Thanks to Brockwell, this was a fun challenge and my favourites were 7dn, 8dn, and 16dn.
There is a theme around SHEEP, including names of sheep breeds, EWES, RAM-[bert], OVINE, LAMB CHOP and SHANKS
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PESTLE |
Footballer crossing road to get pound (6)
|
| definition: PESTLE as a verb can mean ‘to pound’
PELE (the footballer Pelé); around ST (street, “road”) |
||
| 4 | SHANKS |
Poor shots from Spain’s No.1 player in Philadelphia (6)
|
| definition: a shank is a poor shot in golf
the first (No. 1) letter from S-[pain]; plus HANKS (Tom Hanks the actor/player in the film Philadelphia) |
||
| 9 | DOGE |
Italian dignitary delivers Elon Musk’s baby? (4)
|
| reference Elon Musk’s influence in the US Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE | ||
| 10 | BELLWETHER |
Ring with number for trendsetter (10)
|
| BELL=”Ring” + W (short for “with”) + ETHER (which makes you feel numb, so a numb-er) | ||
| 11 | DIPPER |
Duck followed by a bird (6)
|
| to DIP=to “Duck; followed by PER=”a” e.g. (twice per day / twice a day) | ||
| 12 | CHEVIOTS |
Pervert chose ITV2 (8)
|
| definition is “2”: CHEVIOT is a breed of sheep, and 2dn is SHEEP
anagram/(to pervert) of (chose ITV)* |
||
| 13 | TEESWATER |
Comic Stewart Lee forgetting line 2 (9)
|
| definition: another SHEEP breed
anagram/”Comic” of (Stewart [L]-ee)*, missing the L for “line” |
||
| 15 | STEP |
Backing favourites to show pace (4)
|
| PETS=”favourites” reversed/”Backing” | ||
| 16 | BAAL |
‘Dog in the mirror’ is entertaining answer for god (4)
|
| LAB=labrador=”Dog”, reversed/(in the mirror) and around/(entertaining) A (short for “answer”) | ||
| 17 | HEBRIDEAN |
Ambassador’s wife getting tips from Ascension Islander (9)
|
| HE (His Excellency, “Ambassador”) + BRIDE=”wife” + the “tips” or outer letters of A-[scensio]-N | ||
| 21 | LAMB CHOP |
Dear Charlie Dance showing a bit of flesh (4,4)
|
| LAMB=”Dear” as a noun; plus C (Charlie in NATO alphabet); plus HOP=a “Dance” | ||
| 22 | MOB LAW |
Untidy Womble briefly embracing a form of anarchy (3,3)
|
| anagram/”Untidy” of (Wombl-[e])*, around “a” | ||
| 24 | CORRIEDALE |
2 drunk cider or beer (10)
|
| definition: another breed of sheep
anagram/”drunk” of (cider or)*; plus ALE=”beer” |
||
| 25 | EWES |
Females take drugs orally (4)
|
| sounds like (orally): ‘use’ = be a drug user = “take drugs” | ||
| 26 | SUSSEX |
South American relations in part of England (6)
|
| S (South) + US (American) + SEX=”relations” | ||
| 27 | STATED |
Declared dead by the entrance of Serpentine Gallery (6)
|
| D (dead) after: first letter (entrance) of S-[erpentine], plus TATE (as in Tate Gallery) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PROVINE |
Coat of plaster like a 2-layer (7)
|
| definition: to provine is to layer, to propagate a plant by layering
outer letters (Coat) of P-[laste]-R; plus OVINE=like a SHEEP=like a 2dn |
||
| 2 | SHEEP |
What’s up with record stock? (5)
|
| definition: SHEEP are ‘stock’ as in farm animals
EH’S=”What’s” (‘eh!’ as interjection of surprise = ‘what?’), reversed/”up”; plus EP (extended play, music record) |
||
| 3 | LIBERIA |
Pianist leaving church to tour one part of Africa (7)
|
| LIBERA-[CE]=the famous “Pianist”, minus CE (Church of England); and going around/(“to tour”) I=”one” | ||
| 5 | HAWKER |
Salesman’s wife getting into fish recipe (6)
|
| W (wife) inside HAKE=”fish” + R (short for “recipe”) | ||
| 6 | NITWITTED |
Foolish jester made woollen items for Spooner (9)
|
| Spoonerism of ‘Wit Knitted’=”jester made woollen items” | ||
| 7 | SWEPT UP |
Performed chore and cried into drink (5,2)
|
| WEPT=”cried” in SUP=”drink” | ||
| 8 | BLACK EYED PEAS |
Becks played incredibly to inspire team’s midfield for Fergie’s old outfit (5,4,4)
|
| definition refers to the singer Fergie, a former member of the US musical group the Black Eyed Peas
surface instead suggests Fergie as in Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager of Man Utd football club where the midfielder David Beckham (“Becks”) played
anagram/”incredibly” of (Becks played)*; around the middle letters of [t]-EA-[m] |
||
| 14 | SCABBARDS |
Fencing covers problem for 2 poets (9)
|
| definition: covers for swords, which are used in fencing
Sheep SCAB is a disease or “problem” for 2dn/SHEEP; plus BARDS=”poets” |
||
| 16 | BEACONS |
Unfinished Monster Munches regularly account for fires (7)
|
| BEAS-[t]=”Unfinished Monster”, which takes in/”Munches” regular letters from [a]-C-[c]-O-[u]-N-[t] | ||
| 18 | RAMBERT |
Male chimney sweep in dance company (7)
|
| definition: Rambert is the name of a British dance company
RAM=”Male” + BERT=name of the “chimney sweep” in Mary Poppins |
||
| 19 | ARANEID |
Spider has distinctive pattern on behind occasionally (7)
|
| ARAN=distinctive type of knitting “pattern”; plus occasional letters from [b]-E-[h]-I-[n]-D | ||
| 20 | CHEESE |
Stuck-up date tucking into revolutionary food (6)
|
| to SEE or “date” someone, reversed (stuck up); and inside CHE (Che Guevara, the “revolutionary”) | ||
| 23 | BLEAT |
Club accepting the French complaint (5)
|
| BAT=”Club”, around LE=”the [in] French” |
This was more of a “Phew, I managed to finish it” rather than an enjoyable experience for me.
New for me: CHEVIOT sheep; NITWITTED; SHANKS = poor shots; ARANEID; BLEAT=complaint; TEESWATER sheep; CORRIEDALE sheep; PROVINE layer; DIPPER bird.
Favourite: BLACK EYED PEAS because I liked the misdirection of the surface which I assumed referred to the ex/former Duchess of York 😉
Who knew Stewart Lee was sitting on so many anagrams? He’d have been a good guest on House of Games. Previously unknown TEESWATER led me into the theme, which was useful today.
I liked HEBRIDEAN, DIPPER (I spot the per thing now) and BELLWETHER. Last one in was the dystopia DOGE.
I liked this one.
Thanks Brockwell and loonapick
Things I always tell myself to remember: Theatre can mean the operating type; per = a, and number = anaesthetic. Well, I did remember the second one today at least. A great puzzle, with brilliantly wrought theme and surfaces. Thanks B&M.
Thanks Brockwell and manehi
My first thematic was CHEVIOTS, which gave me SHEEP – fortunate, as I hadn’t heard of any of the other breeds here, so needed electronic help. I had also never heard ARANEID or PROVINE, but was able to put them together from crossers and clue. Also never heard of Fergie or the BLACK EYED PEAS as a band.
Lots to like, including a Spooner that actually made sense!
TUP in SWEPT UP fits the theme.
Thanks for explaining ‘Fergie’.
BELLWETHER also fits the theme. A wether is a (castrated) male sheep, and it was traditional for farmers to place a bell on one so that it led the remainder of the flock.
I spent ages trying to parse BELLWETHER to accommodate the thematic Wether, a neutered ram. So thanks to manehi for providing the correct parsing and to Brockwell for his trickery.
Rich @5 Yes – there ar quite a lot of covert OVINE references, such as SHEEP DOG(E) and SHEEP DIP(PER). When they BLEAT, they say BAA(L), and so on. And of course a BLACK SHEEP. Others will doubtless elaborate further.
HEBRIDEAN is another breed of sheep.
CORRIEDALE sounds more like a soap hybrid than a sheep. I was another who vainly tried to remember what the Duchess of York used to wear, which left me feeling a bit sheepish. DIPper another for the theme. I see Balfour got there first.
A couple of other possible themers: BAA[L], ARAN[EID] – home to the woollen sweaters, WETHER – a castrated ram, BLEAT of course and maybe even BEACONS – many sheep on the Brecon Beacons – even though they are now Bannau Brycheiniog. (Ah, I see others beat me to it whilst I was typing and, yes, included both DIP and DOG.)
Splendid theming and cluing as always with this setter. Thanks both
Also SUSSEX and maybe CHEESE. Great fun. Thanks both.
I think Sussex is also a breed of sheep. Of maybe they’re called Southdowns. They look like teddy bears. Great puzzle!
What? No merinos?
Got the theme after just a couple in. My father grew up on a sheep station, later a butcher, but some of these clues pulled the wool over my eyes when it came to British breeds.
Favvourite meal was roasted lamb SHANKS, these days more often in a slow cooker.
CHEVIOTS my choice today, along with the key clue SHEEP.
A delightful puzzle from one of my favourite setters.
I can’t pretend to have heard of all the sheep varieties but enjoyed finding out about them, especially TEESWATER, as my maiden name was Teasdale. I did know CHEVIOTS, SUSSEX and HEBRIDEAN and admired the deft way that other references to sheep were woven into the clues (PROVINE, SWEPT UP, RAMBERT, BLEAT, SCAB, etc). I loved BELLWEATHER (lovely word ) as a trendsetter.
Clever cluing at 3dn LIBERIA, 16dn BEACONS and, top of the tree, 8dn BLACK EYED PEAS.
(I had a wry smile at the reminder in 17ac of the puzzle which – and I’ve quoted it more than once here – in my first year of blogging, had the definition ‘diplomat’s wife’ for ‘ambassadress’. )
Many thanks to Brockwell for a lot of fun and to manehi for a fine blog.
I knew of the sheep-connection to BELLWETHER, and I’d heard of CHEVIOTS. (Other than that, the only sheep breed I know are Herdies, from trips to the Lake District. I’m more of a Shaun The Sheep type, myself).
I’m equally clueless about sheep diseases, apart from Foot & Mouth.
So I’m afraid I concur with michelle @1.
SHANKS, ARANEID and PROVINE were newbies for me, and I solved the 8D anagram the long-winded way, the various understandings of “Fergie” sailing past me, unnoticed…
Hearty thanks for the blog, manehi: I really needed it, especially for my semi-parsed LAMB CHOP and CHEESE, and for BAAL – which was a lucky guess.
Good fun! Count me as a fan of this one. I enjoyed teasing out the sheep breeds, none of which I’d heard of but all of which were reachable. The theme was very fair, with a clear reference via ‘2’, which made the PDM for ITV2 very satisfying. I rated BELLWETHER (and knew the sheep reference), plus NITWITTED and SCABBARDS. Cotd was BLACK-EYED PEAS… I spent too long thinking what the Duchess wore, and when BLACK became inevitable it surely had to be little black number or something! Talking of number, I was pleased to clock ether and per=a today. I need to stop doing these things so frequently!
Aside from the breeds, I’d nho PROVINE (but got it); not RAMBERT nor ARANEID (which alas I didn’t). No way in, really, for the former if GK is missing. The latter seems a bit out there… can one say “look at the beautiful Aran on that”?
Note that SHANKS are poor shots in other sports too, such as volleyball (a poorly handled ball). Alas I speak from much experience.
Thanks both
*nor RAMBERT
Petert @10 – apparently there was once such a
soap hybrid.
Wiki tells me that araneids are specifically orb-weaver spiders.
Just superb. Can’t believe it’s already 3 years since Brockwell’s Guardian debut (as of yesterday) – one of the names that I get a tingle of pleasure at seeing now before I even look at the first clue.
As well as the references mentioned above [Dawn] BELLWETHER is the main antagonist, an apparently mild mannered sheep, in the animated film Zootopia.
Excellent crossword! thank you to Brockwell and manehi
8d — Anagram of “Becks played” (incredibly) + EA — middle (midfield) of “team.”
This felt like quite another level after the previous offerings this week. Never got even as far as solving anything in the NW corner, so hadn’t discovered that SHEEP was the key to many of the clues, several of which I had already solved, perplexed about their common connection. Fair play to those that succeeded today, and when I reluctantly felt the need to employ the Reveal button, the ones I hadn’t managed to unravel were indeed ingenious enough. Too clever for me on this occasion…
…Bo Peep, needed look any further, if that isn’t judged a spoiler…
This made me realise that my knowledge of sheep breeds really is quite poor!
Very enjoyable puzzle with 8d the stand out for me.
Thanks Brockwell and manehi
Brilliant crossword and now I know how to spell bellwether as I thought there was an A in it. 9A and 1D held out for a long time. Thanks to B and M
Fabulous fun with a cornucopia of cultural references including Britain’s 41st best stand up and the wonderful LAMBCHOP for fans of alt country music
God knows what the google advertising algorithms will make of my sudden interest in sheep 🙂
Cheers M&C
Thanks for the blog today. I got all the answers but hadn’t managed to parse everything. The theme was v clear, however, and lots of fun. As someone who isn’t a fan of football I was less excited by 8d. I think 12 was my favourite.
PROVINE and ARANEID have appeared a few times. And there’s Tom Hanks again.
Tough even with the clever theme. Thanks both.
Difficult for me but good fun; I got rather stuck in the SW corner. I liked the [Tom] S HANKS, the HEBRIDEAN Ambassador’s wife, the good NITWITTED Spoonerism, the satisfying anagram for BLACK EYED PEAS, and the SCABBARDS fencing covers.
Thanks Brockwell and manehi.
Difficult puzzle, but a great theme and some really good surfaces. Chevriots gave me the theme and then I guessed 2 down. The only other sheep breed I had heard of is Hebridean, but I got the answer from the islander, and only afterwards realised it also fits the theme. I got defeated by a=per and ether=numb-er, which I really should recognise by now…
Thanks, Brockwell and manehi
PROVINE and DOGE defeated me. Never heard of the former, and wish I never hear of the latter ever again….
As usual, a very enjoyable and vocabulary-challenging themed puzzle from Brockwell. I didn’t get ARANEID; lots of jorums incl. HAWKER, PROVINE, RAMBERT. NHO LIBERACE, either. My favourites were SWEPT UP, BEACONS and SCABBARDS. Thanks Brockwell and manehi
Needed help from Dr Google to complete this one.
75% complete, then gave up, and was glad I did when I saw the blog. Just a bit too much general knowledge that I don’t have required for this one.
Spotted the theme so that was a great help. Lots to like including all the neat anagrams. I’m not convinced that fencing swords necessarily/usually have scabbards as such but that’s a minor quibble in an otherwise great grid. Thanks Brockwell, and manehi.
A bit chewier than the rest of the week but getting sheep early helped a bit. I am glad a lot of them were anagrams though as atleast two were new to me. DOGE took an age- I was thinking down the wrong Musk venture.
ARANEID also new to me and not knowing Aran it was a flip between that and an incorrect aracneid.
Enjoyed the ITV2 and Stewart Lee anagrams.
Thanks Brockwell and manehi
Very tough. Needed some help but didn’t have to resort to Reveal. A little too hard to be really enjoyable, but appreciated the clever clues.
Favourite BLACK EYED PEAS.
Thanks Brockwell and manehi.
Many thanks to manehi, for the excellent blog and to everyone else for taking the time to solve and comment on the puzzle. The GK quibbles are perfectly understandable, but I’m very happy that most of you had a fun solving experience. All the best, B 🐑
So many of the clues are sheep-themed that I’m wondering if they all are and I’m just missing a few. We spotted: lamb SHANKS; sheep DOG(e); BELLWETHER; sheep DIP(per); CHEVIOT; TEESWATER; BAA(l); HEBRIDEAN; LAMB CHOP; CORRIEDALE; EWES; SUSSEX sheep; (pr)OVINE; SHEEP; (l)IBERIAn sheep; (swep)TUP; BLACK sheep; SCAB(bard), a sheep disease; RAM(bert); and BLEAT. Slightly tenuously, sheep apparently famously live on the Brecon BEACONS, ARAN jumpers are made of wool, and there’s feta and other ewes’ CHEESEs.
The only ones I can’t readily sheepify are PESTLE, STEP, MOB LAW, STATED, HAWKER and NITWITTED, and I’m not Professor Sheep so I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve missed one or two, or even six, in those. Even without them, this is an astonishing level of theme saturation. Well done!
Thanks Brockwell and manehi.
This was a delight. Hadn’t heard of the breeds but I managed to get them from the clues, as it should be.
Thought the Fergie misdirect was a very elegant surface.
Also thought that the 5,4,4 lettering made the choice of Fergie a lot easier.
It’s nice to see a cultural reference to something from this millennium.
Comment #44
FOI was BLEAT and shortly after, SWEPT UP, which clued me into the theme early on.
BLACK EYED PEAS was sensational. I mistook the parsing in SCABBARDS, expecting a synonym of fencing to go around a sheep disease, so ended up cheating that one. And not even the venerable Collins online has heard of TEESWATERS, so I don’t feel so bad about flailing there too. I 2ishly admit to a DNF!
Too many other excellent clues to list.
A most enjoyable wild sheep chase!
Thanks, B&m
I thought some of the definitions were a bit woolly …
(I’ll get my coat)
Saddler @46 – sheepskin, no doubt?
Thanks Brockwell and manehi.
A real Greatest Hits from Brockwell..Pele, Che, Tom Hanks, Ether/Number, the Tate..
‘Rough’ and ‘Fell’ would have been two everyday words to have hidden subtly among the themology (being my family farm’s sheep breed). I solved 8d only by working through the possible anagrind contributors to [E-E-], not being aware of that particular Fergie.
Thanks to Brockwell and manehi.
I got most of the sheep related words – from wordplay and only possible anagrams etc. – before finally getting 2d, without knowing the connection. That finally allowed me to get PROVINE.
I revealed DOGE, as I simply couldn’t make myself think about Musk.
I thought that this was hard, a prolonged chin stroker, with a fair bit of searching needed in my case.
Cheers all.
[Layman@34: Surely you’ve heard “Mr Sandman” by the Chordettes:
Mr. Sandman (yes) bring us a dream
Give him a pair of eyes with a “come-hither” gleam
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace]
Quick completions hard to come by lately. Missed one, 9a DOGE — no wordplay. I suppose I should have had it, but ah well. All others solved and parsed, with the help of Wikipedia’s list of sheep breeds. NW stickiest. 16d BAAL is a most outstanding clue, and my favourite — very clever surface and wordplay. Surprised not to see more praise for it here. I also had ticks for 14d SCABBARDS (“Fencing covers”), 18d RAMBERT (for the shout out to my favourite chimney sweep in Mary Poppins)
Thanks for the puzzle and blog, both excellent
*16a
Mig 52,
Well DOGE is Italian for a duke, but despite having a bit of the language I didn’t get it, thinking that duca was the only word, and not wanting to spend any longer thinking about Musk.
I found previous Brockwell puzzles absorbing, but will brace myself from now on.
DOGE is probably best known as the senior magistrate ruling Venice.
Thanks muffin.
Probably mentioned in Shakespeare?
(Which is why I didn’t know that, perhaps.)
Travelling all day yesterday so sadly I didn’t have time for this until today. Tough but rewarding with lots of General Ignorance (PROVINE, ARANEID, most of the SHEEP, PESTLE as a verb). Great use of the theme: Brockwell is a setter I am pleased to see.
And Coloradan: thanks for the earworm!
Thanks Brockwell. Really nice puzzle today. Nice theme with a relatively easy key to it and lots of education/new words. Unusually for me, all were gettable from clues and crossers. New words: PROVINE/ARANEID, new sheep breeds TEESWATER, CORRIEDALE. Clues for RAMBERT and EWES could have included cross-reference to 2, but perhaps Brockwell thought they would be too easy! I’ve also managed to reach the age of 70 without knowing that BELLWETHER was not spelt BELLWEATHER – thanks Andy in Durham also for the explanation – I’d just assumed it was just something that gave a forewarning of what the weather was going to be! Also, perversely, took me ages to work out how SEE was a synonym for DATE! Happily married for 45 years, I guess it’s just so long since I’ve done it – we didn’t even call it dating in the UK then!
Unable to finish this last night, and got within two over breakfast. Failed on DOGE, having read the clue as a subtraction of “ELON” from an Italian honorific, leaving a word for the young of a muskrat or a musk deer. (Doh!) Also could not get ‘distinctive pattern’=ARAN and never heard of ARANEID anyway. (Alastair@30: according to the search function on this site, ARANEID has never appeared in a crossword blogged here. Perhaps you were thinking of ARACHNID? Oh, and PROVINE was last seen in 2011!)
Pleased to have finally got (PR)OVINE (‘layer’ in a SHEEP clue was distracting 🙂 ) and HAWKER. With the latter the wordplay was clear, but how many four-letter fish are there with last letter E? Probably thousands, so no idea until getting SHANKS.
Thanks to Brockwell/Grecian for the thorough work-out and to Manehi for the thorough blog.