Sorry, nothing at all to say this week except look at the explanations below. I can’t stand this awful weather where every keystroke is a miniature expenditure of energy too far so I’m bailing out as quickly as possible.
The usual statistics: FOI 1A, a straight read and write clue. LOI I can’t honestly remember but think it might have been 19A. I could see the answer but had to wade through the geographcical cryptic (never my strong point) before writing it in so I think that pushed it back in the queue. As usual for the COD there is no clue that stands out for difficulty so I normally just pick the one whose surface reads most naturally and this week the award goes to 9A. Thanks Orpheus for an entertaining puzzle that was probably about the same medium level of difficulty as the last one I blogged two weeks ago (and just a bit more difficult than the run of very easy fare that I had encountered in the previous few weeks).
Definitions are underlined and everything else is explained just as I see it in the simplest language I can manage.
| Across | |
| 1 | Appreciative, having this much coal? (8) |
| GRATEFUL – having a GRATEFUL of coal. (The question mark indicates that you wouldn’t normally talk about a ‘GRATEFUL’ of something, but the possibility can be derived by comparison with established phrases such as a POCKETFUL of mumbles or a SACKFUL of woe). | |
| 5 | About to demand a strong wooden barrel (4) |
| CASK – C (circa, about) + ASK (demand). | |
| 7 | Bag for Falstaff’s wine! (4) |
| SACK – double definition. Shakespeare’s degenerate knight Sir John Falstaff was renowned for his love of SACK, a dry white wine popular at the time. | |
| 8 | One who conveys news about alcoholic drink (8) |
| REPORTER – RE (about) PORTER (alcoholic drink). | |
| 9 | Wobbly: lacking capacity to cross street (8) |
| UNSTABLE – UNABLE (lacking capacity) ‘to cross’ ST (street). | |
| 11 | Reportedly outstanding lyric poem (3) |
| ODE – Sounds like (‘reportedly’) OWED (outstanding). | |
| 13 | Mistakes made by English kings at start of actions (6) |
| ERRATA – E (English) + RR (kings) + AT + A (start of Action). | |
| 16 | Groans frightfully, finding skirtlike garment (6) |
| SARONG – straight anagram (‘frightfully’) of GROANS. | |
| 18 | Scottish port involved in Hogmanay revels (3) |
| AYR – hidden word: ‘involved in’ hogmanAY Revels. | |
| 19 | The commercial centre of Banbridge, for example? (8) |
| DOWNTOWN – Banbridge is a town in County Down, NI, and is therefore a ‘DOWN TOWN’. | |
| 20 | Put off carrying container, a stoppered glass (8) |
| DECANTER – DETER (put off) ‘carrying’ CAN (a container). | |
| 22 | Unemployed superstar given a hearing (4) |
| IDLE – sounds like (‘given a hearing’) IDOL (superstar). | |
| 23 | Boss demanding endless academic application (4) |
| STUD – academic application = STUDy – remove the end (‘endless’) and there you have it. | |
| 24 | Former exam relating to rural life (8) |
| PASTORAL – PAST (former) + ORAL (exam). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Signal from visitor dropping union leader on river (7) |
| GESTURE – GUEST (visitor) ‘dropping’ U (Union leader) ‘on’ (in this down clue) URE (river). | |
| 2 | A northern church’s attempt to establish origin (8) |
| ANCESTRY – A + N (northern) + CE’S (church’s) + TRY (attempt). | |
| 3 | Troublemaker sacked for pinching grain husks (9) |
| FIREBRAND – FIRED (sacked) ‘pinching’ BRAN (grain husks). | |
| 4 | Cut Liszt’s first work (3) |
| LOP – L (Liszt’s first) + OP (opus, work). | |
| 5 | Abrupt old Republican ringing a museum boss (7) |
| CURATOR – CURT (abrupt) + O (old) + R (republican) ‘ringing’ A. | |
| 6 | Pacify son, very small, just into double figures (7) |
| SWEETEN – S (son) + WEE (very small) + TEN (just into double figures). | |
| 10 | Unhappy as steward, going in this direction? (9) |
| EASTWARDS – straight anagram (‘unhappy’) of AS STEWARD. | |
| 12 | Well-meaning type taking pet initially over European river (2-6) |
| DO-GOODER – DOG (pet) + O (‘initially’ Over) + ODER (European river). | |
| 14 | First-class male in torn clothing (7) |
| RAIMENT – AI (first-class) + M (male) ‘in’ RENT (torn). | |
| 15 | A Royal Marines orchestra’s form of identification (7) |
| ARMBAND – A + RM (Royal Marines) + BAND (orchestra). | |
| 17 | Refined chap set up shelter (7) |
| GENTEEL – GENT (chap) + EEL (LEE (shelter) reversed, i.e. ‘set up’ in this down cue). | |
| 21 | Most superior upper garment (3) |
| TOP – double definition. | |
FOI GRATEFUL, LOI DECANTER, COD ERRATA, time 1.5K, jaw-drop at Phil!!
Thanks Orpheus and Don
Templar