Solving time: 35’
I think the Tuesday curse has been lifted. I got about half of the clues in my first “cold solve” sweep which is a very high percentage for me. Heraldry not being a strong suit of any sort, the only TROUBLE SPOT was ANNULET. An out-of-character Grauniadism in 3D.
Across
1 | SWANSON[g] – Ref. Gloria. Seen this several times before. |
5 | ANN,ULET=lute* – rather mysterious until rather late: an ANNULET is a heraldic “charge” (I don’t really know what a charge is in this sense – I feel I’ve said this before in another blog once upon a time). |
11 | MEN,ACE – I think that “facing great” is a kind of a cryptic def of (the card) ACE. |
12 | FIRED,A,MP – Nice surface – couldn’t make SWAMP GAS work. |
14 | MANS,FIELD,PAR,K – Jane Austen’s novel with a rather contrived surface to make the wordplay work. |
17 | SCARLET LETTER – (cell, steer tart)* – another novel, this time Hawthorne’s (it was an A for adulteress). |
21 | ACH(ILL)ES – “to nurse” is the nice apposite containment indicator here. |
23 | GRILLE=”grill” – but isn’t the restaurant often spelt GRILLE as well? |
26 | TROUBLES,POT – cannabis is almost always POT in The Times it seems. |
27 | NET,WORK |
Down
1 | SE(SAM)E – ref. Uncle SAM |
2 | A(CRONY)M – two American clues in a row: UNICEF is just an example of an ACRONYM. |
3 | SHIPCANAL – (chaplains)* — should have been “chaplain’s”. Def is a bit sly: “Manchester has one” (as do other cities by the way, like Seattle). |
4 | [juve]NILE |
5 | A,R(CHIMED)ES[t] – Probably the most famous Syracusan (which means he was Sicilian and not Greek actually I suppose). |
8 | TURN,PIKE – I took I-95 yesterday to IKEA in Newark, NJ which is the canonic American TURNPIKE. |
13 | OFF THE HOOK |
15 | DETER,GENT – a cryptic idiom |
16 | AS,SASS,IN – kept thinking of ‘The Rolling Stones’ lyric: “The gangster looks so frightening, With his luger in his hand, When he gets home to his children, He’s a family man” |
24 | ABE,L – ref. Cain and ABEL and Abraham Lincoln. |
I was well and truly stuffed by writing in BARGE for 6 down. i.e G in BARE.
Mike O
Skiathos
Jimbo: right about the symbol – probably best known from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. But I don’t think ‘scarlet letter’ has ever meant ‘scarlet woman’.
Infantile is not eight letters.
Or – quite possible – my logic is wrong.
Adrian
23A: Grille =?= grill as in restaurant: in the dictionary no, but in lots of restaurant names, yes. Maybe this is “make it look French and therefore chic” commercial spelling.
Carole H. Fermo, Italy.
Michael
grill: Collins refers you to grillroom, defined as “restaurant or room in a restaurant …”. COD has “a restaurant …” in the defs for grill
network: both their def’s for maze include “network of paths”.
I had to look it up, even though I live in Connecticut — I knew I’d heard of a Connecticut Turnpike, but where was it? I knew you don’t pay on _-95. Turns out you used to.
Valentine
I had to look it up, even though I live in Connecticut — I knew I’d heard of a Connecticut Turnpike, but where was it? I knew you don’t pay on _-95. Turns out you used to.
Valentine
A total of 10 answers left out of the blog:
9a (Radical test)*, improper or proper? (6-5)
STRAIT LACED
10a Damage sign, knocking end off (3)
MAR (K)
25a Spring in Regent’S PArk (3)
SPA
28a Draw left good swimmer last in relay (7)
L OTTER Y
6d Glass initially embedded in exposed elbow (5)
NUD G E. Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.
7d Article held by Greek character suggesting a dance (7)
LAMB A DA
18d Basically, (a) nasty (threat)* (2,5)
A T HEART
19d Setback as runs slip away (7)
R ELAPSE
20d Watch son coming on to the stage (6)
S ENTRY
22d Permit to travel free (3,2)
LET GO