SLORMGORM kicks off the week…
A nice gentle puzzle with some excellent surfaces to enjoy on this Easter Monday.
Thanks SLORMGORM!
ACROSS
7. Foundering erection is issue, I admitted (4)
RUIN
8. Confused bachelor Reed drunkenly steals Oscar? (10)
BEWILDERED
B (bachelor) + ((REED)* (*drunkenly) steals WILDE (Oscar?))
10. I’m joyous in court (Henry will get over love) (6)
WOOHOO
WOO (court) + H (Henry) will get O (over) + O (love)
11. Men maiden in portable shelters makes suffer (8)
TORMENTS
(OR (men) + M (maiden)) in TENTS (portable shelters)
12. Think about Tory Party and shudder ultimately (8)
CONSIDER
CON (tory) + SIDE (party) and [shudde]R (ultimately)
13. New allotment sheds close to other land (6)
NATION
N (new) + [r]ATION (allotment, sheds [othe]R (close to))
15. Bit of furniture isn’t fitting with large beds (8,5)
DRESSING TABLE
(ISNT with LARGE BEDS)* (*fitting)
18. Region I cream, being in need of treatment (6)
CRIMEA
(I CREAM)* (*being in need of treatment)
20. Husband’s stuffy? Not any shock there! (8)
HAIRLESS
H (husband) + AIRLESS (stuffy)
22. One taking a rise out of global warming? (3,5)
SEA LEVEL
24. Dead slow making first right heading for town (2,4)
AT REST
ARREST (slow, making first R (right) T[own] (heading for))
25. Revolutionary group in Algiers and in Istanbul (10)
SANDINISTA
[alier]S AND IN ISTA[nbul] (in)
26. Party crashed by teams occasionally in March? (4)
DEMO
DO (party) crashed by [t]E[a]M[s] (occasionally)
DOWN
1. Unlawful bust (3,2,5)
OUT OF ORDER
2. A French catholic on speed with IT experience? (8)
UNCHASTE
UN (a, French) + C (catholic) on HASTE (speed)
3. A river spreading over lowland in another country? (6)
ABROAD
A + BROAD (river spreading over lowland)
4. One with wind in car let loose (8)
CLARINET
5. Respectable son written out of inheritance (6)
DECENT
DE[s]CENT (inheritance, S (son) written out of)
6. Favourite to win last of medals in trial (4)
PEST
PET (favourite) to win [medal]S (last of)
9. Locals lose nightwear after a hurricane (8,5)
WATERING HOLES
(LOSE NIGHTWEAR)* (*after a hurricane)
14. Password seen as poem scrambled (4,6)
OPEN SESAME
(SEEN AS POEM)* (*scrambled)
16. Having lost pound, winger around five gets hungry (8)
STARVING
STAR[l]ING (winger, having lost L (pound)) around V (five)
17. Live rail at final station in foreign capital (8)
BELGRADE
BE (live) + [rai]L + GRADE (station)
19. Woman getting to the bottom of graduate’s complaint (6)
MALADY
LADY (woman) getting to the bottom of MA (graduate)
21. One absent without notice at the front, to a certain extent (2,1,3)
IN A WAY
(I (one) + AWAY (absent)) without N[otice] (at the front)
23. Picture finally taken with Hoover, say cheese! (4)
EDAM
[pictur]E (finally) taken with DAM (Hoover, say)
Yes, this was quite gentle fun.
I couldn’t see ‘grade’ = ‘station’ in BELGRADE, though that had to be the answer. I still can’t quite see them as synonyms.
Thanks Slormgorm and Teacow.
Put Mercia for 18 which slowed me briefly. Else all good. Thanks Slormgorm and Teacow.
Yes, forgot to mention I also entered ‘Mercia’ on the first pass.
Comment #4
Took me a little while to tune in but in the end lots of fun.
Thanks to Slormgorm and Teacow.
Fairly gentle we thought, but with a few mild headscratchers although we got and parsed everything unaided. We thought of Mercia at firsr for 18ac but as we’d aleady got 1dn it obviously wasn’t – but a few moments thought gave us CRIMEA. We also were a bit dubious about ‘station’ for ‘grade’ but one defintion of grade in Chambers is ‘rank’ which might be taken as station (in life) though it makes for an indirect definition. One or two write-ins, such as OPEN SESAME. Favourite was WATERING HOLES.
Thanks, Slormgorm and Teacow.
Being based in the Midlands and with West Mercia Constabulary being my local boys in blue, I was another who immediately saw MERCIA and had to change my thinking when MALADY appeared. Nice puzzle with super surfaces as mentioned. I saw the same equivalence between grade and station as highlighted by Big Al. I happily use the phrase ‘above my pay grade’ (normally when referring to Io) and I certainly mean above my station.
Thanks both