Season’s Greetings to the 225 community. It is still Christmas Day here, so I am rushing out this blog in between Christmas dinner and family visits.
Fortunately, this entry from Bradman was not terribly hard, with only perhaps Lachesis being relatively unfamiliar. I am not seeing any themes or ninas in play.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | ACCEPTABLE |
A cold church with altar, perhaps quiet inside, all right? (10)
|
| P (quiet) inside {A + C (cold) + CE (church) + TABLE (altar, perhaps)} | ||
| 6 | VERA |
Woman associated with Dover always? (4)
|
| Hidden in (associated with) [DO]VER A[LWAYS], presumably a reference to Vera Lynn’s rendition of The White Cliffs of Dover | ||
| 9 | GENESIS |
Book group (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 10 | CHALICE |
Tea with insects in holy vessel (7)
|
| CHA (tea) + LICE (insects) | ||
| 12 | BROADSHEET |
Paper covering for king size bed? (10)
|
| Cryptically, it might take a BROAD SHEET to cover a king size bed. | ||
| 13 | ADD |
A divine tot (3)
|
| A + DD (divine, i.e., Divinitatis Doctor) | ||
| 15 | HEDGES |
Hard borders or not? (6)
|
| H (hard) + EDGES (borders), since hedges would be soft borders, as compared, for example, to a brick wall | ||
| 16 | RICOCHET |
Danger from missile to make one hectic or mad (8)
|
| Anagram of (mad) HECTIC OR | ||
| 18 | NEGATION |
Denial, say, impeding country (8)
|
| E.G. (say) inside (impeding) NATION (country) | ||
| 20 | LISTER |
Surgeon in hospital is terrific (6)
|
| Hidden in (in) [HOSPITA]L IS TER[RIFIC], referring to Joseph Lister | ||
| 23 | ELL |
‘orrible place, more than a yard (3)
|
| [H]ELL ([h]orrible place, in Cockney), equivalent to 1 1/4 yard. | ||
| 24 | MISBEHAVED |
Awful Eve’s bad with him — was naughty (10)
|
| Anagram of (awful) {EVE’S BAD + HIM} | ||
| 26 | LOOK-SEE |
Seek spills at back of small room, making inspection (4-3)
|
| LOO (small room) + anagram of (spills) SEEK | ||
| 27 | BRISTLE |
Something hairy in English city, very roughly reported (7)
|
| Approximate homophone of (very roughly reported) BRISTOL (English city) | ||
| 28 | RASH |
Impetuous artist shut up (4)
|
| RA (artist) + SH (shut up) | ||
| 29 | STALINGRAD |
What makes a girl stand around in city? (10)
|
| Anagram of (what makes . . . around) A GIRL STAND, now known as Volgograd | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ARGO |
Old ship shedding first bit of load (4)
|
| [C]ARGO (load) minus first letter (shedding first bit) | ||
| 2 | CENTRED |
Coin left to be put in the middle (7)
|
| CENT (coin) + RED (left) | ||
| 3 | POSTAGE STAMPS |
Things that have got stuck coming through the letter box? (7,6)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 4 | ASSIST |
Fool is last to accept help (6)
|
| ASS (fool) + IS + last letter of (last to) [ACCEP]T | ||
| 5 | LACHESIS |
The French game in which one’s sealed fate (8)
|
| LA (the [in] French) + CHESS (game) around (in which [is] sealed) I (one) | ||
| 7 | EPITAPH |
The pap I dished out for an inscription (7)
|
| Anagram of (dished out) THE PAP I | ||
| 8 | AMENDATORY |
Corrective final word beginning to disturb a politician (10)
|
| AMEN (final word) + first letter of (beginning to) D[ISTURB] + A + TORY (politician) | ||
| 11 | AUTHORISATION |
A historian out somehow to get official recognition (13)
|
| Anagram of (somehow) A HISTORIAN OUT | ||
| 14 | CHANCELLOR |
Minister to turn up, pursuing opportunity (10)
|
| CHANCE (opportunity) + ROLL (turn) inverted (up) | ||
| 17 | BOSSIEST |
Most dictatorial, so is best to work with! (8)
|
| Anagram of (to work with) SO IS BEST | ||
| 19 | GALOOTS |
Disreputable men chatter when hiding ill-gotten gains (7)
|
| GAS (chatter) around (hiding) LOOT (ill-gotten gains) | ||
| 21 | TWEETER |
Bird maybe to wobble, having swallowed worm initially (7)
|
| TEETER (to wobble) around (having swallowed) first letter of (initially) W[ORM] | ||
| 22 | HERBAL |
The woman’s workplace set up tea (6)
|
| HER (the woman’s) + LAB (workplace) inverted (set up). Technically, perhaps this should have read ” . . . tea?” since this is a type of tea??? | ||
| 25 | FEUD |
Row that’s loud expected to arise (4)
|
| F (loud, in music) + DUE (expected) inverted (to arise) |
Thanks Cineraria – Merry Christmas to you and the others on this blog
A steady solve with a few new terms for me, but all approachable. FEUD was my LOI given I could not see “due”. EPITAPH was my favourite.
Thanks Bradman and Cineraria
Thanks Bradman. I found this on the gentler end of the Bradman scale but no less clever than his tougher offerings. My favourites included NEGATION, ASSIST, CHANCELLOR, GALOOTS, TWEETER, and FEUD. Thanks Cineraria for the blog. I agree that HERBAL is an adjective describing a type of tea while the definition, tea, is a noun.
Pretty easy, but enjoyable. Only one Brit I’d never heard of (but whom, some would say, I should have). LACHESIS was the only unfamiliar one. I groaned at BRISTLE.
Thanks, Cineraria.
Thanks Bradman and Cineraria. A very smooth solve, with two minor grumbles:
5dn: “The French” could equally have been LE to fit the available space. For an unfamiliar word, I think Bradman could have taken more care to avoid this ambiguity in the wordplay on an unchecked letter.
22dn: I can find one meaning of herbal as a noun in the usual dictionaries, but it refers to a book. The SOED has another meaning marked “rare or obsolete” simply meaning a collection of herbs, so that is no help either. I agree that a question mark on the end of the clue would be desirable.
I greatly enjoyed this. Many thanks to Bradman and Cineraria.
Although Pelham Barton’s quibble about 5dn is quite correct, it was easy enough to complete the clue and an opportunity to learn more of this dreadful fate . I never knew that there is a venomous snake from South America also called Lachesis.
The Wikipedia article on Joseph Lister was fascinating. An admirable man. One usually learns something new from FT crosswords.
Another enjoyable solve. Not too tricky. My LOIs were Herbal, Bristol and Stalingrad.
Thanks to all
I agree with PB @4 – general knowledge has its place in a puzzle, but you could only have solved 5dn with any certainty with a decent knowledge of classics. Similar GK that is unambiguously constructable from the parts is absolutely fine, but I this was ambiguous. And I say this as someone who guessed right!
Otherwise good clean fun as is traditional for Bradman. Enjoyed seeing the lesser-spotted GALOOTS.
Thanks Cineraria & Bradman.
Thanks Amoeba@7. I should really have come back sooner to point out that “The Spanish” would – I think – have worked better, as EL clashes with 1ac, and produces a much less likely word for 5dn.
.
PB@4, I don’t share your minor grumble about 5d LACHESIS. Either you know the fates, in which case LA is unambiguous, or you don’t, in which case you have to look them up and you are led to the correct spelling.
I agree with you that this was a very smooth solve, for which much thanks go to Bradman, and Cineraria for the blog.