A slightly tougher-than-usual challenge from the Don this Friday morning. Thanks Bradman!
FF: 9 DD: 9
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | ALEWIVES | Fish in various parts of Wales I have caught (8) |
| [I’VE (i have)] in WALES* – needed help to crack this | ||
| 6 | CUTEST | Most delightful English street shut off at the front (6) |
| CUT (shut off) before E (english) ST (street) | ||
| 9 | IN VAIN | Occupying vessel, we hear, to no avail (2,4) |
| IN (occupying) VAIN (sounds like VEIN, vessel) | ||
| 10 | COVENANT | Agreement old archdeacon couched in jargon (8) |
| [ O (old) VEN (archdeacon, VENerable)] in CANT (jargon) | ||
| 11 | FOX TERRIER | Female rioter in trouble with Rex, special sort of dog (3,7) |
| F (female) [ RIOTER REX ]* | ||
| 12 | See 3 | |
| 13 | STATAL | Sarah collects rubbish getting about bit of America (6) |
| SAL (sarah) containing TAT (rubbish) | ||
| 15 | GRANITA | Member of family one thanks for providing cold refreshment (7) |
| GRAN (member of family) I (one) TA (thanks) | ||
| 17 | SPRAYER | Rose serves supper initially with grace? (7) |
| S (Supper, first letter) PRAYER (grace) | ||
| 19 | ARGOSY | Get irritable about journey in ship (6) |
| ARSY (irritable) around GO (journey) | ||
| 21 | SPEW | Discharge starts to pollute everywhere in holiday region (4) |
| PE (starting letters of “..Pollute Everywhere..”) in SW (holiday region, e.g. cornwall) | ||
| 22 | PACESETTER | Quiet maestro accompanying dog and horse? (10) |
| P (quiet) ACE (maestro) SETTER (dog) | ||
| 24 | CONFLICT | Prisoner touched, it’s said, in dispute (8) |
| CON (prisoner) FLICT (sounds like FLICKED – touched) | ||
| 25 | IRRUPT | Burst in as one bishop getting put out (6) |
| I (one) RR (bishop) [PUT]* | ||
| 26 | BEAT IT | Go away to dine, tucking into small portion (4,2) |
| EAT (dine) in BIT (small portion) | ||
| 27 | ALHAMBRA | Crooner and lousy actor given support in Spanish building (8) |
| AL (crooner) HAM (lousy actor) BRA (support) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | LINE-OUT | Feature of rugby story, nothing to listen to (4-3) |
| sounds like LIE (story) NOWT (nothing) | ||
| 3, 12 | WYATT EARP | Lawman and wife joining riotous tea party (5,4) |
| W (wife) [ TEA PARTY ]*, i came across him for the first time in the movie tombstone | ||
| 4 | VENTRALLY | Aperture to recover in the belly (9) |
| VENT (aperture) RALLY (recover) | ||
| 5 | SACKING | Getting rid of coarse cloth (7) |
| double def | ||
| 6, 22 | COVER POINT | Deal with particular player on cricket field (5,5) |
| COVER (~deal with) POINT (~particular) | ||
| 7 | TENDERING | Presenting restaurant’s latest terrible dinner – no good (9) |
| T (restauranT, last letter) [ DINNER ]* N (no) G (good) | ||
| 8 | SANGRIA | Sort of valley celebrated at first for wine (7) |
| SANG (celebrated) before RIA (sort of valley) | ||
| 14 | THREW A FIT | Father with endless running around got very angry (5,1,3) |
| [ FATHER WITh (endless) ]* | ||
| 16 | ADAM SMITH | Famous economist – the first man’s story to be listened to (4,5) |
| ADAM’S (first man’s) MITH (sounds like MYTH – story) | ||
| 17 | SUPPOSE | Imagine having drink with model (7) |
| SUP (drink) POSE (model) | ||
| 18 | RICOTTA | Endless cereal, to an excessive degree? Then get a cheese (7) |
| RICe (cereal, endless) OTT (to an excessive degree, Over The Top) A | ||
| 20 | SLEEPER | Spy in railway compartment (7) |
| double def | ||
| 22 | See 6 | |
| 23 | THRUM | Sound of extraordinary triumph I quietly released (5) |
| [ TRiUMpH (without I, P – quietly) ]* | ||
Enjoyable crossword but that’s a mistake, there in 7dn, isn’t it?
Sil: yes, I thought so.
I thought crooner -> AL was a bit of a stretch; presumably it refers to Al Jolson, though possibly also Al Bowlly or Al Martino.
Held up with 7d until I figured it was wrong. Somebody really should check these. Also agree with Andrew on AL. The rest was fine though.
7D held me up too: it was LOI as I wanted to get all the crossers to make sure I hadn’t missed something, though I’d been harbouring suspicions for a while.
Thanks both. Surely sangria is not a wine?
Billyk @5 SANGRIA is a wine in crossword land but in Decanter not so much.
We saw what we wanted to see in 7dn but yes, it’s obviously wrong. Even if it was ‘diner’ not ‘dinner’ tt would still be wrong.
The rest was OK. We liked COVENANT, SANGRIA and SPRAYER (our LOI).
Thanks, Bradman and Turbolegs.
Finished but hard for me. A few trips to Thesaurus required. Loi argosy. Never heard Sarah (my daughter) as Sal.
Al Martino had a brother called Pasquale.
Today’s challenge found me wanting. I agree with the comments about some definitions being a bit tenuous and would add that CUTE, though clear from the word play, is hardly the same as DELIGHTFUL. Still, I just wasn’t up to scratch today. 7D, however, didn’t pose a particular problem, as per Allan’s comment. I did like RICOTTA and ARGOSY made me laugh. Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Harder than his previous offerings, but not entirely in a good way – the error at 7d, which I tried for a while unsuccessfully to find my way around, and several tenuous definitions (AL and SAL). Having said that, there were some really good clues – took ages to twig to the shower ‘rose’ at 17a but was an aha moment when it did.
A few new terms – ARGOSY / ARSY and STATAL – also had to check up on VENTRALLY. Parsed 2d a little differently, having LINE (story) + OWT (nothing) – but now see that my North English dialect is slightly wrong.
Finished in the NE corner with that SPRAYER, VENTRALLY and STATAL.
7D try denier for dinner