A witty romp indeed, nothing to slow down the gallop through this fine but undemanding puzzle in 15 minutes, and there is a larger than usual helping of anagrams. When I had an X and a Z early on, I was thinking pangram, but it isn’t.
Definitions underlined in bold, DD = double definition, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, [deleted letters in square brackets].
| Across | |
| 1 | Nothing on record that identifies business (4) |
| LOGO – LOG (record) + O. | |
| 3 | Where one might find food writers of little talent? (4,6) |
| GRUB STREET – I guess you can see this as an amusing DD, or an amusing cryptic definition. Grub Street in Johnson’s day was where the hack poets and writers hung out, I gather it’s long since been demolished and is the site of the Barbican. | |
| 9 | Prison reformer’s quick meal (4-3) |
| STIR-FRY – my favourite clue today; STIR slang for prison, Elizabeth Fry was know for being a reformer, especially of prison conditions. | |
| 11 | Cliquey crowd pouring out (2,5) |
| IN GROUP – (POURING)*. Neat and concise. | |
| 12 | Lure a girl in a way that could be irregular (9) |
| GUERRILLA – (LURE A GIRL)*. | |
| 13 | Right about start of conflict and its end maybe (5) |
| TRUCE – TRUE = right, insert C[onflict]. | |
| 14 | Cheats alter boring summer clothes (5-7) |
| SHORT-CHANGES – CHANGE (alter) inside SHORTS which some brave people wear in summer in England. I saw someone in shorts in the supermarket car park yesterday, it was minus 4 degrees, bonkers IMO. | |
| 18 | Pass on traffic warning and fix with utmost vigour (5,3,4) |
| TOOTH AND NAIL – TOOT (traffic warning), HAND (pass),
NAIL (fix). |
|
| 21 | Ugly dwarf in part of Austria, not unknown having doubled back (5) |
| TROLL – the TYROL loses its Y and gains an extra L at the back. | |
| 22 | Mastery of European, cheeky one, in kinky sex (9) |
| EXPERTISE – E (European), then PERT I (cheeky one) inside (SEX)*. | |
| 24 | Provided funding for outstanding result? (7) |
| ENDOWED – END OWED = result outstanding. | |
| 25 | Overturn limit with audible expressions of regret (7) |
| CAPSIZE – CAP (limit), SIZE sounds like sighs. | |
| 26 | Watch door in study being smashed (6,4) |
| SENTRY DUTY – ENTRY (door) inside (STUDY)*. | |
| 27 | Not so much to consecrate in bishop’s absence (4) |
| LESS – BLESS loses its B. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Made in desperate hurry, glass apt to shatter (4-4) |
| LAST-GASP – (GLASS APT)*. | |
| 2 | Conducted over good lab frequently (5,3) |
| GUIDE DOG – GUIDED (conducted), O[ver], G[ood]. Most guide dogs being of the labrador breed. | |
| 4 | Put down, then men raised mast on high (5) |
| ROYAL – LAY (put down), OR (men), all reversed. Something to do with flags, I assume, the Royal Standard is never flown at half mast. | |
| 5 | Iranian starts to throw boot about and waves ruler? (9) |
| BRITANNIA – (IRANIAN T B)*, the T from thrown and B from boot. | |
| 6 | Chief is after mean man who’s paid pennies for position in front row (5-4,4) |
| TIGHT-HEAD PROP – TIGHT (mean), HEAD (chief), PRO (man who’s paid, not an amateur), P[ennies]. Front-row scrum position in rugby. | |
| 7 | Make one’s mark in plea over a major departure from scripture (6) |
| EXODUS – Reversed SUDOXE, being DO X (make one’s mark) inside SUE = plea. | |
| 8 | Band of fur in untidy place on cat, for one (6) |
| TIPPET – TIP = untidy place, PET could be a cat. | |
| 10 | Richest countries unprepared in retrospect for conflict (5,5,3) |
| FIRST WORLD WAR – First world countries are supposedly the richest; RAW in retrospect = WAR. | |
| 15 | Rash, like hives or herpes for example (3-6) |
| HOT-HEADED – Hives and herpes both begin with H for hot. | |
| 16 | Make fullest use of proverb first to explain gripping lives (8) |
| MAXIMISE – MAXIM = proverb, E (first of explain), insert IS = lives. | |
| 17 | People on night train going over these? (8) |
| SLEEPERS – cryptic definition, as the train passes over rails laid on sleepers. | |
| 19 | Initially simple lock creating tension (6) |
| STRESS – S[imple], TRESS = lock of hair. | |
| 20 | Flex performing as barrier (6) |
| CORDON – CORD = flex, ON = performing. | |
| 23 | Old old Scotsman’s outside loop (5) |
| PICOT – O for old, inside PICT an old Scotsman. Something to do with embroidery, I gather, so says Mrs piquet. | |
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I could /should/would have enjoyed this amusing puzzle if my printout came without several clues at the bottom! ( I get that that might be a problem at my end, but I see that the new, lengthier clues make the RHS of the sheet taking up more of the space than usual – can’t even see them on my iMac). I’m now going to spend a lot of time trying to correct what may not be correctable …
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