Apart from my solving time of 32 minutes I can’t think of anything to add here ahead of the blog so I shall just let it speak for itself.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
| Across | |
| 1 | Harry Potter’s chair, where theatre’s inferior players sit (9,3) |
| ORCHESTRA PIT : Anagram [harry] of POTTER’S CHAIR. ‘Inferior’ because it’s below stage level where the ‘superior’ players – the actors – are. | |
| 8 | Hoyden departs for Yemeni capital in original outfit (7) |
| LADETTE : LAyETTE (original outfit – for a newly born child) becomes LADETTE when D (departs) substitutes for Y{emeni} [capital]. SOED defines hoyden as: a noisy, rude, or (esp.) boisterous girl or woman. | |
| 9 | Theoretically working daily? (2,5) |
| ON PAPER : ON (working), PAPER (daily – newspaper) | |
| 11 | 90’s music report, brother introducing it first (7) |
| BRITPOP : BR (brother), IT, POP (report – noise of guns etc). I’ve heard the word but I don’t know what this is or was, as mercifully it passed me by. | |
| 12 | On odd occasions their car services end here (7) |
| TERMINI : T{h}E{i}R [on odd occasions], MINI (car) | |
| 13 | Oblique directions appended to petition (5) |
| ASKEW : ASK (petition), E W (directions) | |
| 14 | Indiscreet, interminably rude and sick at heart (9) |
| IMPOLITIC : IMPOLIT{e} (rude) [interminably – endless], {s}IC{k} [at heart] | |
| 16 | Person responsible for sinking ship (9) |
| DESTROYER : Two meanings not very far removed from each other | |
| 19 | Card game wherein jack trumps first card (5) |
| JOKER : pOKER (card game) becomes JOKER (card) when J (Jack) supersedes [trumps] P (first letter of poker) | |
| 21 | Madden home lover (7) |
| INFLAME : IN (home), FLAME (lover) – shades of Elvis | |
| 23 | Cosmetic, perhaps a brand mum gets hold of (7) |
| MASCARA : MA (mother) contains [gets hold of] A + SCAR (perhaps…brand) | |
| 24 | Vile dwelling shortly to have a German as tenant (7) |
| HEINOUS : EIN (a, German) is inside HOUS{e} (dwelling) [shortly] so could be a tenant | |
| 25 | Once docked, tried to get some sleep aboard ancient vessel (7) |
| TRIREME : REM (some sleep – Rapid Eye Movement) is contained by [aboard] TRIE{d} [docked] | |
| 26 | Theft from ruined crypt, neatly muffling echo (5,7) |
| PETTY LARCENY : Anagram [ruined] of CRYPT NEATLY containing [muffling] E (echo – NATO alphabet) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Scratch traditional groove (3,4) |
| OLD NICK : OLD (traditional), NICK (groove). Two of many names for the Devil, although Scratch is more usually ‘Old Scratch’. Brewer’s advises this is from a Scandinavian word skratta meaning goblin or monster. | |
| 2 | Pawn that queen needs to move? (4-3) |
| CATS-PAW : A definition and a cryptic hint with reference to queen as a female cat. A CATS-PAW, with or without a hyphen, is a person manipulated by another. | |
| 3 | Be typical of male if in trade south of river (9) |
| EXEMPLIFY : EXE (river), M (male), then IF contained by [in] PLY (trade). ‘South of’ is just a positional indicator. | |
| 4 | Fish from river seized by hawk (5) |
| TROUT : R (river) contained [seized] by TOUT (hawk – goods or services) | |
| 5 | Clothing it’s normal to take off clothes line (7) |
| APPAREL : APE (take off) contains [clothes] PAR (normal), then L (line). The parsing took some working out! | |
| 6 | Stamp showing this person’s image (7) |
| IMPRINT : I’M (this person’s), PRINT (image) | |
| 7 | Refreshment essential for golfer on links course (4,8) |
| CLUB SANDWICH : CLUB (essential for golfer), SANDWICH (links course). There have been so many references to this recently I begin to wonder if someone at The Times is a member. Here’s what I wrote in June: Sandwich, a town in Kent, came up in the Jumbo blogged last Saturday as a cryptic definition of the word ‘export’ based on the fact that it was once on the coast – a member of the medieval Confederation of Cinque Ports no less – but with the subsequent retreat of the sea it has ended up 2 miles inland and no longer a port. This change in its landscape made it a suitable place for development of golf links and it has become an international centre for the sport, boasting two world-class courses, the Royal St George’s and Prince’s. | |
| 10 | Rare cat, nine lives ultimately wasted, gets another life (12) |
| REINCARNATES : Anagram [wasted] of RARE CAT NINE {live}S [ultimately] | |
| 15 | Soldier coming down to record boundary (9) |
| PARAMETER : PARA (soldier coming down – a soldier belonging to a parachute regiment), METER (record). A potential bear-trap for speed-merchants as lack of attention to wordplay might tempt them to biff ‘perimeter’ which is also a boundary. | |
| 17 | Upset the City when American hosts fine “do” (7) |
| SUFFICE : As in ‘that will do’. EC (city) + IF (as) + US (American) contains [hosts] F (fine) all reversed [upset] | |
| 18 | Announce info extracted from computer? (4-3) |
| READ-OUT : Two meanings of sorts although the first one wouldn’t have the hyphen | |
| 19 | Shrub from sierra filling hole in East (7) |
| JASMINE : S (sierra) contained by [filling] JAM (hole – difficult situation), IN, E (East) | |
| 20 | Duplicity as king and queen held by force at sea (7) |
| KNAVERY : K (king), then ER (queen) contained [held] by NAVY (force at sea) | |
| 22 | Lighten large frame in studio (5) |
| EASEL : EASE (lighten – the load), L (large) | |
It was a bit of a plod for me, nearly twice as long as yesterday to not really finish 😉 We’ve seen Harry Potter as part of anagrams in the past, so I immediately thought of that today, and I quite liked BRITPOP (the clue). Some of the music wasn’t all that bad either – Blur did a lot of great songs, IMO. But I can’t stand the abbreviation to BRIT for everything British these days, to the extent that even in the Times and on the BBC, we are referred to as Brits. What on earth is wrong with Britons or the British? I’ve always taken Brit to be a slightly disparaging Americanism. I suppose you could say that by using it ourselves, we have changed the definition. I’m not convinced …
FOI Askew
LOI Old Nick
COD Impolitic
DNF in 46 mins
Thanks all!
Ditto for suffice, another well crafted clue.Pleased to get ladette and britpop, must be my age.