Solving time: 28 minutes. This setter seems very fond of em dashes, I can’t recall seeing so many in a 15×15 puzzle!
I had more problems blogging this than solving it, and I still have a few things I’m not 100% sure of. There’s a clue that relies on a plural that doesn’t exist and another that has two words I can’t account for and seem to be redunant. Here goes…
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 | More than one dictator hinders journalist making return (7) |
| DESPOTS | |
| STOPS (hinders) + ED (journalist) all reversed [making return] | |
| 5 | God to support the likes of you and me, it’s said (7) |
| BACCHUS | |
| Sounds like [it’s said] “back, us” (support / the likes of you and me). The god of wine and other delights. | |
| 9 | Shut up Italian writer at street festival (9) |
| PENTECOST | |
| PENT (shut up), ECO (Italian writer – Umberto Eco), ST (street). It’s the Jewish harvest festival or Whit Sunday in the Christian church. | |
| 10 | A word of thanks, having got men aboard vessel (5) |
| AORTA | |
| OR (men) contained by [having got…aboard] A + TA (word of thanks). The largest artery. | |
| 11 | What could provide reductions to shopper primarily? (8,5) |
| DISCOUNT STORE | |
| Anagram [what could provide] of REDUCTIONS TO S{hopper} [primarily]. I think this counts as semi&lit but I happy to be corrected if not. | |
| 13 | Sermonised Pastor originally has got to (8) |
| PREACHED | |
| P{astor} [origonally], REACHED (has got to). The clue appears in some places as: Quiet revolutionary enthralling a church — what he or she did there? (8) in which the wordplay doesn’t quite work. | |
| 15 | Arrived at firm — head of accounts encountered inside (4,2) |
| CAME TO | |
| A{ccounts} [head] + MET (encountered) contained by [inside] CO (firm – company) | |
| 17 | Big shots — they may gather at Davos (6) |
| SKIERS | |
| Two meanings – the first being cricket jargon for balls that are hit high into the air. Davos is a ski resort in Switzerland and not, as I had thought, one of the baddies in Doctor Who. | |
| 19 | ”To some extent, inhumane” — a term for a dangerous woman? (3-5) |
| MAN-EATER | |
| Hidden in [to some extent] {inhu}MANE A TER{m} | |
| 22 | Blairite hated being “out” — wanting to be this? (13) |
| REHABILITATED | |
| Anagram [out] of BLAIRITE HATED. A very good &lit. | |
| 25 | Special force releasing half the characters from custody (5) |
| POSSE | |
| POSSE{ssion} (custody) [releasing half the characters]. Followers of old Westerns will be very familiar with this word. | |
| 26 | Lover‘s farewell number — entertaining end to concert (9) |
| VALENTINE | |
| VALE (farewell – Latin), then NINE (number) containing [entertaining] {concer}T [end] | |
| 27 | Bird plunging into each lake non-stop (7) |
| ETERNAL | |
| TERN (bird) contained by [plunging into] EA (each), then L (lake) | |
| 28 | ”Little woman should be keeping home.” Pardon?! (7) |
| AMNESTY | |
| AMY (little woman) containing [should be keeping] NEST (home). Amy is one of the four March sisters in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Fool in Belfast party taking recreational drug (4) |
| DUPE | |
| DUP (Belfast party – Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland), E (recreational drug) | |
| 2 | Study is set up — that is to finish some time or other (4,3) |
| SINE DIE | |
| DEN (study) + IS reversed [set up], then IE (that is). SOED defines sine die with reference to adjourned business etc, without any day being appointed for resumption. | |
| 3 | Signs provided by females ousting head (5) |
| OMENS | |
| {w}OMENS (females) [ousting head]. Er… ‘women’ is a plural word so you can’t stick an ‘s’ on it! Later Edit: Thanks to the commenters who have suggested the parsing is meant to be {w}OMEN’S (provided by females) [ousting head]. I can see that just about works, but requiring solvers to imagine and insert their own apostrophe to make the grammar fit seems a bit much to me. It clearly came from the same mind that devised today’s original clue at 17ac, and the editor might also have intervened here. | |
| 4 | Mark finished in a B&B maybe (8) |
| STOPOVER | |
| STOP (punctuation mark), OVER (finished). A B&B (Bed & Breakfast) is a small hotel or guest-house that provides overnight accommodation and breakfast. | |
| 5 | Sarcastic piece, no good, about India (6) |
| BITING | |
| BIT (piece) + NG (no good) containing [about] I (India – NATO) | |
| 6 | Another one who is in form given marks? (9) |
| CLASSMATE | |
| I’ve hunted for wordplay here but can’t find any so I’m counting it as a cryptic definition. The last two words don’t add anything and could have omitted to make a neater clue. | |
| 7 | Something in the blood that gets moorhen moving (7) |
| HORMONE | |
| Anagram [moving] of MOORHEN | |
| 8 | Fish on to the table: way to go! (10) |
| SKATEBOARD | |
| SKATE (fish), BOARD (table). I suppose the definition is to be taken simply as a mode of transport. | |
| 12 | Sort of speech perhaps too sloppy (10) |
| APOSTROPHE | |
| Anagram [sloppy] of PERHAPS TOO. This definition of apostrophe was completely unknown to me. SOED again: words addressed to a person or thing, whether absent or present, generally in an exclamatory digression in a speech or literary writing. | |
| 14 | About to have meat and veg in holiday location? (9) |
| CARIBBEAN | |
| CA (about – circa), RIB (cut of meat), BEAN (veg) | |
| 16 | Worker in factory needing a cloak (8) |
| MANTILLA | |
| ANT (worker) contained by [in] MILL (factory), then A. I vaguely knew this from somewhere and assumed a connection with ‘mantle’. | |
| 18 | Beset by loathing, son’s hidden quickly (2,5) |
| IN HASTE | |
| IN (beset by), then S (son) contained by [hidden in] HATE (loathing) | |
| 20 | Couples imbibing rum — in these concoctions? (7) |
| TODDIES | |
| TIES (couples) containing [imbibing] ODD (rum) | |
| 21 | Qualification of the First Lady accepted by everyone (1,5) |
| A LEVEL | |
| EVE (the first lady) contained [accepted] by ALL (everyone) | |
| 23 | Musical group turning up — one in the groove? (5) |
| TENON | |
| NONET (musical group) reversed [turning up] | |
| 24 | Gathering given drink with five abstaining (4) |
| BEVY | |
| BEV{v}Y (drink) [five – v – abstaining]. In my experience ‘bevy’ was commonly used in only one context now designated non-PC, so we don’t hear it very often. In another context it’s the collective noun for quails or larks. | |
I think that was my last success before getting bogged down in the SW last night (even though I know the relevant meaning of APOSTROPHE quite well). Had to finish this morning.
SKIERS gave me long pause—wouldn’t the other meaning be spelled SKYERS? Anyway, that’s not in the dictionary…
BEVY is devious in that you take away V but a V is still in the word. (Also, y’know, I’m not used to saying or hearing “bevvy.”)
Did it okay. Same reservations as everyone else 🙂
Thanks, jack.