I found this one easier than many have been recently, and enjoyed it.
I was swifter than normal today, starting with 1 across and finishing with 4 down in 12:10. I was helped by the four longest answers coming to me on my first pass through the grid, so then it was mostly a case of mopping up the remainder.
My COD goes to SUSIE, with an honorable mention to SORCERESS.
Definitions underlined, synonyms in round brackets, wordplay in square brackets and deletions in squiggly brackets.
| Across | |
| 1 | Purple heads in magenta and emerald, absorbing ultraviolet (5) |
| MAUVE – First letters [heads] of Magenta And Emerald, including UV (ultraviolet). | |
| 4 | Imitator of police officer and unknown jazz fan? (7) |
| COPYCAT – COP (police officer) + Y (unknown) + CAT (jazz fan).
Follow the assembly instructions. |
|
| 8 | Small fish that’s preserved for captain (7) |
| SKIPPER – S (small) + KIPPER (fish that’s preserved). | |
| 9 | Misery envelops empty rooms in less good condition (5) |
| WORSE – WOE (misery) surrounds [envelops] R{oom}S [empty]. | |
| 10 | Understanding feeling of dread (12) |
| APPREHENSION – A double definition. | |
| 12 | Big noise about unrefined allure (4,2) |
| DRAW IN – DIN (big noise) around RAW (unrefined).
I had a bit of an eyebrow twitch at this one, but “allure” can indeed be a verb, although I think it’s more common as a noun these days. |
|
| 13 | Beam in for every petition (6) |
| PRAYER – RAY (beam of light) in PER (for every). | |
| 16 | Production of long-playing record? (3,9) |
| THE MOUSETRAP – cryptic definition.
The Mousetrap has famously been playing in London’s West End for approximately 176 years. |
|
| 18 | Monastery head’s answer books: Old Testament (5) |
| ABBOT – A (answer) + BB (B for book, doubled for books) + OT (Old Testament).
The old “doubling of an abbreviation by making it plural” trick. |
|
| 20 | Conductor’s ear, most refined (7) |
| MAESTRO – Anagram [refined] of EAR MOST.
I didn’t distinguish myself by reading “Conductor” but thinking “Composer”. So I was running through composer’s names for a while. |
|
| 21 | I have visions, mostly dull, about myself (7) |
| DREAMER – DREAR{y} [mostly dull] around ME (myself). | |
| 22 | Girl’s name that is introduced by South America (5) |
| SUSIE – IE (that is), after [introduced by] S (South) US (America).
Classic lift & separate needed on “South America”. Who else was trying to make a name out of N, IE and SA? |
|
| Down | |
| 1 | Dressing lead actor in wet earth (7) |
| MUSTARD – STAR (lead actor) in MUD (wet earth). | |
| 2 | Trustworthy university shifted blame for pinching fruit (13) |
| UNIMPEACHABLE – UNI (university) + an anagram [shifted] of BLAME containing [pinching] PEACH (fruit). | |
| 3 | Ruin of Memphis underlying European Union’s inoffensive wording (9) |
| EUPHEMISM – Anagram of [ruin of] MEMPHIS below [underlying] EU. | |
| 4 | Restriction on moving vicious dog: not a lot (6) |
| CURFEW – CUR (vicious dog), FEW (not a lot). | |
| 5 | Father with beastly foot (3) |
| PAW – PA (father), W (with). | |
| 6 | Starchy bread modified to contain zero sugars etc (13) |
| CARBOHYDRATES – anagram [modified] of STARCHY BREAD, containing O (zero). | |
| 7 | Arduous journey started regularly with kilometre (4) |
| TREK – every other letter [regularly] of s T a R t E d, + K for kilometre. | |
| 11 | Witch captured by Venus or Ceres somehow (9) |
| SORCERESS – Hidden in [captured by] venuS OR CERES Somehow.
Kudos to Rongo for getting a hidden to span four words. |
|
| 14 | Criticise show again (7) |
| REPROVE – A double definition, the second being to prove in the mathematical sense. | |
| 15 | One making a total season (6) |
| SUMMER – Another double definition. If you are summing things, that makes you a summer. | |
| 17 | Enclosed area of a few feet (4) |
| YARD – The third double definition in a row. | |
| 19 | Not quite the place for the dead cat (3) |
| TOM – TOM{b} (place for the dead), without it’s last letter [not quite]. | |
Dnf…
I couldn’t get 14dn “Reprove”, and now I know why. I had “Susan” for 22ac (which I think also kind of works). The rest went in fairly steadily and was enjoyable.
FOI – 1ac “Mauve”
LOI – Dnf
COD – 16ac “The Mousetrap” – a nice clue.
Thanks as usual!