As you may have realised by now I am a big fan of clever construction in a crossword, and the construction here was, well, I think I’d go so far as “immaculate”. Most of the clues were hard to unpick without a fight, often due to some really impressive cluing economy. Admire if you will how the nearly invisible “with such” comprises such a large part of the solution to 12ac, how well hidden the anagram fodder is in 14ac, how 27ac teases solvers with the full expectation that it’s a Spoonerism they’re looking for. I got 1dn quite quickly but couldn’t put it in because I couldn’t see why AIR was backwards, all because of the superb sleight of words that makes you file that S in “the definition part”. It was all so nice that I can even forgive the multiplicity of sports-related clues which always leave me in an 8dn. FOI (and the only across clue I got on the first pass 23ac), LOI 22d the brilliantly laconic 22ac after 15dn.
COD to 17ac, just because everyone grumbled about it in the club forum until NeilR picked up the penny and waved it in their faces. And a wholehearted “bravo, maestro!” to the setter from me…
| Across | |
| 1 | WINNOW – fan: WOW [to bowl over] outside INN [pub] |
| 5 | BATHCUBE – person who washes may use one: (BUT BEACH*) [“bum”] |
| 9 | TENNYSON – poet: TEN [cardinal] + N [{si}N, “ultimately”] + reverse of NOSY [snooping “around”] |
| 10 | PRENUP – contract for union: PEN [writer] “overcoming” R [resistance] + UP [completed] |
| 11 | BISTRO – restaurant: hidden backwards in “imports 2”, i.e. in {imp}ORTS IB{eria} [“revolving” “displays”] |
| 12 | HANDS-OFF – not getting involved: AND SO F F [with | such | females] after H [hours] |
| 14 | FOSTER-PARENT – guardian: (AT PRESENT FOR*) [“working”] |
| 17 | SHAVING-STICK – what gets worn (down, not as an item of clothing!) in the bathroom: H [husband], SAVING [tightening belt] around that + STICK [stomach] |
| 20 | FOURBALL – competition for (golf) clubbers: FOUR BALL [a square (2*2) | dance] |
| 22 | TABLET – PC: TAB LET [reckoning | restriction] |
| 23 | SHOVEL – digger: SHOVE [barge] meets L [large] |
| 25 | GRATUITY – present: GRAY [elegist] hides TUT [disapproving word] about I [one] |
| 26 | ODOMETER – a measure of how far someone has come: O DOER [old | actor] has MET [satisfied] “inwardly” |
| 27 | LADLER – spooner : L [“close to” {classica}L] + ADLER [harmonica player Larry, 1914-2001] |
| Down | |
| 2 | IBERIA – European region: I BE [one | live] + reverse of AIR [broadcast “from S”] |
| 3 | NINE-TO-FIVER – typical office worker: N [new] + (TIE ON*) [“waving”] + FIVER [banknote] |
| 4 | WISCONSIN – state: WIN [land] including IS CONS [islands | does] |
| 5 | BANSHEE – a howler: BAN SHEE{p} [to enforce mutton embargo (!) “in short”] |
| 6 | TAP-IN – straightforward goal: TA PIN [we’re obliged | to fix] |
| 7 | CUE – prompt: homophone of Q [letter “read out”] |
| 8 | BLUE FUNK – panic: BLUE FUN [obscene | enjoyment] over K [king] |
| 13 | STRIKEBOUND – halted by those out: STRIKE BOUND [to remove | border] |
| 15 | PAINTBALL – simulated combat: PAIN [drag] + B [bishop] “into” TALL [unlikely] |
| 16 | WHOOSHED – sped noisily: O [something round] in WHO SHED [which person | took off] |
| 18 | ST LEGER – fixture for the flat (race): (LEG-REST*) [“is unusual”] |
| 19 | WESTIE – dog: reverse of IT’S in WEE [it’s “gathered up by” small] |
| 21 | AGLET – A [article] + GET [acquire] around L [“top of” L{ace}], &lit |
| 24 | VIM – enthusiasm: V I’M [see | the writer’s] |
I’m not sure I have seen a reversal incorporating part of the answer to another clue in the Times before, and it strikes me as more the sort of thing I’d expect in the Guardian, which gets a mention elsewhere.
As for the SHAVING STICK, thanks to Neil I now see that what the setter was getting at but I didn’t feel he was waving it in anyone’s face by quietly pointing it out.
8dn BLUE FUNK was my FOI & COD.
LOI 9ac TENNYSON
I vaguely remember 21dn AGLET being the metal bit at the end of shoe laces which for me are a thing of the past, as are AGLETS!
1ac WINNOW is a word one hardly comes across these days either.
horryd Shanghai
Edited at 2016-03-25 10:57 am (UTC)
Otherwise difficult but enjoyable. No time as couldn’t finish. Went off, had lunch etc, came back and cleaned up the last 10 or so words.
Liked St Leger – saw it quickly, but it didn’t fit – I had an E from METRE across the bottom, rather than the R from ODOMETER.
Thee ticks and three double ticks, namely, 27a, and 5 and 6 down. If you twisted my arm, I’d have to give it to TAP-IN.
Thanks setter and the V. (73 minutes)
Edited at 2016-03-25 11:19 am (UTC)
Said rule broken just a few days ago in 26364: the 4C bid in bridge cluing “FORESEE” homophonically.
Rob
The night before, I was stuck for a long time on ‘strikebound’, but after doing the dishes I saw it at once.
No time, too many breaks required to finish.
I particularly enjoy M Verlaine’s blogs as although his brain moves several times faster than mine we generally seem to have similar tastes in clues as well as similar views on their quality. I remember being stunned at the brilliance of ‘REARM’ a few weeks back and silently agreeing with his almost speechless admiration of it. I also seem to share his taste in music and was at that very same musical soiree provided by Savages that he mentioned in his blog the other day. I found the enterainment most diverting, particularly the thunderous final number.
I suppose it would be too much of a coincidence if he turned out to be the anonymous guy I shared a drink with over the road afterwards? But no, it couldn’t be. On his recommendation we drank some evil concoctions called ‘Smokescreens’, not the Guinness that I believe is Verlaine’s favoured intoxicant.
Never mind. Maybe I’ll bump into him at Wolf Alice on Monday? I will have a red carnation in my buttonhole and a recently completed Times Crossword under my arm.
A swim and breakfast at Cottesloe, nice chewy crossword and an easy win in the T20. No wonder they call it Good Friday.
Thanks setter and V.
(i.e., “stomach”)
I’ve probably come across this here before too.
I invite anyone here to check out The Nation’s (bi)weekly crossword by Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto (which I edit) and tell me what you think (sandy at thenation dot com). It’s currently free online (if you don’t read six other articles first).
Edited at 2016-03-25 03:55 pm (UTC)
I had absolutely no idea what a SHAVING STICK was: it certainly didn’t sound like something you’d wear but it just had to be.
Thanks very much indeed, setter, whoever you are.
SHOVEL was obvious although you don’t really dig with a shovel.
In case 21dn should crop up again 🙂
Personal favourite was the wonderfully misleading (and imaginative) 27a. Thanks to setter and to Verlaine.
I shall retreat back to QC land for further training. David
I got off to a good start with WINNOW and BATHCUBE going straight in, and had the top half finished reasonably quickly, but the bottom half gave me a much harder time.
I remember coming across AGLET many years ago (probably half a century at least), so no problem there. In fact the only unfamiliar word was WESTIE; however, the wordplay and the similarity to YORKIE left me pretty confident that I had the right answer
I thought of SHAVING-STICK early on, but only bunged it in once I had all the checked letters in place and finally twigged the subtle use of “wear”.
I join others in raising my hat to the setter.
Edited at 2016-03-26 01:08 am (UTC)
Edited at 2016-03-26 06:34 pm (UTC)