Ah, it's good to be back in the world of hot mattresses, soft mattresses and daily crossword puzzles. Many thanks to ![]()
pipkirby for covering for me last week, and clad in such fashion-forward apparel too!
Glastonbury was pretty great of course: Patti Smith was the definite highlight, managing to get the Dalai Lama up on stage with her and serve him birthday cake: top that, Kanye West! But going beyond the big names I'd like to recommend the lovely up-and-coming Australian songstress Courtney Barnett to you all. The title of her latest album "Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit" speaks I think to all of us, especially if you replace the word "think" with "fill in answers". Also, the chorus to one of her best songs, "History Eraser", runs "In my brain I rearrange the letters on the page to spell your name". Surely secretly one of us.
Anyway, this was a lovely puzzle to return to blogging on, seemingly designed to appeal to me with its multitude of classical cameos: Paris, Vesta, Ceres, Leonidas, Antenor. I know this kind of thing is not everyone's cup of tea but perhaps the editor has learned that if he schedules it on a Friday it will get an easy ride, on one blogging site at least. Timewise I continued my streak of solving puzzles in the 10-12 minutes bracket (11:36 here); LOI was 1a despite it being another excellent classical word, and COD must be the delightfully compact 4D.
Right, must rush, the school run awaits! Many riotously flung bouquets to the setter.
pipkirby for covering for me last week, and clad in such fashion-forward apparel too!Glastonbury was pretty great of course: Patti Smith was the definite highlight, managing to get the Dalai Lama up on stage with her and serve him birthday cake: top that, Kanye West! But going beyond the big names I'd like to recommend the lovely up-and-coming Australian songstress Courtney Barnett to you all. The title of her latest album "Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit" speaks I think to all of us, especially if you replace the word "think" with "fill in answers". Also, the chorus to one of her best songs, "History Eraser", runs "In my brain I rearrange the letters on the page to spell your name". Surely secretly one of us.
Anyway, this was a lovely puzzle to return to blogging on, seemingly designed to appeal to me with its multitude of classical cameos: Paris, Vesta, Ceres, Leonidas, Antenor. I know this kind of thing is not everyone's cup of tea but perhaps the editor has learned that if he schedules it on a Friday it will get an easy ride, on one blogging site at least. Timewise I continued my streak of solving puzzles in the 10-12 minutes bracket (11:36 here); LOI was 1a despite it being another excellent classical word, and COD must be the delightfully compact 4D.
Right, must rush, the school run awaits! Many riotously flung bouquets to the setter.
| Across | |
| 1 | APOCALYPSE - revelation: CALYPS{o} ["short" ballad] "penned" by A POE [a | mystery writer] |
| 6 | TRAM - vehicle: RAM [stuff] "brought to" T [junction] |
| 8 | FIVE STAR - brilliant: FIR [Christmas tree] "entertains" VESTA [domestic goddess] |
| 9 | TROJAN - Paris(?): T{reguie}R "vergers" + O JAN [love | month] |
| 10 | CARD - double def: celebratory communication / wit |
| 11 | ADMINISTER - control: AD [notice] + I [one] in MINSTER [cathedral] |
| 12 | INELEGANT - uncouth: (AGENT*) ["breaks up"] on (LINE*) ["faulty"] |
| 14 | CERES - goddess: ER [HM] enters CE S [church | society] |
| 17 | NIAMH - Irishwoman: reverse ["redirected"] of H MAIN [gas | pipe] |
| 19 | VENEZUELA - country: reverse ["knocked back"] of ALE after VENEZ [French arrive] + U [university] |
| 22 | CANTALOUPE - "that's refreshingly tasty": OUP [publisher] "cuts" CAN TALE [prison | story] |
| 23 | SPAR - metal pole: SPARTAN [Leonidas(?)] minus TAN [beat "off"] |
| 24 | LINEAR - one-dimensional: LINE [words] + A{nteno}R ["disheartened"] |
| 25 | OLIGARCH - "boss in limited company": (GLORIA*) ["misused"] + CH [companion] |
| 26 | FESS - ordinary: {wi}FE'S S{uccess} "in part" |
| 27 | NED SHERRIN - broadcaster: (SEND*) ["battered"] + HERRIN{g} [fish "minus tail"] |
| Down | |
| 1 | AFFECTION - liking: F F [forces] + E [E{ngaged} "initially"] in ACTION [battle] |
| 2 | OBVERSE - side facing: B [bowled] in OVERS [stint] with E [English] |
| 3 | LETHARGY - condition: G [good] in (HARLEY {stree}T ["finally"]*) ["treated"] |
| 4 | PORTMANTEAU WORD - literotica(?): (A PART TUDOR WOMEN*) ["played"] |
| 5 | EXTENT - amount: TENT [accommodation] after EX [former partner] |
| 6 | TROUSSEAU - bottom drawer: T ["opening for" T{heoretical}] + ROUSSEAU [philosopher] |
| 7 | ACADEME - intellectual world: A CAME [answer | arrived] about D{iscursiv}E ["extremely"] |
| 13 | LIMITLESS - unending: and "the fastest stretch on Autobahn" has no speed limit |
| 15 | SEA URCHIN - spiny animal: SEARCH [look] around U [posh] + IN [home] |
| 16 | FEVERISH - excited: EVER [at all times] in FISH [school(?)] |
| 18 | IMAGINE - see: I'M AGILE [the writer's | Swift] swapping the L for an N [changing name (N) for L{illiput's} leader] |
| 20 | EMPEROR - top man: reverse ["rises"] of REP [salesman] splitting ROME [capital] |
| 21 | FLORIN - coin: FLIN{t} [stone "cut"] "to set" OR [gold] |