Another fine Wednesday puzzle, not a ‘love-it-or-hate-it was last week’s, but very enjoyable. Quite a mix of easy clues, BIFFable clues and ones requiring a modicum of GK to satisfy the judges without guesswork. The only two to give me pause for thought were 17a – a firework I’d seen demonstrated but had heard called another name – and 5d which was buried in a far corner of the grey matter and hard to dredge up.
| Across | |
| 1 | Nearest one gets to star for each current male celebrity (10) |
| PERIHELION – PER = for each, I = one, HE = male, LION = celebrity. The star for example being the sun, and the perihelion being the point on Earth’s orbit when it is closest (as opposed to the aphelion). Fortunately I knew this as I’m quite into astronomy. | |
| 6 | Group of fighters is clear when uncovered (4) |
| IMPI – I needed some checkers before getting this. An IMPI is a band of Zulu warriors and I’m sure I’ve seen them before in a puzzle. LIMPID = clear loses its outer letters. | |
| 9 | Left a wife with set of clothes in case (7) |
| LAWSUIT – L, A, W(ife), SUIT = set of clothes. My FOI. | |
| 10 | Carpet laid badly for follower of waltzing? (7) |
| MATILDA – MAT = carpet, (LAID)*. A swagman’s belongings slung on a stick were his “matilda” and “waltzing” meant walking through the bush. Now you’ve got the earworm all day. | |
| 12 | A suggestion can get detailed (5) |
| TINGE – TIN = can, GE(T) = get detailed. | |
| 13 | State game needs energy for one to learn (9) |
| TENNESSEE – E replaces I in TENNIS, then SEE = learn. | |
| 14 | Choosing system to change local time in Orkney bay (11,4) |
| ALTERNATIVE VOTE – ALTER = change, NATIVE = local, VOE is a word for a bay in Orkney, e.g. Sullom Voe a well known oil port, insert T for time. | |
| 17 | Firework pops with rather ashen swirling (8,7) |
| PHARAOHS SERPENT – A firework I’d never heard of with that name, and a rather nonsensical surface, but the anagram fodder and the checkers led me there. (POPS RATHER ASHEN)*. There’s a striking demo of it here, where someone sets fire to a pile of mercury thiocyanate on a plate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dhHpHOgrUI. I like the spooky music. | |
| 20 | Reverting to older form of Greek without classical name for bird (9) |
| ATAVISTIC – ATTIC = form of Greek, goes around AVIS the Latin for bird. “Reverting to older” is a sort of truncated definition of atavistic, a clever clogs word I’ll try to use more often. | |
| 21 | We must cross a street for litter (5) |
| WASTE – A ST(reet) inside WE. | |
| 23 | Simple weapon like one a long time back (7) |
| ASSEGAI – AS = like, I AGES (one, a long time), reversed. | |
| 24 | When a king could be under pressure to kill pheasants, perhaps (7) |
| ENDGAME – referring to chess; if you END GAME you could be killing pheasants. | |
| 25 | Rifle fire (4) |
| SACK – Double definition. | |
| 26 | Projected drama featured tortured POW in murder (6,4) |
| SHADOW PLAY – SLAY = murder; insert HAD (featured) and (POW)*. S (HAD) (OWP) LAY. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Plan installing current circuit broken by minute indicator (5,4) |
| PILOT LAMP – PLOT with I inserted, then LAP with M inserted. | |
| 2 | Member of rose family Rosa, but it’s become pale and sickly (5) |
| ROWAN – ROSA has her SA (it, sex appeal) replaced by WAN meaning pale and sickly. | |
| 3 | Exploit holiday island in part of Hong Kong for criminal activity (13) |
| HOUSEBREAKING – HONG is the part you need. Into that insert USE (exploit), BREAK (holiday) and I (island). | |
| 4 | A title abandoned outside of university in old Paris (7) |
| LUTETIA – (A TITLE)* with U inserted. I know LUTETIA is the Latin name for Paris because I know the element Lutetium was named after Paris, as one of its discoverers was a French chap, Georges Urbain. Lutetium is one of the so-called rare earth metals although it is actually more abundant than silver in the Earth’s crust. | |
| 5 | Turkish chap covered in exotic oils (7) |
| OSMANLI – Another one got from wordplay. MAN goes inside (OILS)*. It means Turkish or Ottoman, named after Osman I who founded said Empire. | |
| 7 | Mass troubles to Tyneside perhaps can be a burden (9) |
| MILLSTONE – M(ass), ILLS (troubles), TO NE (to Tyneside). | |
| 8 | Vegan eats this up to make vegetarian angry (5) |
| IRATE – Irate reversed inserted into vegan gives you vegetarian, thus: VEG (ETARI) AN. | |
| 11 | Operetta tune “Romeo, Romeo”, unknown text overleaf? (3,5,5) |
| THE MERRY WIDOW – You are allowed to BIFF this, and then see how it works; THE ME = tune, R, R, Y = Romeo, Romeo, unknown; then a WIDOW in typography is a lonely line of text which joins up with another paragraph on the next page, an undesirable piece of typesetting. | |
| 15 | Of the sea, it’s mostly stupid putting a girl in (9) |
| THALASSIC – THIC(K) = it’s mostly stupid, insert A LASS. From the Greek word Θάλασσα meaning sea. | |
| 16 | Really how it appears for idealist? (9) |
| EXTREMELY – I and T (it) appear as the first and last extremes of IdealisT. | |
| 18 | Rather warm house, always dry one, shut up (7) |
| HOTTISH – HO = house, TT = dry, I, SH = shut up. | |
| 19 | Come after County Council, note, prosecuted for housing (7) |
| SUCCEED – SUED = prosecuted, insert CC for county council and E a note. | |
| 20 | Collect is a church form of worship (5) |
| AMASS – A, MASS. Can’t say much more about it. | |
| 22 | Stop running market booth (5) |
| STALL – Double definition. | |
Companion to try stiff mutton chops (10)
love it – good clue imo; but not one that I’d be likely to solve in the wild