The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hello all. This was my first Ringoe puzzle, but it won’t be my last. I must have been in the zone because it slipped down a treat. My favourite clue is 8d, ABYSSINIAN, and not just because it gave me an excuse for a kitty pic. I also liked 18d – I’m not sure our compiler is all that likely to be our next PM, much less installed by Ringo Starr, but I liked the image.
Thanks Ringoe!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Nuts in AA to meet separately (3,2,1,4) |
| ONE AT A TIME — An anagram of (nuts) IN AA TO MEET | |
| 6a | Snake-haired monster leaving cheese for writer (4) |
| ZOLA — GORGON (snake-haired monster) leaving [gorgon]ZOLA (cheese) | |
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|
| 10a | Andy Burnham is cross about a Liberal raising stock (6,9) |
| ANIMAL HUSBANDRY — An anagram of (… cross) ANDY BURNHAM IS around (about) A and L (Liberal) | |
| 11a | 50 with a king by unearthly American feature (4,4) |
| LAKE ERIE — L (50) + A + K (king) by EERIE (unearthly) | |
| 12a | Protection from serviceman in ebbing tide (5) |
| AEGIS — GI (serviceman) in reversing (ebbing) SEA (tide) | |
| 14a | Pole features in Room 101 making comeback (7) |
| ICECAPS — SPACE (room) and CI (101) going backwards (making comeback) | |
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|
| 16a | Slippery surface sends child into bridge (7) |
| SKIDPAN — KID (child) is sent into SPAN (bridge) | |
| 17a | Wild sheep accompanies us in ancient city (7) |
| EPHESUS — An anagram of (wild) SHEEP goes next to (accompanies) US | |
| 19a | Granny seen in Dickens a godsend (7) |
| BONANZA — NAN (granny) seen in BOZ (Dickens – the nickname Charles Dickens adopted as an early pen name) + A | |
| 20a | Captains perhaps in privy at sea (5) |
| HEADS — Two definitions. Heads is a slang nautical word for a ship’s toilet | |
| 21a | Sceptical as a good number remain we hear (8) |
| AGNOSTIC — A + G (good) + NO (number) + STIC, which sounds like (… we hear) STICK (remain) | |
| 24a | Ruler’s order for backer briefly touring two states (7,2,6) |
| WILLIAM OF ORANGE — WILL (order), FOR and ANGEl (backer) without the last letter (briefly) going around (touring) IA and MO (two states – Iowa and Missouri) | |
| 25a | Exquisite morsel missed in savoury dish (4) |
| RARE — BIT (morsel) lacking from (missed in) RARE[bit] (savoury dish) | |
| 26a | Star to rage when drunk grabs dress (5,5) |
| GRETA GARBO — TO RAGE when anagrammed (drunk) takes in (grabs) GARB (dress) | |
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|
| Down | |
| 1d | Female no wife for Saudi neighbour (4) |
| OMAN — [w]OMAN (female), no W (wife) | |
| 2d | American visiting The Ritz all obey — volatile player? (9,6) |
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|
| ELIZABETH TAYLOR — A (American) going into (visiting) an anagram of (… volatile) THE RITZ ALL OBEY | |
| 3d | Hint from artist forsaking daily grind (5) |
| TRACE — RA (artist) leaving (forsaking) [ra]T RACE (daily grind) | |
| 4d | Garments: those in which to sleep almost removed? (1-6) |
| T-SHIRTS — [nigh]TSHIRTS (those [garments] in which to sleep) with NIGH (almost) removed | |
| 5d | Overcome small albatross sometimes seen here? (7) |
| MASTERS — MASTER (overcome) + S (small). There have been four albatrosses at the Masters golf tournament | |
| 7d | One possibly retired hurt alongside opener? (3-3,9) |
| OLD-AGE PENSIONER — An anagram of (hurt) ALONGSIDE OPENER | |
| 8d | Significant hole in one by an old African? (10) |
| ABYSSINIAN — ABYSS (significant hole) + IN + I (one) by AN | |
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|
| 9d | Caribbean sort to sight whaler up north (8) |
| BAHAMIAN — AIM (to sight) and AHAB (whaler – the captain from Moby Dick) reversed (up, in a down entry) + N (north) | |
| 13d | Ground where one welcomes island leader (10) |
| EISENHOWER — An anagram of (ground) WHERE ONE takes in (welcomes) IS (island) | |
| 15d | One kills when elite troops stray from path (8) |
| ASSASSIN — AS (when), SAS (elite troops) and SIN (stray from path) | |
| 18d | Is it Ringo installing Ringoe as PM? |
| STARMER — STARR (is it Ringo … ?) taking in (installing) ME (Ringoe) | |
| 19d | Assist insect outside close to sunken well (7) |
| BENEFIT — BEE (insect) around (outside) the last letter of (close to) sunkeN + FIT (well) | |
| 22d | Seconds for good child (5) |
| SPROG — S (seconds) + PRO (for) + G (good) | |
| 23d | Revolutionary augury one found in movie? (4) |
| NEMO — Going backwards (revolutionary) OMEN (augury) | |
Great blog – highlighting how many people found their way into this very neat puzzle. A couple of great anagram spots. (I think I need some convincing that ‘cross’ works as an anagrind though.)
I note the online version has the word (undefined) in brackets at the end of the clue. I could not make sense of it in the parse so hoped the blog would shed light on it. Looks like it’s an on-line typo.
Thanks both
Yep enjoyable outing, ta Ringoe and Kitty. A couple unfully parsed … totally forgot about Dickens being Boz, and 24ac where I cqba and just biffed.
[And Vale to my old pal Lew who used to breed Abyssinians …]