I'm doing this with a bit of a woozy head this morning after a visit to the Cambridge Beer Festival last night. Fortunately, we have quite a straightforward puzzle from Joker today; one for our less experienced solvers to get their teeth into, I think. But it was no less enjoyable for an experienced solver for that, as there are plenty of lovely surfaces and teasing clues. I liked the first crossword cuckoo of spring at 14a and the international collaboration at 17a, for example - and the image conjured by 21a, my COD. Thank-you Joker. What did you all make of it?
Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | What can help one see good girls after work on stage? (5,7) |
| OPERA GLASSES - OPERA (work on stage) + G (good) + LASSES. Not SPARE GLASSES, as I thought for a moment, from the checking letters, but couldn't get to parse. Do people still use them at the opera, I wonder? | |
| 9 | Caught by wise men doing spells (5) |
| MAGIC - MAGI (wise men) + C (caught). So who did they catch, doing what spells? | |
| 10 | Result away from home — draw near? (7) |
| OUTCOME - OUT (away from home) + COME (draw near). Where's your ambition? Surely an away win should be your target result!. | |
| 11 | Garnet confused with one type of stone (7) |
| GRANITE - (Garnet + I)* [confused].(I = one). Pretty hard stuff... The answer, not the clue! | |
| 12 | Finished before time — that's clear (5) |
| OVERT - OVER (finished) + T (time)... [before] indicating put this before the other bit. Simples. | |
| 13 | Calmness of posh little gym, all empty (6) |
| PHLEGM - p{os}h + l{ittle}e + g{y}m, all losing their middle letters [empty]. Not an easy one, this, if you didn't understand the "all empty" instruction to remove all but the end letters. | |
| 14 | Cuckoo clock perhaps includes British wood (6) |
| TIMBER - You might use a cuckoo clock as a TIMER. Insert B{ritish}. I haven't seen a cuckoo clock in years, but I heard one in a British wood the other day. | |
| 17 | Spanish friend to work with a French one (5) |
| AMIGO - AMI (French friend) + GO (work with). | |
| 19 | One who's no illusions about a catalogue (7) |
| REALIST - RE (about) + A LIST. A bit sneaky using "who's" rather than "who has", to suggest the definition could be "One", but the surface doesn't make sense if you expand it to "who is". | |
| 21 | Tons raced to take a seat for crossing (7) |
| TRANSIT - You build your vehicle in order... T (Tons) + RAN (raced) + SIT (to take a seat). A ferry full of White Van Men? | |
| 22 | Deduce knight consumed by raging fire (5) |
| INFER - (fire)* [raging] with N (knight symbolised in chess) inserted. The skills of an archaeologist in action. | |
| 23 | Sport annoyed nation (5-7) |
| CROSS-COUNTRY - CROSS + COUNTRY. I remember having to do this at school in winter in Teesdale. A muddy business when the ground wasn't frozen. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Greedy person to follow long hairstyle (7) |
| PIGTAIL - PIG + TAIL (follow). If it's single and a long one, it would more commonly be called a pony tail. "The term pigtail appears in English in the American colonies in the 17th century to describe a twist of chewing tobacco." Well, I've learnt something today. | |
| 3 | Cooks herrings in a stew, providing amusement for several children (7,6) |
| ROCKING HORSES - (Cooks herrings)* [in a stew]... and not [Cooks] (herrings)* inside a stew! My grandparents had one called Dobbin. I wonder where he was put out to pasture when they downsized? | |
| 4 | Girl initially adores what boxers wear (6) |
| GLOVES - G{irl} [initially] + LOVES. It could only be that or shorts. The wordplay is hardly needed. | |
| 5 | Domineering writer embraces Rita in front of Ian (13) |
| AUTHORITARIAN - AUTHOR (writer) outside [embraces] RITA and add IAN. Clued generously by giving the names literally. | |
| 6 | Quiet individual did brilliantly (5) |
| SHONE - SH (quiet) + ONE. Like my son will have done in his GCSEs, I hope. We'll find out in August. | |
| 7 | Consumer's after small western pullover (7) |
| SWEATER - Another straightforward construction clue (or charade). S (small) + W (western) + EATER (eater). | |
| 8 | Self-satisfied when sweets maybe passed up (4) |
| SMUG - GUMS (sweets maybe) going upwards [passed up]. Not for me, thanks, either - I'm trying to lose weight. Hmm. Maybe I should have passed up on some of that beer last night. | |
| 13 | Shortly choose holding final credit cards? (7) |
| PLASTIC - PIC{k} [Shortly] with LAST (final) inserted. | |
| 15 | One making presentation is brusque before Queen (7) |
| BRIEFER - BRIEF (brusque) [before] ER (Her Majesty). Perhaps my blogs should be this? | |
| 16 | Mostly unpleasant round small cave (6) |
| GROTTO - GROTT{y} [mostly] + O (round). "O" for round is worth remembering as an alternative for indicating a word is inside another. | |
| 18 | I had a house in American state (5) |
| IDAHO - I'D + A HO (house). Is there anyone for whom this wasn't a write-in? | |
| 20 | Part of American car — exhaust? (4) |
| TIRE - Double definition - first the american spelling of "tyre". | |