Quixote delivers well clued crosswords where the wordplay leaves you in little doubt whether your entry is correct or not.
Having said that, I was interested by the use of ‘old’ in the clue for 10 across (KOREAN WAR) which I think is just there to make the clue scan properly, and by ‘See’ in 18 down (DURANGO). where I have come to the conclusion that it could be a second definition.
My favourite clues today were those for ROSSINI (19 across) for its surface, BACKPACKER (6 down) for a good cryptic definition and NIAGARA (17 down) for it’s continental displacement.
My first clue solved was KOREAN WAR and my last one in was MALEVOLENT [easy once all the crossing letters appeared]
I’ll admit to checking the Mexican City as , for me at least, the A and the U could have been either way round.
Quixote doesn’t do Ninas very often so I am intrigued by the appearance of COUP in the unchecked letters of the central row. The central column reveals TAEL which is some fairly obscure Chinese weight so COUP may just be a coincidence. Yes, I can see that the two words can be anagrammed to a single word.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Success at games table bringing a bit of protest at the doorway? (6,4)
|
LITTLE SLAM (SLAMming a door can be seen as a show of petulance or protest, so a LITTLE SLAM could be just a bit of a protest)
|
LITTLE SLAM (winning all but one trick in a hand of bridge; success at games table)
|
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8
|
A learner expelled by one country or another (7)
|
AUSTRALIA (country) excluding (expelled) (A + L [learner]) to leave AUSTRIA
|
AUSTRIA ([another] country)
|
|
9
|
Very old instrument shows spiral decoration (6)
|
V (very) + O (old) + LUTE ([musical] instrument)
|
VOLUTE (spiral scroll)
|
|
10
|
A worker bothered about an old conflict in the fifties (6,3)
|
Anagram of (bothered) A WORKER containing (about) AN KORE (AN) WAR* |
KOREAN WAR (conflict in the 1950s) I think the word ‘old’ is in the clue simply to follow ‘an’ as you can’t say ‘an conflict’ I suppose though to many solvers the 1950s will seem ‘old’
|
|
11
|
Battle to get money, pounds involved (5)
|
L (pounds sterling) contained in (involved) CASH (money) C (L) ASH |
CLASH (battle)
|
|
13
|
Across time for restraint, pay out in large quantities (7)
|
Anagram of (out) PAY containing (across) LENT (time of fasting in the Christian church; time for restraint) AP (LENT) Y* |
APLENTY (in large quantities)
|
|
15
|
After brief time we stop silly dance (3-4)
|
T (abbreviation for [brief] time) + an anagram of (silly) WE STOP T WO STEP* |
TWO-STEP (gliding dance in duple time)
|
|
16
|
Sympathetic type looking embarrassed? (7)
|
KIND (type) + RED (looking embarrassed)
|
KINDRED (both sympathetic and KINDRED can be defined as congenial)
|
|
19
|
French king entertaining saints and trendy composer (7)
|
ROI (French for king) containing (entertaining) (S [saint] + S [saint] giving saints + IN [trendy]) RO (S S IN) I |
ROSSINI (reference Gioachino ROSSINI [1792 – 1868], Italian composer)
|
|
21
|
Influence of preacher (5)
|
REACH (hidden word in [of] PREACHER)
|
REACH (influence)
|
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22
|
Informing on group imbibing drink after end of time (9)
|
RING (group) containing (imbibing) (E [last letter of {end of} TIME + PORT [drink]) R (E PORT) ING |
REPORTING (informing on)
|
|
24
|
Abandon colour (6)
|
MAROON (abandon)
|
MAROON (colour) double definition
|
|
25
|
With troubles returning inner order is needed by a country (7)
|
(OM [order of merit] + A) contained in (inner) (AILS [troubles] reversed]) S (OM A) LIA< |
SOMALIA (country)
|
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26
|
Spiteful man maybe, savage knocking one out (10)
|
MALE (man, could be a boy, so the use of maybe) + (VIOLENT [savage] excluding [knocking out] I [one])
|
MALEVOLENT (spiteful)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Poet’s wretched, wanting a girl? (5)
|
LORN (poetic word for wretched [Collins]) + A
|
LORNA (girl’s name)
|
|
2
|
Track? It’s what army rebuilt – hard to miss it (7)
|
Anagram of (rebuilt) WHAT ARMY excluding (to miss it) H (hard [describing pencil lead]) TRAMWAY* |
TRAMWAY (track)
|
|
3
|
Small creature left mountain with seconds to spare (7)
|
L (left) + (EVEREST [mountain] excluding [to spare S [seconds])
|
LEVERET (young hare; small creature)
|
|
4
|
American at the end of a social, drunk and lustful (9)
|
Anagram of (drunk) A SOCIAL + US (United States; American) SALACIO* US |
SALACIOUS (lustful)
|
|
5
|
An area said to be entrance (7)
|
A (an) + TTRACT (sounds like [said to be] TRACT [area])
|
ATTRACT (allure; entrance)
|
|
6
|
What rebel cricketers once did for traveller (10)
|
BACK (support) + PACKER (reference Kerry PACKER [1937 – 2005], Australian businessman who founded World Series Cricket which attracted support from many professional cricketers upset by the conservative financial policies of the traditional guardians of the games. World Series Cricket offered significantly more money) |
BACKPACKER (traveller carrying his / her belongings on their back)
|
|
7
|
Like stars in cast, rallying (6)
|
ASTRAL (hidden word in (in) CAST RALLYING)
|
ASTRAL (belonging to the stars)
|
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12
|
Spooner’s cleaning up had to make one very angry (7,3)
|
MOPPING (cleaning up) + HAD expressed as a Spoonerism
|
HOPPING MAD (very angry)
|
|
14
|
British PM meeting European in place few get to (5,4)
|
NORTH (reference Lord NORTH, British Prime Minister from 1770 to 1782) + POLE (European)
|
NORTH POLE ( a place that few people get to)
|
|
17
|
Indian city to the south of province invaded by a river (7)
|
NI (Northern Ireland; province) + (AGRA [Indian City] containing [invaded by] A) NI AG (A) RA |
NIAGARA (river from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario forming part of the border between Ontario and New York State)
|
|
18
|
See a dog run around Mexican city (7) |
Anagram of (around) A DOG RUN DURANGO* |
DURANGO (city in the Mexican state of the same name) DURANGO is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese so can also be defined by the word ‘See’.
|
|
19
|
Last words, so upsetting, coming with the heartless reply (7)
|
RIP (Rest in Peace; last words) + SO reversed [upsetting]) + TE (THE with the middle letter H removed [heartless]) RIP OS< TE |
RIPOSTE (reply)
|
|
20
|
Old chemical company, not half ingenious producing something very cold (6) |
ICI (a former British chemical company taken over by Akzo Nobel in 2007) + CLEVER (ingenious) excluding the second half of the letters (not half) VER
|
ICICLE (hanging tapering piece of ice; something very cold)
|
|
23
|
Brief delay (5)
|
REMIT (delay)
|
REMIT (brief) double definition
|
I enjoyed this, although I confess I didn’t bother to parse KOREAN WAR. I found this at the easier end of the Don’s spectrum and the only word I either didn’t know or had forgotten was VOLUTE, but it was easy enough to work out from the wordplay once all the checkers were in place.
1ac was my LOI. Had to do a word search in the end. I was only vaguely aware of the term and I couldn’t parse it, so thanks for the explanation. Apart from that, tough but I did complete it.
LITTLE SLAM and VOLUTE seemed rather weird, but good clues.
…all round, I mean.
😀
To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy this.
Austria Australia how many times?
This seemed half hearted, I know Quixote has issues with the pay he gets here but frankly when you see the effort other setters put in this frankly was just sub par, too obvious and little fun. Q you can do better than this.
I thought I’d completed this but now see I had 1d wrong- I stuck in ‘Lorca’ and didn’t parse it.
I thought 1ac and 6d were the most interesting clues.
@5flashling
Perhaps you are a setter as well, using a name of which I am unaware.