Solving time : OK – I’ll admit. I’m in no state to be solving or blogging and it’s showing through – 1 hour and 5 minutes later I’m being told I have a correct solution, which is a minor woohoo moment, but I’m not quite sure how. I had to load the grid three times and this blog twice.
I’m going to finish this and pass out, so any corrections/edits/sober thoughts are likely to be found in the comments.
And away we go…
Across | |
---|---|
1 | SACK: double definition |
3 | SCAFFOLDER: CAFF in SOLDIER minus I |
10 | APENNINIES: PEN,NINE(a “small” number) in A,S |
11 | DEMO,B |
12 | KNOW-ALL: OK reversed over N, then WALL |
13 | DANISH: NIB minus B in DASH |
15 | ESCALATOR CLAUSE: anagram of CALCULATORS+EASE |
18 | OCCASIONAL TABLE: or OCCASION,ALT,ABLE |
21 | UP(in court),DATE(partner) |
23 | IVANHOE: (I,HAVE,NO)* |
26 | FJORD: J |
27 | CREAM SODA: SO(very),DA |
28 | ROYAL FLUSH: ROY and AL are the boys, then FLUSH(drunk) As pointed out in comments, this is more probably ROY,ALF,LUSH |
29 | RAZE: CRAZE missing the first letter |
Down | |
1 | S,HACK,LET ON |
2 | CREDO: DO(party) under CRE |
4 | CANALETTO: (A,TALENT)* in CO |
5 | F,USED |
6 | ORDINAL: DIN in ORAL |
7 | DAMP SQUIB: MPS,QUI inside DAB |
8 | ROB(mug),E |
9 | ENTAIL: LINE reversed with TA inside |
14 | DEGENERATE: (TEENAGER)* in D |
16 | CACOPHONY: CA(about),CO |
17 | READINESS: READ,NESS about 1 |
19 | SCAN,DAL |
20 | TRAUMA: ART reversed then |
22 | EXCEL: sounds like “XL”(very large) |
24 | HOO-HA: HOO |
25 | AFAR: hidden reversed in gReAt FeAr |
Edited at 2014-06-05 03:56 am (UTC)
Also 42 minutes with 29ac as last one in having realised a Z was needed to complete the pangram. I knew ESCALATOR CLAUSE having benefited from it several times in my working life, but I took for ever to bring the first word to mind from the remnants of the anagrist.
Edited at 2014-06-05 05:31 am (UTC)
Nominate SACK for the most instantly recognisable clue in the crossword lexicon.
Couldn’t parse 13a,29a & 20d so thanks v much for enlightening me.
Talking of enlightenment, down here in Somerset we fear 7d’s. “Squibbing” is a custom at the end of our Bridgwater Carnival in November (the largest illuminated carnival in Europe – worth a Google). About 100 squibs on long poles are lit up along the high street. It’s pretty spectacular and a singular honour to be a squibber. Damp squibs are the last thing we want.
Edited at 2014-06-05 07:33 am (UTC)
I remember Nadine Dorries on Have I Got news For You describing something as a “damp squid”, which, to be fair, most of them are unless they end up as calamari.
Having J&X made RAZE likely, though couldn’t think of the bug – hence looking for Q was helpful in finding 7dn and then completing solution.
I can’t hear the word FJORD without thinking of dead parrots. I’ve had great fun recently introducing my two boys, aged 11 and 9, to the joys of Monty Python.
Edited at 2014-06-05 01:27 pm (UTC)
Rob
40 minutes with an interruption. Hard to finish, 10/13/26/29 all took some thinking.
‘Damp squib’ was a great clue, I really enjoyed parsing that one after putting in the answer from the checkers.
Spent another hour on and off trying to post this to LJ, seems their server was down?
Pangram helpful, as always.
Cheers
Chris
I saw the likelihood of a pangram for once which gave me the confidence to enter raze although I didn’t know what sort of bug was required until coming here.
I’m pretty sure I’d have bombed on cacophony in a spelling bee so the wordplay was useful there.
I wasn’t confident about readiness either for the same reason as Andy B (and with read/understand not being particularly close either).
Starting smartly with CREDO, SACK and SHACKLETON, the 10,5 piece of furniture could only have been an OCCASIONAL TABLE, although getting my brain round produce=occasion wasn’t easy. DAMP SQUIB was quite clever, also, for different reasons, DANISH which had me chasing round European writers with (or without) a “B”, and running out after about six or seven.
Edited at 2014-06-05 10:49 pm (UTC)