Solving time: 41 minutes
Mostly ok – it took me a while to get going but then the answers came pretty steadily. I had to think hard to get the wordplay for a few of the answers.
Across
| 1 | BOOGIE-WOOGIE – I’m not an expert on either genres, but I thought Boogie Woogie was more blues than jazz. |
| 8 | EWE LAMB – EWE sounds like U=posh and LAMB is Charles Lamb, a popular essayist and critic with crossworders. The phrase ‘ewe lamb’ comes from 2 Samuel 12:3 – I knew it came from the Bible but had to look up the verse! |
| 9 | O(CEANI)C – anagram of ‘a nice’ in OC=Officer Commanding, probably seen as often as CO=Commanding Officer. |
| 11 | TIE,POLO – I only vaguely knew the name but the wordplay was very helpful; I was initially concerned that I didn’t know any painters of grouse or pheasants. |
| 14 | LORIKEETS=”lorry Keats” – also evokes one of Keats most famous poems – Ode to a Nightingale. |
| 16 | BOMB,PR(O)OF – I saw PROOF straightaway and having the M, I thought of ‘damp-proof’ – I briefly had D=pence and AMP=a million pounds! |
| 21 | ADMIRAL – ADMIRABLE with BE missing – refers to Admiral Robert Blake. I didn’t have a clue about Crichton; I have since learnt that The Admirable Crichton is a JM Barrie play based on James Crichton. |
| 23 | RUSSIAN = RUFFIAN with FF replaced by SS. |
| 24 | NI,O,B(I)UM = NI=Northern Ireland, O=old, I=current. |
| 25 | IN(C)LINE – Reminded me of the classic: ‘Why is a sheet of paper like a lazy dog?’ A sheet of paper is an ink-lined plane > An inclined plane is a slope up > A slow pup is a lazy dog. |
| 26 | SHILLY SHALLY is how someone drunk might say ‘Silly Sally.’ |
Down
| 2 | ORATORY is in the word LABORATORY after LAB – it took a while to get the wordplay as I couldn’t see past TORY! |
| 3 | I(MB)R,OLIGO=’anag of igloo’ |
| 4 | W,HOOP=’Pooh reversed’ – came quickly as I was watching The Tigger Movie as I solved this, although the pot Winnie the Pooh was eating from said ‘Hunny.’ Reminded me of the classic: ‘What do Winnie the Pooh and Alexander the Great have in common?’ They have the same middle name. |
| 5 | OB,ELIS,K – I think this is SILE,BO(=back order) reversed on K=king. I recently worked with someone called Sile, I’d have struggled if I didn’t know the name. I also had to look up BO. |
| 7 | FEA(THE)R,BRA,IN |
| 15 | RE,FUR,BISH |
| 17 | MA,M(M)OTH – MA is female and M is man’s head |
| 19 | MUSICAL = MURAL with R swapped for SIC. Tommy is a musical (or rock opera!) by The Who. |
| 20 | NO(1)SILY – refers to a ‘Nosy Parker’ |
| 22 | [b]LIMEY |
Quite a straightforward puzzle which took me less time to solve than it did to go out and buy the paper having found the site was still down.*
I didn’t know TIEPOLO (did I just hear Tony gasp at such ignorance of yet another artist whose name is on every-one’s lips but my own?) and I only knew NIOBIUM because of the Tom Lehrer song, but both answers were fairly obvious from the wordplay.
I liked the rhyming pairs at 1A and 26 but my COD goes to 20.
*It seems to be back now with entry still via the back-door instead of the main page. If anyone can access yesterday’s ST puzzle could they post the link please as I can’t find it?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/crosswords/printOnly/1,,,00.html?linkName=&linkType=&crosswordID=&day=23&month=12&year=2007&type=42
Enjoy!
There are some admirable words in this one (especially at 21a) in the main generously clued so as not to make it too hard.
There were 2 answers where I was only partially up to getting the answer – these are, of course, in the “easies” omitted from the blog. After a quick consultation with Mr Google and Madam Wiki I can now complete the blog:
12a Patrol leader apt to be easily influenced (7)
P LIABLE
13a Attempt Arafat almost overturned (5)
ESSAY. Yasse(r) backwards. Yasser Arafat was P.L.O. leader in case you were wondering.
19a It’s a downward stroke, note (5)
MINIM. I know the musical half note but the calligraphic downstroke part of this double definition had to be established after the event.
1d A lexicographer’s suppliers of liquid refreshment (7)
BREWERS. So called because the work in question is called Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. I had forgotten about that.
6d Using strange (lingo be)* of low birth (7)
IGNOBLE
10d One whose dealings may be partly in Caerphilly (12)
CHEESEMONGER
18d One-sided though not complete (7)
PARTIAL