I found this one tricky, harder than last Wednesday’s which scored a 136 on the SNITCH, but I hadn’t thought was that hard. We shall see.
I was misled a couple of times, which added time to my 35 minute solve, and I’m not convinced I’ve fully explained the parsing of ANKH. Read on…
Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics
| Across | |
| 1 | Very English place seeing off a large expedition (8) |
| VELOCITY – V(ery) E(nglish) LOCALITY losing A L. | |
| 5 | Area of intellectual activity affected our group (6) |
| CAMPUS – CAMP = affected, US = our group. Area of daft woke activity, more like. | |
| 10 | Backing of French in group quickly pursuing holiday place to stay (3,3,9) |
| BED AND BREAKFAST – BAND (group) with DE (of in French) reversed inserted, then BREAK = holiday, FAST = quickly. | |
| 11 | Fellows back in area — remote, rocky — getting measure of wind (10) |
| ANEMOMETER – MEN (fellows) reversed inside A (REMOTE)*. Device for measuring wind speed, from Greek anemos, wind. | |
| 13 | Went over cruel hill (4) |
| FELL – Triple definition. | |
| 15 | What stand-up comedian may do, having a symbolic impact (7) |
| TOTEMIC – A comedian might TOTE a MIC(rophone). | |
| 17 | Pay for accommodation for thief (7) |
| FOOTPAD – FOOT (pay for) PAD (accommodation). | |
| 18 | Sculptors possibly recalled pose in pieces lacking head (7) |
| ARTISTS – SIT (pose) reversed inside (P)ARTS. | |
| 19 | We will need security about source of messages here (7) |
| WEBMAIL – WE, BAIL (security) with M (“source” of messages) inside. | |
| 21 | Bring round article held by apple grower (4) |
| COAX – A inside COX, abbr. for Cox’s Orange Pippin tree. | |
| 22 | Ghastly party securing state in California, America (10) |
| CADAVEROUS – CA (California) DO (party), insert AVER (state) add US (America). | |
| 25 | Place is buzzing: politician’s beginning significant dodgy argument (7,8) |
| SPECIAL PLEADING – (PLACE IS)*, P (politician’s beginning) LEADING (significant). I didn’t know this phrase exactly but knew it was something to do with the law and courts; apparently it also just means an argument which ignores contrary facts to make a case. | |
| 27 | Separate account in heartless conclusion (6) |
| DETACH – AC inside DE(A)TH = heartless conclusion. | |
| 28 | Seabird captured in cold season not showing wings: one’s caged as a precaution (8) |
| INTERNEE – the answer was obvious enough, but I got a little side-tracked trying to sort out a combination of (W)INTE(R) and the TERN seabird. Then I realised I had the wrong bird! An ERNE is a Sea Eagle, so it’s INT(ERNE)E, where the INTE is winter without wings. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Set up to keep brain active and lively (7) |
| VIBRANT – here, SET = TV; reverse it and insert (BRAIN)*. | |
| 2 | Boy removing nothing from large quantity (3) |
| LAD – LOAD loses its O. | |
| 3 | Right-winger supporting obscurity, not rocking the boat (10) |
| CONFORMIST – CON(servative) FOR (supporting) MIST (obscurity). | |
| 4 | Propose bill supported by Liberal European (5) |
| TABLE – TAB = bill, L(iberal), E(uropean). Table as in table an amendment. | |
| 6 | Religious symbol carried by Khan repeatedly (4) |
| ANKH – well, KHAN is an anagram of ANKH, so is “repeatedly” the anagrind? I can’t see another way to explain it, but what is “carried” there for? An ANKH is a symbol like a cross with a loop on top, a symbol of life from Egyptian mythology. EDIT it’s hidden in a repeat of KHAN, as pointed out below by wise people. KHAN KHAN. | |
| 7 | Pay lone pair to rehash instrument from the 1920s? (6-5) |
| PLAYER-PIANO – (PAY LONE PAIR). | |
| 8 | Was ahead after several games, needing extra time? Agreed (7) |
| SETTLED – SET (several games e.g. tennis) T(ime) LED (was ahead). | |
| 9 | Herbal remedy: always fine with small quantity about (8) |
| FEVERFEW – EVER F(ine) inside FEW = small quantity. | |
| 12 | Condition accepted by each bloke in property job (6,5) |
| ESTATE AGENT – STATE (condition) inside EA GENT. | |
| 14 | Historic garment design getting no initial surprised reaction (6,4) |
| DOUBLE TAKE – DOUBLET is the historic garment, (M)AKE = design with no initial letter. | |
| 16 | Injured person’s left for time without adequate attention? (8) |
| CASUALLY – I had this the wrong way round for a while, making it harder to see 25a, but then S*E*I*T wasn’t offering me a word and it had to be SPECIAL, so I realised my error. CASUALTY has the T swapped for an L (left for time). | |
| 18 | Charged, but doomed to lose power ultimately (7) |
| ACCUSED – ACCURSED (doomed) loses R (end of power). | |
| 20 | Italian food — the way to circumvent depression (7) |
| LASAGNE – LANE (way) has SAG (depression) inside. | |
| 23 | Literary lion using a lot of dodgy language? (5) |
| ASLAN – A, SLAN(G) = a lot of dodgy language. As in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis. Which I confess I’ve never read, and never shall. | |
| 24 | Image of sun is captured in revolutionary data storage medium (4) |
| DISC – IS inside CD reversed. | |
| 26 | Hotel popular around November (3) |
| INN – N(ovember) inside IN = popular. | |
Freddy and Ferdy are referred to as “footpad foxes” in a Rupert story. I suppose the writer was looking for alliteration. I enjoyed this, did a lot of biffing, but have one query: is “getting measure of wind” an acceptable definition for anemometer? Or indeed just “measure of wind”. The anemometer is the measurer not the measure. Or am I being pedantic? I too had Dylan thoughts for 23D, with a ghastly fear for an instant that the setter had made a mistake. Unworthy of me. LOI COAX, just avoiding the tempting CRAB, thank God. 21’15” all up. Thanks.
Quite a few missing here: NHO SPECIAL PLEADING, that meaning of FELL, or the Dickensian term FOOTPAD; and don’t think I’d ever have gotten CADAVEROUS from ghastly. But I made a good stab at it, especially liking the ones I did get, including CAMPUS, B & B, FEVERFEW and PLAYER PIANO ( brought to mind Fats Wallah.)
Thanks for the (tough) workout setter, and Pip.