Morning all,
I wrote this up a couple of weeks ago and I apologise for not remembering too much about it. The clock says I did it in just over 47 minutes, a bit more than three Jasons or three Magoos, placing it in the category of average difficulty. You may have your own views on that, feel free to express them below.
It's the usual eclectic mix of movies, books, landforms, religion, poets, localised terms and more. A few of the answers were new to me, the highlight being the expression at 31dn. Oh, and I didn't previously know the specific meaning of DEAD RECKONING. Solve and learn.
Nothing more to say, except thanks setter, and on with the show. Clues are reproduced in blue, with the definition underlined. Anagram indicators are bolded and italicised. Then there's the answer IN BOLD, followed by the parsing of the wordplay. (ABC)* means 'anagram of ABC'.
I wrote this up a couple of weeks ago and I apologise for not remembering too much about it. The clock says I did it in just over 47 minutes, a bit more than three Jasons or three Magoos, placing it in the category of average difficulty. You may have your own views on that, feel free to express them below.
It's the usual eclectic mix of movies, books, landforms, religion, poets, localised terms and more. A few of the answers were new to me, the highlight being the expression at 31dn. Oh, and I didn't previously know the specific meaning of DEAD RECKONING. Solve and learn.
Nothing more to say, except thanks setter, and on with the show. Clues are reproduced in blue, with the definition underlined. Anagram indicators are bolded and italicised. Then there's the answer IN BOLD, followed by the parsing of the wordplay. (ABC)* means 'anagram of ABC'.
| Across | |
| 1 | Race with crew in sporting division (9) |
| FLYWEIGHT - FLY (race) + W (with) + EIGHT (crew) I had feather-weight in a Quickie I blogged the other day. Wonder why it had a hyphen when this one doesn't? | |
| 6 | Being more hungry put one in bad temper (7) |
| EMPTIER - I (one) in (TEMPER)* | |
| 10 | Poet’s years in a measure of power (5) |
| WYATT - Y (years) in WATT (a measure of power) Apparently Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the sonnet into English literature in the 16th Century. Well played young Tommy. | |
| 13 | Calling for business meeting, talker gets excited (13) |
| TELEMARKETING - (MEETING TALKER)* Good clue, cleverly disguised definition. | |
| 14 | Punter, one of a titled fraternity (9) |
| GONDOLIER - The title of the G & S opera The Gondoliers refers to two brothers, hence 'one of a titled fraternity'. | |
| 15 | Hanging back? The opposite, at least initially (7) |
| FRONTAL - FRONT (back? the opposite) + AL (at least initially) A decorative cloth for covering the front of an altar. Just thought I'd mention that in case you ever need a decorative cloth for covering the front of an altar. | |
| 16 | Rulebook for lawyers maybe that needs scanning (3,4) |
| BAR CODE - If lawyers had a rulebook, it could be called a BAR CODE. Maybe. | |
| 17 | Having undisguised baldness, about to leave radio for good (7) |
| WIGLESS - RE (about) to 'leave' WIRELESS (radio) and be replaced by G (good) | |
| 18 | Desperately important to correct daft headline (4-3-5) |
| LIFE-AND-DEATH - (DAFT HEADLINE)* | |
| 20 | Foolishly believing southern side of house down (10) |
| SWALLOWING - S (southern) + WALL (side of house) + OWING (down) | |
| 23 | Noticed collecting first character of vehicle number (5) |
| SEVEN - SEEN (noticed) 'collecting' V (first character of vehicle) | |
| 24 | Expedient order to couturier? (9) |
| MAKESHIFT - MAKE SHIFT "Please knock me up a frock" would be a nicer way of asking. | |
| 25 | Teacher holds letter I lost, put into set (7) |
| BATCHED - BED (Bachelor of Education, or teacher) 'holds' A{I}TCH (letter, I 'lost') | |
| 26 | A neat football manoeuvre leads to difficult situation (1,6,4) |
| A PRETTY PASS - A + PRETTY (neat) + PASS (football manouevre) Or I guess you could consider 'a neat football manouevre' in its entirety. Your choice. | |
| 28 | Woodmen receiving fine, prosecutor to appear furious (4,7) |
| LOOK DAGGERS - LOGGERS (woodmen) 'receiving' OK (fine) + DA (prosecutor) | |
| 30 | Lorry practises dropping off one old railway worker (11) |
| TRANSPORTER - TRA{I}NS [practises 'dropping off' I (one)] + PORTER (old railway worker) | |
| 32 | Zany question: hypotenuse involved (11) |
| PYTHONESQUE - [Q (question) + HYPOTENUSE]* | |
| 34 | Traps toboggan to fit silencer (7) |
| LUGGAGE - LUGE (toboggan) to 'fit' GAG (silencer) | |
| 36 | What currency dealer used to do is typical (9) |
| TRADEMARK - Parsing of 36A | |
| 38 | Fragment of glass, ultimately inflexible (5) |
| SHARD - S (glass, ultimately) + HARD (inflexible) | |
| 39 | State of Carolina, if under review (10) |
| CALIFORNIA - (CAROLINA IF)* | |
| 41 | Rewritten item printers get wrong (12) |
| MISINTERPRET - (ITEM PRINTERS)* | |
| 45 | Get ready for lower profits from this easy business? (4,3) |
| CASH COW - CASH (get ready for) COW (lower) 'Ready' and 'lower' are crossword standards, but I don't think I've seen 'get ready for' to clue the verb form of 'cash'. Nice. | |
| 46 | Suitable attack against object, not hard (7) |
| FITTING - FIT (attack) + T{H}ING [object without the H (hard)] | |
| 47 | Small boy with what sounds like top-quality fodder (7) |
| ALFALFA - ALF (small boy) + ALFA [(sounds like ALPHA (top-quality)] | |
| 49 | State introduces a Liberal to replace New Democrat form of government (9) |
| COALITION - CONDITION (state) with A + L (Liberal) replacing N (new) + D (democrat) | |
| 50 | One way to estimate position, counting the casualties? (4,9) |
| DEAD RECKONING - Double def, the second one darkly whimsical A method of calculating one's position, especially at sea, without reference to landmarks or celestial guidelines. | |
| 52 | Veteran turning to cover mountain ridge (5) |
| ARETE - Reverse hidden (nARETEv) | |
| 53 | Where to buy Bible, or hand it back? (7) |
| RESTORE - In an RE (religious education) STORE, geddit? | |
| 54 | A range of hills or mountains (9) |
| APENNINES - A + PENNINES (range of hills) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Ominous force, commonly abhorrent (7) |
| FATEFUL - F (force) + 'ATEFUL [hateful (abhorrent), in the common tongue] | |
| 2 | The gold bug? (6,5) |
| YELLOW FEVER - Cryptic def | |
| 3 | Turning me on satisfied visitor to Land’s End? (5) |
| EMMET - EM (ME turning) + MET (satisfied) Apparently locals down that way refer to visitors as emmets, for reasons best known to themselves. | |
| 4 | Confused tabloid’s turnover having lost something of circulation (7) |
| GARBLED - GAR [RAG (tabloid) turned over] + BLED (lost something of circulation) | |
| 5 | There’s only one time to carry something in your shoe (3) |
| TOE - TOTE (carry) with only one T (time) | |
| 6 | Good to visit Arab countries; doesn’t return? (9) |
| EMIGRATES - G (good) to 'visit' EMIRATES (Arab countries) | |
| 7 | Iron Age bird (6) |
| PIGEON - PIG (iron) + EON (age) | |
| 8 | Train maybe departs unannounced? Of course (2,4,7,6) |
| IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING - To depart unannounced would be to 'go' without saying But is there any significance to the use of train? Or is it just an example of something that might depart? | |
| 9 | Fresh start after end of war: bugle’s last post sounded (7) |
| RENEWAL - R (end of war) + E (bugle's last) + NEWAL (homophone for newel, or post) | |
| 10 | Put at disadvantage immoral Labour leader (5-4) |
| WRONG-FOOT - WRONG (immoral) + FOOT (Michael, former British Labour leader) | |
| 11 | Assistant in attendance holding book for hymn (5,4,2) |
| ABIDE WITH ME - AIDE (assistant) + WITH ME (in attendance) 'holding' B (book) | |
| 12 | For an audience, bull ring (5) |
| TORUS - Homophone (for an audience) of TAURUS (bull) | |
| 16 | Film intermission: quickly arranged it with any staff (9,2,8) |
| BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS - BREAK (intermission) + FAST (quickly) + (IT ANY STAFF)* Started to write in Breakfast At Sweetheart's, the Cold Chisel classic, but soon spotted the error. | |
| 19 | First fruits digested that girl’s swallowed (7) |
| ANNATES - ATE (digested) 'swallowed' by ANNS (that girl's) A payment from a diocese to a higher authority upon one's induction. Also known as 'first fruits'. There will be no marks deducted for not knowing this because, frankly, why would you? | |
| 21 | Retired setter? One’s exactly translated words of Nietzsche (3,2,4) |
| GOD IS DEAD - GOD (retired DOG, or setter) + IS (one's) + DEAD (exactly) Was watching Rosemary's Baby (the wife had never seen it) while solving, and a book with "God Is Dead" emblazoned across the cover was featured, so this was a write-in. A spooky write-in, but a write-in. | |
| 22 | This connection presumably laid down (4-2) |
| DIAL-UP - 'LAID down' would be 'DIAL up', presumably | |
| 23 | Singular story interrupting short demonstration is annoying person (5,4) |
| SMART ALEC - S (singular) + TALE (story) 'interrupting' MARC{H} (short demonstration) I know an Alec who is particularly smart and he's certainly not annoying! But then he's not really a smart alec in this sense. | |
| 24 | In celebration, one danced round digger clutching revised pay (7) |
| MAYPOLE - MOLE (digger) 'clutching' (PAY)* Nice definition, hidden in full view. | |
| 25 | Basic principle of live music daughter’s into (7) |
| BEDROCK - BE (live) + D (daughter) + ROCK (music) | |
| 27 | Sort of betting odds to study (6) |
| SPREAD - SP (starting price or odds) + READ (study) | |
| 29 | Young motorcyclist looking older: years roll away for a second (7) |
| GREASER - GREYER (looking older), replace Y (years) with A + S (second) | |
| 31 | Spirit having evaporated nurses are keeping quiet (6,5) |
| ANGELS SHARE - ANGELS (nurses) + ARE 'keeping' SH (quiet) Delightful term for the amount of alcohol that evaporates from a wine or whisky cask during the maturation process. Presumably invented by someone who had a bit of 'splaining to do. | |
| 33 | One performing takes on endless dance number (11) |
| QUADRILLION - I (one) + ON (performing) on QUADRILL{E} (endless dance) | |
| 35 | Emotional, coming into operation to alter head (9) |
| AFFECTIVE - EFFECTIVE (coming into operation), altering the first letter | |
| 37 | Take out bird that’s got stuck into cream (9) |
| ELIMINATE - MINA (bird) in ELITE (cream) Isn't it spelled myna or mynah? | |
| 40 | Worried about being more noisy (7) |
| ROWDIER - (WORRIED)* | |
| 42 | Took charge of cake at the start, cutting the slice (7) |
| TRANCHE - RAN (took charge of) + C (cake at the start) 'cutting' THE | |
| 43 | Police weapon is great, as deployed (4,3) |
| TEAR GAS - (GREAT AS)* | |
| 44 | Artist’s workplace is sort of flat (6) |
| STUDIO - Double definition But isn't the second definition derived from the first? I dunno. Doesn't matter much. | |
| 45 | Clown needs a drink (5) |
| COCOA - COCO (clown) + A | |
| 48 | Father now struggling to make headlines? (5) |
| FROWN - FR (father) + (NOW)* Another great definition. | |
| 51 | Breeze getting up in valley (3) |
| RIA - AIR (breeze), 'getting up' Ah, I thought to myself, that'll be the coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. But some of you will have just written 'air' upside-down. | |