Solving Time: 22 minutes, plus a few to check some parsings. About average for a blooging day, but I was slow to get started and it didn’t feel easy. I’m pleased with the time, in the end. I think I like this crossword, it’s got some excellent clues with very good surface readings, which I am always a sucker for. Good stuff. It is perhaps rather Anglocentric, what with the bear, the comic, the rural county and the industrial port, and none the worse for that of course.
cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(–), homophones indicated in “”
ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online
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Across |
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|---|---|
| 1 | Herefordshire – present = HERE + FOR + D(aughter)’S HIRE. Not so hard (for an English ex-cricket fan), once the H appeared anyway |
| 8 | knob – central parts of weaKNess + imprOBably |
| 9 | Rupert Bear – game = RU + forward = PERT + stick = BEAR, the def. being “strip of paper;” “strip in paper” being a shade too helpful… |
| 10 | gymnasia – *(GAS + I + MANY), the second consecutive cryptic def. being “pumping stations,” as in pumping iron. |
| 11 | browse – summit = BROW + points = directions = SE. |
| 13 | codswallop – fish = COD + S(mall) + paste = WALLOP… with the fish and the paste sandwiching the small, see? A very neat clue, that |
| 16 | lilt – (portuga)L in “was illuminating” = LIT |
| 17 | snog – SONG, with the O moving towards the tail. Ah, snogging, I remember it well <sighs> |
| 18 | tantamount – light brown = TAN + horse = MOUNT, containing we’re obliged = thanks = TA |
| 20 | Mr Bean – British = BR rev. in MEAN. I like him about as much as Jack likes Spike Milligan.. |
| 22 | mooching – low = MOO + punch = CHIN + G(lass), the girl having left it, see.. mooching reminds me of this classic song from that wonderful film, Blues Brothers |
| 24 |
coatimundi – fur = COAT + IM, + UNDI( |
| 26 | pogo – LOGO, with the L(arge) replaced by a P(arking)… pogoing being the sort of dance you do, if you are as totally untalented at dancing as I am |
| 27 | Ellesmere Port – “from Calais, she’s” = ELLE’S + just = MERE + left = PORT, to make the industrial port (its highlight being the oil refinery) at the seaward end of the Manchester Ship Canal. I used to go there and watch the tankers coming up the Mersey and going into the canal. For fun. This was before computers, you understand, damn near before television in fact. I mean, it was that or Muffin the Mule.. |
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Down |
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| 1 |
honeymooner – polish = HONE + unknown = Y (so, not x or z) + shower = MOONER.. well, look it up <blushes> |
| 2 |
robin – ROBIN( |
| 3 | for a start – chap with dreadlocks = RASTA(farian) in keep = FORT |
| 4 |
Raphael – hammer = RAP + HA( |
| 5 | shrub – pipe down = SH + RUB = massage. What with the massage, the snog, the mooning, and the honeymoon, is this setter trying to tell us something? Is this a theme, or what? |
| 6 | imbroglio – *(BIG LIMO OR) – a word I know, but can’t pronounce.. |
| 7 | eta – dd, Greek letter and a TLA for “estimated time |
| 12 | silent night – fast = one = I + LENT + approaching = NIGH (as in “The end is nigh..”), all in ST(reet) |
| 14 |
segmental – *(M( |
| 15 | piano wire – *(OR WIPE A N I). Tricky clue.. not so hard to see its an anagram, but a bit of a leap from a baby to a baby grand, as I suppose is intended. Almost certainly not an oblique reference to garrotting, trying though babies can be at times |
| 19 | nominee – hmm, so if a miner digs, a minee must be dug? And NO MINEE can’t be… you get the picture here, I hope |
| 21 | Nimes – hidden, rev., in streetwiSE MINister. A lovely town, wish I was there.. |
| 23 | hippo – with it = HIP, + (the river) PO. I thought of this straight off but didn’t write it in, thinking the def. a bit weak at first. It is an @lit, ie the entire clue is the def. |
| 25 |
owe – sounds like O( |
I foolishly put in “ELLESEMERE WEST”, knew it was dodgy, and then didn’t question it. Consequently, I failed completely on HIPPO despite its being obvious, and put in HYPHE in desperation, hoping that it was an obscure term related to ‘hyphen’. How stupid can one be?
COD was SEGMENTAL, simply because I had all the letters and most of the checkers but had to stare at it for an eternity before it clicked.
Apart from that, I found the rest a hard slog, taking about an hour to get that far. Maybe I just wasn’t on the right wavelength.
Despite the time taken, there is a sense of satisfaction in prevailing ultimately when it seemed unlikely.
Well done, for sticking at it – I hate to leave a crossword unfinished, or cheat, and so far have never had to, since if you put it to one side for a bit, then have another look, eventually everything will come…
I thought both this crossword and the previous day’s were excellent
24:41 for me, finally sticking for ages on CODSWALLOP (imagining a different parsing) and RAPHAEL.
In contrast with some other commenters, I thought this was a brilliant crossword, and (not for the first time) have no objection to some of the clues that others didn’t like. For heaven’s sake, it only needs a bit of lateral thinking to sort out 19dn (NOMINEE) and the “baby” in 15dn (PIANO WIRE). Sadly this is far too late for the setter to read, but I raise my hat to him (or her).
Great blog as well, Jerry. Thanks.
I suspect my blogging career may be drawing peacefully towards its close, Tony, but I have enjoyed some of the interaction very much and yours not the least.