22:45 for this – the hard one which Jimbo has been waiting for. Tackled late last night so maybe I wasn’t in my sharpest form, but 27 was my first answer, with 13 following swiftly, and suggesting a pangram on its own. 18D (for which I was distracted by sometimes=?=SOMEDAY), and 22 went in last.
Full report after breakfast – sorry, possibly after lunch.
One thing to mention now: 2D seems to have a mistake – MINES=digs,W=with,EEPE=blade,R=runs. The blade must really be epee, but I can’t see any indication of the reversal.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | HEM=edge,LOCK=forward – hemlock is the poison famously taken by (from memory) Socrates |
| 5 | DI = rev. of ID=papers,STAFF (vb.)=man – a distaff is a stick used in spinning, and the name for the female side of a family tree |
| 9 | Deliberately omitted |
| 10 | SHOWS=proves,TOPPER=hat |
| 11 | MASON JAR = (Jam Nora’s)* – I wasted time try to “jam” with “Nora’s put”. Not sure exactly what kind of container this is – it turns out to be much the same as a Kilner jar, with a different inventor. |
| 12 | V=see (from Lat. vide),ERMIN(e) |
| 15 | NOES = “nose” = interfere |
| 16 | BUSY=policeman=copper,LIZZIE=Elizabeth (R). The busy lizzie is a.k.a. impatiens, which comes up in puzzles from time to time |
| 18 | TAPES=recorded evidence,TRIED=heard in court |
| 19 | XMAS – M=marks, in rev. of SAX = “jazz player” – as I’m not keen on the idea that instruments play, I’ll explain this as the name of the instrument denoting someone who plays it – like the recently deceased Johnny Dankworth. |
| 22 | EARWAX – (ARW = war*,A=area) in EX = late, as in ex-parrot |
| 23 | D.A.=lawyer,(l)IQUI(d),(d)RI(p) |
| 25 | (woul)D,UNFE(RM.)LINE – “unfeline” is an easily constructed invention. I’m not mad keen on plain “town” as a definition, but it’s not easy to work a more specific def into a smooth surface. |
| 27 | U = about-turn,GH=”pair before I” (in the alphabet). The U is a bit naughty as it’s really “U-turn” |
| 28 | YE(L)T,SIN=wrong (noun.) |
| 29 | TA(LONE)D – very good misleading use of bit=TAD |
| Down | |
| 1 | HA(N.G. = no good)M,AN(d) |
| 2 | MINES=digs,W=with,EEPE=blade,R=runs – as already stated, this includes a mistake, now confirmed by the xwd ed – no reversal indicator for epée=blade. The original clue (“One removing bombs digs with blade and runs”) may have been amended by the time you read this, in the online version or any book version of the puzzle |
| 3 | ON = cricket side, SONG=number |
| 4 | (KO,OK)=”back-to-back defeats” from KO=knock-out,A,B(UR = rev. of R.U.)RA – very good work on the wordplay/surface meaning interface here |
| 5 | DASH – |
| 6 | SLOVEN=scruff,I=one,A – we behold the state when we put it in the grid. |
| 7 | ALP = rev. of pla(n) |
| 8 | FOR ONCE – 2 defs |
| 13 | MOZAMBIQUAN = (mob quiz a man)* |
| 14 | WYKEHAMIST = a student at Winchester College – (why mistake)* |
| 17 | ESCAPEES – (P=soft,EE = 2 x E=drug), in cases* |
| 18 | sTrUdElS iDeAl,Y=variable |
| 20 | S=son,WISH=will,E(n)D – I’d call swishing waving or brandishing rather than “shaking” so I think this pushes things a bit for the surface meaning |
| 21 | SQUEAL – qu. = queen, in SEAL = “shake hands on”, as of a deal |
| 24 | “AM IN” is the claim to popularity. |
| 26 | NIL – from second letters of “unravelling Times clues” |
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