I found this very tough, despite a quick start. Still not sure about 8 and 11 though.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | MUGGLE in S,D – in the Harry Potter books, a MUGGLE is someone who isn’t a wizard. |
| 9 | MIT,RE BOX – “they” being RE from the previous clue. A MITRE BOX is a tool for guiding handsaws. |
| 10 | TON[-y],IN,G – not sure how the missing Y is indicated by “term cut”. |
| 14 | (IN OHIO DUKE’LL)* – UNLIKELIHOOD, and an unlikely set of letters for an anagram. |
| 18 | E in PHOTON,GRAVE |
| 21 | A in IM ON(reversed) |
| 22 | REM, IS in (NICE)* – REM is the “rock group”. |
| 24 | [H for W]EIGHT |
| 25 | STAND[-h]ARD |
| 26 | (CHAPEL)* – PLEACH was a new word to me so this was a guess and one of the last words to go in. |
| Down | |
| 2 | (TURN)* EU (going up) |
| 4 | (YOUR LOVE AINT)* – EVOLUTIONARY. |
| 6 | PRO,K(OF)IEV |
| 8 | RAG TRADE – “fashion industry” is the definition but I don’t understand the rest of the clue. |
| 11 | TELEPROMPTER – don’t understand this one either. |
| 15 | (ONE)*,LITHIC |
| 17 | COLON,IS,E |
| 20 | WE,ED(going up) in DD |
| 23 | NO(N)ES |
8 DART up in RAGE (fashion).
A great puzzle with some original clues.
And a dedication, I think – 2nd column and, perhaps, first 4 of row 10.
10ac: re missing ‘y’ (“term cut”). Probably a reference to y (like x, a, b, etc.) being an algebraic term.
AND HEIDI in column 12.
I can’t quite see 11D either unless it’s TELE being the TV and PROMPTER being a on screen symbol but this doesn’t seem very satisfactory to me?
I thouhgt that the LITHIC bit of 15d could have been clued in a way that was a bit more cryptic and a bit less like its meaning in the answer.
Otherwise a good puzzle.
Re 8d: RAGTRADE
It is rev. of DART (run up) in RAGE (fashion). ‘Fashion’ seems to do double duty as part of wordplay and def.
I thought “term cut” just meant take off the last letter ‘y’ with ‘term’ equivalent to ‘end’
Another enjoyable puzzle froma fine setter.
Despite the explanation given, I’m still in the dark about the answer,definition and wordplay of #20.
Balls up between two democrats supporting partners of union (6)
wedded?
Can someone clarify this?
It’s a tricky one, Barbara Balls up = ED (Balls) politician upwards between two Democrats (two Ds) “supporting” partners = bridge partners WE with ‘supporting’ meaning put the DDED under the WE. Definition is “of union”.
Thanks, Nmsindy. Now I get it.
The blog wasn’t very clear.
10 across Tony has term cut y = year
Who are Michael Ella and Heidi?
MICHAEL AND HEIDI are my eldest son and his wife. ELLA just crept in. Many thanks for all the feedback. Mordred
any ideas for 19 down?
You’ll need to remind me what the clue was…
19D Key N. Atlantic state for the locals? (6) ISLAND
Double Def. Key is an island as in Florida Keys, and Island is the local spelling for Iceland.