It’s the Tees and Pierre Monday matinee again, which is never a burden for me, since I always learn something from this setter’s puzzles. And close but no cigar for a bird link.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Army helicopter threatening warmonger
BLACK HAWK
A charade of BLACK (‘It’s a bit black over Bill’s mum’s’) and HAWK. You know I can’t, however much I’d like to.
6 Old bread companion leaves in theatre
DRAMA
DRA[CH]MA, referring to the old currency (‘bread’) of Greece.
9 School sport?
RUGBY
A dd.
10 Eastern people in canvas shelters and flats
TENEMENTS
An insertion of E and MEN in TENTS.
11 Metal right for example in joint
SILVERSIDE
A charade of SILVER and SIDE gives you the joint of beef.
12 Sebastiano in town? On the contrary!
ASTI
On the contrary indeed – ASTI, the ‘town’ is found in SebASTIano.
14 Bottom in semicircle to collapse
CRUMPLE
An insertion of RUMP in CLE, which is half (‘semi’) of cirCLE. A lift-and-separate device.
15 Married Frenchman’s one European lacking excitement
MUNDANE
A charade of M, UN for ‘one’ in French, and DANE.
17 German with old relative shortly creates division
MITOSIS
A charade of MIT for the German word for ‘with’, O and SIS for the abbreviation of sister or ‘relative’. MITOSIS is ‘normal’ cell division, where the number of chromosomes is maintained. MEIOSIS is the division where the number of chromosomes is halved, to produce (in animals) egg and sperm cells. It is also found in crosswords where setters have painted themselves into a corner and naff all else fits.
19 Coffee time?
INSTANT
Another dd.
20 Look down on people initially invading Middle East
MOPE
An insertion of O and P for the first letters of ‘on’ and ‘people’ in ME.
22 Result of downpour, one light, then another
FLASH FLOOD
Tees is inviting you to realise that you can, depending on circumstances, use either a FLASHLIGHT or a FLOODLIGHT to find your way in the dark.
25 Give out in attempt to succeed former member
EXTREMITY
You have to read ‘succeed’ as ‘come after’; then it’s a charade of EX and EMIT inserted into TRY. ‘Member’ as in limb, or EXTREMITY.
26 Governor in something made to measure
RULER
Another dd.
27 Rely on unknown to be brought in for union meeting
TRYST
The setter is asking you to substitute the U in TRUST with Y for a mathematical ‘unknown’.
28 You crudely gut two hens to feed royal horse
HOUYHNHNM
What was I saying about painting yourself into a corner? How the chuff am I expected to be cognisant of this made up beast? I know, I know, the subsidiary indicator is crystal clear: an insertion of (YOU)* and H[E]N twice in HM for Her Maj or ‘royal’. HOUYHNHNMS are a fictional race of intelligent horses in Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, as if you didn’t know.
Down
1 Johnson’s one sending soldiers in again
BORIS
You can’t do a puzzle these days without BoJo coming into it. An insertion of OR for Other Ranks or ‘soldiers’ inserted into BIS for ‘again’. Bis! is what French audiences will call for if they want some more music at the end of a concert. They don’t say Encore!
2 Hallucinogen produced from stale dung
ANGEL DUST
(STALE DUNG)* ANGEL DUST is the common name for the drug phencyclidine.
3 She parks by building way across mountains
KHYBER PASS
(SHE PARKS BY)*
4 Performer such as Tatum is brought to vacant theatre
ARTISTE
A charade of ART (Tatum, the jazz pianist), IS and TE for the outside letters of ‘theatre’.
5 Territory no good party covered in imperialistic work
KINGDOM
An insertion of NG and DO in KIM, which is referring to the Rudyard Kipling novel of the same name, which (like much of the author’s work) has imperialism as its backdrop.
6 Male takes female round London landmark
DOME
An insertion of M in DOE. For those not familiar with the Great Wen (for there are many such) the Dome was constructed as the Millennium Dome, but is now a venue called the O2 Arena.
7 Saint taking long time to grasp point
AGNES
An insertion of N for one of the ‘points’ of the compass in AGES. We’ll say nothing about the Saints taking a long time to grasp points this season.
8 Not taking drink out — can found inside
ABSTINENT
An insertion of TIN in ABSENT.
13 Plucked from thousands of orthodontists et cetera
AND SO FORTH
Hidden in thousANDS OF ORTHodontists.
14 Whip coats politician in creamy cheese
CAMEMBERT
An insertion (‘coats’) of MEMBER in CAT (o’nine tails).
16 Bikini perhaps concealed by nurse as religious leader appears
AYATOLLAH
An insertion of ATOLL in AYAH. We are having colonial references this morning.
Ayah n In India and other former British territories, a waiting-maid or nursemaid (Chambers)
18 Son, mischievous, inconsiderate toward others
SELFISH
A charade of S and ELFISH.
19 Exclamation of annoyance as interrogator clarifies roles?
I ASK YOU
A dd cum cd.
21 Attractive Romeo ditched as small-minded
PETTY
P[R]ETTY
23 Wheat anyone can see in part of kitchen
DURUM
The ‘wheat’ typically used to produce pasta is an insertion of U for the cinema classification in DRUM. The latter is part of the ‘kitchen’ because that word is an informal term for the percussion section of an orchestra.
24 Pit in Devonshire drained by conservationists
DENT
A charade of DE for the outside letters of ‘Devonshire’ and NT for the National Trust.
Bravo to Tees – excellent offering as always.
The usual highly enjoyable start to the week from Tees.
Loved the anagram at 2d (3d was pretty good too). The inclusion at 13d was very nice and so was the surface to 14d.
Hope Grant doesn’t get too annoyed with me but the only Tatum that came to mind at 4d was Tatum O’Neal.
I’ve met HOUYHNHNM in a cryptic before but needed the cryptic fodder to get the spelling.
Thanks to Tees and to Pierre for his ever humorous blog.
Pretty much what Hovis said, in every respect.
A highly entertaining and enjoyable puzzle – many thanks, both.
What Eileen (and obviously Hovis) said
Thanks to setter, blogger and fellow commenters
I have to say this was my pick of the day. Swift was the font of all modern satire from Goons to Pythons etc.
I think he was mates with Voltaire.
When one of the answers is a town in Italy with 76000 residents (more people know my newsagent) I forgive myself for not finishing
Hear hear to all the above. 6D was my LOI; despite having lived in London almost all my life I just couldn’t see it: nobody would say just ‘Dome’ (as one might perhaps with, say, Oval which is how one would refer to the tube station). But that’s a minor quibble, so thanks to Tees and Pierre.
TFO @5 – but fairly well known for Crosswordland’s favourite wine? I nearly commented that this clue made a refreshing change.
Eileen@6 – did not escape my notic
e this could have been clued more predictably; the wine is from the province of Asti more than just the town, It is the Monday blues I am sure, but the clue did not even narrow down ‘town’ to a continent, let alone a country
The dome of St Paul’s? That’s what I was thinking of and it seemed a bit of a stretch. The Millennium Dome didn’t even occur to me.
Thanks all! Cheers Pierre!