I got tied up in a couple of places and got to thinking this was really hard with unknown words – but that just turned out to be me backing myself into corners. So I think that some will find this hard and some easy – which is not unusual. If everyone found the Quick a write-in it wouldn’t be much fun. So, IMHO, it is not all about completions but the joy of the journey – and we do journey around a bit today so get your geography heads on!
Definitions are underlined.
| Across |
| 1 Quick pint taken after concert (6) |
|
   PROMPT – Pint (PT) after concert (PROM). |
| 4 Liquid resin from retired graduate’s research room (6) |
|
   BALSAM – Graduate’s (MAS), research room (LAB) all backwards (retired). I was quite certain I didn’t know any liquid resins but when I worked the word play it turned out that I did know balsam. On behalf of my worthy blog-readers I looked balsam up and it turns out to be turpentine. Intrigued further (this is also why I like crosswords) I looked up balsamic vinegar and (thankfully) balsamic vinegar contains no balsam. The word balsamico (from Latin balsamum, from Greek βάλσαμον) means “balsam-like” in the sense of “restorative” or “curative”.[4] |
| 8 Blooming rozzer crossing river exposed edge of rock (7) |
|
   OUTCROP – Blooming (OUT as in a daffodil), rozzer (COP) around (crossing) river (R). |
| 10 Old language the French can put together (5) |
|
   LATIN – The French (LA), can (TIN) pushed together. |
| 11 Budding politician? (5) |
|
   GREEN – Double definition. |
| 12 It’s serious, putting it in hot sauce (7) |
|
   GRAVITY – It (IT) in hot sauce (GRAVY). Gravity from Latin gravitas=weight which is what Sandra Bullock didn’t have when all was going well in the film, but things got pretty serious when she did. Scientist amongst you are very welcome to put me straight if she did, in fact, still have weight when in space. |
| 13 A very quiet part of London — and attractive (9) |
|
   APPEALING – A (A) very quiet (PP – pianissimo), part of London (EALING). I sometimes resent capital centric clues a little but not today when we travel to Ireland, Scotland and Wales. |
| 17 Ham finished by wild cat? (7) |
|
   OVERACT – Finished (OVER), anagram (wild) of CAT. I went all the way down the alleys of proscuittios and leopards before backing out into daylight. |
| 19 Instruct followers (5) |
|
   TRAIN – Double definition. Followers as in retinue. |
| 20 County belonging to trendy federation? (5) |
|
   DYFED – The answer is in the clue (belonging to) treDY FEDeration. FYI the choice of the name Dyfed was based on the historic name given to the region once settled by the Irish Déisi and today known as Pembrokeshire. |
| 21 Extremely nasty rogue oddly like the second Pitt? (7) |
|
   YOUNGER – Anagram (oddly) of the outside letters (extremely) of nasty (NY) and ROGUE. The chap in question – William Pitt the Younger – became the youngest British Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24. |
| 22 Bounds of old portable shelter (6) |
|
   EXTENT – Old (EX), portable shelter (TENT). |
| 23 Thrashed, as an earl might be? (6) |
|
   BELTED – Double definition. An earl is belted, apparently, something to do with the sword belt. Historians – here’s your chance to impress us! |
| Down |
| 1 Agricultural implement by quiet lake in Co Fermanagh? (6) |
|
   PLOUGH – Quiet (P – piano – not quite as ‘p’ as 13ac), lake in Northern Ireland (LOUGH). After last week’s welcome discussion on the island of Ireland, here’s some more information. The word lough is pronounced loch and comes from the Irish loch, meaning lake and applies to the whole island. County Fermanagh (/fərˈmænə/ fər-ma-nə; from Irish: Fir Manach or Fear Manach, meaning “men of Manach”) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, and is where Lough Erne can be found. |
| 2 Where a clock’s hands are, as it would appear (2,3,4,2,2) |
|
   ON THE FACE OF IT – Double definition. |
| 3 Father’s pin-up consuming top of root vegetable (7) |
|
   PARSNIP – Father’s (PAS) pin (PIN) backwards (up), including (consuming) top of Root (R). |
| 5 Everybody initially occupying a Clackmannanshire town (5) |
|
   ALLOA – Everybody (ALL), first letter (initially) of Occupying, a (A). Alloa can be found in Clackmannanshire which is a historic county and council area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife and Perth & Kinross. |
| 6 Artist getting drunk — one vulnerable to attack (7,6) |
|
   SITTING TARGET – Anagram (drunk) of ARTIST GETTING |
| 7 Primates rejecting king’s finance (6) |
|
   MONEYS – Primates (MONkEYS) without (rejecting) king (K) |
| 9 Spectacle taking long time in butler’s place (9) |
|
   PAGEANTRY – Butler’s place (PANTRY) inside which (taking) is long time (AGE). There will only ever be one Butler’s pantry for me and that is the one so elegantly graced by the wonderful Beach. |
| 14 Suggestion husband ignored (impolite to barge in!) (7) |
|
   INTRUDE – Suggestion (hINT) without husband (H), impolite (RUDE). |
| 15 Dog’s dinner originally served in Dorset resort (6) |
|
   POODLE – First letter (originally) of Dinner inside (served in) Dorset resort (POOLE). Got into all sorts of trouble by bunging in muddle. Should have been easy as I once spent a beautifully peaceful night anchored in Poole harbour. |
| 16 Girl’s name to be entered here? (6) |
|
   INGRID – This girl’s name has been entered into the crossword grid (IN GRID) if you’ve got it right. Not having come across this one before it raised a smile so becomes my COD. |
| 18 Left-wing poet — a university study (5) |
|
   AUDEN – A (A), University (U), study (DEN). My troubles started with red=left-wing. W.H. Auden – author of Funeral Blues – ‘stop all the clocks…’ as so beautifully performed in Four Weddings. |
Favourite INGRID.
No, my wasted 5ins staring at the page and chewing my pen were in SE corner – having got the T and A I was convinced 19ac must be “teach” but couldn’t see why … Took forever for the penny to drop! INGRID (nice) then followed as LOI.
Many thanks for the blog
But as I tend to be galvanised by both Ireland and phonetics I had to comment. I know (having checked) that the dictionary gives identical (alternative) pronunciations for each word but in real life I always hear a fine soft ending to ‘lough’ whereas the Scots always have a pretty hard ‘c’ lurking somewhere in ‘loch’. Sadly the IPA is just too blunt an instrument to expose the richness of our regional accents.
Apropos of nothing I caught my first and only salmon on the Erne and my first and only dollaghan (love to be able to write that in a crossword) on the Armagh Blackwater. Happy days.
Neither town nor county was known to me, and so went in with hope. The BELTED earl was my last.
I thought it was a nice amount of challenge, though, as I enjoy learning a thing or two as much as the solving Thanks for the excellent factoids, Chris.
Nice straightforward puzzle – 15 minutes for me….