Times 26,249: A Nod’s As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse

Author   VerlainePosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Very quickly this morning as I’ve got to catch a lift up to Derbyshire where I’m partaking in a weekend of murder mystery play readthroughs including the title role in Oedipus Rex, you know, because I wasn’t busy enough already. Fortunately for my schedule this was atypically, nay phenomenally easy for a puzzle this late in the week: I did it on paper in noisy surroundings but still had it done in 6 minutes.

8d FOI, 7d LOI, glad to have been able to biff 22ac from S_M at the end, and to have come across 3dn in another puzzle within the last year or two. Lots of very genial clues, not sure if any will prove very controversial, but let’s find out in the comments below. Thanks setter, and now, over to you lot!

Across
1 GUMPTION – common sense: P [quietly], GUM TI ON [stick | it “back” | on] “outside”
5 MOSAIC – decorative artwork: MO SA I C [instant | appeal | I | caught]
10 MANIFESTO – policy statement: AN IF [a condition] + (SET*) [“out”] in MO [second]
11 TATTY – unkempt: homophone [“we hear”] of TATTIE [“Murphy for one”, i.e. a spud]
12 DYER – one changing colour: D{rear}Y [“extremely”] + ER [I hesitate to say]
13 SACRILEGE – profanation: SAC [accountant’s, i.e. CA’S, “recalled”] + E.G. [say] in RILE [anger]
15 CLAVICHORD – instrument: (OLD VICAR*) [“transported”] round CH [church]
17 CARD – double def: possibly a club / eccentric
19 ETNA – mountain: reverse of {d}ANTE [poet “from the east” “loses daughter”]
20 ANTISOCIAL – disruptive: (CAT IS A LION*) [“on the rampage”]
22 CHEONGSAM – Chinese dress: CHE SAM [revolutionary | woman] “carrying” ON G [about | grand]
24 EDGY – irritable: D.G. [BBC boss] “cutting” EY{e} [viewer “short”]
26 OLIVE – woman: reverse of [“setback for”] EVIL O [wicked | old]
27 WINDBLOWN – dishevelled: WIND [orchestra members] + BLOWN [how their (wind) instruments are played]
28 LEGEND – double def: celebrity / traditional story
29 GRANDSON – young relative: ON [performing] with R [king] in G AND S [light opera]

Down
1 GAME – single def (?): ducks and drakes is a game, and ducks and drakes are game birds
2 MONEY-LAUNDERING – illegal activity: for which “cleaning brass” is a punny definition
3 TAFFRAIL – (something) at stern of vessel: TAFF RAIL [Welsh river | bird]
4 OASIS – area of calm: AS in OIS{e} [French department “mostly”]
6 OXTAIL – (something) in the soup: for which “a neat end” is a punny definition
7 AS THE SAYING GOES – according to proverb: (EASY*) [“awfully”] “to stop” AS THING GOES [when | obsession | departs]
8 CLYDESDALE – horse: (LADY’S LED*) [“confused”] into CE [church]
9 CONCERTI – works: ONCE RT [formerly | right] “for introduction into” CI [Channel Islands]
14 SCREECH OWL – bird: H [“beginning to” H{ide}] in COWL [cover] under SCREE [loose stones]
16 HANDSAWS – cutters: HAND SAW S [worker | observed | “first of” S{everal}]
18 HONEYBUN – sweetheart: H [“initially” H{aving}] + ONE BUN [little bread] “fed by” Y [Y{outh} “leader”]
21 INTERN – medic: TE [note] “penned by” IN RN [popular | navy]
23 MINOR – youngster: “from” {Sale}M IN OR{egon}
25 ANON – unidentified writer: AN [article] about NO [traditional drama]

49 comments on “Times 26,249: A Nod’s As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse”

  1. Shame when one finishes a puzzle (a rare occurrence) to have one’s sense of achievement trashed by repeated comments decrying the ease of the solve. Hey-ho!

    Danny

    1. Most of the reference above were to the ease of the puzzle relative to what has become the usual Friday fare since the change of editor (ie. really tough). Plenty of solvers here got into a tangle with this one, including a former national champion, so take heart. I guarantee no one here would ever “trash” the achievement of solving a Times puzzle. They’re all hard.

      Bear in mind that this site was set up as a haunt for speed-solving enthusiasts, among whom are some of the most accomplished solvers in the UK (I’m definitely not including myself! The real speedsters often make me feel distinctly sluggish, but they’re a breed apart).

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