Hello everyone, and happy weekend — it’s a nice long one here. (Purr!)
Thanks to the setter of this enjoyable puzzle which kept me out of mischief for around an hour. It was a steady solve in which I had to trust the wordplay in a few places, and the definition in a couple of others, but was always given enough in the clue to get there. Very satisfying! I was surprised to get the long answers very early on as normally these are the ones which cause me trouble. I’m particularly bad at long (and short, to be honest!) anagrams, so it was a stroke of luck to spot the very impressive example at 46a straight away from the enumeration. My biggest smiles were probably at some of the shorter clues, like 17a.
Well, that’s the long and short of it for me. How was it for you?
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, [deletions] in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
| Across | |
| 1 | Large American plane for one going across to fight China (10) |
| LUSTREWARE — L (large) + US (American) + TREE (plane, for one) around (going across) WAR (to fight). Not a mate, for a nice change — and a new china to add to my crossword cabinet, but one clearly formed from the wordplay | |
| 6 | Doctor retries oxide brought out in surgery (12) |
| EXTERIORISED — Make an anagram of (doctor) RETRIES OXIDE. I was a bit surprised to find this was a thing | |
| 14 | Refined data Peg left (7) |
| GENTEEL — A charade of GEN (data), TEE (peg), and L (left) | |
| 15 | Bland genus of flowers filling image (7) |
| PROSAIC — ROSA (genus of flowers) inside (filling) PIC (image) | |
| 16 | Replacement players cave in (7) |
| SUBSIDE — SUB (replacement) + SIDE (players) | |
| 17 | Tread on this very tender part, recoiling (4) |
| TYRE — The answer is a part of vERY Tender reversed (recoiling) | |
| 18 | Writer taking in street cafe (6) |
| BISTRO — BIRO (writer) containing (taking in) ST (street) | |
| 20 | None more vicious than this violent strife besetting church (8) |
| FIERCEST — An anagram of (violent) STRIFE containing (besetting) CE (church) | |
| 24 | Behind curtain, nasty yob nabs red flag? No flipping wonder! (7,7,2,7) |
| HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON — After (behind) HANGING (curtain) is an anagram of (nasty) YOB NABS RED FLAG, followed by NO in reverse (flipping) | |
| 25 | I’m taking queen in for card game … (7) |
| PRIMERO — IM (from the clue, ignoring the apostrophe) with (taking) ER (queen), all in PRO (for) | |
| 26 | … one completely spoiled for us (3,5) |
| ALL FOURS — … one card game, that is. ALL (completely) plus an anagram of (spoiled) FOR US. I’m not much of a cards player, and here were two answers in a row I probably have heard of but wouldn’t have recalled and had to work out from the wordplay | |
| 27 | Quarters affected? Put up tents (6) |
| ENCAMP — E N (quarters) + CAMP (affected) | |
| 29 | Best-ever splitting logs? (6-8) |
| RECORD-BREAKING — Splitting logs = log-splitting = RECORD-BREAKING | |
| 31 | Cheeky bishop maybe who’s just gone up? (8) |
| FRESHMAN — FRESH (cheeky) + MAN (bishop maybe, an example of a chess piece) | |
| 34 | Prepare state offering (8) |
| DONATION — DO (prepare, food perhaps) + NATION (state) | |
| 36 | Guide turned up with pedalo with few people (14) |
| UNDERPOPULATED — Make an anagram of (guide) TURNED UP with PEDALO | |
| 39 | Talk roughly about female sailor (6) |
| CONFAB — A charade of C (circa, roughly), ON (about, concerning), F (female), and AB (sailor) | |
| 41 | He serenades Poles in joint with learner (8) |
| MINSTREL — N+S (poles, magnetic or geographical) in MITRE (joint), followed by (with) L (learner) | |
| 43 | Again take in notice occupying authority (7) |
| READMIT — AD (notice) inside (occupying) REMIT (authority) | |
| 46 | Economic rule from when industrialising flourished (3,2,11,7) |
| LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS — FROM WHEN INSUSTRIALISING anagrammed (flourished) | |
| 47 | Kissed noisily on mouth, touching chest (8) |
| PECTORAL — PECT — sounds like (… noisily) PECKED (kissed) — then ORAL (on mouth, of the mouth) | |
| 48 | Answer for each copper’s witty comment (6) |
| APERCU — A (answer) + PER (for each) + CU (copper) | |
| 49 | Hard going in wartime force for mule perhaps (4) |
| SHOE — H (hard) inserted into (going in) SOE (Special Operations Executive, wartime force) | |
| 53 | Placate gorilla, say, feeding him vegetables (7) |
| APPEASE — APE (gorilla, say), with the insertion of (feeding him) PEAS (vegetables) | |
| 54 | Gradually assimilating very big second sibling (7) |
| OSMOSIS — OS (outsize, very big) + MO (second) + SIS (sibling). The definition had the scientist in me twitching, but of course there’s a perfectly valid figurative meaning which is used here | |
| 56 | Four abandoning calm standstill (7) |
| IMPASSE — IV (four) leaving (abandoning) IMPASS[iv]E (calm) | |
| 57 | Fight follows big birthday present under tree? (9,3) |
| CHRISTMAS BOX — BOX (fight) follows CHRISTMAS (big birthday) | |
| 58 | Reluctant to give way: sets new checks on income (5,5) |
| MEANS TESTS — MEAN (reluctant to give), ST (street, way), and an anagram of (… new) SETS | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Main beacon illuminates joint (9) |
| LIGHTSHIP — LIGHTS (illuminates) + HIP (joint) | |
| 2 | Cut stable brother resident in US port (3,10) |
| SAN FRANCISCAN — All but the last letter of (cut) SANe (stable) plus FRANCISCAN (brother) | |
| 3 | Stench from burn about to disappear (4) |
| REEK — [c]REEK (burn, small stream) with C (about) to be deleted (to disappear) | |
| 4 | One of two confining the flanks at Waterloo? (10,4) |
| WELLINGTON BOOT — A cryptic definition | |
| 5 | Blame strike (3) |
| RAP — A double definition | |
| 7 | Gunmen stop axes penetrating beam (1-3) |
| X-RAY — RA (Royal Artillery, gunmen) go into (stop) X+Y (axes) | |
| 8 | Escape ceremony involving old Irish bureau (10) |
| ESCRITOIRE — ESC (escape) + RITE (ceremony) containing (involving) O (old) + IR (Irish) | |
| 9 | What chisellers do in bed in Home Counties? (8) |
| INSCRIBE — IN (from the clue), then CRIB (bed) in SE (Home Counties?) | |
| 10 | They secure Polish gangs seizing black ruler (6,5) |
| RUBBER BANDS — RUB (polish) and BANDS (gangs) containing (seizing) B (black) and ER (ruler) | |
| 11 | I can still broadcast a little bit (9) |
| SCINTILLA — I CAN STILL anagrammed (broadcast) | |
| 12 | Act one way or the other (4) |
| DEED — The subsidiary part of the clue, one way or the other, tells us that this act is a palindrome | |
| 13 | Doughnut-shaped gold ring in sort of wave (8) |
| TOROIDAL — OR (gold) + O (ring) in TIDAL (sort of wave) | |
| 19 | Early drink from this side with a royal couple (3-5) |
| TEA-MAKER — TEAM (side) with A (from the clue) and K + ER (king + Elizabeth Regina — who must be tired by now as it’s her 3rd engagement today — the royal couple) | |
| 21 | Long, narrow cruise ship rounds tip of Africa (6) |
| LINEAR — LINER (cruise ship) goes round (rounds) the first letter of (tip of) Africa | |
| 22 | Introduce a new cat by name (8) |
| ANNOUNCE — A (from the clue) + N (new), then OUNCE (cat) next to (by) N (name) | |
| 23 | End up with one novel still in its wrapping (8) |
| UNOPENED — END UP with ONE anagrammed (novel) | |
| 28 | It’s less than one professional for each French case (6,8) |
| PROPER FRACTION — A charade of PRO (professional), PER (for each), FR (French), and ACTION (case, legal action) | |
| 29 | Scorn regulation limiting papers in charge (8) |
| RIDICULE — RULE (regulation) around (limiting) ID (papers) and IC (in charge) | |
| 30 | Head of government breaks bond for top office (8) |
| KINGSHIP — The first letter of (head of) Government is inserted into (breaks) KINSHIP (bond) | |
| 32 | Latin work undergoes transformation (13) |
| METAMORPHOSES — Two definitions | |
| 33 | University left in old money for wealth (8) |
| OPULENCE — U (university) and L (left), both in the combination of O (old) and PENCE (money) | |
| 35 | Deal preserves hold-ups (7,4) |
| TRAFFIC JAMS — TRAFFIC (deal) + JAMS (preserves) | |
| 37 | Shelter papa leaving sea battle (4-2) |
| LEAN-TO — P (papa) removed from (leaving) LE[p]ANTO (sea battle). I didn’t know the battle, and so had to do some research to understand the parsing here | |
| 38 | Lion’s taken in by various nuts, as are most mammals (10) |
| VIVIPAROUS — VIP (lion) is inside (‘s taken in by) an anagram of (… nuts) VARIOUS | |
| 40 | Daily exercising pre-nap, we start to snooze (9) |
| NEWSPAPER — An anagram of (exercising) PRE–NAP WE and the first letter of (start to) Snooze | |
| 42 | Practise on late transport? (8) |
| REHEARSE — RE (on, concerning) + HEARSE (late transport?) | |
| 44 | Crude Greek column accepted by news agency (9) |
| TASTELESS — STELE (Greek column) contained in (accepted by) TASS (news agency) | |
| 45 | Nothing upset old Scottish smoker putting in English flooring (8) |
| LINOLEUM — NIL (nothing) reversed (upset), then O (old) and LUM (Scottish smoker, Scots word for chimney) with the insertion of (putting in) E (English) | |
| 50 | Tender loving care protects area, using this? (4) |
| TALC — TLC (tender loving care) surrounds (protects) A (area), with a definition that refers to the surface of the whole clue | |
| 51 | Rounds of smoked ham, skinned (4) |
| AMMO — The smoked ham is gAMMOn and it has its outer letters removed (skinned). I was silly here: I wanted the ham skinned to give the A and missed the obvious for quite a while! | |
| 52 | Lie across soft strip of land on coast (4) |
| SPIT — SIT (lie) around (across) P (piano, soft) | |
| 55 | Short fat girl (3) |
| SUE — All but the last letter of (short) SUEt (fat) | |
Edited at 2019-08-24 06:05 am (UTC)
The battle of Lepanto was an interesting one, a large scale event involving over 400 warships and 100,000 men. It was the last big battle ever fought between oared vessels, ie galleys and galliasses..