With money being tight at TftT this year, unfortunately we are unable to offer this blog with any kind of Black Friday price reduction – sorry. I found this puzzle to be of about average difficulty with little in the way of obscurities.
Definitions are underlined, omissions represented by {}, anagrams represented by *
| Across | |
| 1 | Sign one might be on the blink? (9) |
| INDICATOR – dd, the second referring to the flashing light on either side of a car that drivers occasionally activate to inform other road users that they are turning left or right | |
| 6 | Rail, currently large bird (4,3) |
| BARN OWL – BAR (Rail) + NOW (currently) + L (large) | |
| 10 | Nothing attributed to wind energy (5) |
| GUSTO – GUST (wind) + O (Nothing) | |
| 13 | Friendly drink (7) |
| CORDIAL – dd | |
| 14 | Note blue compound, like most acetates (7) |
| SOLUBLE – SOL (Note, i.e. the fifth note of the scale) + BLUE*. None of the usual sources highlight solubility as being a particular feature of acetates, but looking on the wider web it does seem to be the case. | |
| 15 | Gas worried infant (7) |
| NEONATE – NEON (Gas) + ATE (worried) | |
| 16 | Crime, the result of which ten in danger, perhaps? (8,3,8) |
| BREAKING AND ENTERING – reverse anagram, where (TEN IN DANGER)* with the anagram indicator BREAKING gives us AND ENTERING | |
| 17 | Anything concealed by eyebrow tweezers? (3) |
| OWT – hidden in (concealed by) eyebrOW Tweezers. A dialect word. | |
| 18 | Seat floored, we hear? (6) |
| THRONE – homophone (we hear?) of THROWN (floored) | |
| 20 | A soldier in trouble, progressing slowly (6) |
| ADAGIO – A + GI (soldier), in ADO (trouble) | |
| 21 | Filled with notes, maybe, making you irascible (9) |
| CROTCHETY – whimsically, if something was full of notes then you could describe it as CROTCHETY (or MINIMY or QUAVERY etc) | |
| 23 | Seductive male in the heroic novel (4-6) |
| COME-HITHER – M (male) in (THE HEROIC)* | |
| 25 | Fail to speak after head of industry, after getting put off (11) |
| DETERIORATE – DETER (put off) + I (head of industry) + ORATE (to speak) | |
| 29 | Tolerate attitude (5) |
| STAND – dd | |
| 30 | Joint inspiring new songs primarily, left for old musician (8) |
| MINSTREL – MITRE (Joint, as in woodworking) around N (new) + S (songs primarily), + L (left) | |
| 31 | Rather alluring, tail of skunk is black (8) |
| KISSABLE – K (tail of skunk) + IS + SABLE (black) | |
| 34 | Rival dead in tragedy (8) |
| ANTIGONE – ANTI (Rival) + GONE (dead), to give us one of Sophocles’ many ripsnorters | |
| 36 | Blend recalled, like wine? (8) |
| CELLARED – RECALLED* | |
| 37 | Brave stuffing pigeon’s head in French dish (5) |
| CREPE – P (pigeon’s head) in CREE (Brave) | |
| 39 | Far from assuming where Newton’s apple fell? (4-2-5) |
| DOWN-TO-EARTH – literal interpretation | |
| 41 | Official residence a bit like Chatsworth ends west of river (5,5) |
| WHITE HOUSE – WHIT (a bit) + {lik}E {Chatswort}H (like Chatsworth ends) + OUSE (river) | |
| 43 | Statements yet to be validated, a policeman backing our story up with data, finally (9) |
| APOCRYPHA – A + reversal of COP (policeman backing) + {ou}R {stor}Y {u}P {wit}H {dat}A (our story up with data finally), to give us the word perhaps most often used to describe parts of the Bible that one group or another doesn’t view as canonical | |
| 45 | A festival miles back in Spanish city (6) |
| MALAGA – reversal (back) of A + GALA (festival) + M (miles), to give the port city on the Costa del Sol | |
| 47 | One’s played the fraud (6) |
| FIDDLE – dd | |
| 49 | Scrap you lose in temper? (3) |
| RAG – literal interpretation, referring to the expression “to lose one’s rag” meaning to become annoyed | |
| 50 | Emperor Nero attaching tenets to reform? (11,3,5) |
| CONSTANTINE THE GREAT – (NERO ATTACHING TENETS)*, for the Roman emperor who gave his name to Constantinople (now Istanbul) | |
| 52 | Sideways view albeit contrary, maintained by peasant (7) |
| PROFILE – reversal (contrary) of IF (albeit), in PROLE (peasant) | |
| 53 | Latin, or translation, being heard? (2,5) |
| ON TRIAL – (LATIN OR)* | |
| 54 | Recreation that is delightful ultimately when lying back? Certainly! (7) |
| LEISURE – reversal (when lying back) of IE (that is) + {delightfu}L (delightful ultimately), + SURE (Certainly) | |
| 55 | TV show seen by second child (5) |
| SPROG – S (second) + PROG (TV show), to give an informal term for an ankle-biter | |
| 56 | Pipe emptied lake on river (7) |
| TWEEDLE – TWEED (river) + L{ak}E (emptied lake). Chambers has: “(of a bird) to pipe or whistle”. An unknown for me. | |
| 57 | Unable to pick up scent, maybe, around beginning of investigation, so quiet (9) |
| NOISELESS – NOSELESS (Unable to pick up scent, maybe) around I{nvestigation} (beginning of investigation) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Keep warm on an island, taking endless cuppas? (8) |
| INCUBATE – IN CUBA (on an island) + TE{a} (endless cuppas) | |
| 2 | Dragging piece free from below, get cut (5) |
| DIRGE – reversal (from below) of RID (free), + GE{t} (get cut), where we need to read dragging in the sense of slow | |
| 3 | Small potatoes for mash, perhaps? (11) |
| CHICKENFEED – dd of figurative and literal meanings, the first a term for something of little value, the second animal food | |
| 4 | Gift in story books (6) |
| TALENT – TALE (story) + NT (books, i.e. New Testament) | |
| 5 | Look lively, as will the sun? (4,3,5) |
| RISE AND SHINE – literal interpretation | |
| 6 | Tenacious type on board, fifty points to pursue (7) |
| BULLDOG – BULL (on board, fifty points, i.e. referring to a dartboard) + DOG (to pursue) | |
| 7 | Prankster in sport underneath sack (5,10) |
| ROBIN GOODFELLOW – ROB (sack) + IN + GOOD FELLOW (sport), to give us the mischievous character from English folklore (also known as Puck) perhaps best known from his appearance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | |
| 8 | Ever exotic wiggles arouse too much (10) |
| OVEREXCITE – (EVER EXOTIC)* | |
| 9 | Spot I drive under fast (7) |
| LENTIGO – LENT (fast, i.e. the period before Easter) + I + GO (drive), to give us another word for a freckle or frecklelike thing | |
| 10 | European opening stuff put out medal (6,5) |
| GEORGE CROSS – E (European) in GORGE (stuff), + CROSS (put out, i.e. to annoy, edit: of course, as per Kevin below, this should be “annoyed” rather than “to annoy”), for (Chambers): “An award (instituted during World War II) for outstanding courage or heroism given in cases where a purely military honour is not applicable” | |
| 11 | Drama like this gets a religious leader rather anxious, for starters (4,5) |
| SOAP OPERA – SO (like this) + POPE (religious leader) + R{ather} A{nxious} (rather anxious, for starters) | |
| 12 | ‘eavenly sandwiches green, clearly! (7) |
| OVERTLY – ‘OLY (‘eavenly, i.e. a common/Cockney way of saying holy) around VERT (green) | |
| 19 | Brazilian diplomacy in legislation delivered to the mob (4,3) |
| RIOT ACT – RIO TACT (Brazilian diplomacy) | |
| 22 | Poet claims I am producing sparkling material (8) |
| DIAMANTE – DANTE (Poet) around I + AM | |
| 24 | Nursing different part of the leg, I turned out for team (9,6) |
| ROTHERHAM UNITED – (I TURNED)* around OTHER (different) + HAM (part of the leg). Not a club that has achieved global fame – their most notable success being as runners-up in the 1961 League Cup Final – but something-or-other United is a common enough team name that you can either use the wordplay or think of some town/city that fits the checkers. | |
| 26 | Control pet, it’s said, wild animal (8) |
| REINDEER – REIN (Control) + homophone (it’s said) of DEAR (pet) | |
| 27 | Interior of bell on flat side (6) |
| ELEVEN – {b}EL{l} (Interior of bell) + EVEN (flat), for the generic term for a football team, cricket team, etc. | |
| 28 | Political assassin having died, rule thus lifted (6) |
| OSWALD – reversal (lifted) of D (died) + LAW (rule) + SO (thus) | |
| 32 | Holy crib has not as much to tuck in (7) |
| BLESSED – BED (crib) around LESS (not as much) | |
| 33 | Washington, capital city for a songwriter (6,6) |
| IRVING BERLIN – Washington IRVING (author of Rip van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, among others) + BERLIN (capital city), to give the composer of songs such as White Christmas | |
| 35 | Seize on wonderful start (3,8) |
| GET CRACKING – GET (Seize) + CRACKING (wonderful) | |
| 37 | I cling to some loveless drunk when the pub shuts (7,4) |
| CLOSING TIME – (I CLING TO S{o}ME (some loveless))* | |
| 38 | Part of the skeleton absent or damaged — live without it (10) |
| BREASTBONE – BE (live) around (ABSENT OR)* | |
| 40 | Crook — with bishop holding one, God made up! (9) |
| WRONGDOER – W (with) + RR (bishop) around (ONE GOD)* | |
| 42 | It’s the lady’s accomplishment, getting down (8) |
| FEATHERS – FEAT (accomplishment) + HERS (the lady’s) | |
| 43 | Concerned with support, Arsenal or Spurs initially embracing it (7) |
| APROPOS – A{rsenal} O{r} S{purs} (Arsenal or Spurs initially) around PROP (support) | |
| 44 | Joke on bloke is caustic (7) |
| PUNGENT – PUN (Joke) + GENT (bloke) | |
| 46 | Somewhat formulaic, is establishment free from ecclesiastical control? (7) |
| LAICISE – hidden in (Somewhat) formuLAIC IS Establishment | |
| 48 | Reportedly cold burner? (6) |
| CHILLI – homophone (Reportedly) of CHILLY (cold), with the definition a reference to the mouth-scorching properties of certain chilli peppers | |
| 51 | Film buff wiping brow in study (5) |
| ETUDE – ET (Film) + {n}UDE (buff wiping brow) | |
Thanks blogger and setter.
David (Warwick)