ST 4280 (Sun 8 Jun)

Author   talbinhoPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 6:28 (one mistake – 15ac).

27ac in this puzzle was NAOMI, clued as ‘I MOAN’ backwards, which pretty much says it all, I think. A few more difficult words (tondi, maenads, colobus) but generally straightforward.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
1 LAPS (double definition) – I liked this.
3 DRUMSTICKS – the leg-bones of birds, as in ‘chicken drumsticks’.
10 AN + CHOR(IT)E – I’m not sure ‘a’ = AN is really fair, as they’re never interchangeable (except arguably before some words beginning with ‘h’).
11 NOUNS (cryptic definition)
12 INDIA; I + (AND I)*
13 IMAGISTS; (STIGMA IS)*
15 SCHEMAS SCHEMES; (CHESSME[n])* – I carelessly wrote in ‘schemas’ and will write out 100 times ‘I must check my answers’.
17 SINUSES; (IN USE) in S.S.
19 COL + O + BUS – not a monkey I knew but clear from the wordplay.
21 SYRINGE; (YES)* around RING
22 DINOSAUR; (IS AROUND)* – very poor definition (‘is well out of date’).
24 OBELI (cryptic definition) – very clever (‘Daggers drawn’) but I think this might have benefited from some wordplay as well.
28 PIMPERNEL – a reference to the Scarlet Pimpernel.
29 GREENHOUSE; ([th]E + HEN-GROUSE)*
Down
1 LEAF INSECT; (IN FLEAS ETC)*
2 PACED (cryptic definition) – a pacer, or pacemaker, is a runner who will set the pace during the early stages of a race, intending to drop out around half way.
4 RA(IS)INS
5 MAENADS; A in (AMENDS)* – easy if you know the word, but a 50/50 guess if you don’t.
6 TONDI; (I DON’T) – a tondo is a circular painting or carving.
7 COURTESAN; C + (AUNT ROSE)*
8 SASH (double definition) – I wasn’t sure about this one but I think it’s right. A sash is both a sliding window (= ‘light’) and an item of clothing (= ‘fixture’).
9 LOCAL MOB; (MOLL + O + CAB)*
14 ESPECIALLY; (PIECES)* + ALLY
16 HOLE IN ONE (cryptic definition) – I should have got this straight away, but didn’t.
18 N(ARROW)ED
20 SHAMPOO; (HOS[e] + A MOP)*
21 SHRIMPS; R.M. in SHIPS – this clue doesn’t seem to make sense; ‘wrecking’ suggests an anagram, but the letters of ‘ships’ are in the right order.
23 ON + ION – ‘charge’ for ION will annoy some.
25 ERNIE – the Premium Bonds computer.

3 comments on “ST 4280 (Sun 8 Jun)”

  2. A tricky little number. Only 3 “easies” or two if you count the preamble that seems to use 27a as a general comment?

    27a I complain on rejection by her (5)
    NAOM I

    30a A cathedral right ahead? You can depend on it (4)
    R ELY. To the fens for our See after being in St David’s yesterday.

    26d Intimate the weaponry’s turned up (4)
    SNUG

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