Tees has given us an entertaining puzzle today.
The theme although clear, was quite well disguised. None of the dogs were clued specifically as dogs, so it took a little while to work out the gateway clue. In the end I deduced what was going on by reverse engineering as I worked out the gateway clue from the letters I had at the time and hence realised that the theme was dogs. I hadn’t helped myself by putting LARBOARD in at 1 down without really reading the clue. LARBOARD is an anagram of the correct entry LABRADOR
I started off in the middle of the grid with GUT and followed it up with STOOD PAT. From there it was a fairly steady solve which speeded up after I realised the presence of dogs.
I have a bit of check list when finalising the blog. One of the tasks on my check list is to ensure I have indicated reversals correctly. I think this is the first puzzle for a long time that does not have a reversal in the wordplay construction.
I liked the definition ‘Fred stripped’ at 2 down.
11 across was clearly going to be RESET but I had do some research to get the link between E and MDMA
I thought a couple of the definitions were stretching a point and have mentioned these in the grid below. Overall though I really enjoyed this puzzle.
|
Across |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
|
9
|
Six-footer gathering smallest amount is physician (9)
|
ANT (an ANT is a six-legged insect; six-footer) containing (gathering) (ATOM [anything very small] + IS) AN (ATOM IS) T |
ANATOMIST (a person skilled in the science of a the physical structure of a plant or animal learned by dissection; I’m not convinced that is the same as a physician. If I was ill I think I would rather be treated by a physician than an ANATOMIST)
|
|
10
|
Make one college tenure vacant? (5)
|
UNI (university; college) + TE (first and last letters only [vacant] of TENURE)
|
UNITE (make one)
|
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11
|
Clear others holding MDMA (5)
|
REST (others) containing (holding) E (MDMA is an abbreviation for methylene-dioxymethamphetamine which is known informally as ecstasy or E) RES (E) T |
RESET (clear, often applied to clearing the settings of electronic devices and restoring them to their factory defaults)
|
|
13
|
The river through the underworld takes no definite course (7)
|
(THE + R [river]) contained in (through) DIS (name for Pluto, hence, the infernal world; underworld) DI (THE R) S |
DITHERS (wavers, vacillates; takes no definite course)
|
|
14
|
Succeed? Anything but where pence decline in value (7)
|
P (pence) + RECEDE (decline in value)
|
PRECEDE (go before, the opposite of [anything but] SUCCEED [to come after])
|
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16
|
Line up with chain wheel (5)
|
ROW (line) + EL (elevated [up] railroad; line up)
|
ROWEL ( small, spiked wheel on a spur; chain wheel)
|
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18
|
Paunch good for Goering (3)
|
GUT (German for ‘good’; Hermann Goering was ….)
|
GUT (belly; paunch) double definition
|
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19
|
Coarse woman hankering after bachelor (5)
|
B (bachelor) + ITCH (hankering)
|
BITCH (malicious or arrogant woman; coarse woman)
|
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21
|
Maiden, single, left to bed Greek bastard (7)
|
M (maiden, in cricket scoring notation) + ([ONE {single} + L {left}] containing [to bed] GR [Greek}) M ON (GR) E L |
MONGREL (an animal, esp a dog, of a mixed breed; bastard [a child {puppy?} born of unmarried parents. I assume dogs don’t get married, but in this day and age you never know)
|
| 22 / 12 | Conduct private business re 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 19, 21A,24, 27 or 28? (3,1,3,5,1,3) | SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG (All the entries referred to in the clue are breeds of dog or words use to describe dogs) |
SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG (colloquialism usually used as a way to say one needs to apologize for one’s imminent departure or absence – generally euphemistically used to conceal one’s true purpose, such as going to use the toilet or going to buy a drink; conduct private business) |
|
24
|
Split personality failing to shine in Chinese city? (9)
|
MAT (dull, lustreless when describing a surface; failing to shine) contained in (in) DALIAN (major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, in North East China near North Korea) DAL (MAT) IAN |
DALMATIAN (The historic region of DALMATIA lies on the Adriatic Sea in the modern state of Croatia. The city of Split, lies at the northwest edge of DALMATIA, hence a native of Split would be a DALMATIAN; Split personality
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26
|
Clown sees hour is time lost to evil figure (5)
|
ANTICHRIST (an opponent of Christ; the great opposer of Christ and Christianity expected by the early Church, evil figure) excluding (lost) (HR [hour] + IS + T [time])
|
ANTIC (clown)
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27
|
Lunar vehicle runs past (5)
|
R (runs, in cricket scoring notation) + OVER (past)
|
ROVER (a remotely controlled vehicle for exploring the surface of the moon; lunar vehicle)
|
| 28 | Retired old robber one saves (9) | RET (retired) + RIEVER (variant spelling of REIVER [archaic term for robber, often referring to a sheep stealing]) REIVER is a common word in the Scottish Borders and is frequently used in the names of sports teams. I am a member of Roxburgh REIVERS orienteering club | RETRIEVER (saver) |
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Arab lord at sea finds the coast (8)
|
Anagram of (at sea) ARAB LORD
|
LABRADOR (a coastal region of Canada; coast)
|
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2
|
Born with attractive feature, Fred stripped! (6)
|
B (born) + ASSET (an attractive feature)
|
BASSET (reference the strip cartoon, Fred BASSET, first appeared in the Daily Mail in 1963 and still syndicated worldwide today)
|
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3
|
Brute Hitler, losing head, wrote in frenzy (10)
|
Anagram of (in frenzy) (HITLER excluding [losing] the first letter [head] H and WROTE)
|
ROTTWEILER (brutish person)
|
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4
|
Compares to Sheridan’s play article ignored (6)
|
THE RIVALS (play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan) excluding (ignored) THE ([definite] article)
|
RIVALS (compares to)
|
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5
|
Wanted no change having bought Irishman drink? (5,3)
|
STOOD (bought a drink possibly) + PAT (oft used name to denote an Irishman)
|
STOOD PAT (refused to change)
|
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6
|
Greek character with Tees an ignoramus! (4)
|
MU (letter of the Greek alphabet; Greek character) + TT (two tees; Tees [not the compiler in this case])
|
MUTT (blockhead; ignoramus)
|
|
7
|
Crazy compilers surmount decent chap in lawless place (4,4)
|
WILD (crazy) + WE (this is Tees referring to himself and other compilers) + ST (saint; decent chap)
|
WILD WEST (lawless place)
|
|
8
|
Spy using Blackbird? (6)
|
B (black) + EAGLE (bird)
|
BEAGLE (an obsolete word for a spy)
|
|
15
|
Two males celibate – might be significant (10)
|
Anagram of (might be) (MM [M [male] twice – two males] and CELIBATE)
|
EMBLEMATIC (symbolic; significant)
|
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17
|
12 fully in shot was broadcast (4,4)
|
Anagram of (shot) TWELVE [12 fully spelled out] and IN)
|
WENT LIVE (was broadcast)
|
|
18
|
Deceiver into girl departs dance (8)
|
LIAR (deceiver) contained in (into) (GAL [girl] + D [departs]) GAL (LIAR) D |
GALLIARD (spirited dance for two)
|
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20
|
Transport to hell worker caught by cunning schemes (8)
|
HAND (worker) + C (caught) + ART (cunning schemes)
|
HANDCART (reference the phrase ‘GOING TO HELL IN A HANDCART‘ which describes a person or a situation that is in an extremely bad state and becoming worse
|
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21
|
With it sailors follow procedure (6)
|
MODE (procedure) + RN (Royal Navy; sailors)
|
MODERN (with it)
|
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22
|
Some chosen at Ephesus for worthy body (6)
|
SENATE (hidden word in [some] CHOSEN AT EPHESUS)
|
SENATE (legislative or deliberative body; worthy body)
|
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23
|
After word from Camus, this writer has purpose (6)
|
MOT (French [reference Albert Camus, French author, journalist and philosopher] for ‘word’) + I’VE [I [this writer] have)
|
MOTIVE (purpose)
|
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25
|
Expert flyer to trap rook and land (4)
|
ACE (expert flyer) containing (to trap) R (notation for a rook in chess) AC (R) E |
ACRE (a measure of land)
|
A bit of change from the usual and not too difficult after solving the gateway clue, which I got from the enumeration. Therefore did not have the LARBOARD trouble with 1D, but good spot by Duncan and wonder if the LABRADOR/LARBOARD anagram has been used before.
3D I simply assumed that the clue, brute, was a synonym for beast and therefore just referring to the dog. No matter.
Thanks to Tees and duncanshiell for his usual immaculate blog.
I thought this was probably easier than some Thursday puzzles but it was very inventive and fun to solve. Count me as another who had “larboard” at 1dn until the theme unveiled itself, and the theme helped me with two other answers. The first was DALMATIAN where I didn’t know “Dalian” and had forgotten that Split is in what was once Dalmatia. PRECEDE was my LOI after BEAGLE, the other one I needed the theme for because I’d forgotten the “spy” definition and I hadn’t thought of splitting “Blackbird” for the wordplay.
Enjoyed this one but am grateful for the blog as couldn’t see the parsing of ANTIC (very clever!). I must say I still don’t get where the “EL” comes from in ROWEL even after reading the excellent blog so must be being thick again today.
And I’m another one who put in LARBOARD and had to amend it.
PJ@3,
Could ROW = chain and EL = “line up”?
Muffyword@5 – I like your parsing of ROWEL.
I struggled a bit with this one, probably because I too was held up by being a member of the ‘larboard’ club.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Thanks Duncan & Tees, I got 11ac RESET immediately before looking at 1d and thinking LARBOARD, which caused some anxiety thinking surely RESET is correct, still this wasn’t the dog’s breakfast I feared but perhaps the clue to 22/12 gave rather too much away in hindsight.
Did this on a long train trip to Glasgow this afternoon and I completed it, sort of. Seems I can’t spell DALMATIAN, managed to change the final ‘a’ to an ‘o’.
Actually managed to get the gateway clue quite quickly, mainly from the enumeration, so no trouble at 1dn.
I was held up at the end with 16ac and 17dn and made guesses that turned out to be correct, although I was not sure why in both cases. With 17dn, I was misled by the reference to 12 and wondered if you have seen a man about a dog, you will have went (to the loo).
Another LARBOARDER here. Muppetry really on my behalf – the definition doesn’t really point us there, does it? Once I’d sorted that out and got BASSET and ROTTWEILER, the gateway clue fell and I’d twigged that Tees was inviting us for a spot of dogging, so to speak.
Fun puzzle – even once I knew we were looking for our canine companions, it certainly wasn’t a write-in. And I’d forgotten EL for ‘elevated line’ (is that what it is?)
Thanks to Duncan for the usual comprehensive blog and to Tees.
Hi folkth
Many thanks for the marvellous blog from Dunks, and thank you all too for the much-appreciated comments.
I think you’ve nailed it all. The EL is an abbrev in Collins for ‘elevated railway’ so I thought ‘line up’ would be okay for a somewhat ambiguous way to say it. LARBOARD, well okay then, but it’s port asin starboard rather than a coast, as K’s D points out. Am I off the hook?
Woof woof,
Tees.
We started this late and then Joyce couldn’t keep her eyes open so we have only just finished it.
We enjoyed this one. 1and 2 down were the first ones in so we saw the theme straight away. Having said that, when Joyce solved ROVER she failed to spot the link!
Thanks Tees and Duncan.
This was a rare foray into Indy territory at the pub yesterday evening, which I enjoyed. Got the theme pretty quickly from the enumeration and fortunately got RESET before LABRADOR so it was already clear that LARBOARD wouldn’t work, though I did consider it. I liked the Camus and Goering clues but I’m not sure about using this device twice in the same crossword.
Thanks to Duncan and Tees.