Goes down in my book as A Bit Tricky, my time of 27.40 more inflated by the need to parse properly as I went along than by any particularly opaque wordplay or abstruse definitions. I didn’t know the variety of (presumably real) ale, but I did know the required Latin and French, and the only actual named plant in the grid. It’s at least possible that, for once, the crosssword is timed to reflect a bit of politcai news, with the left hand column sememingly suggesting an outcome to be revealed in the next 24 hours.
Though it’s early days, we seem to be generating quite a few errors, and I’m interested to see whether there’s a common factor at work or just random glitches.
Though it’s early days, we seem to be generating quite a few errors, and I’m interested to see whether there’s a common factor at work or just random glitches.
As ever, I present clues, definitions therein and SOLUTIONS
Across
1 Plants and animals farmed (4)
SOWS Double definition. Plants as a verb, not (thankfully) a plural noun. And I know sows as farm animals.
3 Giving in official letter after payment made (10)
SUBMISSIVE The payment made is a SUB, and the official letter is a MISSIVE. I’m not sure why “official” as the clue works fine without. Perhaps to indicate a slightly more formal term than a common or garden letter.
9 Waxes lyrical about silver sacks (7)
RAVAGES Silver is AG (Ag for purists) and RAVES for waxes lyrical surrounds.
11 A deterioration in police vessel (7)
CAROTID That vessel as a bodily tube gets me every time. A plus ROT for deterioration held by the CID police.
12 Lying porter regularly caught dipping into change (13)
PREVARICATION The odd letters (regularly) of PoRtEr followed by C(aught) “dipping” into VARIATION for change.
14 Devise cover for access point (5)
HATCH two definitions, devise as in hatch a plot, and the plainly described cover.
15 Arrived with blue clothing to make an impression (7,2)
FETCHED UP Blue gives you FED UP, which drapes around ETCH for make an impression.
17 Rum clue, it’s rewritten for network (9)
RETICULUM A proper Latin word, which means network, and our first anagram (rewritten) of RUM CLUE IT. Our antipodean fraternity will see it in the night sky, and our veterinary partners as a cow’s number two stomach.
19 Shawl put back when central heating used, at first (5)
FICHU So, you put back (reverse) IF for when, and take the initial letters (at first) of Central Heating Used. Because central heating is a common enough abbreviation on its own, it’s easy to overlook used as providing a third letter.
21 “State of Affairs” feature film? (3,3,7)
THE BIG PICTURE The US President when giving the State of the Nation speech is probably trying to get across the big picture. Some of us can remember that when we went to the cinema, we had two proper pictures, one probably relatively short the other the main feature, whimsically the big picture.
24 West African, heading off like Magellan (7)
IBERIAN The legendary Portuguese explorer whose crew completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth. To get his peninsular designation, today we take the L heading off the West African LIBERIAN rather than the more frequent S from Siberian.
25 When mate’s most likely to kill grouse? (7)
ENDGAME Which I always think of as the closing stages of a chess game when check mate’s at least possible. Divided, end game is equivalent to kill (gamebird such as) grouse.
26 Stuck beyond Tate in snarl-up (10)
BAYONETTED So not stuck as in not moving, but as in stabbed. Our second anagram (In snarl-up) of BEYOND TATE.
27 Last Egyptian leader to enter conflict (4)
WEAR One of the many meanings of the verb is last. The E of Egyptian (leader) inside WAR for conflict.
Down
1 Run through stores let out in border region (10)
SHROPSHIRE The border involved being the Welsh one. “Through” indicates placing the R(un) inside SHOPS for stores, and let out gives you HIRE.
2 Most undulating views at resort (7)
WAVIEST I quite like re-sort as an anagram indicator, our third, inviting you to mess with the letters of VIEWS AT.
4 Inept Greek character upping drinking capacity, left for north (9)
UNSKILFUL The Greek character is NU, which needs to be “upped”. Then drinking capacity translates to SKINFUL which more usually implies that a safe volume of drink has been exceeded. Switch the N(orth) for an L(eft). I believe we skipped nu as a covid variant as newsreaderrs would have had trouble talking about the nu variant, especially when a nuer one came along.
5 Way to produce tea and coffee (5)
MOCHA Way to produce is the abbreviation MO for modus operandi, and tea is CHA.
6 Part of racecourse tackled with apparent solemnity (8-5)
STRAIGHT-FACED Might be the home straight at a racecourse. Add FACED for tackled
7 Sang like chorister at home and harmonised (7)
INTONED Choristers intone when singing, for example, Gregorian chants. IN is “at home” and TONED derives form harmonised, more I think in terms of matching or sympathetic colours than musing.
8 Chop up less conventional root crop (4)
EDDO A tropical root crop, known under a variety of names including taro. Less conventional gives ODDER, which you reverse (up) and cut the last letter from.
10 Display technique resulting from explicit objective (7,6)
GRAPHIC DESIGN Explicit can mean GRAPHIC: the mating habits of the aardvark were shown in explicit/graphic detail. Objective can certainly mean design.
13 Working party beginning to respond, following neat drink (6,4)
SPRUCE BEER Not I think sold at my local, and not on my fairly extensive list of drinks I have had a go at. But it’s BEE for working party (as in sewing bee) plus the R from the beginning of Respond, tagged on to SPRUCE for neat. I invite contributors to offer reviews of its taste, potency and such.
16 Issue raised by work alarm, possibly (9)
TIMEPIECE So alarm clock, then. Issue is EMIT, which is to be reversed (raised), and work provides PIECE as in a work of art or music.
18 Staggering time for learner in draw (7)
TOTTERY Another letter-substitution clue, this time replacing the L of LOTTERY (draw) with T(ime)
20 Reportedly sounded like rook, maybe bothered with tail (7)
CAUDATE The sound of a rook is CAW, and the sounded sound of the sound of a rook is CAUD, with ATE for bothered. Don’t do what I initially did and go with CORD. CORDATE is heart-shaped.
22 Current number opening paper otherwise (2,3)
IF NOT A slightly odd filler of an entry, but needs must. Current is I, number is NO, which fills FT, the Financial Times newspaper.
23 Progress after ousting Conservative member (4)
LIMB progress is CLIMB, remove the C(onservative). Which may be prescient regarding the North Shropshire (coincidences?) by election.
Canada. It is mily white in colour, highly carbonated and has a unique but charming
flavour. I used to drink it as a lad, in the sixties.
Time taken. All day. I thought this was a beast but it all unlocked after figuring out Shropshire. FOI CAROTID and LOI GRAPHIC DESIGN.
Very possibly the hardest puzzle I’ve actually finished.
Shropshire is abbreviated to SALOP!
23 Progress after ousting Conservative member (4)
Today (Friday morning) in The Times:
“The Conservatives have suffered a humiliating defeat to the Liberal Democrats in the North Shropshire by-election.”
I told you it wasn’t a coincidence!