Some really brilliant clues in here – if I’ve parsed it correctly then 16ac might be my COD, and if I haven’t, then it might still be. Loads of brilliant clues and words everywhere though, I’m sure everybody will have their own favourite. Well done setter!
Tomorrow is the first day of the New York Times pandemic-year crossword championship and I’m really looking forward to it. Oxbridge-rivalry-style jokes aside, the Other Times crossword is a lot of fun, with some spectacular Ninas (if they’re still called that across the pond) every week… even if you have a lot more crossers to work with, the lack of corroboration between cryptic and definitional parts makes it a lot more important to home in on the setter’s wavelength quickly, a challenge indeed. I look forward to matching wits with anyone reading this who might be showing up for the event!
ACROSS
1 Dish seen in fine old dresser (8)
MACARONI – double def: either pasta or an 18th century dandy
9 Boast pay can secure plant (8)
CROWFOOT – CROW [boast] + FOOT [pay]
10 Luxury’s endless advantage (4)
PLUS – PLUS{h}
11 Incumbent at first on females, one not so friendly, to relay pardon (12)
OFFICEHOLDER – O{n} + F F [two females] + I [one] + COLDER [not so friendly], “relaying” EH [pardon?]. Original containment indicator
13 Follow United, again in the money for winning (6)
PURSUE – take PURSE [the money for winning] and insert a U (“again”, as there’s already one in the original word)
14 Report of engine trouble — sponsor getting sack (8)
BACKFIRE – BACK [sponsor] + FIRE [sack]
15 A villain tailed by Sherlock, ultimately for sport (7)
KABADDI – A BADDI{e}, by {sherloc}K. An awesome Indian sport involving playing tag while holding your breath, that shows up in quiz reasonably often
16 Old shipping magnate’s donkey rides? (7)
ONASSIS – if he rides donkey, he IS ON ASS. If he donkey rides, he ON ASS IS. I think!
20 Peers into vessel, bonnet having been pulled back (8)
NOBLESSE – hidden reversed in {v}ESSEL BON{net}
22 Trick with needle to get swelling out (6)
CONVEX – CON [trick] with VEX [needle]
23 Laughter about need to employ such a search? (5-2-5)
HOUSE-TO-HOUSE – HOHO! “about” USE [need] TO, + USE [employ], semi-&lit
25 Something one might file away secure? (4)
NAIL – double def, a noun and a verb
26 Bird finally chooses this moment to cry out (5,3)
SNOWY OWL – {choose}S + NOW [this moment] + YOWL [to cry out]
27 Name of E number originally used in topping (8)
EBENEZER – E + N{umber} in BEEZER! [topping]
DOWN
2 Hymn from the works by European variously recalled at intervals (8)
ALLELUIA – ALL [the works] by E(uropean), + reversed {v}A{r}I{o}U{s}L{y}
3 A page of baseless, false old stories (6,6)
AESOP’S FABLES – (A P OF BASELESS*)
4 Duo I left floundering in the deep (8)
OUTFIELD – (DUO I LEFT*)
5 Reserve power needed for small cooler (3,4)
ICE CUBE – ICE [reserve] + CUBE [(third) power]
6 Face family, cold, having received welcome earlier (6)
GOTHIC – C(old), having GOT HI earlier. As in the font face
7 Useless little film receiving Oscar (4)
VOID – VID “receiving” O
8 Run, when in better shape, at first without a stitch (8)
STARKERS – R(un) in STAKER + S{hape}
12 Go, feeling one’s leaving for long time (4,8)
LIFE SENTENCE – LIFE [go, as in “there’s life in the old dog yet”] + SENT{i}ENCE
15 Family’s experiences after descending on a foreign city (8)
KINSHASA – KIN’S [family’s] + HAS [experiences] descend onto A. Capital of the DRC
17 Romantic piece: hit performance listened out for (8)
NOCTURNE – homophone of KNOCK TURN [hit | performance]
18 Thing that’s crossed channel that is crossing river? Correct (4,4)
IDEE FIXE – I.E. [that is], “crossing” DEE FIX [river | correct]. If you have a “thing” about something, well, over on the other side of the channel they might call that an “idee fixe”.
19 Main unit for broadcasters opening in Yale? (7)
KEYHOLE – KEY [main] + homophone of WHOLE [unit]. Yale as in a lock
21 Daily rounds too much, having to go to North London suburb (6)
SUTTON – SUN [daily (paper)] “rounds” O.T.T. [too much], reversed [having to go (from south) to north]. Devious because Sutton is very much south of the Thames
22 There’s a problem for all to see: ball trapped between rugby posts? (2-2)
UH-OH – U [for all to see (at the cinema), + O [ball] “trapped between” H and H [rugby posts!]
Relieved to see that I’m not the only one.
Tough Friday, I thought.
A pleasantly nostalgic read through the comments thinking about all the comics that used to be passed around at school, including all those mentioned as well as the more intellectual Hotspur and Rover. Also Film Fun, Radio Fun, Tiger, Swift and Eagle … happy days 🙂
And a bit after my time, but I see there was a childrens comic called Bimbo, who knew?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123728199717?hash=item1ccec68025:g:HZUAAOSwoG1cgAUY
Edited at 2021-04-23 08:37 pm (UTC)
FOI ONASSIS
Edited at 2021-04-23 10:41 pm (UTC)
(LOI) 18dn IDEE FIXE
COD 21dn SUTTON
WOD 15ac KABADDI as seen on TV
DNF ‘cos of 18dn – “ridicerous!” as they say in Sheffield.
Not sure about ONASSIS. It was a write in but I just didn’t think the parsing quite worked. Maybe it did.
Four left after I extended my 45 minutes up to the hour. MACARONI which I rather gave up on; STARKERS which was v good but I couldn’t untangle either the w/p or the definition and the IDEE FIXE EBENEEZER crossers. I did pencil in the former (metaphorically, I solve on a phone) but couldn’t make sense of the w/p.
Glad I didn’t try to persevere to get the name. Not a great clue for me. My kids love doing cryptics but they understandably moan at words which have never belonged to their generation. Beezer definitely falls into that category
I’ll forgive it this time for UH-OH though 🙂
Thanks fiendish setter and the ever readable Verlaine
PS Beezer: an English comic? No way. A product of Scotland, Dundee specifically, a city famed for its Jute, Jam & Journalism.