Gurney is today’s compiler.
A slow and steady solve for me, with unusually, the long answers in the middle of the grid holding out to the end. Nothing controversial or overly difficult, and no obscure general knowledge required. [PS – Please don’t comment on the announcement above this paragraph. I am unable to remove it.]
Thanks, Gurney.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DESIST |
Believer’s written about sermon’s start and finish (6)
|
| DEIST (“believer”) written about S(ermon) [‘s start] | ||
| 4 | IMMINENT |
The writer’s supply not, after vacation, expected soon (8)
|
| I’M (“the writer’s”) + MINE (“supply”) + N(o)T [after vacation] | ||
| 9 | SURVEY |
Examination US rejected, very loose (6)
|
| [rejected] <=US + *(very) [anag:loose] | ||
| 10 | STOPPAGE |
Street work call for industrial action (8)
|
| St. (street) + Op. (opus, so “work”) + PAGE (“call for”) | ||
| 12 | REEL |
Flipping sneering look — be taken aback (4)
|
| [flipping] <=LEER (“sneering look”) | ||
| 13 | REHEARSERS |
They practise on judges, welcoming some initially (10)
|
| RE (“on”) + HEARERS (“judges”) welcoming S(ome) [initially] | ||
| 15 | CONQUISTADOR |
Victor, regularly missing drag race, quit soon after review (12)
|
| *(darc quit soon) [anag:after review] where DARC is [regularly missing] D(r)A(g) R(a)C(e) | ||
| 18 | HUMANITARIAN |
Kind of hotel, Mauritanian, to be flexible (12)
|
| H (hotel, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) + *(mauritanian) [anag:to be flexible] | ||
| 21 | THEATRICAL |
Exaggerated article referring to hall maybe, cold inside (10)
|
| THE (“article”) + ATRIAL (“referring to hall maybe”) with C (cold) inside | ||
| 22 | DEAL |
Timber bargain (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | ROLLOVER |
No longer fight extension of prize period (8)
|
| ROLL OVER (“no longer fight”) | ||
| 25 | FABIAN |
Cautious supporter accepting custom, ignoring outsiders (6)
|
| FAN (“supporter”) accepting (h)ABI(t) (“custom”, ignoring outsiders) | ||
| 26 | BIRDS-EYE |
Seen from high, debris scattered, indeed, not small (5-3)
|
| *(debris) [anag:scattered] + YE(s) (“indeed”, not S (small)) | ||
| 27 | STOKER |
Count’s creator — one working in furnace (6)
|
| Double definition, the first referring to Bram STOKER, the writer who created Count Dracula. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DISGRACE |
Bring discredit to car design, failing to finish unfortunately (8)
|
| *(car desig) [anag:unfortunately] where DESIG is DESIG(n) failing to finish | ||
| 2 | SERGEANT |
Officer material? Worker overlooked (8)
|
| SERGE (“material”) overlooking ANT (“worker”) | ||
| 3 | STEP |
Stage of process, expensive, heartless (4)
|
| [heartless] ST(e)EP (“expensive”) | ||
| 5 | MATHEMATICAL |
Exact parent following subject with a learner (12)
|
| MA (“parent”) + THEMATIC (“following subject”) with A + L (learner (driver)) | ||
| 6 | IMPERSONAL |
Referring to empire where son replaces incumbent leader, unconnected (10)
|
| IMPER(i)AL (“referring to empire”) with I(ncumbent) [leader] replaced by SON becomes IMPER(SON)AL | ||
| 7 | ENAMEL |
Paint trade name legal? Not entirely (6)
|
| Hidden in [not entirely] “tradE NAME Legal” | ||
| 8 | TEENSY |
Very small support on course not satisfying you at first (6)
|
| TEE (“support on (golf) course”) + N(ot) S(atisfying) Y(ou) [at first] | ||
| 11 | PERSUASIVELY |
Playing, users pay live in effective manner (12)
|
| *(users pay live) [anag:playing] | ||
| 14 | TUMULTUOUS |
At outset trade union members unusually lock us out — strangely disturbing (10)
|
| [at outset] T(rade) U(nion) M(embers) U(nusually) L(ock) + *(us out) [anag:strangely] | ||
| 16 | LIMERICK |
City poem (8)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | ONE-LINER |
Witty remark about English ship (3-5)
|
| ON (“about”) + E (English) + LINER (“ship”) | ||
| 19 | ATHROB |
Bathrobe conceals pulsing (6)
|
| Hidden in [conceals] (b)ATHROB(e) | ||
| 20 | FEELER |
Exploratory move — charge caller just half (6)
|
| FEE (“charge”) + [just half] of (cal)LER | ||
| 23 | PAST |
Reportedly worked in school, tense (4)
|
| Homophone/pun/aural wordplay [reportedly] of PASSED (“worked in school”) |
A straightforward puzzle. For 23d I had TAUT.
Thanks to Gurney and loonapick
SM @ 2 – that’s probably right.
I’m another with TAUT as a homophone for ‘taught’.
Thanks G and L.
Other than never having heard of Fabian the puzzle was pretty straightforward. Thanks Gurney and Loonapick!
Also TAUT.
My faves: THEATRICAL, MATHEMATICAL, ONE-LINER and ATHROB.
Thanks Gurney and loonapick.
What does “extension of prize period” refer to? ROLLOVER had to be the solution, but I did not understand the meaning? I also had TAUT. Thanks for the blog.
Thanks Gurney and Loonapick
24ac: In the British National Lottery (or whatever it is officially called), if the top prize is not won on any draw, the money is “rolled over” to the next round (or at least it was when I last looked). More generally, Collins 2023 p 1726 gives the noun rollover from the verb phrase roll over “to allow (a loan, prize, etc) to continue in force for a further period”.
Thanks Gurney and loonapick
The FT crossword app has TAUT for 23.
For IMMINENT I thought I had two expressions for “the writer’s” and couldn’t see what was supple about repetition. Then I remembered “mine of information ‘. I wonder whether Gurney considered “The writer’s twice expected soon”?
23dn: Thanks Simon@9. Although I had PAST myself, which fits the definition equally well, I agree that TAUT makes far more sense of Gurney’s choice of words for the soundalike part.
[27ac: While I am back in, I was involved for about ten years with the development of a mathematical model to assess the cost-effectiveness of various expensive drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We reported to the technology appraisal committee of NICE (originally National Institute for Clinical Excellence). We called the model the Birmingham Rheumatoid Arthritis Model or BRAM, and it was suggested that, as the person who looked after the model, I should be called the BRAM Stoker.]
For me, loonapick has summed this puzzle up perfectly.
By no means, a “whizz-through”, but each and every clue had a little “pay-off” moment.
( I confess, FABIAN as 25(ac), is beyond my ken.)
27(ac), STOKER, cheered me up, no end. It’s nice, and there should be a rule that every setter has to give us solvers a bit of relief from the tough stuff, with at least one whimsy in the grid.
And, no bizarros: proof that a clever cryptic crossword does not need to resort to “googled abstract synonyms” to provide a good challenge.
Respect, Gurney & loonapick
Thanks for the blog , lots of neat clues , many with clever movement of single letters , in or out or swapped .
Exact = MATHEMATICAL ?? Hmmm , I suppose we can put our fingers in our ears , screw our eyes up tight and hope that Godel goes away .
Many thanks, loonapick, for the excellent blog and thanks also to all who commented.
5dn: Collins 2023 p 1212 has mathematical adj 2 “characterized by or using the precision of mathematics; exact”. Those of us with specialist knowledge and who often use words with specific and technical meanings need to be open to those words being used less formally in the general population.