My view is further jaundiced because now the scores have appeared, it says I got two answers wrong. Mysterious, because all answers in my draft blog agree with the published solution. Frustrating, because now of course I can’t retrieve the solution I submitted, thanks to the new website. Grrr.
It’s a pity, because there were also some lovely clues. I enjoyed 19, 23, 25 and 26 across, and 1 down, but my choice for the clue of the day has to be 5dn. Overall, I found this on the hard side, but it will be interesting to see if that was just me! Thanks to the setter.
On to the blog. Clues are reproduced in blue, with the definition underlined. Anagram indicators are bolded and italicised. Then there’s the answer IN BOLD CAPS, followed by the parsing of the wordplay. (ABC)* means ‘anagram of ABC’, {deletions are in curly brackets}.
Across
1 Top Gear star appearing with famous interviewer and footballer (6,4)
SUNDAY BEST: SUN=star / {Robin} DAY=INTERVIEWER / {George} BEST=footballer. Makes me feel old, just knowing their names!
6 Pleased with oneself, having succeeded with attack (4)
SMUG: S=succeeded / MUG=attacked.
10 What Green is making sacrifice? (5)
FORGO: as every road user knows, green is for go.
11 Club Polish joined, say, after coming west (4,5)
SAND WEDGE: SAND=polish / WED=join / GE=eg, westward.
12 Boy turned hitch-hiker to get where he wants to go? (14)
NORTHUMBERLAND: NOR=Ron turned / THUMBER=hitch-hiker / LAND=get. I needed all the helpers to get this. How are we to know the boy we want is Ron unless we already know the answer?
14 Fish wrongly done after having bits taken off? (7)
OVERNET: OVER=done / NET=having bits (like interest and taxes) taken off. DNK the answer, but it appears to be a specific form of overfishing. If I had known the word, I might have admired the cunningly disguised definition, but as it was, it was an unsatisfying clue for me.
15 Fluctuating that involves one in endless meditation? (2-5)
YO-YOING: I put in the answer confidently (what else could it be?), but had to phone a friend, or rather Google, to find how this worked. YON=that, insert I=one, giving YOIN. Then put the whole ensemble in YOG{a}=meditation. Too hard for me, but a fine and beautifully economical clue.
17 Sauce boat lifted (7)
KETCHUP: KETCH=boat / UP=lifted.
19 Mark of some relevance? Yes, potentially (7)
EYESPOT: nicely hidden answer.
20 Receiving delivery when someone rings before ten (5,2,3,4)
SAVED BY THE BELL: cryptic definition. If a boxer is knocked to the canvas, unable to get to his feet before the referee counts to ten, he loses on a technical knockout – unless the bell sounds for the end of the round before the ref finishes his count.
23 Ignore an old, decrepit, statesman (9)
OREGONIAN: (IGNORE AN O*). We’ve seen “statesman” used like this before, for example to define WISCONSINITE in Aug 2016, but it still raises a smile.
24 Article that’s seized by bird (5)
AVIAN: VIA=by, seized by AN=article. It’s a nice misdirect that “that’s” isn’t “i e”.
25 He had a list put out twice (2-2)
KO-KO: KO=knock out, twice. Ko-Ko is Gilbert & Sullivan’s Lord High Executioner in The Mikado. He sings “I’ve got a little list – I’ve got a little list … who never would be missed – who never would be missed!” A concept I totally approve of, as noted above!
26 People there groomed and neat, etc (10)
ATTENDANCE: (AND NEAT ETC*). Nicely disguised definition.
Down
1 Sort of condition that’s set in stone (4)
SIFT: IF=condition, set in ST=stone. Another nicely disguised definition.
2 Thinnest bolt has to fit inside casing (9)
NARROWEST: ARROW=bolt (more or less), inside NEST=casing.
3 Hairdo often too elaborate for a start? (1,4,2,3,4)
A FOOT IN THE DOOR: (HAIRDO OFTEN TOO*).
4 Book is one that’s got abridged about one of the Bourbons? (7)
BISCUIT: B=book / IS / CUT=abridged, around I=one. DNK Bourbon was a biscuit, and it was hard to read that “abridged” was a data element rather than a modifier. Another clue I found unsatisfying.
5 He’s no longer happy if forgetting name? (7)
SANDBOY: &Lit type clue. One can be happy as a sandboy, but if he forgets his name, he becomes a SA{n}D BOY. Nice!
7 Oil press for two (5)
MEDIA: triple double definition, in a somewhat unsatisfying way. Oil = medium for dissolving things, press = communication medium, “for two” presumably suggests happy medium of two things indicates both are definitions by example (thanks Jerry – see his comment).
8 Guzzler sounding high after opening gallon bottle (6,4)
GREEDY GUTS: G=G{allon} / REEDY=sounding high pitched / GUTS=bottle.
9 Input device in question intricately worked by tray close to cable (6,8)
QWERTY KEYBOARD: Q=question / (WORKED BY TRAY E*), where E=close to {cabl}E. The standard computer (or typewriter) keyboard, named for the first six keys on the left of its top row.
13 Bird, when on corner, to gesture defiantly (4,1,5)
COCK A SNOOK: COCK=bird / AS=when / NOOK=corner.
16 Drive up motorway, turning left before hill (9)
IMPULSION: UP M1, all turned backwards / L=left / SION= some hill or other. I’m not sure which one, although there is a SION HILL in the Virgin Islands for example. Someone may be able to clarify in the comments alternative spelling for Mount Zion (thanks again Jerry).
18 A tip: dry ground is something worth digging (3,4)
PAY DIRT: (A TIP DRY*).
19 French in luck after missing initial boost (7)
ENHANCE: EN=French for “in” / {c}HANCE.
21 Jumper may have this very small victory margin (1,4)
V NECK: #. V=very / NECK=small victory margin. I had “A NECK” – clearly a small victory margin – until I finally gave up on “STAND BY THE whatever” for 20ac. I didn’t contemplate V-NECK because I thought it ought to be hyphenated? It is in Chambers, although Collins has it both ways.
22 Got nicked regularly, but no more? (4)
ONCE: every second letter of “got nicked”.
Now the Dean? That’s a different story….
Sion/Zion is a hill near Jerusalem, all other places of that name being called after it.
Anyone who wants to record the answers as submitted must now do a screenprint and save that.
Sorry about the name
Edited at 2017-09-02 07:42 am (UTC)
I don’t remember much about this. Oddly I don’t remember putting in KO-KO, which was completely unknown to me. I knew the reference from Peter Lilley’s nasty little speech but the names of G&S characters are largely a mystery to me. Thank goodness for wordplay, eh?
There were a lot of clues I did like including 4d as I knew the biscuit. I liked Qwerty and Sunday Best very much.
In the end I got two wrong – 14a and 24a and there were more than normal unparsed. David
I simply cannot believe that Mr. Browndog had never heard of BOURBONS!! You must have had a terrible childhood! They are available today in Shanghai, so you have no excuse.
FOI 15ac YO-YOING. LOI 14ac OVERNET the Internet of the future perhaps.
COD 9d QWERTY KEYBOARD
WOD 12dn COCK A SNOOK
Much enjoyed hour’s worth.
FOI 6a, no great problems elsewhere. I even sang along with 25a KOKO in the bass chorus of the school production of the Mikado, so for once the musical reference was a write-in! COD 10a FORGO. Thanks setter and Bruce.