A little trickier this week, with some elaborate wordplay.

Solving time: 30 mins

Quixote’s puzzles are very accessible. As they appear in a weekend edition with a week to work it out, they should appeal to those starting out. In view of this, for a change, I’ll totally analyse in this blog four clues in this puzzle.

* = anagram

ACROSS

6 HYBRID Hidden “More than a little” i.e. 6 letters of the 11.

10 FORMALLY Full analysis clue 1 “Type to join up in a conventional manner” Generally clues comprise (a) a definition of the answer (b) another way of getting to the answer by manipulating its letters. Nowadays this is known as “wordplay”, in earlier days as “subsidiary indication” or “cryptic indication”. The whole clue should also make sense as a piece of English (often referred to as the “surface reading”). In this case definition is “in a conventional manner” Type = form followed by ally = to join up. The meanings of the words are usually instinctive, but can be confirmed in a dictionary. Technically this is known as a charade based on a old word game - putting bits side by side, but you don’t really need to know that.

11 DEERSTALKER A hat, which I worked out as crossing letters appeared. What’s Dr Dolittle got to do with it? I did not know, but the Internet tells me it was a series of children’s books from the past about a doctor who could speak to animals, hence deer’s talker. He and I missed each other in my childhood, I’m afraid.    But the first person I asked later knew all about it.
17 TATTOOER (art to toe)* This took me quite a while to work out.

21 SALESPERSON (Rep one’s lass)* Favourite clue - an excellent &lit. “Possibly” indicates the anagram and the whole clue is also a definition of the answer. Up there with the best.

24 MOTIONED Full analysis clue 2 “In first couple of terrors doom may be signalled” Definition is “signalled”. He motioned to me to… Anagram of In te (first couple of terrors) and doom with “may be” indicating the anagram.

27 H (Y) ADES Unknown = y. It can be x, y, or z - from algebra

28 PARA GU(A)Y bloke = guy Onerous task, to guard a country.

DOWN

2 RING “Phone round to get special present” Has to be ring = phone, I think, but not sure what Quixote is getting at with the rest of the clue.

3 SLANDER Islander “not one” i.e. less i Isle of Man

5 ELF Full analysis clue 3 “Troublemaker almost escaped, going North” Definition = troublemaker escaped = fled. almost escaped means less last letter d i.e. fle going North means (in a down clue) reverse it i.e. elf. If it was an across clue, a similar approach would be “from the East”

7 B (LACK) EN

8 ILL-TREATED The NHS will want the ill treated.

12 SCOURGE Full analysis clue 4 “Schoolboy originally needing bravery with the bringing out of a whip” Definition is the single word whip. Schoolboy originally = first letter i.e. S bravery = courage with the bringing out of a i.e. remove a giving s cour(a)ge.

13 CLEAR STORY Also known as clerestory. Expect church references from Quixote, editor of the Church Times Crossword.

23 RIG A Capital of Latvia, which is also a port.

25 D I P The switch, back in 1971, from old pennies (d from denarius: of which there were 240 to a £) to new pence (p - 100 to a £)

The theme of this puzzle was football teams (indicated by “side” in definitions) or, more particularly, the names that appear as parts of names of teams. e.g. United, City, Athletic. However, there was much more than this - great freshness and imagination in the clues. Though I, following football, got the theme almost straightaway, I still found it a very difficult puzzle. The Indy editor has commented that he is not strictly Ximenean, and there are one or two examples here. Very satisfying puzzle, indeed.

Solving time: 34 mins

* = anagram

ACROSS

9 BALL S UPS A dog’s dinner = a mess

10 RANGE Rifle Singular of Glasgow Rangers

12 O R B S Round things used twice for definition and the Os

13 W ((EDNES) D) AY Sheffield Wednesday (needs)* = d money (pre-1971 pence) in way = street

14 SKEWER “Skua” The R is conventionally ignored.

16 M I D W EEK Refers back to 13. The meek shall inherit the earth - Sermon on the Mount

21 SAD DAM Mad “in turn”

23 ORCHESTRA Pun on minor = minor note and orchestra pit

30 RYE BREAD Sour = wry “said”, I think.

DOWN

3 EASY Definition: Liberal Tore into Tory i.e. e as y. Not easy!

4 Ruler is IN POWER (Now ripe)*

7 E GG E D Xims might not like final race = e

17 E LA BORAT E Hollywood = LA (Los Angeles) Borat = spoof character

18 THROW OFF Phase in the sense faze. Throw = cover for a seat

21 Accrington STANLEY (knife)

22 UNITED (With”change of heart” = untied)

24 C APE R Xims may not like Copyright being split into ape r

26 Out on a LIMB Taking a position beyond the others.

Solving Time:  14 minutes

I picked this up while munching on my Wheatybangs and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Orlando is, one of the setters on the Graun that is taken for granted; his puzzles contain lots of current cultural references and a nice degree of wit, very similar to Dac in the Indy every Wednesday.  Another feature of Orlando is that his anagrams are usually very apposite, and sometimes not easy to detect.

This was a most enjoyable and amusing challenge. 

The Indy has just come hurtling through the door.  I take a crafty look at who
today’s setter is…….  Thank goodness I got the Graun today to blog, otherwise I’ll be probably still be solving it at half eleven tonight.

ACROSS (* = ANAGRAM (R) = REVERSAL  def= DEFINITION)

1   PARE DOWN       This was actually the last clue I solved and I am not 100% sure whether it is a cryptic def or P (Power) +   AREAD (SWAY) + OWN??
5   PRIZES                PRIES with z (The Mark of Zorro) inside
9   SUNBONNET     UN B (A Parisian Bishop) in SONNET
11  TABOO              Forbidden (def)  expressions of gratitude and disapproval  (TA +BOO)
12  COLONEL BOGEY   Colon (Yes, there’s one there!) +  EL (The Spanish) + BOGEY (A golfing score)
15  OBOE                O = Love (as in tennis) + BOE (Odd letters of “broker”)
16  ASTOUNDING           T (Time) inside A SOUNDING = measurement of depth at sea
18  BUDDY HOLLY         BUDDY = Friend and HOLLY =  companion to IVY in the Christmas song
19  ONCE              (B)ONCE
21  ARISTOPHANES        OR THESPIAN AS*  Lovely apposite anagram
24  DREAR           D + REAR
25  ROOSEVELT              TO RESOLVE*  A nicely concealed anagram. Def. relates to two presidents of the US with that name.
26  ROSEAU                    I was trying to make NASSAU fit this for a while.  However ROSEAU is the capital of Dominica.
27  WELL TO DO           I had a bit of a problem making this fit as well.  I think it’s TO DO (uPSET) adjoining to WELL (Depression)

DOWN
1   PUSH UP           (R) +  SH (”Sides of SwitcH”) Military Action =  def.
2   RING                 Double def.  Attachment to bird - as in pigeons having rings fitted to identify them & Call (phone)
3   DOO WOP        Another nice & Lit type clue   Sir Henry =   Sir Henry WOOD, founder of the Promenade Concerts.   WOOD (R) + OP
4   WINDOW SHOPPER           Nice cryptic definition  ie Someone who looks, rather than spends.
6   RATSBANE         RATS! (See Peanuts carttons) =  Damn.  BANE = Outlaw.  Def = Sweetheart poison.   I assumed this referred to Shakespeare and something akin to Romeo and Juliet.   It’s used as a poison in King Lear and King Henry IV and VI.  It’s also used as an insult!    Not being a great Bard aficionado, I presume there’s some romance in one of those.
7  ZABAGLIONE        No, not Lena the singer, that was ZAVaRONI (that will date a few gentle readers!)    This is a delicious Italian dessert and an anagram of BEGIN A ZoLA
8  SNOWY EGRET        The first clue I solved.  Tintin’s dog in the UK is SNOWY (Milou in France) and then the reverse  of 1 down REGRETS without wings, i.e. first and last letters.
10 THE WORLD AT ONE          Another clever clue.  THE WORLD =  everyone  ATONE = to make up.
13 TOMB RAIDER            Nice to see reasonably recent computer games getting a mention.  TOM (Male) BRAIDER (Hairdresser)
14 LORDLINESS              Test Venue =  LORDS with a punishemnt for pupils LINES (tilsit was a reasonably good boy at school  and only got lines a couple of times “I must not use get, got or getting in an essay” - 50 times was one)
17 HYSTERIA              THIS YEAR *
20 REHEEL                  “Work at last” is what a cobbler would do.  RE = (Royal) Engineers To HEEL is to list as in tilt  sideways (new one on me - thanks Chambers!)
22 PESO                Hidden answer  “GraPES Of Wrath”  
23 OTTO              How many palindromic German kings do you know?

Thanks again to Orlando for a splendid enjoyable puzzle!