Hi everyone. Another enjoyable Oinker with lots of beautiful surfaces and some nicely disguised definitions – but nothing too devious for a QC, I would say. I picked out three highlights which have both: 4a (desire to live), 3d (Harry, Sarah and son) and 14d (spilt rum). Thanks Oink!
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 | |
| 4a | Desperate desire to live (6) |
| RESIDE — An anagram of (desperate) DESIRE | |
| 7a | Explode in meeting about public school (8) |
| DETONATE — DATE (meeting) around (about) ETON (public school) | |
| 8a | Smart Conservative party making a comeback (6) |
| CLEVER — C (Conservative) + REVEL (party) going backwards (making a comeback) | |
| 9a | Beer brewed by chemist’s shop — get it cheap here? (4,4) |
| BOOT SALE — ALE (beer brewed) by BOOTS (chemist’s shop). Or, a better interpretation (thanks to Roundabout Here in the comments) is simply BOOTS’ ALE – beer brewed by Boots | |
| 10a | Husband in great pain (4) |
| ACHE — H (husband) in ACE (great) | |
| 12a | Liquid he sipped — good for woolly customers? (5,3) |
| SHEEP DIP — An anagram of (liquid) HE SIPPED. (I originally frowned at the definition, thinking it should be “that’s good for …” or similar, but on reflection interpreted “good” as a noun which I’m perfectly happy with) | |
| 15a | Coach’s bearing (8) |
| CARRIAGE — Two definitions | |
| 18a | Lock up silver in church (4) |
| CAGE — AG (silver) in CE (church) | |
| 20a | Souped-up old Rover, one with great power? (8) |
| OVERLORD — An anagram of (souped-up) OLD ROVER | |
| 22a | LA heavy found in lake (6) |
| LAGOON — LA + GOON (heavy, a thug) | |
| 23a | Police holding everyone back: English crumble (8) |
| COLLAPSE — COPS (police) containing (holding) ALL (everyone) reversed (back) + E (English) | |
| 24a | Stimulate awareness, might one say? (6) |
| INCITE — INSIGHT (awareness), soundalike (might one say?) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Submarine captain a little unemotional (4) |
| NEMO — Hidden: a little uNEMOtional. Although we are finding Nemo, here he is the Jules Verne character, not an animated clownfish! | |
| 2d | A few root out items such as wellies (8) |
| FOOTWEAR — A FEW ROOT anagrammed (out) | |
| 3d | Harry and Sarah turning up with son in tow (6) |
| HARASS — SARAH written upwards (turning up) with S (son) following/accompanying (in tow) | |
| 4d | Go back and plant again, we’re told (6) |
| RECEDE — Sounds like (… we’re told) RE-SEED (plant again) | |
| 5d | Outhouse only half finished (4) |
| SHED — Only half finiSHED | |
| 6d | Preparing a vinaigrette perhaps (8) |
| DRESSING — A double definition | |
| 11d | Silent comic embracing a man of the cloth (8) |
| CHAPLAIN — CHAPLIN (silent comic) around (embracing) A | |
| 13d | Good old Henry’s brought back something for the barbecue? (3) |
| HOG — The combination of G (good), O (old) and H (henry, SI unit of inductance) is reversed (brought back). Oink has laid on a hog roast for today’s piggy reference | |
| 14d | I clear up spilt rum (8) |
| PECULIAR — I CLEAR UP anagrammed (spilt) | |
| 16d | In agreement about head of church straightaway (2,4) |
| AT ONCE — AT ONE (in agreement – we are at one with each other) around (about) the first letter of (head of) Church | |
| 17d | First lady beginning to lecture in New York regularly (6) |
| EVENLY — EVE (first lady) + the first letter of (beginning to) Lecture in NY (New York) | |
| 19d | Prime minister’s daughter visiting me in Paris (4) |
| MODI — D (daughter, genealogical abbreviation) entering (visiting) MOI (me in Paris) | |
| 21d | Spots Charlie leaving accident (4) |
| RASH — C (Charlie, in the NATO alphabet) is leaving [c]RASH (accident) | |
10 mins…
Usual enjoyable fare from Oink. I could literally feel the indignation regarding 7ac “Detonate”. Are the setters taking the proverbial?
FOI – 1dn “Nemo”
LOI – 9ac “Boot Sale”
COD – 8ac “Clever”
Thanks as usual!
I was a bit slow getting HARASS and EVENLY so SCC I’m afraid – but lots of fun on the way, and next time in Boot’s I’ll ask if they sell ale! They used to have home brew kits: fairly headachy I seem to remember. I enjoyed the RASH in CRASH and the half-finished outhouse. Like others I wondered about LAGOON but it was near enough. Possible alternative clue for 7a: Much loved sci-fi character meets explosive match? That school again!
20 minutes for a steady solve, fairly straightforward on the whole.
Absolutely top crossword which unfortunately I forgot to time! But no matter, because the solving was such a pleasure. Smiles from start to finish, so particularly hard to choose a COD.
My father used to make beer and wine from Boot’s kits in our old coal shed that he did up and renamed the brewery. I don’t remember that either were particularly pleasant, but I was still at the age when I could make half a lager and lime last for an hour, as I didn’t like the taste 🤣 How times change! Off for a refreshing glass of NZ sauvignon blanc now.
Approx 10 minutes FOI Detonate (like many others, I did wonder if Merlin might actually blow up, but his restraint is admirable 😂) LOI Clever COD Peculiar
Many, many thanks Oink and Kitty
11 minutes on QC was ok.
However, I got only 3 on the Quintagram. I then spent well over an hour on the 15 x 15. I got one wrong and could not get 5 other answers. A truly appalling performance given that the Snitch said this was very easy.
Why do I bother? I haven’t got it and never will. I look at the times and comments of the other solvers and feel like an idiot.