In another crossword blog, I bemoaned the reversion from BST to GMT which makes me wait another hour before I get my daily fix. However, today’s puzzle soon got me smiling. Thank you, setter, whoever you are for an entertaining puzzle.
ACROSS
1 MEDICI MEDIC (trainee doctor) + I (one) The House of Medici or Famiglia de’ Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de’ Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century.
4 CLASS ACT Ins of LASS (girl) in CACTUS (something prickly) minus US
10 LASH OUT Ins of ASH (wood) in LOUT (hooligan)
11 MANKIND Ins of N (new) + KIN (relations) in MAD (enthusiastic)
12 ROOD DROOD minus D. The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel (unfinished) by Charles Dickens.
13 MELANCHOLY Ins of ELAN (vitality) in MC (master of ceremony, host) HOLY (good)
15 CONCEITED CON (Conservative, Tory) CEITED (sounds like seated, in the chair)
16 SHAVE Ins of H (husband) in SAVE (bar, except for)
18 POSER Rev of RE (about) SOP (placatory gift)
19 LINKLATER Ins of INK (something a writer needs) + L (left) in LATER (after) Andro Linklater, 68 is a non-fiction writer and historian. Could also refer to his father, Eric Linklater
21 COMES ABOUT Ins of ME (this person) in CO’S (firm’s) A BOUT (fight)
23 BOMB BOM (rev of MOB, gang) + B (first letter of banking)
26 TERRAIN TERRAPIN (turtle) minus P (piano, soft)
27 HANSARD Ins of A N & S (north & south, a couple of points on the compass) in HARD (intractable) for reports of debates in parliament
28 Deliberately omitted. What a superb &littish hidden answer … my COD
29 EXPERT EX (old lover) PERT (saucy)
DOWN
1 MALAR M (maiden) ALARM (warning of danger) minus M
2 DES MOINES Ins of *(SOME) in DINES (has a meal) for the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa
3 CROW CROWN (fancy piece on head) minus N
5 LOMBARD LO (behold) M (first letter of Munich) BARD (poet) The term Lombard refers to members of or things related, directly or indirectly, to the Lombards (Latin: Langobardi), a Germanic tribe that dominated northern Italy and adjoining areas from the 6th to 8th centuries.
6 Anagram of ANTS SCALED deliberately omitted
7 AMIGO Am I go (game) for friend in Spanish
8 TEDDY BEAR *(DRY DEBATE)
9 AT BEST Ins of B (bishop) in A TEST (an ordeal)
14 DEPRESSANT DE (rev of EDitor) PRESS (printing house) ANT (worker)
15 CAPACITOR Ins of A CI (hundred and one) in CAPTOR (jailer) for an electrical device capable of storing electric charge
17 ASTROLABE A + ins of L (lake) + A in STROBE (transmitter of flashes) for an ancient instrument for showing the positions of the sun and bright stars at any given time, or for taking altitudes above the horizon.
19 LEBANON Cha of LE (the French) B (British) ANON (soon)
20 NOUGHT Ins of UGH (disgusting) in NOT (rev of TON, people of fashion, fashion set)
22 MORON Ins of R (Regina, queen) in MOON (certainly very rude to present one’s bare buttocks to public view)
24 BIDET BID (offer) ET (ExtraTerrestrial, out of this world)
25 KNOX Sounds like KNOCKS (attacks) for John Knox (1514-1572) the Scottish theologian who founded Presbyterianism in Scotland and wrote a history of the Reformation in Scotland
++++++++++++++
Key to abbreviations
dd = double definition
dud = duplicate definition
tichy = tongue-in-cheek type
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(FODDER) = anagram
I think the writer reference is more likely to be Eric: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Linklater
Edited at 2012-11-01 02:10 am (UTC)
The author is more likely to be Eric Linklater, who though born in Wales was of Orcadian heritage on his father’s side.
When I spent a month 25 years ago now on the beautiful island of Gairsay, on trips to the Mainland (i.e. the main island of the group) I would invariably bump into a Linklater or two. Breed like rabbits up there…
Those Linklaters certainly get around. I was aware of the law firm, but apparently there’s a US film director, and a Peter of that ilk turned up as quartermaster on the Bounty. Just assumed there’d be a writer or two.
RINGTONE is as fine a hidden as you’d hope to see. CoD.
Edited at 2012-11-01 10:44 am (UTC)
Edited at 2012-11-01 07:17 pm (UTC)
Positive vibes on way to our online friends on the Eastern seaboard.
Flew back to the eastern seaboard on Monday and were lucky to be coming just north of the storm. In fact, the freak winds took almost an hour off our journey. All sympathies to those in the affected areas. Mind you, when we got something similar here in 2003 we met more neighbours in a week than we had in the previous few years, so it wasn’t without its upside. Shared adversity, and all that.
LINKLATER was the only out-and-out unknown today, but words like MALAR and ASTROLABE don’t exactly leap instantly to mind.
Glad to hear our NYC chapter is starting to emerge safely.