My first blog entry for several years, so be patient!
This was a fairly straightforward solve, with no clue taking more than a minute to solve. I don’t like the use of names as synonyms in the middle of clues which spoiled a couple of them for me, but that’s a personal thing.
| Across | ||
| 1, 23 | THERE IS NO MONEY |
14 down’s financial advice given years after one in rest-home perished (5,2,2,5)
*(one in rest-home) Y(years). (When the Conservatives won the General Election in 2010, Liam Byrne famously left a note to his successor which read, “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam.”) |
| 6 | OUIJA |
Franco-German affirmations for board (5)
French and German words for YES |
| 9 | TREACLE |
Electra stirred the syrup (7)
*(electra) |
| 10 | ASTARTE |
Goddess found in A&E (7)
A(START)E – the Greek name for the Mesoptomanian goddess Ishtar. |
| 11 | STALL |
Place for single animal – that’s hedge (5)
Double definition |
| 12 | TIGHT HEAD |
Drunken boss one in scrum (5,4)
TIGHT (drunken) HEAD (boss). (The tight head prop is a rugby player – a forward who normally wears the number 3) |
| 14 | LAD |
Good riddance to contented, stable employee (3)
G (good) removed from GLAD |
| 15 | PROGRESSIVE |
Rev is playing on piano, having introduced giants’ musical style (11)
P(piano) OGRES in *(rev is). “playing” is the anagrind. |
| 17 | A PIG IN A POKE |
Reasonable to fill pipe again broken as uninspected purchase (1,3,2,1,4)
OK in *(pipe again) |
| 19 | JET |
Aeroplane prank gets son ejected (3)
JEST (prank) with S (son) removed. |
| 20 | BEACHCOMB |
Bill enters revamped BBC home to forage (9)
AC (bill) enters *(BBC home) |
| 22 | EPSOM |
Amenhotep, so mighty, captures Derby town (5)
EPSOM (home of the Derby horse racing classic) is hidden in AmenhotEP SO Mighty. |
| 24 | RAINBOW |
God in London district creates atmospheric effect (7)
RA (Egyptian god) IN BOW (London district) |
| 26 | OXONIAN |
University type, in love with Scotsman, stays overnight in Rome? (7)
O (love) NOX (night in Rome, reversed (“over”)) IAN (Scotsman). Nox was the Roman goddess of the night. |
| 27 | EVENT |
Still time to ride competitively (5)
EVEN (still) T |
| 28 | SINCERELY |
Truly evil bank entertains heartless crime (9)
SIN (evil) C(rim)E RELY (bank) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | TITUS |
Square it with American emperor (5)
T-square it U.S. |
| 2 | EMERALD |
Neo in time left old Penny for Beryl (7)
E(ME)RA (Neo, ie the setter, therefore ME, in ERA (time)) L(left) D (old penny). (I don’t like using capitalized names as definitions unless they are the first word in a sentence, but others don’t mind it) |
| 3 | EUCALYPTI |
European Cup, Italy’s ground, and some trees (9)
E(European) *(cup Italy) (“ground” is the anagrind). |
| 4 | SWEET POTATO |
Charming Prince Otto gorged on a root vegetable (5-6)
SWEET (charming) P(rince) OT(A)TO (gorged on – container indicator) |
| 5 | OVA |
Eggs tossed around in Benfica v Osasuna (3)
Hidden in reversal of BenficA V Osasuna (Not sure about this surface, but in any case, Barcelona may have been better as they play in the same league as Osasuna?) |
| 6 | OCTET |
Maybe G8 leaders to end talks after month (5)
OCT ET(leaders of End Talks) |
| 7 | ISRAELI |
National PM twice denied Democrat (7)
(D)israeli. (Benjamin Disraeli (who was Prime Minister twice in the 19th century)) |
| 8 | AMENDMENT |
Moving about meant carrying correct change (9)
MEND (correct) in *(meant). |
| 13 | GORDON BROWN |
Retiring chap has drunken drongo on toast (6,5)
*(drongo) BROWN (toast). (Ex-PM, Gordon Brown, is due to stand down at the next General Election) |
| 14 | LIAM BYRNE |
Post returned by British sailors, ashore at last for realistic treasury man (4,5)
LIAM (MAIL returned) BY RN (British sailors – Royal Navy) (ashor)E. (Liam Byrne was Chief Secretary to the Treasury under Gordon Brown – not sure why “realistic” is there?) |
| 16 | STEVEDORE |
Worker in dock – first wife died in shop (9)
EVE D (first wife died) in STORE (shop). |
| 18 | IMAGINE |
See writer is Swift, having name for Lilliput’s leader (7)
I’M AGILE (writer is Swift) replacing the L with an N (name for Lilliput’s leader). (See my comment for 2dn) |
| 19 | JUSTICE |
Having diamonds only shows integrity (7)
JUST ICE (diamonds only) |
| 21 | HABIT |
Husband’s somewhat loose garment (5)
H(husband) A BIT(somewhat) |
| 23 |
See 1 across
|
|
| 25 | WES |
Montgomery the jazzer in stitch- up (3)
“Stitch-up” = SEW reversed. (Wes Montgomery (1923-68) (had never heard of him) was an American jazz guitarist) |
thank you loonapik for explaining OXONIAN which defeated me
In 14 isn’t ‘realistic’ just part of a tongue-in-cheek definition? Like his message in 1, 23.
The rule, if we are allowed to say that there are any, is that a false capital is okay, while dropping of same is not. It doesn’t matter that ‘Penny’ is being used as a name. Or Bill either, though that meets the blogger’s criteria 😀
Thank you for the blog, loonapick.
Please could you explain how the ampersand (in 10ac) indicates ‘start’? Thank you.
Thanks loonapick – I also needed the help with OXONIAN.
Kevin @3 – it isn’t the ampersand, it is “found” = start as in to found a business.
Thanks to Neo too, enjoyed that over lunch.
Kevin
It doesn’t – START is a synonym of FOUND, as is placed between A and E
Welcome back loonapick been a while. Not one of neo’s hardest and seemed oddly out of time, the answers suggest this was a timely themed puzzle for four years ago. Thanks Neo for the diversion, not quite as tough as picaroon in the G though.
Welcome back loonapick.
in 26a I took ‘nox’ simply as the Latin word for night.
Thanks to Neo for a gentle mental work-out.
Thanks for the blog, loonapick, and welcome [back]. You were obviously before my day – I’ve only been here seven years! – but I bet 6 and 9ac were around then. 😉 [But I always say that some clues are so good that they’re worth repeating for newcomers.]
I disagree with you about proper nouns in clues, especially in clues as good as 18ac – one of my favourites – and I quite liked 2dn, too [but my middle name is Beryl. 😉
I interpreted ‘nox’ as ernie @7 did.
My first thought for 10 ac was A THEN E [I’m sure I’ve seen a similar clue for her] but, of course, it wouldn’t fit.
Many thanks, Neo, for an enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks to all who commented. On 26ac, I should have been clearer – I was giving the goddess as extra information, but can see how my explanation didn’t make that clear.
Many thanks loonapick (welcome back indeed) and commenters. My apologies for neglecting you yesterday.
Thanks for a great blog, and to Eileen for the Beryl info.
Capital letters, ah yes those pesky London landlords. And ladies. Landpersons? Who cares, but yeah: ‘Penny’ here was false capitalization of ‘penny’ as in money, so in the cryptic reading at least (which is, as we know, the only one) there was no name involved. Equally ‘Bill’, which being positioned at the start of a clue gets a cap anyway, in the cryptic reading represents the old-hat crosswordese AC rather than any name. OTOH I can sympathise with loona: there’s something naff about using names, and I should try harder not erase them.
Cheers
PB
‘Not erase them’ should be ‘to erase them’. Slight attack of sausage-finger there, or the endless referral of meaning in language. Thanks Ferdinand.
Thanks Neo and loonapik
Nice challenge, even with the old chestnuts that Eileen mentioned. Had to google the phrase at 1, 23 to find out who had said it. That SE corner did hold me up momentarily with IMAGINE taking quite a while to understand. OXONIAN also took a little while to get what was going on.
Enjoyable.