A Puzzle by Coot
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
Coot is back after a very long absence with another enjoyable lunchtime diversion, with the added bonus of it being a pangram
Across
1a Rebuke unruly airport staff patrolling end of concourse (4,3,1,5)
TEAR OFF A STRIP: An anagram (unruly) of AIRPORT STAFF going round (patrolling) the letter at the end of concoursE
8a Cross driver Greek character always allowed to barge in (8)
MULETEER: Someone who ‘drives’ a cross between a male donkey and a horse. The Greek letter M, a poetic word meaning always, a synonym for allowed being inserted (to barge in)
9a Barinova initially unsettled playing the violin? (6)
BOWING: The initial letter of Barinova and unsettled in the sense of still not paid
10a Complex maze east of city a source of irritation (6)
ECZEMA: An anagram (complex) of MAZE goes ‘east’ or after in an Across solution, the postal area for the City of London
12a Short storage tower quite light in tone (7)
SILVERY: Remove the final letter (short) from a storage tower and add an adverb meaning quite
14a Be rude about Greek island having unconnected parts (8)
DISCRETE: A slang verb meaning to treat with disrespect (be rude about) and a Greek island
15a Signs that a lift would be helpful? (6)
THUMBS: Using particular digits to indicate a request for a lift
17a On farm, expecting old Peruvian fellow to fence lake (2,4)
IN CALF: An old Peruvian and the abbreviation for Fellow ‘fence’ the abbreviation for Lake
19a Comment on Ms Hathaway withdrawing thanks to cuts (8)
ANNOTATE: The forename of either the wife of William Shakespeare or the American actress, both of who have the surname Hathaway) into which is inserted (cuts) a reversal of an informal word of thanks and TO (from the clue)
21a Rude poses on 'X' in post (7)
TENURED: An anagram (poses) of RUDE goes on or after the number represented by the Roman numeral X
22a Drum rolls heralding queen's execution (6)
MURDER: Cycle (rolls) the word DRUM and follow with the regnal cipher of our late Queen
23a Song that might get more to dance? (6)
BALLAD: Split 4,2 this might be an informal reference to publicity to get more people to a dance
25a Hard calculation about space rocket (8)
MUSHROOM: A reversed (about) calculation, the abbreviation for Hard and some space
27a Sole alarmed by small fish's exit (5,4,4)
SLING ONES HOOK: The abbreviation for Small and a type of Fish, followed by ONE (sole) and a synonym for alarmed or unnerved
Down
1d Feature when driving Tesla: command to 'drop home' (1-8)
T-JUNCTION: The symbol for Tesla and a court order without (to drop) the usual [at] home
2d Cut and removed unwanted hair, scratching the skin (3)
AXE: Remove the ‘skin’ or outside letters of a method which removed unwanted hair
3d Run exercises introduced by lecture (7)
OPERATE: Some abbreviated school exercises inserted into (introduced) by a verb meaning to lecture
4d Expect payment to bandage cycling wound
FORESEE: ‘Cycle’ a wound and insert it into (to bandage) a payment
5d For Spooner, fate of tavern is a secondary matter (3-4)
SUB-PLOT: How the dreaded Reverend might speak of a tavern’s fate
6d Chilling cry heard (3)
RAW: A homophone (heard) of a loud cry
7d Slightly reddened Penny Black? (5)
PINKY: The abbreviation for Penny and an adjective meaning very black
11d Bind having nine over drinking tea (7)
ENCHAIN: A reversal (over) of NINE ‘drinking’ another word for tea
13d Quorate when assembled in a long line (7)
EQUATOR: An anagram (when assembled) of QUORATE
16d Acquire that reading material on Audible in the usual way (2,3,4)
BY THE BOOK: A homophone (audible) of acquire that reading matter
18d Haze overcomes one, like Liverpool supporter becoming heated? (7)
FIREDOG: A thick haze ‘overcomes’ the Roman numeral for one and a colour worn by a supporter of Liverpool Football Club
19d Terribly bad sign for corporation (7)
ABDOMEN: An anagram (terribly) of BAD and a sign
20d Rival in team gets tipsy on regular occasions (7)
NEMESIS: The regular letters of iN tEaM gEtS tIpSy
21d Pens one last thing at bottom of retrospective painting? (5)
TRAPS: An addition at the end of a letter to indicate one more thing to say goes after (at the bottom of) a reversed (retrospective) painting
24d Floral decoration in top three in county (3)
LEI: The first three letters of an East Midlands county
26d Stableboy taking off coat and jumper (3)
ROO: A stableboy without its outside letters (taking off coat)
Lovely, lovely stuff Coot. Gentle-ish but razor-sharp: classy combo. Some cracking definitions (8a, 18d. etc). Your Spooner’s a corker (unsurprisingly), 27a is brilliant and 23a is proper smart. I could go on, but won’t. Best thanks to you and, in advance, CS.
A very entertaining puzzle and a pangram to boot – many thanks to Coot.
My ticks went to 8a, 23a, 25a, 5d and 26d.
Another excellent pangram from this setter with a few entries that took me a while to work out. Still unsure about the ending of 23a but hoping that it will strike me ere long. The honours here going to 17&21a plus 16&21d.
Many thanks, Coot, most enjoyable.
Even with the expected pangram, caffeine required for this very enjoyable offering from Coot.
Smiles for 15a, 25a, 27a, 7d, 16d, and 19d.
Thanks Coot and thanks in advance to CS.
This excellent pangram made for a challenging but fun lunchtime diversion.
With masses of ticks on my page, first place is awarded to 23a.
Many thanks to Coot.
Very entertaining, thanks Coot. Favourites for me were 19a, 22a and 16d.
5-star entertainment from Coot. I agree with Alp about the misleading 8a and 18d definitions, and would add 9a’s use of ‘unsettled’ in the wordplay. Lots of ticks on my printout: 1a, 8a, 22a, 27a & the 5d ‘Spooner’ in the top tier, closely followed by 25a, 4d, 13d and 20d. My list is a bit different from other comments, so there was clearly something for everyone!
Many thanks to Coot and, in advance, to CS – albeit a draft review sneaked into my inbox, which I managed to avoid reading save for the word ‘pangram’. Well done on the pangram, Coot, although I may not have twigged it without the nudge from CS…
Unfortunately I clicked on publish rather than save draft
Our biggest struggles were in the SW but we did eventually get everything sorted and thoroughly enjoyd the experience.
Thanks Coot.
Many thanks to everyone who has given this puzzle a go and for the kind comments. Thanks also in advance to Cryptic Sue for the review.
Three-quarters of this went in quite smoothly but I was utterly baffled in the SW corner and had to resort to revealing letters. In particular I thought 24dn was unfair – how many counties are there in England, let alone the UK? OK, if one had the crossing letters the answer was obvious, but if one was relying on 24dn to provide crossing letters for 23ac and 27ac it was a no-no. And the pangram didn’t help there, either, as I’d already spotted it.
Sorry, Coot, but thanks to Crypticsue for the review (and illustrations).
Sorry this didn’t quite hit the spot for you, exit. Not being the best solver, I know as well as most the frustration of hitting a brick wall in one (or more!) part(s) of a puzzle. I did consider the fairness of 24d but ultimately figured that the definition would be the way in for most solvers, with the WP there to confirm it. I can quite see that if it doesn’t come to mind from the def, and in the absence of crossers, it could appear impenetrable. Thanks for the solve and comment.
Many thanks for the review, CS. I had managed to sort out why the ending to 23a was what it was but still nice to have confirmation!
Found this tricky to get into and took a while to complete.
Favs include 1a, 14a, 22a, 5d & 19d
Thanks Coot & CS