A straightforward unthemed (unless we’ve missed something) puzzle from Brummie for this week’s Prize challenge.
With a couple of possible exceptions (Sisyphus and “rede” at 20 down) there was nothing particularly obscure or recondite about this puzzle, but it still took us about an hour to complete it. We couldn’t initially parse POMP but it had to be correct; the fact that the letters M and O appear in it was misleading at first. Timon came up with BARGE at 26 across, which fitted both the definition and the wordplay, but was unfortunately wrong as we discovered eventually. I also entered SHOPLIFTER instead of SHOPAHOLIC originally, but that was perhaps less justifiable.
Thanks to Brummie.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | NEAR THING |
Zero protection for organ (not ball) – almost a disaster? (4,5)
|
| EAR (organ) inside N(o)THING (zero protection without ball, i.e. O). | ||
| 10 | VAUNT |
Relation following victory parade (5)
|
| V(ictory) AUNT. | ||
| 11 | ROYALTY |
Reward of author, King and his ilk? (7)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 12 | CAROUSE |
English river on right of coach party (7)
|
| CAR (coach) OUSE (English river). | ||
| 13 | POMP |
Male circle backed out of fancy ball ceremony (4)
|
| POMP(om). A pompom is a fancy ball; omit O and M (male circle, reversed). | ||
| 14 | SHOPAHOLIC |
One who might not, however, buy the idea they were compulsive? (10)
|
| An extended cryptic definition. | ||
| 16 | SINUOUS |
Curved air passage round centre of Slough (7)
|
| (sl)OU(gh) inside SINUS (air passage). | ||
| 17 | GIRAFFE |
Blunder, caging wingless bird as a zoo attraction? (7)
|
| (b)IR(d) (wingless bird) inside GAFFE (blunder). | ||
| 19 | EUROVISION |
Songfest combining money with fantasy (10)
|
| EURO (currency, or money) VISION (fantasy). | ||
| 22 | SNUB |
New York’s bottom, turning humble (4)
|
| BUNS (US slang for the buttocks, rev). | ||
| 24 | SECONDS |
Boxer supports another course? (7)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 25 | MARSALA |
Wine means the world to the French (7)
|
| MARS (a planet or world) A LA (French for “to the”). | ||
| 26 | NUDGE |
Elbow’s exposed outside gown’s opening (5)
|
| G(own) inside NUDE. We originally entered BARGE (G in BARE), which works just as well, except that it’s wrong! | ||
| 27 | MONOLOGUE |
Address of poor mug with one loo (9)
|
| *(MUG ONE LOO). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | UNPREPOSSESSING |
Plain stewed prune being like spirit? (15)
|
| *PRUNE, POSSESSING (being like a spirit). | ||
| 2 | LADY’S MAN |
He fancies his chances as a version of Dylan Thomas (tho’ lacking) (5,3)
|
| *(DYLAN (tho)MAS). | ||
| 3 | STOLE |
Lifted a garment (5)
|
| Another double definition. | ||
| 4 | SISYPHUS |
Offender of Zeus’s son is grimly pushy (8)
|
| *(S IS PUSHY). We got this from the wordplay; apparently Sisyphus incurred Zeus’s wrath by revealing his abduction of Aegina to the river god Asopus. | ||
| 5 | EGGCUP |
Say doctor’s confiscated copper breakfast container? (6)
|
| EG (say), CU (copper) inside GP (doctor). | ||
| 6 | OVERSHIRT |
Past Hirst works that might be put on (9)
|
| OVER (past) *HIRST. | ||
| 7 | MUTUAL |
Misuse of umlaut is common (6)
|
| *UMLAUT. | ||
| 8 | STRETCHER-BEARER |
One who exaggerates agent’s role in getting player off the pitch (9-6)
|
| STRETCHER (one who exaggerates) BEARER (agent). | ||
| 15 | CONVINCED |
Party competed to secure East Coast state? Sure (9)
|
| NC (North Carolina) inside CON(servative) (party) VIED (competed). | ||
| 17 | GLOAMING |
Look into playing online after sundown (8)
|
| LO(ok) inside GAMING (playing online). | ||
| 18 | FANDANGO |
Cooler and relaxed? Try dance (8)
|
| FAN (cooler) *AND, GO (try). “Relaxed” is the anagram indicator. | ||
| 20 | RECEDE |
Old advice about concealed earthworks entrances: ‘Get back!’ (6)
|
| CE (entrances or first letters of “concealed earthworks”) inside REDE (old word meaning advice). According to Chambers, “recede” can be a transitive verb, meaning “to cede again or back”. I still think that the definition is a little loose. | ||
| 21 | SESAME |
Picture framing mother’s climbing plant (6)
|
| MA’S(mother’s) (climbing in a down clue, so reversed) inside SEE (picture). | ||
| 23 | KRILL |
Sailor finally is into top sea food (5)
|
| (sailo)R inside KILL (to top can mean to assassinate or kill). |
Thanks bridgesong. Put me down as another who had entered ‘barge’. By the same token I had ‘brill’ for 23d, a bit doubtful but a bill could be at the top of a bird. Otherwise I too had to look up ‘Sisyphus’ and ‘rede’ and spent about the same time on it as you, finding it enjoyable.
Re 20d, if you take the exclamation mark as part of the definition, you have the imperative. Canute ordering the tide about.
Bunged in choc when a holic emerged, until needing the p for eggcup. Good suggestion re recede, Russthree @2. And yes, a pretty cruisy job from the Brum, thx to him, Bridgesong and Timon.
I like the puzzle, an easy lunchtime solve, but I was annoyed at not being able to parse pomp. I saw that there was an O and an M in the answer, but the clue didn’t make sense. The next day, I looked again, and the parsing was immediately obvious.