I’ve often thought that Chifonie’s straightforward style would make him a suitable setter for the “easy” Monday slot. Nothing to frighten the horses here, with the possible exception of 10a.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1. | DRIFTER | RIFT in DER (German “the”) | ||||||
| 5. | DISCERN | D + IS + CERN | ||||||
| 9. | PROTEIN | ROT in P + EIN (German indefinite article or “a”) | ||||||
| 10. | STUDIOS | STUDIOUS (academic) less U (acceptable, as in U and non-U) – this made me think for a while before I saw how it worked | ||||||
| 11. | LOOK ROUND | LOOK (butcher’s – cockney rhyming slang, butcher’s hook = look) + ROUND (fat) | ||||||
| 12. | ESTER | TREES* | ||||||
| 13. | DREAD | R (king) in DEAD (late) | ||||||
| 15. | CONUNDRUM | C/O + NUN + DRUM | ||||||
| 17. | PRETENDER | before the bid is PRE-TENDER | ||||||
| 19. | SET UP | SET (firm) + UP (at university) | ||||||
| 22. | LAGOS | LAG (convict) + O + S | ||||||
| 23. | TRANSPORT | T[eam] + RAN SPORT | ||||||
| 25. | TROT OUT | TO in TROUT | ||||||
| 26. | IGNOBLE | IG (reverse of GI, so “soldier turned”) + NOB (toff) + LE (French “the” – European articles are getting a good workout today) | ||||||
| 27. | ESSENCE | C in ESSENE | ||||||
| 28. | EVIDENT | ID in EVENT | ||||||
| Down | ||||||||
| 1. | DAPPLED | APPLE in DD (Doctor of Divinity) | ||||||
| 2. | IRON ORE | O (ball) in RENOIR* | ||||||
| 3. | THEIR | [Model] T + HEIR. “Singular their” for “his or her” is criticised by some, but it’s a well-established and< I think, useful part of the language | ||||||
| 4. | RENOUNCED | OUNCE in REND | ||||||
| 5. | DOSED | D[rink] + DOES* | ||||||
| 6. | SAUTERNES | (A NURSE SET)* for the famous dessert wine from Bordeaux | ||||||
| 7. | EVICTOR | E + VICTOR | ||||||
| 8. | NOSTRUM | N + [h]OST + RUM (strange) | ||||||
| 14. | DRESS DOWN | DRESS (to trim) + DOWN (blue, depressed) | ||||||
| 16. | NARRATIVE | A R[ight] R[everend] in NATIVE | ||||||
| 17. | PALETTE | LET in PATÉ | ||||||
| 18. | ENGROSS | EN (printer’s measure) + GROSS (lots) | ||||||
| 20. | TROUBLE | T[aking] ROUBLE | ||||||
| 21. | PATIENT | Double definition | ||||||
| 23. | TITLE | Hidden in shorT IT LEnds | ||||||
| 24. | SINAI | Reverse of (IAN IS) | ||||||
Thanks Chifonie and Andrew
Mostly a write-in (studios gave the most trouble), but entertaining despite that.
This was an enjoyable, quick solve. I particularly liked 13a, 1d, 15a, 17a, 26a, 4d, 5a and my favourites were 23a TRANSPORT & 8d NOSTRUM.
New word for me was DRIFTER = fishing boat.
Thanks Chifonie and Andrew. Would you consider including the clues in your blog please?
For 16a, there is an A missing. I parsed it as A RR (a bishop) in NATIVE.
Perhaps quickest-ever solve. Only held up right at the end by alternative possibilities of EXIGENT and EMINENT – by then I was guessing words rather than thinking about the clues. But absolutely no complaints about this on a Monday; once upon a time I would have thought ‘wow I’ve finished!’
I’d agree, this was a nice difficulty level for a Monday – I guessed that ESSENE (which I only know through crosswords) would be tricky for some, especially since I wasn’t sure about “spirits” (as opposed to “spirit”) for ESSENCE. My other puzzlement was that I didn’t understand why SET UP is “Found” – I must be missing something obvious…
Thanks to Andrew for the post and Chifonie for the fun solve.
mhl: set up = establish = found
Michelle: you’re right about NARRATIVE; now corrected.
Andrew: Of course, silly me! Thank-you.
Nice change for a Monday. Thanks Chifonie and Andrew.
I also struggled a bit with STUDIOS, although the clueing was fine.
I particularly liked DRESS DOWN with the unusual definition for carpet.
Delightful puzzle, just right for the Monday slot.
An enjoyable Monday puzzle, although I always seem to be right on Chifonie’s wavelength so it didn’t take long. DOSED was my LOI after STUDIOS, not because they were difficult, but because I solved the LHS first, then the SE, and finally went back up to the NE.
As a tiny niggle, TROT OUT doesn’t quite match the clue “be put on display” (which, being a passive construction, suggests “TROTTED OUT”)* but I’m fine with accepting a little fast-and-looseness with the “be”, especially in an otherwise lovely Monday cryptic.
* I’m sure I’ve heard people use “trot” as a past tense/past participle – “He just trot out the same old speech he does every year” – (probably because it’s so much like “trod”) but none of the dictionaries I checked gave this as an option.
#10 – TROT OUT. I think you’re right.
A trout might be put on display. A person who swims would not.
A person who swims might put on a display. A trout would not.
The surface and cryptic aspects are confused. Removal of “be” fixes both.
I must be getting better. It may have been second time round with the odd crosser, but 10a seemed pretty obvious at that point.
I presume that having realised that 23a was in the sense “of delight” the older folk here started humming appropriately!