As Verlaine observed last week, you had a choice; go on holiday next week and suffer me twice this week, or go this week and enjoy his insightful ramblings next Wednesday and Friday. By gracing Barcelona with his presence this week, V has missed what I think is the toughest - and arguably best - puzzle-to-blog for me for a very long time. It was possible to get all the answers right, in an hour or so, parsing a few of them properly - notably 17a, 19a and 21d - took a little longer but it was rewarding in the end. I'll look daft if a majority of the regulars found it a doddle, but somehow I doubt it.
I confess I did resort to Google / Wiki to double-check 16a and 23d post-solve, I'd heard of 16a vaguely but (of course) not the poet.
.
| Across |
| 1 The solver on degree course by lake? (5) |
| BAYOU - BA = degree course, YOU = the solver. I immediately started humming 'Jambalaya, crawfish pie, filet gumbo... (I like the Carpenters version, not Hank Williams). It's still going round my head. |
| 4Topples, being smooth, you could say (5,4) |
| KEELS OVER - KEELS is SLEEK reversed i.e. 'over'. |
| 9 He gets upset with gastric diet (9) |
| REICHSTAG - (HE GASTRIC)*. Easy once you've twigged the sort of diet we're talking about. |
| 10Shoot military recruit, getting one for nothing (5) |
| SPRIG - A military recruit is a SPROG, change his O to I. |
| 11 Unlimited deposit linked to Saudi capital (6) |
| ANKARA - The capital of Turkey. Link (B)ANK = deposit, verb, to ARA(B) = Saudi. |
| 12Strand most of non-professional troops in sound (8) |
| FILAMENT - Once I had the checkers I could see the answer but unravelling it took a while. The 'sound' is not a 'sounds like' indicator. FIT = sound, insert LA(Y) MEN for 'most of unprofessional' and troops. |
| 14 Sleepy? Fast becoming a fundamental pain for babies?(5,4) |
| NAPPY RASH - NAPPY being a made-up adjective from NAP, for sleepy, RASH being fast as in a decision made (too) fast. |
| 16 Section of Burmese railway that serves drinks in the east (5) |
| SERAI - Hidden word in BURME(SE RAI)LWAY. A watering-hole or inn in the Middle East, more often called a caravanserai. |
| 17 Manage surety in prime locations in dread (5) |
| ANGST - Well, angst means dread, a good start. Consider the words 'manage surety.' Number the letters, one to twelve. Then take those which correspond to the first five prime numbers - 2, 3, 5, 7, 11. You get A, N, G, S, T. The letters in prime locations. Sacre bleu! |
| 19Excel mode in which a new spreadsheet closes initially?(9) |
| TRANSCEND - Insert A N S C (initial letters of a new spreadsheet closes) into TREND = mode. |
| 21 Cast sat with 25 diners (8) |
| EATERIES - 'Cast' tells you to make an anagram of SAT with the answer to 25a, so do that first. (SAT EERIE)*. |
| 22 Short relative with a daughter in suit for birthday? (6) |
| UNCLAD - UNCL(E), A, D(aughter). |
25Scary European republic wanting revolution (5)
|
| EERIE - E(uropean), then EIRE reversed ('wanting revolution'). |
| 26Pay back bruiser, with me being beaten up (9) |
| REIMBURSE - (BRUISER ME)*. My FOI. |
| 27Divine wisdom in article by old, old ruler of Persia (9) |
| THEOSOPHY - THE (article), O(ld), SOPHY. The Sophy was a ruler of Persia in the Safavid dynasty, I subsequently found out. I wasn't entirely sure what theosophy was, but its Greek roots suggested God and wisdom would be likely. |
| 28 Good girl, one that can hold a drink (5) |
| GLASS - G, LASS. Easiest clue of the day. |
| Down |
| 1 Take back humiliation about trendy place offering snip (7,8) |
| BARGAIN BASEMENT - BARG = GRAB (take) back, ABASEMENT = humiliation, insert IN = trendy. |
| 2 Runs from jester, producing a cry (5) |
| YOICK - YORICK (the late court jester) loses an R. |
| 3 Weak peacemakers just not liberal (7) |
| UNHARDY - UN = peacemakers, HARDLY = just, loses L(iberal). |
4 Sources in Kyoto archive teaching ancient Japanese exercises (4)
|
| KATA - Initial letters of Kyoto Archive Teaching Ancient. |
| 5Mad dog famously linked to one almost mangles shin badly (10 |
ENGLISHMAN - (MANGLE(S) SHIN)*. As in 'Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun'. |
| 6Parades for which packs called out (7) |
| SASHAYS - Sounds like SACHETS = packs. |
| 7Bits of bone European found buried in green Scottish hillside (9) |
| VERTEBRAE - VERT = green, E(uropean), BRAE = Scottish hillside. |
| 8Sense Conservatism can be seen as this (5-10) |
| RIGHT-MINDEDNESS - Cryptic definition. I went wrong at first pencilling in 'right-handedness' thinking that was in some sense a sense, perhaps because I'm left-handed. |
13 Vermin on platter chewed banger (10)
|
| RATTLETRAP - RAT for vermin then (PLATTER)*. |
| 15On which tops were removed to improve circulation? (4,5)> (4,5) |
| PAGE THREE - Cryptic definition, referring to the days of page three bare-breasted ladies appearing in certain tabloids, not in this esteemed organ though. |
| 18 Goes to grab edges of expensive dishes (7) |
| TUREENS - TURNS = goes, insert E E being the edges of ExpensivE. |
20 Polish to get the sack for blockage (7)
|
| SANDBAG - SAND = polish, BAG = sack. Usually it takes more than one sandbag to make a decent blockage, but I suppose it works. |
23Poet left by killer? (5)
|
| LORCA - L for left, ORCA = killer (whale). A Spanish poet I'd never heard of. |
| 24 Asian joint, reportedly very cramped (4) |
| TINY - I put in TINY thinking blank I blank Y, must be, but why? Dodgy Asian cigarettes? Small Chinese restaurants? Then it came to me with a groan. Reportedly = sounds like, 'THAI KNEE'. A nice end to a fine puzzle, I thought. |