Another reasonably gentle, enjoyable Wednesday, which took me fifteen minutes and then a few more to make sure I’d parsed everything for the blog. Lewis Carroll’s lesser known works and obscure board games might be a stretch for some, but the wordplay is generous. No hidden words today. I liked “rose water”.
Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, DD = double definition, [deleted letters in square brackets].
| Across | |
| 1 | A large bay or a roomy one? (6) |
| ALCOVE – A, L[arge], COVE = bay. | |
| 4 | Special importance of piano in arrangement of Messiah (8) |
| EMPHASIS – P in (MESSIAH)*. | |
| 10 | Not unusual to secure college fellowship (9) |
| COMMUNION – UNI (college) inside COMMON = not unusual. | |
| 11 | Flap as clumsy oaf falls into lake after lake (5) |
| LAPEL – L[ake], APE, L[ake]. A bit harsh on apes, generally, I thought. | |
| 12 | Resort mail, unwanted mostly (3) |
| SPA – SPA[M]. | |
| 13 | Your position located: success! (5,3,3) |
| THERE YOU ARE – double definition. | |
| 14 | Run through offer that is something players of course want (6) |
| BIRDIE – BID (offer) I.E. (that is), insert R. A golf thing. | |
| 16 | Take the air, on going in to swim (7) |
| BREATHE – BATHE = swim, insert RE = on, about. | |
| 19 | One wise man is heard in long periods (3,4) |
| ICE AGES – I (one), sounds like SAGE IS (wise man is) | |
| 20 | Wrong people close to you are understood (4,2) |
| SINK IN – SIN (wrong), KIN (people close to you). The syntax seemed odd here, but I think it works e.g. “the facts are understood / the facts sink in”. | |
| 22 | Liberal rector opens part of abbey (5,6) |
| POETS CORNER – (RECTOR OPENS)*, as in Westminster Abbey. | |
| 25 | I say “Love” (3) |
| EGO – E.G. (say), O (love). | |
| 26 | One’s holding in stomach around teacher (5) |
| SWAMI – all reversed, I’S (one’s) with MAW inserted. | |
| 27 | At first rub over with brine, not a perfume (4,5) |
| ROSE WATER – R[ub], O[ver], SEA WATER (brine) loses (not) A. | |
| 28 | Regularly ties up thick boxes to distribute (8) |
| DISPENSE – [t]I[e]S[u]P ->ISP, inside DENSE = thick. | |
| 29 | Nastily scornful, like a creature hunted in fits? (6) |
| SNARKY – As a Lewis Carroll aficionado, this was a write-in for me, although I do find The Hunting of the Snark a bit weird. The poem was subtitled An Agony, in eight Fits. It’s worth a go, just for the equally weird illustrations by Henry Holiday. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | What solicitor does: bill charges (6) |
| ACCOST – AC (bill) COST (charges). | |
| 2 | Thoroughly search local, not initially confrontational (9) |
| COMBATIVE – COMB (thoroughly search), [N]ATIVE. | |
| 3 | Boast unit has avoided 50 per cent in tax (5) |
| VAUNT – UN[it] inside VAT (value added tax). | |
| 5 | Kinsmen use boys to run underhand dealings (6,8) |
| MONKEY BUSINESS – (KINSMEN USE BOYS)*. | |
| 6 | Shortly permitted to stuff bird, as there may be a party tonight? (9) |
| HALLOWEEN – ALLOWE[d] inside HEN a bird. | |
| 7 | Seafood I cooked with peas (5) |
| SEPIA – (I PEAS)*. Another name for a cuttlefish, or squid ink. | |
| 8 | Joined and served in the army, having lost heart (8) |
| SOLDERED – SOLDIERED loses its heart, viz. I. | |
| 9 | What might be played in saloon car shared by baseball team? (4,4,6) |
| NINE MENS MORRIS – well, even I know there are nine men in a baseball team, because they have nine innings (inningses?), and a Morris is an old British car marque. It’s a board game for two players, apparently dating back to Roman times, I’ve never tried to play it. | |
| 15 | Gives diet out relating to processing of food (9) |
| DIGESTIVE – (GIVES DIET)*. | |
| 17 | Several months sewing border into canopy (9) |
| TRIMESTER – RIM (border) inside TESTER. A tester is a canopy over a bed. | |
| 18 | Inclined to scorn attitude taken by daughter (8) |
| DISPOSED – DIS (to scorn), POSE (attitude), D[aughter]. | |
| 21 | Ancient city blessed hosts on a regular basis (6) |
| HOURLY – UR inside HOLY. | |
| 23 | One dumped manuscript containing answer papers (5) |
| EXAMS – EX (one dumped), MS (manuscript) insert A for answer. | |
| 24 | Horse circling wide tree (5) |
| ROWAN – W inside ROAN. | |
17:20 – nothing controversial, I thought, and I rather liked NINE MEN’S MORRIS which I remember as a pub game, hence didn’t raise an eyebrow at the saloon
Since I have no idea how many players are in a basketball team, I ended up with FIVE MENS MORRIS. Otherwise quite easy. LOI SNARKY.
Baseball not basketball!
All correct and parsed in 34.44, with my LOI NINE MENS MORRIS accounting for about six minutes of that time. It was only when MORRIS occurred to me as a possibility for the car that the rest followed on. Like a few others, I assumed it was something to do with men running round in circles waving hankerchiefs at one another. Ironic that it took me so long to think of MORRIS, as my first car as a student was a clapped out Morris Minor purchased in 1971 for the princely sum of £70. I sold it a year later for £60, thus enjoying a years motoring for a tenner!
At last I seem to be finishing most of the Mon-Wed crosswords; indeed all in the last three weeks. Thanks to setters, bloggers, and contributors for all the helpful tips along the way. Now to try to be quicker.
All completed except for a bloody great hole in the middle called 9down.
Thanks, setter.
My grandfather (terrible driver) had a Morris estate so I never thought of saloon and I’m another who only knew the line about the nine men from Titania in MSND where I never understood it anyway but I did just about remember it.
I thought I wouldn’t finish this, especially since I had biffed community and disperse. But then I started to get some of the longer answers, and corrected my errors. As a US solver, I knew it was going to be nine men’s something, and suddenly nine men’s morris popped into my head. I must have heard of it, but no idea where.
Time: 25:01
21:23. LOI the VHO NINE MENS MORRIS, which I very nearly put in as FIVE… before thinking a baseball team must be bigger than that. If pressed, I would have said it was something to do with bell ringing. I liked SNARKY and THERE YOU ARE
Luckily knew nine men’s morris so filled it mid-solve, but didn’t know whether it was board game or dancing. Assumed saloon was attached to car; associate saloon cars with say 1930s America, never met one in real life. Same minor problems as others: Didn’t know but inferred tester. With Snark being in 8 fits in the blog I now remember that, but not during the solve. Would have said maw was mouth. Otherwise quick solve without problems. Liked birdie, and the surface of accost.
9 seconds over my 30′ limit (I wasn’t going to stop with one to go) for an enjoyable solve. Nine men’s morris went it with a chuckle (I know it from the game, but not the number of baseball players); I read the Snark last year, so that was handy, and I’ve learned that MAW can be stomach.
Nice stuff, thank you setter and piquet
23’40” today, including thirty seconds ‘touring’ the new format in The Times Classic app. I’m surprised that NINE MEN’S MORRIS seems to have slowed so many of us down. I used to play it with my uncle (the board was on the reverse of his chess board) about 60 years ago, and I saw it pretty quickly here. I have to admit, however, that I can’t remember at all how the game is played. So there’s a project for the next half hour, I suppose.
A nice welcoming puzzle to keep me from fleeing back to doing only the QC. Finished, sort of, in 37:08, a pretty fast time for me.
It was fun to meet my old friend the Snark, I agree the illustrations are the main event. I kind of agree with Pelforth, snarky is an ugly word but maybe appropriate for an ugly thing. I too needed help for the NHO NINE MEN’S MORRIS; saw NINE early on and googled “nine men’s” when crossers suggested it, Morris as a car not being on my radar. Liked HALLOWEEN and THERE YOU ARE best.
Now, what is a “saloon car” anyway? I thought it was what we in the US call a sedan, but one commenter said they’ve never seen one. Collins says “sedan”.
Thanks setter and piquet.
Hi All, what fun and quite quick for me, (40)! I failed w snarky and put snorty, not remembering the lewis carrol ref, but that did not disrupt the rest. Also thought mae was a mouth, but it could not ne anything else. Had many different options before finding Morris and the looking up pub games to find the result! Incidentally i looked up baseball team numbers to find there are 26 per, so that was no help! Very good fun anyway, thx Cx
18.47, quite brisk for me. Knowing NINE MENS MORRIS helped, but like some other solvers I wasn’t aware that “maw” could mean anything other than “mouth”.
FOI ALCOVE
LOI SINK IN
COD EGO
Thanks P and setter.
DNF due to the game- the checking letters did not help- and I’d never heard of the game. Would never ever have got that even with 100 guesses! Shame because I had persevered with the rest. I shall hope for better tomorrow.
A pleasant Wednesday offering, all done in 30 minutes. Had heard of NINE MENS MORRIS. I knew about the snark and its hunting; NHO SNARKY as an adjective but it slotted in with 21dn and there appeared to be no alternative. No other issues.
FOI – EMPHASIS
LOI – SNARKY
COD -BIRDIE
Thanks to piquet and other contributors.
8:23. A particularly curious puzzle for reasons all covered already.
Like others NINE MENS MORRIS relied for me on a conviction that five wasn’t enough for a baseball team. There are nine players in a baseball team and nine innings, but unless I’ve misunderstood the rules of the game (by no means a remote probability) there is no connection between these two numbers. If only we had someone in this community who could explain the rules at excruciating length.
(Logged out again, by the way 😡)
I misremembered ‘nine men’s morris’ as another phrase for ‘nine-pins’ the skittles game, but still ended up with the right answer. Failed to get ICE AGES, DISPOSED and ACCOST for some reason but not too tricky overall.
24.03. Getting slightly harder by the day? NHO nine mens morris so pleased to see my guess was right. Hourly also took a while, I know UR is the classic for an ancient city but I was trapped by the R and Y into thinking it was something to do with Troy.
Nice puzzle.
I’d heard of both NINE MEN’S MORRIS and the Hunting of the Snark, so no problem there. Then somehow I managed to type COMPATIVE with a P instead of a B. Ooops. For some reason, even with all the checkers, it took me ages to see THERE YOU ARE as my LOI.
Only recently discovered this site, which I’m much enjoying! Just one thing – I think that COD is clue of the day, NHO is never heard of, but not sure of FOI/LOI (First of / Last Of ?) ?
Welcome! You’re right about COD and NHO.
FOI – First one in
LOI – Last one in
There’s a glossary here: https://timesforthetimes.co.uk/glossary
Thanks!
47:30 for the solve. As per others last twelve mins spent on NINE-MINS-MORRIS and getting bored and looking at the phone!