But anyway I doubt today’s crossword was done under the influence of lashings of booze, despite 3dn and 20ac, as the word that kept occurred to me to describe it was “meticulous” – every element very neat and clever and in its right place. No difficult vocab for anyone to object to (19dn being a possible outlier), no obscure literary or scholarly references; I must admit that 1ac was was my LOI based on the faulty assumption that it would be one of those bloody cricket references that I can never make stumps nor bail of, but no, even that turned out to be fair and square in the end. So while I personally might prefer them a bit more baroque, this was a model of the setter’s art in many ways. Undying kudos to the gentleperson responsible.
COD to 15dn I think: only crosswords can make you completely re-see a word in this way!
Across | |
1 | SORTING OFFICE – that ensures accurate deliveries (as part of the posital service): S{p}ORTING OFFICE [“pressure-free” (i.e. lacking P) cricketing position, say] |
9 | OCHRE – natural colouring: OCH [north of the border, I’m surprised] + RE [about] |
10 | INVECTIVE – abuse: INVE{N->C}TIVE [ground-breaking, “centre abandoned” (i.e. losing its middle letter), “receiving constant” (i.e. C, the speed of light)] |
11 | LABORATORY – workplace: LAB OR A TORY? [a question of political affiliation] |
12 | ITCH – irritation: {p}ITCH [“opener’s dismissed” from field] |
14 | EXPLAIN – account for: EX PLAN [former | programme] “one’s appeared in”, i.e. with I inserted |
16 | DIURNAL – during the day: URN [somewhere to keep tea] drunk by DIAL [tuner] |
17 | BITTERN – a bird: BITTER N [tart | noun] |
19 | TIGRESS – Amazon: {e}GRESS [exit “initially barred”] after T{h}I{s} [“oddly”] |
20 | ALIT – got off: LIT [cheered] after A{ctivists’} [“leader”] |
21 | AMBASSADOR – delegate: AMASS ADOR{n} [collect | deck “incompletely”] cut by B [British] |
24 | ENTHRONES – reverences: ([“last of”] {rac}E THE NORNS*]) [“destroyed”] |
25 | INANE – dull-witted: IN{di}AN [Apache for one, “lacking heart”] + E [energy] |
26 | COMPLEMENTARY – matching: COMMENTARY [review] covering [“50% of”] {peo}PLE |
Down | |
1 | SHOULDER BLADES – body parts: (A SOLD{i}ER BLUSHED*) [“not seeing one” (i.e. with I removed), “rude”] |
2 | REHAB – remedial treatment: reverse of BA{t}HER [“rising” swimmer, “taking time out” (i.e. losing T)] |
3 | INEBRIATED – wasted: [“stirring”] (DIATRIBE*) about NE [Tyneside] |
4 | GLISTEN – glow from reflection: IS {los}T [“ultimately”] in GLEN [valley] |
5 | FEVERED – impatient: FED [agent abroad] that EVER [always] is interrupting |
6 | INCA – old South American: {CA->->}IN [murderer, “about to be sent down”, i.e. with the CA (circa) moved to the bottom of the solution] |
7 | EXISTENCE – being: (SIXTEEN*) [“troubled”] + [“first couple of”] CE{lebs} |
8 | KEYHOLE SURGERY – cryptic def, referring of course to an operating theatre and not a playhouse |
13 | SUGGESTION – suspicion: (SINGS OUT EG*) [“rousing”] |
15 | PATRIOTIC – loyal: P.A. TRIO TIC [spontaneous movement by three secretaries] |
18 | NOMINAL – trifling (as in “a nominal fee”): hidden backwards in [“revolutionary”] {p}LAN I’M ON{ly} |
19 | TRANSOM – timber for doorframe: T{enant’s} [“initial”] + RANSOM [payment to deliver] |
22 | DRAMA – a sensation: RAM [stuff] seized by D.A. [lawman] |
23 | FROM – sent by: F{O<->R}M [model “with twisted heart”] |
I had COMPLEMENTARY in long before I parsed it, being convinced that 50% of people were (was?) men. CoD to PATRIOTIC.
eopLE, which seemed a bit odd!Edited at 2016-02-05 11:01 am (UTC)
Lovely piece of misdirection in 1a with me mentally going through all the field placings I could think of.
LOI 8d, accompanied with an inevitable “Doh!”
By the way, Verlaine, it’s not only the crosswords themselves that are laced with drink – I am increasingly concerned for the livers of the worthy bloggers due to the number that claim they completed and compiled the blog under the influence or its after effects (dare I say it, you included?).
“…look not thou upon the wine when it is red…”
Thanks setter and Verlaine.
Totally unrelated, but if you revel in the discomfort of others (as we all do), have a little look at the Perth weather forecast. Starting Sunday, and using Fahrenheit for extra effect, we’re expecting 104, 108, 108, 106 and 102.
Hot enough to boil a monkey’s bum.
Anyway, the crossword. Similar experience to you this week, this being the only one finished let alone in a sensible time, so a chuffed one here too with just under 16 mins.
Your heatwave reminds me of Barry McKenzie ( I think) ” Dry as a dead Dingo’s donger?
With apologies ……
Edited at 2016-02-05 12:33 pm (UTC)
LOI “from” (which needed an alphabet trawl) and I tried but failed to reply directly to Deezzaa’s post to the effect that, with only the H to help me, keyhole surgery was my second one in. Sorting office biffed and I had no idea that reverence could be a verb.
I agree with V’s COD nod to patriotic as I enjoyed the PA trio joke. There were some very nice well-disguised definitions (and parts thereof) dotted about.
Thanks all round.
Never did bother working out the wordplay for COMPLEMENTARY with the definition and checking letters in
I must have given my mojo to Gallers in a moment of madness. 57 minutes.
This one took me something like 40 minutes, but I left the timer running while I enjoyed chicken Al Badami and brinjal bhajee courtesy of our local emporium of gastronomic excellence. The former contains mango so, including the rice and the naan, that’s four of my five-a-day taken care of. A slice of lemon in the G&T ought to bring me up to government guidelines.
Nothing too difficult, I thought, though it took me a while to get SHOULDER BLADES and SORTING OFFICE (the latter remaining unparsed), and I’m another one who didn’t know one could reverence something.
A very welcome recruit to the contributors.
Having a knee replacement is a pretty drastic way to get time for crosswords, but I suppose that it is one small compensation for the discomfort of the operation and physiotherapy. As my wife has had both knees replaced, I know that the much greater compensation can be the relief from crippling pain that she suffered before the surgery. Hope that you benefit similarly.
I thought at one point I was heading for a decent time, but I had a minor hold-up with COMPLEMENTARY (unable to see the wordplay and worried that – despite the obvious definition – this might be a trick clue where the answer was actually COMPLIMENTARY); and then a major hold-up with ALIT (ruddy vowels again!) where it took me a while even to spot “got off” as a possible definition, and then several times longer to convince myself that LIT = “cheered” was the only viable possibility for the wordplay.
And still don’t see how LIT = CHEERED. Are they both synonyms for drunk, as Verlaine suggests? LIT is, cheered (for me) isn’t!
Otherwise must have been off the wavelength, an average 25 minutes where everyone else was speedy.
Rob