Unsurprisingly, Dac is occupying the first Wednesday slot of the New Year and will doubtless occupy many more over the next twelve months.
Just as unsurprisingly, we have before us a set of highly sound, concise clues with exquisitely smooth surfaces. Overall, I found this puzzle to be very much at the easy end of the Dac spectrum, and I needed to consult Chambers only to confirm 19 and 25. The only niggling doubt that I have is “heater=sun” in my parsing of 24, where I hope I have not got the wrong end of the stick altogether.
My favourite clues today are 5, for its overall construction, and 17, for its surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | ENDURE | Finish first unpredictable race, expected last
END (=finish) + U<npredictable> R<ace> E<xpected> (“first” means first letters only are used) |
| 04 | FEASTS ON | Takes great delight in one’s fast wheels
*(ONE’S FAST); “wheels” is anagram indicator |
| 09 | ERRANT | Rambling harangue beginning hesitantly
ER (=hesitation; “beginning hesitantly” means that this sign of hesitation appears at start of solution) + RANT (=harangue) |
| 10 | SHOOTING | Making film of // gun crime
Double definition |
| 11 | TEST PAPER | Ordeal for learners: steep part, with bends
*(STEEP PART); “with bends” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | CONTE | Short story competition? No way
CONTE<st> (=competition); “no way (=St, for street)” means letters “st” are not used |
| 14 | DIRECTORATE | Board members aim to speak formally
DIRECT ((to) aim, e.g. gun) + ORATE (=to speak formally) |
| 18 | ROLLING IN IT | Rich bread bun, popular with gin and Vermouth
ROLL (=bread bun) + IN (=popular) + GIN + IT (=Vermouth, as in “a gin and It”) |
| 21 | APACE | Indian abandoning horse fast
APAC<h>E (=Indian, i.e. Native American); “abandoning horse (=H)” means letter “h” is dropped |
| 22 | MANSFIELD | Name of former pin-up in masculine environment
MAN’S (=masculine) + FIELD (=environment); the reference is to Jayne Mansfield (1933-67), the US actress and Playboy pin-up) |
| 24 | HESITATE | Lack confidence to relax in the sun right away?
SIT (=to relax) in “HEATE<r>” (=the sun, i.e. the heater of the Earth; “right (=R) away” means letter “r” is dropped) |
| 25 | PAPUAN | Old man’s joke about a Pacific native
PA (=old man) + [A in PUN (=joke)]; a Papuan is a native of Papua New Guinea |
| 26 | DISTRICT | Police inspector assigned to tough area
DI (=police inspector, i.e. Detective Inspector) + STRICT (=tough) |
| 27 | ENGELS | English golfer/German philosopher
ENG (=English) + ELS (=golfer, i.e. South African Ernie Els); the reference is to German philosopher Friedrich Engels (1820-95) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | EVENTIDE | Incident on cycle, losing helmet late in the day
EVENT (=incident) + <r>IDE (=cycle; “losing helmet” means first letter dropped) |
| 02 | DERISORY | Is nothing in part of Northern Ireland worthy of scorn?
[IS + O (=nothing)] in DERRY (=part of Northern Ireland) |
| 03 | RUN-UP | Period before race to top of mountain
Cryptically, a “race to top of mountain” would be a run up(wards) |
| 05 | EXHORTATION | Urging former lover of Emma H to suppress this, initially
EX (=former) + [T<his> (“initially” means first letter only) in HORATIO N (=lover of Emma Hamilton)]; the reference is to Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton |
| 06 | SCOTCH EGG | Spoil, say, good food
SCOTCH (=spoil, as a verb) + E.G. (=say, for example) + G (=good) |
| 07 | SKINNY | Scrawny local wearing blue
INN (=(a) local, pub) in SKY (=blue) |
| 08 | NUGGET | Small amount of egg wrapped up in loaf
GGE (EGG; “wrapped up” indicates vertical reversal) + NUT (=loaf, i.e. slang for head) |
| 12 | PROBLEMATIC | Troublesome for British confronting climate change
PRO (=for, in favour of) + B (=British) + *(CLIMATE); “change” is anagram indicator |
| 15 | CARPENTER | Craftsman who worries, getting shut inside?
PENT (=shut (up)) in CARER (=(one) who worries) |
| 16 | INSECURE | At home, notice dog is kept safe? Hardly
IN (=at home) + [CUR (=dog) in SEE (=notice)] |
| 17 | STUDENTS | Learners boss sent for retraining
STUD (=boss, e.g. on shield) + *(SENT); “for retraining” is anagram indicator |
| 19 | LASHED | Verbally attacked boy hugging girl
SHE (=girl) in LAD (=boy); according to Chambers, to lash is “to scourge with sarcasm or satire”, hence “verbally attack(ed)” |
| 20 | CASSIS | Drink brought in by sympathetic assistant
Hidden (“brought in by”) in “sympathetiC ASSIStant” |
| 23 | FRAYN | Clash with new playwright
FRAY (=clash, brawl) + N (=new); the reference is to British playwright Michael Frayn (1933-) |
Not sure I can say it was easy for me. I’ve never heard of conte, so that made it difficult to finish. Some others were entered without my understanding, eg 24A, but that has been known to happen.
Anyway thanks to setter and to blogger.
It’s funny how Bert had exactly the same thought as you RR when he parsed 24ac – that’s very un-Daclike were his exact words! We are sure it is the correct parsing though.
Still, lots to enjoy and although we had to check CONTE we managed to guess it from the wordplay fairly quickly.
Thanks RR for the blog and we look forward to many more Dac puzzles in 2015.
I think CONTE is quite obscure, so that even with a good clue (and they were ALL good) it is a bit too hard. FRAYN is a bit of GK, and though I got it without ‘cheat’ I could see it might be a bit tricky.
Good technique in this nice puzzle.
Conte?? U wot DAC? Personally I found this harder than my Guardian blog just one of those days I guess. Ta RR & Dac.
Brilliant Dac as usual, but 1ac (“first” means “first of”) is a bit of a stretch is it not?
6d was great, I thought.
I agree about ‘first’. Could have been ‘leaders in’ or something.