An enjoyable challenge from Serpent.
A good range of clue constructions here, some more obvious than others: I enjoyed the change-one-letter device in 23a and 4d, and the similar swap in 8d. Lots of good surfaces, with special mention going to 1a, 14d and 21d. And of course we have the obligatory awful pun (12a), some drugs jargon (13a), and a couple of slang terms for male anatomy. Business as usual. Thanks Serpent as always.
UPDATE: As WordPlodder says in a comment below, “there’s also something happening here” – it’s a Nina, which I completely missed. I’ll let you find it, but see my comment @4 if you can’t.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | FAILED |
Unsuccessful football manager took charge after international (6)
|
| FA (the Football Association, which manages the game in England), then LED (took charge) after I (international). | ||
| 5 | IMPOSTER |
Deceitful character‘s broken promise to cut back (8)
|
| Anagram (broken) of PROMISE T[o]; cut back = shortened = last letter dropped.
More usually spelled “impostor”, but this is an accepted variation. |
||
| 9 | ROMANTIC |
Passionate fellow captivated by contents of erotica (8)
|
| MAN (fellow), contained in [e]ROTIC[a]; contents of = all but the outer letters. | ||
| 10 | SHEATH |
Rubber silencer fitted round American gun (6)
|
| SH (sh! = a command to be quiet = silencer) fitted round HEAT (gun in American slang; packing heat = carrying a gun).
Rubber = slang for condom = sheath. |
||
| 11 | TRANSCRIBE |
Copy note containing right answer with student’s help (10)
|
| TE (a note in the musical sol-fa scale), containing R (right) + ANS (short for answer) + CRIB (student’s “cheat sheet”).
To copy and reproduce text, especially from handwriting into digital form. |
||
| 12 | TWIG |
Cotton on sticky part of plant (4)
|
| Double definition. Cotton on = twig = to become aware of something; or a part of a plant which is stick-like (sticky). | ||
| 13 | HEADLINE |
Source arranged drugs for part of newspaper article (8)
|
| HEAD (source of a river or stream) + LINE (cocaine lined up to be taken nasally = arranged drugs). | ||
| 15 | INROAD |
Raid fashionable street (6)
|
| IN (fashionable) + ROAD (street).
As in “to make inroads into” = to raid, or metaphorically to make progress on a task. |
||
| 16 | NIBBLE |
Writer’s point regularly belies little for the consumer (6)
|
| NIB (the point of a pen = writer’s point) + alternate letters (regularly) of B[e]L[i]E[s].
A small bite to eat = a little to be consumed. |
||
| 18 | GATHERED |
3 could make the grade (8)
|
| Anagram (could make) of THE GRADE.
Reference to 3d LEARNED; learn = gather = become aware of. |
||
| 20 | STUN |
26 turned round in shock (4)
|
| NUTS (slang for 26a TESTES), reversed (turned round). | ||
| 21 | FUNEREALLY |
Frolic before friend with a gloomy air (10)
|
| FUN (frolic) + ERE (archaic / poetic “before”) + ALLY (friend). | ||
| 23 | INDUCT |
Introduce charge when Independent becomes accessible to everyone (6)
|
| IND[i]CT (charge with a criminal offence), changing the I (independent) to U (film classification “universal” = accessible to everyone). | ||
| 24 | REINSERT |
Put back in controls head of state ultimately sought (8)
|
| REINS (controls) + ER (the Queen = head of state) + last letter (ultimately) of [sough]T. | ||
| 25 | SENTINEL |
Security feature present in electric blankets (8)
|
| Hidden answer (. . . blankets) in [pre]SENT IN EL[ectric].
Another word for sentry = security guard. |
||
| 26 | TESTES |
Part of tennis match repeatedly knocked back balls (6)
|
| SET (part of a tennis match), twice (repeatedly), reversed (knocked back). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | AMOUR |
Mail ignoring Queen’s secret affair (5)
|
| A[r]MOUR (mail, as in chain mail = flexible armour made of linked metal rings), ignoring the R (as in Elizabeth R = Latin Regina = Queen). | ||
| 3 | LEARNED |
Profited from Labour supporting Liberal intellectual (7)
|
| EARNED (profited from labour = gained by working), after (below, in a down clue = supporting) L (abbreviation for Liberal).
Learned (pronounced as two syllables) = well-educated or experienced. It doesn’t actually mean that someone had a better intellect to start with (nature or nurture?), but in the general sense of “wise” it’s close enough. |
||
| 4 | DETECTIVE |
Member of police force becomes tense during bust (9)
|
| DE[f]ECTIVE (bust = not working properly), with the F (force) changed to T (tense). Clever misdirection from “police force”. | ||
| 5 | INCLINE |
Queueing outside entrance to Co-operative Bank (7)
|
| IN LINE (queueing) outside the first letter (entrance) of C[o-operative].
Bank = incline = slope. |
||
| 6 | PASTE |
Beat with stick (5)
|
| Double definition. Slang term for “beat with the fists”; or “attach using adhesive”. | ||
| 7 | SWEATER |
Get anxious about lifting top (7)
|
| SWEAT (get anxious), then RE (about) reversed (lifting = upwards in a down clue). | ||
| 8 | EXTRICATE |
Exchange article with one in supplementary reference for free (9)
|
| EXTRA (supplementary) + CITE (reference, as a verb), with the A (the indefinite article) and I (one in Roman numerals) exchanged. | ||
| 14 | EXISTENCE |
Life with former partner is strained we hear (9)
|
| EX (former partner) + IS + homophone (we hear) of TENSE (strained). | ||
| 15 | INTERDICT |
Impose ban on criminal tried in court (9)
|
| Anagram (criminal) of TRIED IN, then CT (abbreviation for court). | ||
| 17 | BANQUET |
Wipe empty table at end of seat to eat (7)
|
| BANQUET[te] (an upholstered bench seat, especially one built into the wall in a restaurant), with T[abl]E (empty = middle letters removed) wiped from the end of it.
Banquet, as a verb = to dine lavishly. |
||
| 18 | GENERAL |
Common man who’s risen through the ranks (7)
|
| Double definition. Ordinary, non-specific; or a high-ranking military officer. | ||
| 19 | ELAPSES |
Passes out: asleep and beginning to snore (7)
|
| Anagram (out) of ASLEEP, then the beginning of S[nore]. | ||
| 21 | FUTON |
Thin mattress leads to night of terrible upheaval for back (5)
|
| First letters (leads) of N[ight] O[f] T[errible] U[pheaval] F[or], all reversed (back).
Japanese mattress, thin enough to roll up when not in use. |
||
| 22 | LARGE |
Great act of generosity gives away odd bits to sister (5)
|
| LARGE[sse] (act of generosity), giving away the odd-numbered letters of S[i]S[t]E[r]. |
Looks like this may be the first post. Things were as expected with Serpent, with a good first clue to kick off and some challenging ones to follow. Thanks for explaining EXTRICATE which I just couldn’t work out, wondering (stupidly) if a ‘cate’ was some sort of ‘reference’.
Satisfying to eventually fill the grid and er…, there’s also something happening here.
Thanks to Serpent and Quirister
I was hoping to be first to comment, but things got in the way.
Didn’t need the nina this time to finish but always nice to see one.
Lots of clever clueing and the usual enjoyable workout. Personally, I think “interchange” works better than “exchange” in 8d but that’s a minor quibble at best.
Thanks to the first three posters for pointing out the Nina, which I’d never have seen if you hadn’t told me it was there. (Look at the first letters of the across entries.) Very neat.
Well done to the first three posters (and, if I can be forgiven for nominating a first amongst equals, very nice comment, Andrew!). I knew there was likely to be something in a Serpent but completely missed that.
And some fabulous clueing as well as the Nina: FAILED, TWIG, FUNEREALLY, SENTINEL (breathtakingly good lurker) and FUTON were my favourites. I’ll confess, I didn’t TWIG the sticky bit of the clue at first. It reminds me of the famous Blackadder quote when acknowledging he was in a sticky place: “as sticky as when Mr Sticky, the stick insect, got stuck on a sticky bun!”
Thanks Serpent and Quirister.
A most enjoyable crossword, thank you Serpent, and I’m delighted to learn that I spotted the Nina too!
My favourite was 12a – I always like a Twiggy clue
Thanks also to Quirister
Me @ 6 ‘say’ not ‘learn’
Lovely puzzle as per usual with this setter
He hid his nina a bit too well for me so well spotted.
Thanks Serpent and trainspotters
Cunning stuff.. way too cunning for me.. I blame solving on a small screen… who am I kidding..??
Thanks Serpent n Quirister
Thanks both. I blame the heat for causing me to miss much of what was clever here – also, had pleases at 19 (something passable is pleasing?) and whack at 6 (W-hack [as in ‘I can’t hack this’])
Missed the Nina again. Found the puzzle great fun and liked 12a, a standing joke in our family being ‘What’s brown and sticky?’ Thanks to Quirister and Serpent.
With Undrell @9 and TFO @10, too cunning for me, and I do blame the heat. Well, far better solvers than I (Bertandjoyce yesterday) have done. Thanks anyway to Serpent and Quirister.
Thanks to Quirister for the excellent blog and to everyone who has taken the time to comment on the puzzle.