The Age Cryptic 25/6/14 by DP solved and explained...

This was a tough one for me because it's a lot of puns, double definitions and question marks. I'm dreadful with the puns and that kind of humour. I lack the gene that gets Dad jokes, not that I don't understand them, I just have an in-built humour block for them. Many times my husband, a pun lover, will make a joke and I'll not understand why that was funny. He'll try to explain the joke, but by that point the moment is gone, the funny is depleted and everyone is left feeling flat and bereft. So I just don't engage. I'm like this with jokes, too. I'd drive a comic to suicide "I get the punchline, I just don't understand why it's funny."

Even with my stunted funny bone, I enjoyed this puzzle. I managed to solve all but three clues - yes I'm sure that's why I enjoyed it so much.  Success is always a mood turner. That's a great result, even though I say so myself. True many of the clues I got by guessing with the cross letters, but I also had many Aha! moments. Here's the picture:

I have a "shut down all tech" rule for 8pm so the family gets together and has some time together with devices off before going to bed. By 8pm I'd had all but six clues, and got a few more this morning. Let's go through them:

1A - Utopia is appearing in march-past (8)
Definition is "Utopia" "is appearing in" tells us the word IS will be inserted into a word for "march-past" and we should note (because I did not at first) that march is not capitalised so it's not the month. A march-past is a PARADE, insert IS for PARADISE.

8A - Cards before the first Miss Jones (7)
"Miss Jones" is our definition. "Cards" wants us to guess BRIDGE and "The first" wants us to take the first letter from "the" for T for BRIDGET. Who is most certainly not the first Miss Jones!

9A - Might some hoodlum be redeemed when so burdened? (8)
I got this one with its cross letters because I couldn't identify what type of clue I was supposed to be solving. I didn't notice any obvious signposts. When in that position I start looking for hidden words first, forwards and backwards. That's when I found "hoodLUM BE REDeemed" LUMBERED being a synonym for "burdened". turns out "Some" is a hidden word signpost.

10A - English city cot beside a car (7)
"English city" is our definition. Cot = BED and a car = FORD for BEDFORD. However, Bedford in the UK is not a city, it's a town and a county, from what I've googled. So if you've googled "English cities" Bedford was not on that list. It is a city in Texas, however.

11A - Insufficient evidence of weak liquor? (10)
Double definition, and I needed some cross letters. UNDER PROOF.

12A - Aussie footballer from Fremantle headed off (5)
It did not help that I'd misspelled 7-down.  I'd struggled with 7-down and was happy to be done with it. An "Aussie footballer from Fremantle" is a DOCKER and "headed off" means remove the first letter -D for OCKER. Now I will not say all Aussies are Ocker, but all Ocker are Aussies. Yes I did scroll through many team lists for Freo to find a player's name that would fit. Oh, those rabbit holes.

13A - Sandy principal of military landing site (9)
I'd needed most of the cross letters to see the phrase in the grid and make a guess. Double definition here "Sandy" = BEACH and "principal" = HEAD, BEACH HEAD is also a military landing site.

14A - How to pay for fish? (3)
A question mark clue! But surely this should be a (1,1,1) for COD as it's an acronym for "cash on delivery" as well as the fish? Suppose it depends which definition the compiler prefers and (1,1,1) may give the game away too easily.

16A - Little lolly loses its coating (3)
Definition is "Little" and a "lolly" is a SWEET but that word "loses its coating" or we remove the first and last letters to get WEE, a synonym for little.

18A - The very best spinning toy by a furniture part (3,6)
Definition is "The very best" and "spinning toy" = TOP and I had that in place for ages waiting for the "furniture" part to materialise, eventually it did, DRAWER. Top drawer is not a phrase I know very well but had heard in the UK. Not to be confused with Top Shelf which is where the porno magazines are kept, although some folks do mix these up. "Oh I say Mavis, that dress is top shelf!" could mean she's showing a bit too much skin.

19A - Afraid a horseman might display a state (5)
Here we can see the word "display" and make a reasoned guess there's a hidden word here. "afraID A HOrseman" yields IDAHO. Is this a compiler's favourite state? We've had it twice this week.

21A - Organised help came before a graduate dessert (5,5)
"Organised" is an anagrind with "help came" being the fodder, but it's not enough letters and it comes "before a graduate" A common abbreviation for "graduate" is BA (bachelor of arts) and we can mix those letters up to get PEACH MELBA for our "dessert"

22A - Explorer and Irish leader in wetter environment (7)
I had chosen the answer but put it through a thesaurus and got nothing, when I should have put it through the dictionary instead. Definition is "Explorer" and we want "Irish leader" or the letter I put "in" a word for a "wetter environment" = DAMPER for DAMPIER.

23A - It gives authority to enter using Dad's weapon (8)
I liked this clue a lot. See I can enjoy some puns. Does this count as a pun? Definition is "it gives authority to enter" and "Dad's" = PA'S and "weapon" = SWORD for PASSWORD. See, it's a clever clue. I have full respect for clever.

24A - Dines after dropping in with little fortune (7)
"Dines after dropping in" tells is to remove "in" from dines: D (-in) ES with a synonym for "little" or TINY for a word meaning "fortune" DESTINY.

25A - Roll over funds to control with waistcoat (8)
Definition is "Roll over funds" and "to control" = REIN and a "wasitcoat"  = VEST for REINVEST.

1D - Stop running up and down! (4,2)
My favourite clue! I got this one first. It's a palindrome clue. We don't get many of those, and maybe coming on the back of 25A it was a lead-in? When you "rein-in" or "stop running" you PULL UP. and the "up and down" part tells us the clue should be read the same backwards and forwards going up and down the grid.

2D - Fixed about me, then passed away (8)
Definition is "Fixed" "about me" is using the abbreviation for regarding RE + ME "then passed away"= DIED for REMEDIED.

3D - Marlene found her food fattening (8)
Compilers love Marlene Dietrich, she features in puzzles a lot. Having come across her name enough times I've worked this in reverse "she found her food fattening" or DIET RICH.

4D - Bookie puts the dirt on oarsman or tribal warrior (5-7)
Definition is "tribal warrior"  "dirt" = EARTH and "oarsman" = ROWER but I'm not sure how we get  "bookie puts" to give the first two letters SP that gives us SPEAR THROWER.

5D - Concise legal instruction (5)
Double definition clue here, BRIEF.

6D - Partly elated if I celebrate this structure (7)
"Partly" is a hidden word signpost, so "structure" must be our definition. "elatED IF I CElebrate" for EDIFACE.

7D - One who gets back to dog (9)
I did struggle with this one. because I was trying to figure out how "gets" is reversed to give me an answer. I eventually needed to cheat and used One Across to give me a list of workable words with my cross letters. Then I wrote the word in wrong. Serves me right. "Dog" is our definition and "one who gets back" is a RETRIEVER. Is it? I'd have thought returner, rebounder...

10D - Grovel using ribbon with fine kettle of fish (3,3,6)
I've never heard of this phrase. I got it with a good guess and all the cross letters. I also don't know how that works with "fine kettle of fish" but the answer is BOW AND SCRAPE. a phrase meaning to "grovel".

13D - Cheeky like black type (4-5)
Did not get this one. When I'd googled "black type" I got a bunch of horse racing links. Horse racing is pretty popular here in Australia. With cross letters I got BOLD for the four letter word but that was it. I should have been thinking typeface not horse race. BOLD FACED. Double definition.

15D - Spare man can make cheese (8)
I could see this one. Does this mean I'm getting psychic puzzle solving chi-fu or something? Can't you see those first two words trying to move around each other to form PARMESAN? I mean it's so literal, "spare man" "can make" a kind of "cheese"

16D - Steak cooked so? Congratulations! (4,4)
Again, got this one right off the bat. A phrase that means congrats but is also how you'd like your steak? WELL DONE. (Not me, I like it blue)

17D - Worst possible places for orchestras? (3,4)
I got this one this morning. I had the word PIT but set it for the three letter word. I figured out THE PITS was where the worst place to be was for, well anyone really.

20D - Thug - and a new piece outside! (6)
A bit tricky, "Thug" is our definition. "and a new piece" is really saying we want to use the word AND and a word for "piece" = BIT and put BIT outside AND for BANDIT.

21D - Writer covers New York for money (5)
"money" is our definition. "Writer" = PEN and "New York" is NY for PENNY.

There we go! Done. No real howlers and a fun solve. Please let me know if you have any other solutions or got the answers in a different way. I like feedback, leave me some.