Yesterday's puzzle was a gift. It was a breeze. I had the puzzle solved except for one clue within an hour. That's a personal best for me. I raced through this puzzle with a feeling of - where's it going to stick me? I didn't get stuck until the last clue for me 21D and there I couldn't get it. It went so easy that I didn't even make many notes. I Count this as a win. I did get 29A wrong but I think I can justify my answer. Here's the boring picture:
1A - DP's spot that's tender old state of India (6)
"Old state of India" is our definition and "DP's spot that's tender" as DP is the compiler he mean's his own tender spot or MYSORE.
4A - Don't budge, just shout for the Irishman! (5,3)
I didn't quite get this clue, but I figured "Irishman" meant PAT but "don't budge" means, to me "Stay Put" so we need a synonym for that that fits with PAT: STAND PAT. Why is "stand" a synonym for "shout" I can't tell you as this is not a phrase I'm familiar with. It fit the cross letters and worked with Pat the Irishman.
10A - Surprise success - or a nightmare? (4,5)
Double definition: DARK HORSE. Perhaps it was because it was the day after Melbourne Cup, or the Katy Perry hit or the cross letters fit but this was a quick solve.
11A - Commit resources to reveal bishop's topper (5)
For a while I'd thought of the chess piece with its pointy head and a slice in it and didn't know what to make of this because nothing worked with the "commit resources" until I went back to my rule #2 of solving cryptics which is read the clue forwards and back to be sure no hidden words are present and there it was hidden in the first two words: MITRE.
12A - Redheads abandon grammar in a letter from Greece (5)
"A letter from Greece" is the definition and "redheads" = RR as it's plural and we want them to "abandon" the word GrAMMAr leaving us with GAMMA, a letter of the Greek alphabet.
13A - Utter completion makes a complete pig! (5,3)
"Utter completion" is the definition and a "complete pig" is a WHOLE HOG.
15A - Hush-hush tune gains English writing desk (10)
"Writing desk" is the definition and I got this immediately - I mean it, I was on fire yesterday. "hush-hush" = SECRET, "tune" = AIR which is somewhat new to me and I made a notation about that ending with "English" = E to give us SECRETAIRE.
17A - Merino getting fleeced in Ireland (4)
"In Ireland" is the definition and "mERINo getting fleeced" means remove the outer letters as if shearing them away to reveal ERIN, as in Erin Go Bragh!
19A - Graces associated with such melodies (4)
"Melodies" is the definition and here again, as in 15A, there's a music/air mix. The phrase "Airs and Graces" as being associated with "melodies" or "tunes" = AIRS being the common thread.
20A - A hormone near Daniel perhaps (10)
"A hormone" is our definition and "near daniel perhaps" is fodder and anagrind to give us ADRENALINE.
22A - How bike rider gets around on great storms (8)
I fudged about with this a few times before settling on the right word. "How a bike rider gets around" = CYCLES "around ON" is literal so we split CYCLES around the word ON to get CYCL(ON)ES for "great storms"
23A - Copper component at arm's length? (5)
"Arm's length" is the definition and "Copper" = CU and a "component" = BIT for a CUBIT, a measure that's literally an arm's length.
26A - Sweetheart in excess of 50 (5)
"Sweetheart" is our definition and "in excess of 50" where 50 = L the Roman numeral and an "excess" is to go OVER to get LOVER.
27A - Bike-rider needs such a moustache! (9)
What does a "bike rider" need that is also a style of "moustache" = HANDLEBAR. When talking about a bicycle I always use the plural handlebars and never just as handlebar, is that just me?
28A - Ship's crew unfortunately marries around 3rd of June (8)
"Ship's crew" is our definition and "unfortunately marries" is anagrind and partial fodder which will "go around 3rd of juNe" like this: MARI(N)ERS.
29A - Trunk's dogs?
I got this one wrong. I did have all the cross letters and didn't know what was going on and I went with STOLES as the answer, thinking of the old fashion of wearing foxes and other dead things around our necks or "trunks." The real answer is STALKS and I think it's meaning the trunk of a tree - which isn't really a stalk is it? Trunks are mature, stalks are immature I thought - and to dog, follow as in "this bad mood has been dogging me all day!"
1D - Island republic would go crazy over petrol-driven automobile (10)
"Island republic" is what we are after and "crazy" = MAD and "petrol driven automobile" = A GAS CAR so it's MADAGASCAR.
2D - Go away from up-and-coming fashion label (5)
I got this from cross letters and definition which is "Go away" and the answer is SCRAM. I guess from "up and coming" something is reversed in the grid as this a down clue. Long shot guess is it's about designer Marc Jacob and the answer is MARC'S fashion label.
3D - Tree-head mulched and warmed again (8)
"Warmed again" is the definition and "Tree-head mulched" is fodder and anagrind to give us REHEATED.
5D - Vivaldi work adopted by singing group (3,4,7)
Double definition where want a Vivaldi work that is also the name of a popular 60's singing group: THE FOUR SEASONS.
6D - Feeling less of a figure? (6)
I got from the surface of the clue we may be looking at someone losing weight. Or was it about maths and subtraction? Well both work truth be told as the answer is REDUCE. It's ok to talk to the clues and ask them "What do you mean!" because you know, they never give a straight answer.
7D - From saucepan, pour half-ripe medley of spices (3-6)
"Medley of spices" is the definition and I got hung up for ages on finding a synonym for a Bouquet Garni because that's where I thought this was going. It wasn't until later I realised it was "saucepan" = POT, "pour" = POUR and "half-ripe" = RI for POT-POURRI. We just don't expect most of the answer to be right there in the clue!
8D - Bound to be dead-heated (4)
Double definition: TIED meaning to bound with ropes or tied for the win in a competition.
9D - Gambling tokens for kings and admirals (5,3,6)
This was a fluke of cross letters and definition, although I did have to google which branch of the military we find admirals - don't judge. I got hung up on gambling chips, poker chips and is there another name for chips? Then I thought noughts and crosses, checkers - hey checkers have crowns on them...and I thought maybe it was CROWN AND ANCHOR. I googled the phrase and found a gambling game that fit for the definition "Gambling tokens."
14D - Popular false teeth suitable for apprentices (10)
"Apprentices" is our definition and "popular" = IN and "false teeth" = DENTURES for INDENTURES where an apprentice was once tied by contract to learn a trade for so many years. I'm reminded of Pip in Great Expectations and the cruel twist played on him by Miss Havisham. What can you expect from someone whose surname is like "Have a sham" as if she dishes them out like appetisers.
16D - What bridges do bear six deliveries? (5,4)
I got this with cross letters and a guess at definition on some vague term of delivering things over a bridge. I mean what does a bridge do other than span. There are bridges that open in the middle and allow ships to sail through but that's as much action as you're going to get out of a bridge. I thought the "six" was giving us an IV/VI (down clues, they can go backwards) in the answer but no. I don't know. I got the answer of CARRY OVER but not sure how it's broken down.
18D - Spear takes plenty from Arthurian knight (8)
"Arthurian knight is what we are looking for and "spear" = LANCE and "plenty" = A LOT for Sir LANCELOT.
21D - Some sherry in two bob! (6)
My only unsolved and we need to go back to old money for this. "Two bob" is also known as a FLORIN. I don't know much about "Sherry" apart from its role in the Edgar Allen Poe story Cask of Amontillado which we as kids in America all had to read and so much more. Poe features heavily in the school reading lists. After some googling it appears Flor is a layer of fermentation that aids in the making of sherry. So some sherry has "Flor-in" in its creation.
24D - Porky star left in a confused state (5)
"A confused state" is our definition and the "porky star" is a pig but not Poky Pig, but the one from the 90's movie BABE and "left" = L to give us BABEL, a city cursed with an inability to understand each other's languages.
25D - Swimmer who split the milk? (4)
"Swimmer" is our definition and I could see "spilt the milk" could be anagrind and fodder and googled "swimmer kilm" (and mikl, limk) to see if it made sense - it did! Michael Kilm is a Melbourne swimmer of note. The clue isn't really an anagram, though. It's just milk in reverse so is "spilt" a reversal or an anagram signpost?
There we go. For a puzzle I was so quick to finish it took me a long time to write up/. Lazy bones I have as I could've done it yesterday. I did print out and solve most of the Guardian's Paul puzzle which was good too.
Tomorrow is DA so a big sleep and fingers are crossed for a good puzzle not full of Latin Spoonerisms or cricket themes.
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