Time taken: 19:43, and once I limped to the finish there was one horrible typo.
A bout of strep throat has left me well under par this week, I think I have had typos in at least three of the crosswords this week. A pity, because as I write this up, I realise that the wordplay is exact and inventive, there’s some really fun clues here.
How did you get along?
| Across | |
| 1 | Appeal of hit show, ultimate in chart topper? (4,4) |
| HOW’S THAT – anagram of SHOW, then the last letter in charT, and HAT(topper). An appeal in cricket, now replaced by “howaaaayyyyyyyyyaaaaa” | |
| 9 | Accessible work — aim with old men (4-4) |
| OPEN-DOOR – OP(word), END(aim), O(old), OR(men) | |
| 10 | Cut down fine length of cloth (4) |
| FELL – F(fine, music term), ELL(length of cloth) | |
| 11 | Classic tugboats reportedly out of condition? (6,6) |
| FAWLTY TOWERS – the out of condition tugboats would be FAULTY TOWERS. Referencing the 70s sitcom | |
| 13 | Basket turned up with new bag (6) |
| PUNNET – UP reversed, with N(new), NET(bag) | |
| 14 | Ceremony upsetting Rwanda church (3,5) |
| WAR DANCE – anagram of RWANDA, then CE(church) | |
| 15 | Cover telephone inventor against clash of interests (4,3) |
| BELL JAR – Alexander Graham BELL(telephone inventor) and JAR(clash of interests) | |
| 16 | Running as a cure for split in foot? (7) |
| CAESURA – anagram of AS,A,CURE – the foot is a poetical one | |
| 20 | Male succeeded when cutting to obtain a certain diamond? (8) |
| GEMSTONE – M(male), S(succeeded) inside GET(obtain), ONE(a) | |
| 22 | Religious song but not second pious ceremonial (6) |
| RITUAL – SPIRITUAL(religious song) minus S(second) and PI(pious) | |
| 23 | Drawing on veracities in a new way (12) |
| EVISCERATION – anagram of ON,VERACITIES. Think of “drawn and quartered” | |
| 25 | Queen wearing gold and a pale blue (4) |
| AQUA – Q(queen) inside AU(gold) and A | |
| 26 | Book lasting a year? (8) |
| TWELVEMO – since a year would be TWELVE MOnths | |
| 27 | Italian town, no resort for development (8) |
| SORRENTO – anagram of NO,RESORT | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Approach plain with river (8) |
| OVERTURE – OVERT(plain) and the river URE | |
| 3 | What could show small naughty child a way of seeing inside? (4-8) |
| SELF-ANALYSIS – S(small), ELF(naughty child), ANALYSIS(a way of seeing inside). I originally had this as an all-in-one, but as pointed out by several astute commenters, the intention was that ANALYSIS of S+ELF gets you to the answer. | |
| 4 | Greeting a guard, not caught by a brave hero (8) |
| HIAWATHA – HI(greeting), A, WATCH(guard) minus C(caught) next to A | |
| 5 | Reading perhaps about unknown in books is of no real value (7) |
| TOYTOWN – Reading is a TOWN, containing Y(unknown) inside OT(books). This was where I fat-fingered TOTTOWN | |
| 6 | Cases for neuroscience unit emergency room doctor (6) |
| NEUTER – external letters in NeurosciencE and UniT, then ER(emergency room) | |
| 7 | Aircraft varnish — work into wings of drone (4) |
| DOPE – OP(work) inside the external letters of DronE | |
| 8 | Plays, regularly polemical, without intermission (8) |
| ORESTEIA – alternating letters in pOlEmIcA surrounding REST(intermission). Plays by Aeschylus | |
| 12 | Disintegrating: it’s a new maths thing (12) |
| WHATSITSNAME – anagram of IT’S,A,NEW,MATHS | |
| 15 | Bread with appropriate side finally covered in unlimited butter (8) |
| BAGUETTE – BAG(appropriate) then the last letter of sidE inside the internal letters of bUTTEr | |
| 17 | What needs pilot broadcast on cable before start of run (8) |
| AIRLINER – AIR(broadcast), on LINE(cable) then the first letter of Run | |
| 18 | Study due for change again (8) |
| READJUST – READ(study), JUST(due) | |
| 19 | Thus youth with record overturned boats (7) |
| PEDALOS – SO(thus), LAD(youth) and EP(record) all reversed | |
| 21 | Cricketer’s heavy blow about exercise (6) |
| OPENER – ONER(heavy blow) surrounding PE(exercise) | |
| 24 | Climbing team traps live mountain goat (4) |
| IBEX – XI(team) reversed containing BE(live) | |
NHO twelvemo, now added to xword dictionary.
Laments on the plastic ‘punnet’ reminded me that the trug too persists as a measure as advertised on roadside apple stalls ..noticed when motoring towards Spike’s resting place last year.