This puzzle which can be found here: Ballard @ Cambridge , is a joint effort of Serpent (aka Skipjack) and Gervase. The first letters of their real names lead to J.G. , hence Ballard.
The cluing as such does not contain a theme. However, there is a double nina to celebrate the event as the grid below makes clear. And for those who are curious who wrote what: the Across clues were written by Serpent, the Down clues by Gervase.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 8 | SALAMI |
Fare that’s regularly cut back I’m sorry to say (6)
Reversal (‘back’) of: I’M ALAS (sorry to say) |
| 9 | APPLAUDS |
Approves of binary counter in computer programs (8)
LAUD (reversal (‘counter’) of DUAL (binary)) inside APPS (computer programs) |
| 10 | EARTHQUAKE |
Shock of hearing hard question stops recording (10)
EAR (hearing) {(H (hard) QU (question)) inside TAKE (recording)} |
| 11 | ORAL |
Test of good leadership found wanting (4)
MORAL (good) minus its first letter (‘leadership found wanting’) |
| 12 | REBATE |
Discount on club entrance at the start (6)
RE (on) BAT (club) E[ntrance] |
| 13 | CASTRATO |
No balls help him to achieve high score (8)
Cryptic definition |
| 15 | PADDOCK |
Crowd surrounds uneven turning area for racing cars (7)
PACK (crowd) around DDO (reversal (‘turning’) of ODD (uneven)) |
| 17 | DRAPING |
Clothing leg in women’s garments (7)
PIN (leg) inside DRAG (women’s garments) |
| 20 | EDGEBONE |
Piece of beef fillet cut to order for starters (8)
BONE (fillet, as a verb) preceded by EDGE (cut to order, e.g. as in a lawn) |
| 22 | PHIZOG |
Boat race is caught in fog we’re told (6)
IZ (homophone (‘caught’) of IS) inside PHOG (homophone (‘we’re told’) of FOG) ‘Boat race’ is rhyming slang for ‘face’ (which is what the solution means). And perhaps a nice nod to Cambridge, too. |
| 23 | NAFF |
Article about large breasts is in poor taste (4)
NA (reversal (‘about’) of AN (article)) FF (large breasts) |
| 25 | COTTAGE PIE |
Get taco served with this dish? (7,3)
Reverse anagram: (GET TACO)* = COTTAGE with PIE as the anagram indicator |
| 26 | TACTLESS |
Inappropriate time to be more honest (8)
T (time) ACT LESS (be more honest) |
| 27 | SEA AIR |
Shanty atmosphere pervading Blackpool (3,3)
Double / Cryptic definition |
| Down | ||
| 1 | GARAGE BAND |
Noisy group in Club 18-30 after climbing event for charity? (6,4)
AGE BAND (18-30, as it is in Club 18-30) coming after GAR (reversal (‘climbing’) of RAG (event for charity)) |
| 2 | EASTWARD |
Towards dawn tie up partner, being dominant (8)
WARD (reversal (‘up’) of DRAW (tie)) with EAST (partner, in bridge) going on top of it (‘being dominant’) |
| 3 | RISQUE |
Squire dressed in blue (6)
(SQUIRE)* [* = dressed) |
| 4 | VALANCE |
Liberty has a name for bedlinen (7)
Double definition ‘Liberty’ as in ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’, a 1962 John Wayne movie, also featured in a Gene Pitney song. |
| 5 | APPEASER |
Eden perhaps sounds like a place in Tuscany (8)
Homophone (‘sounds like’) of: A PISA (place in Tuscany) The definition is one by example: Anthony Eden, Conservative politician and Prime Minister from 1955-1957. ”Peace comes always first“. |
| 6 | SAVOUR |
He rescues one lacking taste (6)
SAVIOUR (he rescues) minus I (one) |
| 7 | EDDA |
Book for Scandinavia as summer almost over (4)
Reversal (‘over’) of ADDE[r] (summer, almost) |
| 14 | TENDONITIS |
Nervous distention – a painful condition (10)
(DISTENTION)* [* = nervous] |
| 16 | CROTCHET |
Bad-tempered, having lost the original of your note (8)
CROTCHETY (bad-tempered) minus Y[our] |
| 18 | PRICE WAR |
Supplies all marked down here for Jordan conflict (5,3)
Double / Cryptic definition The second one referring to Katie Price (b. 1978) aka Jordan. |
| 19 | LEFTIST |
Red List includes a type of amphibian (7)
LIST around EFT (a type of amphibian) |
| 21 | EFFETE |
Decadent season in Tours with blind companion (6)
EFF (blind companion, as in ‘eff and blind’) ETE (season in Tours, i.e. summer in French) |
| 22 | PRAISE |
Parking: move to upper level – it’s complimentary (6)
P (parking) RAISE (move to upper level) |
| 24 | AHAB |
I’ve realised the sailor is a captain (4)
AH (I’ve realised) AB ((the) sailor) Captain Ahab is a character in Moby Dick. |
Thanks Skipjack & Gervase, a setters’ tour-de-force. Not easy to retain the NINAs and limit the number of obscure words.
Thanks Sil for a good blog. I think there is a typo in 10a – TAKE instead of tape.
Some very nice clues here, I ticked particularly for SALAMI, PADDOCK, GARAGE BAND & APPEASER. I did think, however, the clue for PHIZOG was a bit unfair. I’m assuming many people, like me, would not know this word, so the clue should be straightforward. I suppose the temptation was too much to use ‘boat race’ for the Cambridge location but without a qualifier (East End etc?) it was asking a lot of the solver to put this one together. Personally, I would have run with epilog and elapse to get rid of PHIZOG.
I didn’t know EDDA or EDGEBONE; in the latter clue would the singular ‘for starter’ have been better?
Overall, a very enjoyable, but somewhat tricky crossword.
As a US solver still learning the ropes I got about 1/2 of this puzzle (as opposed to Mitz 51 which I did well with). PRICE WAR, PHIZOG, PADDOCK, and EDGEBONE defeated me (for the latter I kept trying to work in entrecote), though I knew LIBERTY VALANCE and saw at least some of the Nina. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the challenge so thanks to Sil and “Ballard.”