Our Friday entertainment today comes from Teazel. And a very neat puzzle it is too. Lots of very straightforward clues to give the less-experienced a good foothold, I think, and a good variety of clue types. Lessons today include how to spot a definition by example, the use of the NATO phonetic alphabet, insertions, deletions, anagrams, charades, a double definition and a lovely semi-&lit. But my COD goes to 18d for the little joke in the wordplay. Only 1a and 2d gave me any significant pause for thought as I completed this in 4:50. Thanks Teazel! How did everyone else get on?
Definitions underlined in italics, Abc indicating anagram of Abc, deletions struckthrough and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Check through rental agreement after expensive race (12) |
| STEEPLECHASE - A bit of a tricky one to start, not least in spotting the definition! I left it till I got most of the checkers. Take CH (check) and put it inside [through] LEASE (rental agreement) and add it all to [after] STEEP (expensive). It could be a horse race, the most famous being the Grand National, or an obstacle race in athletics. | |
| 8 | Trim dog, say, a little bit (7) |
| SNIPPET - SNIP (trim) PET (dog, say) - the [say] indicating a definition by example. | |
| 9 | Meat embargo broken by firm (5) |
| BACON - BAN (embargo) outside [broken by] CO (abbreviation of company, firm). | |
| 10 | I rent, poor and lazy (5) |
| INERT - Anagram [poor] of I rent. As in lazy as a motionless couch potato. | |
| 11 | Most elegant to dine in comfortable home (7) |
| NEATEST - The comfortable home is a NEST. Put EAT (dine) inside [in]. | |
| 12 | A piece of joint work so divided? (2,3) |
| IN TWO - Hidden [a piece of] in joINT WOrk. A lovely semi&lit clue where the whole clue can be read as the definition, but only part of it is the wordplay. Very neat. | |
| 14 | Arrives to drink, after some bread (5,2) |
| ROLLS UP - SUP (drink) [after] ROLL (some bread). | |
| 15 | Not spoiled, I kept single (9) |
| UNMARRIED - I is inserted into [kept] UNMARRED (not spoiled). | |
| 17 | Attack and steal from boy (3) |
| ROB - Double definition. | |
| 19 | Woman at home serving meals is a courtier (4-2-7) |
| LADY-IN-WAITING - A simple charade of 3 parts. LADY (woman) IN (at home) WAITING (serving meals). | |
| 21 | Siamese perhaps taking grass in China once (6) |
| CATHAY - CAT (Siamese, perhaps) HAY. [perhaps] here is another indicator of a definition by example. | |
| 22 | Born and died, unknown, poor (5) |
| NEEDY - Another simple 3-parter. NEE (born) D (died) and Y (unknown, as in a mathematical variable). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Luscious spy I treated with caution (12) |
| SUSPICIOUSLY - Anagram of Luscious spy I [treated]. A spy like Mata Hari, perhaps? | |
| 2 | Demanding old fellow takes one in (7) |
| EXIGENT - EX (old) GENT (fellow) [takes in] I (one). "Demanding immediate aid or action". A less common word but it has cropped up quite a few times in the 15x15 and even in the QC - Izetti's 100th last year. | |
| 3 | Little bird: spot it? (5) |
PIPIT - PIP (spot, as in the spots on playing cards, dice or dominoes) IT. The Pipit is an inconspicuous little bird found nearly all over the world. Here is a Nilgir Pipit... [Photographed by Nishad H. Kaippally] |
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| 4 | Taken in and defeated, but not bowled (5) |
| EATEN - Defeated is |
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| 5 | Some boots are holed — a bin will recycle (9) |
| HOBNAILED - Anagram of holed a bin [will recycle]. A lovely surface. I just recently had to put some holed boots in my recycling bin. Maybe they would have lasted longer with hobnails. | |
| 6 | Confidence over years employed in spying outfit (6,7) |
| SECRET SERVICE - SECRET (confidence, as in confiding with someone) [over] (this is a down clue) SERVICE (years employed). | |
| 7 | In a way, exercise lifting part of foot (6) |
| INSTEP - IN ST (street, a way) with PE (exercise) reversed [lifting], i.e. going up in a down clue. | |
| 13 | Monstrous drunken orgies at hotel (7) |
| OGREISH - Take an anagram of [drunken] orgies and add [at] H (hotel is H in the NATO phonetic alphabet). | |
| 14 | Transport company complain bitterly over route (7) |
| RAILWAY - RAIL (complain bitterly) [over] WAY. To rail is to "complain or protest strongly and persistently about". | |
| 16 | Assistant brought up to support mass TV etc (5) |
| MEDIA - The asssistant is an AIDE. Reverse this (i.e. write it from the bottom up) and put it under [support] M (mass, as in E = mc2) | |
| 18 | To hold goods, purchase light vehicle (5) |
| BUGGY - Take BUY (purchase) and get it to include [to hold] G G (good good = goods - very droll). | |
| 20 | North European misses fine pub (3) |
| INN - The Northern European is a |
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