Time taken: 17:19. There’s a few quicker times than me in, but also a few with errors, so I’m claiming this one to be Tricky Thursday
I thought I was going to have to admit defeat with the odd set of letters in 8 down staring at me for a good five minutes. Something to do with STRIPTEASE? A name of an actor? It came together from the inside out, trying to fit THESP near the bottom and remembering a friend from University who was obsessed with the place the dance is named after. Thanks, Peter T – your time is now!
How did you get along?
| Across | |
| 1 | Rather poor physician taking on nothing concerning (8) |
| MEDIOCRE – MEDIC (physician) containing O (nothing), then RE (concerning) | |
| 5 | Politician within reason banning European students here? (6) |
| CAMPUS – MP (politician) inside CAUSE (reason) minus E (European) | |
| 9 | Boundary cryptically predicted (8) |
| FORETOLD – a cricket boundary is a FOUR, so cryptically that could be FORE TOLD | |
| 10 | Trace liberator after one’s been freed (6) |
| SAVOUR – SAVIOUR (liberator) minus I (one) | |
| 12 | Short and torrid novel, one by Dickens (6,6) |
| LITTLE DORRIT – LITTLE (short) and an anagram of TORRID. Funny clue, since it is around 900 pages in the paperback edition. | |
| 15 | Leaving a note, admitting being in debt (5) |
| OWING – remove one N (note) from OWNING (admitting) | |
| 16 | Old US rosé, sadly lacking in bouquet (9) |
| ODOURLESS – anagram of OLD,US,ROSE | |
| 18 | Conjectures or inferences primarily filling papers? (9) |
| THEORISES – OR and the first letter of Inferences inside THESES (papers) | |
| 19 | Chopped garlic? (5) |
| CLOVE – double definition | |
| 20 | How person might get bigger council house? (12) |
| BODYBUILDING – BODY (council), BUILDING (house) | |
| 24 | More than one bank deposit opened by Tesla? (6) |
| LEVEES – LEES (deposit) containing EV (Tesla makes electric cars) | |
| 25 | Term used regularly by offensive patriot (4,4) |
| TRUE BLUE – alternating letters in TeRm UsEd, then BLUE (offensive) | |
| 26 | One checking returning officer’s in legal position (6) |
| ONSIDE – ONE containing DI’S (officer’s) reversed | |
| 27 | Charming Mediterranean island bar with American backing (8) |
| ADORABLE – ELBA (Mediterranean island), ROD (bar) and A (American) all reversed | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Miss cake that’s evidently unfashionable (4) |
| MUFF – MUFFIN (cake) that isn’t IN | |
| 2 | Jazz up feature of blouse? (4) |
| DART – TRAD jazz reversed. Got this from wordplay, it’s a name for an inside pleat | |
| 3 | Set off in pursuit of Oxford University boat (9) |
| OUTRIGGER – TRIGGER (set off) after OU (Oxford University) | |
| 4 | Ménage à trois potentially upset hotel in Paris (12) |
| RELATIONSHIP – anagram of HOTEL,IN,PARIS | |
| 6 | Mission to Malaysia tipping hosts (5) |
| ALAMO – hidden reversed in tO MALAysia | |
| 7 | Renovated pier covered by new port or landlord? (10) |
| PROPRIETOR – anagram of PIER inside an anagram of PORT,OR | |
| 8 | Actor casually dropping ecstasy during random dance (10) |
| STRATHSPEY – THESP (actor, casually) with the E (ecstasy) at the bottom inside STRAY (random) | |
| 11 | Conservative entering lodge with socialist thought again (12) |
| RECONSIDERED – CON (conservative) inside RESIDE (lodge), then RED (socialist) | |
| 13 | Mushroom left ring after ring after ring (10) |
| PORTOBELLO – PORT (left), then O (ring) after O(ring) and BELL (ring) | |
| 14 | Trumpeter is mild, save when on a bender (5,5) |
| MILES DAVIS – anagram of IS,MILD,SAVE | |
| 17 | One entertaining soldiers on table putting down uniform (9) |
| RACONTEUR – RA (soldiers) on top of COUNTER (table) with the U (uniform) moved down a few spaces | |
| 21 | Staple two books together? (5) |
| BREAD – B and READ are both books | |
| 22 | Odd selection in call up by the Barbarians? (4) |
| CLUB – alternating letters in CaLl UpBy – an invitation rugby club. There are imitators everywhere including one in North Carolina | |
| 23 | Part of glacier yet to climb (4) |
| NEVE – EVEN (yet) reversed | |
Quite a workout for me, although I managed to finish with all but the NHO STRATHSPEY, MEDIOCRE and NEVE. Had forgotten about ‘yet though I walk through the valley…’ and thought mediocre would end in ‘ore’. Some clever clues, liked BREAD and RELATIONSHIP but on the whole just hard work. CLOVE took too long to see as I thought we were looking for a name for garlic. RECONSIDERED was a write-in and probably for everyone else too. Liked the ring, rIng, ring for PORTOBELLO. FORETOLD and RACONTEUR also clever. Liked ‘mission’ for ALAMO.
Thanks G and setter.
Horrible. STRATHSPEY belongs in Mephistos and Monthly Club Specials. A couple of entertaining clues in here but too much arcane vocab to enjoy the end product.