33 minutes for this one with no major problems along the way. Having three cryptic definitions in the Down clues is a little unusual.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | Old Roman watering-hole provides a mineral (8) |
| CINNABAR – CINNA (old Roman), BAR (watering-hole). Cinna was a Roman consul and father-in-law of Julius Caesar. I’m not sure if ‘watering-hole’ for ‘bar’ has travelled far beyond these shores. | |
| 5 | One dedicated old boy no longer with us (6) |
| OBLATE – OB (old boy), LATE (no longer with us). A person dedicated to monastic or religious life or work. | |
| 9 | One may have champagne, say, to secure maiden coming round (9) |
| WINEGLASS – WIN (secure)+ LASS (maiden) containing [coming round] EG (say). I’m struggling with the syntax here as I can’t see how a wineglass can ‘have champagne’ although it could certainly ‘have champagne in it‘. | |
| 11 | Matter is poisonous, quietly knocking out ten (5) |
| TOPIC – TO{x}IC (poisonous) becomes TOPIC with P (quietly) replacing [knocking out] x (ten) | |
| 12 | With Republican, one celebrates revolts (7) |
| RISINGS – R (Republican), I (one), SINGS (celebrates) | |
| 13 | Communist leader as one who joined spurious league? (7) |
| REDHEAD – RED (communist), HEAD (leader). I had no idea what this was about but it turns out to be a reference to a Sherlock Holmes story The Red-Headed League and it’s ‘spurious’ because the league was non-existent, I gather. It all seems rather obscure to me but I suppose them that knows it knows it and the answer was easy enough to spot. | |
| 14 | The Leninist managed to capture city and country (13) |
| LIECHTENSTEIN – Anagram [managed] of THE LENINIST contains [to capture] EC (city – of London, postal district) | |
| 16 | The enemy being forgotten about for ages? (4,3,2,4) |
| TIME OUT OF MIND – TIME (the enemy), OUT OF MIND (forgotten). ‘Time’ as ‘the old enemy’ comes up quite regularly here. | |
| 20 | Cats — those in need of medical treatment, it seems (7) |
| MOUSERS – Differently spaced this can be written as MO USERS (those in need of medical treatment) where MO stands for ‘Medical Officer’ | |
| 21 | Develop mentally, say, after good education initially (7) |
| GESTATE – G{ood} + E{ducation} [initially], STATE (say). Apart from its literal meaning, GESTATE can figuratively mean ‘to undergo elaboration and refinement before being made public’, so in that sense a thought or plan might be developing ‘mentally’. | |
| 23 | People taking position about sex (5) |
| LAITY – LAY (position) containing [about] IT (sex). I assume ‘people’ is used here to define those who are not in the clergy or of a given profession, but I have to say I find it rather tenuous. Possibly the remainder of the clue is intended to be part of the definition, but I’d still find it a bit weak. | |
| 24 | School punishment — what could make Eton end it? (9) |
| DETENTION – Anagram of [could make] ETON END IT. Staying behind after school. | |
| 25 | Swift, see, crossing river to the west (6) |
| SPEEDY – SPY (see) containing [crossing] DEE (river) reversed [to the west] | |
| 26 | No amateur baddy to hold off for a while (8) |
| PROROGUE – PRO (no amateur), ROGUE (baddy) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | No victory, with commander in retreat as timid type (6) |
| COWARD – DRAW (no victory) + OC (commander) reversed [in retreat] | |
| 2 | Partners embracing single hour of prayer (5) |
| NONES – N+S (partners – bridge), containing [embracing] ONE (single). I can never remember all the hours of prayer but this one comes up often enough to be very familiar. | |
| 3 | Forest not all green: no grass coming up (7) |
| ARGONNE – Hidden (not all) and reversed [coming up] in {gre}EN NO GRA{ss}. Unknown to me, but this is a forested region of France, apparantly. | |
| 4 | Given a number in the theatre? (13) |
| ANAESTHETISED – Cryptic definition | |
| 6 | Happens to take risk on fateful day (7) |
| BETIDES – BET (take risk), IDES (fateful day – Julius Caesar again). ‘Betide’ was an answer in a puzzle blogged last weekend and there was some controversy over its definition, but today’s is on safer ground. | |
| 7 | Arrest happened originally outside front of restaurant (9) |
| APPREHEND – Anagram [originally] of HAPPENED containing [outside] R{estaurant} [front] | |
| 8 | Disguising the dénouement to keep company enthralled (8) |
| ENCODING – ENDING (dénouement) containing [to keep…enthralled] CO (company) | |
| 10 | There’s a way in which one becomes aggressive (6,7) |
| STREET FIGHTER – Cryptic definition | |
| 14 | Car and cow collide finally (9) |
| LIMOUSINE – LIMOUSIN (cow), {collid}E (finally). Another region of France, this time with reference to the breed of cattle that’s named after it. | |
| 15 | Good sort, this person’s high-class, with endless desire for encouragement (8) |
| STIMULUS – ST (good sort – saint), I’M (this person’s), U ( high-class), LUS{t} (desire) [endless] | |
| 17 | Old desire restricting you, having limited vision (3-4) |
| ONE-EYED – O (old), NEED (desire) containing [restricting] YE (you) | |
| 18 | More unstable, doing nothing almost, after hospital admission (7) |
| INSANER – INER{t} (doing nothing) [almost] containing [after…admission] SAN (hospital) | |
| 19 | Session with some late arrivals? (6) |
| SEANCE – Cryptic definition | |
| 22 | Getting rid of a whole lot of players no good (5) |
| AXING – A, XI (whole lot of players – sports team), NG (no good) | |
Time out of mind = never heard that, but probably have it regularly.
COD CINNABAR for being mercurial.
Didn’t know the forest, so grateful for the gentle clue. Also had to correct the spelling of Liechenstein when it didn’t fit without the first ‘e’.
I wondered if “people taking” in 23a meant “people taking communion”, ie laity. Not sure that works any better though?
Limousine cars, by the way, also get their name from the French region. It originally meant a car with a full-length roof, named after the cloak worn by Limousin shepherds. If I remember rightly I read this on one of the exhibits at the Reims-Champagne Automobile Museum.