I solved this puzzle on an iPad on an intercity air flight. It was all done by the time I landed, bar checking for the blog that Orcus was who I assumed he must be, and another dodgy answer I had to revisit later. So, proof it can be done … but don’t close your browser window while you’re in flight mode! I’m also in the process of confirming I can do the blog in normal layout on the iPad, but it’s a tedious process!
Oh, and what about the puzzle you ask? Nice one, I thought. Challenging but doable. My clue of the day is 10ac for the clever misdirection in the wordplay. 12dn had a nice historical reference. 26ac added to my general knowledge something I hope I never need to know. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Answers are in BOLD CAPS, then wordplay. (ABC*) means ‘anagram of ABC’. Deletions are in [square brackets].
Across
1 Aroused couple at the table cutting bread that’s sweet (6,4)
BRANDY SNAP: RANDY (aroused) / S[outh] N[orth] (couple at the bridge table), all inside (“cutting”) BAP (bread). It’s a biscuit rather than a sweet in my experience, although I suppose it could be part of a sweet dish. And yes, we had this answer the previous week as 5dn, differently clued. Setters must hate that!
7 Start passing over new bundle (4)
DAWN: N[ew] WAD (bundle), all reversed (“passing over”). Rather an odd way to express “backwards”! Perhaps the definition is “start passing”. I suppose “the day dawned” could at a stretch be “the day started passing”?
9 Parent despondent about the flag (8)
MASTHEAD: MA (parent) SAD (despondent), around THE. Collins gives “flag” as an alternative for “masthead” for the thing at the top of a newspaper page.
10 Conductor in Beethoven’s Ninth ready for the French horn, finally (6)
NEURON: N (ninth letter of “Beethoven”) / EURO (ready, aka money, for the French, et al, across the Channel) / N (horn, finally). I read the clue and immediately started wondering whether “the French” was LA, LE or LES. Totally the wrong idea, that.
11 Hurdling Wincanton’s first, horse felt uneasy (6)
STEWED: STEED (horse) “hurdling” W (Wincanton’s first).
13 Second spine-tingling tale for German writer (8)
SCHILLER: S (second), CHILLER (spine-tingler).
14 Inside job for this union man? (5,7)
HOUSE HUSBAND: cryptic definition.
17 Exotic male imbued with sex appeal, very attractive butler, say? (6,6)
MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL: anagram (“exotic”) of (MALE*), around (“imbued with”) IT (setter’s code for sex appeal) plus RED HOT (very attractive). I think of maître d’s in restaurants and butlers in residences, but I speak from ignorance.
20 As some dogs end up so feral, kennelling good (3-5)
PUG-NOSED: anagram (“feral”) of (END UP SO*), “kennelling” G for good.
21 Piece again introducing dance (6)
BISHOP: BIS (musical instruction for “again”), HOP (dance).
22 One with a burden, drink (6)
PORTER: double definition.
23 Nation borders on Djibouti, river vessel endlessly crossing them (8)
CAMBODIA: CAM (river) and BOA[t] (vessel, endlessly), all “crossing” DI (“borders” on Djibouti).
25 Lead, or huge body of gas? (4)
STAR: double definition.
26 Fearful and weary — sign of quarantine? (6,4)
YELLOW FLAG: YELLOW (fearful), FLAG (to weary). Didn’t know a yellow flag meant this.
Down
2 Answer right, at once wrong, I assumed (8)
REACTION: anagram (“wrong”) of (R AT ONCE*), with an “I” “assumed”.
3 Clear land (3)
NET: double definition.
4 Produce bow (5)
YIELD: and another!
5 Things abandoned by those crazy about Orcus (7)
NUDISTS: NUTS (crazy) “about” DIS (another name for Orcus). A very roundabout definition, I felt. To me it suggests the things being taken off, not the people doing so.
6 Data store, box accountant’s got on the way (5,4)
PUNCH CARD: PUNCH (box), CA (accountant), RD (way). Certainly seems like a dead technology – no, isn’t it only people who have to be dead before they appear here?
7 Dodo, you might say, or species heading for possible exit? (6,5)
DOUBLE DOORS: if allowed a little licence, dodo might be described as DOUBLE DO, then OR, S[pecies].
8 Court office acting poorly? (6)
WOODEN: WOO (court), DEN (office). Definition refers to poor stage actors.
12 With wit, Mrs T seen off in Parliament (11)
WESTMINSTER: anagram (“off”) of (WIT MRS T SEEN*). Might well bring back memories of the Iron Lady.
15 Every second lost by Superman probing dangerous, pressurised stuff? (9)
HAIRSPRAY: “Superman” minus every second letter gives S-P-R-A, which is to “probe” HAIRY.
16 Hard grains in meal so rough (8)
SEMOLINA: anagram (“rough”) of (IN MEAL SO*). Fine hard wheat, according to Chambers.
18 Subversive artist, rotter upped and left (7)
RADICAL: RA (artist), ACID (rotter) reversed (“upped”), L (left).
19 Turn up with solicitor, disconcerted (3,3)
PUT OUT: PU is UP “turned”, TOUT is solicitor.
21 Centre of club, I’m bonny airhead (5)
BIMBO: hidden answer. Quite well hidden, too.
24 Numpty’s brain starting late? (3)
OAF: LOAF (brain), “starting late”.
Tricky to start, but then it flowed. Orcus NHO, neuron went straight in though I didn’t know exactly what it was, aside from being in the brain.
I found this quick and easy, and kind of enjoyable in a relaxed Saturday morning way. I saw how most clues worked right off the bat, so the ‘solve’ part of the solve was mostly looking for the words or letters cryptically encoded.
Nice puzzle, nice blog brnchn
I do like Row 11, though, which reads PUG-NOSED BISHOP.
I may have been a little slower due to not working under examination conditions – the bar was quiet enough, but the 60’s Motown music was a minor distraction. I actually paused my clock when “First I Look at the Purse” by the Contours was played – great record, but extremely non-PC !
FOI NET
LOI DAWN
COD BRANDY SNAP
TIME 17:32
FOI 11ac STEWED
LOI 24ac OAF
COD 21ac BISHOP
WOD 17ac MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL exotic anagram indeed!
Time – Blind antelope! (2,4)
Where is everyone?
Edited at 2019-02-23 04:30 pm (UTC)
If so, that explains why it took me 65 minutes to do each puzzle. I spent even longer on Mephisto, but one expects that.
This puzzle occupied me on the way up, and on the way back and I remember making the final breakthrough at London Bridge. What I did with the physical puzzle is a mystery but I remember it was a struggle but enjoyable, typical of My Dean experience if it was him.
BIMBO and OAF went in early; Schiller easy enough as I once read his plays. LOI was STEWED. Struggles and question marks over Punch Card and Nudists ( I still have not looked up Orcus). I agree with our blogger about Maitre D’s.
Delighted to have finished this and to discover on my return today that we beat Millwall 3-1 away ( a fixture I went to last season). David
COD: HAIRSPRAY.
Edited at 2019-02-23 10:25 pm (UTC)
This one turned into a chore more than anything – mainly because I had a number of short 5 min looks at it before sitting down to have a proper crack at it.
Did like BRANDY SNAP, DOUBLE DOORS (when I finally figured out what was going on) and the cryptic HOUSE HUSBAND.
Finished in the NE corner with that tricky NEURON, WOODEN and DAWN the last few in.