Solving time 15 minutes
Nothing really difficult today. A couple of old devices (the chicken and the watch) that if you haven’t met them before might give a problem and a slightly old fashioned feel with 1930s terminology for necking and a socially unpopular 1970s business activity. I’m expecting some fast times today.
Across | |
---|---|
1 | COW-PARSLEY – (cops + lawyer)*; easy start; also known as mother-die, an invasive species; |
6 | SCOT – S-COT; small=S; simple dwelling=COT (inhabited by cottars); old tax; |
10 | ARTISTE – (sitar)*-TE; Jonathan Crowther perhaps who completes 40 years of compiling as AZED this week – well done Sir; |
11 | VIOLENT – VIOLE(N)T; N from (ruffia)N; |
12 | FIRST-BORN – FI(R)ST-sounds like borne; resistance=R (physics); the most driven of ones offspring; |
13 | MITRE – M(a)I(n) T(a)R(g)E(t); churchman’s silly uniform; |
14 | AFOOT – A-FOOT; 30.48 centimeters; |
15 | DAMASCENE – MAD reversed – SCENE; this perhaps not the best of times for this clue to appear; |
17 | BANDICOOT – BANDI(COO)T; (bill and) COO is what sweethearts did in the 1930s; small urban marsupial; |
20 | IDEA’D – I-DEAD; very=DEAD; strange word; |
21 | TULIP – old watch=TURNIP then change RN=Royal Navy into L=left; |
23 | THORNLESS – T(H)ORN-LESS; H from (grap)H; |
25 | ORGANZA – ORGAN-Z(e)A(l); bridal material made traditionally from silk; |
26 | GLITTER – G-LITTER; Gary perhaps; |
27 | STYX – sounds like “sticks” where the swede gnawers come from; |
28 | BESTSELLER – (George) BEST-sounds like “cellar”; |
Down | |
1 | CHAFF – C(H)AFF; greasy spoon=CAFF; CHAFF is better known these days as an anti-missile defence device; |
2 | WATER,DOWN – WATER(ship) DOWN; where the powers that be have recently decided to build, so fact follows fiction; |
3 | ASSET,STRIPPING – TESSA reversed – STRIPPING; in the property boom of 1970s buying a whole company, closing it down and then selling the land it owned to make a substantial profit as per Jim Slater and others; |
4 | STEROID – (a)STEROID; other asteroids include Eros, Iris and Juno; |
5 | ENVENOM – E(N)VEN-(h)OM(e); |
7 | CREST – the Dorking is a very old breed of chicken; |
8 | TITLE,DEED – TITLE(DEE)D; flower=river=DEE (there are several); |
9 | COMMISSIONAIRE – COMMIS-S(I-ON-AIR)E; deputy=COMMIS (particularly to the head wine waiter); Kent region=SE; |
14 | AMBITIOUS – AMBIT-IOUS; |
16 | ELEMENTAL – EL-E-MENTAL; |
18 | OUTRAGE – OUT-(all the)RAGE; not in=OUT; |
19 | THOUGHT – THOU-G(H)T; H from H(ad); GT=Grand Tourer, a term much abused by motor manufacturers; |
22 | LEGGY – L(EGG)Y; LY from L(iver)Y; pins=legs (slang); why are they always blonde?; |
24 | SORER – S(c)ORER; match official in cricket – Bill Frindall was the daddy; |
Had to remember ancient cruciverbal lore for the Dorking and the turnip; though I’m reliably informed from a fancier and sexer of said-beasts (not the turnips) that the Dorking hails from Italy. There you go.
Always thought the COMMIS was an under chef; but then, yesterday, I thought the “parmentier” meant “with potatoes”, after Antoine Parmentier who popularised the potato in France. So don’t trust me with posh caff talk.
And (22dn): “why are they always blonde?”
Because, when they’re brunette, they’re LANKY; and “ank” does not mean “urge” … and there is no such thing as “orKanza”.
IDEA’D is in Chambers but not in Collins or COED despite having references in OED that go back to the mid-18th century.
The clue that took me longest to explain was 21ac where, even having worked out that ‘turnip’ must be a watch of sorts, I spent ages trying to confirm this. Eventually I found it in Brewer’s and later, having ventured downstairs, in the ODE I keep near the TV for verifying words I come up with during Countdown that are not covered on air. As it happens this is my newest dictionary, but surely it can’t be a new entry. For those wanting more information, ‘turnip’ is watch-specialist jargon for one that’s big and awkward.
I’m not sure why churchmen should be singled out for wearing silly hats.
Edited at 2012-03-06 08:48 am (UTC)
I was slightly disappointed that the eccentric Lord Emsworth was only there to give “titled” – no pigs, no Blandings, no Clarence Threepwood.
CoD to the funny hat at 13: are there any other organisations where men get away with wearing bizarre hats and frocks? Mind you, they do look lovely in precession, and doubtless the upcoming monstrous regiment are showing them a thing or two about what to wear and how to wear it.
Silly
Even though I lived in Surrey for many years, I always got Dorking confused with Reigate. Now I will be able to keep them apart if I can just remember that Reigate doesn’t have a chicken named after it.
ARTISTE was in today’s concise, which always helps, even if I tried ‘actress’ first – like the Bishop. COD to ENVENOM.
I found this as tough as yesterday’s, and I think it probably took me almost as long…
Anyway, IDEAD, my LOI, went in with fingers crossed.
Unknowns today: AMBIT, Dorking as a hen, BANDICOOT, the watch, Hebe as an asteroid.
Couldn’t parse FIRST BORN, so thanks for that, Jim.
CoD: ENVENOM
Had some doubts about idea’d, but what else could it be?
No idea about the turnips.
27/30 today with three missing in the NE – Envenom, Violent and Crest. Made things impossible for myself by putting Shut for Scot at 6ac. No holdups apart from those.
Tulip and Steroid went in from the checkers and defs. Thanks Jimbo for explaining those two.
Dead for Very was quoted this morning on the Today programme by Evan Davis in a piece about slang.