Nick: Fairly easy Azed his week, 6/10.
There are two ‘gotchas’ if the solver guesses rather than solve the word play, namely 10dn and 26 dn.
| Across | |||
| 1. | Weekend on British river – one takes pictures for electronic transmission (6) | ||
| WEBCAM | WE+B+CAM | ||
| 7. | Grinding toil harms … this – – possibly (5) | ||
| MOLAR | composite anagram: TOIL HARMS minus THIS=(OLARM*) | ||
| 12. | It’s pushed by Scots barrow boy, confused if not burly (5) | ||
| HURLY | HURLY(-BURLY) | ||
| 13. | Thoroughly refine two rupees, one short, corrupted (6) | ||
| REPURE | R(upee)+(RUPEE*) | ||
| 14. | It describes meteorite that’s landed in eastern Cairo, exploding (9) | ||
| AEROLITIC | LIT in (E CAIRO*) | ||
| 15. | Trifles: a small number sounds tremulous, one left out (8) | ||
| FEWTRILS | FEW+TRIL(l)S | ||
| 16. | Persevere in jazz dance (drumbeat about right) (5) | ||
| TRUCK | TUCK around R (2 defs.) | ||
| 18. | Shellfish pub supplied for dad to consume (5) | ||
| PINNA | INN in PA | ||
| 20. | Expert in Jewish scripture – strangely this holds narcotic back (9) | ||
| HAGGADIST | (DAGGA<) in (THIS*) | ||
| 22. | Beryllium and gold to use in filigree, fair to behold? (9) | ||
| BEAUTEOUS | BE+AU+(TO USE*) | ||
| 25. | Some bos’n warned about female swimmers (5) | ||
| RAWNS | hidden reversed: boS’N WARned | ||
| 27. | Prudence balanced lives (5) | ||
| METIS | MET+IS | ||
| 29. | Old festival on river in Germany, eastern Germany that was (8) | ||
| ALEMAINE | ALE+MAIN+E | ||
| 31. | It’s typical of holy books limiting it, frowning on undue pleasure? (9) | ||
| PURITANIC | PURANIC around IT | ||
| 32. | Traveller in leather – an old snare (6) | ||
| TREPAN | REP in TAN | ||
| 33. | Write memo about going round fashionable meeting place (5) | ||
| JOINT | JOT around IN | ||
| 34. | I am exiting National with little yen for Shakespeare, nuff said? (5) | ||
| SESEY | S(iam)ESE+Y what would we do without obscure Shakespeare words, eh? |
||
| 35. | Like some travellers, refuse having to change direction completely at the outset? (6) | ||
| NEW-AGE | SEWAGE/NEW-AGE S(outh)N(orth) swop (is it swop or swap?) | ||
| Down | |||
| 1. | Small flag like one of the ensigns mostly seen round skiff’s stern (5) | ||
| WHIFT | WHIT(e) around (skif)F | ||
| 2. | Worker maybe losing head on exercises in palm trees (7) | ||
| EUTERPE | (n)EUTER+PE neuter is a worker bee/ant etc. |
||
| 3. | Fine Scotch slice of beef still to be cooked? (4) | ||
| BRAW | B+RAW | ||
| 4. | Wallydraigle left when there’s marriageable lassie around? (6) | ||
| CLATCH | CATCH around L what would we do without obscure Scottish words, eh? |
||
| 5. | Unsatisfactory union claim – anger erupting with BA (12, 2 words) | ||
| MARIAGE BLANC | (CLAIM ANGER+BA*) | ||
| 6. | Chaps accepted by fool after labourer makes introduction (12) | ||
| PROLEGOMENON | (MEN in GOON) after PROLE | ||
| 8. | Do I twice get sloshed after work? It’s addictive (6) | ||
| OPIOID | (DO+I I (i.e. twice)) after OP | ||
| 9. | Musician curiously silent about first note of scale (8) | ||
| LUTENIST | (SILENCE*) about UT(not Do, see Chambers – this would have also buggered up ‘the sound of music’) | ||
| 10. | American’s love in Paris, for whom part of springtime is special? (5) | ||
| ARIEN | A+REIN(French for nothing/love) | ||
| 11. | Call for assembly no longer troubled teacher (7) | ||
| RECHATE | (TEACHER*) this could have also been RECHEAT, but the ‘no longer’ in the clue indicates the archaic version |
||
| 17. | A rare bit of merchandise put in sun warped without one’s noticing (8) | ||
| UNAWARES | (A+WARE) in (SUN*) | ||
| 19. | Once deep clefts in part splitting tropical legumes (7) | ||
| ABRUPTS | PT in ABRUS | ||
| 21. | Wax lyrical about liquid measure, radiant (7) | ||
| SHINING | SING around HIN | ||
| 23. | I’ll cut open prune that’s rotten, not ready to eat (6) | ||
| UNRIPE | I in (PRUNE*) | ||
| 24. | Water running inside boat? Get old carpenter’s mate! (6, 2 words) | ||
| SEA COW | EA in SCOW see Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There |
||
| 26. | Poet’s line is blended with this old passage in pastourelle (5) | ||
| ALURE | composite anagram: POETS L(ine) from PASTOURELLE=(AURLE) strange clue, as the definition ‘old passage’ is in the middle! |
||
| 28. | Part of adventurous enterprise that’s spent in Maseru? (5) | ||
| SENTE | hidden: adventurouS ENTErprise | ||
| 30. | Bloomer overturning first-rate team? (4 | ||
| IXIA | (AI+XI(team))< | ||
| … | |||
strange clue, as the definition ‘old passage’ is in the middle!
Odd definition placement is often the easiest way to spot the devious comp. anag. I find.
No problems this week.
I enjoyed 17d for its clever surface reading, and 24d for its use of ‘carpenter’s mate’
Yes, relatively easy – today’s is definitely trickier.
Thanks all
I know it’s nothing but ‘rien’.
Thanks Azed for a puzzle that was towards the easier end of the spectrum, and Nick for the blog.
33ac: I had POINT here, which I can justify as “pot v to epitomize or summarize, esp simplistically” for “Write memo about” and the definition “meeting place” as in point-to-point.
A late comment as I was away yesterday, and have only today got back to my Chambers.