A good Sunday puzzle from Hypnos, a bit of everything. Thanks Hypnos.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SOOTHE |
Calm woman keeping glasses close to cabinet (6)
SHE (woman) contains (keeping) OO (glasses) and cabineT (closing letter of)
|
| 4 | ARABIC |
A religious teacher dismissing one of books with cold language (6)
A RABbI (religeous teacher) missing B (book, one of two) with C (cold)
|
| 9 | CANT |
Hypocritical talk embodied by American trader (4)
found inside (embodied by) ameriCAN Trader
|
| 10 | GEORGE EZRA |
Singer, fancy character that’s last to follow men in exotic gear (6,4)
GEE (fancy!) Z (character that’s last) to follow OR (other ranks, men) all inside GEAR* anagram=exotic – this chap…
|
| 11 | PURSER |
Ship’s officer sure to be at sea in front of ship? Not half (6)
SURE* anagram=at sea in PRow (front of ship, half missing)
|
| 12 | EARPHONE |
Lawman to get sharper listening device (8)
Wyatt EARP (lawman) to get HONE (sharper?) – sharp, sharpen or sharpener but how sharper?
|
| 13 | MAKESHIFT |
Improvised order to a female clothing manufacturer? (9)
you could order a clothing manufacturer to ‘make a shift’, but why they would need to be female I have no idea – I get it now, order to a manufacturer of ‘female clothing’
|
| 15 | OVER |
Excessive end to radio communication? (4)
double definition
|
| 16 | BOUT |
Fit period in ring (4)
double definition
|
| 17 | JOB CENTRE |
Place to find post? (3,6)
cryptic definition
|
| 21 | HOMELAND |
Disruptive mole in control in TV drama series (8)
MOLE* anagram=disruptive in HAND (control)
|
| 22 | LEVITY |
Frivolous tendency in Italian writer totally lacking substance (6)
LEVI (Italian writer) TotallY (lacking substance, middle)
|
| 24 | MADAGASCAR |
Round the bend, commander is accompanied by vehicle in island (10)
MAD (round the bend) AGA’S (commander is) with CAR (vehicle)
|
| 25 | SOHO |
Very good house in London area (4)
SO (very good) HO (house)
|
| 26 | TREATY |
Worry entering tax agreement (6)
EAT (worry) in TRY (tax)
|
| 27 | STRAIT |
Narrow passage in good order, we’re told (6)
sounds like (we’re told) straight (in good order)
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | SPATULA |
Utensil alas put to varied use (7)
(ALAS PUT)* anagram=to varied use
|
| 2 | OATES |
Tragic captain arranged a start to operation heading north (5)
SET (arranged) A Operation (start, first letter of) all reversed (heading north, up the grid) – I may be gone some time…
|
| 3 | HOGARTH |
Artist showing animal on planet devoid of energy (7)
HOG (animal) on eARTH (planet) missing E=energy
|
| 5 | REGARD |
Care? Something briefly shown by car on a street (6)
REG (registration, shown by car) briefly=abbreviation on A RD (road, street)
|
| 6 | BEETHOVEN |
Bachelor and teen cavorting around resort, source of bars? (9)
B (bachelor) and TEEN* anagram=cavorting around HOVE (resort, in Sussex) – bars of music
|
| 7 | CORONER |
Public official in awkward situation admitting nothing (7)
O (nothing) in CORNER (awkward situation)
|
| 8 | CODE OF CONDUCT |
Set of rules corruptly concocted and found to lack sanction ultimately (4,2,7)
anagram (corruptly) of CONCOCTED and FOUnD missing sanctioN (ultimate letter of)
|
| 14 | ENUMERATE |
List from Spain characteristic of an accountant? (9)
E (Spain) NUMERATE (charcteristic of an accountant)
|
| 16 | BUOYANT |
Cheerful lad mentioned by worker (7)
BUOY sounds like (mentioned) boy (lad) by ANT (worker)
|
| 18 | CULPRIT |
Priest, one in sect that’s criminal (7)
PR (priest) I (one) in CULT (sect)
|
| 19 | RATCHET |
Mechanical device chart represented on film (7)
CHART* anagram=represented on ET (film)
|
| 20 | BASALT |
British sailor taking in a rock (6)
B (British) SALT (sailor) containing A
|
| 23 | VISTA |
Avenue in Kiev is tasteful (5)
found in kieV IS TAsteful
|
*anagram
definitions are underlined
definitions are underlined
I agree with you, PeeDee. This was an excellent Sunday puzzle with a bit of everything, and clearly clued throughout. One of those where you can’t really choose a favourite, because it was all sound.
In MAKESHIFT, the ‘female’ is simply referring to the fact that a SHIFT is a type of dress, and would therefore be worn by a woman.
Enjoyed it – thanks to Hypnos.
10ac defeated me. I have never heard of GEORGE EZRA and from the crossing letters I guessed it might be “George Earl”. Wikipedia did confirm that there was a singer of that name, not that I’d heard of him, either, and I couldn’t parse it.
KD – I get it now.
Dormouse – never heard of GEORGE EZRA either, but I liked that he was included. A bit of everything – book learning on its own not enough.
Thanks PeeDee and Hypnos.
I think in 12ac HONE = ‘to get sharper’.