A soggy pink ‘un – thanks to the newsagent’s unmopped floor – and varied and enjoyable, if not particularly difficult, puzzle from Peto. I don’t know if I’ve blogged this setter before (or, indeed, if he/she has set for the FT before), but, in any case, an excellent way to start the day. And the sun’s out. Lovely.
ACROSS
1. MAINSHEET Main [most important] + anagram of these to give a rope used aboard ship
6. GUSTO US [American] + T [model-T] within go [try]
9. LARVA Hidden in simiLAR VArieties
10. ERADICATE Era [some time] + a + Di [princess, as in Princess Diana] + cate [delicacy, fancy food]
11. NIGHT SHIFT Anagram of his thing + ft [feet]
12. MEET M [miles] + reversal of tee [support (for golf-ball)]
14. CULPRIT Cu [copper] + LP [record] + R [resistance] + it
15. CLAIMER CL [150 in Roman numerals] + a [one] + me [Peto, setter] within Ir [Irish]
17. MIRANDA M [married] + Iran [country] + DA [District Attorney, lawyer]
19. SHALLOW All [everyone] within show [appear]
20. OSLO Hidden in RomeO’S LOver
22. OUTCLASSES Out [unfashionable] + classes [types]
25. FAVOURITE Double definition: Raleigh was a favourite of Elizabeth I
26. KNOUT Sounds like nowt [nothing]
27. TELLS Double definition, alluding to the Swiss patriot William Tell
28. GREEN BEAN Green [environmental friendly] + E [Ecstasy, drug] within ban [prohibition]
DOWN
1. MILAN La [French for ‘the’] within min [minute, short time]
2. IRREGULAR Reversal of Luger [gun] within RA [Royal Artillery, soldiers] within Ir [Iran]
3. SCATTERING Anagram of tigers cant
4. EYESHOT Eyes [organs] + hot [stolen]
5. TRAFFIC Double definition, alluding to the English rock group
6. GRIM G [gelding] + rim [edge]
7. SPARE S [small] + pare [cut]
8. OVERTHROW Over [about] + throw [deliver (especially in ball-games)]
13. BANANA SKIN Bananas [crazy] + kin [family]
14. COME OFF IT Off [from] + I [Italy] within Comet [UK electrical goods store]
16. MLLSTONE Mill‘s [philosopher John Stuart’s] + anagram of note
18. AMUSING A(mpleforth) + musing [deep in thought]
19. SECRETE Sounds like see Crete [Mediterranean island]
21. LEVEL Double definition
23. SATAN SA [South Africa] + TA [Territorial Army, TA] + (ow)n
24. RUNS Double definition: a run or a ladder is a tear in a stocking or pair of tights
Thanks Ringo, and I agree with you, a lovely, fresh start. I liked the ‘crazy family’ best here, though some nice stuff throughout.
Many thanks all,
Rowly.
Bananas’ kin my last in and struggled to parse Come off it, looking at OF I rather than OFF I, still thanks to Ringo and Peto, for a nice little challenge.
Normally, I am not a fan of clues where the definition is “boy” or “girl” and the solution is a first name. But in this puzzle, 17a was my 25a. Law enforcement officers in the United States are required to read suspects their “MIRANDA rights” (see Miranda v. Arizona, 1966). Thus, MIRANDA is not just any girl, but a “lawyer’s girl” indeed. And as I was writing this, I noticed CULPRIT (14a) sitting just above MIRANDA in the grid. I sincerely hope Peto did that deliberately.