Very much enjoyed this puzzle from Izetti, with a slew of good surfaces and some interesting vocab. 23A and 18D in particular made me smile in appreciation.
The puzzle can be found here if the usual channels are unavailable: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/puzzles/crossword/20170313/22720/
Definitions are underlined, {} = omission
The puzzle can be found here if the usual channels are unavailable: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/puzzles/crossword/20170313/22720/
Definitions are underlined, {} = omission
| Across | |
| 1 | Scoundrel is embraced by dull person with fixed views (9) |
| DOGMATIST - DOG (Scoundrel), + IS inside (embraced by) MATT (dull) | |
| 6 | Place selling drinks in Prohibition (3) |
| BAR - double definition, the second of which doesn't necessarily need the initial capital but this makes the surface better | |
| 8 | Merchants said to be in these wine stores (7) |
| CELLARS - homophone of (said to be) SELLERS (Merchants) | |
| 9 | Periodsthat may be indicated with a cross (5) |
| TIMES - double definition, the second referring to the usual symbol for multiplication | |
| 10 | Any car dealer gets organised for a twelve-month period (8,4) |
| CALENDAR YEAR - anagram of (gets organised) ANY CAR DEALER | |
| 12 | The fellow's in risky venture giving order (6) |
| BEHEST - HE'S (The fellow's) in BET (risky venture). Maybe not the first word that springs to mind meaning "order", but the wordplay is clear. | |
| 13 | Puzzle created by regulating device (6) |
| BAFFLE - double definition, for the second of which Chambers has: "A plate or similar device for regulating or diverting the flow of liquid, gas, sound waves, etc". Fortunately the checkers and first definition are quite helpful for anyone whose hobbies don't involve jet engines and/or loudspeakers. | |
| 16 | Shop with decent sales I redeveloped (12) |
| DELICATESSEN - anagram of (redeveloped) DECENT SALES I | |
| 19 | Last of the Athenian characters (5) |
| OMEGA - cryptic definition referring to the final letter of the Greek alphabet but with a surface reading hoping to make you think about perhaps roles in a play | |
| 20 | Tramp unsettled a priest (7) |
| TRAIPSE - anagram of (unsettled) A PRIEST | |
| 22 | Month mistaken as year, initially (3) |
| MAY - initial letters of (initially) Mistaken As Year | |
| 23 | Seewho Jane married (9) |
| ROCHESTER - double definition, for the first of which Collins has: "the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated", of which the city of Rochester in Kent is an example, and the second of which is a reference to Edward Fairfax Rochester, who weds the eponymous main protagonist of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. A good clue because the surface pretty much forces you to read "See" as a verb when you actually need to read it as a noun, though also possibly quite tough if you're not familiar with either of the definitions. I've never read Jane Eyre, though years of crosswording have furnished me with enough basic knowledge to get by - "Reader, I married him" is probably the most famous line from the book. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | A batting failure for a famous Donald (4) |
| DUCK - double definition, the first meaning to be out for no runs in a cricket innings, the second a reference to the anatine Disney character. The surface may make you think of the Australian cricketer Don Bradman - both Duck and Bradman are pseudonyms used by Izetti elsewhere. | |
| 2 | Huge fellow I look up in biblical city (7) |
| GOLIATH - reversal (up) of I + LO (look), in GATH (biblical city). Pleasingly, Goliath was actually from Gath. You may also know the city from the saying "Tell it not in Gath", which is on the lines of "Keep this to yourself". | |
| 3 | Military ruler unaffected by revolution (3) |
| AGA - sparse wordplay, with "unaffected by revolution" simply telling you that the answer is a palindrome, and even getting the checkers will only give you A?A, but we have had this non-oven meaning of Aga about half a dozen times in the Quicky so far so it should be quite familiar to regulars. | |
| 4 | Like a prisoner as part of a team (6) |
| INSIDE - INSIDE (part of a team) | |
| 5 | Lessons? Disapproving remark before one enters tests! (9) |
| TUTORIALS - TUT (Disapproving remark), + I (one) inside (enters) ORALS (tests) | |
| 6 | Dessert was a failure, lacking finishing touch (5) |
| BOMBE - BOMBE{d} (was a failure, lacking finishing touch, i.e. the word "bombed" (was a failure) without its last letter). An ice-cream concoction - not to be confused with the Bletchley Park decryption device, though only one of the two is sold in Sainsbury's. | |
| 7 | Once again hand out book (7) |
| RESERVE - RE-SERVE (Once again hand out) | |
| 11 | Undemanding university post where one sits back and relaxes? (4,5) |
| EASY CHAIR - EASY (Undemanding) + CHAIR (university post), to give us the comfortable item of furniture | |
| 12 | Journalist gets cleaner to go round part of the house (7) |
| BEDROOM - ED (Journalist) inside (gets ... to go round) BROOM (cleaner) | |
| 14 | Life apt to be nasty in dingy, dirty building (7) |
| FLEAPIT - anagram of (to be nasty) LIFE APT | |
| 15 | Electricity in stable (6) |
| STATIC - double definition, the first a noun, the second an adjective | |
| 17 | Knowing sort of look — mystery's ending (5) |
| LEERY - LEER (sort of look) + {myster}Y (mystery's ending, i.e. the last letter of the word "mystery"). I can't say I knew this meaning of leery, but Chambers has both leery and knowing meaning cunning. | |
| 18 | RiverDon (4) |
| WEAR - double definition, the first the river that runs through Durham, the second a verb meaning to be clothed in, with a slightly misleading capital. The surface reading is meaningful as there are umpteen rivers called Don around the globe, including in South Yorkshire (hence Doncaster) and Russia (hence Rostov-on-Don). This is the second Don/Donald reference in the puzzle - mere coincidence or something more sinister? | |
| 21 | Star not entirely graceful (3) |
| ACE - hidden in (not entirely) grACEful | |