About 30 minutes. A bit of a mixed bag here. Some really easy, some really good, some really poor, some nigh on impossible and two that I can’t explain.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | STUDIO COUCH – (OUTDO US CHIC)* |
| 7 | LOCATE – LOCA[-l] + T[heatr]E |
| 10 | ME,MO |
| 14 | MORESCO – MORES = customs + C[ourts] O[pposition]. An obscurity far too far. As far as I can see Moresco is a commune in Italy whose name derives from moors, a Muslim group who built a fortress there in the heart of Christianity. |
| 15 | BUG,BEAR |
| 16 | REAL ALE – AL twice in REE. More obscurity – a REE is a female ruff. |
| 17 | CU,T ONES, [g]LOSSES – |
| 18 | U[n]TIL,I,TIES |
| 19 | SINAI – hidden in pharaohS IN Aida, very well hidden I thought |
| 21 | SPECIALITY – CIA LIT in SPEY. “spooky Americans” was cleverly done for CIA. For those of an alcoholic bent, the Speyside region of Scotland has more distilleries than you can shake a stick at. My favourite Speyside malt is Ben Riach , in fact I think I’ll have a snifter tonight |
| 23 | TH[is],RACE |
| 25 | RAINBOWS – [p]AIN[t] + B in ROWS |
| 26 | WINTER OLYMPICS – (MY ICE SPORT WIN)* with meda[L] in. Nice work setter |
| 29 | THE PIP[e]S – this is the common name for the Greenwich time signal broadcast hourly – 5 short pips followed by 1 long. |
| 30 | DESPERADO – (ROAD SPEED)* |
| 31 | BONUS – BONDS with U replacing D (old penny) |
| 32 | IDIOT – IDIOM endless + TRIPE without RIPE (not mature) |
| 34 | INN,O(CE)NCE |
| 37 | ARTICLE – really clever wordplay “collected by Anthea” ie An,the,a |
| 39 | GAT,WICK AIR,PORT – Wick being a town |
| 41 | FREEHOLD – (HERE)* in FOLD (line in paper) |
| 43 | SPLIFF – PL,IF in SF (science fiction). Dodgy smoke indeed! |
| 44 | MISS THE BUS – two anagrams for the price of one (SHE SUBMITS)* and (BMus THESIS)*. BMus is Bachelor of Music which makes it a really clever clue but makes the anagram stand out somewhat. |
| 45 | N(ONE)T |
| 48 | MAR,G,A,RITA |
| 49 | SPROCKET WHEEL – S,P[edal] L[ustily] around ROCKET WHEE! |
| 51 | RUN W,[ch]ILD |
| 52 | ITALICS – a bit contrived – IT + AL[l] I[n] + CS (Civil Service) |
| 53 | DIAL,EC,T |
| 54 | [j]IVES – Charles Ives being the American composer who need a bigger hat. See here |
| 55 | PRI(N)CE |
| 56 | SHAMELESSLY – (MY SEASHELLS)* |
| Down | |
| 1 | SUMACHS – SUM + (CASH)* – An alternative spelling of SUMAC, a tree apprently quite common in the US. Crossing with MORESCO made this a tricky pair. |
| 2 | UNRETENTIVE – N,RE,TENT,I’VE after U. I needed to use a bookmark to read all of this clue. “Not being able to remember number referring to temporary accomodation, I have to pursue university”. |
| 3 | IBSEN – Edith NESBI[t] rev |
| 4 | CROSS AS TWO STICKS – CROSS (pass, in football) (WAS TO)* STICKS (hockey blades) – carrying on the series of silly phrases when it’s my turn to blog |
| 5 | UNBROKEN – single definition and no wordplay unless I’m missing something – “One not trained for riding” |
| 6 | HIGH,SPIRITS |
| 7 | LE(ED)S |
| 8 | CIRCUIT,BREAKER |
| 9 | TUR(P)IN |
| 11 | EGALITARIAN – (ANTI REGALIA)* |
| 12 | O(VERSE)E |
| 13 | RADIO HAM – two definitions, one a little cryptic, “bad broadcasting actor” |
| 20 | IN,BUILT[h] – Builth, more accurately Builth Wells, being the town in the Welsh county of Powys |
| 22 | LIT,H.E. |
| 24 | CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE – I have no idea whatsoever how this clue works, “Monument on which is drawn a pharaoh’s line” The only thing I can find is that the Parisian version is decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of Rameses II. If this is all there is to the clue it’s rubbish. I’m more than happy to be shown the error of my ways though. |
| 25 | R(OTT)ING |
| 27 | S(US,PEN)D |
| 28 | IDENTIFICATION – I + DENTITION with F[lourine], I[odine] and C[alcium] inside. Another chapter of a clue – I must take appearance of teeth, including fluorine, iodine and calcium as means of identification |
| 31 | BITTER,N |
| 33 | INTOLERANCE – double definition. Those of you over 93 years old will remember D W Griffiths “classic” silent film of 1916 |
| 35 | C,APES |
| 36 | NORTHERLIES – (OR SHELTER IN)* |
| 38 | CROW,N (J)EWELS |
| 40 | INFRA DIG – IN FIG with RA,D in |
| 42 | ABSCISSA – (AS BASICS)* – obviously an anagram but I really had to think back to my maths O-Level days to drag out the answer |
| 43 | SAMURAI – 1,A RUM, AS all rev |
| 46 | TOLSTOY – TO[-i]LS, TO, [librar]Y |
| 47 | GIRDER – RED RIG rev. A very Scottish crossword this – we’ve already had Speyside and The Pipes, now we have Girder which is what Irn Bru is made from In Scotland |
| 49 | STAKE – another shrug from me “Put this on horse one thinks close to winning post?” . We have “Put this on horse” = stake and post=stake as well but what is “one thinks close to wiinning” doing? Any offers |
| 50 | W,HALE |
I read stake as “put this on horse one thinks close to winning” and “post” but it’s still pretty weak.
Without wishing to rock the boat I’d disagree about 49d STAKE. As Paul says, there are two defs, the latter being “post”. As the two meanings are entirely different it actually makes for a rather neat clue – it’s only the smoothness of the surface that gives the illusion of weakness.
Great blog as ever Pengers.