I mentioned last week that, in the paper’s relaunch, they’d moved the puzzle away from the penultimate page. Well, there must have been a problem or two, because, this week, if you go to that page, you’re told where to find the crossword (on P 75 again)
A little trickier than usual.
Solving time: 26 mins
ACROSS
* = anagram
7 T(ER)RAIN I wondered what “very important lady” meant, it turned out to be the Queen. Was slow with this – I was looking for the name of a country at first.
10 I(RON)S IDES Beware the Ides of March (Julius Caesar) Fateful day.
12 BERN A RD The German form of the Swiss capital – the French form, also more commonly used in English, I think, is Berne.
14 PEE RAGE Not sure if I should think too deeply about these matters, but the “yourself” seemed surplus in the cryptic reading.
15 TOLBUTAMIDE (bloated tum I)* Drug used in diabetes so I don’t think there’s an &lit element, but am open to correction.
21 TSARINA (Sinatra)* This was very clever and I got it only near the end – only slight doubt was whether the definition “a high-class foreign woman” should have indicated in some way that such have not been around for a while.
26 KARA CHI arak = arrack reversed Reasonably obscure, I thought, but it’s in the Concise OED under both spellings. Karachi, a port in Pakistan and, at one time, its capital.
27 U PSI LON(e) Three Greek characters in two successive clues! You need to know the more commonly used ones (used in crosswords, that is) for the cryptics.
DOWN
2 MARS HALL The post-World War II Marshall Plan to aid recovery in Europe (provided by the USA)
3 E(N)ID Eid, a Muslim festival.
6 DE (French for of) VICE As Napoleon was French, it’s his.
7 TRILBY Double definition. George du Maurier’s very popular book (1894)
13 DOUBLE CHIN “chin-chin” used in toasts, not the kind you put in a toaster.
18 J ARGON One of the inert gases.
20 IN SECT My last answer “One I often deem to be worker in religious organisation”
The last three words give the wordplay. I think the definition may be suggesting that the setter clues insect often as a worker but I’d have associated this more with “ant”. And ANT-HILL is in this puzzle too!
The answer has to be right, though, I think.
21 I C(I)CLE Cycle less y (edge – i.e. end letter – of city).