A tasty array of enigmas today. A few unusual words, some sneaky definitions and nimble feints to keep you on your toes.
The Punch and Judy puppet SHOW referenced in the pun will not be a mystery to many here (any DEVOTEES?), but I didn’t know, before looking into Wikipedia, that it first appeared in 1662 as adult entertainment and “changed into primarily a children’s entertainment in the late Victorian era.” Or that the phrase “pleased as Punch” refers to “Mr Punch’s characteristic sense of gleeful self-satisfaction.” “Despite Punch’s unapologetic murders throughout the performances, it is still considered a comedy.” Life goes on.
I indicate (Ars Magna)* like this, and words flagging such rearrangements are italicized in the clues.
| ACROSS | |
| 1 | Drink, long time in large cask (8) |
| PUNCHEON PUNCH, “Drink” + EON, “long time” …Think this may be the first time I’ve seen this one. |
|
| 5 | Tax record lost by lieutenant (4) |
| DUTY D |
|
| 10 | Symbolic post in temple, too contrived (5,4) |
| TOTEM POLE (temple too)* |
|
| 11 | Milli{onair}es’ houses being televised (2-3) |
| ON-AIR Hidden |
|
| 12 | Start off dirty, smeared with grease (5) |
| OILED |
|
| 14 | Being full, salesman admitted eating duck (9) |
| REPLETION REP, “salesman” + LET I(O)N |
|
| 15 | Retrograde sport’s turn to appear (7) |
| SURFACE RU’S<=“Retrograde” + FACE, “turn to” |
|
| 17 | Really tiny amounts charged for a lot (7) |
| PROTONS PRO, “for” + TONS, “a lot” The definition is somewhat cryptic. …and I find “amounts” a bit odd, at least, for this. A PROTON is a particle, and “particle” can be synonymous with “a small amount,” but “amount” is not listed in Merriam-Webster as a synonym for “particle” (on the same page that has that definition). At Thesaurus.com, neither word is listed as a synonym for the other. PROTONS are “amounts” of what? |
|
| 18 | Crosses next to outspoken parties (7) |
| BISECTS “By” + SECTS, “parties” |
|
| 19 | Driver’s foremost sun protection on a coach (7) |
| ADVISOR A + D |
|
| 21 | Girl is taken in by old city bully (9) |
| TYRANNISE TYR(ANN)(IS)E |
|
| 23 | Ties put around grass (5) |
| SWARD DRAWS<=“put around” |
|
| 25 | Pressure to leave hound in compound (5) |
| ESTER |
|
| 26 | Think of beer and react excitedly (9) |
| CEREBRATE (beer, react)* |
|
| 28 | Programme broadcast round hospital (4) |
| SHOW S(H)OW |
|
| 29 | Fans, mostly County supporters (8) |
| DEVOTEES DEVO |
|
| DOWN | |
| 1 | Moving stone tablet over from America (7) |
| PITEOUS PIT, “stone” + E, ecstasy, “tablet” + O(ver) + US, “from America” |
|
| 2 | Province formerly of one’s birth (5) |
| NATAL DD |
|
| 3 | Shell dropped by strike drone (3) |
| HUM |
|
| 4 | Old roses you texted about, short of a bouquet (9) |
| ODOURLESS (Old roses, U)* |
|
| 6 | Sum a union arranged with no opposition (9) |
| UNANIMOUS (Sum a union)* |
|
| 7 | What you and yours have as undies (1-6) |
| Y-FRONTS Since both “you” and “yours” start with Y |
|
| 8 | Leak slowly goes around (4) |
| SEEP PEES<=“around” |
|
| 9 | No team players left a single football club (4,6) |
| LONE WOLVES L(eft) + ONE, “a single” + WOLVES, “football club” Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., I presume |
|
| 13 | Fair about to host a Democrat right in the middle (4,6) |
| DEAD CENTRE DECENT, “fair” + RE, “about” with A + D(emocrat) inserted …In the words of Texas populist politician and author Jim Hightower, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” |
|
| 16 | Swimmer and teacher welcoming time over coffee (9) |
| RISTRETTO OTTER, “Swimmer” + T(ime) + SIR, “teacher” <=“over” RISTRETTO is Italian for “restricted” or “shortened” and a caffè ristretto is a “short shot” of a highly concentrated espresso, with a fuller, sweeter taste. …NHO. Sounds delicious. Seriously wondering where I can get one. |
|
| 17 | World on course finally for growth, often flaky (5,4) |
| PLANE TREE PLANET, “World” + RE, “on” + |
|
| 18 | Old-fashioned ingredient of beers (7) |
| BITTERS DD …The old-fashioned recently became my new favorite cocktail. I love Angostura BITTERS! |
|
| 20 | Scornful comment retracted saving theologian’s blushes (7) |
| REDDENS SNE(DD)ER<=“retracted” DD = “Doctor of Divinity,” “theologian” |
|
| 22 | Sports field not opening for long (4) |
| ITCH |
|
| 24 | Come to where mourners gather (5) |
| AWAKE A WAKE |
|
| 27 | Reserve endlessly subject to verbal abuse (3) |
| BOO BOO |
|
Thank you for all this.
But for 17ac: pHoton is the particle of light. Here, pRoton, is the positively charged atomic particle.
Ha! Right. THANKS. What a weird crossing of wires. A photon actually has no charge.
I can’t remember anything about this one, but it took me ages. DNK the football club, RISTRETTO, wondered about ‘flaky’ until I looked up plane tree.
After a promising start I came to grief further down the grid and needed to use aids four times in order to finish, the intersecting PLANE TREE and DEVOTEES being two of these and the last ones in. RISTRETTO was another look-up.
PUNCHEON has appeared here on three previous occasions, most recently in a Jumbo in January 2024. I can’t say I remembered it, but when I constructed it from this clue it looked vaguely familiar and I wrote it in with confidence. The two other occasions were way back in 2010 and 2011 when it was defined as an alternative meaning, a supporting post in a mine.