It seems quite a while since I’ve had any significant quibbles about a puzzle but today has changed that. One faulty clue (29a) and some questionable wordplay (5a, 9a, 2d, 4d, 11d, 22d). I didn’t find this puzzle particularly inspiring. I can’t say it was a chore to complete it but it didn’t give the same amount of enjoyment that some other recent puzzles have done. Perhaps this was me having an off day so I will be interested to hear what other solvers thought about it.
Across
1 STALLION TALL (unlikely) in SION (ideal place)
5 BATHOS BATH (city) OS (map) – OS is not ‘a map’ or ‘to map’, it is an abbreviation for the noun Ordnance Survey meaning the preparation of maps of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the Ordnance Survey (Department)
9 ALICANTE I (individual) CANT (lingo) in ALE (beer) – I can find no support for I = individual
10 CHEESE cd
12 MICAH CI (chapter one) in HAM (amateur) reversed
13 PAY HOMAGE P (priest) AY (agreed) AG (silver) in HOME (residence)
14 RUMPUS RUM (odd) SUP (drink) reversed
16 ERITREA TIRE (exhaust) reversed RE (on) A (major road)
19 ESTUARY STUAR[t] (house that’s endless) in YE (the old) reversed
21 AYE-AYE homophone of ‘eye-eye’
23 TESTAMENT *(MATES) in TENT (temporary accommodation)
25 BROTH ROT (tripe) in B[ritis]H
26 BELUGA *(A BULGE)
27 DAYBREAK D[uties] *(A BAKERY)
28 AT EASE hidden in ‘operATE AS Expected’
29 SYMPOSIA MP (politician) OS (very big) in SY[r]IA (Middle East country) – though ‘runs’ appears in the clue there is no removal indicator
Down
1 SHAMMY SHAM (not genuine) MY (wow)
2 AGINCOURT A GI (a soldier) N[earby] COURT (chase) – I’m not sure that, strictly speaking, ‘court’ can be equated with ‘chase’
3 LOATH [f]LOAT (drift aimlessly missing fine) H (husband)
4 OCTOPUS C[oast] TO in OPUS (work) – ‘fish’ has to be read as per the definition ‘loosely, any aquatic animal’ because an octopus is actually a cephalopod (the highest class of molluscs)
6 APHRODITE homophone of ‘afro’ (hairstyle) *(DIET)
7 HYENA YEN (hankering) in HA[nds]
8 SKELETAL LATE (departed) LEKS (money from Albania) reversed
11 TYPE dd – not really a dd because ‘kind’ and ‘sort’ are synonyms
15 PHALANGES LANG (long, in German) in *(SHAPE)
17 ROY ROGERS [builde]R GORY (bloodstained) reversed in *(ROSE)
18 VERTEBRA VERT (green, in French) B (black) in ERA (period)
20 YVES V (playing) in YES (definitely)
21 ACTUARY ACTUALLY (in fact) with LL (pounds) changed to R (rupees)
22 CHUKKA homophone of ‘chucker’ (one throws) – some may question whether this is a true homophone
24 SALVE L (left) V[et] in SAE (envelope)
25 BEBOP OBE (award) reversed in BP (birthplace)
In 9ac, perhaps it’s individual = one = 1 = I
Hi Rishi
I had considered that possibility but it is one step too many for my liking, though I have no doubt that this was what was intended.
21d: Chambers does have R = Rupee(s).
But, in India we don’t use the abbr. R for rupees or even rupee.
The popular abbr. is Rs.(for rupees) which precedes any figure in cheques or other instruments/documents used by people.
The abbr. for ‘rupee’ is Re. but one rupee is so small an amount that you rarely write a cheque for Re. 1.
Financial institutions use INR where, one might argue, R stands for ‘rupees’.
BTW, typos in the anno. need to be fixed.
“BTW, typos in the anno. need to be fixed.”
Sorry Rishi, you need to be more specific. I cannot see the typos to which you refer.
That last sentence related to the clue on hand.
Shouldn’t the anno be
ACTUALLY (in fact) with LL (pounds) changed to R (rupees)
Thanks Rishi. I must be having an off day because I read that several times without noticing the error.
Hello gents,
To me this one felt that strange sensation you occasionally experience while driving. I clearly recall starting the puzzle and the solving the last several clues, but (worringly) I seem to have little detailed recollection of the intervening moments!
Notwithstanding my lack of attention to detail, I had no concerns over OS, which was also defined as “map of sorts” a couple of weeks ago in the Times (#24,218). But thanks for highlighting the tautology at 11D – that one was beyond the pale for me.