I found this a little tougher than usual, and none the worse for that. There are some interesting words and phrases and some good clue constructions.
I was disappointed that an opportunity was missed to mention Phi and the mathematics of such things as the Fibonacci sequence, eschewed for a boring cycle. At least a jazz singer was selected over an old Egyptian!
Across | |
---|---|
1 | SYNONYMISING – (noisy inns gym)*; |
10 | HAWMED – HAW-MED; local=dialect for lounge around; |
12 | CLEO – split=CLE-FT then change FT to O; reference Cleo Laine (Lady Dankworth), jazz singer; |
13 | SECERN – (screen)*; to discriminate; |
14 | LAITHFU – (hifalutin – in)*; bashful in Banff; |
15 | MUSED – M-USED; expert in Edinburgh=USED (see use-1 in C); |
16 | LASS – L-ASS; |
18 | DONSIE – OK to play=ON SIDE then move D=Dutch to give DONSIE=unlucky in Ullapool; |
20 | BESTRIDE – BEST-RIDE; |
23 | SCUCHION – (cousin)* surrounds CH=Champion; Spenser’s version of scutcheon; |
25 | RODENT – RO(DEN)T; |
26 | ECRU – hidden (th)E-CRU(cifixion); |
27 | ICHOR – I-CHOR(izos); mythological ethereal juice; |
29 | APOTHEM – A-POT-HEM; pool=POT; the perpendicular from the centre to any side of a regular polygon; |
31 | ORATOR – O-R-A-TOR(y); of=O; rector=R; Tory=pro-British fighter in American Revolution; |
32 | HEBE – HE-BE; |
33 | BEMIRE – (bireme)*; |
34 | TRAMP,STEAMER – TRA(M)PS-TEAMER; TEAMER=Teamster=US trucker; money=M; merchant is the definition; |
Down | |
1 | SHE’LL,BE,RIGHT – SHELL-B(E)RIGHT; eccentricity=E (geometry); |
2 | YAMA – A-MAY reversed; |
3 | OMITS – (intr)OMITS; |
4 | NESHER – N-ESHER; name=N; Esher is a very old settlement, now home to Sandown Races; |
5 | MOCUDDUM – (dum dum)* surrounds OC=Officer Commanding; Indian leader; |
6 | ITEM – two meanings 1=old word for also 2=romantically attached couple; |
7 | SCRUNCH – SCR-(l)UNCH; l=lecturer; SCR=Senior Common Room; |
8 | NEREID – born free=NEE-RID then “minimally tangle” the central RE; |
9 | GOLDEN,NUMBER – (none grumbled)*; number assigned to each year in sequence to indicate its position in the 19-year Metonic cycle (which is used to determine the date of Easter for example). Of far greater interest it is also Phi, 1.618, the basis of the Golden Mean; |
11 | WHISSED – sounds like “whist”=silence; |
17 | DICTATES – DIC(TAT)ES; tattoo shortened to TAT=pony; |
19 | STICHOI – S-TICH-OI; small=S; |
21 | THEOREM – THE-(more)*; |
22 | SOCCER – SO-C-CER(t); provided=SO; clubs=C; |
24 | CHOREE – CHORE-(pleasur)E; foot is the definition; |
26 | ETYMA – hidden (saf)ETY-MA(tches); |
28 | RASP – (g)RASP: |
30 | EYRE – EY(R)E; take=R; lamp=EYE; old court; |
Edited at 2014-04-20 10:02 pm (UTC)
The only one I failed to parse was EYRE – I well know R=recipe, but always seem to forget it when solving.
A new version of C is due out later this year