Posted by nmsindy on 31st July 2007
Another wonderful thematic puzzle from Virgilius. All the across entries are synonyms, as explained in the last down clue (26 down).
Solving time: 24 mins
* = anagram
ACROSS
7 GAMMON Double definition, with an excellent surface.
9 E YEW ASH
22 FLAPDOODLE (paddle fool)*
25NO N(o)SE (twice = repeatedly)
28 BUNK UM
DOWN
1 EAGLE OWL
3 KEEP Double definition with excellent surface.
5 PARIETAL (a pirate)* l “Like” telling us it’s an adjective.
6 CHEERS Double definition.
8 M(OP)ES(s)
13 (I)ago From Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the Moor (”on stage”)
14 L U CIA I liked “people of intelligence” for CIA.
17 APPEALED Double definition.
18 BID “One diamond, say” is an example of a bid from bridge, I think. I’ve never played it.
21 RHOMBI (Rob him)* Diamond shapes.
22 FIR(THe)S
25 N ER O Because of the context, here, I think we’re getting King Edward VII (d.1910) as ER rather than the Queen.
26 NO BS (bullshit)
Posted in Independent | 4 Comments »
Posted by smiffy on 31st July 2007
An extremely accessible today, to the extent that it could well be the fastest I’ve ever solved a broadsheet puzzle in my life. Anagram fiends should be pleased, as the letter-scrambling comes thick and fast throughout, especially the latter down clues.
Across
1 OTHERWISE (”Where to?” is)*
9 CO,M,IC - M, as an abbreviation for “Man”. Question for lexicographers: Does a three letter word really need an abbreviation?
10 PASTOR,ALE - I’m not a big fan of the mathematical format here, which smacks a little of laziness. Aren’t the symbols +,=,etc the shorthand province of us bloggers, rather than setters?
12 F(EA)T - “everyone”=EAch in “your paper”=FT
14 CR(E)ATES
22 SUS(TEN)AN,CE
25 RUM,RUNNER - Didn’t get the surface reading.
28 DEMITASSE (missed tea)* - best clue of the day.
Down
2 HOME,STEAD (dates)*
4 IMPETUS (up - it’s me)* - I think the anagrind here should really be adjectival (i.e. “doctored“) to be grammatically correct. Alternatively, could an exclamation mark have been used to indicate an imperative instruction as a verb?
7 LE,(h)AVE
13 MISS,IN,GOUT
19 INTERIM (merit in)*
23 EN,SUE - Back by popular demand, “Susan” makes her second appearance in today’s clues.
24 RUB,Y
Posted in FT | No Comments »
Posted by jetdoc on 31st July 2007
Some very characteristic Paulian clues today — 26ac, 8d and (especially) 23d are the sort we have learnt to expect from him and no-one else!
| Across |
| |
|
| 1 |
LAID BACK — ‘Dial’ (face) is ‘laid’ backwards. |
| 5 |
SHADOW — As in parliamentary opposition. HAD in SOW |
| 9 |
See 7d |
| 10 |
ZIDANE — ZI (centre of ‘oozing’) followed by DANE (a European). I guessed this from the wordplay, and Wikipedia confirmed that ‘Zidane’s career ended in controversy as he was dismissed in extra-time of the 2006 Final for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi’. But I’m sure you all knew that already. |
| 12,13 |
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION — I got this first from checking letters, then worked backwards. For some reason, the puzzle as printed from the website featured a row of four empty squares (as shown when a character is missing from a font) followed by a hyphen in front of ‘amount’, and I thought maybe this was one of those mystery clues (like the phenomenon itself, perhaps). However, I checked on-screen, and they weren’t there (though, Guardian compositors please note, the hyphen should be an em dash!). Anyway, the wordplay is *(is on cost’s up amount no be). |
| 15 |
ABASH |
| 17 |
MULTIFORM — O = old, RM = Royal Marines, following *(mufti). And ‘mufti’ means ‘non-uniform’ (sort of). |
| 18 |
OIL TANKER — LTA = Lawn Tennis Association, in OINKER. |
| 19 |
TIBIA — ‘I bit’ reversed, followed by A. |
| 20 |
BANGLADESHI — *(Had Belgians) or *(Had Bengalis). |
| 24 |
CRAVAT — *(car), VAT. And cravats tend to look ludicrous. |
| 25 |
INACTION — ‘Action’ = ‘deed’. |
| 26 |
MALADY — ‘Ma’ and ‘lady’, two females, next to each other. |
| 27 |
ESTRANGE — *(set), RANGE = one meaning of compass. ‘Distance’ is used as a verb here. |
|
| Down |
| 1 |
LEGISLATOR — LEG = stage, IS L[eft] A TO R[ussian]. |
| 2 |
INVIOLABLE — VIOLA in *(bin), LE (the even-numbered letters of ‘glue’). |
| 3 |
BEAST — ‘Lick’ used here in the sense of ‘defeat’. |
| 4 |
CHAIN SMOKING — If one were to cycle frantically enough, perhaps the chain would smoke. |
| 6 |
HAIR SHIRT — *(Irish hat r). |
| 7,9 |
DEAD GIVEAWAY — Double meaning. |
| 8 |
WEED — Past tense of ‘wee’; also cannabis. |
| 11 |
ROLLER BLIND — A Silver Shadow is a Rolls Royce. BINDS, about L = 50. |
| 14 |
IMPATIENCE — Ref. the G&S opera, Patience. |
| 16 |
HEADBOARD — Mild double entendre. HEAD, BARD about O = love. |
| 21 |
DECOR |
| 22 |
SCAM — Letters from ‘Tosca mainly’. |
| 23 |
FALL — ‘F___ all’. I can’t imagine any setter other than Paul even trying to get away with this one. |
Posted in Guardian | 15 Comments »