Another sound as a pound puzzle from Everyman. Struggled with the bottom half this morning. It’s all there, though: when in doubt, read the instructions.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letters removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Cave deposit, old – work on it inside
STALACTITE
An insertion of ACT and IT in STALE for ‘old’. Mites crawl up; tights come down, if you’re lucky.
6 Cheerful on a trip
HIGH
A dd
10 Excuse a crack about bishop
ABSOLVE
An insertion of B in A SOLVE. Did you crack this clue?
11 Pilot coming from Ottawa, via Toronto
AVIATOR
Nice surface. Hidden in OttowA VIA TORonto.
12 Writer, King, with terribly fine whittling tool
PENKNIFE
A charade of PEN, K and (FINE)*
13 Perry’s Della in the way?
STREET
Well, I stuck it in from the definition and then had to go online to find out why. Della STREET was the detective Perry Mason’s secretary in the novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. On the telly in the 1950s, which is before even my time. Slightly odd clue.
15 Honour beloved heroine
GRACE DARLING
A charade of GRACE (‘Will you grace/honour us with your presence?’) and DARLING (‘my beloved/darling one’). She was a North-Eastern lass, who is famous for having helped her father, a keeper at Longstone Lighthouse near Bamburgh in Northumberland, rescue survivors from The SS Forfarshire in September 1838. She became a national heroine, although reluctantly; she died only a few years later, aged 26, from tuberculosis.
18 Yearns to meet rider dropping off son, a docker
LONGSHOREMAN
Not a word I’d come across before, but I managed to get it from the wordplay. LONGS plus HOR[S]EMAN. An American English usage.
21 Pair left in four-seater car
COUPLE
Once I’d realised that there wasn’t a car called a DOUBE, this became obvious. It’s L in COUPÉ. Since it comes from the past participle of the French verb couper, ‘to cut’, I’d always thought it referred to a two-seater. But a look online tells me that it can mean lots of different car types, and there doesn’t seem to be one particular definition. So the setter is on firm ground.
22 Pop out during present sit-in
STOPPAGE
An insertion of (POP)* in STAGE. You have to think ‘present’ with the stress on the second rather than first syllable.
24 Sieve, small, lost in coach
TRAINER
[S]TRAINER.
25 Worker settled in sound city in New Mexico
SANTA FE
An insertion of ANT in SAFE. It means ‘holy faith’ in Spanish.
26 Uniform happening to be short
EVEN
EVEN[T]
27 Prince not returning for a dance
CHARLESTON
A charade of CHARLES, son of Brenda and the adulterous heir to the throne, and a reversal of NOT.
Down
1 Rogue, one providing seafood
SCAMPI
A charade of SCAMP and I.
2 Nod when ordered to go
ASSENT
A charade of AS and SENT.
3 Tired out, girls went swimming, freestyle
ALL-IN WRESTLING
A charade of ALL IN for ‘tired out’ and (GIRLS WENT)* with ‘swimming’ as the anagrind. ALL-IN WRESTLING appears to have fewer restrictions than normal wrestling, hence ‘freestyle’. But someone who knows more about wrestling than I do can put me right if that’s not what it’s about.
4 Article on vote cast for act in talent show
THE X FACTOR
A charade of THE, X for ‘vote’ and (FOR ACT)* with ‘cast’ as the anagrind, for the execrable ‘talent’ show.
5 A drop in drink, drop of rum?
TEAR
A charade of TEA for ‘drink’ and R for the first letter (‘drop’) of ‘rum’.
7 Fearless, I printed anyhow
INTREPID
(I PRINTED)*
8 Male must leave retreat to claim birthright
HERITAGE
HER[M]ITAGE
9 Cake covering – top is a spread
VICTORIA SPONGE
(COVERING TOP IS A)* Good clue, no doubt inspired by The Great British Bake Off.
14 Part of a newspaper’s title? Readers initially voted it changed
ADVERTISER
(READERS V IT)* Everyman is alluding to the fact that many newspapers have ADVERTISER in their title. Like GAZETTE or JOURNAL or TELEGRAPH.
16 Formal or unofficial relationship
BLACK TIE
I couldn’t see this for the longest time. It’s referring to a BLACK TIE event, which would be ‘formal’, and is BLACK for ‘unofficial’ (as in BLACK MARKET) and TIE.
17 Brood at home on Caribbean island, extremely tactile
INCUBATE
A charade of IN for ‘at home’, CUBA and TE for the outside letters of ‘tactile’. What birds do.
19 Empty tin inside large container
VACANT
Might have seen this before, but it’s a puzzle for improving solvers, so it’ll be new to someone. CAN in VAT.
20 River cut off any number
SEVERN
A charade of SEVER and N for the mathematical letter for ‘any number’, used in equations among other things.
23 Leading procession miles away
ARCH
[M]ARCH. Moriarty was Sherlock Holmes’ arch enemy, for example.
Thank you to Everyman. Week in, week out, he does the biz.
All solved bar 13a where I had ?t?e?t. I guessed street but had no idea about Perry’s Della. I wonder how many knew that. As you say, most strange to use this clue.
Another good one from Everyman, except for Perry’s Della. 🙁
Thanks Pierre; I didn’t really know GRACE DARLING but the cluing was clear.
I ticked 🙂 LONGSHOREMAN, SANTA FE, (for the misleading ‘sound’) and ADVERTISER.
Yes, Della STREET was one I didn’t understand either. Thanks for that.
Watched too much TV in my youth so 13ac came easily. Viewing habits have changed and THE X FACTOR took me longer – great clue, though.
Thanks Everyman and Pierre
Re coupé, my understanding is that a coupé has the body cut/shaped in such a way that there’s not enough height for rear doors, so there are only two, even if it’s a four-seater.
Thanks Everyman and nice work on the blog Pierre, 9d completely eluded me
I think you meant to say, (SANT FE) means ‘holy faith’ in *English*
and FWIW, longshoreman is ‘stevedore’ in Englsh
Happily this came together quite easily although I had to verify the two ladies. I agree a coupe is more two-doored than four-seated and I was torn between the tite and the mite before I realised I couldn’t spell and spotted the act.
Thanks again to Everyman and Pierre.
Welcome back Barrie. My early memories of Perry Mason (B & W TV) have him as a defence attorney (eventually in a wheel-chair?) who proved to be a better detective than the prosecution and established his client’s innocence in the final scenes while relying on his dependable PA Della Street so no problems with the ladies! I think that the definition of coupe is that it is two-door, and hard topped, and four-seated in that order. Good fun as usual today, my loi was high!
Thanks Ian. Yes, we watched Perry Mason in my youth, I just don’t recall his PA. Now Moneypenny would be different.
I’m obviously late in this morning after being totally absent last week, a weekend motor racing in Taupo put paid to crosswording! This week was fun, I too was a big Perry Mason fan and apart from stalactites and mites i worked my way through the lot! Victoria sponge was new to me and as a car guy I dispute a coupe as a 4 seater!
Hi Rod, I personally think of a coupe as a basically a two-seater with a pair of, probably cramped, bucket seats behind the front pair so I’m ok with the clue-it’s probably best not to get too pedantic. I took work on=act as fine in 1a. I have fond memories of racing buckets (small cc motor bikes) round Taupo-great fun track!
Played bowls this morning in atrocious conditions so didn’t start this till this afternoon. Took a couple of hours but got there eventually. I had the same trouble as everyone else. Can remember Perry Mason but not Della, but guessed right. Remember being told the story of Grace Darling as a child. Luckily I’ve watched the ‘ Great British Bake Off’ so had heard of Victoria Sponge. Haven’t heard it called that in NZ though.
Raymond Burr played both Perry Mason – the Defense Attorney that could walk; and Ironside – the investigator in a wheel chair (not sure he was a police man or not).
Did have to google that Della’s last name was street and there was such a thing in NZ (appears to be the cream sponge mum used to make).
Well Kath and I have cracked. (She lives on the Hauraki Plains and I’m in Papamoa so it’s over the phone for the last ones we can’t solve alone.) As a food tech teacher from way back 9d was easy.Kath got 13a easily. I didn’t remember her. I got 18a from the many dictionaries I use. That OK? If you can use the internet anything wrong with a paper version?? Not being a car person I didn’t get too stuck on 21a. It just fitted.We’d never heard of the heroine but slotted the right letters. Absolutely agree with Pierre re his comment on 27a.
Thanks for all the antipodean comments. I always drop back into the blog after the due time has passed to see what you all thought.
Thanks Pierre, good to know.