16:45. After several tricky Fridays in a row, I finally got a breather. Athough there were still some unknowns here and wordplay was important to follow carefully, I imagine my time will be among the slower for the solvers here.
| Across | |
| 1 | Fund-raiser boarding vehicle, one alongside a restaurant (9) |
| CAFETERIA – FETE (fund-raiser) in CAR (vehicle) + I (one) + A | |
| 6 | Plant found by neat border (5) |
| OXLIP – OX (neat) + LIP (border) | |
| 9 | Scottish fine Liberal for affray (5) |
| BRAWL – BRAW (fine, splendid in Scottish) + L (liberal)
Had to semi-biff this one at the end. Certainly didn’t know BRAW and wasn’t sure of the definition of ‘affray’ but decided it had to be similar to ‘fray’. Guessed BRAWL and looked up BRAW to be sure. |
|
| 10 | Drug agent sends out missing tablet — egotist on reflection? (9) |
| NARCISSUS – NARC (drug agent) + ISSUES (sends out) – E (tablet)
A reference here to Narcissus falling in love with his reflection in a pool of water. |
|
| 11 | City set down nestles within volcanic hill (7) |
| COLOGNE – LOG (set down) in CONE (volcanic hill)
Another semi-biff. LOG was easy enough, CONE was not. |
|
| 12 | Climbing orchid poorly placed in front area (7) |
| VANILLA – ILL (poorly) in VAN (front) + A (area)
Did not know vanilla was an orchid, but I got this one from the wordplay. |
|
| 13 | America — scratch its skin to find this underworld activity? (9,5) |
| ORGANISED CRIME – {a}MERIC{a}
The reference to America made me hesitate over whether this should be spelled ORGANIZED. |
|
| 17 | Poles touring States after servant in base makes bloomer (5-4,5) |
| BLACK-EYED SUSAN – S,N (poles) around USA (States) after LACKEY (servant) in BED (base)
Got this readily from the wordplay. |
|
| 21 | Dinosaur disregarding rodent and duck shows muscle (7) |
| TRICEPS – TRICERATOPS (dinosaur) – RAT (rodent) – O (duck) | |
| 23 | Record one’s lines for occasion (7) |
| EPISODE – EP (record) + I’S (one’s) + ODE (lines) | |
| 25 | Señora Perón to chatter idly about nothing and vanish (9) |
| EVAPORATE – EVA (señora Perón) + PRATE (chatter idly) around O (nothing) | |
| 26 | Bodega finally provided source for tequila (5) |
| AGAVE – last letter of BODEGA + GAVE (provided) | |
| 27 | Compare / lighter alternative (5) |
| MATCH – double definition | |
| 28 | Fanatic to survive bracing term at sea (9) |
| EXTREMIST – EXIST (survive) around anagram of TERM | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Parisian pig swallowing a black stone (8) |
| CABOCHON – COCHON (pig, in French) around A + B (black)
This was my last in, and basically a lucky guess. I thought I’d seen COCHON on some menus, but I think I was thinking of a COCOTTE. In any case, the crossers and wordplay gave CAB _ C _ O _ . The ending -CHON seemed obvious (I now see I might have been thinking of CAPUCHON, which is a hat), which left CACHON or COCHON as the only reasonable possibilities for ‘pig’. The former sounded more like a cartridge or something, while the latter seemed like an animal. My dictionary informs me that CACHON is not a word, though CACHOT is — it’s basically a synonym for ‘oubliette’ or ‘dungeon’. Funny how one can have instincts about languages one doesn’t really speak. |
|
| 2 | Easily tempted following deceptive sort back (5) |
| FRAIL – F (following) + LIAR (deceptive sort) reversed
I don’t typically think of FRAIL in the sense of ‘weak-willed’, but it made sense. |
|
| 3 | Projecting well out of the box? (9) |
| TELEGENIC – cryptic definition | |
| 4 | Eleven run Plantagenet stronghold (7) |
| RANGERS – R (run) + ANGERS (Plantagenet stronghold)
I don’t know my European history, clearly, but apparently the city of Angers was the stronghold of the Plantagenet dynasty for many years. ‘Eleven’ gave me the reference to football, and I’d vaguely heard of RANGERS. |
|
| 5 | Initially able, drunken driver completed the course (7) |
| ARRIVED – first letter of ABLE + anagram of DRIVER | |
| 6 | One between legs — potential cause of tears? (5) |
| ONION – I (one) between ON ON (legs, in cricket) | |
| 7 | Bomb-makers here chopped sausage found in lavatories (3,6) |
| LOS ALAMOS – SALAMI (sausage) with the last letter removed (chopped) in LOOS (lavatories)
Very cute clue, but I biffed it. |
|
| 8 | Short film with old man, mathematician Blaise (6) |
| PASCAL – SCALE (film) with the last letter removed (short) next to PA (old man)
Again biffed. Chambers has that ‘scale’ is a film, as on iron being heated for forging. |
|
| 14 | Cheerfully roam, dashing to trap one skein of geese? (9) |
| GALLIVANT – GALLANT (dashing) around I (one) + V (skein of geese?)
Referring to the V formation of geese in flight. |
|
| 15 | Retire to the country, on about Tacitus being corrupt (9) |
| RUSTICATE – RE (on) around anagram of TACITUS | |
| 16 | Skin, with current, always the first to go blue (8) |
| INDECENT – RIND (skin) + RECENT (current) with the first letters removed | |
| 18 | Owner of Trollope’s diamonds cut with ease perhaps? (7) |
| EUSTACE – anagram of CUT + EASE
If I’d known Anthony Trollope’s book, The Eustace Diamonds, that might have helped! However, I was familiar with the name Eustace from the Chronicles of Narnia, which we just read as a family. |
|
| 19 | Mountain woman in the first place needs sleep (7) |
| EVEREST – EVE (woman in the first place) + REST (sleep) | |
| 20 | Burn recusant’s head in scalding vapour (6) |
| STREAM – first letter of RECUSANT in STEAM (scalding vapour)
Chiefly Scottish, but I’d heard it before. |
|
| 22 | Time to manage rearing horse (5) |
| EPOCH – COPE (manage) reversed + H (horse) | |
| 24 | Satisfactory beer should be served up for beast (5) |
| OKAPI – OK (satisfactory) + IPA (beer) reversed
The forest giraffe! |
|
One letter away from a clean sweep this week. And maybe I should know how to spell CABOCHON – sadly I went with 2xA rather than 2x O – I definitely definitely don’t think I should be expected to know the French for pig!
I feel short changed
Had fun with this, with the long across clue going in first as I ‘saw’ the anagram device for the second word straight away, luckily. CABOCHON no problem, as another ARS fan here (and remembering our schoolgirl taunts of “Cochon!” to the local grammar-school boys). With the helpful C I managed the restaurant (even though I was thinking it was going to be something more exotic), and was surprised to find the going quite smooth after that – until that is, I hit the unheard of EUSTACE and the difficult INDECENT. Some really good clues here, I thought. Faves were ONION, LOS ALAMOS and TRICEPS among a hoard of others.