I’ve found some of Mara’s puzzles on the tricky side in the past but glancing back at recent ones they have seemed easier of late and this one continues that trend. I shall be interested to read what others made of it. 9 minutes
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [indicators in square brackets]
|
Across |
|
|---|---|
| 8 | Immoral woman tucking bread inside jumper (7) |
| TROLLOP – ROLL (bread) is contained by [tucking…inside] TOP (jumper – clothing) | |
| 9 | Lift unreliable ultimately, and yet to arrive? (5) |
| ELATE – {unreliabl}E [ultimately], LATE (yet to arrive). In the sense of lifting one’s mood or spirits. | |
| 10 | Blade turning either way? (5) |
| ROTOR – Straight definition with palindrome indicator [turning either way]. Of course I know of ‘rotor blade’ but I’m not sure the words are actually synonymous. | |
| 11 | Figure horse to be caught by midday (7) |
| NONAGON – NAG (horse) inside [to be caught by] NOON (midday). Figure with nine sides. | |
| 12 | Funny fellow doctor? (7) |
| COMEDIC – CO (fellow – as in “co-pilot”), MEDIC (doctor) | |
| 14 | Stuff in small canyon (5) |
| GORGE – Two definitions | |
| 15 | Demand gold, another colour being sent back (5) |
| ORDER – OR (gold), RED (another colour) reversed [being sent back] | |
| 17 | Entire bust encapsulates good figure (7) |
| INTEGER – Anagram [bust] of ENTIRE contains [encapsulates] G (good). Figure again, this time a whole number. | |
| 19 | A mine in California is excellent! (7) |
| CAPITAL – A + PIT (mine) in CAL (California) | |
| 20 | Robert, lad welcoming bed and breakfast initially (5) |
| BOBBY – BOY (lad) contains [welcoming] B{ed} + B{reakfast} [initially]. | |
| 22 | Better having left home before party! (5) |
| OUTDO – OUT (having left home), DO (party) | |
| 23 | Women off and on in vision at night (3,4) |
| NEW MOON – Anagram [off] of WOMEN, ON | |
|
Down |
|
| 1 | After southpaw’s lead, something black – a shiner! (4) |
| STAR – S{outhpaw’s} [lead], TAR (something black) | |
| 2 | Lowest Shakespearean character (6) |
| BOTTOM – Two definitions, the second with reference to the weaver in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | |
| 3 | In bathtub lurks a smudge (4) |
| BLUR – Hidden [in] {bathtu}B LUR{ks} | |
| 4 | In old money, wood is scary (5-8) |
| SPINE-CHILLING – PINE (wood) inside SCHILLING (old money – e.g. the currency of Austria prior to the Euro) | |
| 5 | Chicken, thing to cook for a wild evening? (3,5) |
| HEN NIGHT – HEN (chicken), anagram [cook] of THING | |
| 6 | Firework, a sizzler? (6) |
| BANGER – Two definitions, the second being a slang word for ‘sausage’ though oddly it doesn’t appear in any of the usual sources. | |
| 7 | Sound rule costly for Rudolph, say? (8) |
| REINDEER – Sounds like “reign” (rule) and “dear” (costly) | |
| 12 | Quick couple of hacks (4-4) |
| CHOP-CHOP – CHOP x 2 (hacks) | |
| 13 | Time taken to move around it (8) |
| DURATION – Anagram [move] of AROUND IT | |
| 16 | Obligation to accommodate leaders in European Parliament as stand-in official (6) |
| DEPUTY – DUTY (obligation) contains [accommodate] E{uropean} + P{arliament} [leaders] | |
| 18 | Ape – giant turning up with bone, shortly (6) |
| GIBBON – BIG (giant) reversed [turning up], BON{e} [shortly] | |
| 20 | Black bird for pudding dish (4) |
| BOWL – B (black), OWL (bird) | |
| 21 | Pull Tibetan bovine round mountain, finally (4) |
| YANK – YAK (Tibetan bovine) contains [round] {mountai}N [finally] | |
8ac TROLLOP was a nice s tart. Bugger! BUT COD 4dn SPINE-CHILLING!
horryd Shanghai!
Edited at 2016-05-02 03:08 am (UTC)
I don’t see ‘blade’ as a definition of ‘rotor’, in a turbine the blade is a rotor, but in an electric motor the rotor is a coil. Also, in what way is a new moon ‘vision at night’,? By definition, you can’t see a new moon.
PlayupPompey
I too do not get why NEW MOON can be defined as “vision at night” (this was my LOI).
Rita