Thanks to Goliath for this morning’s fun.
A very enjoyable puzzle from Goliath, with some clever devices.
ACROSS
1. Say Nelson’s military formation… (6)
COLUMN
Double definition
For the first: Nelson’s Column is a monument found in Trafalgar Square, London
4. …slowly moves a short distance (6)
INCHES
8. Cryptic code with strange elegance (7)
DECORUM
CODE* (*cryptic) with RUM (strange)
9. Corruption of cheese containing a bit of blue with bits of red & yellow (7)
BRIBERY
BRIE (cheese) containing B[lue] (a bit of) with R[ed] and Y[ellow] (bits of)
11. Regularly used seasick excuse for getting out of a bind (10)
ESCAPOLOGY
[s]E[a]S[i]C[k] (regularly used) + APOLOGY (excuse)
12. You could make five hundred (4)
THOU
THOU[sand] (five hundred; i.e. half of a thousand)
13. Tamper with candy (5)
FUDGE
14. Compassionate way to probe experimental mice (8)
EMPATHIC
PATH (way) to probe MICE* (*experimental)
16. Send tram finally through passage (8)
TRANSMIT
[tra]M (finally) through TRANSIT (passage)
18. From the East, beer fit for a king (5)
REGAL
LAGER< (beer, <from the east)
20. Oddly loud, then quiet and sensuous (4)
LUSH
L[o]U[d] (oddly) then SH (quiet)
21. Deliver parent and children who are found in lodge (10)
FREEMASONS
FREE (deliver) + MA (parent) and SONS (children)
23. A kind of music and wine relationship (7)
RAPPORT
RAP (a kind of music) and PORT (wine)
24. Arab spells ‘qat’ out loud (7)
KUWAITI
“Q-A-T” (spells, “out loud”)
25. Demonstrate practicalities about maintaining floor cover (6)
CARPET
[demonstra]TE PRAC[ticalities]< (<about, maintaining)
26. Surgeon does this for pain (6)
STITCH
DOWN
1. They specialise in cooking finches (5)
CHEFS
EDITED: F in CHES
Thanks Hovis @1
2. Cat person’s first to get into terrible ordeal (7)
LEOPARD
P[erson] (‘s first) to get into ORDEAL* (*terrible)
3. Mother buries goldfish in stately tomb (9)
MAUSOLEUM
MUM (mother) buries AU (gold) + SOLE (fish)
5. Awkward rising desire to run around road (5)
NERDY
YEN< (desire, <rising) to run around RD (road)
6. Where one lives is to some extent in Panama? (7)
HABITAT
A BIT (to some extent) in HAT (Panama?)
7. Working as tailor is about right (9)
SARTORIAL
(AS TAILOR)* (*working) is about R (right) – &lit
10. Book draws gimmicks (9)
NOVELTIES
NOVEL (book) + TIES (draws)
13. Conventional shape, uniform and secular (9)
FORMULAIC
FORM (shape) + U (uniform, from NATO alphabet) and LAIC (secular)
15. Outstanding standard sum (9)
PARAMOUNT
PAR (standard) + AMOUNT (sum)
17. Poor hen, dismal failure (2-5)
NO-HOPER
19. Get around last controversial branch of psychology (7)
GESTALT
GET around LAST* (*controversial)
21. Most do not recall fake (5)
FORGE
FORGE[t] (do not recall, most)
22. Mark is lifting heavyweight taps (5)
NOTCH
TON< (heavyweight, <lifting) + C; H (taps, i.e. Cold and Hot)
CHEFS is ‘F in CHES’.
Another solid and interesting puzzle from Goliath, who consistently delivers. I really liked KUWAITI and DECORUM
Goliath can sometimes be a bit remote for me, and I could not parse CHEFS (and I am not sure I can yet) and THOU. Thanks for the leg up on those Oriel.
Thanks Goliath and Oriel
Thanks for the blog , brilliant puzzle and first of the year on the beach in the sunshine .
Agree with Hovis @1 , the first four words are the definition and the wordplay is double fission . SARTORIAL very clever but every clue is neat .
Seeing Goliath’s name atop this puzzle brightened the day.
KUWAITI, CHEFS and MAUSOLEUM were all clever. I also ticked FORGE, FREEMASONS and the pairings top and bottom of the grid.
Thanks to Goliath for the much-needed levity and Oriel for the blog.
Loved this one. Clever puzzle. Thanks to Diane@4 for spotting the lovely two pairings and to Goliath and Oriel.
My favourites were ESCAPOLOGY, CHEFS, HABITAT and MAUSOLEUM (for the goldfish).
I’ll add FREEMASONS (there’s an interestingly similar construction in today’s Guardian Maskarade puzzle) and SARTORIAL: I knew the Latin for tailor but only recently learned of the sartorius muscle, the longest muscle in the human body, running down the length of the thigh, so called from the cross-legged position in which tailors once sat.
Thanks to Goliath and to Oriel for a lovely puzzle and blog.
I initially went for Leotard at 2d – notoriously difficult to get into 😆
I’m also amused that across the top it reads COLUMN INCHES and the bottom CARPET STITCH (which is one of the names for an embroidery stitch).
Great puzzle, as usual from Goliath – always a good morning when he sets.
Thank you to Oriel and Goliath.
Lots of fun, only a couple I couldn’t get but there was plenty to keep me interested.
My favourites: Formulaic, Empathic, Mausoleum and plenty more.
Thanks to Oriel and Goliath.
Lovely to see the good doctor on consecutive days.
I initially thought CHEFS was some convoluted mix of IN with the solution to make finches, but it was facepalm time when I saw the real parsing – should have remembered the setter loves to play with spacing.
Great bit of GK there, Eileen. I’m also convalescing so plenty of time to dive into the archives. Might even sit outdoors with a coffee.
Thanks also to Oriel.
Yes, agreed – thanks, Eileen, for the additional information on tailoring.
Very enjoyable. Tricky but very solvable and much to amuse. Liked thou, finches, mausoleum, gestalt. Thanks to setter and blogger!
Thanks Goliath for the entertainment. I enjoyed many of the clues including DECORUM, THOU (clever wordplay), EMPATHIC (nice surface), and MAUSOLEUM (love the imagery). I failed to parse CHEFS and KUWAITI. Thanks Oriel for explaining and thanks to Eileen for the background on SARTORIAL — it’s good to have you back.
It looks like that “F in” clue caught a few out 🙂
Most enjoyable, although we too couldn’t parse CHEFS (but a case of D’oh! when we saw it). We liked the pairs of entries at top and bottom.
Thanks, Goliath and Oriel.
Seemed more on Goliath’s wavelength today, so that was cool. LOI was THOU, and finally saw how that worked, accompagnied by both a sigh of relief, and whiff of undeserved smugness. Doesn’t happen often… favourites as many others have mentioned.
Thanks Goliath and Oriel