As always, I was pleased to see Philistine’s name on a puzzle, particularly as it was a Prize.
I fairly raced through the first few clues, thinking that it was at the easier end of Philistine’s range (as it was, for the most part) but later ran into the buffers, until I remembered one of Philistine’s newer tricks at 27ac, producing a deep groan when I saw the light. (I swear to remember this earlier next time.)
From a longer list of ticks, my favourites this time were 10ac SCAVENGER, 26ac OCCAM, 3dn BATTERY HEN, 15dn NEAR THING and 23dn ABYSS.
Many thanks, as ever, to Philistine, for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Complain audibly, except where drinks are served (4,3)
WINE BAR
WINE (sounds like – audibly – ‘whine’ = complain) + BAR (except)
5 Be an agitator around mid-April and put one’s foot in it (7)
STIRRUP
STIR UP (be an agitator) round [ap]R[il]
9 Film branch fire (5)
SHOOT
Triple definition
10 Perhaps vulture‘s nemesis pursuing strategic ends (9)
SCAVENGER
S[trategi]C (ends of) + AVENGER (nemesis)
11 Rubbish race that’s not so hairy (10)
BALDERDASH
BALDER (less hairy) + DASH (race)
14 Perjury before tea isn’t wrong when dead? (5-2-5)
LYING-IN-STATE
LYING (perjury) before an anagram (wrong) of TEA ISNT
18 Kissing when hugging wild raver is stressful (5-7)
NERVE-RACKING
NECKING (kissing) round an anagram (wild) of RAVER
21 Making contents similar (4)
AKIN
[m]AKIN[g] (contents of)
22 Ask the drunk by the river for a place to eat (10)
STEAKHOUSE
As anagram (drunk) of ASK THE + OUSE (river)
25 Bar with legal liability finally gets promotion (9)
PUBLICITY
PUB (bar) + LICIT (legal) + [liabilit]Y
26 Clutching a small volume, chairman turns philosopher (5)
OCCAM
A reversal (turns) of MAO (chairman) round CC (cubic centimetre – small volume) for philosopher William of Ockham, best known for his Razor, which we sometimes need to apply when solving crossword puzzles
27 Tax easing off, but not as explicit communication (7)
SEXTING
Well, of course, as intended, I first thought that we needed an anagram (off) of TAX E[as]ING, minus ‘as’, which didn’t work, and then I remembered the trick Philistine has used a couple of times before: we need to take two ‘As’ from the anagram fodder – I think I won’t have been the only one to be initially fooled here
28 Extremely sick boy at last might be here, getting up (7)
SKYWARD
S[ic]K [bo]Y + WARD (where a sick boy might be)
Down
1 Relish having gone straight? (6)
WASABI
‘Having gone straight’ = no longer a bi, presumably?
2, 12 In a bad way upon eating lots of Asian food (6,4)
NOODLE SOUP
An anagram (in a bad way) of UPON round OODLES (lots)
3 Yet the barn could be better for her (7,3)
BATTERY HEN
An anagram (could be) of YET THE BARN, with a cryptic definition
4 Wiped out old section of paper as editor (5)
RASED
Hidden in papeR AS EDitor – I think ‘old’ must refer to this being a rather out-dated form of ‘erased’ – but I did try other options and will be interested to read comments
5 Farcical friend is back in seconds (9)
SLAPSTICK
A reversal (is back) of PAL (friend) in S S + TICK (all seconds)
6 Rebecca’s chasing one goat (4)
IBEX
BEX (short for Rebecca – although I’ve only seen it as ‘Becks’- after I (one)
7 Royal protection for one charged in a particular area (8)
REGIONAL
REGAL (royal) round ION (one charged)
8 Hats from Melton Mowbray? (4,4)
PORK PIES
Double definition, the second referring to our local delicacy
13 Like New York? Going up with friend to reserve hotel, doing it at different times (10)
ASYNCHRONY
AS + a reversal (going up, in a down clue) of NY (New York) + CRONY (friend) round H (hotel)
15 New ground connection that almost didn’t make it (4,5)
NEAR THING
N (new) + EARTHING (ground connection)
16 Where students are affected, when overwhelmed by responsibility (2,6)
ON CAMPUS
ONUS (responsibility) round CAMP (affected)
17 One’s smart to have packed underwear (8)
BRAINBOX
BRA IN BOX (packed underwear) – I’ve seen this more than once before but it still raises a smile
19 Skilful craftsman’s hinges (6)
FULCRA
Hidden in [skil]FUL CRA[tsman’s]
20 James undressed, got into bed and smiled (6)
BEAMED
[j]AME[s] in BED
23 Void in 28 Debussy ballet (5)
ABYSS
A hidden reversal (skyward – answer to 28ac) in [debu]SSY BA[llet]
24 Fruit for bird (4)
Double definition
KIWI
I really enjoyed this one, perfect prize crossword, some easier clues with an ever increasing set of trickier ones. I particularly liked WASABI and BRAINBOX, both mini sentences!!
And yes fooled by AS until I remembered the A’S trick.
A satisfying solve, thanks Philistine, and thanks Eileen.
I took “Wiped out old” as the definition in 4d. Old buildings are rased, not just any.
As Ant@1 says, a satisfying solve. I didn’t find it particularly difficult but was held up by my own inadequacies, OCCAM being a case in point. I knew it was MAO as the chairman right off and that he was going around something but was fixated on S(mall) V(olume). I’m embarrassed to think of the time it took for me to CC the light! Some days are like that! But, like Eileen, this was one of my favourite clues, along with BALDERDASH, NOODLE SOUP and SEXTING once I saw the ‘as’ trick.
Thanks, Philistine, for the fun and Eileen, for the super blog. I hope you had a lovely birthday, even if it wasn’t in Paris.
Yes a good one. Held up a bit by spelling ABYSS wrongly even though it was in the clue! Ha!
Thanks Philistine and Eileen
And what a gift we have with today’s Prize. Smiles all around is my prediction.
Thanks, Philistine and Eileen for the great puzzle and the excellent blog respectively!
RASED
I took it as an archaic form of the word just as Eileen did.
Thanks Eileen. A lot of the answers went in quite readily but others were more taxing so I too found it enjoyable – more so than some of the recent offerings.
Put me down as another who fell for the ‘a’s trick.
When I completed this puzzle last Saturday, I wrote: “A pleasure from go to whoa!”
27a SEXTING was in the end my favourite once I spotted the trick, though similar to the experience of our esteemed blogger and some others above, this one took me a while. I couldn’t parse either 2d NOODLE SOUP or 16d ON CAMPUS fully, but now I see the light! I really enjoyed 18a NERVE-WRACKING, 22a STEAKHOUSE, 25a PUBLICITY, Id WASABI (like Ant@1), 13d ASYNCHONY and 15d NEAR THING (like Eileen). But glancing back over my grid, there were many others I could have listed as great clues.
Many thanks to Philistine for the fun and games, and huge appreciation to Eileen for the blog. [Glad to hear of your wonderful outing to the tennis at Wimbledon this week, Eileen, an appropriate treat for someone who truly deserves a very happy Bastille Day birthday each year!]
Eileen!
NEAR THING
A minor omission:
EARTHING (ground connection)
JiA reminds me that I initially considered NERVE-WRACKING but discarded it as having too many letters. I now know it can be spelt without the W but that’s not the way I’ve always considered it.
Enjoyed this – several smiles along the way – NERVE-RACKING, BEAMED, BALDERDASH, WASABI
also liked : WINE BAR, SCAVENGER, AKIN, NOODLE SOUP, ASYNCHRONY
(me too with the a’s at first)
Thanks Philistine and Eileen
KVa @9 – thank you: fixed now.
Another who’s happy to see Philistine’s name on a puzzle, and this didn’t disappoint. OCCAM was one of my first in, but it took a while for me to spot the a’s in SEXTING.
Thank you to Eileen, with belated birthday greetings for yesterday, and Philistine.
Definitely found this one of the easier prizes, but really enjoyed it. Thanks Philistine.
Would have managed this in one sitting had it not been for ABYSS!
WASABI and NOODLE SOUP (is that really a thing?) proved to be beyond me, and I meant to come back to those and FULCRA but last Saturday’s Guardian seems to have disappeared. I’m not usually that up-to-date with the recycling.
I went through exactly the process described by Eileen before solving SEXTING. The setter can be very self-satisfied after getting such mileage out of that device!
Thanks to Philistine and Eileen.
Very much enjoyed. A comment on last Saturday’s blog encouraged me to persist with no use of aids and all was well in (for me) a relatively short time (2 days). Parsed everything too apart from missing the WARD bit of 28A. Great stuff, Philistine.
A very enjoyable puzzle. I think I managed most of it on the Saturday morning but was totally stuck on three, including FULCRA. I left it and came back after a few hours and they went in straight away. How does that happen?
Favourites were STEAKHOUSE, very clever, and BRAINBOX, which was a bit reminiscent of that classic, “Bust down reason? (9)”.
Many thanks Philistine and Eileen.
This was an enjoyable challenge.
Favourites: WASABI, ABYSS, ON CAMPUS, BRAINBOX (loi).
Thanks, both.
Very enjoyable, reasonably straightforward solve for a Prize.
Like Eileen and many others above, it took a while for me to decipher the two As; nice clue! I thought the clue surface for BATTERY HEN was great, and I liked the use of ‘upon’ as part of the fodder for NOODLE SOUP.
Thanks Philistine and Eileen (belated Happy Birthday). Yes, Arachne reappearing today, yippee!
It’s all been said (for me) already! A super puzzle. The trick in SEXTING worked on me only temporarily, I’m pleased to say. I enjoyed both the quality and the variety of the clues.
Thanks to Philistine and Eileen.
RASED could also be an old alternative spelling of RAZED (to the ground).
Lots to like, as in previous comments, and no quibbles from me though i suspect some would have expected a homophone indicator for Becks=Bex @6d. I don’t think I’ve seen either written down so it wasn’t a problem for me.
Thank to Philistine and Eileen
OCCAM’s RAZOR?
Pino @ 23 We have a friend who calls herself Bex, so I don’t think it has to be seen as a homophone.
There was an advertisement downunder, “Have a Bex and good lie-down.” A Bex was a trade-name for a medication that did your kidneys in, but was a sort of mother’s helper.
Like Simon S, I didn’t take Bex as a homophone.
Lovely puzle After a week, I don’t remember whether I figured out the A’s or just bunged it in. Either way, good fun. Thanks, Philistine and Eileen (and happy post-birthday!).
Enjoyable. At the easier end of Philistine’s range, I thought. Happy that I figured out the ‘a’s. BRAINBOX was my favourite but/ because I took a whole to see it.
I’ve known a Rebecca who named herself Bex, so I didn’t find that one a challenge.
Superb stuff.
Loved it. SEXTING was a beauty.
Ta Philistine & Eileen.
Thanks Philistine for a gem. I thoroughly enjoyed this crossword with WINE BAR, BALDERDASH, NERVE-RACKING, STEAKHOUSE, OCCAM, NOODLE SOUP, ASYNCHRONY, and ON CAMPUS earning ticks. I used a word finder for FULCRA and when I saw that it was a hidden answer it nearly ruined my mood. Thanks Eileen for the blog.
SimonS@23, Eileen@27. I didn’t treat it as a homophone either because I didn’t know its spelling but a solver I know and probably others thought it was spelt Becks and needed a homophone indicator.
SheffieldHatter@16 Ph? and Bún Bò are always translated as Beef NOODLE Soup.
I’ve only seen BECS or Becky, but I am quite sure that there are plenty of Rebeccas shortening their name to BEX.
Thanks both, lovely puzzle and blog
PS. Like FrankieG, I took RASED tobe an archaic spelling of RAZED.
Thanks Phil and Eil. Like Biggles, I also thought NERVE RACKING had a W in it, but decided it was just me bad at spelling again. Nice to know I wasn’t alone.
nicbach @ 35 I used to know someone called Beccy.
nicbach@35. I’m vegan, and NOODLE SOUP sounds like something I would be eating, but your explanation has put me off!
Graham @36. Chambers has NERVE-WRACKING as an alternative, but not erroneous, spelling, which surprised me. But checking the various racks and wracks, although there seems to be confusion between some of them – not unexpected really – there’s none over this one. I assumed it came from use of the medieval torture device, but I would only spell that with a W if suitably persuaded, and over quite a long time, too.
27ac Took me a while to realise that “as” meant A’s, but I’ve seen it before, so twigged it when I realised exactly how the anagram fodder needed adjusting.
4dn, RASED: I got the “as ed[itor]” from the clue and spent a long time wondering why R might be an old section of a paper, before seeing the light.
17dn, BRAINBOX: a similar clue from Arachne was mentioned recently in the Guardian’s Crossword Blog.
19dn, FULCRA: ” ‘s ” doesn’t seem a very satisfactory hidden indicator. I suppose it stands for ‘has’.
Like Tony Colman @39,, I was initially disappointed when I realised FULCRA was a hidden clue with apparently nothing to indicate that was what it was. Then I imagined the two words of “skilful craftsman” being linked with FUL and CRA being the two parts of the hinge between them. That makes FUL and CRA the hinges of “skilful craftsman”, and if that was the intent I thought it was a really neat clue. I’m probably reading too much into it!
I liked the rest of the puzzle too, by the way. Thanks, Philistine, and thanks Eileen.
There’s nothing wrong with the hidden indication for FULCRA at all IMV. That formula is often used, where the apostrophe indicates the possessive, so it’s the FULCRA ‘of’ SKILFUL CRAFTSMAN.
You should have complained instead about its inherent sexism, I reckon. Arachne will be onto him.
This was a superb puzzle, with a dozen or more first rate clues of which BATTERY HEN was my favourite. Thanks to Philistine and Eileen.
I like Keith S’s idea@40 that FUL and CRA form the ‘hinges’ of the phrase ‘skillful craftsman’. I wonder if Philistine had that in mind when writing the clue?
I’m not quite sure what Paul b@41 is saying. Does ‘of’ imply ‘contained within a section of’? I think there are better indicators.
paul b@41: If Philistine had Archimedes in mind when he wrote the clue for FULCRA, CRAFTSMAN would be appropriate. I’ll give him the benefit of a doubt.
Tony @44 – interesting …
[Back to the tennis!]
Thanks Eileen, I had a very similar solving experience to you, even down to the false start on SEXTING, and FULCRA took a while too, eventually needed to think about what sort of word would have a plural ending in A, and worked back from that to the parsing – I often miss the possessive ‘s as a containment indicator but think it is a pretty clever one and fair as it does what it says on the tin, really. I assumed that RASED was just an old way to spell RAZED as in buildings being … to the ground. I also struggled to see WASABI as a relish but that’s more because I had never properly thought of what relish is, exactly – something appetising added to a meal (to paraphrase one online dictionary definition) so fair enough. I still don’t like the use of SKYWARD in the clue for ABYSS but I suppose we all have our bugbears. I thought this was a very finely judged puzzle overall, thanks Philistine.