I really enjoyed this. There are no answers shorter than five letters, and (but of course, it’s Bob!) many slick surfaces evoking amusing images that may distract you so much that you skate right over the hidden point—starting with some advice that echoes Baudelaire (“Il faut être toujours ivre, tout est là ; c’est l’unique question. Pour ne pas sentir l’horrible fardeau du temps qui brise vos épaules et vous penche vers la terre, il faut vous enivrer sans trêve”—Mind you, he follows up by saying you can get drunk on anything, even water or virtue), and a well-considered fashion tip.
A few weeks ago, I met with an 4 in regards to the hernia operation I underwent on June 3, and I am glad to report that a couple days ago I allowed myself to return to making 15. Santé !
I indicate (a ragman’s)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clues.
ACROSS | |
1 | Sober? Drink punch! (8) |
DOWNBEAT — “Drink” is DOWN and “punch” is BEAT. | |
5 | Wearing sandals on vacation, remove socks (6) |
SWIPES — Please! S(WIPE)S… “on vacation” indicating that “SandalS” is eviscerated and “remove” meaning WIPE | |
9 | Fine veal stuffed in this? (4,4) |
VINE LEAF — (fine veal)*, &lit! I hesitated over this because, though fond of stuffed grape leaves, I wasn’t aware that VINE LEAF has dictionary status. Found it in Collins (“…of any vine, especially a grapevine”), which has no entry for “grape leaf.” It’s not in Lexico, but probably in Chambers… everything seems to be in Chambers. | |
10 | Stands back, in part sorrowful (6) |
ROSTRA — Hidden, “back” | |
12 | Rash beginning in someone poorly (5) |
SILLY — S[-omeone] + ILLY, “poorly” | |
13 | Vehicle’s bodyguards keeping step with it (9) |
SPACESHIP — S(PACE)S, the “bodyguards” being Hitler’s SS, the Schutzstaffel (“Protection Squadron”), flanking PACE, “step” + HIP, “with it” | |
14 | Delighted flights are so untroubled (5-7) |
LIGHT-HEARTED — Both “delighted” and “flights” have LIGHT in the HEART, or the core. HEART in this solution is not just the letter, or two letters, in the very middle, as usually in clues. | |
18 | Rudest dancing in underwear, cast if required (12) |
UNDERSTUDIES — UNDIES with (rudest)* inserted | |
21 | First course at Pisa, not soup (9) |
ANTIPASTO — (at Pisa not)*… I like this anagrind a lot. | |
23 | Cover that excludes son’s condition (5) |
INURE — IN[-s]URE | |
24 | Annoyance about working hard finally decreased (6) |
IRONED — IR(ON, “working”)E + [-har]D | |
25 | Did alarm as dad locked up (8) |
PANICKED — PA, “dad” + NICKED, “locked up” | |
26 | Bogus appeal put in to head off physicist (6) |
ERSATZ — [-H]ER(SA)TZ… In words: This is the great scientist whom the frequency unit is named after with his “head off” and SA, “appeal” (Sex Appeal, cryptic crossword chestnut for real, not seen now anywhere else ever!) inserted. | |
27 | Deliberate hoax by helter-skelter rides (8) |
CONSIDER — CON, “hoax” + (rides)*… This is a great anagrind with “rides” (♬ “When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide / ♪ Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride /♩ Till I get to the bottom and I see you again”♫). It’s a little hard to imagine what a “hoax by…rides” would mean, a deception mounted by inanimate objects, but I’m not complaining. | |
DOWN | |
1 | Strip clubs opening from tomorrow (6) |
DIVEST — At last, back to normalcy! DIVES, “clubs” + T[-omorrow] | |
2 | With fish, work craftily (6) |
WANGLE — W(ith) + ANGLE, “fish” | |
3 | Volume of goat used by pork pie producer (5,4) |
BILLY LIAR — BILLY, “goat” + LIAR, “pork pie [CRS] producer”… I had heard of the movie, but Keith Waterhouse’s 1959 novel was also the basis of a play, a musical and a TV series, and has been referred to in popular songs (Wikipedia). | |
4 | Number Ten is at haste to shift position (12) |
ANAESTHETIST — (Ten is at haste)* Cwinkydink: Two weeks ago, as I reported here, I worked three puzzles in one day that used “number” to refer to anæsthetics, but in this case the answer refers to the person numbing (the anæsthesiologist, as I would be more apt to say) rather than to the substance that numbs. My friends at the Out of Left Field blog said their—probably unattainable—ideal is to use every cryptic “chestnut” just once (they would have to rethink one of those clues). But I regard “number” in this sense rather as a cryptic staple, a trusty standby whose use is justified if it helps to create a vivid, deceptive and original surface. I would say the same about “decrease” for IRON, as in 24. | |
6 | A vocalist’s opening sound (5) |
WHOLE — “hole,” opening | |
7 | Digs end up hiding crack (8) |
POTSHOTS — POT(SHOT)S… STOP<=“up” with SHOT, “crack” (as in “take a crack at”) inside | |
8 | Flight impressed those at the rear (8) |
STAMPEDE — STAMPED, “impressed” + [-thos]E | |
11 | Staple fare to a top cryptic? (6,6) |
MASHED POTATO — (to a top)* = POTATO, MASHED (i.e., anagrammed!) | |
15 | Drinks provided in parties, on the rocks (9) |
APERITIFS — IF, “provided” in (parties)* | |
16 | Set eleven without a reserve (3,5) |
PUT ASIDE — PUT, “Set” + SIDE, “eleven” have A, literally, inside. | |
17 | Issues rabble-rousing leader put to the other side (8) |
EDITIONS — SEDITION, with S “put to the other side” | |
19 | Submerged in canal, to one’s ears (6) |
DUCKED — “duct,” or “canal, to one’s ears” | |
20 | Raw volunteer (6) |
TENDER — DD | |
22 | Loveless philosopher’s welcomed back to the fold (5) |
PLEAT — Hmm, well, not Schopenhauer, he did care for his cats… PLAT[-o] takes in [-th]E, “back to the” | |
Time around the hour.
FOI 2dn – WANGLE that sort of fish! My first thought was WRASSE, often seen in the streams of Crosswordland.
LOI 6dn WHOLE (Pah!)
COD 11dn MASHED POTATO – once were a dance move from James Brown!
WOD 3dn BILLY LIAR – Keith Waterhouse (of Hunslet) was a hugely popular writer – his best book was ‘The Theory and Practice of Lunch’ 1987 – highly recommended. Also ‘Mrs Pooter’s Diary’ 1983
Further on Waterhouse, I was aching to stick in RIGHT GRADELY (pr. reet gradely)at 14ac. Happen!
Edited at 2021-06-20 04:41 am (UTC)
So 4 short after 35 mins. Should have persevered
Agree that ROSTRA was v well hidden. I was even looking for a hidden but maybe should have put my glasses in 🙂
Thanks to Bob for another cracking puzzle with some superb surfaces (1d and 1a to name two) and to Guy
FOI UNDERSTUDIES
LOI SWIPES
COD ANAESTHETIST (very prophetic !)
TIME 14:19
After that I have noted that I had solved 19 clues by 1.30pm; so quite tough. And on my paper copy the whole NE is blank. So I’m another who struggled in that corner.
Can’t remember exactly what happened in the end, but I think I failed on SWIPES.
Also had BOILED POTATO on the menu for a long time.
As always a pleasurable challenge from Bob.
David
Edited at 2021-06-20 12:54 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2021-06-20 02:39 pm (UTC)
Just over the hour to solve but stretched across most of last Sunday. Was one of those puzzles which started with entries scattered around the grid until getting a foothold in the SW corner.
A good mix of devices used throughout along with the clever surfaces made for an enjoyable solve. Marked ERSATZ and SPACESHIP the best of a very good bunch of clues.
Finished in the NW corner with DOWNBEAT (which I thought was a stretch to be ‘sober’), BILLY LIAR (which I haven’t read) and SILLY the last few in.