Dac continues to produce crosswords that give a good deal of pleasure and satisfaction to solvers. There are rarely any gimmicks, Ninas or tricks.
Having said that, I spent a long time pondering the wordplay for COCKERMOUTH at 13 down. It is clearly a town in Cumbria, badly flooded a few years ago, but it was only at the very end of writing the blog that I discovered that Common People was a song by the British rock band Pulp of whom Jarvis COCKER is the lead singer. I expect many solvers got that one straight away, but I’m not sure I have any Pulp amongst my CD collection.
Clues I liked today included those for INSPECT (14 across) with its misdirection to Veterinary Surgeons, ABLUTIONS (25 across) an &Lit clue and LAYETTE (8 down) for it’s definition of ‘first gear’.
If I have to quibble, it is at 18 down, where I was away up with Chief Constables and Assistant Commissioners initially for top cop. I’m not convinced that a mere Detective Inspector is a top cop,
I look forward to many more Dac puzzles
Please note that this blog has been uploaded on a very poor internet connection and it has not been fully proof read. There may well be spelling mistakes and typos – Sorry!
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
He composed number Welsh singer’s introduced (6)
|
W (Welsh) + ALTO (singer) + N (number)
|
WALTON (reference William WALTON [1902 – 1983], English composer)
|
|
4
|
Unusual play with Act 1 out of order (8)
|
Anagram of (out of order) (PLAY and ACT I)
|
ATYPICAL (unusual)
|
|
10
|
Inferior article written about Irish curse (5-4)
|
THE (definite article) containing (written about) (IR [Irish] + DRAT [curse]) TH (IR DRAT) E |
THIRD RATE (of poor quality; inferior)
|
|
11
|
Suggest just skipping starter (5)
|
SIMPLY (just) excluding (skipping) the first letter (starter) S
|
IMPLY (suggest)
|
|
12
|
Former winner pens page for part of programme (7)
|
EX (former) + (CERT [certainty; winner] containing [pens] P [page]) EX CER (P) T |
EXCERPT (part of programme)
|
|
14
|
Vet gently poking small creature (7) |
P (piano; gently) contained in (poking) INSECT (a small creature) INS (P) ECT |
INSPECT (vet)
|
|
15
|
Reveal adopted name Heath perhaps changed? Not so (11)
|
(N [name] contained in [adopted] UNCOVER [reveal]) + TED (reference TED Heath, British Prime Minister 1970 – 1974) UNCO (N) VER TED |
UNCONVERTED (not changed)
|
|
17
|
Witness recalled jewels being snatched quite regularly (3) |
SEE (letters 2, 4 and 6 [being snatched quite regularly] of JEWELS) reversed (recalled)
|
SEE (witness)
|
| 18 |
Fighter hiding in trenches (3)
|
CHE (hidden word in [hiding in] TRENCHES)
|
CHE (reference CHE Guevara, South American revolutionary fighter)
|
|
19
|
Shocking report of animal breeding (4-7)
|
HAIR (sounds like [report of] HARE [animal]) + RAISING (breeding)
|
HAIR-RAISING (terrifying; shocking)
|
|
21
|
Mate interrupting feast on ship? That’s not very clever (7)
|
(M [mate; checkmate in chess notation, I think. I haven’t got a Collins dictionary with me at the moment] contained in (interrupting] DINE [feast]) + SS (steamship) DI (M) NE SS |
DIMNESS (if one shows DIMNESS, one is being not very clever)
|
|
23
|
Keep setting fire to lace (7)
|
TORCH (set fire to) + ON (keep doing something)
|
TORCHON (TORCHON lace is peasants’ bobbin lace of loose texture and geometrical design, or a machine-made imitation)
|
|
24
|
Possible response to joke by the French: that’s revolting! (5)
|
LA (one of the forms of ‘the’ in French) + UGH (that’s revolting)
|
LAUGH (possible response to a joke)
|
|
25
|
Start to lie in a tub so, performing these? (9)
|
Anagram of (performing) (L [first letter of {start to}] LIE and IN A TUB SO
|
ABLUTIONS (something you may perform by lying in a bathtub) & Lit clue
|
|
27
|
Supporter of female in grip of a depression (6)
|
HER (descriptive of a female) contained in (in grip of) (A + DENT [depression]) A D (HER) ENT |
ADHERENT (supporter) |
|
28
|
Completely enthralled by return of tear-jerking soap (6)
|
ALL (completely) contained in (enthralled by) (SAD [tear-jerking] reversed [return of]) D (ALL) AS< |
DALLAS (reference the television soap opera of the same name a few years ago)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
French artist having some power over Vichy perhaps (7)
|
WATT (unit of power) + EAU (French for ‘water’, reference curative Vichy water)
|
WATTEAU (reference Jean-Antoinne WATTEAU [1684 – 1721])
|
|
2
|
Garland of purple irises (3)
|
LEI (hidden word in [of] PURPLE IRISES)
|
LEI (garland or wreath)
|
|
3
|
Look up Judi, entertaining father in a manner of speaking (3,6)
|
LO (look) reversed (up; down clue) + (DENCH [reference Judi DENCH, English actress] containing FR [father]) LO D (FR) ENCH |
OLD FRENCH (the French language until 1400; a manner of speaking)
|
|
5
|
Play list new theatre put out? (3,7,4)
|
Anagram of (put out) LIST NEW THEATRE
|
THE WINTER’S TALE (play by Shakespeare)
|
|
6
|
Unpleasant feelings old man’s suffered at home (5)
|
IN (at home) contained in (suffered) PA’S (father’s) PA (IN) S |
PAINS (unpleasant feelings)
|
|
7
|
Craftsman, most chipper when working (11) |
Anagram of (when working) MOST CHIPPER
|
COPPERSMITH (craftsman)
|
|
8
|
Learner driver worried, still getting stuck in first gear (7)
|
L (learner driver) + (YET [still] contained in [getting stuck] ATE [worried]) L A (YET) TE |
LAYETTE (a baby’s complete set of clothing; first gear)
|
|
9
|
One can only dream about these Andalusian homes for Englishmen? (7,2,5)
|
CASTLES IN SPAIN (these could be homes for Englishmen in Andalusia, a region of SPAIN. Also reference the phrase ‘an Englishman’s home is his CASTLE)
|
CASTLES IN SPAIN (imaginary or unrealistic plans; one can only dream about these)
|
|
13
|
Cumbrian town whence Common People? (11)
|
COCKER (reference Jarvis COCKER, lead singer of the British alternative rock band Pulp) + MOUTH (Mr COCKER sings with his MOUTH) Common People is 1994 song by Pulp
|
COCKERMOUTH (town in Cumbria)
|
|
16
|
A1 grade? It’s possible, by the grace of God (3,6)
|
Anagram of (it’s possible) AI GRADE IT
|
DEI GRATIA (by the grace of God)
|
|
18
|
Top cop in part of nick has a foreign accent (7)
|
(DI [Detective Inspector {senior policeman; top cop}] contained in CELL [part of prison [nick]) + A CE (DI) LL A |
CEDILLA (a mark, orig a subscript Z, placed under the letter c (thus \,c), formerly used in Spanish to indicate that the letter had the sound of (Spanish) where that of would be expected; foreign accent)
|
|
20
|
First book a rock group (7)
|
GENESIS (first book of the Old Testament)
|
GENESIS (Rock Group) double definition
|
|
22
|
Number three, possibly (5)
|
ETHER (can be an anagram of [possibly] THREE)
|
ETHER (an anaesthetic; something that numbs; number)
|
|
26
|
Bird heading away from deep lake (3)
|
LOW (deep) excluding the first letter [heading away] L + L (lake)
|
OWL (bird)
|
18D CEDILLA – and currently used in French eg in garçon.
Very pleasantly teasing!
Thanks, Duncan. Good stuff as always from Dac: HAIR-RAISING and LAYETTE were particularly good today. Never heard of TORCHON for ‘lace’; it means ‘tea-towel’ in French. And if I were being hypermegasuperpicky, I would say that a CEDILLA is a subscript diacritic, and not an accent. But I’m not a hypermegasuperpicky person, so I won’t.
Bravo Dac.
Oh and btw thanks for parsing COCKERMOUTH, Duncan. I would never have got that.
Another excellent Dac puzzle. Count me as another who couldn’t parse COCKERMOUTH, and I didn’t know TORCHON but the wordplay was clear enough.
21a My dead tree version has MALE not MATE which makes more sense if a less pleasing surface, got Cockermouth fine remembering the song from a few years back…
Thanks Dac & Duncan
Jarvis Cocker did go through my head for 13 but, not being familiar with his work, it didn’t stay there. I can see the attraction of the clue, even if it does require a bit of specialist knowledge.
Thanks Duncan for parsing Cockermouth.
Not much else to say really, excellent surfaces as always with Dac. Thank goodness we finished it tonight – the last two have been left until the next morning!
Thanks Dac – we liked Hair-raising.