This puzzle used a stunt which we’ve seen before – four different clues to the same answer.
After periodic attempts to remember the last time, it’s emerged from some corner of my memory just in time – Mephisto 2429, also by Tim Moorey. I won’t mention the word here, just in case you want to dig out that puzzle from the archives and solve it. This time the word was BRINDISI. Spotting this fairly quickly helped to make this quite an easy puzzle – done in about 23:30 with no use of Chambers.
After periodic attempts to remember the last time, it’s emerged from some corner of my memory just in time – Mephisto 2429, also by Tim Moorey. I won’t mention the word here, just in case you want to dig out that puzzle from the archives and solve it. This time the word was BRINDISI. Spotting this fairly quickly helped to make this quite an easy puzzle – done in about 23:30 with no use of Chambers.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | BRINDISI – 2 defs – it’s a port in Italy and an operatic drinking song, probably best known from the example in Verdi’s La Traviata. |
| 7 | DIEB = BI(E)D rev. |
| 10 | TERRORISER – ERROR in TRIES* |
| 11 | BET=guess(WEE),N – one def. of between is “an intermediate size of needle” |
| 13 | A(M)ID |
| 14 | ISOGON – D replaces L in SOLO, inside IN |
| 15 | BABES,I,A – the answer is a parasite of cattle |
| 17 | H.E.,ROD |
| 19 | CA’,M.P.,ARI(d) – ca’ = “to drive” in Scots. Next week, the Open at Turnberry will include a 15th hole called “Ca’ Canny” where you presumably need a careful first shot. |
| 21 | INCLASP – CL = Sri Lanka (IVR) in pains* |
| 23 | N,ICER – nicer = more exact |
| 24 | J,IN,JIL(l),I – jinjili=gingili is an oil made from sesame seeds. Seen easily from the wordplay but left for confirmation by checking letters. |
| 25 | DARNED = rev. of DE(N,R)AD |
| 28 | AR(A)K – a drink made from the coco and other palms |
| 30 | WOO(ME),R.A. – a woomera is a stick for launching a spear – punned on in the name of Australia’s missile testing site |
| 31 | S(HER(r)ING)HAM – Norfolk seaside town |
| 32 | (w)INDY |
| 33 | BRINDISI – (is din)* in BARI less A=one. Rendition = surrender in the wordplay |
| Down | |
| 1 | BA(p),BA(p) – not the BU(n),BU(n) which I first thought of but didn’t write in. |
| 2 | RIEMANNIAN – reverse hidden. Riemannian = relating to one Bernhard Riemann, a German mathematician. I can vaguely remember him from uiversity maths. |
| 3 | NEW DEAL – wordplay in the answer for “lead”. The New Deal was a set of US 1930s economic policies to combat their recession. |
| 4 | D(‘RE)K – dk = dock, as well as dark and deck |
| 5 | (d)IRE,N,I,C |
| 6 | IR(I'(SH)M)AN |
| 7 | DI(l)DO – my most doubtful answer, but I remembered correctly that dildo = an effeminate man, like “Nancy”. Chambers confirms dido = an antic or caper. |
| 8 | ISOGRAM = rev. of Margo’s,I. “isogram” is a generic term for all those lines on maps like contours, isobars, and isohyets |
| 9 | BRINDISI – blind=binge with the L replaced by R, then IS,I(ago) |
| 12 | POOR(CL=LC rev.,ARE)S – the Poor Clares are nuns = sisters, and Standard and Poor’s is a US stock index. |
| 15 | B(RIND,IS)I – the last of our four Brindisi clues |
| 16 | SPAR,ERIB=brie* – according to Wiki, SPAR is the world’s largest food retailer. |
| 18 | A,CCRUED=”crude” – a rather cheeky homophone |
| 20 | PYJAMAD – JAM in rev. of DAY,P |
| 22 | PIROGI = (providing – v,d,n)* – another doubtful answer as I didn’t see the wordplay until after stopping the clock but remembered the food |
| 26 | NA(R)Y |
| 27 | JOHN – john, head and office are all slang words for ‘toilet’ |
| 29 | K(AD)I(p) – the qadi, cadi or kadi is an Islamic judge and barred grid standby |
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