Solving time: 1:02:33
I struggled with this one. There’s a lot of very clever stuff in here, and I needed to be at my sharpest to get through it in a half-decent time, but alas I wasn’t. Instead I tackled it on a rainy afternoon when I was feeling quite tired and sluggish.
This is probably one of those puzzles where everybody has a different COD, as there are so many that stand out for a variety of reasons. I liked 26 a lot, but I think 2d just takes it for me.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this
Across | |
---|---|
1 | EXPRESS + TRAIN |
9 | CLE(A)VER |
10 | SPAR + ROW – Capt. Jack Sparrow is the anti-hero of all the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean movies. |
11 | RARE – dd |
12 | STORM CLOUD – cd |
14 | TRI(U + MPH)AL |
16 |
|
17 | FEMUR = FE + RUM rev |
18 | SANITISED = (IS INSTEAD)* |
20 | ANTISOCIAL = (ITALIANS)* about OC (Officer Commanding) |
22 | KEEN – dd |
24 | GROG + RAM – I thought grog was a generic term for booze, but it’s technically watered-down rum, hence the ‘not the hardest stuff’ in the clue. The drink, in fact, derives from the fabric, as it was Admiral Vernon (1684-1757) who first ordered the rum to be diluted before being served out to his sailors, and he was nicknamed Old Grog because of his grogram cloak. |
25 | ISRAELI = (AIRLI |
26 | SOFTLY-SOFTLY – ‘patient’ is the definition. The ‘guts’ of CRIPPLED would be PP, and P to a musician means softly (from the Italian piano). Very clever, but it took me a while to work out the wordplay. |
Down | |
1 | EXCE(R)PT |
2 | POETRY IN MOTION – One of those ‘wordplay in answer’ clues. ‘To prey’ = (POETRY)* and IN MOTION is acting as an anagrind. |
3 | ENV |
4 | STRETCHES – I pondered the wordplay here for a while. I think it’s just a cd, because cats like to stretch a lot. I considered ST for ‘way’ for quite a while which would leave RETCHES for cats. I know cats do a lot of retching due to their proclivity for hairballs, but I caouldn’t really find a justification for this, so I resorted to a plain cd. I may well be missing something, and I’m sure if I am, someone will point it out. |
5 | RISER – hidden |
6 | INACCURATE = (CAN I) rev + CURATE |
7 | ARRONDISSEMENT = (SANS METRO + DINER)* – I spotted the anagrind quite quickly, but I needed most of the checkers in place before the answer would come. It’s a subdivision of a French department and not a word I knew. |
8 | SWEDEN – a Cornish garden being a S.W. Eden |
13 | IMPRESARIO = I’M + (PRAISE OR)* |
15 | LINEARITY = (I + NEAR + IT) in L |
17 | FLAN + G |
19 | DEN(SIT)Y – I’m not entirely convinced about the definition ‘Boozer’s body’. Presumably density can be used to refer to the a.b.v. of a drink, but I’ve not come across this particular usage. |
21 | COME + T |
23 |
|
Collins defines “body” as “the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin”.
A great puzzle that I completed in 55 minutes but with a little bit of a cheat on 7dn where I didn’t know the word and wasn’t quite sure what constituted the anagrist.
Edited at 2012-09-23 12:15 am (UTC)
The crossword website claimed I got one wrong however; and today, it singles out the I in the middle of 7dn. I suppose it must have been a typo but I couldn’t see it at the time, and now there is no way of checking..
The website apparently thinks I can’t spell arrondissement, as I stated above.. I beg to differ. I did a post on the club forum about it.
probably just a typo I suppose
Yes, for blogger and setter prize puzzles can be less than rewarding in terms of response, but I’m grateful to all who add their comments.
I wondered about “boozer’s body” for “density”, but decided it was close enough for the intention to be clear, and the surface is excellent.
Great crossword.
Should it not be “booze’s body”? Boozer is either the consumer or the place it’s consumed in.
Boozer’s works for me, thinking of a boozer talking of the body of his drink.
A similar device is often seen in the weekly Times puzzle to clue French words like ‘en’ or ‘de’; say “Napoleon’s one…” cluing ‘un’.
And great puzzle!
Rob