I found this one a bit harder than usual, spending an age in the NW quadrant where 1A just wouldn’t come to me at all, as I assumed for a long time that delicate was part of the wordplay rather than part of the definition. Some fun clues and well-hidden definitions in here, with my COD going to 56A for its story of an unsuccessful attempt at the crossword championships.
Definitions are underlined, * = anagram, {} = omission
| Across | |
| 1 | Beat or scolded delicate flower (7,6) |
| SLIPPER ORCHID – SLIPPER (Beat, as a verb) + OR + CHID (scolded). None of the usual sources mention orchids as being particularly delicate, and they grow in the Yorkshire Dales which suggests a certain level of hardiness, but I suppose it’s all relative plus the surface would suffer if delicate wasn’t there. | |
| 8 | Checks speed of fabulous runner-up in holiday location (9) |
| TIMESHARE – TIMES (Checks speed of) + HARE (fabulous runner-up, i.e. the non-winner from Aesop’s fable The Tortoise and the Hare) | |
| 13 | Programme run out on this is awaiting confirmation (5) |
| APPRO – APP (Programme) + RO (run out). If something is on appro (short for approbation/approval), then it is awaiting confirmation. Though the dictionaries don’t absolutely rule this out, computerese tends to use program rather than programme and I can’t see how the surface would suffer if the former had been used. | |
| 14 | Concerned with offering of bones that’s accepted if here in Lourdes (11) |
| SACRIFICIAL – SACRAL (of bones, specifically sacra, the plural of sacrum), around IF + ICI (here in Lourdes) | |
| 15 | Enjoy view in common area gardened regularly (5) |
| AGREE – A (area) + GaRdEnEd (gardened regularly) | |
| 16 | Outlaw ropes dead bucks (9) |
| DESPERADO – (ROPES DEAD)* | |
| 17 | Firm with fine deferring 1,000 (4) |
| OAKY – OKAY (fine) but with the K (1,000) moved later in the word | |
| 18 | Daughters displacing sons in round-campfire activity perhaps causing argument (4-4) |
| DING-DONG – SING-SONG (round-campfire activity perhaps) with the S’s (sons) replaced by D‘s (Daughters) | |
| 20 | State‘s mineral aggregate almost exhausted (6) |
| OREGON – ORE (mineral aggregate) + GON{e} (almost exhausted) | |
| 21 | Ringing reporter, animated, criminal lain out after arrest (16) |
| TINTINNABULATION – TINTIN (reporter, animated) + NAB (arrest) + (LAIN OUT)* | |
| 24 | At no point omitting English during poor delivery, clipped and inarticulate? (3-6) |
| NON-VERBAL – N{e}VER (At no point omitting English) in NO–BAL{l} (poor delivery, clipped) | |
| 26 | Essence described by letter that backs description (7) |
| EPITHET – PITH (Essence) in reversal of TEE (letter) | |
| 27 | Out of practice, but with change of hands becoming strong (5) |
| LUSTY – RUSTY (Out of practice) but with the R replaced by an L (change of hands, i.e. changing right to left) | |
| 29 | Grotto with gold holds a lure: take things at your own risk (6,6) |
| CAVEAT EMPTOR – CAVE (Grotto ) + OR (gold), around A + TEMPT (lure) | |
| 31 | Paris and Rome arranged by international producer (10) |
| IMPRESARIO – I (international) + (PARIS ROME)* | |
| 33 | A pro circle in which characters trade places with give and take (10) |
| RECIPROCAL – (A PRO CIRCLE)*, with a lengthy anagram indicator | |
| 35 | Outdated hierarchy made less fusty, somehow, not having succeeded (6,6) |
| FEUDAL SYSTEM – (MADE LESS FU{s}TY)* | |
| 38 | Bird of river and lake (5) |
| OUSEL – OUSE (river) + L (lake) | |
| 39 | Check pressure during cricket, say (7) |
| INSPECT – P (pressure) in INSECT (cricket, say) | |
| 40 | Storage facility misses leaks (9) |
| DISCLOSES – DISC (Storage facility) + LOSES (misses) | |
| 42 | Romantic writer‘s blue poem and wine capturing dearest’s heart (6,2,8) |
| CYRANO DE BERGERAC – CYAN (blue) + ODE (poem) + BERGERAC (wine), around {dea}R{est} (dearest’s heart) | |
| 44 | Football scout endlessly rings round (6) |
| SOCCER – reversal of RECC{e} (scout endlessly) + OS (rings) | |
| 47 | Dealer secures old volume, customer offering little resistance (8) |
| PUSHOVER – PUSHER (Dealer) around O (old) + V (volume). None of the usual sources make any reference to customers in their definitions of pushover, but I suppose it helps the surface. | |
| 49 | Deputy backing grievance, mostly (4) |
| VEEP – reversal of PEEV{e} (grievance, mostly), to give the informal word for vice-president. Slightly related – none of the usual sources give the meaning of vice-president that anyone working in finance will be familiar with, i.e. the title given to you if you manage to hang around in the same firm for a few years without getting fired. | |
| 50 | Plaster over outside toilet with people inside? (9) |
| OCCUPANTS – reversal of STUCCO (Plaster), around PAN (toilet) | |
| 52 | Extract of gum: a mild taste (5) |
| UMAMI – hidden in gUM A MIld, to give (Chambers): “A savoury, satisfying taste, like that of monosodium glutamate” | |
| 53 | Old Chinese leader, out of condition, returned rested for wedding (11) |
| MATRIMONIAL – MAO (Old Chinese leader) around TRIM (condition), + reversal of LAIN (rested) | |
| 54 | Act awkwardly with female then leave (2,3) |
| GO OFF – GOOF (Act awkwardly) + F (female) | |
| 55 | A good chance of stable currency? (4,5) |
| EVEN MONEY – EVEN (stable) + MONEY (currency) | |
| 56 | During Times final I solved very little (13) |
| INFINITESIMAL – IN (During) + (TIMES FINAL I)*. Ha! | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Quit position over drink (5,4) |
| STAND DOWN – STAND (position) + DOWN (drink) | |
| 2 | Deadlock that is broken by politician with seat in Boston (7) |
| IMPASSE – IE (that is), around MP (politician) + ASS (seat in Boston, i.e. the American word for derrière) | |
| 3 | Introduction for building toy figures: first class (11) |
| PROLEGOMENA – PRO (for) + LEGO MEN (building toy figures) + A (first class), to give (Chambers): “(sometimes used as sing) an introduction, esp to a treatise”. One of six entries in Chambers in which you can find Lego men hiding. | |
| 4 | Run, seeing baby elephant’s finally gone rogue (6) |
| RASCAL – R (Run) + AS (seeing) + CAL{f} (baby elephant’s finally gone) | |
| 5 | Minister’s front-page retreat after U-turn (9) |
| RECTORIAL – RECTO (front-page) + reversal of LAIR (retreat) | |
| 6 | Maybe one in the morning pile surrounding setter? (4,2,3,3) |
| HAIR OF THE DOG – another interpretation of the words “pile” (hair) and “setter” (dog) | |
| 7 | Absorbing noise, muffling sound of bell when relatives visit (8,2) |
| DRINKING IN – DIN (noise) around RING (sound of bill) around KIN (relatives) | |
| 8 | That is to say, nothing lost for a fool (4) |
| TWIT – T{o} WIT (That is to say, nothing lost) | |
| 9 | Muslim ritual adapted to accommodate system of belief in toleration of diversity (16) |
| MULTICULTURALISM – (MUSLIM RITUAL)* around CULT (system of belief) | |
| 10 | Primarily street-based language (5) |
| SLANG – &lit, with the wordplay being S{treet-based} (Primarily street-based) + LANG (language). The usual sources give informality as the main attribute of slang, but one definition in Chambers is: “Orig a jargon of thieves and disreputable people”, and a definition for street is: “Of or characteristic of the streets, esp in densely populated cities, or of the people who frequent them, esp the poor, the homeless, prostitutes, petty criminals, etc”, which kind of ties things together. | |
| 11 | Interest rate: no choice but one, apparently, reasoned logically (1,6) |
| A PRIORI – APR (Interest rate, i.e. annual percentage rate) + I OR I (no choice but one, apparently) | |
| 12 | Treatment centre showing mercy with more gone, sadly (9,4) |
| EMERGENCY ROOM – (MERCY MORE GONE)* This is an American expression as per the usual sources – I would rather have had an indication of such here than in 2D as (small sample size …) I encounter the word ass in the UK much more often than emergency room. | |
| 19 | Got big house by delta (8) |
| FATHOMED – FAT (big) + HOME (house) + D (delta) | |
| 22 | Reference work a sailor picked up (5) |
| ATLAS – A + reversal of SALT (sailor) | |
| 23 | Rating description of tablet by joint article (4-6,6) |
| ABLE-BODIED SEAMAN – the body of the word “tablet” is “able”, hence a description of tablet is ABLE-BODIED, + SEAM (joint) + AN (article) | |
| 25 | What the virtuous have for starters (7) |
| NOVICES – the virtuous have NO VICES | |
| 28 | Cloud of mounting suspicion enveloping prostitute (7) |
| STRATUS – reversal of SUS (suspicion) around TART (prostitute). Maybe a bit strange to include a palindrome as part of the reversal, but perhaps the setter wanted nothing to do with mounting prostitutes. | |
| 29 | Way to cut emissions from vehicle, fitting universal filter at back, held by nut (6,7) |
| CARBON CAPTURE – CAR (vehicle) + BONCE (nut, i.e. head), around APT (fitting) + U (universal) + {filte}R (filter at back) | |
| 30 | Cook vegetable à la Spooner and thank the Lord (6,2) |
| PRAISE BE – fun Spoonerism of BRAISE (Cook) + PEA (vegetable) | |
| 32 | Expose evidence, and prepare for storm (12) |
| WEATHERPROOF – WEATHER (Expose) + PROOF (evidence) | |
| 34 | What‘s power line carrying electricity ultimately supported by? (5) |
| PYLON – P (power) + L (line) around {electricit}Y (electricity ultimately) + ON (supported by), and a semi-&lit | |
| 36 | Faint-hearted messengers in Book of Numbers? (6,5) |
| YELLOW PAGES – YELLOW (Faint-hearted) + PAGES (messengers), and a tangential reference to the phone book sorted by trades/services/professions | |
| 37 | I’ll be bound by outrageous residence order (6,4) |
| DECREE NISI – RESIDENCE* around I, to give (Chambers): “a provisional decree which will be made absolute in due time unless cause is shown to the contrary (granted esp in divorce cases)” | |
| 40 | Severe daughter with tiny motor perhaps turning up to collect one (9) |
| DRACONIAN – D (daughter) + reversal of NANOCAR (tiny motor perhaps) around I (one) | |
| 41 | Start of school perhaps hairy and tense (9) |
| STRESSFUL – S{chool} (Start of school) + TRESSFUL (perhaps hairy – if you have lots of tresses then you might whimsically be described as tressful) | |
| 43 | Blooming got up then had breakfast? (7) |
| ROSEATE – ROSE (got up) + ATE (had breakfast?) | |
| 45 | Tory record is to comply (7) |
| CONFORM – CON (Tory) + FORM (record) | |
| 46 | Fur stole covered up boxes (6) |
| OCELOT – hidden reversal in sTOLE COvered | |
| 48 | Operation where one’s put under, I hesitate to say, getting drug (5) |
| OPIUM – OP (Operation) + I (one) + UM (I hesitate to say) | |
| 51 | Wander? Not right: don’t go! (4) |
| STAY – ST{r}AY (Wander? Not right) | |
An enjoyable puzzle, spooky coincidence or not, so thank you to setter and blogger
Ong’ara,
Nairobi.