I was looking forward to my monthly encounter with Dac today, and the puzzle certainly lived up to my expectations.
Overall, I found this towards the easier end of the Dac spectrum. I made swift progress through the grid, relishing the many smooth surfaces along the way. Eventually, I came to a halt with just two clues to go: 6 and 14. I simply had a mental block on 6, which was eminently gettable and obviously an anagram. For some reason, I had convinced myself that “oil” was the only contender for the first part of the word and simply couldn’t get beyond that. Once the penny dropped and I finally solved 6, 14 soon followed.
My favourites today were 24, for its surface and surprising anagram, and 18, for its concision.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | FUSSPOT | Female approaching place in America is a worrier
F (=female) + US SPOT (=place in America) |
| 05 | SLOOPS | Some boats sail empty – oh dear!
S<ai>L (“empty” means all but first and last letters are dropped) + OOPS (=oh dear) |
| 08 | SHERLOCK HOLMES | Make houses secure, we’re told, after he’s arrested by senior detective
[HE in SR (=senior)] + homophone (“we’re told”) of “lock homes” (=make houses secure) |
| 10 | EMEND | Change foremen didn’t introduce
Hidden (“introduce”) in “forEMEN Didn’t” |
| 11 | SUSPICION | Trace of // doubt?
Double definition |
| 12 | PUFF-PUFF | Train advertisements
2 x PUFF (=advertisement) |
| 14 | VENEER | Cleric always making an appearance
VEN (=cleric, i.e. venerable) + E’ER (=always) |
| 16 | RARELY | Hardly ever registered with a bank
R (=registered, as in Registered Nurse) + A + RELY (=bank, as a verb) |
| 18 | DEIGHTON | Writer doing the twist
*(DOING THE); “twist” is anagram indicator; the reference is to Len Deighton (1929-), British writer of e.g. spy novels |
| 21 | NOTRE DAME | No socialist will enter boring cathedral
NO + [RED (=socialist) in TAME (=boring)] |
| 22 | SWAMI | Foreign friend from Cornwall, a religious teacher
SW (=from Cornwall, in south-west England) + AMI (=foreign friend, i.e. the French for friend) |
| 24 | MACARONI CHEESE | Ice cream one has made into a savoury dish
*(ICE CREAM ONE HAS); “made into” is anagram indicator |
| 25 | BENDER | Pub crawl? I’m on my knees!
Cryptically, a person on his knees is a bender! |
| 26 | TALLEST | Everyone present during exam? Most incredible
ALL (=everyone) in TEST (=exam); a tall story is one that is incredible, hard to believe |
| Down | ||
| 01 | FOSTER PARENT | As someone taking care of issue, architect’s secretary given payment
FOSTER (=architect, i.e. Norman Foster) + PA (=secretary, i.e. personal assistant) + RENT (=payment) |
| 02 | STEVE | Fellow heartlessly set upon first lady
S<e>T (“heartlessly” means all but first and last letters are dropped) + EVE (=first lady, in Book of Genesis) |
| 03 | PILED UP | Assimilating education, pupil somehow grew
ED (=education) in *(PUPIL); “somehow” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | TICKS OFF | Marks // carpets
Double definition: to tick off is to mark something off, e.g. on a list AND to carpet someone, tell off, reprimand |
| 05 | SCHISM | After school I’m welcoming start of summer break
SCH (=school) + [S<ummer> (“start of” means first letter only) in I’M] |
| 06 | OWL-LIKE | Well! Oik turned out wise, presumably
*(WELL OIK); “turned out” is anagram indicator |
| 07 | PRESIDENT | Leader here is concealing identity
ID (=identity) in PRESENT (=here) |
| 09 | INTRANSIGENT | Pig-headed dope travelling about
GEN (=dope, info) in IN TRANSIT (=travelling) |
| 13 | FIRST-RATE | High quality pastries going up in flames
STRAT (TARTS=pastries; “going up” indicates vertical reversal) in FIRE (=flames) |
| 15 | BENEDICT | Old pope given order at foot of mountain
BEN (=mountain) + EDICT (=order); Benedict XVI was the name of the old, i.e. former, pope, who renounced the papacy in 2013 |
| 17 | LEEWARD | Lug fish over islands in the Caribbean
DRAW (=lug, i.e. pull) + EEL (=fish); “over” indicates reversal |
| 19 | GASOHOL | Fuel used by girl going round area of West End
SOHO (=area of West End) in GAL (=girl); gasohol is a mixture of 8 or 9 parts petrol and 1 or 2 parts alcohol, used as a fuel |
| 20 | VALOUR | Ladies perhaps uplifted by our bravery
VAL (LAV=ladies perhaps, i.e. public toilets; “uplifted” indicates vertical reversal) + OUR |
| 23 | ADELE | Before start of entertainment, change of lead singer
*(LEAD) + E<ntertainment> (“start of” means first letter only); the reference is to UK singer-songwriter Adele (1988-) |
Thanks RR and Dac – an excellent puzzle, I thought. In addition to the clues you mentioned, 15d and 7d were among my favourites – but there were so many good ones, it’s hard to choose.
14 down was also my LOI. I found it difficult to get past the thought that the first three letters must be REV – VEN is somewhat less common in terms of ecclesiastical abbreviations.
It’s very good, very sound, yet very adventurous. All the elements that point to a skilled practitioner. See ‘ladies perhaps’ for lav, as opposed to what we had in The Guardian yesterday.
As one expects with Dac, all nicely clued and gettable, easy-ish but no write-ins. My CoD was 24ac – btw the anagrind is simply “made into”.
Thanks, Dac and RatkojaRiku
Entertaining and some very nice constructions. Particularly liked MACARONI CHEESE, INTRANSIGENT, SHERLOCK HOLMES. Had not heard of GASOHOL but gettable from the wordplay.
Thanks to Dac and RatkojaRiku.
I am blown away – as ever – by Dac. Though solved and parsed in under ten minutes, I still swooned in admiration of this truly brilliant setter. Dac’s puzzles coruscate!