Unusually, Quixote is occupying the Wednesday slot, where I was expecting to find Crosophile, it being the last Wednesday of the month.
I found this a fairly straightforward solve, which never goes amiss on a blogging day when time is short. I think that I have managed to parse all the solutions. The words at 2 and 8 were both new to me, but they could be arrived at satisfactorily from the wordplay.
My favourite today was 11, for its misdirection with “scores of works” and its surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in double-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | TROPHY | Work hard in attempt to get prize
[OP (=work) + H (=hard)] in TRY (=attempt) |
| 02 | DISTRAIN | Seize rubbish brought to school
DIS (=rubbish, as verb) + TRAIN (=school, as verb); in law, to distrain is to seize goods to settle debt, especially non-payment of rent or rates |
| 09 | MUTINY | Sign of hesitation about mini rebellion
MU (UM=sign of hesitation; “about” indicates reversal) + TINY (=mini) |
| 10 | AVIARIES | Ram goes round through lots and lots of birds
VIA (=through) in ARIES (=Ram, i.e. constellation) |
| 11 | BEETHOVEN | Producer of scores of works – worker subsequently penning nothing/very little?
BEE (=worker) + {[O (=nothing) + V (=very little, i.e. abbreviation of very)] in THEN (=subsequently)}; the “scores” and “works” referred to in the definition are, of course, musical ones |
| 13 | ASTON | A boy gaining First in Theology from university?
A + [T<heology> (“first” means first letter only) in SON (=boy)] |
| 14 | MARCHING ORDERS | Dismissal makes Rod “resign” unexpectedly at end of month
MARCH (=month) + *(ROD RESIGN); “unexpectedly” is anagram indicator |
| 15 | COMMISSIONAIRE | Worker in hotel? I’m nice as room is reallocated
*(I’M NICE AS ROOM IS); “reallocated” is anagram indicator |
| 16 | GAFFE | Mistake brings boss short
GAFFE<r> (=boss; “short” means last letter is dropped) |
| 21 | EASTBOUND | Like slave leaving Africa maybe, tied to seat nastily
*(EAST) + BOUND (=tied); “nastily” is anagram indicator |
| 23 | APOLOGIA | Defence in a game starts to get indisciplined alas
A + POLO (=game) + G<et> I<ndisciplined> A<las> (“starts to” means first letters only are used) |
| 24 | CARNET | Mode of transport – acquire book of tickets
CAR (=mode of transport) + NET (=acquire) |
| 25 | ADDITION | Drug habit? Cocaine to be avoided as something extra
ADDI<c>TION (=drug habit); “cocaine (=C) to be avoided” means letter “c” is dropped |
| 26 | GEISHA | Woman serving man in marriage is happy
Hidden (“in”) in “marriaGE IS HAppy” |
| Down | ||
| 01 | TIME BOMB | Issue coming up, British rabble upset – explosive situation
TIME (EMIT=emit; “up” indicates vertical reversal) + BOMB (B=British + MOB=rabble; “upset” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 02 | OUTWEAR | Survive being exposed on northern river
OUT (=exposed) + WEAR (=northern river, as in Tyne and Wear) |
| 03 | HUNCH | Vague feeling invader will land on church
HUN (=invader) + CH (=church) |
| 05 | INVENTORIES | Lists of elected politicians absorbing the archdeacon
VEN (=archdeacon, i.e. Venerable) in [IN (=elected) + TORIES (=politicians)] |
| 06 | TEA GARDEN | Char sent out of the house may finish up here
“Char” is to be understood as tea rather than cleaner |
| 07 | AVIATOR | A guest is leaving having grabbed a pilot
A + [A in V<is>ITOR (=guest; “is leaving” means letters “is” are dropped)] |
| 08 | NISAN | Grandma is being kept in for a month
IS in NAN (=grandma); Nisan is a month of the Jewish calendar |
| 12 | VENUS DI MILO | Statue lies unmoved after demolition
*(LIES UNMOVED); “after demolition” is anagram indicator |
| 15 | HAMMER OUT | Agree on requirement to nail something
Cryptically, you have to get your hammer out if you need to nail something, hence “requirement to nail something”! |
| 16 | VENDETTA | Terrible anger initially vented – ghastly feud
*(T<errible> + A<nger> + VENTED); “initially” means first letter only; “ghastly” is anagram indicator |
| 18 | OFFLOAD | Dump no longer available – see notice
OFF (=no longer available) + LO (=see) + AD (=notice) |
| 19 | IGUANAS | Lizards troubling us again
*(US AGAIN); “troubling” is anagram indicator |
| 20 | GHANA | A horse heading north over hard country
H (=hard) in [GANA (A + NAG (=horse); “heading north” indicates vertical reversal)] |
| 22 | BRAKE | Slow down and fall apart, we hear
Homophone (“we hear”) of “break” (=fall apart) |
A fine puzzle from Quixote in his usual style. Only downside is that I’ll be thinking all day that it’s Monday. Upside for the Don is that he’s setting as Pasquale in Another Place today, so he’ll be off to the shops this weekend.
I liked BEETHOVEN and TEA GARDEN particularly. CARNET made me reflect that this word has passed into usage in English – it’s French of course – but only comparatively recently. I saw it on a website for London Transport not long ago, I think.
My only query is where we get EASTBOUND from in 21ac. Surely the slave trade was a WESTBOUND activity?
Thanks for blogging, RR. Just a small point: Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county, but the WEAR is a river in its own right, and those living along it, particulary those of the red-and-white persuasion, don’t much like being associated with the river ten miles north of it. Just saying.
I had the same thought about Eastbound, the aviator / aviaries crossers seemed clumsy being so close together. Thanks RR and Q.
This just seemed like one of the Don’s Monday puzzles moved to a different day. Very enjoyable, although I have the same EASTBOUND quibble. DISTRAIN was my LOI.
Thanks to Quixote and RR for puzzle and blog! Not a very hard one today, but entertaining.
Got the WEAR part of 2d thanks having spent time in Durham last year when my daughter was studying there (lovely memories)! I would have struggled with it otherwise, since the complete word was new to me too.
@Kathryn’s Dad@1: I didn’t know Pasquale and Quixote were the same person, but now that I do, the use of ‘visitor’ minus two letters in both the puzzles today ceases to be a coincidence. I wonder whether he would have let it pass had he known the puzzles would appear on the same day!
I too wondered why the slave trade would be ‘East-bound’ from Africa. I wonder whether there were African slaves in the Middle East in olden times – can’t find any ready references to it, though.
Abhay.
Any pseudonym associated with Don or Donald is likely to be the Don. As well as the two you now know, the list includes Bradman, Giovanni, Duck and disappears into the distance. It may be unlimited for all we know.
I did spot the VISITOR connection too, Abhay. Pure coincidence, I’m sure – the puzzles were probably set months apart and the setters have no control over when they appear (unless it’s a special anniversary or something similar where they want to compile a themed puzzle).
There are other setters who provide puzzles for here and the Grauniad: our Jambazi is their Tramp; our Radian is their Crucible; our Anarche is their Arachne. And probably more. They’ll all flog their stuff to any editor who will buy it, to be honest …
I was hoping someone would explain EASTBOUND to me.
Actually, the misdirection in 11ac was spoiled for me in that the line break after scores meant I immediately knew it was going to be the name of a composer.
Completed very quickly tonight but left wondering about EASTBOUND. Seems we weren’t the only ones!
Thanks to S&B.
Fifteensquared saves my sanity! Without the blog, I wonder for how long EASTBOUND would have troubled me. Some reassurance that this may be an unintentional misdirection on the compiler’s part…..though even now I’m still not fully satisfied (did the slavetraders take a circuitous route via Cape Horn…..?)
Thanks to Don Quixote and RR.