After some tough puzzles for this weekly spot, this one was much easier – though I was still held up for a while in the NE corner, where 9, 6, 7 and 5 went in last, in roughly that order. This after I’d hastily tried PIRATES for 5, even with the checking T from 11A in place. I’ll leave commenters to choose a COD for the moment – I liked the two-word homophones and the ones with phrases in the answer – 0 M.P.H. and T BAG O – but I haven’t had time yet to reread the lot.
This puzzle deserves more credit than it may get if there’s a “brat-pack setter stinker” tomorrow or Friday (a comment that practically guarantees an e-mail from one of these setters claiming this puzzle). No obscure knowledge is needed, and only two difficult answers, so difficulty achieved the best way – by well-disguised clues, with convincing surface meanings. And for the second day in a row, no clues relying on cricket or other British sports.
A couple of points for newcomers: If you’re baffled by the notation or anything else in these reports, check out the ‘About this blog’ link above. And if you’re about to ask ‘why is this the answer?’, try looking up the answer and every word in the clue in a good dictionary. Most baffling answers are down to unknown or forgotten word-meanings.
Across | |
---|---|
9 | R(0 M.P.H.)OME |
11 | INTIM(I.D.)ATE – one of those ‘wordplay with big pieces’ constructions that’s worth remembering – with alternatives to bully, identity and friend, this can probably be used to produce several different good clues. |
12 | GRAN(t) |
13 | EVENING OUT – 2 defs |
16 | HAS,I,DIM – very pious jews. For some reason we never seem to see the singular, hasid. Maybe one of those plurals like phenomena and criteria that people don’t notice is a plural, because it’s irregular. |
17 | A,D,OPTER=toper* |
20 | ROUGH STUFF – (four thugs)*,F |
22 | EDEN – hidden word |
23 | C.(OPEN,HAG)E.,N – re “Northern city”: same comment as for 5D. |
26 | PACKED IN = “pack,tin” |
27 | T,READLES=dealers* |
Down | |
3 | WEAK ENDING = “weekending” – ‘weak ending’ isn’t in my Chambers CD Rom but I’m pretty sure it’s a technical term in poetry – possibly exactly the same as “feminine ending” which I’m fairly sure came up somewhere recently |
4 | DELI,VERIES=(I serve)* |
5 | PRAT(I)ES – pratie = potato in Anglo-Irish. One of those cases where the clue’s definition (“crop”) is enhanced by word’s (“Ireland’s principal”) which are part of the wordplay. To prate is to talk fairly pointlessly. I think I first came across it when score-reading Wagner’s Siegfried in my youth – Mime gets some berating for prating from Siegfried. |
6 | 1 M(A)M. – a grid-filler word which I should have solved much faster. |
7 | “TO BAG 0=nothing” is the hunter’s unlikely aim |
8 | RE,PE(A)TER – had {safe = peter (underworld slang)} as an idea from the start, but took much too long to see how ‘concerned over’ fitted in. |
15 | GOPHER WOOD = “gofer would”. The stuff used to make Noah’s ark, and usually understood to mean cypress wood. I’m a bit surprised not to remember a “more than two of these in the ark?” clue for gopher. |
16 | HARD(C,OP)Y – “introductory chapter” = C – most likely contender for a visit from the “let’s be picky brigade”, but the only one in the whole puzzle for me, and I did solve the clue without trouble, so barely worth mentioning. My botched interpretation of ‘introductory’ has now been corrected in the comments. Appropriately, this was done by Tiburon who was a prefect at my school, mumble-mumble years ago. |
18 | EVEN TIDE = calm sea, plus a more obvious def. |
19 | PUN(GEN)T |
24 | (c)HIDE – wig = tell off |
Didn’t twig “wig” = “tell off” (thanks Peter) but got Hide anyway.
Loved seeing “Praties” – I remember Prate from Hamlet (Polonius did a lot of it) and then there’s the famous air “I met her in the garden where the praties grow”.
First time in xx years that knowing that song has come in useful!
Maybe 7D for my COD
I enjoyed 7d but probably preferred 9a – my COD.
In the setter’s defence, I don’t think “introductory chapter” was a clueing ‘solecism’ for the letter C. The abbreviation for chapter is C, and it introduced, i.e., ‘went before’ OP (work) ‘penned’ by Hardy. A wonderfully smooth surface for a tricky word to clue.
Edited at 2007-12-05 08:16 pm (UTC)
Years of linguistics classes and endless hours of transcription confirms Peter’s explanation of the [t] and [d] phonemes. (Still doesn’t explain why I have trouble with the -er homophones!)
9a 9a’s for clue of day.
P/B confusions are quite common – some Indian languages lack a phonological distinction between voiced and unvoiced consonants.
DNK PRATIES with my LOI at 5d. I even was tempted by a misspelt PROTIEN until I saw the principal (I)reland inside PRATES. I’m glad that I stuck to my cryptic guns.
Six “easies” omitted from the blog:
1a Appeared embarrassed (6,2)
SHOWED UP
10a Extremely anxious, put to sea in storm (6)
AS SAIL
25a Single party member in charge is much revered (6)
1 CON I.C.
2d (Sari they)* stitched together creating frenzied excitement (8)
HYSTERIA
14d Vague sort of article (10)
INDEFINITE
21d Analyse new film showing in this country (6)
U N PIC K