Hello crossword fans
A grid by Bluebird today.
I thought this was a workaday puzzle (in a good way). The clueing was largely straightforward and all of the clues seemed to have a similar level of difficulty, so nothing stood out overall as favourite or groanworthy!
Definitions are underlined.
ACROSS |
||
| 1 | DIRE STRAITS |
Group of artists in a cryptic crossword? (4,7)
|
| Cryptic clue: Dire Straits = ARTIST | ||
| 7 | GEL |
Setter‘s leg-over? (3)
|
| Reversal (over) of LEG = GEL | ||
| 9 | AURAE |
Distinctive characters about to abandon race with gold (5)
|
| About [C] to abandon [removed from] race [RAE] with gold [AU] | ||
| 10 | INCESSANT |
Unabating insect swarms surrounding hospital (9)
|
| Anag (“swarms”) INSECT surrounding hospital [SAN = Sanitorium] | ||
| 11 | ABSENCE |
Scarcity of baked beans since Jesus was born (7)
|
| Anag (“baked”] BEANS since Jesus was born [CE] | ||
| 12 | PAINTER |
Artist’s secretary seen west of Bury (7)
|
| Secretary [PA] seen west [left of] Bury [INTER] | ||
| 13 | GLISSANDI |
Slidings played across the middle of piano (9)
|
| Anag [“played”] SLIDINGS across [around] the middle of piano [A] | ||
| 15 | IDOL |
Star from One Direction’s first disc #1 in Latvia (4)
|
| One [I] direction’s first [D] disc [O] #1 in Latvia [L] | ||
| 18 | OATH |
Rats, for example, really dislike being skinned (4)
|
| Really like [LOATHE] being skinned [ |
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| 19 | VENTRALLY |
Opening strokes on one’s belly? (9)
|
| Opening [VENT] strokes [RALLY] | ||
| 21 | NATURAL |
Twisting brown river untouched by civilisation (7)
|
| Twisting [back to front] brown [TAN = NAT] river [URAL] | ||
| 23 | SACKING |
Getting rid of cheap material (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | GENERATOR |
Wilder bird of prey losing power it produces (9)
|
| Wilder [GENE] bird of prey losing power [RA |
||
| 26 | ERASE |
Wipe clean before entertaining discontented artists (5)
|
| Before [ERE] entertaining [around] discontented artists [A |
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| 27 | TWO |
Till broken by whiskey company? (3)
|
| Till [ TO] broken by [around] whiskey [W] | ||
| 28 | THERMOSTATS |
Resident Medical Officer probes the data for in-house regulators (11)
|
| Resident Medical Officer [MO] probes [inside] the data [ THE STATS] | ||
DOWN |
||
| 1 | DRAMA |
Doctor with a degree in theatre studies? (5)
|
| Doctor [DR] with a degree [A MA] | ||
| 2 | RA RA SKIRT |
Taking terrible risk, 20 devoid of top and other clothing (2-2, 5)
|
| Taking [around] anag. [“Terrible”] risk [=SKIR] 20 devoid of top [ |
||
| 3 | STERNEST |
Strictest designation after Hemingway enters the canon? (8)
|
| Cryptic: if Hemingway entered the canon he would be designated as St. Ernest! | ||
| 4 | RAISE |
Struggling artist offloading two Teslas with electronic hoist (5)
|
| Anag [“struggling”] ARTIST offloading [removing] two Tesla’s [ T T] with electronic [E] | ||
| 5 | INCEPTION |
Opening feature? (9)
|
| Double definition. Inception is the 2010 feature film by Christopher Nolan | ||
| 6 | SISKIN |
Bird is in hide (6)
|
| Is [IS] in hide [SKIN] | ||
| 7 | GRANT |
Admit that, ultimately, the old lady must come first (5)
|
| That ultimately [T] the old lady [GRAN] must come first | ||
| 8 | LITERALLY |
Lines representing reality outside without using metaphor (9)
|
| Lines [LL] representing [anagram] REALITY outside | ||
| 13 | GOOD NIGHT |
Depart this life? O, dead beheaded warrior, farewell! (4,5)
|
| Depart this life [GO] o dead [O D] beheaded warrior [ |
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| 14 | NOVELETTE |
Insignificant volume? Turn the fourth of controls to eleven (9)
|
| Anag [“turn”] fourth of controls [T] + ELEVEN | ||
| 16 | DALAI LAMA |
Famous Buddhist artist, straddling a pack animal, topless (5,4)
|
| Artist [DALI] straddling [around] a[A] pack animal [LLAMA] topless | ||
| 17 | BRACKETS |
Black bats (these ones?) (8)
|
| Black [B] bats [RACKETS] | ||
| 20 | ARARAT |
Mount new art after artist ruined atelier’s openings (6)
|
| New ART [anag] after artist ruined ateliers openings [first letters = ARA] | ||
| 22 | TANGO |
Dance move at the end of function (5)
|
| Move [GO] at the end of [behind] function [TAN = tangent] | ||
| 23 | SCRAM |
Go away and cry when one’s bottom is pinched (5)
|
| Cry [SCREAM] when one’s bottom [E] is pinched [removed] | ||
| 24 | GUESS |
Stab to remove articles from battered sausage (5)
|
| Remove articles [A A] from battered [anag] SAUSAGE |
Living under my rock as I do, had never heard of the film but INCEPTION couldn’t really be anything else. Spent too long looking for AD + anagram of BEANS.
Leedsclimber you may have missed ‘to’ from the fodder in 14d.
Otherwise rattled this off pleasurably
Thanks to both
Quite a few artists here.
I agree with Petert; I think I see 15.
Ditto Doofs re Inception, a movie I’d nho. [Otoh, we had a nostalgia night here the other week and re-watched Local Hero — the Dire Straits soundtrack is a delight]