Solving time: 40 minutes
Not the easiest of puzzles but after a couple of stinkers last week I found this an enjoyable and absorbing solve.
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]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Biblical character appearing in different accounts (5) |
| ISAAC | |
| ISA, AC (different accounts). The first is a UK abbreviation for ‘Individual Savings Account’ on which interest is not subject to tax. | |
| 4 | Main views of America’s capital — son flies around it (9) |
| SEASCAPES | |
| S (son) + ESCAPES (flies) containing [around] A (America’s capital) | |
| 9 | Politicians follow this pretentious Liberal with long clothing (5,4) |
| PARTY LINE | |
| PINE (long) containing [clothing] ARTY (pretentious) + L (Liberal) | |
| 10 | Girl in part of Lorraine’s territory (5) |
| NANCY | |
| Two meanings. NANCY in France is the former capital of the Duchy of Lorraine. I lost a lot of time over this as I thought ‘part’ indicated containment and the girl was ESTER. Not the usual spelling as that’s Esther, but it does exist. | |
| 11 | Two newspapers with good quality info on music (4,9) |
| TIME SIGNATURE | |
| TIMES + I (two newspapers), G (good), NATURE (quality). Usually two numbers, one over the other, at the beginning of a piece of music or in the course of it, indicating the number of beats per bar and the value of each beat. Despite what I have seen in some dictionaries this has no bearing on the tempo of the piece; that’s covered by words such as Allegro, Adagio etc. | |
| 14 | Tuber is more peculiar, cut the wrong way (4) |
| EDDO | |
| ODDE{r} (more peculiar) [cut] reversed [the wrong way]. AKA ‘taro’ apparently, or more interestingly ‘elephant’s ear’. In keeping with tradition, whenever EDDO appears I assert that I never heard of it before. The TfTT archive confirms I said this in December 2021 and re a puzzle I blogged myself in 2009. | |
| 15 | Driver‘s encouraging utterance, injecting a gas (10) |
| CHARIOTEER | |
| CHEER (encouraging utterance) containing [injecting] A + RIOT (gas – both slang for ‘fun’) | |
| 18 | Having extraordinary perception, possibly I elect to maintain course (10) |
| TELEPATHIC | |
| Anagram [possibly] of I ELECT containing [to maintain] PATH (course) | |
| 19 | Tips from arty quintet unoriginally aping Kind of Blue (4) |
| AQUA | |
| A{rty} + Q{uintet} + U{noriginally} + A{ping} [tips from …] | |
| 21 | Swell financier in case of enquiry for charlatanism (13) |
| MOUNTEBANKERY | |
| MOUNT (swell), then BANKER ( financier) contained by [in] E{nquir}Y [case of …] | |
| 24 | Child beginning to suck kind of rock (5) |
| SPROG | |
| S{uck} (beginning to …], PROG (kind of rock music). I really didn’t want to be reminded so soon of last Wednesday’s ‘sprig / sprog’ debacle! | |
| 25 | Quite slowly, run through poor part of Los Angeles? (9) |
| LARGHETTO | |
| R (run) contained by [through] LA GHETTO (poor part of Los Angeles). Another of the musical tempo directions referred to at 11ac. | |
| 27 | Addressing persistent problem with temperance, drained drink again (9) |
| REHYDRATE | |
| RE (addressing – on the subject of), HYDRA (persistent problem), T{emperanc}E [drained]. Hydra was the mythical monster that kept regrowing its multiple heads as they were chopped off. | |
| 28 | Circe’s heart captured by enchanter one linked with Homer (5) |
| MARGE | |
| {Ci}R{ce} [‘s heart] contain [captured] by MAGE (enchanter – wizard). A reference to The Simpsons, a TV programme I have never seen. We had Bart Simpson only yesterday when I remarked on these puzzles dumbing down | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | People getting treatment join in wearing underwear (2-8) |
| IN-PATIENTS | |
| TIE (join) contained by [in] IN + PANTS (wearing underwear) | |
| 2 | You might inspire this song (3) |
| AIR | |
| Two meanings, the first vaguely cryptic | |
| 3 | Most retiring from business having OK time (6) |
| COYEST | |
| CO (business), YES (OK), T (time) | |
| 4 | Bandage put on tot, one firing missiles across the pond (9) |
| SLINGSHOT | |
| SLING (bandage), SHOT (tot e.g. of spirits). ‘Across the pond’ indicates the American origin of the word. I looked twice at ‘bandage / SLING’ but found support for it in most of the usual sources. | |
| 5 | Fake laugh takes in Wolves’ captain? (5) |
| AKELA | |
| Hidden [takes in] {f}AKE LA{ugh}. Akela is a wolf in Kipling’s Jungle Book stories and the word was used by the Boy Scouts Association when they introduced their Wolf Cub programme in 1916 for boys too young to be Boy Scouts. In that context Akela was an adult leader of a pack of Wolf Cubs. The ‘wolf’ element was dropped sometime during the 1960s but I don’t know whether Cub Scouts retained Akela. | |
| 6 | Entertainer to practise deception in court? (8) |
| CONJUROR | |
| CON JUROR (practise deception in court?) | |
| 7 | Like a playwright‘s irritation about Sterne novel (11) |
| PINTERESQUE | |
| PIQUE (irritation) containing [about] anagram [novel] of STERNE. My AI assistant advises that typical components of Pinter’s style are a sense of menace, dialogue with pauses, minimalism and a general air of mystery and ambiguity, especially about his characters’ motivations. |
|
| 8 | Feature of underworld crook’s perhaps reaching our ears (4) |
| STYX | |
| Aural wordplay [reaching our ears]: STYX (a river in Hades) / “sticks” (crook’s). Collins: crook – a staff with a hooked end, such as a bishop’s crosier or shepherd’s staff. | |
| 12 | Late winter period possibly framing occasionally duller literary setting (11) |
| MIDDLEMARCH | |
| MID-MARCH (late winter period possibly) containing [framing] D{u}L{l}E{r} [occasionally]. Middlemarch is the setting for the book of the same name by George Eliot. | |
| 13 | Challenge for climbers changing gear on sides of slippery, icy area (6,4) |
| GREASY POLE | |
| Anagram [changing] of GEAR, S{lipper}Y [sides of …], POLE (icy area) | |
| 16 | Make good rum — and beer is drunk (9) |
| REIMBURSE | |
| Anagram [drunk] of RUM BEER IS | |
| 17 | Touring Portugal on vacation, Rose was extravagant (8) |
| SPLURGED | |
| SURGED (rose) containing [touring] P{ortuga}L [on vacation] | |
| 20 | It’s doubtful absorbing books will show number of patriots (6) |
| ANTHEM | |
| AHEM (it’s doubtful) containing [absorbing] NT (books – New Testament). Collins: ahem – a clearing of the throat, used to attract attention, express doubt, etc. ‘Number’ here as in ‘song’. | |
| 22 | US city tours, at intervals, covering large area (5) |
| TULSA | |
| T{o}U{r}S [at intervals] containing [covering] L (large), then A (area). Known to me courtesy of Gene Pitney. | |
| 23 | Person at sea embraces Saint Nicholas, say (4) |
| TSAR | |
| TAR (person at sea – sailor) contains [embraces] S (saint) | |
| 26 | Go off climbing — this peak? (3) |
| TOR | |
| ROT (go off) reversed [climbing] | |
Funnily enough I saw the word EDDO this morning when I went shopping at Tang Frères. There they were next to three types of sweet potato. Managed this in 14’23”. I have laughed loudly so many times to the Simpsons that they are all welcome in the crossword as far as I am concerned. Many thanks.
Yay, another finish. Guessed EDDO must exist. TSAR and REHYDRATE (which I didn’t understand, thanks Jack) held out a while. 29 and change.
Over an hour today for tje first time in an age. Not sure why. One of those where you just dont see it intil you do and then its OMG as Bart might say to annoy Marge.
Completing this puzzle in a more relaxed fashion than usual, as today is my 80th birthday (some would say 81st!) and have decided to “veg out” all day. It needed a cheat to get MOUNTEBANKERY, STYX and LARGHETTO, however, despite an unusually fast start with SEASCAPES, PARTY LINE and COYEST going straight in. Luckily I missed the ‘ester’ trick, so NANCY also a given. Always love a bit of humour in the crossie (Sorry, I’m now Australian), so MARGE went down well, but COD to IN PATIENTS.