Posted by tilsit on May 15th, 2008
Solving time: 28 mins
A jolly little puzzle from Tees with lots of contemporary references. I suppose I still think in old-fashioned crosswordese, but the Indy has certainly brought puzzles into the 21st Century and must be commended for it. Bit of an odd solve in that I amnaged to complete virtually all the right side of the grid before any clues on the left. Struggled for a while with 1 down till the penny finally dropped.
All in all, good fun.
Pedantic note: Chambers gives the phrase at 13 as hyphenated (4-6) rather than (10), but as I hadn’t heard of the phrase before, it wouldn’t have made a difference to me. Nice anagram though,
A nice way to start the day with the Wheatybangs. Thanks Tees.
ACROSS (*) = Anagram (CD) = Cryptic def (R) = Reversal
1 See 18
5 TUTORED T + U + TOREAD – A In educational grading, A is a top mark.
9 RIGMAROLE M in RIGA + ROLE Riga is capital of Latvia.
10 AWFUL (L)AWFUL
11 SAYERS SAYS around E.R. Dorothy L Sayers and ER, US TV Show equivalent to our Casualty.
12 DEATH RAY A DRY HEAT* Nice surface reading.
14 MILITIA MAN IT + 1AM in MILAN IT = Italian, 1 am = “some time after
16 ENID Hidden answer “Geraint’s girl” refers to Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.
18/1 STAR CHAMBER STARCH + AMBER The Star Chamber was originally a mediaeval nobles’ court, but now it can refer to an executive Cabinet Committee of the Government such as COBRA, which deals with matters in secret.
19 ADAM AND EVE Double definition Be careful when you Google “Plant Adam and Eve”!!. It’s a variety of orchid, which came as a surprise to me, though I did resist the temptation to visit Google’s first suggestion!
22 TEMPORAL MP inside AT ROLE* Although I worked the answer out, I couldn’t see the explanation, thinking it was “one sitting in” (TEMP) but the rest of the clue didn’t work. All is clear now.
23 MOSCOW M + OS + COW OS from clothing sizes relates to large (Outsize). Collins gives COW as a difficult woman. Not sure the PC brigade wil approve of this clue, but the surface is rather amusing to old fogies like me.
26 ROUTE (TRUE + O)* Nice clue with good surface reading!
27 THREE-FOUR (cd) I learned from Strictly Come Dancing that waltzes are danced in three-four time.
28 ENDGAME Double def More good surface.
29 ARTISTS STRAITS* Have seen and used this device a couple of times before. Not entirely convinced the definition works for a plural. Wouldn’t it refer to a single answer, rather than a plural?
1 CHRISOM CHRIS(TEND)OM Not a word I’d heard of. I’d recently set CHRISM as an answer in a quiz (Quick plug for my Quiz Setting Service, feel free to contact me!) A Chrisom is a white religious robe.
2 ANGRY GR inside ANY This clue may come in handy later.
3 BLAIRITE LAIR inside BITE Bambi was one of the nicknames given to Tony Blair, formerly PM of this
4 RIOT RIO + T Relates to Rio Ferdinand, one of my least favourite footballers, plays for Manchester United, prone to forgetting drug tests and going shopping instead.
5 THE RED ARMY H.E. inside MARTYRED* Nice surface reading.
6 TOASTY O inside TASTY Hadn’t seen “toastie” spelt with a “y” ending before as a noun, but it’s listed in Chambers.
7 See 24
8 DELAYED LAY inside DEED
13 CARDCASTLE CAT’S CRADLE* Nice anagram. Chambers gives this as hyphenated.
15 LEAF MOULD U + OLD FLAME* This perhaps strays a bit towards the dreaded Indirect Anagram, as it asks for “something meaning classy” which is U [as in U and Non-U]. Some may dislike it, but I think it’s OK.
17 INSOLENT IN + SOLENT The Solent is a stretch of water just outside Southampton.
18 SET FREE SET – FREE Set = Box as in TV sets, which are nicknamed “(Goggle)Boxes”.
20 EDWARDS (W + DREADS)* Made me laugh. The definition refers to former World Champion triple jumper Jonathan Edwards, noted for his religious beliefs and indeed in his early days refused to compete on a Sunday. Now to be found wandering round the BBC schedules on a Sunday hosting religious shows.
21 BODEGA AGED OB (R) OB is an abbreviation for an Old Boy, or almunus of a school.
24/7 CROSS REFERENCE (CD) “See 2″ is actually the Clue in this instance, as it refers to Angry! Very clever.
25 PROA PRO + A A proa is a Malay rowing boat.
Thanks again to Tees for an entertaining and clever puzzle.