This was a puzzle of about average difficulty, I thought, with a couple of unknowns and partially-knowns to spice things up.
FOI 7A, LOI 52A, twin CODs to 28A and 24D for the surfaces.
Compliments of the season to all, and I shall see you next in 2019.
Definitions are underlined, * = anagram, {} = omission, dd = double definition
| Across | |
| 1 | Limit firm replacing golf in area (11) |
| RESTRICTION – RE{g}ION (area) with STRICT (firm) replacing the g (golf) | |
| 7 | Thwart European concealing British weakness (6) |
| FOIBLE – FOIL (Thwart) + E (European) around B (British) | |
| 10 | Foxtrot follows this contribution by fine choreographer (4) |
| ECHO – hidden in finE CHOreographer, with the definition referring to the NATO alphabet | |
| 14 | One in black, Parisian mother briefly hugs old vessel (7) |
| MOURNER – MER{e} (Parisian mother briefly), around O (old) + URN (vessel) | |
| 15 | Protest with a thug defending work closure (7) |
| WALKOUT – W (with) + A + LOUT (thug) around {wor}K (work closure) | |
| 16 | Agitate to acquire right support in Derby? (7) |
| STIRRUP – STIR UP (Agitate) around R (right), with the definition referring to the English horse race | |
| 17 | Men on board rave about Elizabeth’s old cavaliers (7-6) |
| KNIGHTS-ERRANT – KNIGHTS (Men on board, i.e. chess pieces) + RANT (rave) around ER (Elizabeth) | |
| 18 | Exact use oil rig might be put to? (9) |
| RELIGIOUS – (USE OIL RIG)* with an odd anagrind | |
| 19 | Cardigan‘s gesture of indifference (5) |
| SHRUG – dd, the first appearing in Chambers as: “A usu woollen garment covering the arms, shoulders and top of the back”. I didn’t know the cardigan but it didn’t sound too unlikely. | |
| 21 | A boy opens chart with another boy, poorly suited (10) |
| MALADAPTED – A + LAD (boy) in MAP (chart) + TED (another boy) | |
| 23 | Like some dynasties at home with money, so I’ve heard (6) |
| INBRED – IN (at home) + homophone of BREAD (money) | |
| 25 | Phone about island rally (8) |
| MOBILISE – MOBILE (Phone) about IS (island) | |
| 26 | Opposite case that’s set out for customer in shop? (14) |
| COUNTEREXAMPLE – a shopkeeper displaying one of his wares might have a COUNTER EXAMPLE for inspection | |
| 29 | Gold dish at front part of range? (7) |
| PLATEAU – PLATE (dish) + AU (Gold), with the range referred to being a mountain range | |
| 30 | Grass covers daughter with worker in flagrante (3-6) |
| RED-HANDED – REED (Grass) around D (daughter) + HAND (worker) | |
| 31 | Romeo pursuing county’s first citizen (5) |
| MAYOR – MAYO (county – in Ireland) + R (Romeo) | |
| 32 | Top Mediterranean island showing hostility (5) |
| ICILY – {s}ICILY (Mediterranean island), with “Top” in this case meaning to remove the head | |
| 34 | Study involving apartment ten’s collapse (9) |
| DEFLATION – DEN (Study), around FLAT (apartment) + IO (ten) | |
| 37 | Withdrawn do-it-yourself recipe for tongue (7) |
| YIDDISH – reversal of DIY (do-it-yourself), + DISH (recipe) | |
| 39 | They convey good wishes regarding sects abroad (9,5) |
| GREETINGS CARDS – (REGARDING SECTS)* | |
| 41 | Sick young conservatives having to stop passing round pot in camp (8) |
| BILLYCAN – ILL (Sick) + YC (young conservatives or, rather, Young Conservatives), in BAN (to stop) | |
| 43 | Carried round keys in the past (6) |
| BEFORE – BORE (Carried) around EF (keys, in the musical sense) | |
| 44 | Morph image grotesquely using this old copier? (10) |
| MIMEOGRAPH – (MORPH IMAGE)* | |
| 45 | Invalidate yearbook’s missing article (5) |
| ANNUL – ANNU{a}L (yearbook’s missing article) | |
| 48 | Running this French cooker at home as before (4,5) |
| ONCE AGAIN – ON (Running) + CE (this French) + AGA (cooker) + IN (at home) | |
| 49 | Girl and boy defend sceptical doctor (13) |
| DIAGNOSTICIAN – DI (Girl) + IAN (boy) around AGNOSTIC (sceptical) | |
| 51 | Shock sets back belfry every so often (7) |
| STUPEFY – reversal of PUTS (sets), + alternate letters of {b}E{l}F{r}Y | |
| 52 | Change in Honduras reduced power in US city (7) |
| LEMPIRA – EMPIR{e} (reduced power) in LA (US city), to give (Chambers): “The standard monetary unit of Honduras (100 centavos)”, with the origin given as “Lempira, a department of Honduras named after a native chief”. I must have vaguely known this, as it sprang to mind from the checkers even if I wasn’t quite sure why. | |
| 53 | A bad habit masking a Republican’s cupidity (7) |
| AVARICE – A + VICE (bad habit), around A + R (Republican) | |
| 54 | Spot undercover agent (4) |
| MOLE – dd | |
| 55 | Steer right round close to white plants (6) |
| OXEYES – OX (Steer) + YES (right) around {whit}E (close to white) | |
| 56 | New acting chairman, heading off visitor (11) |
| NONRESIDENT – N (New) + ON (acting) + {p}RESIDENT (chairman, heading off) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Weeds, maybe, surround larger space for new versions (7) |
| REMAKES – RAKES (Weeds, maybe) around EM (larger space, i.e. an em dash as opposed to an en dash). I’m only an occasional gardener but I would have thought a hoe was more appropriate for weeding than a rake, though one of the definitions of rake in Chambers is: “A wheeled field implement with long teeth for gathering hay, scraping up weeds, etc.” | |
| 2 | Country‘s small car with a first-rate lock in reverse (5,6) |
| SAUDI ARABIA – S (small) + AUDI (car) + A, + reversal of AI (first-rate) + BAR (lock) | |
| 3 | Farm managed cash margins (5) |
| RANCH – RAN (managed) + C{as}H (cash margins) | |
| 4 | Duff description of corpulent Santa? (9,7) |
| CHRISTMAS PUDDING – jocular interpretation, where a pudding is (Chambers): “A fat, dull or heavy-witted person (informal)” and a duff is (Chambers): “A stiff flour pudding boiled in a bag”. I would imagine that most Christmas puddings aren’t prepared like a duff, but no doubt some are – I’m usually too full of sprouts and stuffing to particularly care about dessert. | |
| 5 | Secretly, for no special reason, suppressing new conflict (8) |
| INWARDLY – IDLY (for no special reason), around N (new) + WAR (conflict) | |
| 6 | Invalid sister keeps everyone up, free with 500 very old papers (4,3,4) |
| NULL AND VOID – NUN (sister) around reversal of ALL (everyone), + D (500) + V (very) + O (old) + ID (papers). Not sure what the word “free” is doing in the clue – perhaps it’s from an earlier draft version that was going to make use of the word DEVOID? Or am I missing something? | |
| 7 | Bob‘s put forward (5) |
| FLOAT – dd | |
| 8 | Mutually reliant nine pretended to work on time (14) |
| INTERDEPENDENT – (NINE PRETENDED)* + T (time) | |
| 9 | Stand on banks of Liffey to finish (6) |
| LASTLY – LAST (Stand) + L{iffe}Y (banks of Liffey) | |
| 11 | RAC put up a trophy designed to hold gallons for 25 Down (11) |
| CARTOGRAPHY – reversal of RAC, + (A TROPHY)* around G (gallons), with 25 Down being MAPPING | |
| 12 | Sat after work and disputed (7) |
| OPPOSED – OP (work) + POSED (Sat) | |
| 13 | Sort of creeper that gets stuck in pipe (8) |
| VIRGINIA – dd, the first (Chambers): “An American climbing plant closely related to the vine, bright-red in autumn”, and the second (Chambers): “A tobacco grown and manufactured in Virginia“ | |
| 20 | Museum‘s good way to conserve rarities initially (7) |
| GALLERY – G (good) + ALLEY (way) around R{arities} (rarities initially) | |
| 22 | Asian animal genes turn up in Pennsylvania (5) |
| PANDA – reversal of DNA (genes), in PA (Pennsylvania) | |
| 24 | Potential killer surprisingly delighted with a shandy (6,10) |
| DEADLY NIGHTSHADE – (DELIGHTED + A SHANDY)* | |
| 25 | Plotting software in China (7) |
| MAPPING – APP (software) in MING (China) | |
| 27 | Deserve to retain article made of clay (7) |
| EARTHEN – EARN (Deserve) around THE (article) | |
| 28 | Academic colleague’s caught sitting topless for money (14) |
| PROFESSIONALLY – PROF (Academic) + ALLY (colleague) around {s}ESSION (sitting topless) | |
| 31 | Intend shortly to hide drab innards of plant (7) |
| MEDULLA – MEA{n} (Intend shortly) around DULL (drab). I only knew this word in connection with kidneys, but it didn’t seem too much of a stretch that it might also have a botanical meaning. | |
| 33 | Actually, posh learner hides answer, producing poor results (11) |
| INEFFECTUAL – IN EFFECT (Actually) + U (posh) + L (learner) around A (answer) | |
| 35 | Acre yielded sisal for one (5) |
| AGAVE – A (Acre) + GAVE (yielded), where sisal is (Chambers): “A Mexican agave whose leaves yield a fibre” | |
| 36 | Anger as modern state conceals excavation (11) |
| INDIGNATION – IN (modern) + NATION (state) around DIG (excavation) | |
| 38 | Motivate trendy one in TV scene I shot (11) |
| INCENTIVISE – IN (trendy) + I (one) in (TV SCENE I)* | |
| 40 | Endanger trio sheltering at noon (8) |
| THREATEN – THREE (trio) around AT, + N (noon) | |
| 42 | Preserve article in deep container (8) |
| MAINTAIN – A (article) in MAIN (deep – both words for the sea) + TIN (container) | |
| 43 | Thrive with or without a couple of sons (7) |
| BLOSSOM – both BLOSSOM and BLOOM (blossom without a couple of sons, i.e. without its two esses) mean thrive | |
| 46 | Easygoing fast time touring eastern part of UK (7) |
| LENIENT – LENT (fast time), around E (eastern) + NI (part of UK, i.e Northern Ireland) | |
| 47 | A rook getting stuck in cat’s throat part (6) |
| LARYNX – A + R (rook), in LYNX (cat) | |
| 49 | Male broaching party’s depressed state (5) |
| DUMPS – DUP’S (party’s, i.e. Democratic Unionist Party’s) around M (Male), with the word usually seen in the phrase “down in the dumps” | |
| 50 | Current TV quiz includes artist, one from Middle East (5) |
| IRAQI – I (Current) + QI (TV quiz, hosted initially by Stephen Fry and now by Old Girtonian Sandi Toksvig) around RA (artist) | |
Edited at 2018-12-22 12:58 am (UTC)
Must be something in the water
Edited at 2018-12-22 10:21 am (UTC)