Solving time: 38 minutes but technically a DNF because I used aids for one unknown as my LOI. Other than that it all seems straightforward.
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 | Current tribute defends quiet expertise (14) |
ACCOMPLISHMENT | |
AC (Alternating Current), then COMPLIMENT (tribute) contains [defends] SH (quiet!) | |
9 | Reliable Blue Berets fit into cast (9) |
UNFAILING | |
UN (Blue Berets – as worn by United Nations troops), then A1 (fit) contained by [into] FLING (cast) | |
10 | Drive, say, all but disappeared (3,2) |
EGG ON | |
EG (say – for example), GON{e} (disappeared) [all but…] | |
11 | Deal with danger, losing height (5) |
TREAT | |
T{h}REAT (danger) [losing height] | |
12 | Support at the front from top officers, before one retreats (9) |
BRASSIERE | |
BRASS (top officers), then ERE (before) + I (one) (reversed) [retreats] | |
13 | Detective’s words before meal are degrading (8) |
DISGRACE | |
DI’S (detective’s – Detective Inspector’s), GRACE (words before meal) | |
15 | Surrealist backed enthralling Republican (6) |
BRETON | |
BET ON (backed) containing [enthralling] R (Republican). André Breton (1896–1966) French author and surrealist theorist. Never ‘eard of ‘im, and I failed to get to him via wordplay even with all the checkers in place, so I looked him up. | |
17 | Uncaring, cold as usual, snubbing our lot (6) |
CASUAL | |
C (cold), AS, {us}UAL [snubbing our lot – us] | |
19 | A medic wearing jumper with posh torch (8) |
FLAMBEAU | |
A + MB (medic) contained by [wearing] FLEA (jumper), U (posh) | |
22 | Trade union offensive limiting mine corruption (9) |
TURPITUDE | |
TU (trade union), then RUDE (offensive) containing [limiting] PIT (mine) | |
23 | African socialist utopia recalled to some extent (5) |
TUTSI | |
Hidden [to some extent] and reversed [recalled] in {social}IST UT{opia} | |
24 | Finished twentieth originally in the Open (5) |
OVERT | |
OVER (finished), T{wentieth} [originally] | |
25 | Small fish attack pond plant (5-4) |
SPIKE-RUSH | |
S (small), PIKE (fish), RUSH (attack). Never ‘eard of it, but the wordplay left little room for doubt. | |
26 | Easily scared, Kitchener ached after surgery (7-7) |
CHICKEN-HEARTED | |
Anagram [after surgery] of KITCHENER ACHED |
Down | |
1 | Later instruction from TUC holding journalist in high regard (5,9) |
ADULT EDUCATION | |
TUC containing [holding] ED (journalist) contained by [in] ADULATION (high regard). For the surface reading some may like to know that TUC is a federation of trades unions in England and Wales and the C stands for Congress. | |
2 | Constant bids for funds (7) |
COFFERS | |
C (constant), OFFERS (bids) | |
3 | Chairman’s supporter avoids area that’s wet (5) |
MOIST | |
M{a}OIST (Chairman’s supporter) [avoids area – a] | |
4 | Call up sponsor to be collected (4-4) |
LAID-BACK | |
DIAL (call) reversed [up], BACK (sponsor). Cool, calm and collected. | |
5 | Distinguished archbishop is revolutionary (6) |
SIGNAL | |
LANG (archbishop) + IS reversed [revolutionary]. Cosmo Lang was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1928 to 1942 and presided over the coronation of King George VI in 1937. | |
6 | Big Eddy, top performer, clutches large mike (9) |
MAELSTROM | |
MAESTRO (top performer) contains [clutches] L (large), then M (Mike – NATO alphabet) | |
7 | Don’t look after injured leg caught in trap (7) |
NEGLECT | |
Anagram [injured] of LEG then C (caught) all contained by [ in] NET (trap) | |
8 | Used dinner hour misguidedly, turning out thus? (14) |
UNDERNOURISHED | |
Anagram [misguidedly] of USED DINNER HOUR. I think we need the whole clue as the definition. | |
14 | It’s feasible dealing with with boxer’s idiosyncrasy (9) |
REALISTIC | |
RE (dealing with), ALI’S (boxer’s), TIC (idiosyncrasy) | |
16 | Swimmers turn red if energy rises internally (8) |
BLUEFISH | |
BLUSH (turn red) containing [internally] IF + E (energy) reversed [rises]. Never ‘eard of it, but again the wordplay was helpful.. | |
18 | What’s picked up in disorderly creches? (7) |
SCREECH | |
Anagram [disorderly] of CRECHES. I doubt that a single screech in a creche would even be noticed! | |
20 | Charge for altering test run (7) |
ENTRUST | |
Anagram [altering] TEST RUN | |
21 | Scrap odd parts of tours on isle to avoid current (6) |
TUSSLE | |
T{o}U{r}S [odd parts of], {i}SLE [avoid current – i] | |
23 | Article’s followed by thank-you letter (5) |
THETA | |
THE (definite article), TA (thank-you) |
Oh well
Edited at 2021-10-05 01:53 am (UTC)
… Benedicto benedicatur, per Christum Dominum nostrum.
I got off to quite a slow start, finding no purchase anywhere. But all of a sudden everything opened up and I was delighted to finish under 20 minutes.
What do you call a baby’s bed with barred sides? That’s what we call a crib.
Edited at 2021-10-05 07:25 pm (UTC)
Until that point, a steady solve. A few of them fell in stages, like CHICKEN-HEARTED, TUSSLE and SPIKE-RUSH.
Prompted by Vinyl and Kevin to look up the different US meaning for creche. Didn’t know that one.
Thanks Jack and setter.
– Was pretty sure the word TURPITUDE started with a TE (and pretty unsure of the definition). Probably I’m thinking of TERPSICHORE
– Didn’t know about Archbishop Lang
– NHO SPIKE-RUSH
– Thought CRECHE was a collision between two cars in Kensington
LOI BRETON, which I entered without parsing as I knew about André. Pink square was a careless typo in THREAT, slightly peeved about that, but doing the discipline right is something I can achieve
Thanks J and setter
Edited at 2021-10-05 05:42 pm (UTC)
Thanks for filling in my knowledge-gap!
Looks like a German might win Bake-off too. Is there anything they can’t do?
Nice challenge. Thanks, jack.
It’s still not glue.
Don’t like Screech singular in multiple crèches, but do like “Chairman’s supporter”.
Thanks setter and J.
I knew of Andre Breton but did not know he was a Surrealist. Mistakenly, I thought he was a Fauvist.
Given the dates, Cosmo Lang must have been involved somewhere along the line in the abdication of Edward VIII.
LOI: BLUEFISH/SPIKE RUSH
COD: ADULT EDUCATION.
I’m still having a little chuckle about one of yesterday’s clues: AUTOPSY = ‘stiff examination’.
Not NEGLECT, or CASUAL cogitation
A MAELSTROM yesterday
Much more LAID BACK today
An ACCOMPLISHMENT on each occasion
FOI: UNDERNOURISHED
LOI: BRETON
A slow start but a lot came easily after ACCOMPLISHMENT. LOI was half-remembered, so I was crossing my fingers.
Thank you to jackkt and the setter.
Enjoyed this otherwise. Like many others I didn’t know BRETON but eventually saw the wordplay, and for some reason I couldn’t parse the relatively simple ACCOMPLISHMENT despite having all the checkers.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
COD: Brassiere.
Edited at 2021-10-05 07:48 am (UTC)
Edited at 2021-10-05 07:32 pm (UTC)
Q. How many surrealists does it take to fix a lightbulb?
A. Three. One to set fire to the giraffe and the other to get the clocks into the bath-tub.
Mr. Magritte had to fix his own light bulbs.
I was some 45 minutes engaged – 30 mins (luncheon) and the 15 mins to finish off the top half – once 1ac ACCOMPLISHMENT heaved into view.
FOI 18dn SCREECH without ever considering what creches were! (Surreal!)
LOI 16dn BLUEFISH which at first I thought to be DEERFISH!(Surreal!)
COD 15ac BRETON (Surreal!)
WOD 12ac BRASSIERE – our Jack never said a a disapproving word. Good old Aston Vanilla!
Edited at 2021-10-05 08:57 am (UTC)
While familiar with creches (though I’d put a little roof thingy over the first E), I wasn’t particularly impressed with SCREECH. Babies and smaller rugrats make many noises, but I’d expect screeches more from owleries and such, or from brakes just before Denise’s brilliant Kensington collision.
Indebted, as ever, to Father Brown for FLAMBEAU.
Had never heard of spike-rush, and thought rush = attack was a bit of a stretch. Perhaps there’s a meaning I don’t know. Dredged Breton and flambeau from recesses.
If you rush something or someone, you move quickly and forcefully at them, often in order to attack them.
‘They rushed the entrance and forced their way in’.
Edited at 2021-10-05 09:07 am (UTC)
NHO BRETON, or SPIKE-RUSH, but both were easy enough from the parsings. I didn’t, however, parse any of ACCOMPLISHMENT, UNFAILING, or ADULT EDUCATION. A bit miffed to be a whole second slower than johninterred 😂
Surprisingly, I knew the fish from a recent puzzle in either the Independent or the Grauniad.
FOI EGG ON
LOI ACCOMPLISHMENT
COD UNDERNOURISHED (closely followed my MOIST)
TIME 11:10
NHO of CHICKEN-HEARTED, but its a great word and I will try and use it today. More useful than SPIKE-RUSH, which sounds like a 19th bayonet charge.
One thing I did like about this puzzle was the long edging clues, always get a lift when I see those going in.
Enjoyable so thanks setter ( not forgetting blogger).
Penguins have creches, so that’d fit.
14′ 32″, thanks jack and setter.
COD 1dn Adult Education – as it opened up the board.
My lord archbishop what a scold you are
And when your man is down how bold you are
Of charity how oddly scant you are
How Lang oh lord how full of cant you are.
BLUEFISH are very common along the eastern seaboard of the US and can be caught by casting from the shore into the surf, although you have to be careful removing the hook if you land one because they have quite fearsome teeth. Delicious cooked with a little butter, pepper and scallions. 16.08
30 minutes with a fingers crossed there must be a surrealist called Breton 😊
Thanks J and setter
NHO BRETON nor one of today’s random fish — please welcome MR SPIKE-FISH.
After a brief and unsuccessful foray into the top of the puzzle, I reverted to the foot and having seen 26 ac ” chicken hearted” straightaway, I worked my way upwards and picked up the setter’s wavelength.
NHO LOI 25 ac “spike rush” but the word play seemed to work.
Several fine clues today with COD 22 ac “turpitude”.
Thanks to Jack for the blog and to the setter.
Thanks for the blog, all the comments and also to the setter, for giving us an elegant, not too taxing puzzle.
BW
Andrew
Too few short ‘uns to be a fave grid but got a foothold in the south and worked northwards
BRETON also LOI. Surprised myself by persevering and finally working it out
Plenty to like elsewhere
Thanks Setter and Jackkt as usual