Yet another fine offering from Dac, though he got the better of me with 4A and 6D!
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DEPUTY – PUT in YE’D rev. | |
| 4 | HESPERUS – PERU in [-c]HESS – I guessed the CHESS part here, but couldn’t get the rest! | |
| 10 | FRENCHIES – This is presumably FRENCH [-fr]IES, but not sure why ‘fish if short of time’ is FR | |
| 11 | ALLOA – Hidden in annormAL LOAd | |
| 12 | CHERISH – H + SIRE rev, in CH(urch) | |
| 14 | LIQUID ASSETS – L1 QUID + S TESSA rev. | |
| 18 | INCONSOLABLE – LAB in IN CONS OLE | |
| 21 | SHALLOW – ALL in SHOW | |
| 23 | OSMANLI – OS (large) + N in MALI | |
| 24 | ORBIT – BRO rev. + I.T | |
| 25 | TAKING OFF – DOuble def. | |
| 26 | FREE PORT – (PREFER TO)* | |
| 27 | HARMAN – HAR[-d]MAN | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | DEFECT – EC in DEFT | |
| 2 | PEELER – Initial letters of P(erform) E(vidently) + (LEER)* | |
| 3 | TACTITION – “Tack Titian” | |
| 5 | EAST INDIA DOCKS – (A CASK I’D NOTED)* | |
| 6 | PLATE – I think this is a double def. | |
| 7 | RELEASED – E in (DEALERS)* | |
| 8 | SLAPDASH – Cha. of SLAP (hit) + DASH (run) | |
| 9 | FISH OUT OF WATER – Cryptic def. | |
| 15 | SALAMANCA – ANC in SA + LAMA | |
| 16 | FIRST OFF – FIRS,TOFF | |
| 17 | SCRAMBLE – S[-1]C + RAMBLE | |
| 19 | ON FORM – Double def. | |
| 20 | TIFFIN – TIFF,IN | |
| 22 | LET UP – (LUTE)* + P | |
6 down is a reverse hidden word in ‘metal piece’.
10a is (t)ENCH inside FRIES
I think tabbouleh is a refugee from one of last week’s puzzles.
This was very good – I particularly liked 5 down. Hesperus was the last one I got.
Thanks for the pointers all. Taboulleh also duly deleted (I always use my last blog as a template!)
Yes, excellent, from Dac – did not find it too difficult. HESPERUS a word I knew from solving puzzles – it was my last entry. Thanks for the blog, Ali, one very minor typo. 3 dn should read ‘tactician’
Excellent as always, but I thought FRENCHIES (10ac) wasn’t very PC. Whatever next? Nignogs?
I did hesitate over “Frenchies” but the dictionary didn’t tag it as offensive, unlike Homer Simpson’s “cheese-eating surrender monkeys”.
Actually, I’ve just realised that Dac was being rather prescient with 13 (omitted from the blog) Ireland, 18 Inconsolable, thanks to 10.
Just a quibble because they are so rare in Dac’s puzzles. If I understand 9 dn correctly as a reference to a school of whales then I have to mention that a whale is a mammal and not a fish. But I do think Dac my favourite setter
Pennes, I think your faith in Dac can be restored. Whilst a group of fish that just happen to be together are indeed a shoal, as soon as they behave in a co-ordinated fashion (migration, defence etc.), they become a school.