Dac treats us to a trademark puzzle today
The surfaces of the clues are very smooth, some of the definitions are well hidden and the entries are all common words or phrases. This is what a daily broadsheet crossword should be to attract and retain new solvers.
The definitions I thought particularly well hidden were ‘I run’ at 10 across, ‘Figaro’ at 21 across, ‘example’ at 3 down, ‘subsequently’ at 7 down and ‘take away light’ at 8 down.
There was a good mix of clue types as well giving the whole thin a satisfying air.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
File revealed fellow’s not so young (6)
|
F (fellow) + OLDER (not so young)
|
FOLDER (folding case for loose papers; file)
|
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4
|
Defamed pin-up wearing hat (8)
|
BELLE (beautiful woman or girl; pin-up) contained in (wearing) LID LI (BELLE) D |
LIBELLED (defamed)
|
|
9
|
Policemen initially hurried off (6)
|
RAN (hurried) + CID (Criminal Investigation Department; policemen) I can’t make up my mind whether initially is describing CID as an abbreviation or whether it qualifies hurried to tell us that RAN comes first. I feel it has to be the second or the clue would lead to CIDRAN Perhaps ‘initially’ is doing double duty. |
RANCID (rank in smell or taste; off)
|
|
10
|
I run small piece of office equipment (8)
|
S (small) + PRINTER (piece of office equipment)
|
SPRINTER (someone who runs)
|
|
11
|
Got oboe duet or toccata’s earliest parts transcribed? Unbelievably fantastic (3,4,2,2,4)
|
Anagram of (transcribed) GOT OBOE DUET OR and TO (first two letters of [earliest parts of] TOCCATA) TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE* |
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (hard to believe; unbelievably fantastic)
|
|
13
|
Attack knight transported by toboggan (5)
|
N (knight, in chess notation) contained in (transported by) LUGE (light toboggan ridden lying on one’s back) LU (N) GE |
LUNGE (thrust; jab; attack)
|
|
14
|
Quickly injecting heroin if in pain (8)
|
(H [heroin] + IF) contained in (injecting in) STING (pain) S (H IF) TING |
SHIFTING (moving quickly)
|
|
17
|
Yen to stop rodents breaking up one sort of wall (3-5)
|
Y (abbreviation for yen; Japanese currency) contained in (to stop) an anagram of (breaking up) RODENTS* DR (Y) STONE* |
DRY-STONE (descriptive of a type of wall)
|
|
19
|
Unmask adult leaving party (5)
|
REVEAL (unmask) excluding (leaving) A (adult)
|
REVEL (party)
|
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21
|
Figaro composer loves life abroad (6,27)
|
BARBER (reference Samuel BARBER [1910 – 1981] American composer) + an anagram of (abroad) LOVES LIFE BARBER OF SEVILLE* |
BARBER OF SEVILLE (Figaro is the title character in Rossini’s opera the BARBER OF SEVILLE)
|
|
23
|
Tree, natural resource near Kentish coastal area (8)
|
SE (South East, descriptive of the location of Kent) + ASH (tree) + ORE (natural resource)
|
SEASHORE (coastal area)
|
|
24
|
Some sombre tones in French language (6)
|
BRETON (hidden word in [some] SOMBRE TONES)
|
BRETON (the Celtic tongue [language] of the people of Brittany; French language)
|
|
25
|
Half-naked male, trendy wearing suede pants (4-4)
|
(M [male] + IN [trendy]) contained in (wearing) an anagram of (pants) SUEDE SE (M IN) UDE* |
SEMI-NUDE (half naked)
|
|
26
|
Just millions given to European bank (6)
|
M (millions) + E (European) + RELY (depend; bank)
|
MERELY (just)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Predicted awful flood round about end of August (8)
|
Anagram of (awful) FLOOD containing (round) (RE [with reference to; about] + T [last letter of {end of} AUGUST]) FO (RE T) OLD |
FORETOLD (predicted)
|
|
2
|
Laird left, having an unhappy experience (9)
|
L (left) + AN + DOWNER (unhappy experience)
|
LANDOWNER (a LAIRD is a Scottish term for an estate LANDOWNER)
|
|
3
|
First part of index in record book, for example (7)
|
I (first letter of [first [art of] INDEX) contained in (in) (EP [Extended Play record] + TOME [large book]) EP (I) TOME |
EPITOME (typical example)
|
|
5
|
One’s enlisted by those turning out better performers (11)
|
I’S (one’s) contained in (enlisted by) IMPROVERS (people who turn out better) IMPROV (IS) ERS |
IMPROVISERS (extempore performers)
|
|
6
|
Initially in difficulties during part of competition, it’s obvious (7)
|
ID (first letters of [initially] each of IN and DIFFICULTIES) contained in (during) EVENT (item in a programme of sports; part of a competition) EV (ID) ENT |
EVIDENT (obvious)
|
|
7
|
One mass abandoned by martyred bishop subsequently (5)
|
LATIMER (reference Bishop Hugh LATIMER [1487 – 1555] burned at the stake and remembered as one of three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism) excluding (abandoned) (I [one] + M [mass])
|
LATER (subsequently)
|
|
8
|
Take away light chest stored in study (6)
|
ARK (chest) contained in (stored in) DEN (study) D (ARK) EN |
DARKEN (take light away)
|
|
12
|
Night club looked black? Not the usual hue (11)
|
DISCO (night club) + LOURED (looked sullen; looked black)
|
DISCOLOURED (with the natural colour changed or spoiled; not the usual hue)
|
| 15 | Literary work, something written about dance briefly (9) |
NOTE (something written) containing (about) VELETA (dance) excluding the final letter (briefly) A NO (VELET) TE I always thought the dance was spelled VALETA but Chambers has VELETA as the headword with VALETA as a variant spelling. |
NOVELETTE (literary work) |
|
16
|
Island nearly destroyed, invaded by desperate extremists (8)
|
Anagram of (destroyed) NEARLY containing (invaded by) DE (outside letters of [extremists] DESPERATE) AL (DE) RNEY* |
ALDERNEY (one of the Channel Islands)
|
|
18
|
Boy having a bit of a dance with female (7)
|
STEP (part of a dance) + HEN (female)
|
STEPHEN (boy’s name)
|
|
19
|
Change of direction from cleric (Irish) (7)
|
REV (reverend; cleric) + ERSE (formerly, and still occasionally, the name given by Lowland Scots to the language of the people of the West Highlands, as being of Irish origin; sometimes used for Irish Gaelic, as opposed to Scottish Gaelic)
|
REVERSE (change of direction)
|
|
20
|
Damages first class coaches (6)
|
A (first class) + BUSES (coaches)
|
ABUSES (maltreats; damages)
|
|
22
|
Miles beyond infanta’s royal land (5)
|
REAL (Spanish for royal. An infanta is a Spanish [or Portuguese] princess so REAL is infanta’s royal) + M (miles)
|
REALM (kingdom, domain, province or region; land which could be royal land if royal is doing double duty)
|
Thank you Dac and duncan. Can’t add anything really, except to moan that the Save feature of the puzzles doesn’t work! Curses, twice solved puzzle.
thanks to Dac and Duncan; the “problem” with Dac’s puzzles is they are flawless, hence the lack of comments…just popped in to wish Dac a continued recovery, really
A nice straightforward solve, but of the sort that it’s only when you’ve completed it and looked through it again that you appreciate just how well-crafted the clues are. As baerchen @2 says; flawless. Plus, of course, the usual exemplary blog.
Thanks, Dac and Duncan.
Nice to have a Wednesday Dac back. 9ac such an economical clue, and typical. I hope the recovery continues apace. Thanks to S & B
Lovely clueing as usual. We are never disappointed by a Dac.
Thanks Duncan and if Dac is reading this we hope you are recovering well,