One of the advantages of standing in for someone who is away on holiday is that I get to cover one of my favourite setters. That said, I found this to be one of Alberich’s easier offerings so it was over more quickly than I would have ideally liked. However, there was still a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction during the solve.
Across
7 Fence keeps one in sports ground at all times (8)
RECEIVER – I (one) in REC (sports ground) EVER (at all times)
8 What Jacob says about old lady’s fruit? (6)
BANANA – BAA (what Jacob {a sheep} says) around (about) NAN (old lady)
11 Make one train endlessly on return (5)
UNITE – [r]ETINU[e] (train endlessly) reversed (on return)
12 A jazz piece is eclipsed by piano and harp playing short passage (9)
PARAGRAPH – A RAG (a jazz piece) in (is eclipsed by) P (piano) anagram (playing) of HARP
13 Hungry monkey as it were displaying weariness (7)
LANGUOR – O in LANGUR (monkey) – ‘hungry’ indicates that the monkey has nothing in it
14 Singer’s initial refusal to take on Tosca disheartened another? (7)
SOPRANO – S[inger] (singer’s initial) NO (refusal) around (to take on) OP[e]RA (Tosca disheartened)
15 Adaptation of Emma’s very British but not a byword for ratings? (6,2,7)
SHIVER MY TIMBERS – anagram (adaption of) of EMM[a]’S VERY BRITISH
18 First off, funny fellow’s a character (7)
OMICRON – [c]OMIC (first off, funny) RON (fellow)
20 Former professors desert institute after termination of tenure (7)
EMERITI – [tenur]E (termination of tenure) MERIT (desert) I (institute)
22 Feature of Elephant and Castle’s given everyone a kind of buzz (5,4)
TRUNK CALL – TRUNK (feature of elephant) C (castle) ALL (everyone)
23 Police cut is matter for discussion (5)
THEME – THE ME[t] (police cut)
24 Keep moving a part of the water pump (6)
RETINA – RETAIN (keep) with the A ‘moving) – ‘water pump’ being a cryptic description of an eye
25 African country somehow wants to import snake? On the contrary (8)
BOTSWANA – BOA (snake) around (to import) anagram (somehow) of WANTS
Down
1 Diagnostic expert sacked others to save money (14)
TROUBLESHOOTER – anagram (sacked) of OTHERS TO around (to save) ROUBLE (money) – ‘to’ doing double duty?
2 Fellow’s kicked out of splinter group for fighting (6)
ACTION – [f]ACTION (fellow’s kicked out of splinter group)
3 Make delicate adjustments to beautiful melody (4-4)
FINE-TUNE – FINE (beautiful) TUNE (melody)
4 Unreliable office worker takes a long time out to lunch (13)
TEMPERAMENTAL – TEMP (office worker) ERA (a long time) MENTAL (out to lunch)
5 To finish 22 perhaps is a problem (4-2)
HANG-UP – double def.
6 Lawyer needs time to put down information that’s been collected (8)
DATABASE – DA (lawyer) T (time) ABASE (put down)
9 So real hardship is represented in collection of poems (1,10,3)
A SHROPSHIRE LAD – anagram (is represented) of SO REAL HARDSHIP
10 For schools, term almost has broken up so go from one party to another (5,3,5)
CROSS THE FLOOR – anagram (has broken up) of FOR SCHOOLS TER[m]
16 I resign after elected party hides role in crime (8)
INIQUITY – IN (elected) I QUIT (I resign) [part]Y (party hides role)
17 Karajan, say, turns out Mahler’s Sixth very majestically (8)
MAESTOSO – MAEST[r]O (Karajan, say, turns out Mahler’s Sixth) SO (very)
19 Searching question leaves monarch trembling with fear (6)
RAKING – R [qu]AKING (question leaves monarch trembling with fear)
21 Purgative obtained from overripe cactus (6)
IPECAC – hidden in (obtained from) ‘overrIPE CACtus’ – from Chambers: “ipecacuanha (sometimes shortened to ipecac’) the dried root of various S American plants, used as a purgative, emetic and expectorant”
Thanks Alberich for a thoroughly enjoyable puzzle and Gaufrid for the blog.
7ac: I took this on trust so thanks Gaufrid for the parsing. I think the words “as it were” do an important job in indicating that Alberich is doing something out of the ordinary in using “hungry” to mean “containing nothing”.
1dn: If we read “show” as a plural indicative verb there is no double duty.
9dn: I am actually listening to a recording of one of the songs from A Shropshire Lad as I am typing this.
Sorry I meant 13ac not 7ac.
Thanks, Alberich & Gaufrid.
PB@1: I think you meant “save” rather than “show” in your comment on 1dn.
I did not know a Jacob is a sheep, nor that a langur is a monkey. I’m guessing “water pump” refers to the fact that eyes can produce tears, but, IMHO, that’s a bit of a stretch, even for a cryptic definition. (For the record, eyes don’t produce tears; tears are produced by the lacrimal glands and conveyed by the tear ducts.)
Keeper @3: Thsnks for the correction. I did indeed mean “save”, not “show”. I have no idea how that error occurred.
Loved the puzzle: but I agree with Keeper about ‘water pump’
Just to note that Chambers gives ‘water pump’ = ‘eye (humorous)’
Under water pump, Chambers has ‘the eye (humorous)’.
Thanks for the reference, Phi & Conrad. So Alberich is off the hook, but now my gripe is with Chambers. Who, indeed, uses this expression? The only other reference I found is (wait for it) another 15^2 blog post!
It appeared in an Inquisitor puzzle a few months ago (http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/09/11/inquisitor-1297-adaptation-by-shark/), where it also came under some scrutiny.
How would you even use it? “The final scene from It’s a Wonderful Life always leaves my water pumps working overtime”? Or perhaps as a pick-up line: “My, you have a nice pair of water pumps.” (I think that last one might risk a slap or a drink in the face!)
Only just did this, hence late to the blog. IMHO this was a beautifully clued puzzle: tight wordplay; unambiguous clue grammar; minimal use of link words, and; superb surface readings throughout. Having discovered that EYE /= water pump, I forgot to check that WATER PUMP = eye, so my guess of RETINA at 24 remained as such until I saw this blog. Thanks to Alberich for the puzzle, and to Keeper@8 for his/her marvellous valedictory comment. 😉