Another not-so-tricky but pleasant Wednesday, with a bit of literature and some geography to test our GK. It took me 17 minutes, ending with NEPHEWS and the amusing TOP UP.
On this day in 1920 prohibition began in the USA.
Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, [deleted letters in square brackets].
| Across | |
| 1 | The estate is run down, people say (7) |
| DEMESNE – well if people say demense so it sounds like DEMEAN (run down), they must live in a different country from me. I know it’s pronounced demain not demeen. But a homophone must be intended here, or is there another explanation? | |
| 5 | Register a line, one ignored by enthusiast (7) |
| ALMANAC – A, L[ine], MANIAC with the I ignored. | |
| 9 | Material that could be adapted to poet’s lyre (9) |
| POLYESTER – (POET’S LYRE)*. | |
| 10 | Seal dedication? Add a little (3,2) |
| TOP UP – until I had put in 7d I wanted this to be TIE UP, meaning seal, but then I saw it had to be TOP UP, and remembered baby seals are called pups, so the dedication is “TO PUP”. | |
| 11 | Tense with highly optimistic hope (6,7) |
| FUTURE PERFECT – If you want the future to be perfect, you’re certainly pretty optimistic. | |
| 13 | Gash tree, the outside being dead (8) |
| LACERATE -ACER a maple tree inside LATE = dead. | |
| 15 | Woman left to collect son and daughter perhaps (6) |
| DAMSEL – DAME (woman) insert S for son and add L for left. | |
| 17 | Was obliged to return after almost perfect seclusion (6) |
| PURDAH – HAD (was obliged to) reversed, after PUR[E]. | |
| 19 | Spooks: headless horses in race round village boundaries (8) |
| UNNERVES – horses are RUNNERS, lose the initial R and insert V[illag]E. | |
| 22 | Range of human action involved at home (8,5) |
| MOUNTAIN CHAIN – (HUMAN ACTION)*, IN = at home. | |
| 25 | Suspicion online basket has been withdrawn (5) |
| TRACE – online basket = E-CART; reverse it. | |
| 26 | Be defensive — the way a single wicket is followed by the rest (9) |
| STONEWALL – ST (the way) ONE (a single) W (wicket) ALL (the rest). | |
| 27 | Snubs English bishop wearing frills (7) |
| REBUFFS – E, B[ishop] inside RUFFS = frills. | |
| 28 | Footballers getting one draw and a defeat (7) |
| FAILURE – FA (footballers), I (one) LURE (draw). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Foolish to make Pinky or Perky “discontented” (4) |
| DOPY – DO = make, to get PY, you would have removed the middle letters, or “dis-contented”, pinky or perky. | |
| 2 | European in Webster’s play setting, cold and evil (7) |
| MALEFIC – the Webster play being The Duchess of MALFI, insert E for European and add C for cold. | |
| 3 | Given errand to collect pennies, to be this? (5) |
| SPENT – SENT (given errand) has P for pennies inside. | |
| 4 | Fullness of being, about to be limited (8) |
| ENTIRETY – ENTITY = being, insert RE = about. | |
| 5 | Sudden power to punch a bully no end (6) |
| ABRUPT – insert P for power into A BRUT[E]. | |
| 6 | Old Democrat organised procession for head of state? (9) |
| MOTORCADE – (O DEMOCRAT)*. | |
| 7 | Bulletins about horse in training those my sister gave me? (7) |
| NEPHEWS – NEWS around PE (training) around H[orse]. | |
| 8 | Take advantage of what Italy and Israel are said to need (10) |
| CAPITALISE – Italy and Israel are said to need CAPITAL I’S. | |
| 12 | Space traveller circling orbit extremely eager for a measure of applause (10) |
| CLAPOMETER – COMET (space traveller) around LAP (orbit) then E[age]R. I think I’d say a clapometer is a measurer of applause, not a measure, but that would be pedantic. | |
| 14 | With nothing in store, safer bet to cook this? (5,4) |
| ROAST BEEF – (SAFER BET)* with O inserted. | |
| 16 | Stop working to steal (5,3) |
| KNOCK OFF – double definition. | |
| 18 | Indistinct muttering right over pub in centre (7) |
| RHUBARB – R for right, then BAR inside HUB (pub in centre). | |
| 20 | Lead and uranium atomic team use principally in remote islands (7) |
| VANUATU – VAN (lead), U (uranium), A T U (initial letters of atomic team use). I went to the Republic of Vanuatu, in the mid nineties, it was rainy, hot and humid, but the seeing the active volcano on Tanna was worth it. | |
| 21 | Unreasonable influences one found in headquarters (6) |
| BIASES – BASES (HQs) has I (one) inserted. | |
| 23 | Anger unknown by a revolutionary Eurasian (5) |
| AZERI -all reversed; IRE (anger) Z (unknown) A. A person from Azerbaijan. When I was at school it was in Asia and part of the USSR, but it seems now it’s in Eurasia and enters the Eurovision Song Contest. There again, so does Australia. Bonkers world we live in. | |
| 24 | Opponent eating large ice (4) |
| FLOE -FOE with L inserted. | |
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