A medium level difficulty puzzle from Izetti with a few trademark less common words and senses but nothing I would class as too obscure. No complaints from me that it was easier than yesterday’s toughie and I finished in ten minutes on the knocker. A perverse favourite for me was the surface for 3d; anything but in my experience!
A big thank you to Merlin for having taken up the reins and for blogging every week in my absence.
Thanks to Izetti
Definitions underlined in bold, deletions indicated by strikethrough.
| Across | |
| 1 | Paint book for learners? (6) |
| PRIMER – Double definition | |
| 5 | One group of fliers as seen on return journey (6) |
| SAFARI – Reversal (‘on return’) of I (‘One’) RAF (‘group of fliers’) AS (‘as’) | |
| 8 | Some reward ancestors for hostile gestures (3,5) |
| WAR DANCE – Hidden (‘Some’) in reWARD ANCEstors | |
| 9 | Difficult things Cockney must go through? Sorry about that! (4) |
| OOPS – From the expression to “jump through hoops” to get something done, meaning the task is a difficult one or requires many steps |
|
| 10 | Smart companion in charge (4) |
| CHIC – CH (‘companion’) IC (‘in charge’)
CH for a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, “awarded for having a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time”. Anna Wintour, Shirley Bassey, Elton John and David Attenborough are among the better-known CH’s |
|
| 11 | Support vessel heading back to something hairy (8) |
| BUTTRESS – BUT (‘vessel heading back’=reversal of TUB) TRESS (‘something hairy’) | |
| 12 | Prison festival back at end of street (6) |
| STALAG – ALAG (‘festival back’=reversal of GALA) following (‘at end of’) ST (‘street’) | |
| 14 | Daughter surrounded by birds in large groups (6) |
| CROWDS – D (‘Daughter’) contained in (‘surrounded by’) CROWS (‘birds’) | |
| 16 | Great time — it’s wicked going around! (8) |
| IMMORTAL – IMMORAL (‘wicked’) containing (‘going around!’) T (‘time’)
IMMORTAL as either an adjective or a noun in this sense |
|
| 18 | Second beer — it may come with a special offer (4) |
| SALE – S (‘Second’) ALE (‘beer’) | |
| 20 | Insect that’s beginning to feed on meat (4) |
| BEEF – BEE (‘Insect’) F (‘beginning to feed’=first letter of ‘feed’) | |
| 21 | Learner always needing time to establish strategic advantage (8) |
| LEVERAGE – L (‘Learner’) EVER (‘always’) AGE (‘time’) | |
| 23 | Look to eat very little and get very hungry (6) |
| STARVE – STARE (‘Look’) containing (‘to eat’) V (‘very little’=abbreviation of ‘very’) | |
| 24 | Idea coming when politician entertains ambassador (6) |
| THEORY – TORY (‘politician’) containing (‘to eat’) HE (‘ambassador’)
HE for His Excellency or Her Excellency as a title for an ambassador |
|
| Down | |
| 2 | Fish approached — see it getting caught here (5) |
| ROACH – Hidden ((‘see it) getting caught here’) in ‘appROACHed’
Often indicators for hidden clues are themselves almost hidden in the surface (eg 8a above or an innocuous “in”) but this one is unusually long. |
|
| 3 | Sort of test claimed to be fantastic (7) |
| MEDICAL – Anagram (‘to be fantastic’) of CLAIMED | |
| 4 | Maybe an extra sequence in the West End? (3) |
| RUN – Double definition
An ‘extra’ in cricket, not on the stage as the surface reading may have us believe. The second def refers to the length of time or number of performances eg a play remains on at a theatre, hence ‘West End?’. |
|
| 5 | Disbelieving extraordinary special act — not the first (9) |
| SCEPTICAL – Anagram (‘extraordinary’) of SPECIAL and |
|
| 6 | Food ingredient left for number to collect (5) |
| FLOUR – FOUR (‘number’) containing (‘to collect’) L (‘left’) | |
| 7 | Model clothed in crimson rested (7) |
| REPOSED – POSE (‘Model’) contained in (‘clothed in’) RED (‘crimson’)
‘Model’ here as a verb |
|
| 11 | Beautiful female hiding a gun in fluff (9) |
| BAGATELLE – BELLE (‘Beautiful female’) containing (‘hiding’) A (‘a’) GAT (‘gun’)
I can’t think why but Mae West came to mind. A GAT is an air pistol or air gun which according to Wikipedia can fire “.177 pellets, ball bearings, darts and corks”. An alternative explanation is GAT as an abbreviation for Gatling gun. ‘Fluff’ as in a piece of fluff (figuratively) or a trifle. The first time BAGATELLE impinged on my consciousness (though not in this sense) was in the lyrics for Penny Arcade by Roy Orbison. |
|
| 13 | Casual worker set off in storm (7) |
| TEMPEST – TEMP (‘Casual worker’) then anagram (‘off’) of SET | |
| 15 | See old boy wait (7) |
| OBSERVE – OB (‘old boy’) SERVE (‘wait’) | |
| 17 | Present in box unopened (5) |
| OFFER – |
|
| 19 | Drink fit for a king served up (5) |
| LAGER – Reversal (‘served up’) of REGAL (‘fit for a king’)
The hops used to make this LAGER definitely have a chestnut flavour |
|
| 22 | Tax introduced by Conservatives (3) |
| VAT -Hidden (‘introduced by’) in ‘ConserVATives’ | |
Not scientific proof but I usually take longer to do Izeti QC than the 15×15 of the day. Today 31 min dnf compared to 11 min.
A joyless day (is there any other type?) – 23 minutes.
Already at 69 mins for week!
Just over half on big puzzle. Tortuous.
I can’t enjoy this if I am unable to improve. ☹️
Now read blog for big puzzle. So many simple answers that I miss. I get the components of many answers but can’t fit them together.
My brain just doesn’t work in the right way for this and that drives me mad. I would give anything to possess the skills which so many of you seem to exercise so effortlessly.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds your relentless negativity – even when posting performances or completion times others would be proud of – exhausting, and dare I say disrespectful.
At various points, other regular solvers and even bloggers have attempted to encourage you. You seem immune to such efforts.
If, as seems is the case, you find only frustration in these puzzles, not enjoyment, perhaps this is not the past-time for you. Not due to your solving abilities, but due to your general demeanor.
Otherwise, perhaps you could try saying what you enjoyed about a puzzle, or a clue, instead of this tedious performance of misery every single day. Or even say what you didn’t like! I read these comments daily and have never seen you post anything but criticism of your own performance, which is ultimately extremely self-absorbed.
Regards,
A friendly onlooker
Found this easier than yesterday’s, the NW going in fairly quickly, but got breezeblocked by STARVE, OFFER and IMMORTAL at the end, until we weren’t. But we join others having a MER at Immortal = GREAT.
FOI PRIMER
LOI IMMORTAL
COD SAFARI
Thanks Bletchers and Izetti.
24.02 with no errors. Not a common thing to describe an Izetti as “easier than the. previous day’s puzzle” (which was a DNF as I’d NHO LEONINE and entered LIONISE instead). Still in the SCC though. FOI – CHIC, LOI – BAGATELLE (which I biffed from the crossing letters), COD – TEMPEST. Thanks Izetti and BR.
Only the SE quadrant was doable.