I am standing in for Piquet today, and will be blogging every alternate Wednesday, for a while. Fortunately, a fairly benign offering to start things off with. No unknowns, tidy surface readings, a good effort I thought.
I use the standard conventions like underlining the definition, CD for cryptic definition, DD for a double one, *(anargam) and so forth. Nho = “not heard of” and in case of need the Glossary is always handy
| Across | |
| 1 | Unacceptable behaviour of naughty pupils (3,4) |
| BAD FORM – a DD, the second a jocular one. I hope. | |
| 5 | Builder of bridges in hostel for dossers (7) |
| TELFORD – hidden, as above. Thomas Telford, one of the great engineers. Amongst many other projects he built a road viaduct across the Loose valley, just a mile from where I live. Built it around 1828, and still in use today. | |
| 9 | Crossing middle of hall, led by tango dancers (9) |
| TRAVERSAL – T (tango, NATO alphabet) + RAVERS, dancers, + (h)AL(l) | |
| 10 | Second pet clipped in repeated pattern (5) |
| MOTIF – MO (a second) + TIF(f), a pet | |
| 11 | Workers’ movement wasted inordinate sum (5,8) |
| TRADE UNIONISM – *(INORDINATE SUM) | |
| 13 | Regularly spurned fiancé’s kiss, bold and clumsy (8) |
| INEXPERT – (f)I(a)N(c)E + X + PERT, bold | |
| 15 | Cases of urban resistance suggest trouble (6) |
| UNREST – U(rba)N + R(esistanc)E + S(ugges)T | |
| 17 | Former leading lady posed with unknown substitute (6) |
| ERSATZ – ER, (our late queen) + SAT (posed) + Z, an unknown. German for false, the opposite of ECHT, real. | |
| 19 | Rabble crushing arthropod’s shell and tail (8) |
| SHADOWER – A(rthropo)D in SHOWER, a rabble | |
| 22 | Chicanery in spades, with repeated string-pulling? (5,8) |
| SHARP PRACTICE – S(pades) + HARP PRACTICE, ie pulling strings | |
| 25 | Audibly slap Italian painter (5) |
| LIPPI – LIPP, sounds like lip, + I(talian). But why lip = slap is not clear to me. Several Italian Renaissence painters were called Lippi.
On edit: Lippi sounds like “Lippy,” short for lipstick, see comments! |
|
| 26 | Doctor and a colleague checking one’s ready for theatre (9) |
| DRAMATISE – DR + I’S in MATE, a colleague | |
| 27 | Quiet because eating seconds of blancmange and jelly (7) |
| SILENCE – (b)L(ancmange) + (j)E(lly), in SINCE, because | |
| 28 | Spy on me, travelling in Bolivia and Colombia? (7) |
| EPONYMS – *(SPY ON ME). An eponym is a word derived from someone’s name. In this case the someones would be Simon Bolivar and Christopher Columbus. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Wound some quiet Iberians up (4) |
| BITE – a reverse hidden, as above. What (eg) mosquitos do. | |
| 2 | One conscripted after cycling into Delaware (7) |
| DRAFTEE – RAFTE (after, cycling) in DE, Delaware. See cycling in the glossary, if unclear. | |
| 3 | Building work is on time (5) |
| OPERA – OP (work) + ERA. Slightly terse definition, I thought. | |
| 4 | Gathers wrong military intelligence on cutters (8) |
| MISHEARS – MI + SHEARS, cutters. | |
| 5 | Gift of story books (6) |
| TALENT – TALE (story) + NT, books, ie the new testament. | |
| 6 | Mocked and hit setter in school (9) |
| LAMPOONED – LAM (hit) + ONE, our setter, in POD, school | |
| 7 | Not a member of away team (7) |
| OUTSIDE – OUT (away) + SIDE (team) | |
| 8 | Injurious to reputation of someone brilliant and loving (10) |
| DEFAMATORY – DEF (brilliant, apparently) + AMATORY, loving. Def, a slang hip-hop term according to Collins. | |
| 12 | Indigestion remedy averts ills abroad (5,5) |
| LIVER SALTS – *(AVERTS ILLS). Not a medicine I’ve ever used. Andrews little liver pills, rings a vague bell | |
| 14 | Quietly point out dodgy financial contract (3,6) |
| PUT OPTION – P (quietly) + *(POINT OUT). | |
| 16 | Hunting of cheetahs condemned (3,5) |
| THE CHASE – *(CHEETAHS) | |
| 18 | Trophy wife fell at last for surgeon’s knife (7) |
| SCALPEL – SCALP (trophy) + (wif)E (fel)L | |
| 20 | Climbing tree, foul inside and full of beetles (7) |
| WEEVILY – EVIL (foul) inside YEW rev. Hornblower used to tap his ship’s biscuits on the table before eating them, to dislodge the weevils… | |
| 21 | Show resentment while supporting brother (6) |
| BRIDLE – BR(other) + IDLE, while as in while away time. | |
| 23 | Idealised representation of Shakespearean villain gripping millions (5) |
| IMAGO – M in IAGO, the baddie in Othello. | |
| 24 | Movie stars both turned out to be trouble (4) |
| MESS – M(ovi)E S(tar)S. | |
One or two dubious clues for me but glad to complete for the first time this week.
FOI TRADE UNIONISM
LOI LIPPI (a lucky guess)
COD WEEVILY
How interesting. The Loose Viaduct, built by Mr Telford is also just one mile from where I live!
As above reply to Staticman1