2010 Championship Grand Final – Puzzle 2

hilary_marchant
October 13th, 22:16
Hilary Marchant writes: I decided to start with this one, the tactic of starting with Puzzle 2 having served me well in the lunchtime session. This was much harder, and I abandoned it unfinished before returning to it later. While writing this report I have worked out why two of the answers (25ac and 5 dn) fitted the cryptic part of the clue, rather than just the definition!

Peter Biddlecombe writes: Grand Final 2 This one really slayed me after treating it as a place of refuge after fleeing from No. 1. Not a single across answer solved on first look until hidden word salvation at 27A. At this point I was close to chucking in the whole thing and going off for a private sob in the first ever Grand Final toilet break. I then chiselled out about half the answers, but wasted a lot of time on INFINITESSIMAE as a plausible “def plus bit of wordplay for unknown Latin” punt at 14, eventually eliminated by the U from 5D. I then moved on to No. 3, On my return to flitting between this and No. 1 to knock off odd bits and pieces, 8D was the last answer in the set of puzzles – C_E_L_ is one of those wordplay teasers that probably feature in my nightmares. Solved without full wordplay: 13, 3, 7, 15.

Across
1 Tribute from group about saint connected with branch of medicine (9)
TESTAMENT – TEAM=group around ST=saint followed by ENT (hate to think what will happen if the term is ever replaced by otorhinolaryngology)
6 Question of vision with centre forward (5)
TOPIC – OPTIC with the central T moving to the front
9 Expertise with storage of energy leading to jargon (5)
ARGOT – ART=expertise storing GO=energy
10 One can blame broadcast for bias (9)
IMBALANCE – Anagram of I(one)+CAN BLAME
11 Sound check (7)
STAUNCH – two definitions
12 Look at everything on yen harboured by revolutionary worker? (7)
EYEBALL – Y inside reversed BEE, then ALL
13 Batting before break, entertaining play ignoring minute essentials of system (14)
INFRASTRUCTURE – IN followed by FRACTURE including STRU(M)
17 Eminent figure’s last rant seemed out of order (5,9)
ELDER STATESMAN – anag of “last rant seemed”
21 Cheat in trouble in row (7)
FINAGLE – NAG=trouble inside FILE=row
23 Company around knight protecting religious conflict’s location (7)
COCKPIT – CO(company) C(about) KT(knight) around PI(religious)
25 Financial aspects not at all grasped by jokers online? (9)
ECONOMICS – NO for “not at all” inside E-COMICS for online jokers
26 Lumber, no small muddle (5)
ADDLE – lumber=(S)addle
27 Urgency essential to triumph as team (5)
HASTE – hidden within clue
28 Group of trees cut by husband directly (5-4)
FIRST HAND – FIR STAND including H
Down
1 Send payment, omitting nothing, to feed bird (8)
TRANSMIT – payment=RANS(O)M inside TIT
2 Shame to lack time for letter (5)
SIGMA – S(T)IGMA=shame
3 Reduce effect of uranium put away under trap army set up (9)
ATTENUATE – NET(trap) TA(army) backwards, U(ranium) ATE(put away)
4 Term’s record on tax, beginning to fall (7)
EPITHET – EP for record, TITHE with the initial T having fallen to the end
5 Frozen scene out around field (7)
TABLEAU – TABU=out (in the sense of “forbidden”) around LEA=field
6 Odd bits from litter lout, scattered material (5)
TULLE – anag. of odd letters of LiTtEr LoUt
7 New in resort, quietly rising star (9)
PENTAGRAM – N inside rising MARGATE P
8 Descendant of settlers from east inhabiting cold place (6)
CREOLE – E inside C=cold ROLE=place, though this wasn’t the first synonym to come to mind
14 Criminal use of lino in makeover (9)
FELONIOUS, anag of USE OF LINO
15 Keen queen tucked into first piece of Turkish delight (9)
TRENCHANT – Keen in the sense of “biting”; T for first piece of Turkish, R=queen, ENCHANT=delight
16 Ground we tend, OK for creeping plant (8)
KNOTWEED – anag. of WE TEND OK
18 Officer repeated phrase after woman (7)
SHERIFF – SHE=woman + RIFF=repeated phrase (in rock/pop music)
19 Plaintiff having endless capital possessing advantage (7)
ACCUSER – USE=advantage inside ACCR(A)=capital of Ghana
20 Hearts belonging to safe figurehead, quiet once more (6)
AFRESH – hearts of sAFe and figuREhead, then SH=quiet
22 Feel good? Then stay, perhaps (5)
GROPE – G(ood) and ROPE=stay
24 Stands to get help with work, given lift (5)
PODIA – AID=help, OP=work, all reversed