Stats -We had a great response to “Fat Cop in Tie” and received 46 submissions. Of those who submitted, 33 got the full grid score of 26 and 19 people got the maximum possible score of 31. Here’s the Solution grid.
The following special instructions were given to the solvers..
Somewhere hidden in these clues are “A NONSENSICAL KING (4), could be MEAN (6), on a MEMORABLE MISSION (5) to find WIND (5)”? Can you find them all..
Two bonus questions were asked at the end of the puzzle
- (1). The 4 words referred to in the description are..
- (2). How do they help to determine national law?
(1). The correct answers were hidden (telescopic) in the clue surfaces 1. LEAR (hidden in “gentle arc” in 1D) 2. INTEND (hidden in “in ten damaged” in 12A) 3. ALAMO (hidden in “final amount in 17A) and 4. TWINE (hidden in “Dessert Wines” in 19A)
(2). “DETERMINE NATIONAL LAW” is an anagram of (LEAR+INTEND+ALAMO+TWINE)*
Here are the Annotations.
Across:
7 Wait to lead out young opener (5) – LEAD*+Y
8 Regard for Paul’s new church (9) – REVERE+N+CE
9 Pushes aside returning band! (5) – PARTS<<
10 Weep about cultivation of barren fruit (9) – CRY<<BARREN*
12 Five metalworkers in ten damaged their surroundings (11) TEN* 16 Place for second item in sale (4) – S+LOT
17 Begin taking a lot out of the final amount (5) – T ALOT*
18 Small ducks get hot inside West End (4) – S O(H)O
19 Dessert wines that may cause quite a stir! (11) – AFTERS+HOCKS
22 C&A Stores I refurbish and get rid of! (9)-CASTORESI*
24 One doctor leaves sheep without new stock (5) BA(N)A LA(-MB)
25 Enterprise on river may be commercial opening (9) – AD+VENT+URE
26 Twist small company (5) – S+CREW
Down:
1 Figure out gentle arc (9) – GENTLE ARC*
2 Are obese celebrities not worried about it? (9) – FAT+A LISTS
3 Worry when Miles grabs Elizabeth! (4) – E>>FAR(=MILES)
4 Futile method when having fireplaces installed (11) – MEAN(INGLES)S
5 Handle girl’s insides (5) – L-EVE-R
6 Reject Mark’s final change of direction (5) – SCOR N(for E)
11 Give an opinion about fat cop in tie (11) – FATCOPINTIE*
13 Measure time taken in pool (5) ME(T)RE
14 One scans a muddled poetical device (9) – ONESCANSA*
15 Move fish market outside Gateshead (5,1,3) – S(HAKE(=FISH))ALE+G(ates)
20 Heard first comment (5) A-SIDE
21 Type of black grass (5) B+REED
23 Kind of gold found in the road (4) S(OR)T
Here is the scorecard (sorted by total score and then in Alphabetical order)
The first entry was submitted by Col. Deepak Gopinath, although it was not the first all-correct entry. The first all-correct entry was from Aashwina Mouli and the last all-correct entry was received from Prakash Arumugam.
Congrats to all of the 19 people who managed to max the score.
17 people rated the puzzle as “Excellent”, 27 rated it “Good” and 2 rated it “Average”. The top clues, picked as favorites in the puzzle were for “Aftershocks” which got 18 votes, “Environment”, which got 14 votes and “Cranberry” and “Shake a leg” which got 11 votes apiece. 24 out of the 26 clues got at least 1 vote from a solver.
Thanks to “Drumhead” for an entertaining puzzle. It was a lovely debut at 1ACross and we hope to see more from you.
Did you enjoy the puzzle? Do you have any feedback for us or for the setter. Do comment in the blog and let us know.