I found this quite tough today, finishing with little enough change from twenty minutes, which puts it on a close enough par with Monday’s and Wednesday’s main puzzles. I struggled in the North East, courtesy of some very good bits of misdirection. It might have clicked together a bit quicker had I spotted the excellently hidden answer in 7d. CoD to this for three reasons: I love the surface reading, where being “in the present” is good advice as a bitterness suppressant; I like (and fell for) the misdirection, thinking it could only be “bitterness kept inside present” to give the answer; and both of these made an already well-hidden clue even better hidden. It’s been a while since I’ve had a really good aha! moment with a hidden clue, and this is as nice an example of this type of clue as I can remember. Lots of other good clues as well, but I’ve rabbited on quite enough – many thanks to Hawthorn!
| Across | |
| 1 | Spot dud cartridge at close range (5-5) |
| POINT-BLANK – POINT (spot) BLANK (dud cartridge) | |
| 8 | Firm of detectives in action (7) |
| DECIDED – CID (detectives) in DEED (action) | |
| 9 | Fish swallowing new reel, for example (5) |
| DANCE – DACE (Fish) swallowing N(ew) | |
| 10 | Obnoxious child, born scoundrel (4) |
| BRAT – B(orn) RAT (scoundrel) | |
| 11 | Reveal end of world is nigh (8) |
| DISCLOSE – D (end of world) IS CLOSE (is nigh) | |
| 13 | Skimpy clothing is resurrected, perhaps? (6) |
| UNDIES – UN-DIES is “is resurrected”, perhaps. | |
| 14 | Where cobbler might toil in the end (2,4) |
| AT LAST – double definition. A last is a cobbler’s mould of a foot around which the shoe is made. As in the phrase: “stick to one’s last”, meaning to keep within one’s area of expertise. For the nice origin of this see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutor,_ne_ultra_crepidam | |
| 17 | Senior teacher the object of ridicule in NUT strike? (4,4) |
| HEAD BUTT – HEAD (senior teacher) BUTT (object of ridicule); nut = head. | |
| 19 | Pump, say, working hose (4) |
| SHOE – anagram (working) of HOSE | |
| 21 | Something made to measure for emperor (5) |
| RULER – double definition | |
| 22 | Potter somehow minding Ron’s final warning (7) |
| PORTENT – Anagram (somehow) of POTTER, minding/keeping N (Ron‘s final) | |
| 23 | Damaged papaw trees dropped leaves? (10) |
| WASTEPAPER – anagram (damaged) of PAPAW TREES | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Where one may obtain fruit or vegetable (7) |
| ORCHARD – OR (or) CHARD (vegetable) | |
| 3 | Naked person going around in “invisible dungarees” (4) |
| NUDE – “going around in” the letters of “invisiblE DUNgarees” | |
| 4 | Bidet’s replaced in small dwelling (6) |
| BEDSIT – anagram (replaced) of BIDETS | |
| 5 | Shamelessness demanding gold, diamonds and a large settlement (8) |
| AUDACITY – Au (gold) D(iamonds) and A CITY (a large settlement) | |
| 6 | End in knockout? It might! (5) |
| KENDO – Kendo might indeed END in a KO (knockout). | |
| 7 | Bitterness suppressed by present mentality (10) |
| RESENTMENT – Suppressed by, or kept inside, the letters of pRESENT MENTality | |
| 8 | Buy a CD here remixed for wild partying? (10) |
| DEBAUCHERY – anagram (remixed) of BUY A CD HERE. | |
| 12 | Mythical dog from book, caged by wandering rescuer (8) |
| CERBERUS – B(ook) caged by an anagram (wandering) of RESCUER. | |
| 15 | Sportsperson’s ace article about bit of tennis jargon (7) |
| ATHLETE – A(ce) THE (article) about LET (tennis jargon) | |
| 16 | Fixing broken plates (6) |
| STAPLE – anagram (broken) of PLATES: a staple = a fixing. | |
| 18 | Permit everyone to know finally (5) |
| ALLOW -ALL (everyone) tO knoW, finally. | |
| 20 | Old river with changeable current upended bulky swimmer (4) |
| ORCA – O(ld) R(iver) CA (changeable current is AC, upended) | |
LOI was HEAD BUTT which in my book is one word or hyphenated rather than (4,4) as indicated. The traditional sources agree with me, with HEADBUTT in the Oxfords and HEAD-BUTT in Chambers and Collins. Other than that it’s a very good clue which to appreciate to the full one needs to know that NUT stands for National Union of Teachers who are not completely averse to holding strikes and may be amongst those now threatening to wield their power in the coming months for all I know.
Edited at 2017-09-14 04:44 am (UTC)
20 minutes and then another 20 on dance, disclose, kendo and the well hidden resentment.
Kendo appears again!
Really enjoyed undies, Cerberus, kendo, and COD head butt.
Thanks for the excellent blog
Just 15 minutes in all. David
PS 13a also very good.
As I do all the accross first 7d wasnt a problema as I had all the crossers by the time I tried it.
At least everyone now knows what chard is, even if, like me, they would not know one if they saw it. I note that it is a vegetable today and a salad ingredient earlier in the week. Very versatile, I must get some and try it.
14:58, so another good time. And in other news I knocked off the 15×15 yesterday in a decent time (3 hours) and with no aids : a first.
I credit a year on the QC with this blog in finally cracking this Bucket List item.
WOD Debauchery
4’45”