After yesterday’s brief respite, my solving time for this one was off the scale as so often for me these days, and indeed I needed 7 minutes before I was able to write in my first answer. Despite my slowness I was hoping to take some comfort from finishing it eventually without resorting to aids but I’m afraid in the end 1ac and 16ac proved too difficult for me and I abandoned that hope. There was quite a lot of tricky stuff going on here.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | Westward travellers protected by wise chief (8) |
| SAGAMORE – ROMA (travellers) reversed [westward] contained [protected] by SAGE (wise). This came up as recently as March but I’m afraid I didn’t remember it. Nor did I find the wordplay very helpful, although I got the SAGE bit. | |
| 5 | One going on / whoopee cushion? (6) |
| GASBAG – Two definitions. “Going on” in the sense of holding forth about something at great length. | |
| 10 | Buzzed after striking golf approach (3-2) |
| RUN-UP – RUN{g}-UP (buzzed) [striking golf – G in NATO alphabet]. Buzz and ring are distinctive sounds but the words have become synonymous in some colloquial expressions when referring to telephone calls etc. | |
| 11 | Hawk with 2 fractures around wing (9) |
| WARMONGER – W (with) + anagram [fractures] of GONER (2dn) containing [around] ARM (wing) | |
| 12 | Evolutionary change for wind and rain across area (9) |
| DARWINIAN – Anagram [change] of WIND RAIN containing [across] A (area) | |
| 13 | Put away or tidy last of autumn leaves (5) |
| EATEN – {n}EATEN (tidy) [last of autumN, leaves] | |
| 14 | Single insatiable tit beholds sandwiches (3,2,2) |
| LET IT BE – {insatiab}LE TIT BE{holds} contains [sandwiches] the title of this Beatles single. It was also an album, just to muddy the waters. | |
| 16 | Legendary rock singer from Liverpool on vocals (6) |
| SCYLLA – Sounds like [on vocals] “CILLA” (singer from Liverpool). Scylla was a legendary sea-monster particularly associated with a rock on the Straits of Messina that came to be named after her, apparently. Didn’t know this one. | |
| 18 | Trickery involving politician becoming a bit of a habit (6) |
| WIMPLE – WILE (trickery) containing [involving] MP (politician). The definition refers to nuns’ habits. Fans of “The Sound of Music” may remember the line “and underneath her wimple she has curlers in her hair!” from the song “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”. | |
| 20 | Less steep on the slopes? (3-4) |
| OFF-PEAK – The straight definition refers to fares and admission charges which are likely to be less expensive (steep) at off-peak times. “On the slopes” presumably alludes to skiing and other activities that take place in mountainous areas but not on the peaks. | |
| 22 | German migrant’s point of view (5) |
| ANGLE – Two definitions | |
| 23 | University blocks hunt happening for marine life (3,6) |
| SEA URCHIN – U (university) contained by [blocks] SEARCH (hunt), IN (happening – fashionable). | |
| 25 | On freezer, a brace or vice (6,3) |
| NUMBER TWO – NUMBER (freezer), TWO (brace). “Vice” in the sense of deputy or “number two”. | |
| 26 | Lines bounding cricket team’s compound (5) |
| OXIDE – ODE (lines – poetry) containing [bounding] XI (cricket team) | |
| 27 | Some person from Newcastle city centre, we hear (6) |
| ANYONE – Sounds like [we hear] NE1, the postcode for the city centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne. I don’t recall postcodes from anywhere outside London coming up before. | |
| 28 | Tool muffling echo on TV in confined space (8) |
| CLOSETED – CLOD (tool) containing [muffling] SET (TV) + E (echo – NATO alphabet). I was hoping to find that “clod” might be some sort of implement to account for “tool” but in the absence of that it appears we are expected to take the words as derogatory terms meaning a fool, neither of which I particularly care for but the second I find particularly unpleasant. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Go across street with right turn (8) |
| STRADDLE – ST (street), R (right), ADDLE (turn – as milk may do if left unrefrigerated) | |
| 2 | New dynamo’s housing is a hopeless case (5) |
| GONER – GOER (dynamo) containing [housing] N (new) | |
| 3 | Diabolical mobile telephone mishap (15) |
| MEPHISTOPHELEAN – Anagram [mobile] of TELEPHONE MISHAP | |
| 4 | Concealer applied to sensitive skin (7) |
| RAWHIDE – RAW (sensitive), HIDE (concealer – a hiding place e.g. for observing wildlife) | |
| 6 | Situation involving sorry farce — doomed, almost (1,6,2,6) |
| A COMEDY OF ERRORS – Anagram [involving] of SORRY FARCE DOOME{d} [almost]. I’m inclined towards this being &lit or at least semi&lit as “situation” on its own is rather too vague. It’s a series of events involving misunderstandings leading to comical situations, possibly even tinged with tragedy, in which case “doomed, almost” might be part of it. | |
| 7 | A cake half hidden in lovely trifle (9) |
| BAGATELLE – A + GAT{eau} (cake) [half hidden] in BELLE (lovely) | |
| 8 | Go round acting bullishly? (6) |
| GORING – GO, RING (round) | |
| 9 | Perhaps cherry picking’s first task for American president? (6) |
| PRUNUS – P{picking} [first], RUN U.S. (task for American president). Other types of fruit tree are within the same family | |
| 15 | Whatsit’s scrawny and toothless (9) |
| THINGUMMY – THIN (scrawny), GUMMY (toothless). Both are expressions used for items, the names of which the speaker cannot recall. | |
| 17 | He’s kinda rough-looking (8) |
| SKINHEAD – Anagram [rough] of HE’S KINDA. &lit. | |
| 19 | Zut alors, René gutted to return fake (6) |
| ERSATZ – Z{u}T A{lor}S R{en}E [gutted] and reversed [to return] | |
| 20 | Being extremely jammy, maybe, spread may be smeared thus (2,1,4) |
| ON A ROLL – A figurative expression meaning to be having a run of good fortune followed by a more literal interpretation of the same phrase. | |
| 21 | Top stuntman finally managed to climb multistoried location? (6) |
| NARNIA – AI (top), {stuntma}N [finally], RAN (managed) reversed [to climb]. The setting for a series of many stories by CS Lewis. The key to this one for me was noticing the spelling “mulitstoried” instead of “multistoreyed” as it would be if it referred to buildings or places. | |
| 24 | One who believes wasting time is a crime (5) |
| HEIST – {t{HEIST (one who believes) [wasting time] | |
The rest of the puzzle was equally diabolical – the clue for ‘Narnia’ is fantastic. I saw it would fit the literal long before I was able to work out the wordplay.
Edited at 2017-05-16 02:54 am (UTC)
Have to agree re ‘clod’ and ‘tool’. The former is somewhat bucolic and almost an endearment. The latter never could be.
As the proud owner of the “Let It Be” single (B side: “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number”))*, I was pleased to see it here. And a mutual friend will be equally pleased by NARNIA?
* Oh, and it went to NUMBER TWO in the UK singles chart.
PS: there’s another (somewhat) Mersey band referenced at 18ac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHzWXlqdpvw
Edited at 2017-05-16 03:45 am (UTC)
Thanks to setter and blogger.
My solving brain took me to some strange places trying to parse NUMBER TWO, so thanks for clearing that up Jack.
Great puzzle overall, loved LET IT BE. Thanks setter and Jack.
Edited at 2017-05-16 06:11 am (UTC)
Agree with the plaudits for this one. Loved the Cilla reference.
The sachem (the other word for the Indian chief) actually sounds like the kind of thing you’d hear in a Randolph Scott movie, whereas sagamore just sounds like a tree.
COD to 21d’s “multistoried location”; WOD THUNGUMMY. FOI 13a EATEN, LOI 9d PRUNUS.
Special mention to WIMPLE, which reminds me of my first encounter with the word, in Blackadder, every time I hear it.
Thanks setter and Jack.
Too many frustrating/brilliantly-misleading clues to mention, but perhaps my last in GORING gets a highlight for being much too easy: GO in plain sight and round for RING made it in this context almost impossible. PRUNUS I had in mind, if indeed it was a cherry, but had to wrestle with the wordplay to be sure.
As for others, CLOD/tool only went in under protest and because there was no alternative. Even as pejorative terms they’re barely kissing cousins.
I had sensitive: RAW and skin: HIDE and couldn’t work out how RAWHIDE was a concealer. Just as well there was nothing else that fit, or I might still be ploughing through.
Enjoyable, in the way that being done over by a stage pickpocket is enjoyable. 42.38 (I put that at the end in the hope that no-one would notice)
Nice work.
Edited at 2017-05-16 01:18 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2017-05-16 08:14 am (UTC)
Many thanks to Jackkt and Setter.
Very good puzzle. A particular nod to 27ac for challenging the customary London-centricity of a familiar concept.
Edited at 2017-05-16 07:40 am (UTC)
(p.s. you see, I didn’t leave that notepad in the George because I was plastered. I left it because I somehow knew you would need it)
Edited at 2017-05-16 10:53 am (UTC)
Having earlier explored the vague memory of certain rocks being said to “beetle”, SCYLLA was the last penny to drop, and very satisfying it was too. I am now going for a walk to clear my head, having been earwormed in quick succession by Let It Be, Rawhide and finally Anyone Who Had a Heart. Well done, setter and blogger.
Great puzzle, but as the hour drew closer, I failed with ‘gabber’ and ‘raging’ going in unparsed. And wrong.
I also seem to have bagged the full set of wild goose chases including MAGI, BEETLE and the full gamut of skyscraper synonyms.
Thanks Jack for blogging this beast and thanks through gritted teeth to the setter.
Anyone who thought there were obscurities in this crossword will probably be in for a real treat tomorrow! .. the next qualifier I believe, coupled with a blast-from-the-past ..
GORING was my LOI after GASBAG, and the ANYONE/NARNIA crossers also held me up. I thought the clue for 3dn was an absolute belter because, like some others, I was convinced that the anagram fodder was “mobile telephone” and I spent time trying to work out which of “diabolical” and “mishap” was the definition and which was the anagrind. When I got the second P checker I realised it was neither and saw what was really going on. A tip of the hat to the setter for that clue in particular, but also for the puzzle in general.