My FOI was that old chestnut 19D and my LOI, which I struggled with for a long time for no apparent reason was 9A – I’d thought of HAZY and ATTIC independently ages before but hadn’t realised I was looking for a soundalike. Talking of which clue, it was nice to see our old friends the Cockney aitch-dropper and the dear old Reverend once more, in close proximity to each other even, and I expect 12A qualifies as my COD.
Unfortunately it took me another half an hour after I went to bed to full parse 3D, having fixated on finding a word for “put under pressure” which would become INTERAL with “a friend taken out” – INTERAPALL perhaps? And I’m afraid I’m going to have to throw in the towel with 11A and open it to the floor, as I just can’t satisfactorily explain to myself how it works. Brilliant crossword overall though any way you cut it, many thanks setter!
| Across | |
| 1 | LIVE IN CLOVER – want for nothing: C [cold] in LIVE-IN LOVER [cohabitee] |
| 8 | OUTPOST – double def: remote camp, and (one who) “might be better at forum”, i.e. who might out-post others there |
| 9 | ASIATIC – in Far East: homophone [“could be understood”] of ‘AZY ATTIC [“Cockney’s unclear Greek dialect”] |
| 11 | TRIMMER – docker (i.e. one who docks): TAMER [“more manageable”] “loading” RIM [limit] for, i.e. instead of, A |
| 12 | SPOONER – preacher: “Fervour of pseud” is a Spoonerism for “server of food”, i.e. one who spoons |
| 13 | DOMED – “description of cathedral maybe”: DOOMED [done for] minus O [nothing “less”] |
| 14 | LERMONTOV – Russian writer: (ROLE ON TV*) [“unusual”] “holding” M [Mass] |
| 16 | KING PRAWN – seafood: KIN GP RAN [family | doctor | was quick] “to confiscate” W [wife] |
| 19 | CREON – old Theban ruler: C RE ON [about “to appear in three different forms”] |
| 21 | TARQUIN – Roman emperor: TAR QUIN [seafarer, “one of several born”] |
| 23 | FREDDIE – chap: F RED DIE [fine | wine | to give out] |
| 24 | NEARISH – “close, rather”: (A SHRINE*) [“unexpectedly”] |
| 25 | NOVELLA – short work: ALL {d}EVON [entire | county “after opener’s gone”] “back” |
| 26 | YELLOW JERSEY – “presented to leader on time” (in the Tour de France): YELLOW [chicken] + JERSEY [beef supplier] |
| Down | |
| 1 | LITHIUM – metal: LIT. [works] + I [one] “visits” HUM [are very busy] |
| 2 | VROOMED – moved speedily: V [very “small”] + ROOMED [shared accommodation] |
| 3 | INTER ALIA – amongst other things: INTER [put under (the ground)] + {p}AL [pressure (P) “abandoning” friend] + A1 [cracking “up”] |
| 4 | CHAOS – mess: CHA [leaves to drink] + O.S. [seaman] |
| 5 | ORINOCO – “one following course in Latin parts”, i.e. a South American river: OR IN O CO [men | in | old | firm] |
| 6 | EXTINCT – vanished: {t}EXTIN{g} [“the middle of” sending message] + CT [court] |
| 7 | SOUTH DAKOTAN – American: (THANKS TO A DUO*) [“rock”] |
| 10 | CARAVANSERAI – (caravan’s) stop: CARAVAN’S [train’s] on ERA I [time, one] |
| 15 | RING-FENCE – to keep for a purpose: RING [telephone] + FENCE [receiver] |
| 17 | NARRATE – recount: RAN [organised] “when up” + RATE [judge] |
| 18 | PLUVIAL – of “water that’s fallen”, i.e. rain: PLU{g} [“cut” cork] on VIAL [bottle] |
| 19 | CLEAVES – double def: splits / sticks |
| 20 | ENDPLAY – tactic in bridge: END P [object | quietly] + LAY [unprofessional] |
| 22 | NOHOW – not at all “the American way”: NOH [drama] + OW [pained expression] |
Edited at 2015-03-13 08:50 am (UTC)
Thanks to setter and M. V, as well as Olivia for the parsing of the one that had me stumped. 41 minutes, which may be good enough…
Some brilliant clues again. Agree with ulaca that ORINOCO and SPOONER stand out.
Don’t know if C RE ON is a chestnut to the old hands, but I thought it was pretty damn good. Thanks for the top notch blog.
The clue chosen for cheating was the Russian writer as he was obviously an anagram, and so it turned out, but since I’m half Russian by descent I don’t know quite how I’ve managed to reach my advancing years without ever hearing of this guy before.
After that, progress was reasonably steady but I needed aids again for CREON who I wasn’t so surprised I didn’t know, the only Theban ruler I’ve come across being Cadmus because he features in Semele, a Handel oratorio that I happen to know well.
I guessed YELLOW JERSEY was something to do with sport but had no idea what or why.
12ac is either very clever or unfair and I can’t decide which though I’m inclined to the latter as it took me forever to work it out after I’d already become jaded by my solving experience. After this week we are owed an easy one on Saturday, I think.
Edited at 2015-03-13 09:35 am (UTC)
Many others went in unparsed, so thanks for unravelling TARQUIN, ORINOCO, CARAVANSERAI, and thanks to Olivia for TRIMMER.
The Russian chap’s letters went in the right order for once, phew.
Imperatores in the ancient Roman Kingdom
When Rome was ruled by kings,[1] to be able to rule, the king had to be invested with the full regal authority and power. So, after the comitia curiata, held to elect the king, the king also had to be conferred the imperium.[2]
So maybe it’s kosher?
You can translate “emperor” as “imperator”, but only in the Imperial period. Otherwise you could call any consul, proconsul, praetor, etc. an ‘Emperor’ – and there were thousands of them!
Brilliant crossword, tiny mistake 🙁
Not lost was the brilliant variation on a Spooner clue, though it took me a while to suss the audible nature of the swap. I did wonder for a while what feuds had to do with it and what pservour might be.
I did parse LITHIUM – I think we’ve had LIT for works quite recently and it’s stuck. Has “one following a course” occurred before in the range of expressions for river? can’t recall it, and what a fine and devious clue it ornamented.
Good crossword in a week of good ones. And thanks, yes, I feel better now than I did yesterday.
Off to a flying start with 1A and 7D going straight in so that LHS fell easily. Then 26A was a write-in as was 15D so SE corner went in. That left NE corner where I looked up the Russian and the Theban (never heard of either of them) and then took a while to see both 9A and 12A. 10D was last in.
Not really my cup of tea – too much obscure rather dated GK for my taste
Another good offering with my COD going to YELLOW JERSEY.
Edited at 2015-03-13 07:50 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2015-03-13 08:44 pm (UTC)
I had to tackle this puzzle in more than one session, so timing wasn’t practical, but my time certainly was not quick, and I was another who failed to parse ‘trimmer’.
While solving, I had the distinct sensation of indignation brewing in the South West (despite the appearance of ‘Lithium’).
I join others in thanking Olivia for her explanation of TRIMMER. I’d assumed that “more manageable” (like a trim ship!?) and docker were both definitions, and wondered if “loading limit” could be a third definition that I was ignorant of.
No problems with LERMONTOV, who has in any case come up previously in No. 23,489 (4 Jan. 2007): “Russian writer after fifty no longer lovelorn, turned to verse (9)”. Perhaps one day they’ll clue him as the impresario in The Red Shoes.
Having boggled a little over “server of feud”, I’m still not wholly convinced of 12ac – a delightful idea which IMO doesn’t quite come off. Apart from that I found this a most interesting and enjoyable puzzle.
Isn’t a Spoonerism necessarily phonological, rather than orthographic? In which case, I would suggest it isn’t “a server of feud” but “a sever of food”. I would alsoventure that the quotation marks indicate that we’re in the realm of the spoken, not the written. Thoughts?
Thanks to setter and blogger.