The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hi all. Tack certainly gave my brain a bit of a hammering today: it took me ages to get much of a foothold and I had to think throughout. It was worth it though. Among the many nice touches on display here I enjoyed 13a and would SWIPE RIGHT on this puzzle. Thanks Tack!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Good shout having skipped starters? (3,5) |
| ICE CREAM — On removal of initial letters (… having skipped starters) nICE (good) and sCREAM (shout). If you’ve skipped starters you might have room for dessert | |
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| 6a | They should be put back on course (6) |
| DIVOTS — A cryptic definition in which the course is a golf course or a racecourse | |
| 9a | Net zero in India is deployed to capture carbon, old chap? (6,7) |
| SENIOR CITIZEN — NET ZERO IN I (India) IS anagrammed (deployed) taking in (to capture) C (carbon). | |
| It took ages to sort out the correct fodder, and as I am bad at anagrams anyway this held out nearly to the end | |
| 10a | Small euphemism in personal ad derives complaint (6) |
| SCURVY — S (small) + CURVY (euphemism in personal ad). | |
| A much nicer euphemism than big-boned. Unless … no, I’ll leave it there | |
| 11a | Maintain no central banks free from blame (8) |
| INNOCENT — MaintaIN NO CENTral holds (banks) the answer | |
| 13a | How to get a date from a dater? (5,5) |
| SWIPE RIGHT — To change A DATE[r] into A DATE you remove (SWIPE) R (RIGHT). The definition refers to dating apps | |
| 15a | Say, Simon, what’s up with the old girl? (4) |
| MAYO — YO (what’s up) with MA (the old girl). Simon Mayo, radio presenter and author | |
| 16a | Superfood from the east significantly reduced cardiac arrests (4) |
| ACAI — Reversed (from the east) and with many letters trimmed from the edges (significantly reduced) cardIAC Arrests | |
| 18a | Gets ruthless initially and forcefully closes valuable contracts (5,5) |
| GRAND SLAMS — Gets Ruthless initially + SLAMS (forcefully closes) | |
| 21a | Get about 11 withdrawn women to be united (8) |
| FIANCÉES — SEE (get), C (about) and NAIF (11 – 11a, INNOCENT) reversed (withdrawn) | |
| 22a | Call over whether it’s feasible or not (6) |
| BECKON — BECKON means to call over, as does BECK, so ON (feasible) can be included or not without changing the meaning. | |
| I had to phone a friend to understand this one | |
| 23a | Queries priest about conditions from the past (13) |
| PREREQUISITES — QUERIES PRIEST anagrammed (about) | |
| 25a | Strict Catholic European clubs perhaps following Juventus’s lead (6) |
| JESUIT — E (European) and SUIT (clubs perhaps) following Juventus’s first letter (lead) | |
| 26a | Fear one’s relations coming round and time gets taken up by housework? (8) |
| TIMIDITY — I’M (one’s) and IT (relations) reversed (coming round), then T (time) goes in (gets taken up by) DIY (housework?) | |
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|
| Down | |
| 2d | One makes easy returns rattle past Wimbledon champion (4,3) |
| CASH COW — COW (rattle) after (past) CASH (Pat Cash, Wimbledon champion) | |
| 3d | Family planning to ignore the church machine (11) |
| CONTRAPTION — CONTRA[ce]PTION (family planning) omitting (to ignore) the CE (church) | |
| 4d | Table ultimately put together with lousy glue (5) |
| EPOXY — The last letter of (… ultimately) tablE placed next to (put together with) POXY (lousy) | |
| 5d | Spreading manure on Scottish island in gallons (7) |
| MUCKING — MUCK (Scottish island) + IN + G (gallons) | |
| 6d | Blasted public school bores were romantically involved (9) |
| DETONATED — ETON (public school) goes inside (bores) DATED (were romantically involved) | |
| 7d | That is the sixth unknown (3) |
| VIZ — VI (the sixth) + Z (unknown) | |
| 8d | Renting place in France south of Toulouse on vacation (7) |
| TENANCY — NANCY (place in France) underneath (south of) ToulousE on removal of inner letters (on vacation) | |
| 12d | Confused county politician distorted the truth admits whip (11) |
| COMPLICATED — CO (county) + MP (politician) + LIED (distorted the truth) takes in (admits) CAT (whip) | |
| 14d | Most rough-looking earl gets drug supply (9) |
| RUGGEDEST — An anagram of (… supply) E (earl) and GETS DRUG | |
| 17d | Takeaway succeeded leaving two items off the menu (7) |
| CHIPPIE — S (succeeded) coming away from (leaving) two items off the menu, CHIP[s] and PIE. Or perhaps S is leaving both CHIP[s] and PIE[s] – that interpretation also works for me | |
| 19d | Battery may be put on charge with this (7) |
| ASSAULT — A cryptic definition. The charge referred to is ASSAULT and battery | |
| 20d | Mope around film location when heavenly body disappears (7) |
| MOONSET — MOON (mope around) + SET (film location) | |
| 22d | Intimate leading couple in music awards turned to the back (5) |
| BOSOM — The first two letters of (leading couple in) MOBOS (music awards) reversed (turned) and put last (to the back) | |
| 24d | Unbridled dissent leads to being unable to take flight (3) |
| EMU — Without outer letters (unbridled) dEMUr (dissent) | |
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Thanks Tack and Kitty
A very enjoyable solve, with enough gnarly edges to keep you interested.
Tack generally has something extra going on: this puzzle is a pangram.
I liked CONTRAPTION and GRAND SLAMS. I couldn’t parse BECKON. I could see BeOn, but couldn’t make anything of CK. I arrived at CASH COW via the wrong Wimbledon champion, but there was an e missing and an extra c.
How is TIDY synonymous with HOUSEWORK?
A lot to enjoy, but I don’t think Tack quite nailed this one. Perhaps the push for the pangram, which always seems pointless to me, affected the quality of some clues?
I felt that CASH COW, BECKON, and FIANCEES were a bit off ( grasping for the W/B/F ?)
Is “rattle” really cow?
Lots of good stuff and surfaces, but my last few solved left me unimpressed.
Ta Tack, cheers Kitty
@3
It’s DIY, not tidy.
Wondered that too, ENB @4. Cow means domineer, rattle means disturb or confuse. Equally unpleasant, perhaps, but not equal.
Thanks both. Greatly admired CHIPPIE (though it’s never spelt that way in my neck of the woods), ASSAULT and particularly SWIPE RIGHT. Needed help only with FIANCEES wherein naif was an unknown and I wanted to do something with XI for eleven. Would have needed a Preston Guild or two to pass in order to have parsed BECKON – if beck means ‘call over’ how does ‘beck and call’ work, I wonder?
[Hmm TFO @7, the late mrs ginf was over there summer of ’92, including seeing Lancs rels near Preston. Timing not quite right tho, or they would’ve taken her to the Guild]
Thanks Tack and Kitten
Also didn’t have the foggiest about BECKON.
Liked CHIPPIE both the clue and generally.
Enjoyed the dating and love references for a mild if possibly unintended theme.
More or less what E.N.Boll&@4 said. My four unfinished were the intersecting FIANCEES and ASSAULT, and the intersecting BECKON and BOSOM. Although I think FIANCEES was good (though I’ve never heard of naif; apparently it’s the noun for naive but Collins online marks it as American only), ASSAULT left me a little cold, BOSOM was a little contrived and I’d never heard of those awards, and I still don’t see that BECKON works really despite understanding (post-reveal) the idea that Tack was playing with.
The rest, however, was great fun; I particularly enjoyed the PDM for RIGHT and then spending a while hunting for SWIPE.
Thanks both