A good puzzle from Aardvark, I think. I crashed my bike yesterday evening and everything is still a bit hazy, I think I might still be a little concussed. I also have to type one handed as I can’t move my right arm much. Off to see the doctor now so no idea when I’ll be back.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PASTRY | Assistant’s experiment to make cake (6) |
| PA’S (assistant’s) + TRY (attempt) | ||
| 4 | ARNHEM | Expression of reservation about armed fleet in battle (6) |
| AHEM (expression of reservation) contains (about) RN (Royal Navy, armed fleet) | ||
| 8 | TOOLKIT | Look frantically in bird’s place for files, clippers etc (7) |
| LOOK* anagram=frantically in TIT (bird) | ||
| 9 | PLACARD | Notice displaying vehicle described by youngster after parking (7) |
| CAR (vehicle) inside (described by) LAD (youngster) following P (parking) | ||
| 11 | CHICKEN POX | Rash children pick one novel by unknown (7,3) |
| CH (children) then anagram (novel) of PICK ONE followed by X (unknown) | ||
| 12 | ARUN | Article about sport, portraying English runner (4) |
| AN (indefinite article) contains (about) RU (Rugby Union, sport) – a river, something htat runs | ||
| 13 | JUNTA | Project written before 1st of April about new military government (5) |
| JUT (project) then April (first letter of) containing N (new) | ||
| 14 | NOISETTE | Piece of meat buttery in the middle, with crackling perhaps (8) |
| buTTEry (middle of) following (with) NOISE (crackling perhaps) | ||
| 16 | CREDENZA | Small table, pick of the bunch, mostly stays around office zone (8) |
| CREAm (pick of the bunch, mostly) contains (stays around) DEN (office) and Z (zone) | ||
| 18 | IVORY | Type of tooth woman wanted, with gold filling (5) |
| IVY (woman) containing OR (gold) | ||
| 20 | OSSA | Bones revealed by map-makers when travelling west (4) |
| OS (Ordonance Survey, map makers) with AS (then) reversed (travelling wets, right to left on a map) | ||
| 21 | THE SHADOWS | Old pop group avoiding the spotlight here? (3,7) |
| double/cryptic definition | ||
| 23 | FLARE-UP | Sudden eruption faculty reported at college (5-2) |
| FLARE sounds like (reported) “flair” (faculty) then UP (at college) | ||
| 24 | OTHELLO | Play pontoon regularly, attracting the underworld (7) |
| pOnToOn (regular selection from) containing (attracting?) HELL (the underworld) | ||
| 25 | MEMBER | Recall missing sappers, part of army unit? (6) |
| reMEMBER (recall) missing RE (sappers) | ||
| 26 | TWINGE | Left winger’s disguising sudden pain (6) |
| found inside (disguised by) lefT WINGEr | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | POOCH | Dog loves constant resident in pub (5) |
| OO (love, twice) C (constant) in PH (pub) | ||
| 2 | SILICON | Sort of chip is thrown over, cold, eaten by cat (7) |
| IS reversed (thrown over) then C (cold) inside LION (cat) | ||
| 3 | RAISE CAIN | Being fine and dry inside, showers hit the roof (5,4) |
| AI (A1, fine) and SEC (dry) inside RAIN (showers) | ||
| 5 | RELAX | King welcomes the French moderate (5) |
| REX (king) contains (welcomes) LA (the, French) | ||
| 6 | HECTARE | Amount of land at this point keeping to Reform Act? (7) |
| HERE (at this point) containing ACT* anagram=reform | ||
| 7 | MARQUETRY | Decorative work to get spliced outside still lacking centrepiece (9) |
| MARRY (to get spliced) containing (outside) QUiET (still) missing middle letter (lacking centrepiece) | ||
| 10 | SPINNAKER | Jack handles this type of bowler maintaining attack at both ends (9) |
| SPINNER (type of bowler) contains (maintaining) AttacK (letter from each end) – a jack is a sailor | ||
| 13 | JERUSALEM | Japanese certain to knock back meal when roaming ancient city (9) |
| J (Japanese) SURE (certain) reversed (to knock back) then MEAL* anagram=roaming | ||
| 15 | IRISH STEW | Murdoch, on strike, obtains street food for Paddy? (5,4) |
| IRIS (Iris Murdoch) on H EW (strike) contains (obtains) ST (street) | ||
| 17 | DIAGRAM | Plan shows Indian city with simple housing (7) |
| AGRA (Indian city) inside (housed by) DIM (simple) | ||
| 19 | OLD BEAN | See about book owned by college fellow, my good friend (3,4) |
| LO (see) reversed (about) then B (book) inside (owned by) DEAN (college fellow) | ||
| 21 | TAUPE | Character in Marathon training in shade (5) |
| TAU (Greek character, as written in Marathon) then PE (training) – a dark brown colour | ||
| 22 | WILDE | Writer of Dublin’s expansive about mouth of Liffey (5) |
| WIDE (expansive) contains (about) Liffy (first letter, mouth of) | ||
*anagram
definitions are underlined
A gentle puzzle from Aardvark (thanks!) and the pangram helped me get 16ac, my next to last one in.
Kudos to PeeDee for blogging while suffering.
Well done, heroic PeeDee — I needed your explanation for 16ac and 19dn, both of which I got by default, so your concussion isn’t too severe. As Steven says, a gentle puzzle (that I almost finished before I went to bed) — thanks, Aardvark
Sorry to hear that PeeDee – get well soon!
OK, back now. Local doctor sent me to hospital. No bones broken and head is OK, I just need to rest up for a week or two. I have to say that the doctor and A&E department were superb. One reads such bad stories about the NHS in the press that it is very pleasing to be reminded that there are some very good aspects too.
Also glad that Aardvark was gentle with us this morning!
Thanks Aardvark and PeeDee. I’m glad that you’re home safe PeeDee.
I spotted the potential Pangram half way through and that helped with the latter part of the solve.
I have a minor quibbles about clue order in 3dn which seems to suggest that AI should come before SEC. Didn’t stop me getting it but it just seemed wrong.
For 21dn I resolved it had to be TAUPE and instead of making the obvious link to Marathon in Greece looked up Tau Marathon in Wikipedia which led me to an article about an (apparently) well-know shoot-em-up video game called Marathon based on a space ship around Tau Ceti. Amazing what you learn in passing!
I thought that ARNHEM and TOOLKIT were excellently structured.
Thanks again and get back to full strength soon.
Thanks Aardvaark and PeeDee, and wishing you a swift recovery.
Hamish @ 5: AI *does* come before SEC – R ‘AI’ ‘SE C’ AIN !
Thanks Aardvark and PeeDee
Did this one a while ago and just checked it off this afternoon. Remember it being pretty straightforward going for this setter and finished in two sittings – the train ride into work and at the start of lunch.
A nice mix of clues throughout and did pick up the pangram late in the solve – may have helped with 7d. Finished in the NE corner with NOISRTTE, MARQUETRY and ARNHEM the last few in.
Oh … and PeeDee, trust that you have fully recovered by now. Not good to hear you fall all the same !!