A fun challenge from SOLOMON this Friday!
FF: 9 DD: 7
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BRAIN |
What makes you think home support should go first? (5)
|
| BRA ( support ) IN ( home ) | ||
| 4 | COWARDICE |
Timidity of fighting fish going around cold water (9)
|
| [ WAR ( fighting ) in COD ( fish ) ] ICE ( cold water ) | ||
| 9 | CATERER |
One serving three queens (7)
|
| CAT ER ER ( three queens ) | ||
| 10 | NON-STOP |
Restless navy on vessels heading west (3-4)
|
| N ( navy ) ON STOP ( vessels = POTS, reversed ) | ||
| 11 | CROCODILE |
Thick-skinned swimmer going back in Hathersage Lido — ‘Cor! Chilly!’ (9)
|
| hidden reversed in “..hathersagE LIDO COR Chilly” | ||
| 12 | ELOPE |
In secret, go and spin disc by the Electric Light Orchestra (5)
|
| ELO ( Electric Light Orchestra ) PE ( disc = EP, reversed ) | ||
| 13 | ERA |
Time of The Rapture (3)
|
| hidden in “..thE RApture” | ||
| 14 | KINGFISHERS |
Say, Henry V, Carrie, Us, Face Off and The Birds (11)
|
| KING ( henry v ) FISHER ( ~carrie, star wars ) uS ( without first letter ) | ||
| 17 | MOTHER IN LAW |
Boisterous woman beginning to lose it with her boring relative (6-2-3)
|
| [ WOMAN L ( Lose, first letter ) IT ]* containing HER | ||
| 20 | SOS |
Spouse regularly rejected request for help (1,1,1)
|
| SpOuSe ( alterate letters of ) | ||
| 22 | MOGUL |
Heads of Müller and Onken lug about big cheese (5)
|
| MO ( starting letters, Muller Onken ) GUL ( reverse of LUG ) | ||
| 24 | HAMBURGER |
Meat flipped on bread? (9)
|
| HAM ( meat ) BURGER ( bread ) | ||
| 26 | SHAMPOO |
Business behind counterfeit beauty product (7)
|
| SHAM ( counterfeit ) POO ( business ) | ||
| 27 | CODEINE |
Laws broken by one in Bremen getting pills? (7)
|
| EIN ( one, german ) in CODE ( laws ) | ||
| 28 | SCARECROW |
External body assembled to reduce murder rates (9)
|
| cryptic def; a group of crows is called a murder | ||
| 29 | PAGAN |
One by Spring’s end getting into nature-god? (5)
|
| [ A ( one ) G ( sprinG, end letter ) in PAN ( nature god ) ; am a bit iffy about this parse | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BICYCLE |
Where a Soviet hammer is delivered in vehicle (7)
|
| sounds like BY SICKLE ( where a soviet hammer is ) | ||
| 2 | ASTRONAUT |
Tuna, roast nuts and rocket filling? (9)
|
| [ TUNA ROAST ]* | ||
| 3 | NORFOLK |
Northern people carrying duck back to their county (7)
|
| N ( northern ) [ O ( duck ) R ( theiR, last letter ) ] FOLK ( people ) | ||
| 4 | CORGI |
Dog — setter? — under my girlfriend’s top (5)
|
| COR ( my ) G ( Girlfriend, first letter ) I ( setter ) | ||
| 5 | WONDERFUL |
Brill, with flounder, swimming (9)
|
| W ( with ) [ FLOUNDER ]* | ||
| 6 | RANGERS |
Foreigners abandoned by street’s side (7)
|
| stRANGERS ( foreigners, without ST – street ) | ||
| 7 | INTRO |
Start to drink unwrapped bubbly (5)
|
| [ TO RIN ( dRINk, unwrapped i.e. without end letters ) ]* | ||
| 8 | EXPRESS |
Clear old cupboard (7)
|
| EX ( old ) PRESS ( cupboard ) | ||
| 15 | NEIGHBOUR |
Huge robin disturbed one with adjoining garden? (9)
|
| [ HUGE ROBIN ]* | ||
| 16 | EASY GOING |
One wearing medal with a YES pasted on is happy doing anything (4-5)
|
| [ A YES ]* I ( one ) in GONG ( medal ) | ||
| 17 | MIMESIS |
Representation of Solomon cuddling Solomon’s little sibling (7)
|
| [ ME ( solomon ) containing IM ( solomon is ) ] SIS ( little sibling ) | ||
| 18 | ECLIPSE |
Obscure videos screened by tech company (7)
|
| CLIPS ( videos ) in EE ( tech company? electronics ) | ||
| 19 | WOUND UP |
Say “cut” before Disney film’s ended (5,2)
|
| WOUND ( cut, say ) UP ( disney film ) | ||
| 21 | SURGEON |
Child suppresses desire to become theatre worker (7)
|
| URGE ( desire ) in SON ( child ) | ||
| 23 | GUAVA |
Tips from gourmand — use allotment-grown vegetables and fruit (5)
|
| starting letters of “..Gourmand – Use Allotment-grown Vegetables And..” | ||
| 25 | MACAW |
Moan oddly and cry like a crow or parrot (5)
|
| MA ( MoAn, odd letters ) CAW ( cry like a crow ) |
HAMBURGER
I had
HAM+
on=RE
bread? =GRUB
RE GRUB flipped
An &lit?
PAGAN
Looks like an &lit.
Thanks Solomon and Turbolegs
Further to KVa@1:
24ac definitely works as HAM (meat) + reversal of RE (on) GRUB (bread? – grub meaning food, and bread being an example) & lit
29ac could be (A + G) in PAN & lit or (G + A) in PAN & lit. For the cryptic reading, PAN is the nature-god, and for the literal reading, PAGAN is one who worships such a god.
I had the opposite experience to you, Turbolegs. I found this very slow going in places and missed the fun you enjoyed (although I did share your mirth at EE being called a tech company). I never felt as if I had found the setter’s wavelength.
I ticked CORGI. MACAW, CODEINE, and SHAMPOO for their surfaces.
I endorse the two parsings above for HAMBURGER and PAGAN, although I think calling PAGAN & lit is very generous. It just seemed to be missing a definition when I solved it.
Thanks Solomon and Turbolegs
Thanks Solomon for a great set of clues. My top picks were CATERER, the wonderful KINGFISHERS, SCARECROW, BICYCLE, NEIGHBOUR, and SURGEON. I missed MIMESIS and couldn’t parse HAMBURGER and INTRO. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.
We found this tough going and resorted to wordfinder help. We guessed 14ac was birds of some sort but just couldn’t work it out, and had never heard of MIMESIS. Some great clues, though, including 11ac, 28ac and the aforesaid 14ac.
Thanks, Solomon and Turbolegs.
Thanks for the blog , neat set of interesting clues .
For PAGAN I think Pelham Barton has it spot on . The clue does not have to be super accurate but on a generous reading , Beltane is the end of spring and involves worship of Belenus and Cernunnos , both nature-gods . The wordplay is also fine .
Started in the middle of this and worked outwards. Didn’t parse NON-STOP HAMBURGER
Liked: KINGFISHERS, MOTHER-IN-LAW, MOGUL, MACAW
Thanks Solomon and Turbolegs