I found this to be tricky to get going: my first pass through the acrosses gave only four answers. I found the downs were more tractable and ended up finishing in 11:40, which is under my average time, so that would indicate a puzzle on the easier side.
But I can’t shake a feeling that I just got lucky in having the needed general knowledge for CARBUNCLE, TABARD and AFTERS. So really I have no clue whether this puzzle was hard or not, and I don’t let myself look at the Snitch until after I’ve written the blog.
COD to PICADOR. As I think I’ve said before, I love a good Dad joke.
Definitions underlined, synonyms in round brackets, wordplay in square brackets and deletions in strikethrough. Anagram indicators italicised in the clue, anagram fodder indicated like (this)*.
| Across | |
| 1 | Dreadful price, English cookery guide (6) |
| RECIPE – (PRICE)*, then E for English. | |
| 4 | Confrontation between players for pudding (6) |
| AFTERS – Double definition.
Both definitions strike me as very English English, if you see what I mean. |
|
| 8 | Ignore the computer industry, that doesn’t matter (6,5,2) |
| FORGET ABOUT IT – another double definition, this one much more inclusive. Information Technology, or IT, of course, for “computer industry”.
I always smile at this phrase, remembering Hugh Grant and James Caan in Mickey Blue Eyes. |
|
| 10 | As a bachelor, employ bad language (5) |
| ABUSE – A + B (batchelor, as in B.A. or B.Sc.) + USE (employ). | |
| 11 | Enliven a friend from Belfast? (7) |
| ANIMATE – A NI (Northern Ireland) MATE (friend). | |
| 13 | Humbly begging, headgear receiving attention (3,2,4) |
| CAP IN HAND – CAP (headgear) IN HAND (receiving attention, as in “the matter is in hand”). | |
| 17 | Run through seaside attraction and almost give up (7) |
| PIERCED – PIER (seaside attraction) and most of [almost] CED An example of the answer being a different part of speech than the definition. We need the adjective here. |
|
| 18 | During blazing row, lovers speak in a menacing way (5) |
| GROWL – Hidden in [during] |
|
| 19 | Nothing in Kashmir delay upset tourists (7-6) |
| HOLIDAY-MAKERS – O (nothing) in (KASHMIR DELAY)* | |
| 21 | Sleeveless jacket finally fit a poet (6) |
| TABARD – last letter [finally] of I wondered if there was a poet called ACKETA, or possibly LAZETA until the R from PICADOR made that parsing impossible. |
|
| 22 | Engineers finished meal (6) |
| REPAST – RE (Royal Engineers) + PAST (finished). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Change allegiance of judge and convict (6) |
| REFLAG – REF (judge) + LAG (convict). | |
| 2 | Vehicle, black, a relative gem (9) |
| CARBUNCLE – CAR (vehicle) + B for black + UNCLE (a relative).
I think the only place I’ve seen “carbuncle” in the sense of a gem is in the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. It’s much more common these days in the sense of something unsightly. |
|
| 3 | A bit particular in each classroom exercise from the start (5) |
| PIECE – first letters [from the start] of P |
|
| 5 | State’s extremely fearful radio broadcast (7) |
| FLORIDA – first and last letters [extremely] of F |
|
| 6 | Dine in high temperature, forgoing starter (3) |
| EAT – |
|
| 7 | I pose for easy catch (6) |
| SITTER – Our third double definition. | |
| 9 | Possible time of need in half of wet weekend? (1,5,3) |
| A RAINY DAY – A wet weekend would be two rainy days, therefore half of one is a rainy day. The definition is a reference to the saying “saving for a rainy day”, | |
| 12 | A host of stars with City draw regularly (9) |
| ANDROMEDA – AND (with) + ROME (random city) + alternating letters [regularly] of D |
|
| 14 | Bullfighter said, “Choose a way in” (7) |
| PICADOR – sounds like [said] “pick a door”.
Ho ho ho. |
|
| 15 | Promoted, fired? What’s the outcome? (6) |
| UPSHOT – UP (promoted) + SHOT (fired).
“Up” for “promoted” as in football teams moving to a higher division. |
|
| 16 | Cupboard near rear of flat (6) |
| CLOSET – CLOSE (near) + last letter [rear] of |
|
| 18 | Elegance of short pre-dinner speech (5) |
| GRACE – a fourth double definition. | |
| 20 | 15 pounds, old boy (3) |
| LOB – L (pounds), OB (old boy).
Oooh, sneaky. A lob in tennis is a high shot over the opponent, an “up shot”. So the definition, “15” is a reference to the answer to 15d. While there are very few rules that are never broken, it’s worth checking for a clue reference if you see a number written as digits like this. |
|
Another absolute pile of shit!