A PDF of this crossword can be found here: Egbert @ York 2021
But those who care about trees should click here for an interactive version.
Nice grid fill from Egbert built around 15 across.
For some reason I had to think of Stealers Wheel: “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right”.
A colourful and completed grid is added at the end of this blog
| ACROSS | ||
| 6 | BAFFLE |
This is subtly able to suppress very loud noise (6)
|
| Anagram [subtly] of ABLE, going round FF (very loud) – perhaps a sort of &lit. FOX #1: to baffle = to fox |
||
| 8 | CATHOLIC |
Widespread outbreak of abdominal pain around a Thailand hospital (8)
|
| COLIC (outbreak of abdominal pain) around {A + T (Thailand) + H (hospital)} ROMAN #1: Roman Catholic |
||
| 10 | LAURENCE |
Acting mayoral candidate can rule out playing number two to Lewis (8)
|
| Anagram [out/playing] of CAN RULE, followed by E (the second letter, number two, of LEWIS) FOX #2: Laurence Fox, actor (notably in the Morse spin-off Lewis), earlier this year candidate to become mayor of London (unsuccessful), also a renowned Brexiteer. |
||
| 11 | EMPIRE |
Politician involved in Ireland business conglomerate (6)
|
| MP (politician) inside EIRE (Ireland) ROMAN #2: the Roman Empire |
||
| 12 | DESERT |
Dead trees pulped, creating a barren wilderness (6)
|
| D (dead) + anagram [pulped] of TREES FOX #3: Remember the bombing of Iraq? 1998’s Operation Desert Fox |
||
| 13 | NUMERALS |
Some characters surprisingly learn sums endlessly (8)
|
| Anagram [surprisingly] of: LEARN SUM[s] ROMAN #3: Roman numerals |
||
| 15 | FOX AND ROMAN |
Rows here – at this venue? (3,3,5)
|
| Rows here (i.e. in this puzzle) will provide words or names that can be linked to either FOX or ROMAN. Six on the left hand side ‘meaning’ FOX, six on the right hand side ‘meaning’ ROMAN. |
||
| 21 | BEWILDER |
To disconcert, behave less responsibly (8)
|
| BE WILDER (behave less responsible) FOX #4: to bewilder = to fox |
||
| 24 | TRAJAN |
Emperor‘s revolutionary new skill gets German approval (6)
|
| Reversal [revolutionary] of: N (new) + ART (skill), going round JA (German approval, German word for ‘yes’) ROMAN #4: Trajan, Roman emperor (53 – 117AD) |
||
| 25 | ARCTIC |
Leading activists record climate temperatures with ice reduced by a third in the far north (6)
|
| First letters of: Activists Record Climate Temperatures, followed by IC[e] FOX #5: Arctic fox, animal native to the arctic region – also a WW2 campaign: Operation Arctic Fox (1941) |
||
| 26 | ITALIANS |
Computer equipment regrettably bypasses independent and nationalist Europeans (8)
|
| IT (computer equipment), followed by ALAS (regrettably) which goes around I (independent) and N (nationalist) separately ROMAN #5: Romans are Italians, aren’t they? |
||
| 27 | SAMANTHA |
Model award presenter posed embracing a bloke, getting some laughter (8)
|
| SAT (posed) around MAN (a bloke), followed by HA (some laughter) FOX #6: Samantha Fox, singer, former Page 3 girl, etc |
||
| 28 | CANDLE |
Some light at the end of the pandemic, with live entertainment starting (6)
|
| [pandemi]C + AND (with) + L (live) + E[ntertainment] ROMAN #6: a Roman candle is a piece of firework |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DAMAGES |
Financial recompense obtained when mother gets older (7)
|
| DAM (mother) + AGES (gets older) | ||
| 2 | SENNA TEA |
Drunk neat after bread in Tokyo, a drink to get you going (5,3)
|
| Anagram [drunk] of NEAT, coming after SEN (‘bread’ in Tokyo, Japanese money), then + A | ||
| 3 | ACNE |
Spots a villain last seen in church (4)
|
| A, followed by [villai]N inside CE (church) | ||
| 4 | COPPER |
Coroner keeps masks and gowns for police officer (6)
|
| COR (coroner, abbreviation) around PPE (‘masks and gowns’) | ||
| 5 | MISRULE |
Inept government is run with an ass dominating (7)
|
| IS R (run), with MULE (an ass) going around it [indicated by dominating] | ||
| 7 | FERRERO |
Mistake by the queen concealed by Foreign Office for Italian confectionery manufacturer (7)
|
| ERR (mistake) + ER (the queen), together inside FO (Foreign Office) | ||
| 9 | THERM |
Quantity of gas initially required to be imported by the powers that be (5)
|
| R[equired] inside THEM (the powers that be) | ||
| 13 | NADIR |
At rock bottom, desperate character heads north pursued by one-time tax inspectors (5)
|
| Reversal [heads north] of DAN (desperate character, Desperate Dan), followed by IR (one-time tax inspectors, Inland Revenue) | ||
| 14 | ELM |
Icon initially carved out of gnarled lime tree (3)
|
| The first letter of ICON removed from an anagram [gnarled] of L[I]ME | ||
| 16 | XXL |
10 by 50 – measure of a very big girl’s blouse (3)
|
| X (10) X (by, as in multiplications) L (50) – ‘extra extra large’ | ||
| 17 | OUTDANCE |
What ‘Strictly’ contestants attempt to do with an unfashionable routine (8)
|
| OUT (unfashionable) + DANCE (routine) | ||
| 18 | ARABIAN |
Disheartened Jewish leader features in articles describing some people from the Middle East (7)
|
| RA[B]BI minus the B in the middle, placed in between A, AN (articles) | ||
| 19 | RETREAT |
Retirement‘s a pleasure for sappers (7)
|
| ‘Sappers’ are Royal Engineers (RE), give them some ‘pleasure’ (TREAT) and you’ll get RETREAT | ||
| 20 | FAINTLY |
Somewhat like a good person, fellow’s covering his back (7)
|
| SAINTLY (like a good person) with F (fellow) replacing S (the last letter of HIS) | ||
| 22 | IN-TRAY |
Things here are to be dealt with sometime when it’s terribly rainy outside (2-4)
|
| Anagram [terribly] of RAINY, going round T (sometime, to be taken as ‘some time’) | ||
| 23 | DUCAT |
Old European ready for some education (5)
|
| Hidden solution [some]: EDUCATION | ||
| 26 | IMAX |
Big screen showing film regularly cut short (4)
|
| IM (regular choice (here the odd letters) from FILM), followed by AX[e] (cut, shortened)
|
Did most of this on the train back yesterday – the theme was very helpful once I realised its extent. FAINTLY seemed to be catching a few people out.
Thanks to Egbert and Sil (and to John, Jane and everyone else for another very enjoyable weekend).
A delightful puzzle! Thanks to Egbert, and to Sil for the blog.
This being the second of the trio of puzzles that I picked up (Dalibor’s being the first), I was prepared for the theme, and it came to light after only three or four of the Across entries, and 15a FOX AND ROMAN was a doddle. The inclusion of all those thematic words was a creditable achievement, and of course fun for the solver.
Caught out by FAINTLY. No wonder SAINTLY didn’t parse. Drat!
Whoops! how can I delete a comment?
john_dun
Comment name edited.
Many thanks Gaufrid 🙂