Solving Time: About an hour and a quarter in several sessions, a bit more than average for me, but nothing that rather too much nice Chianti can’t explain.
Quite cosmopolitan this month, with lots of different languages and cultures getting a look in, notably French but some German, Urdu, Polish, Aborigine… all very enjoyable stuff.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | jumboise – JUM(P) + BOISE. Boise, pronounced boy-see, is the capital of Idaho. |
| 5 | off pat – frequently = OFT containing F + PA. |
| 10 | parasol mushroom – (MOLARS + AMORPHOUS)* Parasol mushrooms are good to eat and grow to a considerable size in my garden.. |
| 11 | inqilab – hidden, rev., in verBAL IQ Ninety. Inqilab is an Urdu word meaning revolution or rebellion |
| 12 | inexact – noon = N + EX = sometime, as in “he was her sometime partner” etc., contained in I ACT. |
| 13 | earth-pea – each = EA twice, containing RT + PH rev., ie: EA+RT+HP+EA. Another name for peanut, or groundnut.. so called because the pods grow several inches underground |
| 15 | zowie – IE + W + OZ, all rev. A word forever associated in my mind with the offspring of mr & mrs Bowie |
| 18 | upend – UD from gUiDe, containing PEN |
| 20 | cheddite – revolutionary = CHE (yawn!) + DD(I)T + E. Cheddite is an explosive most notable for being easily home-made, possibly by Guevara, who was a ruthless and violent man. |
| 23 | dysuria – (US DIARY)* – dysuria is one of those conditions that make one wince even to read about. Napoleon is said to have suffered from it. |
| 25 | bacchii – taxi = CAB rev. + two = II containing C + H. The definition being “feet,” plural of bacchius. Feet in this sense are the bane of my crossword life.. trochees, spondees, iambs, dactyls, a whole list of utterly useless, meaningless words (to me) that I have to carry around purely for cruciverbal purposes |
| 26 | a propos de bottes – SET TO + BEDS + OP + OR + PA (the latter being the “centre in jeopardy”), all rev. This French phrase literally means “regarding the boots.” Using it in English would seem the absolute height of pretentiousness |
| 27 | yagger – fury finally = Y + (D)AGGER |
| 28 | ependyma – PE rev. + END + AMY rev., Amy being dear little Amy March from Little Women, seemingly so much more popular amongst setters than her three older siblings. Not my favourite novel… |
| Down | |
| 1 | Joplin – …but he is one of my favourite pianists. Assuming they mean Scott, not Janis, that is.. sign up = JOIN, touring PL. |
| 2 | marsquake – drama, historically = MASQUE with R and A + K inserted in appropriate places. Like an earthquake, but.. |
| 3 | osselet – (toeless)* – arthritis in the fetlock, which I suspect I might have myself |
| 4 | shlub – first letters of “Search Has Located Umpteen Basic.” Hidden in Chambers, under “schlub,” though it is in the OED. From Polish, via Yiddish |
| 6 | fahlerz – FAR + Z containing H(O)LE. |
| 6 | pooja – A JP rev., containing 00, a pair of spectacles (obligatory cricketing term!). Curious word.. |
| 7 | tomatoey – play = TOY containing friend = MATE containing ball = O: TO(MAT(O)E)Y |
| 8 | audit ale – a pun on “A UDI TALE,” UDI being what Southern Rhodesia did in 1965, though look where it has got them, mind you. I don’t suppose they will try that again.. Audit ale is still brewed, for example just down the road from me at Westerham. At 6.2%, maybe the object of the exercise was to get the Auditors drunk? |
| 9 | po’chaise – cool = POISE containing CHA = tea. Another easy one for us Georgette Heyer fans. An ignorant person made a disparaging reference to GH in a TFFT entry a week or two back, but I admire her excellent command of English prose and her painstaking and accurate research. It is very unfortunate that her reputation as a “mere romantic novelist” prevents a more discerning appraisal of her work. Her semifactual “An Infamous Army” is still reckoned by many to be one of the best descriptions there are, of the battle of Waterloo |
| 14 | witchetty – an easy clue but I am only now working out the wordplay.. “full of salt” = WITTY, containing chestnut = CH + ET = “and Niçoise.” Neither ch as an abbreviation for chestnut, nor salty = witty (as opposed to salacious) were familiar to me. The grub itself is, though I imagine that in the minds of many, it is now mostly linked to that televisual nightmare “I’m a celebrity get me out of here.” |
| 16 | quiddany – yet another French reference, “Parisian who” = QUI + ADD rev., + NY = “extremely nasty.” Quiddany is quince jelly, yum yum! |
| 19 | dirt pie – a pun on “pert dye,” Spoonerised. The Rev. Spooner has much to answer for, though the “popular use” examples of this link are well worth reading.. Dear old Kenny Everett, and his Mary Hinge.. |
| 21 | decrown – (OR NEW CD)* – one of the easy ones to get you started |
| 22 | vizsla – that is = VIZ + ALS(O) rev. |
| 24 | shrug – bob = shilling = SH + RUG(BY) |
| 25 | bleep – PEEL + B, all rev. |
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