Hello, and, if it is one for you, happy bank holiday! I am hoping to make the most of the day off work by doing very little, and will enjoy seeing your comments as soon as they arrive.
9a caught my eye as soon as I opened the puzzle, and it went straight in too. After this pleasant start others followed readily, although I took a little longer in the SE corner. I don’t think it was quite the last in, but I remember taking a while to get 18a. I still managed to squeak in just a second under my inner target time of 5 minutes – so not a piglet from Oink.
We do of course have a traditional piggy clue: today’s is 22a. Obviously, my favourite was the tittle-tattle in 9a, which, along with Sue’s drug taking in 22d, has inspired today’s blog title. Thank you to Oink for the smiles!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Split up new pet’s area (8) |
| SEPARATE — An anagram of (new) PET’S AREA | |
| 6a | Warning about keeping setter (4) |
| OMEN — ON (about, concerning) containing (keeping) ME (setter) | |
| 8a | Fizzy drink? It might get up your nose (4) |
| COKE — Two definitions – cola and cocaine | |
| 9a | Problem interrupting Kitty’s tittle-tattle (8) |
| CHITCHAT — HITCH (problem) going inside (interrupting) CAT (kitty) | |
| 10a | Recklessly rash peer put another way (8) |
| REPHRASE — Anagrammed (recklessly), RASH PEER | |
| 12a | Image of suspect: European blessed with good looks (1-3) |
| E-FIT — E (European) + FIT (blessed with good looks, attractive) | |
| 13a | One departing from bar providing purchase, by the sound of it (6) |
| LEAVER — LEVER (bar providing purchase), soundalike (by the sound of it) | |
| 16a | Secure anaesthetic on time (6) |
| TETHER — ETHER (anaesthetic) by (on) T (time) | |
| 17a | Nameless stadium in the locality (4) |
| AREA — Without N (nameless), ARE[n]A (stadium) | |
| 18a | Terrified old Vera took the plunge (8) |
| OVERAWED — O (old) + VERA + WED (took the plunge) | |
| 21a | Temperature in Corsica somehow a puzzle (8) |
| ACROSTIC — T (temperature) in an anagram of (… somehow) CORSICA | |
| 22a | Plans to come back for something to eat (4) |
| SPAM — MAPS (plans) is to be reversed (to come back) | |
| 23a | Criminal inclination (4) |
| BENT — A double definition | |
| 24a | Happy to stand in for daughter (8) |
| RELIEVED — RELIEVE (to stand in for) + D (daughter) | |
| Down | |
| 2d | Run away with Penelope, leaving writer behind (5) |
| ELOPE — [pen]ELOPE, omitting (leaving … behind) PEN (writer) | |
| 3d | Man blowing top, downing this in boozer? (3) |
| ALE — Removing the first letter (… blowing top), mALE (man) | |
| 4d | Painter supporting a couple of Charlies in African capital (5) |
| ACCRA — RA (Royal Academician: painter) underneath (supporting) A and C C (couple of Charlies). The capital of Ghana | |
| 5d | Detective inspector held up in incident, that’s obvious (7) |
| EVIDENT — DI (Detective Inspector) contained in reverse in (held up in) EVENT (incident) | |
| 6d | Has rector reassembled group of musicians (9) |
| ORCHESTRA — HAS RECTOR anagrammed (reassembled). | |
| If anybody reading is very new to cryptics, you may not be aware that ORCHESTRA is an anagram of CARTHORSE. Oink has avoided this crossword chestnut today | |
| 7d | Interrogate former partner for each lucrative source (7) |
| EXAMINE — EX (former partner) + A (for each) + MINE (lucrative source – you can think of a mine of coal etc, or a mine of information) | |
| 11d | Try to attack (4,1,2,2) |
| HAVE A GO AT — A double definition | |
| 14d | Fear a check-up involves painful experience (7) |
| EARACHE — A hidden: fEAR A CHEck-up involves the answer | |
| 15d | Roll with duck in it, or chicken? (7) |
| ROOSTER — ROSTER (roll) containing (with … in it) O (duck) | |
| 19d | Some say extra-large is better (5) |
| EXCEL — Sounds like (some say) XL (extra-large). Better and excel here both mean to surpass | |
| 20d | First lady welcoming a day’s escape (5) |
| EVADE — EVE (first lady) taking in (welcoming) A and D (day) | |
| 22d | Spot Sue on vacation taking E (3) |
| SEE — SuE on being emptied of inner letters (on vacation) adopting (taking) E. | |
| I interpreted this as SE with insertion of E, but I think it also works as SE + E | |
Earache was the best hidden I’ve seen for a while, took me ages to realise. Had to run alphabet to get spam. Earache, leaver, rooster and overawed overlaps held me up the most.