A medium-stiff offering from the Wurmmeister today, generally fun but with one major clunker. I’ll be interested to see if it trips anyone up. 6½ minutes for me.
UPDATE: It appears that the offending clue has been corrected, same wordplay
| Across | |
| 1 | Prisoner cracking jaw (6) |
| CONFAB – CON (prisoner) + FAB (cracking) | |
| 5 | Streetcar crossing close to you a shock (6) |
| TRAUMA – TRAM outside [ |
|
| 8 | Top-level clearance? (8) |
| HEADROOM – cryptic definition | |
| 9 | Dope touring large Scots valley (4) |
| GLEN – GEN (dope, information) with L inside | |
| 10 | Put up with English filling pub (4) |
| BEAR – BAR with E inserted | |
| 11 | Attempt to secure an undergarment for burlesque (8) |
| TRAVESTY – TRY including A VEST | |
| 12 | Somehow resolve to disregard very menacing words (2,4) |
| OR ELSE – Anagram (‘somehow’) of RESOLVE minus the V | |
| 14 | Colour likely to run? (6) |
| YELLOW – double definition | |
| 16 | Game with belligerent Yanks? (3-2-3) |
| TUG-OF-WAR – cryptic definition | |
| 18 | Magistrate miserable releasing 50 (4) |
| BEAK -BLEAK mins L for 50. ‘Up before the beak’ means appearing in the magistrate’s court. | |
| 20 | Clue wraith in Tolkien hides (4) |
| HINT – hidden word | |
| 21 | Element in strange ringtone (8) |
| NITROGEN – Anagram (‘strange’) of RINGTONE | |
| 23 | Hot dog Dorothy loved entirely (2,4) |
| IN TOTO – IN (hot, popular) + TOTO (the dog in Wizard of Oz) | |
| 24 | Decent band to split (3,3) |
| NOT BAD – Anagram (‘split’) of BAND TO | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Morbidly fat old boy feasted regularly (5) |
| OBESE – OB + alternate letters of fEaStEd | |
| 3 | Wild about editor describing US governance? (7) |
| FEDERAL – FERAL outside ED | |
| 4 | Voice criticism of short novel? (3) |
| BOO – short for BOOK | |
| 5 | Steamy row troubled Huck’s friend (3,6) |
| TOM SAWYER – Anagram (‘troubled’) of STEAMY ROW | |
| 6 | Perspective of Germanic invader (5) |
| ANGLE – double definition | |
| 7 | Most are dancing for great musician (7) |
| MAESTRO – Anagram (‘dancing’) of MOST ARE. Some solvers saw a different clue for a while which contained an error, but this has now been corrected. [Edit 11:40 by jackkt] | |
| 11 | Take-down spoiled old Olympic event (9) |
| TAEKWONDO – Anagram (‘spoiled’) of TAKE DOWN + O | |
| 13 | Meeting of old friends in French island (7) |
| REUNION – double definition | |
| 15 | Hair of the dog? Scientist may need it (3,4) |
| LAB COAT – LAB(rador) COAT (hair) | |
| 17 | Expose cheat — that’s best (5) |
| OUTDO – OUT (expose) + DO (cheat). Best as a verb, obvs | |
| 19 | A long time taken over stadium (5) |
| ARENA – AN ERA backwards | |
| 22 | End of sunbathing in Punta Negra (3) |
| TAN – hidden word. ‘End’ meaning ‘objective’, obvs. | |
No problem with CONFAB. I remember being told at school that CONFLAB, though common, was a misusage. And I did do Latin!