Solving time: 16:43
A very quick solve, so I’m quite surprised that I’ve found so many clues to write about. The 18-12 victory for downs in the comment count suggests that my usual solving order might have helped by providing checking letters for the first full scan of the harder set of clues. Last three answers were 37, 52, 54.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CROSS=annoyed,CHECKING=attacking king (chess) |
| 8 | A(SiStEr)MBLED – initially guessed wrong at “ITR” as the more likely of the two ‘sister’ possibilities. |
| 15 | FIG (w/f letter swap in “wig”),LEAF=something found in a book |
| 18 | EVEN(T)S – “go-cart races” needs separating, and the fact that evens are odds is one of my favourites among the linguistic oddities you pick up from xwds. |
| 24 | STONE=pit (as in cherries),MA,SON. |
| 26 | TREASURE, plus (James) HUNT. There are some “treasure hunt” contests that mix motoring and puzzle-solving. |
| 31 | CHIC,K(P)EA – a kea is a parrot from NZ. |
| 39 | B,U,REAUCRATIC=caricature*. Sir Humphrey was a high-ranking civil servant in the TV series Yes minister. Here he is in characteristic vein. |
| 43 | IN TUR(i)N – ref. a famous or infamous relic. |
| 49 | DESHABILLE = (bed he is all)* – be careful to get the first vowel right from the wordplay – des- and dis- are both acceptable forms. |
| 54 | V.=see,EN(GEAN)CE – gean = wild/sweet cherry – vaguely remembered (as at least a valid word) from barred-grid puzzles. |
| 57 | SUPERSTITIOUS – CD referring to the figure 13 in the enumeration. |
| Down | |
| 1 | CLOISTERS=(relics to)*,S=saint. Always consider both S and St. for “saint”. Cloister=a convent or monastery, probably dating back to the days when the cloisters of a cathedral would have been part of a monastery. |
| 2 | OVER(t),DUE(t) – very clever spot for the wordplay. |
| 3 | STEP=rung (as on a ladder),FA(THE=one particular)R |
| 4 | HI(A)T,U(tilitie)S |
| 7 | G(r)EEK – Attic = relating to Attica or Athens – good example of the disguised initial capital letter trick. |
| 9 | S,OFTER=”frequently made up” – though “more frequently made up” might have been better. |
| 11 | LI(v)E-IN |
| 20 | (s)TURMER,I,C – for sturmer=”type of eating apple” we need Collins rather than COED |
| 22 | S(CULP(ri)T)URE |
| 27 | U from concubine,N(H)EEDED |
| 28 | GER(m)ANIUM |
| 32 | REP,ATRIA,T(I)ON |
| 37 | CA(N,TILE=slate)VER – I doubt I was alone in looking for (slate* in CAVER). |
| 38 | IsRa(R)El,LEVANT=eastern Med. |
| 42 | SELHF=shelf*,ELP=(p(i)le)* |
| 46 | PRO,VISO – blood group swap in ‘visa’ |
| 48 | B(EH=what=pardon)EST. BEHEAD=”be head” is quite a convincing red-herring answer. |
| 52 | ON US, as in “the drinks are …” |
I thought James Hunt was a bit obscure to be used. I only know him because my brother was (and is) a big F1 fan, and subscribed to Road & Track in the 70s.
I really didn’t understand the clue to 56, although I think it’s obvious what the answer must be.
James Hunt is a bit local, but over here had a commentating career on F1 races which I’m fairly sure was longer than his driving one – a relaxed foil for the overexcited Murray Walker.