Some very new words for me in this one, so I was scouring Chambers and wordplay – after the mess that was Thursday’s daily puzzle, I hope I have it better together for here.
Since it is Paul McKenna’s turn there is a pun on the top row for WASTE OF TIME. There isn’t one on the bottom row for MERRY CHRISTMAS but if you squint just enough…
Definitions can be confirmed in Chambers and are underlined.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Whaler’s new boy is in the ocean? (7) |
| WAISTER – IS in the WATER(ocean) | |
| 7 | Your tip for marinade? Eastern herb (5) |
| THYME – THY(your) then the first letter in Marinade, E(Eastern) | |
| 11 | Sylvan spread is what gets teuchters up (9) |
| FORESTAIR – FOREST(Sylvan), AIR(spread, broadcast) | |
| 12 | Marking crib score without quietly bombing? (6) |
| EGGING – when you score in cribbage that’s PEGGING, remove P(quietly) | |
| 13 | Jack, a baby (6) |
| PAMPER – PAM(Jack of clubs), PER(a) | |
| 14 | Lesson in role reversal (4) |
| LERE – hidden in reLE REversal | |
| 16 | Track down and feed off commie in Intelligence (7) |
| PREDATE – RED(commie) in PATE(head, intelligence) | |
| 17 | Most valued prof, eg, is put on to entertain you, biblically (5) |
| DOYEN – DON(put on) containing YE(you) | |
| 18 | Slight old maid checking lad playing — it’s liberating (12) |
| DISPRISONING – DIS(slight), PRIG(old maid) containing SON IN (lad playing or performing) | |
| 21 | Sense TV name squirming about Liberal’s acts of bondage (12) |
| ENSLAVEMENTS – anagram of SENSE,TV,NAME surrounding L(liberal) | |
| 22 | Coloured chilli sauce back inside of American guts to a degree (5) |
| CELOM – C(colored) then MOLE(chili sauce) reversed. The Mephisto often has rather disgusting foodstuffs, but I like mole | |
| 24 | Obscure engraving on oar’s shaft (7) |
| ENGLOOM – ENG(engraving), LOOM(oar’s shaft) | |
| 28 | Science, unknown to wit in short form (4) |
| SCIZ – SCI(science), Z(unknown) | |
| 29 | Abraham Lincoln’s foremost couple accepted garden ornament (6) |
| ABELIA – ABE(Abraham), then the first two letters of LIncoln, A(accepted) | |
| 30 | Punishment that is about lines and you and I (6) |
| ILL-USE – IE(that is) surrounding two L’s(lines) and US(you and I) | |
| 31 | One of your Greens who’s fired with lively energy (9, two words) |
| SUGAR SNAP – This was my last in and it didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, but I think I have this put together… there’s a TV character Alan SUGAR who likes to fire people on his show, and SNAP is lively energy. | |
| 32 | Body-swerving trustee end for release of old Scots (5) |
| EXEME – I’ll admit, I had to ask another blogger how this one worked (thanks TS!).. remove the TR(trustee) from EXTREME(end) | |
| 33 | The intellegentsia, say, matter after gallons (7) |
| EGGMASS – EG(say), then MASS(matter) after G(gallons) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Welsh nurse finds bear (5) |
| WHELP – W(Welsh), HELP(nurse) | |
| 2 | General is regrouping pirates as before (9) |
| ALGERINES – anagram of GENERAL,IS | |
| 3 | In grand gown daughter walks making entrance (7) |
| INGRESS – IN, G(grand), then DRESS(gown) without D(daughter) | |
| 4 | Kensington Gardens, wherein you’ll get natural pain relief (5) |
| TONGA – hidden in KensingTON GArdens | |
| 5 | Basque has this — blooming great, I have chest (12, two words) |
| ERGATIVE CASE – anagram of GREAT, then I’VE(I have), CASE(chest) | |
| 6 | Reprobate objecting to acting (12) |
| REPRESENTING – REP(reprobate), RESENTING(objecting to) | |
| 7 | Celebrity succeeded going down with what Ivan had? (7) |
| TSARDOM – STARDOM(celebrity) with the S(succeeded) moving down a step | |
| 8 | Chasséing odd bits from white male leaves standard language (4) |
| HTML – alterating letters in wHiTe MaLe – little bits of it are used in writing this blog | |
| 9 | Vigorous mum who’s flush and likely to blow up? (5) |
| YAPPY – two definitions | |
| 10 | Title ’eard in ’Amburg during General Staff’s early wanderings (7) |
| ERRINGS – the title is HERR, remove the aspirant, then IN(during), GS(General Staff) | |
| 15 | Poets who could be political moderates making take over (9) |
| CENTOISTS – CENTRISTS with the R(recipe, take) becoming O(over) | |
| 18 | End last month calm (7) |
| DECEASE – DEC(last month of the year), EASE(calm) | |
| 19 | Bastion once right for very demanding highbinder (7) |
| RAMPIRE – R instead of V(very) in VAMPIRE(highbinder, bloodsucker) | |
| 20 | By injection these aid infection protection in eye mostly (7) |
|
INOCULA – IN, OCULA |
|
| 23 | Subject in history such as fiction contains (5) |
| LIEGE – EG(such as) inside LIE(fiction) | |
| 25 | Soul so lacking in quiet place of detention (5) |
| GULAG – remove SO fom SOUL, put in GAG(quiet) | |
| 26 | Old Swahilis appear to rise invaded by Zulu (5) |
| MZEES – reversal of SEEM(appear) containing Z(Zulu, NATO alphabet) | |
| 27 | Woopie left in school (4) |
| GLAM – L in GAM(school of whales) | |
Wasn’t wholly convinced by the SUGAR thing but read it as George did
I have found that working on it a little bit every day produces more of the answers.
Intelligentsia not intellegentsia