the first V – very, without LL – Large, double) | ||
| 19 | DISC | Daughter is 100 – it might be a record (4) |
| D (daughter) IS C (100, roman numeral) | ||
| 21 | LIGGER | One that freeloads, finally paying and cross about that (6) |
| LIGER (cross, lion and tiger) around G (payinG, finally) | ||
| 23 | PUPPYISH | Kind of fat, one’s beginning to hear, like a young setter (8) |
| PUPPY (kind of fat) I’S (one’s) H (beginning to Hear) | ||
| 25 | LANOLINE | Lean lion possibly getting fat (8) |
| LEAN LION* | ||
| 26 | GREASE | Fat? Agrees, sadly (6) |
| AGREES* | ||
| 27 | YELLOWED | What old newspaper might have done, if Scottish island outstanding (8) |
| YELL (scottish island) OWED (outstanding) | ||
| 28 | ENROLS | Signs up to see opening of Sophia Loren play (6) |
| S (Sophia, opening letter) LOREN* | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | LARGO | Slow movement of mostly fat, round figure (5) |
| LARGe (fat, mostly) O (round figure) | ||
| 3 | METEOROID | Space traveller encountered door that is broken (9) |
| MET (encountered) [ DOOR IE (that is) ]* | ||
| 4 | STRODE | Walked through wild Dorset (6) |
| DORSET* | ||
| 5 | MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD | Page to study, when understanding former time period has caused unwanted fat (6-3,6) |
| [ P (page) READ (study)] after MIDDLE AGES (time period) | ||
| 6 | IMMOBILE | Wanderer’s on phone still (8) |
| I’M (wanderer’s) MOBILE (phone) | ||
| 7 | DINAR | 100 paras content to land in Arkansas (5) |
| hidden in “..lanD IN ARkansas” (serbian currency) | ||
| 8 | OVIPAROUS | Like a mother hen, getting some macho VIP aroused (9) |
| hidden in “..machO VIP AROUSed” | ||
| 14 | INANIMATE | Dead fashionable soulmate after losing mother (9) |
| IN (fashionable) ANIMA (soul) maTE (mate after losing mother) | ||
| 16 | TEDDY BEAR | Toy boy, easily aroused, really starts to go after lingerie (5,4) |
| TEDDY (lingerie) BEAR (first letters of “..Boy Easily Aroused Really..”) | ||
| 17 | OVERVIEW | One having the balls to compete with wife in survey (8) |
| OVER (one having balls, game of cricket) VIEW (compete) W (wife) | ||
| 20 | APOGEE | Highest point of a river – source of Ganges (6) |
| A PO (river) GEE (G, first letter of Ganges) | ||
| 22 | GROWL | What setter might do, having become larger at 50 (5) |
| GROW (become larger) L (50, roman numeral) | ||
| 24 | SISAL | After getting up, girl eats one source of fibre (5) |
| I (one) in reverse of LASS (girl) | ||
*anagram
Wouldn’t have gotten LIGGER or YELLOWED if I hadn’t seen the Nina in first and last columns. Nice to see a Nina that is relevant to the puzzle. Thanks all.
What an unromantic theme for a Valentine’s Day crossword – Fat!
Thanks for the blog, Turbolegs.
Could somebody explain the “when understanding” part of 5d? Doesn’t seem to go with either “study” or “former time period.
Thanks for the blog, Turbolegs.
I put in Sack Race for 5ac, then lost the will to continue with this once I’d realised my mistake.
I then noticed that at least half the clues for this had already been queried on wordplays.com before 8.00am this morning, so I clearly wasn’t the only person who found this too tough.
Hovis @3 – P READ is standing under MIDDLE AGES.
Thanks for the blog, Turbolegs.
I took as long to understand the parsing of 21ac and 7 and 14dn as to solving the rest of the puzzle – all very clever and groan-worthy, once seen. And I missed the Nina!
I also liked 11 and 28 ac and 22dn.
Agreed it was an unromantic theme – but still fun. Many thanks, Wanderer.
[Cheer up, Grumpy – I like SACK RACE!]
Eileen @5. Thanks. I was stupidly taking “former” to denote its placement.
@Hovis – I’m guessing it’s stand under, as in comes after in a down answer.
Thanks, Eileen!
Thanks, Turbolegs.
I did smile at 5dn – nicely constructed.
However, there were too many unfamiliar words and synonyms here for me:- TOROIDAL, OVIPAROUS, 100 paras = DINAR, TEDDY = lingerie, DROP = DASH.
Is “biro” still used in the UK? The original company lost its trademark long ago for failing to police its use for any ballpen.
Thanks for the parsing, Turbolegs. BIRO, LIGGER, and OVIPAROUS were all new to me but I generally found this crossword to be enjoyably doable. EAU DE VIE was great. Thanks Wanderer.
Nice POT BELLY and PAUNCHES Nina in left- and right-hand columns 😀
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Did this one over the weekend, but only got to check it off today. The theme passed me by, which may have helped in parsing 1A which I didn’t see until coming here. The singer at 9a and the LIGGER term were both new for me. Remembered that para was a currency unit but not for which country who use the DINAR.
Lots of interesting clues that led to penny drop moments or a task to unpick the word play – apart from 1a, TOROIDAL, MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD and INANIMATE were others that took some deeper thinking. Thought that the EAU DE VIE and TEDDY BEAR were the best of a very good bunch.
Finished in the SW corner with YELLOWED, that INANIMATE and LIGGER (when the hybrid cross penny dropped and was able to check the ‘freeloader’ term).