22:29
One of the easiest Friday crosswords I can remember, helped of course by the two starting anagrams. I did not know the playwright, the composer, or the name of the game, but all was quickly solvable with checkers and wordplay.
Definitions underlined.
| Across | |
| 1 | Drunk as McGinty, frequenting bars? (9) |
| GYMNASTIC – anagram of (drunk) AS MCGINTY. | |
| 6 | Man seizing power in country (5) |
| NEPAL -NEAL (man) containing (seizing) P (power). | |
| 9 | What’s seen regularly in guava, ugli — as fleshy part (5) |
| UVULA – every other letter in gUaVa UgLi As. | |
| 10 | Professional attack — always make a quick killing (9) |
| PROFITEER – PRO (professional) + FIT (attack) + E’ER (always). | |
| 11 | Genuine error that’s serious by reported visionary (7) |
| SINCERE – SIN (error that’s serious) + homophone of (reported) “seer” (visionary). | |
| 12 | Little Jeremy Fisher story about day pond half disappeared (7) |
| TADPOLE – TALE (story) containing all of D (day) + half of POnd. Coincidentally, I am writing this blog not far from Beatrix Potter’s cottage; Jeremy Fisher is her famous frog. | |
| 13 | Requiem and what it follows that might do for us? (4,10) |
| MASS EXTINCTION – MASS (requiem) + EXTINCTION (what it (the requiem mass) follows, as it is a part of the rites of funeral). I may need to be corrected about this… | |
| 17 | Features editor in press running after latest in pictures (7,7) |
| PLASTIC SURGEON – URGE (press) + ON (running), all after LAST (latest) in PICS (pictures). | |
| 21 | Hat that’s key for Oscar in city (7) |
| HAMBURG – HoMBURG (hat) with A (key) replacing O (oscar). | |
| 23 | Playwright that’s unpleasant during address to queen? (7) |
| MAUGHAM – UGH (that’s unpleasant) contained by MAAM (address to queen?). W Somerset, 20th century English playwright. | |
| 25 | Cried after snakes exposed to blast (9) |
| WINDSWEPT – WEPT (cried) after WINDS (snakes). | |
| 26 | Small piece of land has a tenant (5) |
| ISLET – IS LET (has a tenant). | |
| 27 | Unusual trace elements may do this (5) |
| REACT – anagram of (unusual) TRACE. | |
| 28 | Who helps with setting leg and part of arm (9) |
| STAGEHAND – STAGE (leg) + HAND (part of arm). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Unfortunately, morgues are ultimately — this? (8) |
| GRUESOME – anagram of (unfortunately) MORGUES + last of arE. | |
| 2 | What family does at funeral with second container for ashes (5) |
| MOURN – MO (second) + URN (container for ashes). | |
| 3 | Perception of a conflict with English over loch (9) |
| AWARENESS – A + WAR (conflict) + E (English) + NESS (loch). | |
| 4 | Composer wanting end mostly minor (7) |
| TIPPETT – TIP (end) + most of PETTy (minor). Sir Michael, 20th century English composer. | |
| 5 | Serious defeat embraced by Conservative, one in the soup? (7) |
| CROUTON – ROUT (serious defeat) contained by CON (conservative). | |
| 6 | Larva, one a lizard periodically rejected (5) |
| NAIAD – every other letter from oNe A lIzArD. | |
| 7 | What could attract a greater number to get back in ring (9) |
| PHEROMONE – MORE (a greater number) reversed, contained by PHONE (ring). | |
| 8 | Fat English king makes room for food (6) |
| LARDER – LARD (fat) + E (English) + R (king). | |
| 14 | It left a chap cold coming to a Spanish city (9) |
| SALAMANCA – SA (sex appeal, it) + L (left) + A + MAN (chap) + C (cold) + A. | |
| 15 | What’s blue and quite sour when cooked (9) |
| TURQUOISE – anagram of (when cooked) QUITE SOUR. | |
| 16 | Vital I connect in conjunction (8) |
| ANIMATED – I + MATE (connect), all contained by AND (conjunction). | |
| 18 | Resigns after disturbing admission (7) |
| INGRESS – anagram of (after disturbing) RESIGNS. | |
| 19 | Problem with a carrier missing out the last island (7) |
| SUMATRA – SUM (problem) + A + TRAy (carrier) missing the last letter. Perhaps this could also be formed from an endless TRAm? | |
| 20 | Disorganised mob, one involved in demonstration? (6) |
| SHOWER – double definition. | |
| 22 | Lift small alien bug (5) |
| UPSET – UP (lift) + S (small) + ET (alien). | |
| 24 | Game prince over how he addressed Mary de Bohun? (5) |
| HALMA – HAL (prince) + MA (how he addressed his mother?). A strategy board game which I now see I have played. | |
29.41. Thank you very much william_j_s for undermining my fragile self- confidence. I actually had all the required General Knowledge, apart from the identity of Henry’s mum, but was just very slow. However, thankfully, no pink squares so I will now tackle the QC, which I don’t normally do, but I gather that it’s a bit of a challenge today.
Odd that my LOI was Stagehand, as I spent my whole professional career working backstage in theatres. Oh well…
34’30”
Going very nicely until spooked by a hat that wasn’t final furlong.
Jeremy Fisher and his life-saving mackintosh and lost goloshes [sic] were a favourite, but Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca’s housebreaking, vandalism and grand larceny were just pipped by Samuel Wiskers and Anna Maria, a pair of psychopathic, would-be live-kitten-cooking rats, at the Top of the Potter Pops, for me. I’ve noticed that in my Granparents’ mixture of editions (most of them at three shillings and sixpence each) these were the only two with red covers; perhaps a gentle warning that the contents might be found slightly disturbing.
When Grandad wasn’t reading me these horrors, Grandma would very likely to have been giving me a walloping at Halma, which also has a literary connection. I seem to remember Cordelia excusing herself from the dinner table for a “last game of Halma with Nanny Hawkins”; a contest between the only two remotely likeable English characters in the entire book.
Looking through the Dramatis Personae of Henry IV, I and II, and Henry V, whilst the unpromising sounding coves Feeble, Mouldy, Fang and Wart appear, despite being the mother of a fairly important part of the proceedings, Mary de Bohun doesn’t seem to get a look in. Solving this one I had to resist reaching for a colour-coded Plantagenet tree I cobbled together as an aid to understanding Josephine Tey’s labyrinthine masterpiece The Daughter of Time, which cost the original owner a very well spent two shillings.
Finally the Maugham reminded me that I haven’t yet tracked down a copy of his nephew’s The Servant.
So, many thanks to the setter for jogging so many happy memories and to fellow Halma player William.
29:02 with one pink square. I dithered over the HAMBURG/HOMBURG dilemma for ages before choosing the wrong one.
The “for” is ambiguous . If you swap A for O you give up A and get O.
I’m another Homburg. Otherwise ok.
My LOI was Mass Extinction for which I needed all seven crossers.
Easy for a Friday. It took me 32 minutes. Unfortunately it turned out to be an OWL as I was another HOMBURGER, though I have some sympathy with Bazzock’s comments on this. No problem with NEAL as a name. I thought immediately of Neal Radford, the former English cricketer, as well as some other less celebrated Neals of my acquaintance.
FOI – UVULA
LOI – STAGEHAND
COD – PHEROMONE
Thanks to william and other contributors.
TIPPETT is probably best known for A Child of Our Time, and within that his setting of five spirituals is well worth a listen. Deep River will send shivers down your spine I guarantee. Calling Somerset Maugham a playwright is a bit like calling TS Eliot a playwright: accurate enough but not what they’re principally known for.
23 mins. Thanks setter and blogger.
17’20” on Sunday evening. Agree it can only be HAMBURG. Somerset Maugham a hero of mine. Born in an upstairs room in British embassy in Paris.