Posted by rightback on 22nd September 2007
Solving time: 13:42
It felt as though I made fairly heavy weather of this; the long answers took longer than they should have, especially 11dn, and answers like MARSH GAS for ‘methane’ should have been instant.
Music (18ac): Achilles Heel by Toploader.
* = anagram, < = reversed, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.
| Across |
| 1 |
ROA(D(S)IG)N |
| 5 |
TURBOT; (TO BRUT)< |
| 9 |
WA(L(K)OVE)R - like 1ac, a double container. |
| 10 |
CHANG + E |
| 12 |
R + OAST - ‘for the’ makes the surface but is superfluous to the cryptic reading. |
| 13 |
NORTHEAST - very well hidden in ’spaceman or the astronomer’. |
| 14 |
MILL + SAND + BOON |
| 18 |
A + CHILL + E(SHE)EL - very good wordplay but the surface reading doesn’t make much sense. |
| 23 |
MARCH - which comes before the April showers. |
| 24 |
GR(AV)ID - meaning pregnant, from Latin gravis (heavy). |
| 25 |
FI(VESTA)R |
| 26 |
SITTER (double definition) - ‘dolly’ as in ‘easy catch’. |
| 27 |
EGGS + HELL - nice surface (”Spurs’ misery at the finish”), perhaps a reference to this? ‘Eggshell’ is a very thin kind of paint, hence ‘finish’. |
| Down |
| 1 |
REWARD; DRAWER< |
| 3 |
SHOW TRIAL; (THIS LAW OR)* |
| 4 |
GREENSLEEVES (two defs, one cryptic) - probably a more natural choice for today’s music award, but I’m afraid I can’t stand it. |
| 6 |
UH-HUH; H in U[ta]H U[ta]H |
| 7 |
BUNG + A + LOW |
| 8 |
TWEETING; “TREATING”, as spoken by Elmer Fudd. His fellow speech-impediment sufferer Sylvester’s foe was Tweety Pie. |
| 11 |
BREATHTAKING (cryptic definition) |
| 15 |
DREAMLESS; MALE* in DRESS - as in ‘Above thy deep and dreamless sleep’ from O Little Town of Bethlehem. |
| 16 |
MARS + H(G)AS - G as in G-force. |
| 17 |
P(H)EASANT |
| 19 |
W(R)ITH + E |
| 20 |
CH + ORAL |
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Posted by Pete Maclean on 22nd September 2007
I believe this is the first Bradman puzzle I have attempted. It took me a while — longer than I would generally want to spend on a daily puzzle — perhaps because I am unused to the style, but I found it satisfying and challenging in parts. I was unable to get one answer (20D), am unsure about a second (27A) and cannot fully explain a third (12A). My favourite clues are 1A, 5A, 1D, 7D and 9D.
Across
1. BAD TASTE - reverse clue for STATE
5. FRESCO - AL FRESCO (outdoors) with AL (a litre) removed. I do not care for removal clues unless they work very well as this one most certainly does.
10. LARAMIE - anagram of ALARM + IE (that is)
11. ESSENCE - C (cold) in ESSENE (ascetic type)
12. GUILD - ???. I am unsure how this clue works but figure the answer must be GUILD. Is there a type of fish that is a homophone for guild? I cannot find one.
13. IN A LATHER - anagram of THEIR ALAN. This was the clue that got me started.
14. CLASSIFIED AD - C (Chelsea’s leading) + LASS (girl) + IF (if) + IE (that is) + DAD (old man)
16. NEUROSCIENCE - anagram of NICE CURE ONES
21. POLITICAL - cryptic definition
23. RACER - ACE (star) in RR (car — Rolls Royce)
24. EL GRECO - ELG[a]R (composer) + E (English) + CO (company). Ah, one of my favourite artists!
25. UTOPIAN - U (University) + TOP (leading) + IAN (bloke).
26. TREPAN - REP (agent) in TAN (brown). Devious but not too difficult because brown often clues tan.
27. NEW STYLE - ???. Or is it? I fancy this refers to a radio station but I am unsure and cannot fathom the wordplay.
Down
1. BELUGA - anagram of A BULGE. A semi &lit. and yummy to boot!
2. DARWIN - R (river) in DAW (bird) + IN (home)
3. ARMADILLO - A (a) + MAD (frenzied) in RILL (stream) + O (duck)
4. THE FIRST CUCKOO - anagram of SHOUT OF CRICKET
6. RASTA - RA (artist) + ST (street) + A (a)
7. SUNSHADE - SUNS (paper’s) + anagram (improvised) of HEAD
8. OVERRIDE - OVER (maiden perhaps) + RIDE (journey)
9. RELATIVE CLAUSE - self-referential cryptic definition. I love this type of clue!
15. INCURIOUS - INCUR (be subject to) + IOUS (notices about debt)
16. ANAPAEST - anagram (broken) of A PEASANT. An anapaest is a metrical foot — I had to look this one up in my dictionary.
17. DUOLOGUE - cryptic definition.
19. ACUITY - U (upper classes) in A (a) + CITY (place like Winchester)
20. _R_N_E - PRINCE??? I cannot satisfy myself about this one.
22. THECA - THEA (girl) catching C (cold). A theca is a biological term meaning the case of a spore or pupa — something that, again, I had to resort to my dictionary to find.
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