A puzzle that will certainly be quicker to blog than it was to solve. I can never easily get my head around Nimrod (or Enigmatist) puzzles, and this one was no exception. I found this pretty tough going and needed help towards the end. Some great clues, but one or two with a few uncertainties.

Not too much of a challenge today, but a few words that were new to me.

* = anagram
< = reversed
(x) = removal
(X) = insertion
dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition

Across

9. HYDRA. HARDY*
10. OPERATION. OPEN* around RATIO.
11. FUNGOIDAL. FUN + GO + LAID*.
12. MINUS. INSUM*.
13. CEILIDH. I.E.CHILD*.
15. NONPLUS. Nice cryptic dd.
17. ROYAL. ROY+AL.
18. TAP. PAT< The most famous postman of all.
20. GUANA. GU(y)ANA. A type of reptile, as in iguana.
22. SINUSES. SIN + USES. ‘Cavities’ is a bit of a vague definition.
25. YARDARM. YARD + ARM. Presumably ref. to Scotland Yard.
26. TUBER. dd. Potato reference.
27. PLOUGHMEN. PL + ENOUGH* around M.
30. OLD STAGER. SOLDGREAT*.
31. GENUS. GEN(i)US.

Down

1. CHEF. quiCHEFor.
2,13. IDENTITY CARDS. cd.
3. SAGO. SA(pe)GO.
4. GOOD SHOT. GOODS HOT.
5. CEYLON. CE + ONLY. Now Sri Lanka. ‘CE’ as establishment seems weak.
6. BAD MANAGER. BAD(MAN A)GER.  Not convinced where the A comes from.
7. SIMNEL. MILNES*.  What happens to the Lambert?
8. ONES. NOSE*
14. ILLUSTRATE. IL + LUST RATE.
16. SHAWM. SHAW + M.  An early woodwind instrument.
19. PAY COURT. Two types of ‘make advances’?
21. ALARMING. ARM is gun, presumably A LING is a Hood?
23. NOBODY. Diary of a Nobody, a novel by George Grossmith.
24. SAPEGO. SAP + EGO.
26. THOR. half of THOROUGH,
28. GAGS. dd.
29. NOSE. N.E. around O.S.

I am not sure what the theme was here : quite a number of art references, a couple of birds, and the rest
a miscellany.  Some very familiar solutions made it quite simple to solve.

ACROSS

1.      HANG UP - (hang up the phone,or hang a tapestry (12))
5.      GRAFFITI - ( g-raf-fit-i)
9.      SHERATON - ( *North Sea - master craftsman of furniture)
10.    DESIGN  - ( de-s-ign)
11.    TATAMI - ( tata-mi.  A thick straw mat found in Japanese homes)
12.    TAPESTRY  ( tapes -try. ‘ go’ often used for ‘try’ in crosswords)
14.    CARICATURIST - ( *a star circuit)
18.    FRENCH POLISH - (dd)
22.    ABSTRACT - ( dd. ‘appropriate’ in the sense of ‘take’ and ‘a summary’)
25.    LEADED - ( lead-e-d)
26.    MEDIUM - ( dd)
27.    EMULSION - (a coat of paint which could be beneath tapestry)
28.    ETCHINGS - ( * ch- tignes)
29.    SALVER - ( sa-l-ver. )

DOWN

2.     ASHRAM - ( a- sham  with ‘r’ for runs.  A Hindu place of retreat)
3.     GYRFALCON - ( * on flag cry. One of those birds encountered mainly in crosswords)
4.     PATRIARCH - ( p[LANNING]-*chair art)
5.     GENETIC - ( gen-<cite)
6.     ADD UP- cd
7.     FUSES - ( f-uses.  Am I wrong, or should this just be one female?)
8.     TIGERISH - (*get Irish)
13.   EMU - ( ‘eu’ with’ m’ - another of those birds)
15.   TRIAL RUNS - ( cd)
16.   REHEARSAL - self explanatory
17.   DRABBEST - ( * bar debts)
19.   CAR- (car-E)
20    OUTLETS - ( out-lets - cd.  This is also becoming an oft-repeated answer)
21.   DEPOSE - ( d-UTY-eNGINEERS’-pose. As in ’strike an attitude’)
23.   THIGH - ( t-high. ‘off; as in ‘rotten’)
24.   AKMEN - ( a-k-men. Not certain whether I have the right capital, but Akmen is the capital of a
                              region in Lithuania, know for its mining.)

Solving time, 16 mins

* = anagram < = reversed

ACROSS

1 ASBO Hidden reversal

3 WHITE HORSE This refers to the first FA Cup Final at the Old Wembley in 1923 (Bolton v West Ham) when overcrowding led to spectators encroaching onto the pitch - the kick-off was delayed but the pitch was eventually cleared with the aid of that policeman’s white horse which passed into legend. All Finals after that were all-ticket.

9 ET (AGE) RE ETRE = to be in French (forgive absence of accents)

11 ST UTTER utter = say

12 DEATH IN VENICE (evident in each)* well concealed anagram. 1971 film starring Dirk Bogarde based on a book by Thomas Mann

14 THORN Double definition Old English letter

15 COUR (GET) T E squash = marrow (vegetable)

17 SPIN-DRYER (Drips nearly)* less a l (line) line = clothes line in surface reading

19 SIT E S (first letters)

21 PERE GR I NATION further east = towards the end of the word (where east appears on maps)

24 COL LATE (et al)<

25 I (CEFA) LL (face)*

26 BAR GAINING

27 (Thomas) G RAY

DOWN

1 ANECDOTIST (doesn’t act I)*

2 BRA V ADO

4 HUE AND CRY (Handy cure)*

5 TA (S) TE First letter of Seurat

6 HOUSING ESTATE tEST AT Eton cryptically ‘housing’ ESTATE

7 RE TREAT

8 E (I) RE Ireland (in the Irish language)

10 ECHINODERMATA (A demonic hater)*

13 P (ER SON) ALLY

16 UK RAIN IAN

18 I’M PALER

20 THIN AIR Double definition

22 G (RE) EN Favourite clue, great surface reading

23 S CAB Last letter of buildings

From Monday Prize Crossword on 29th September 2008
dd = double definition
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(fodder) = anagram

Another set of excellent clues from the smoothest compiler in the United Kingdom. I marvel at Dante’s ability to make all of his clues read so smoothly.

Across
1 MERCHANT Cha of Merc (Mercedes ,inus the last half) + *(than)
5 CLOSER Removal of IT from CLOISTER. This is one of those rare clues where the definition is not at the beginning or the end but smack right in the centre.
9 EXPLAINS Ins of PLAIN (frank) in *(sex)
10 AMORAL
12 EVENT E (key) VENT (hole)
13 TRIBUTARY Lovely cd designed to make you hungry, thinking of the starter or the dessert
14 BEEF UP Cha of beef (complaint) UP (raised)
16 HAIRPIN A beautiful &lit dd … how else would you call this?
19 NATURAL dd
21 KEEP ON Ins of PO (rev OPus, work) in Keen (eager)
23 TARANTULA TA (thanks) *(natural) You have to give it to Mr Squires that he is probably THE setter who can consistently produce the best surface reading and yet stay strictly Ximenean, short, simple and sweey
25 CHEER Cha of CH (church) E’ER (always)

26 BRIDGE Another lovely dd

27 DETAILED Alluding to that nursery rhyme which I can recite 50+ years later.

Three blind mice, three blind mice
See how they run, see how they run
They all ran after the farmer’s wife
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife
28 EIGHTS Wonder how you would label this clue, dd?
29 EYESORES Cha of EYE (inspect) *(roses)

Down
1 MEEKER Allusion to Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”
2 REPRESENT Cha of RE (about) present (now)
3 HEART Ins of R (right) in HEAT (warmth)
4 NONSTOP Cha of non (French negative) ST (street or way) OP (opus, work)
6 LIMOUSINE *(minus oil E)
7 SYRIA *(Ayr is)
8 RALLYING Ins of ALLY (friend) in RING (encircled)
11 HIGH dd
15 FORTNIGHT Ins of ORTN *(to RN) in FIGHT (battle)
17 PROPELLER Ins of ELL (45 inches) in PROPER (fit)
18 UNSTABLE UNS *(sun) TABLE (board)
20 LAUD sounds like LORD (one in the upper house)
21 KNAVERY Knave (Jack) RY (lines) Another example of Dante’s sheer genius in his surface construction … each clue makes perfect reading sense
22 BRIDES What a lovely clue. By using a cd, he has turned what would be a mundane anagram clue into a memorable clue. The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as “the banns”, (from an Old English word meaning “to summon”) are the public announcement in a parish church that a marriage is going to take place between two specified persons
24 RUING Ins of U (turn) in RING (circus)
25 CLASS cd or is this a dd?