This one took me exactly 30 minutes and I found it very enjoyable and quite inventive in places. A couple of words may not be familiar to all but the wordplay is clear enough in these cases to make the answers accessible.
As usual {deletions} are in curly brackets and [indicators] in square ones. I have included definitions where I think they may be of assistance to recruits from the Quick Cryptic puzzle.
Across |
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---|---|
1 | CROTCHET – CROCHET (woollen creation) containing [covering] T{toddler} [head of]. Definition: note. Crotchet is the British name for the American quarter note in music. |
9 | HAREBELL – HAL (Shakespearean prince – Henry V as he was to become) containing [throttling] REBEL (insurgent) |
10 | EMMA – ME (the writer) reversed [switch], MA (old woman). Definition: young woman in novel – of the same title by Jane Austen |
11 | RETURN TICKET – TURN (modify) + TICK (bug) inside anagram [gnarled] of TREE. I liked ‘homing device’ as the definition here. |
13 | LAWFUL – L (left), AWFUL (in a bad way) |
14 | POLTROON – Anagram [dreadfully] of POOR LOT, {ma}N [ultimately]. A strange word I learnt at a young age as a term of abuse favoured by Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock. I don’t think I knew it specifically meant a coward though, just a general ratbag, to use another favourite expression of ‘the lad himself’. |
15 | CATS-EYE – A straight definition with a barely cryptic hint, but I suppose the whole thing makes sense as &lit too |
16 | ATHEISM – A, then IS inside [probing] THEM (those people) |
20 | I DARE SAY – Anagram [dicky] of IS READY containing [to tour] A (area) |
22 | RELIEF – REF (official) contains [accepting] LIE (story) |
23 | CROP ROTATION – PORC{ine} [more than half] reversed as indicated by ‘rotation’ in the answer. Self-referencing indicators tend to be anagrinds, so it’s a change to have one that’s a reversal. Definition: element of farming activity |
25 | CLAN – CAN (no longer continue – N. American slang for ‘stop’) encloses [to house] L (large) |
26 | APRES-SKI – A, PRESS (for reporters) + KI{t} (package [curtailed]). Definition: activity in the Alps |
27 | DYSLEXIA – D (daughter), anagram [upset] of EASILY containing [about] X (times – multiplication) |
Down |
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2 | RAMAYANA – RA (Egyptian god), MAY, A{e}N{e}A{s} [oddly]. I didn’t know this ‘Sanskrit epic’ but full marks to the setter when clueing a foreign and possibly unfamiliar word for doing so in such a way as to give all solvers a fair chance of working out the right answer. |
3 | TEAR-OFF STRIP – TEAR-OFF {a} STRIP (reprimand) [overlooking article – A]. Definition: opener – e.g. on jiffy bags |
4 | HOSTELRY – HOST (lots of people), R (run) inside ELY (fenland city) |
5 | THERAPY – PARE (cut) reversed [up] inside [during] THY (your, old) |
6 | BRUTAL – RUT (routine) inside [involved in] BAL{let} (classical dance [not half]) |
7 | PECK – {s}PECK (small bit [with no seconds]). Definition: eat just a bit |
8 | PLATINUM – A + TIN (metal) in PLUM (exclusive) surroundings. The definition is &lit. |
12 | CARTE BLANCHE – C (clubs – cards), anagram [exercised] of CLEAR THE BAN. Definition: absolute authority |
15 | CHITCHAT – HITCH (difficulty) inside [blocking] CAT (spiteful person) |
17 | TERMINUS – TERM IN U.S. (four years as President). Definition: end |
18 | SVENGALI – SVEN (Swede – with fond memories of scorer Samantha’s occasional stand-in on ISIHAC) + I (one) contains [without] LAG (delay) reversed [looking up]. Definition: hypnotist. Svengali was a character in George Du Maurier’s novel ‘Trilby’ but this has now become a general term for a manipulative person who exercises a controlling or mesmeric influence over someone, usually for sinister reasons. ‘Without’ means ‘outside’ here. |
19 | PYRAMID – MARY (woman) inside [during] DIP (swim) all reversed [picked up] |
21 | SPOUSE – SPO{t} (identify [reduced]), USE (purpose) |
24 | OGRE – GO (try) reversed [upset], RE (about) |
Thanks setter and thanks Jack, especially for the amazingly early blog. How do you do it?
I did almost did have ‘dislexia’, but corrected it from the cryptic.
33 mins – with only 2dn RAMAYANA biffed.
I don’t think 15ac CATS EYE(S)were much used outside of UK – but they made their eccentric and reclusive inventor very rich – in WWII during the blackout. His company was named Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd – of Halifax.
I do appreciate the early blog as it usually late afternoon when most arrive here and even later on Fridays!! Even better when the clocks go back in UK shortly.
horryd Shanghai
The cricket master at school used to tell a joke about one of the Classics teachers – who was a bit precious and came from Morpeth. His father was a local councillor and was attending a meeting where one agenda item concerned the proposed installation of cats-eyes on the road to Ashington. “Sounds like a good idea,” he said, “but who is going to pay for the electricity?”
Minor point, but at 26ac I think it is A PRESS KIT (reporter’s package) curtailed. Having been involved today in preparing several, “press kit” is a phrase very much on my mind. On its own, KIT for package seems a bit weak.
Thank you to setter and blogger.
Creative puzzle, I thought, and fun to solve. I always struggle with clues like RAMAYANA where part of the wordplay is explicitly there in the clue (‘may’) — a sort of setters’ double bluff.
COD to the ingenious CROP ROTATION, which will forever make me think of Rick Mayall in The Young Ones’ University Challenge appearance. “Crop rotation in the fourteenth century was considerably more widespread after John.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ACrop_rotation
Clearly someone has been trying to get it into the main Crop Rotation article. And more power to them, I say.
Edited on account of 27a
Edited at 2016-03-15 04:49 pm (UTC)
My one question mark was the definition of ATHEISM, but perhaps you can read ‘opposition’ as ‘antithesis’ or something similar.
Edited at 2016-03-15 04:00 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2016-03-15 09:32 am (UTC)
Interesting little diversion to Railway Cuttings, East Cheam Jack. One of the funniest radio programmes ever and well worth a nostalgic trip.
Lots to like in this, an honourable mention to PYRAMID but my COD to TERMINUS.
HAREBELL (I had HA….L, but wanted it to be something like ‘wholemeal’),
RETURN TICKET (I had RETURN…….),
and I was convinced the ‘harsh routine’ was something to do with ‘quaDRILLe’
Also had a blank at TERMINUS, which I can see now is very clever.
Roll on tomorrow…
Of course every pub quizzer knows that Percy Shaw invented cats’ eyes. If the cat had been facing the other way he’d have invented the pencil sharpener.
LOI 9ac, as I’d initially put PICK at 7dn.
Thought 17dn very neat.
Nice puzzle, solved in stages over the day.
Regards
Andrew K
I was about to congratulate myself on getting a full 36 minutes’ worth of enjoyment out of a puzzle which lasted many others less than a quarter of an hour. But then I noticed my error at 27ac (“dyslexic”).
Sotira – preshumably your photograph ish from the Nederlandsh?
(For the record, I took 9:35 for this otherwise straightforward, pleasant solve – and would have been rather faster if I hadn’t somehow managed to bung in ERGO at 24dn.)