ST 4225 – The good, the bad and the unco

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Solving time: 6:22

Quite a few obscure words in this, especially in the top left, but the clues were accurate and helpful. As only 3dn was new to me, I think my time was probably below par for this puzzle.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
1 GOODS + HOW – I was really slow on this, even with the crossing ‘W’.
6 BAD LOT (two definitions, one cryptic) – complementing 1ac, but that seems to be where the theme ends.
9 UNCO (hidden) – a Scottish word (both an adjective and adverb meaning ‘unusual(ly)’) that appears quite regularly in this puzzle.
10 BAN + AN + ASKIN[g]
11 A + PP + EAR – I guess ‘a certain’ = A, to avoid ‘an organ’ = A EAR.
12 B(REV + I)AR + [sunda]Y – I was sidetracked here by ‘psaltery’ (means something different) and ‘psalmery’ (not even a word).
16 LANE, from ELAN
18 B + END – ‘crook’ as a verb.
19 HALF-A-CROWN – referring to William III and Mary II, and the old English coin woth two shillings and sixpence (Chambers assures me).
23 CAFTAN; A FT in CAN[can]
25 CASUS BELLI – literally ‘case for war’.
27 AXES (double definition)
29 S + AGA + CITY
Down
1 OENOPHILE; (I PHONE LEO)*
3 D + HOLE – an Asian dog. Not a word I knew, but it was a confident guess.
4 HABER + DASHER – I think the chemist is Fritz Haber, apparently “the father of chemical warfare”.
7 DI + STILLER
8 [r]OSIER
13 EYE-CATCHING; (CYNIC THE AGE)*
15 HIDEBOUND (double definition)
17 NEW(SAG)ENT – my last entry, as I hadn’t heard of Newent in Gloucestershire, and originally mis-interpreted the clue – ‘Newmarket’ shot into my head when I saw the crossing letters and as a result I was looking for a 9-letter town.
20 LOCALES; rev. of COL[onel] + ALES
22 ACARI (hidden)
24 F(RAN)C – I’m not keen on ‘A B to bring in’ meaning ‘put B inside A’.
26 BOW (double definition) – ‘leader’ as in ‘leader of the orchestra’.

One comment on “ST 4225 – The good, the bad and the unco”


  1. Just the 5 “easies” omitted from this blog:

    14a Proper perspective is something geometricians know about (5,5)
    RIGHT ANGLE. Plus anyone who studied Maths at school and wasn’t completely away with the fairies?

    21a Repeatedly exclude one cold and brutal (8)
    BAR BAR I C

    28a Bereaved woman will entertain any number if there’s an opportunity (6)
    WI N DOW

    5d (Big dawn)*, silly prattler (7)
    WINDBAG

    6d British home’s wine storage facility (3)
    B IN

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