Solving time: 36 minutes. I’ve nothing to say upfront so let’s get straight to the answers…
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 | Verbally attack a burrowing rodent (6) |
GOPHER | |
Sounds like [verbally] “go for” (attack). In conversation many people would say “go fer”. | |
4 | Wilfully desire no more than … (8) |
WANTONLY | |
WANT (desire), ONLY (no more than) | |
10 | … some information on a Gonzalez figure (7) |
NONAGON | |
Hidden in [some] {informatio}N ON A GON{zalez} | |
11 | Ring pub, finding obstruction on the way (7) |
TOLLBAR | |
TOLL (ring), BAR (pub) | |
12 | Mine entrance required: reportedly do this, then? (4) |
ADIT | |
Sounds like [reportedly] “add it” (do this, then – add the required entrance). A write-in for me as soon as I saw ‘mine entrance’ as it was a word that caught me out in my early days of cryptic solving back in the 1960’s. | |
13 | Supervisor taking a horse with hesitation into eating-place (10) |
MANAGERESS | |
A + NAG (horse) + ER (hesitation) contained by [into] MESS (eating-place) | |
15 | Girl crossing quiet City area for a particular purpose (9) |
SPECIALLY | |
SALLY (girl) containing [crossing] P (quiet) + EC1 (City area – east central London postal district) | |
16 | Retired American cooking his Japanese dish (5) |
SUSHI | |
US (American) reversed [retired], anagram [cooking] of HIS | |
18 | Fibre I recognised in girl from the East (5) |
SISAL | |
I contained by [recognised in] LASS (girl) reversed [from the East] | |
19 | M Hulot’s creator backed in serious move (9) |
GRAVITATE | |
TATI (M Hulot’s creator) reversed [backed] contained by [in] GRAVE (serious). Jacques Tati, mime artist and film maker (1907-1982). | |
21 | Priest and waggish faculty head keeping company (10) |
ARCHDEACON | |
ARCH (waggish), DEAN (faculty head) containing [keeping] CO (company). SOED has: arch – clever, roguish, waggish; (now usu.) consciously or affectedly playful or teasing. | |
23 | Stylish around here in ancient Rome? (4) |
CHIC | |
C (around – circa), HIC (here in ancient Rome) | |
26 | Partly coincide — and drink too much! (7) |
OVERLAP | |
OVER (too much), LAP (drink) | |
27 | You cook it and soak it ultimately in port (7) |
RISOTTO | |
SOT (soak) + {i}T [ultimately] contained by [in] RIO (port) | |
28 | Belfast doctor maybe is involved with my opposition to local development (8) |
NIMBYISM | |
NI MB (Belfast – Northen Ireland – doctor maybe), anagram [involved] of IS MY. ‘Not In My Back Yard’ – ism. | |
29 | More glutinous tonic regularly swallowed by dynamic person (6) |
GOOIER | |
{t}O{n}I{c} [regularly] contained [swallowed] by GOER (dynamic person). SOED has ‘goer’ as a lively or persevering person. I thought that was ‘go-getter’ and ‘goer’ meant something else. It does, but it’s listed as a secondary meaning. |
Down | |
1 | Elevated article about, say, a European port (5) |
GENOA | |
A (article) + ON (about) + EG (say), all reversed [elevated] | |
2 | Impecunious writer on river vessel (9) |
PENNILESS | |
PEN [write], NILE (river), SS (vessel) | |
3 | Brittle BBC boss in first of exacting years (4) |
EDGY | |
DG (BBC boss – Director General) contained by [in] E{xciting} [first] + Y (years) | |
5 | Risk assessor‘s deed unknown by Egypt once (7) |
ACTUARY | |
ACT (deed), UAR (Egypt once – United Arab Republic), Y (unknown) | |
6 | Some who spill the beans on joint position at bank (10) |
TELLERSHIP | |
TELLERS (some who spill the beans), HIP (joint) | |
7 | Worthy old law graduate in the Newcastle area (5) |
NOBLE | |
O (old) + BL (law graduate) contained by [in] NE (the Newcastle area – North East) | |
8 | County fellow looking up at king on heavy horse (9) |
YORKSHIRE | |
ROY (fellow) reversed [looking up], K (king), SHIRE (heavy horse) | |
9 | Involve Irish leader in hire charge right away (6) |
ENTAIL | |
I{rish} [leader] contained by [in] {r}ENTAL (hire charge) [right away] | |
14 | Loiter in half of London street with key accomplice (5-5) |
DILLY-DALLY | |
{picca}DILLY (London street) [half], D (key), ALLY (accomplice). As featured in the Music Hall song made famous by Marie LLoyd. | |
15 | Shortly request a time to enter Canadian city (9) |
SASKATOON | |
ASK (request) + A + T (time) contained by [to enter] SOON (shortly) | |
17 | Loose pig that’s beginning to eat human food (9) |
SPAGHETTI | |
Anagram [loose] of PIG THAT’S E{at} [beginning] | |
19 | Man framing Burlington House member’s “Sea creature” (7) |
GRAMPUS | |
GUS (man) containing [framing] RA (Burlington House – Royal Academy) + MP ( member of parliament) | |
20 | A male animal finally loaded on ship (6) |
ABOARD | |
A, BOAR (male animal), {loade}D [finally] | |
22 | Pick of elkhounds originally in pack (5) |
CREAM | |
E{lkhounds} [originally] contained by [in] CRAM (pack) | |
24 | Endless task overwhelming current group of singers (5) |
CHOIR | |
CHOR{e} (task) [endless] containing [overwhelming] I (current) | |
25 | Capital city‘s extremists fleeing industrial action (4) |
OSLO | |
{g}O SLO{w} (industrial action) [extremists fleeing] |
Liked wantonly best. The whole puzzle felt a bit old-fashioned, clues similar to when I started in about 2007, hard to say why it felt like that.
I suspect that you’ll think that I’m silly
But i can dilly and dally
Or shlliy and shally
Whenever i want, willy-nilly
Favourite was GRAMPUS. Our NZ contributors (and probably others) will know all about it, but it’s worth looking up “Pelorus Jack” if you have time. A fascinating story.
Thanks to Jack and setter
FOI 11ac TOLLBAR not seen down-under?
LOI 19dn GRAMPUS 8
COD 19ac GRAVITATE
WOD 14dn but don’t DILLY-DALLY on the way
15dn SASKATOON is named after a berry, apparently, as is its twin-town Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk.
Time 35mins.
Edited at 2021-05-18 05:34 am (UTC)
Grampus puts me in mind of Grampus 8, the Japanese football team where Gary Lineker played some time after his time at Spurs. Maybe where Harry Kane is headed?
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
After 30 mins (not wholely enjoyable) I was left with the DNK Adit and no real way to get there from wordplay (reportedly do this then?).
The dangling ‘a’ in 1ac really leads to Gophera and I’m not convinced Tellership is a word.
Thanks setter and J.
SOED: tellership noun the position or office of a teller M18.
Thanks jack and setter.
ADIT is a bit poor. It will be familiar to many of us from past puzzles but it’s a very obscure word and there’s no realistic way you’re going to get it from the wordplay if you don’t already know it.
As for the rest, all well clued and accessible. Thanks setter and blogger.
TELLERSHIP is just weird. It is in Chambers, without specifying which meaning of teller it derives from. Having not been inside a bank for ages, I don’t know whether anybody still occupies the high tellership position, or whether that’s been taken over by the ATMship.
Oddly, I’ve had “my old man” as an earworm for the past few days, so DILLY DALLY was easy.
I had the impression we had rather a lot of random people, though I think there’s only three (plus LASS). I’m not sure where it stands in the Ninja Turtling stakes after others have recalled Grampus 8, but my GRAMPUS is the frabjous one with Jonah.
More geography than usual, and more food (lots more if you can eat a gopher).
Edited at 2021-05-18 08:53 am (UTC)
“Grampus” is another word that I only ever come across in crossword puzzles!
There’s two schools of thought down here:
1. Crosswords should include normal words with tricky wordplay/and or definitions, to make solvers happy.
2. Crosswords should include obscurities, preferably clued as impenetrable other obscurities, or anagrams, to make solvers feel shit and realise that the setters are Superior Intellectually.
I prefer the first.
Edited at 2021-05-18 05:15 pm (UTC)
Vaguely heard of SASKATOON but had to look it up to be sure. Held up earlier on trying to be PENURIOUS.
TELLERSHIP (which auto spell put a space into !) was a new one on me. I parsed SASKATOON and ARCHDEACON afterwards.
FOI (correctly !) TOLLBAR
LOI GOPHER
COD GRAVITATE
TIME 7:33
Wasn’t the whole plot of Downton Abbey based on somebody having an entail. Or was it a tail? Or was that the Hapsburgs…
Thanks to Jack and the setter.
Back into old habits and failing to spot the hidden answer in 10 ac for a while. Finally unravelled 1 dn when I realised that “elevated” could apply to more than the first word that followed.
I was another who got Berkshire into his head for 8 dn until I realised that I knew no one called “Reb” and an even more illuminating moment when I remembered that my brother-in-law’s name is Roy!
Thanks as ever to Jack for the blog and setter.
Thanks jackkt and setter
Edited at 2021-05-18 09:10 pm (UTC)