A pleasant if undemanding puzzle today, featuring several famous people from history and a fifteen letter word you don’t hear often. It took me about 15 minutes, ending with the French couturier.
Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, [deleted letters in square brackets].
| Across | |
| 1 | Directed opening of Cor Blimey! — new English play (9) |
| CYMBELINE – C[or], (BLIMEY N E)*. I’ve never seen this play, but I knew it was one of The Bard’s, and that Cymbeline’s daughter was called IMOGEN and so is one of my granddaughters. | |
| 6 | Unearth detective uniform hidden by family doctor (3,2) |
| DIG UP – DI (detective), GP with U inserted. | |
| 9 | Second brew — fine coffee (5) |
| MOCHA – MO (second) CHA (tea, brew). | |
| 10 | Big boss mostly crazy to have backed corporation first (3,6) |
| TOP BANANA – POT (corporation) reversed > TOP, BANANA[s]. | |
| 11 | Some cut off from this outfit for pool competition (8,7) |
| SWIMMING COSTUME -(SOME CUT)* = “swimming” meaning the word is an anagram of SOME CUT and “off” being the anagrind. | |
| 13 | Showered in loo building around one (8) |
| LAVISHED – LAV (loo), I, SHED (building). As in lavished / showered with gifts. | |
| 14 | Let me see setter’s fur (6) |
| ERMINE – ER… = let me see; MINE = the setter’s. | |
| 16 | Seductive dancer Oscar married in Cheshire town (6) |
| SALOME – SALE (in Cheshire), insert O[scar], M[arried]. | |
| 18 | Doctor corrupt photos that might be produced in court (4,4) |
| DROP SHOT – DR, (PHOTOS)*. | |
| 21 | One lying across large mountainous region surrounding city of rock, the silly goose! (15) |
| FLIBBERTIGIBBET – FIBBER = one lying, insert L[arge], TIBET our mountainous region, insert GIB the city of (the) rock. | |
| 23 | I clean out wound to protect against infection (9) |
| INOCULATE – (I CLEAN OUT)*. | |
| 25 | Write off the entire amount (5) |
| TOTAL – double definition, total as in total / write off a car in a crash. | |
| 26 | Host’s delivery of treasure trove (5) |
| HORDE – sounds like HOARD. | |
| 27 | Broadcast game’s link between two places (3,6) |
| AIR BRIDGE – AIR = broadcast, BRIDGE the game. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Clubs briefly entertain writer and philosopher (5) |
| CAMUS – C[lubs], AMUS[e]. | |
| 2 | High speed on wide street upset sick Italian diplomat (11) |
| MACHIAVELLI – MACH 1 = high speed, AVE[nue], ILL reversed. | |
| 3 | Time and arithmetic problems boosted scholar (7) |
| ERASMUS – ERA (time), SUMS reversed (boosted). | |
| 4 | Some paint and emulsion at the same time (2,6) |
| IN TANDEM – nicely hidden, but the 2,6 made it easy to get. | |
| 5 | Suppose former partner nibbled on the ear? (6) |
| EXPECT – EX (former partner), PECT sounds like PECKED = nibbled on the ear perhaps. | |
| 6 | Letter opener? (4,3) |
| DEAR SIR – Cryptic definition. | |
| 7 | Regularly good at beach cricket here? (3) |
| GOA – alternate letters as above. I expect this does happen in Goa. | |
| 8 | After climbing mountain, Bond gets an assignment (9) |
| PLACEMENT – ALP reversed, CEMENT = bond. | |
| 12 | Open University behind IT’s development (11) |
| UNINHIBITED – UNI[versity], (BEHIND IT)*. | |
| 13 | Become disillusioned, I shed a few pounds outside hospital (4,5) |
| LOSE FAITH – I with LOSE FAT outside, H for hospital. | |
| 15 | Aloofness of France’s top couturier turning over his cash (8) |
| FROIDEUR – F[rance], DIOR reversed, EUR[os]. French word for coolness. | |
| 17 | British upper-class spy circles criminal order (3,4) |
| MOB RULE – MOLE (spy) ‘circles’ BR U. | |
| 19 | Artist/playwright penning article (7) |
| PAINTER – Harold PINTER has A (article) inserted. | |
| 20 | Endless farce exposed banal secrets (6) |
| ARCANA – ‘endless’ and ‘exposed’ centres of words as above. | |
| 22 | Lines packed into day’s material (5) |
| TULLE – TUE[sday] with LL inserted. | |
| 24 | Blade cut off pig’s head (3) |
| OAR – [B]OAR. | |
The easiest puzzle for some time. Late solving today, having recovered from exhaustion after driving through sleet and snow . Just made it before they closed the road. Froideur an apt word for the weather today.
Quick for me today: 18 mins. Nice puzzle. Thanks setter and Pip.
I loved it too, as I positively sailed through the top half, and of course thinking I might get this one out without a single look up, but , with most of the bottom half done, I got too impatient with FROIDEUR, (even though I did French at O level some 64 years ago, AND I saw it was necessary to reverse DIOR in the word) and I looked it up, to my shame. Spoiled the jubilation I was getting for knocking off the rest without problems. This is my kind of crossword. CODs to PLACEMENT and SWIMMING COSTUME. ( Have long admired the line from Lear…)