A tough crossword from Bradman this, with a couple of words I have never had the pleasure of coming across before. If at all there was a theme in this puzzle, it would have been “Difficulty”! 🙂 Unusually mysterious crossword for the likes of the Don. It was an impossible complete-solve for me without using some digital help. Nevertheless, it was a fun-filled experience!
I have never heard of 9ac, 28ac, 29ac. Had a lot of difficulty parsing 19ac before I guessed what it could be and googling confirmed my suspicion. Thanks to Gaufrid for the prop up on a couple.
FF: 8 DD: 10
| Across | ||
| 1 | SHELLAC |
Sticky stuff gives nasty experience in body cavity (7)
HELL (nasty experience) in SAC (body cavity) |
| 5 | POVERTY |
Cause for regret – I should be no more (7)
PiTY (regret) with OVER (no more) replacing I; semi &lit. |
| 9 | RICKS |
Heaps of deceptions – get rid of the leader (5)
tRICKS (deceptions, with no leader) |
| 10 | VOLUNTEER |
True love motivation ultimately for this person working? (9)
Anagram of TRUE LOVE N (motivatioN, ultimately) |
| 11 | POLYESTER |
Material two girls put together, we hear (9)
Sounds like POLLY and ESTHER (two girls) |
| 12 | ROMEO |
See nothing that could help character identification (5)
ROME (See used as the place where a catherdral or church stands) O (nothing) – phonetic code for R |
| 13 | HALF |
Some lethal female? The other one is the wife! (4)
Hidden in “..letHAL Female ..” ; alluding to the better half. |
| 15 | BLUSTERY |
Stormy and sensuous person in past (8)
LUSTER (sensuous person) in BY (past) |
| 18 | REARREST |
Once again get hold of support back at the front (8)
REST (support) preceded by REAR (back, at the front) |
| 19 | DICK |
Former copper leaving pad – a detective (4)
padDICK (Former copper, [Brian Paddick – former Deputy Assistant Commissioner in London, and candidate for Mayor of London in 2008; Wikipedia also lists him as the senior most openly gay police officer], without the letters of ‘pad’) |
| 22 | NABOB |
Get hold of former school pupil to be a governor (5)
NAB (get hold of) OB (former school pupil, old boy) |
| 24 | PARCHMENT |
Section about chaps going to church in paper (9)
PART (section) about [ MEN (chaps) after (~ going to) CH (church) ] |
| 26 | SAN MARINO |
Republic in South American with cruel iron man (3,6)
SA (South American) with anagram of IRON MAN |
| 27 | MOTEL |
Speck of dust left in lodge (5)
MOTE (speck of dust) L (left) |
| 28 | SPONDEE |
Foot of water – consider taking route around (7)
SEE (consider) around POND (water) – this was a new word for me. Apparently means a foot consisting of two long (or stressed) syllables. |
| 29 | TANCRED |
Crusader beat left-winger – Conservative getting in (7)
TAN (beat) RED (left winger) around C (conservative, getting in) – Norman leader in the first crusade. |
| Down | ||
| 1 | STRIPE |
Band’s jaunt into the Home Counties (6)
TRIP (jaunt) in SE (home counties, South East of England) |
| 2 | EXCULPATE |
Former copper has left, head seen as free from blame (9)
EX (former) CU (copper) L (left) PATE (head) |
| 3 | LISLE |
Yarn in which car is destroyed in northern city (5)
carLISLE (northern city, in Cumbria, without the letters of ‘car’ – destroyed) |
| 4 | COVETABLE |
Old-fashioned man on board likely to be wanted (9)
COVE (old-fashioned man, British slang in the years gone by) TABLE (board) |
| 5 | POLAR |
In a cold region that reference work places below Poland (5)
“Reference work” here is the dictionary – POLAR appears right after Poland in there. |
| 6 | VENERATED |
Even when bad, highly thought of and treated with awe (9)
VENE (anagram of EVEN) RATED (highly thought of) |
| 7 | RHEUM |
Discharge is strange – the man should be imprisoned (5)
RUM (strange) imprisoning HE (man) |
| 8 | YARROW |
Pest climbing around a plant (6)
YRROW (Pest = WORRY, climbing = reversed) around A |
| 14 | FIREBRAND |
Sack comedienne who’s a troublemaker? (9)
FIRE (sack) BRAND (comedienne – Jo Russell) |
| 16 | UTTERMOST |
Say more than anyone else, being extreme (9)
Cryptic clue. To be read as UTTER MOST (say more than anyone else) |
| 17 | ROCHESTER |
The man seen among various rectors in cathedral city (9)
HE (the man) seen in anagram of RECTORS |
| 20 | GNOSIS |
Numbers taken in by soldiers offering knowledge (6)
NOS (numbers) taken in by GIS (soldiers) – and seen in medical-related terms such as prognosis, diagnosis etc. |
| 21 | STOLID |
Impassive saint taking cover, hiding love (6)
[ST (saint) LID (cover)] hiding O (love) |
| 23 | BANJO |
Let’s not have girl’s musical instrument (5)
BAN (let’s not have) JO (girl) |
| 24 | PAINE |
Revolutionary distressed almost to the end (5)
PAINEd (distressed, almost to the end – referring to Thomas Paine) |
| 25 | HE MAN |
Call Henry up, not an effeminate type (2-3)
NAME (call) H (Henry) – all reversed (up) |
Phew! 24d and 28ac conspired to beat me – even with e-help.
Enjoyed the challenge though.
Thanks Bradman and Tl.
Thanks Turbolegs and Bradman. 5a and 5d were my last two in even though they seemed to fit. I see your 5d parsing and can accept it, but 5a I am not so sure. Why is poverty cause for regret? There are many things that are causes for regret. Weak clue, I felt.
5a Perhaps the definition for poverty is simply ’cause’.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Enjoyable puzzle with a few tricky bits in it, which I only got to yesterday.
Did not know of the crusader TANCRED, the ex Police Commander RADDICK or the revolutionary PAINE, but had seen the rest either in other crosswords (SPONDEE) or from my farm days as a kid (RICK) – we actually called them ‘stooks’.
Like Ilippu, my last two in were POLAR and POVERTY – and would have been here until Doomsday to parse either of them.