Solving time : 13:11
I entered two words wrongly, but managed to recover them. Last word solved PERRON, of which I have never heard.
Lots of fun clues today, but also a number of clues that seemed slightly flabby, with extra words to make surfaces work that weren’t really justified by the clue structure.
Across
| 1 | FAIR(PLace (replacing W(ife))AY – It took me a while to accept that “fair play” could be a synonym for “being a good sport”, but of course they both fit at the end of “I am firmly committed to…”, meaning much the same. |
| 8 | OH(I)O – I think we had “I” for electrical current not long ago. “Finding” is a bit gratuitous as a link-word |
| 9 | GREASY POLE (=(player goes)*) – As said (first, I think) by Disraeli on becoming Prime Minister for the first time. Took me longer than it might have because “vicious” is not an obvious anagram indicator |
| 11 | A + LT + AIR – Not clear what the word “naval” is for, as lieutenant is not exclusively a naval rank. Perhaps the point is to have an “a” for the wordplay rather than “an”? But I have seen setters expect us to make that switch ourselves. |
| 12 | HARD(y) – Lucky I had the R before I reached this, or I would have written in HACK without much thought |
| 17 | W + UNDER + KIND – good surface |
| 20 | (I + LED)(rev) – Here and in 16, “one” is used for “I”. I had fixed in my head that in the Times “one” was always “A”, but I obviously got it the wrong way round |
| 23 | P + ERR + ON – Not a word I knew, and I was held up for a while by having entered 13 as DUDRANNCH (as you do). Anyway, “perron” seems to be a raised platform or terrace at an entrance door, or an external flight of steps leading up to it |
| 24 | WOR(L)D C + UP – ie L(ine) in WORD (=promise) + UP (=riding) after C(olt). I didn’t know C for colt, and I have added it to this list |
| 25 | ROTTEN* in TITO |
| 27 | ANTHER (hidden) |
| 28 | EDE(MY)N + A + G (all rev) – the capitalised, singular “God” is a bit misleading as a clue for the cupbearer to the gods. But the clue reads rather well |
Down
| 1 | FLOORS + HOW |
| 3 | PIGEON – 2 meanings or possibly one and a half. I think “pigeon” means a baby bird, and means a dupe or gull. But I don’t think it means baby. (On edit after comment) It can mean baby, in the sense of a pet project. So I guess that makes three meanings. |
| 4 | A(WEST)RUCK – the words “to drop full” are not needed for the cryptic reading, though they help the surface |
| 5 | YAP(rev) + BACK |
| 6 | SHO(R)T + HAND – Isaac Pitman invented the leading form of shorthand |
| 7 | (E + GAELIC)* – I foolishly wrote in ELEGAIC first. Luckily this only got in the way of ALTAIR which was reasonably straightforward |
| 13 | C in (A HUNDRED)* – I wondered whether “resort” was doing double duty, being part of definition and anagram indicator. But of course, the “one of” probably saves it. |
| 15 | CON + SORT + AI(rev) – A1 used to be a crossword staple, indicated by “excellent” or the like. It seems a long time since I have seen it (or the three-toed sloth) |
| 19 | RAN + COUR(se) |
| 21 | EX + CLU(D)E – I enjoyed “one example of my work” for CLUE. “Without” (as in ex dividend) makes a nice change for EX, as well |
| 22 | FL(O OZ)Y – The first two words (“Have to”) seem redundant for both cryptic and surface readings? |
“Hack” fitted the clue really well I thought.
Solved in just under 30 mins which is fairly good for me for the Times, not least as I solved only 2 clues on my first run-through.
NMS
—
Roger Phillips