This was probably the toughest of the three puzzles, though because I didn’t make the same kind of slip as in the first, I think I solved it a couple of minutes quicker.
Solving time (estimate!): 12-13 mins on the day
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | AD,MI(RAB=bar rev.)LE – it took some checking letters to get save=>but out of my head. |
| 6 | S.A.,VER = Rev. rev. |
| 9 | ALL-IN – 2 defs |
| 10 | FOLKLORIC = (rock folli(es))* – a good find by the setter |
| 11 | HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE – refers to the Cat and Fiddle nursery rhyme: Hey diddle diddle / the cat and the fiddle / The cow jumped over the moon / The little dog laughed to see such sport / And the dish ran away with the spoon. – I remembered the cow, but not the dog. |
| 13 | S(HOP)TALK – “firm jaw” was a fiendish def. |
| 14 | DRY SKI – brilliant surface, as the course used for the TT races on the IoM is the “Mountain Course”. Like some others, I first plumped for DRY RUN |
| 16 | UNDEAD = (and due)* |
| 18 | BLESS YOU – nicely hidden in “jobless youth” |
| 21 | THE ADDAMS FAMILY = (a lad my ham-fisted turns)* – solved from spotting THE and then FAMILY from checkers |
| 23 | ITCHY PALM = lymphatic* |
| 25 | I’D LED |
| 26 | GIRT=trig. rev.,H |
| 27 | GUN BARREL – super cryptic def. with “round” = bullet. |
| Down | |
| 1 | A WAS H – letter swap to get from Joan to John |
| 2 | MOLLYCODDLE – Spoonerism (Collie model) |
| 3 | RUN,RIOT – simple but well-crafted clue |
| 4 | BEFUDDLE = (Bude fled)* |
| 5 | EILEEN = “I lean” – a tender being one who tends = leans |
| 6 | S(OLDIE)R – abother SBWCC |
| 7 | V.(A)R. – probably the first Fr. department for solvers to learn |
| 8 | RICH,E.(LIE)U. – I don’t know whether having the surname of former championship organiser Mike Rich in the wordplay was just a coincidence. |
| 12 | DUST,YM=my rev.,ILLER=suffering even more. It’s a plant which has some kind of white dusty stuff on its flowers and leaves. I think I’d just about heard of it, so I was glad to tick off ‘obscure plants’ on my mental list of solving hazards. |
| 13 | S(CUT)T.,LING(o) – “Downing St.” is a classic “lift and separate” |
| 15 | FLASH,MAN |
| 17 | ALDWYCH = “Auld Witch”. |
| 19 | STAMINA = animat(e)s rev. |
| 20 | PARA,N.G. – a tricky word that could have caused trouble had I not understood “man who’s dropped” |
| 22 | YODEL = le(do)y rev. |
| 24 | COR! = Cor. = Corinthians |
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