Solving time on the day: about 8 minutes. This puzzle is probably just as easy as last week’s (the literary/artistic references are are gentle), but I found it a bit tougher as neither of the top row acrosses yielded on first look – ditto the next pair. I was left with 5A/D as my last two answers and decided to move on to puzzle 3 and come back. But by the time I’d drawn a big arrow under puzzle 3’s clues to remind me to do so, 5D popped into my head. 5A was then just a matter of realising that the IS in the answer was ?IS??? rather than ???IS? – I think this happened as I told myself that MUSISE was not a word. Subject to the same reservations as last week about fallible memory … the ones solved on first look were 11, 12, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23. Only 8 and 25 went in without complete understanding of wordplay.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | LUST,RED – def. a bit too subtle for me on first look |
| 5 | M(I,S=succeeded)USE – muse=deliberate=ponder |
| 8 | TH(UNDER)E,R – I should have seen the def. from ‘Our paper’ and (8). “The Thunderer” is an old nickname, which Wikipedia’s article about the paper implies is sarcastic. |
| 9 | AMISH = Hamish as spoken by the trad crossword Cockney. |
| 11 | EL(E.G.)Y – nicely done reference to Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard, working in two crossword clichés to get me off and running at last. |
| 12 | STATIONER = (tears into)* |
| 13 | PA’S,SPORT – “acceptance” fits a metaphorical passport better than a paper one. |
| 15 | NIM,ROD – defined as a Biblical hunter. NIM is the “loser removes the last matchstick” game, and ROD is (old-fashioned?) US slang for a gun. Must have raised a smile for the Independent’s “Nimrod”, John Henderson, who qualified from this preliminary. |
| 17 | REGALE = (E=English,lager) rev. A fairly common crossword answer, built from stock parts. |
| 19 | ME,R,EDIT,H – George Meredith was a Victorian novelist and poet, possibly best known for The Egoist. |
| 22 | ELASTOMER = (some later)* |
| 23 | TH(r)ONG – lash is a noun here |
| 24 | T,IDES |
| 25 | S(HIPS)H,APE |
| 27 | S(tore),ARGENT – John Singer Sargent, of whom I’m about as ignorant as Meredith. His Lady Agnew of Lochnaw was used years ago by Penguin for a Henry James cover picture. |
| Down | |
| 1 | LETTER,PERFECT – doddle charade once you remember the old landlord=letter trick. |
| 2 | (le)S(QUEER)S(on) – Wackford Squeers is a dire schoolmaster from Nicholas Nickleby – the one who couldn’t spell ‘window’ |
| 3 | R.U.,DoDgY – “blooming” is the def – blooming easy with two well-worn devices |
| 4 | D(ERIS = sire rev.)O,R(aunch)Y – tougher wordplay here |
| 5 | MORTAR – two defs |
| 6 | STABILISE – B=book in (sale is it)* |
| 7 | S(P)INNER – “who does wrong” = sinner. I remembered spinners from my father’s unsuccessful attempts at coarse fishing, which I think ended for good shortly after the “catching a man” incident near Arundel – a badly aimed cast impaled at least the clothing of a gent on a boat – not noticed until reeling in caused a lot of shouting from the other side of the river. Wikipedia suggests that they’re involved in fly fishing too (spinners, not blokes on boats). |
| 10 | HEROD THE GREAT = (hatred three go) – I worked backwards from ‘the Great’ as probable ending and what was left. |
| 14 | POLITESSE = (epistle so)* |
| 16 | HEAR,TIES – who are “cheerful people” or university sportsmen as the opposite of “aesthetes” when the two are assumed to be different. |
| 18 | G(RAND)EE |
| 20 | IS,O,LATE – standard components – only thing to make you pause momentarily is the “So” between wordplay and def. |
| 21 | A,M,USED – {managed=used} is not run-of-the-mill |
| 23 | TASER – hidden in rev. of “there’s a threat” |
Apart from the odd Jumbo or Mephisto, this is my last report here until 2009. I started a 6-week course of radiotherapy yesterday, and one of the side-effects is tiredness (extent unspecified, but it’s supposed to start a while after the treatment begins and continue for some time afterwards). So I’ve taken the opportunity to give some of our ‘subs’ some chances to write. I’ll probably still be commenting each day, but the times may not mean very much.
I have nothing to add except that I had assumed that today’s “spinner” was the same as in the explanation for yesterday’s “imago”!
In retrospect this would be a marvelous introductory puzzle for a Times neophyte, providing Pete’s blog was to hand.
Hang in there mate.
Interestingly for me, Peter, I had the same last two in as you, and solved them in the same order.
I had one or two guesses, ELASTOMER for instance, and some I knew were right but not exactly why, NIMROD, TIDES and PASSPORT. I had vaguely heard of MEREDITH and knew the name SARGENT but nothing about him as an artist.
An enjoyable solve with most clues requiring pause for thought. The unfamiliar faces in there (Meredith & Sargent) were clued unambiguously enough as were the other words that were sitting right on the edge of familiarity like elastomer, Squeers and spinner.
“Tides” as critical moments came to me thanks to familiarity with Wodehouse, who borrows from Waggledagger’s Julius Caesar: “There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune…”
Q-0, E-8, D-6, COD – 25
PS, what goes clip clop clip clop BANG clip clop clip clop?
…An Amish drive-by shooting.
PPS, Peter, hope the radiotherapy is bearable and effective.
Another easy puzzle again about 20 minutes to solve. No real issues or talking points.
H
About 30 minutes today
Good luck, PB.
Best of luck, Peter.
A very good crossword only spoilt by a half-witted solver
Some very nice deceptions in here and I feel heartily sick after the well-constructed 20D. I used the word in a recent puzzle; perhaps my wordplay was more testing but the surface was nowhere near as sharp as this.
Of several candidates I’ll COD 4D DERISORY. Quite tough to get but the surface is wickedly funny and very true to (the) life (of others but not me).
Very best wishes Pete. You’ll be back stronger than ever.
Q-0 E-8 D-7 COD 4D
Peter, I know you’re not one for the overly sentimental stuff, but I’ll be keeping various things crossed for you.
This only took me 7.20 but despite a good time here I took an eternity on the last first heat qualifier to be blogged so, having made a decent non-qualifying show in second heat in Cheltenham ,I have the consolation of knowing that I would have done badly had I been in the other heat. Had to guess at Nimrod and was fortunate to recognise Meredith and Sargent quickly. Squeers would have struggled with most crosswords with his w-i-n-d-e-r window and b-o-t-t-i-n-e-y botany! phonetic spelling system!
JohnPMarshall
If you need a laugh, try this little gem stumbled across on Youtube – Ronnies Barker and Corbett tackling crosswords on the train
The one omission from this blog that is plus the blogmeister – our illustrious founder:
26a Superstar giving cricket side purpose (6)
LEG END
I seem to have started from near the bottom with this one – my FOI was 22a ELASTOMER and my LOI was 5d MORTAR. I did it quite quickly for me but nowhere near quick enough to consider the Championships.