Well, it’s not Dac today (and it’s not the last Wednesday in the month). Is the Indy trying to get us used to changes in routine before going digital?
This was an enjoyable stand-in puzzle from Quixote – nothing too taxing, but several head-scratching moments to keep the grey matter active.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | Humble saint, after a fashion (6) | |
| MODEST | ST (saint) after MODE (fashion) | |
| 4 | Arrangement that keeps Rex in touch (8) | |
| CONTRACT | R (Rex) in CONTACT (touch) | |
| 9 | Sweet boy following you and me around (6) | |
| SUGARY | GARY (boy) following US (you and me) reversed or ‘around’ | |
| 10 | Like one uplifted – as ‘er with bra on, I fancy (8) | |
| AIRBORNE | An anagram of ER BRA ON I (anagrind is ‘fancy’) | |
| 11 | Map includes church with a Middle English geographical identification (5,4) | |
| PLACE NAME | PLAN (map) around or ‘including’ CE (church) + A ME (Middle English) | |
| 13 | From Aberdeen I acquired an old computer (5) | |
| ENIAC | Hidden ‘AberdeEN I ACquired’ – we’d never heard of this computer and needed a check in Chambers | |
| 14 | Lady sins — a home broken — what’s caused adultery? (6,7) | |
| ASHLEY MADISON | An anagram of LADY SINS A HOME (anagrind is ‘broken’). We were both very pleased that neither of us had heard of THIS dating agency! | |
| 17 | Lazy, heartless, despotic man running a significant business (6,7) | |
| LISTED COMPANY | An anagram of L |
|
| 20 | Battle one lost in part of London (5) | |
| ACTON | ACT |
|
| 22 | Boy going around drunk, not having very good application (7,2) | |
| SLAPPED ON | SON (boy) around LAPPED (drunk) | |
| 23 | Spit ‘leek’ out — it’s a bit of grass (8) | |
| SPIKELET | An anagram of SPIT LEEK (anagrind is ‘out’) | |
| 24 | Little woman and monarch fooling around (6) | |
| JOKING | JO (one of THESE Little Women) KING (monarch) | |
| 25 | Affectedly elegant man tucked into food (8) | |
| DANDYISH | ANDY (man) inside or ‘tucked into’ DISH (food) | |
| 26 | King’s daughter enthralling a President once (6) | |
| REAGAN | REGAN (The daughter of King Lear) around or ‘enthralling’ A | |
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | Girl on mountain top to give less than a completely accurate account (8) | |
| MISSPEAK | MISS (girl) PEAK (mountain top) | |
| 2 | Two characters enjoy modern music — and a bit of Handel (7) | |
| DIGRAPH | DIG (enjoy) RAP (modern music) H (first letter or ‘bit’ of Handel) | |
| 3 | Magician using weird crosses without hesitation (9) | |
| SORCERESS | An anagram of CROSSES (anagrind is ‘weird’) around or ‘without’ ER (hesitation) | |
| 5 | In cursory comments old boy gets cattier somehow about princess (6,5) | |
| OBITER DICTA | OB (old boy) an anagram of CATTIER (anagrind is ‘somehow’) around DI (princess) | |
| 6 | Board of firm ousting leader (5) | |
| TABLE | ||
| 7 | Complain about a period of rule audibly (7) | |
| ARRAIGN | Sounds like or ‘audibly’ A REIGN (period of rule) | |
| 8 | Restriction when English Catholic enters church service (6) | |
| TIERCE | TIE (restriction) with E (English) RC (Catholic) inside or ‘entering’ | |
| 12 | Snail messes around, showing a lack of purpose (11) | |
| AIMLESSNESS | An anagram of SNAIL MESSES (anagrind is ‘around’) | |
| 15 | Electronic chart conveyed in coastland signal (9) | |
| SEMAPHORE | E MAP (electronic chart) inside or ‘conveyed by’ SHORE (coastal region) | |
| 16 | Number engaged by nasty agency to produce toxic gas (8) | |
| CYANOGEN | NO (number) inside or ‘engaged by’ an anagram of AGENCY (anagrind is ‘nasty’) | |
| 17 | European secure after revolution, having grabbed a piece of electronic equipment (7) | |
| LATVIAN | NAIL (secure) reversed or ‘after revolution’ round or ‘grabbing’ A TV (piece of electronic equipment) | |
| 18 | Going off with tot on to heather (7) | |
| ADDLING | ADD (tot) LING (heather) | |
| 19 | Employment in someone’s home put on hold (6) | |
| PAUSED | USE (employment) in PAD (someone’s home) | |
| 21 | Badly-off American city flooded by rising river (5) | |
| NEEDY | NY (New York – American city) round or ‘flooded by’ DEE (river) reversed or ‘rising’ | |
Nixe puzzle, Quixote, but I needed Bertandjoyce’s help for four clues. Thanks!
Excellent as usual I thought. As always with Quixote there were one or two answers that were hardly at the forefront of my mind. I had to check TIERCE (which I had thought was something in heraldry) and ASHLEY MADISON. DIGRAPH was a word I knew but it’s a bit rare I think.
You may think that ‘digraph’ is rare, but when I helped 10-year-olds to read a while back, they could tell me that they had been taught digraphs that morning while at the same time stumbling over some everyday words in stories. Literacy theory seems to trump basic factual education in some primary school education! (Oh look, I used an exclamation mark — smack!)
Quixote @3: As I said in commenting on the blog for your previous puzzle, you’d make a better Minister for Education than some we’ve endured recently! (Oh dear! Another exclamation mark!) What planet do some of these people live on?
As for the puzzle, all good stuff. ASHLEY MADISON raised a smile as well as being vaguely topical. And I knew about digraphs – there are several in Welsh.
Thanks, Quixote and B&J.
Allan-c
Surely they’re ‘daigraphs’!
Dongeraldos @5: Dai Graphs was a Welsh statistician.