I was thinking we were about due a non-Rufus Monday, and was delighted to see Brendan’s name on this puzzle. The usual light touch – mostly not too difficult, a couple of perhaps slightly obscure words, though clearly clued.
As always with Brendan there’s a theme, here relating to DOUBLE ACT in 24a. As well as some cross-referencing clues, there are also some well-known double acts in the grid. I noticed MORECAMBE and WISE, LITTLE and LARGE, HOPE and CROSBY (Bob and Bing), and LAUREL and HARDY, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I’d missed some. I also need some help in explaining 6d.
| Across | ||||||||
| 9. | MORECAMBE | MORE (larger number) + B in CAME | ||||||
| 10. | INTRO | R[ook] in INTO (deeply involved with) | ||||||
| 11. | GESSO | G + ESSO . I don’t think I’d heard of this paint mixture, but it’s clearly clued | ||||||
| 12. | RECHERCHE | REACH EARACHE less three A[rea]s | ||||||
| 13. | LAY INTO | Hidden in disLAY INTOlerance | ||||||
| 14. | THE WASH | Anagram of WHAT plus either SHE or HE’S | ||||||
| 17. | RUMBA | RUM (odd, unusual) + BA (degree) | ||||||
| 19. | TWO | “It takes two to tango”, and 2 is the only even prime number | ||||||
| 20. | AMOUR | U in reverse of ROMA (Italian for Rome, hence “foreign capital”) | ||||||
| 21. | ELASTIC | Hidden in performancE LAST I Conducted | ||||||
| 22. | LEGALLY | LEG + ALLY (two “supporters” – no bras involved for a change) | ||||||
| 24. | DOUBLE ACT | (BAD CLUE TO)* – nice and easy for this key answer | ||||||
| 26. | ROUEN | ROUE + N (last letter of Don Juan) | ||||||
| 28. | DUETS | T in DUES – double acts might perform duets | ||||||
| 29. | ALLOTMENT | ALL + ME in OT + NT (collections of books) | ||||||
| Down | ||||||||
| 1. | SMOG | SMOG is a portmanteau word, from SMOKE + FOG, and heavy smog hampers drivers. The use of “portmanteau” to denote a word formed from two others comes from Humpty Dumpty’s explanation to Alice of some of the words in Jabberwocky. ‘You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.’ | ||||||
| 2. | CROSBY | CROS[s] + BY – town in Merseyside | ||||||
| 3. | ACCOUNTANT | (ACT ACT NON U)* – one of several clues using the phrase “double ACT” literally | ||||||
| 4. | EMBRYO | (MY ROBE)* | ||||||
| 5. | MERCUTIO | Hidden in perforMER CUT I Offer. Although there are quite a few other hidden clues in this puzzle, it took me a while to spot this one. | ||||||
| 6. | WISE | Not sure about this – wise=sage, and some reference to Kipling that I don’t get: maybe to the “six honest serving men” in The Elephant’s Child, which are “What and Why and When/And How and Where and Who”; or maybe If with its line ”And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise”. (Clue: Sage nonsensically contradicting Kipling) | ||||||
| 7. | STACCATO | (ACT ACT)* in so. Staccato is a musical term meaning “detached”, i.e. not smooth | ||||||
| 8. | HOPE | Anthony HOPE, author of The Prisoner of Zenda, and great expectations are hopes | ||||||
| 13. | LARGE | LAGER with the R moved to the middle | ||||||
| 15. | EXAGGERATE | reverse of (EGG (urge) + AXE (cut)) + RATE (speed) | ||||||
| 16. | HARDY | The author Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was roughly a contemporary of Anthony Hope (1863-1933) | ||||||
| 18. | MEASURED | Double definition | ||||||
| 19. | TOCCATAS | (CAT CAT SO)* | ||||||
| 22. | LITTLE | L + TITLE with the first two letters reversed | ||||||
| 23. | LAUREL | A in LURE + L | ||||||
| 24. | DODO | DODO – DO (act) twice, and an old-fashioned or conservative person can be called a dodo | ||||||
| 25. | LASS | Even letters of cLeAnSeS | ||||||
| 27. | NUTS | Double definition – we don’t usually think of nuts as fruits, but botanically they are | ||||||
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