After last week’s more challenging Gaff we’re back on familiar territory with a pleasant Dante.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | HELL-BENT |
Dis-inclination? (4-4)
HELL (dis) + BENT (inclination) Perhaps a nice find but there isn’t much of a definition, or is there? |
| 6 | CANADA |
Vessel takes girl to see second largest country (6)
CAN (vessel) + ADA (girl) |
| 9 | REMOVE |
Form of transport (6)
Double definition One of my last entries as I wasn’t familiar with ‘remove’ meaning ‘a form or division in some British schools’ (Oxford). Adding to that the fact that in the clue ‘transport’ is a noun and in the solution a verb, I must say that this is a really good clue. A perfect double definition (as the clue as a whole also makes sense). |
| 10 | MINDLESS |
Stupid advice to those who worry unnecessarily (8)
Double definition In the second definition one has to split MIND / LESS. |
| 11 | STUD |
Game of poker cuts time for learning (4)
STUD[y] (time for learning, cut off) |
| 12 | IDEALISTIC |
Cities laid out in a way that’s impractical (10)
(CITIES LAID)* [* = out] |
| 14 | ALLELUIA |
A word of praise (8)
(Cryptic) Definition |
| 16 | ROLL |
Wind register (4)
Double definition |
| 18 | ONER |
Returning to divorce city may be a heavy blow (4)
Reversal (‘returning to’) of: RENO (divorce city) |
| 19 | CAREWORN |
Oarsman overturned in vessel is in distress (8)
REWOR (reversal (‘overturned’) of: ROWER (oarsman)) inside CAN (vessel) One more CAN (vessel) after we already had one in 6ac. |
| 21 | COME HITHER |
Seductive summons (4,6)
Double definition The first definition has a hyphen, unlike the second. |
| 22 | RUFF |
Bird making harsh sound (4)
Homophone (‘sound’) of: ROUGH (harsh) |
| 24 | DEAD HEAT |
Preliminary race neither quick nor decisive (4,4)
Straightforward definition plus an extra cryptic touch (‘quick’ = ‘not dead’) |
| 26 | SEVERN |
River veers roughly north (6)
(VEERS)* + N (north) [* = roughly] |
| 27 | ASCENT |
Rising, like foreign currency? (6)
AS (like) + CENT (foreign currency) |
| 28 | LASER PEN |
It could be used to point out a writer (5,3)
(Cryptic, or perhaps Double) Definition |
| Down | ||
| 2 | EXERT |
Number involved in tree- climbing exercise (5)
X (number, 10) inside EERT (reversal (‘climbing’) of TREE) |
| 3 | LLOYD GEORGE |
Dolly confused English Saint and Welsh Wizard (5,6)
(DOLLY)* + GEORGE (English Saint) [* = confused] David Lloyd George was the UK’s prime minister from 1916-1922. He is one of a few people nicknamed the ’Welsh Wizzard’, Gareth Bale is another one. |
| 4 | EMERITUS |
Female moves up, but retains worth as an honorary professor (8)
EUS (reversal (‘moves up’) of SUE (female)) around MERIT (worth) |
| 5 | TEMPERANCE HOTEL |
Where one may stay dry (10,5)
Cryptic definition Punning on ‘stay’ meaning to stay the night and ‘stay dry’ as they don’t serve alcohol in this place. |
| 6 | CANDLE |
Not a current source of light (6)
Cryptic definition No electricity involved. |
| 7 | NIL |
There’s nothing left in the lift (3)
Reversal (‘in the lift’) of: L (left) + IN |
| 8 | DISTILLER |
To succeed in business he must keep still (9)
This businessman contains the word STILL: [di]STILL[er] |
| 13 | SCREWDRIVER |
Prison officer goes to club for cocktail (11)
SCREW (prison officer) + DRIVER (club) |
| 15 | LONDONERS |
British capitalists? (9)
Cryptic definition |
| 17 | ARMRESTS |
Detains about a thousand supporters (8)
ARRESTS (detains) around M (a thousand) |
| 20 | DIVEST |
Strip joints opening tonight (6)
DIVES (joints, as in disputable places of entertainment) + T[onight]
|
| 23 | FORCE |
In favour of church power (5)
FOR (in favour of) + CE (power) |
| 25 | DOE |
Bunny girl (3)
A ‘bunny’ is a rabbit and a female rabbit is called a DOE |
I thought 5 should be WATERGATE HOTEL (“where one may stay dry”) – but no.
I had PEYOTE for 9, which works though only in a cute sort of way.
But I don’t see how 14 is anything but a straight definition.
Thanks Dante and Sil
Did this one just after midnight last Sunday when couldn’t get off to sleep. Found it a little more challenging than the usual Dante offering and finished up at 9a as well.
Unfortunately, I’d confidently entered BECOME as the answer:
(a) to develop or grow into; to come to be. – hence form;
(b) enter or assume a certain state or condition;
Had transport as – to cause to feel strong emotions.
And thought that they would be close enough. Apparently not !!!
I did like HELL-BENT and LLOYD GEORGE.
I like 2d but with only e???t I would never have got it.
I guessed 6a but I’m amazed that it is the second largest country _ I would have sworn that India, Australia and China were all much bigger.
I would never have got 9a.
I can never spell 14a so my “halelula” did not help with 15d.
The puzzler for me is 24a -how is a preliminary race a dead heat rather than just a heat? I can see “not quick” is dead and how does “not decisive” = heat?
Bamberger, a dead heat is a race in which two or more competitors are exactly level.
So the race is ‘not decisive’ – you cannot tell who’s the winner.
One of the meanings of quick is ‘living, alive’. Chambers adds ‘archaic, Bible, church etc’.
And dead is not alive.
By the way, I only know this from crosswords.