Another one of those puzzles, for me, where you struggle along and take an age, then afterwards reviewing the clues you wonder why you found it hard. Perhaps I just wasn’t on the wavelength, or it’s because I was trying to watch the tennis at the same time. Nevertheless, a fine test, a few quirky but not hugely obscure words, and a GK leaning towards our transatlantic colleagues. 2d was a word I didn’t know but assumed it was a parallel term from PODCAST. My CoD was the elegant 3d. I don’t fully understand 12d. And it’s another pangram.
| Across | |
| 1 | Tax done by the book? (8) |
| OVERWORK – OVER = done, and a WORK can be a book. | |
| 6 | Champion oarsmen eclipsing a slightly larger crew? (6) |
| FAVOUR – A crew of FOUR has A V = five included. | |
| 9 | Very old date skins, hard leaves (4) |
| IDES – HIDES = skins loses its H. | |
| 10 | One’s descent in a plane? (6,4) |
| FAMILY TREE – Humourous effort, a plane being a species of tree. Time was wasted on FLYING and FALLEN once the initial F appeared. | |
| 11 | Sparkling set Americanism a Jordanian uses (5,5) |
| CANIS MAJOR – Nicely hidden words for the constellation, in AMERI(CANISM A JOR)DANIAN. | |
| 13 | Relinquish saw erroneously picked up (4) |
| CEDE – I think ‘erroneously’ means it sounds like SEED which would be wrong, if used as the past tense of SEE, instead of SAW. | |
| 14 | One would be respectful to this national anthem — or mean (5,3) |
| STAND FOR – Double definition. I don’t quite understand the exact sense of the ‘THIS natioanl anthem’ bit. One would be respectful by standing for an anthem, but THIS and NATIONAL ANTHEM seem tautologous. Or am I making too much of it? EDIT as the first commenter below points out, the definition is “this” and you substitute it with STAND FOR. | |
| 16 | He sang especially for God (6) |
| GANESH – Anagram of HE SANG, Hindu God, usually spelt GANESHA the one with the head of an elephant. | |
| 18 | Substitute monarch posed with Zulu (6) |
| ERSATZ – ER = monarch, SAT = posed, Z for Zulu. | |
| 20 | Fitting term’s test material around seminars at first (3,5) |
| MOT JUSTE – I believe an MOT test (acronym ofr Ministry of Tranport, originally?) is the UK equivalent of a vehicle’s Controle Technique here in mot-juste-land. JUTE is a sacking-like material, insert the S from seminars at first. | |
| 22 | Britain’s ready for something to chew on (4) |
| QUID – Slang for the pound, and stuff you chew e.g. tobacco. | |
| 24 | What French can put in report is entertaining on grand scale (10) |
| BANQUETING – QUE is French for what, (and for which, whom, that and than). So, put QUE and TIN (=can) and IN into BANG = report. | |
| 26 | Enigmatic husband in extra large lace trousers (10) |
| SPHINXLIKE – Lace = SPIKE, as in a drink, trousers i.e. contains, H, IN, XL. | |
| 28 | Chap appearing every so often in Kiev court (4) |
| IVOR – Alternate letters of k I e V c O u R t, a Ukrainian chap presumably. | |
| 29 | Cream mostly containing syrup: there’s port here (6) |
| BRUGES – BES(T) = cream mostly, insert RUG = wig = syrup (of fig, CRS). Place in Belgium we keep meaning to visit for a weekend but not made it yet. | |
| 30 | Interprets fresh comments on promotion campaign? (3-5) |
| LIP-READS – LIP could be ‘fresh’ i.e. cheeky comments, RE = on, ADS. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Video maker misrepresented card votes (9) |
| VODCASTER – (CARD VOTES)*. Not a word I knew but it does exist. | |
| 3 | In which DA gives consent (7) |
| RUSSIAN – &lit; DA being Russian for yes. No lawyers needed. | |
| 4 | Steer celebrity away from European charity (5) |
| OXFAM – OX = steer, FAME = celebrity, loses its E. For the word play it ought to read ‘ … European away from celebrity’ really, but that would be gibberish. | |
| 5 | Boy or girl one announcer holds up briefly (3) |
| KIM – MIKE is the announcer, loses E, reversed; a name for either gender. Or as many genders as there are these days. | |
| 6 | Comprehensive reportedly encouraging sort of scholarship (9) |
| FULBRIGHT – FUL sounds like FULL = comprehensive; BRIGHT = encouraging, as in prospects; American international scholarship program begin in 1945 by Senator Fulbright, now with over 350,000 alumni apparently. | |
| 7 | Palace the holders, having overcome Ipswich originally (7) |
| VATICAN – Not Crystal Palace FC, they don’t hold any trophies (yet); VAT and CAN are holders, insert I for Ipswich originally. | |
| 8 | Crook in outlet in centre scrubbed intention (1-4) |
| U-BEND – UB is the central portion of scrUBbed, and END = intention. | |
| 12 | Panellist — one of twelve nailing track — a lover of pop? (7) |
| JURYMAN – RY = railway, track; presumably ‘nailed by’ JUMAN? Is JUMAN a pop festival? Or is this something to do with the old Juke Box Jury? I think not. Someone put me in the picture please.EDIT see first comment below. | |
| 15 | Musical devices featuring in hits by The Police (9) |
| FUZZBOXES – The cops in UK are sometimes called the FUZZ (why?) and hits = BOXES. A fuzzbox was / is a electronic pedal device connected to an electric guitar to make it sound ‘fuzzy’ or distorted. I wanted one for mine but I grew up before I could afford to buy it. | |
| 17 | Wrong to disown a fine cabinet maker (9) |
| SATINWOOD – (TO DISOWN A)*. I spent too long looking for a bloke like SHERATON but it’s the wood, not the chap. | |
| 19 | Going off end of April, stopping work for the summer? (7) |
| ADDLING – ADDING is work for a summer, insert L last letter of April. | |
| 21 | Separate strands of investigation commonly acquire point (7) |
| UNTWINE – ‘UNT = ‘commonly pronounced’ HUNT = investigation, WIN = acquire, E point. | |
| 23 | Part of boot for hiker? (5) |
| UPPER – Cryptic double definition. As in ‘hike up prices’. | |
| 25 | Washington-Brussels summit on peace to finish (3,2) |
| USE UP – US – EU could be Washington / Brussels, P = summit on (first letter of) peace. | |
| 27 | The trouble Chicago’s in (3) |
| ILL – Double definition I suppose; ILL = trouble, and Chicago is in Illinois. | |
Regds