My first blog since a bunch of geeks decided to mess up the Times puzzles just for the hell of it The Times introduced its wonderful new format for the puzzles section, with the unfortunate side-effect that our trusty blogging template doesn’t work any more. Some bloggers seem to have found ways round this but I’m not technically adept and so I’ve had to do it manually, which has been rather time-consuming; please forgive resulting rough edges. I hope it’s clear enough. Definitions are underlined in bold as usual.
Nice puzzle from Mara. Nine full or partial anagrams; some very neat surfaces; a few gimmes. I don’t have a time, though – once I started solving in the new format I also started worrying about how I was going to produce the blog, and so while solving started messing around with the PDF version and other things I won’t bore you with, then dipping back in and out of the puzzle. I’d say slightly on the easy side of average.
Across
8 Tell on nobleman (7) – RECOUNT RE [on] + COUNT [nobleman].
9 It’s sweet, sweetie! (5) – HONEY Looking for a term of endearment which could also be described as something “sweet” I hesitated between “honey” and “sugar” and so solved 7d in order to get the last letter.
10 Do very little about river debris (5) – DROSS DOSS [do very little] going round [about] R [river]. I can’t find a dictionary which uses the actual word “debris” when defining “dross”, but they all contain some variant on “rubbish” or “refuse” so I guess that’s close enough. I needed the checkers, though. DROSS originated as a word for the scum formed on molten metal.
11 Fast Show (7) – EXPRESS Double definition. You either see a DD straight away or you draw a blank and wait for checkers; the latter applied here for me.
12 International student ultimately failed maths etc (4,5) – TEST MATCH Anagram [failed] of “maths etc” with T [student ultimately].
14 Rubbish, this and that originally (3) – TAT First letters [originally] of “this and that”.
16 Mug in short dress (3) – ROB Mugging is one form of robbery; others are available. The wordplay is “robe” [dress – probably best understood as the verb “to robe/dress”] without its last letter [short].
18 Source of money in construction of china pots (9) – CASHPOINT Anagram [construction] of “china pots”.
21 Are bus tours covering large country? (7) – BELARUS Anagram [tours, i.e. “moves around”] of “are bus” around [covering] L [large].
22 Sent back wine and one cold drink (5) – CIDER RED for “wine”; I for “one”; C for “cold”. Reverse it all [sent back]. Don’t do what I did and think it’s only “wine” that’s reversed, then stare at DERIC and wonder what sort of drink that is.
23 Spotless vessel into which French article is put (5) – CLEAN CAN [vessel] with LE inside it [into which French article is put]. Not POUNT then.
24 Country where a note is played (7) – ESTONIA Anagram [played] of “a note is”.
Down
1 Lender’s case for investment breaking new record (8) – CREDITOR “Case of investment” means IT (being the first and last letters of “investment”). That goes inside [breaking] an anagram of “record” [new record]. I think that this should have been clued as a definition by example, since a CREDITOR is simply a person or entity to whom money is owed: they might be a “lender”, therefore, but they might equally be a supplier of goods or services.
2 A burden, clue unlike this? (6) – ACROSS We all have our crosses/burdens to bear. It’s a down clue, not an across clue, geddit?
3 Outbuildings shut when dilapidated (4) – HUTS Anagram [dilapidated] of “shut”. They don’t get much easier than that, folks.
4 Fancy treats stopped (2,4) – AT REST A slightly tougher anagram [fancy] of “treats”.
5 Butcher and hack get a move on! (4,4) – CHOP CHOP “Butcher” is chop, “hack” is chop.
6 Eat whimsically, by the sound of it? (6) – INGEST Aural wordplay [by the sound of it] with “in jest” [whimsically].
7 Buds on potatoes — might these be peeled? (4) – EYES Definition with a cryptic hint (“keep your eyes peeled”).
13 Coat on a compound of iron in tubes (8) – MACARONI MAC [coat] + A [on a] + an anagram [compound] of iron. Ah, that sort of tube. A very satisfying solve and COD from me.
15 Trail out after disruption in class (8) – TUTORIAL Anagram [after disruption] of “trail out”.
17 Bovine male and alien shot (6) – BULLET BULL [bovine male] + ET [alien]. “Bullet” is one of the many meanings of “shot”, as in “not worth powder and shot”.
19 Nurse of some patients is terrified (6) – SISTER Hidden [some] inside “patients is terrified“. Nurses were originally called “sister” because they were nuns; the term has been phased out in Scotland but still seems to be used in England.
20 I eat after I order, primarily (6) – IODINE Oh the sneaky, sneaky trick of using a symbol from the periodic table as a definition; see also “He” cluing “helium”. You rotter, Mara. DINE is “eat”; that comes after I [I] and O [order primarily].
21 Bill, male (4) – BUCK Double definition. My LOI, since although BUCK for “male” came to mind pretty quickly, I couldn’t see why it also meant “bill”. Eventually I bethought myself of a dollar bill.
22 Lovely slice, last of cake (4) – CUTE CUT [slice] + E [last of cake].
19 min finish, with all parsed except Iodine (but with the I and dine, in place- pretty confident). 12ac Test Match was my FOI so relieved to get a sub 20 min time. Thanks all
15:24, which is about my average, struggling with INGEST, MACARONI and IODINE.
Thank you for what sounds like a particularly painful blog!
Not too easy and not too hard (though I was slower than yesterday, at 18:07). A fine puzzle, and Mara really had me with IODINE, my COD. I must be getting acculturated as TEST MATCH went right in. BELARUS and ESTONIA so near to being neighbors gave me pause, but I don’t see anything in the way of a related Nina. I hesitated to put in BUCK because of the flagrant Americanism.
Ha, Cedric describes my behavior at CIDER, but I went him one better (one worse) and thought I would cleverly try for some other three-letter word for wine, and ended up staring at CESIC.
Thanks Mara, and many thanks to Cedric for slogging through the technical difficulties to produce your customary entertaining blog.
I got to 18 eventually. Didn’t get Iodine possibly because I am allergic to it. I think they use it in CT scan dyes which would account for three days of looking like a red blob after a scan.
Thanks T and M
Time and Materials
I share the same view as Templar regarding the new format.
A poor 15 mins.
About 2/3 on 15 x 15. Why can I solve hard clues and not get the obvious ones? Drives me mad!!!!😡
Thanks for the blog.
I had “Do SS” for Do very little, SS as in a very little clothing size… although realise that XS might be more common for that. Doss of course makes perfect sense though!
Thanks for the blog. Was I the only one who got ‘MENIAL’ for 17D, instead of BULLET?
Admittedly a stretch, but I was thinking of the other definition of ‘bovine’ as in ‘basic and unintelligent’. Then M for male, and alien ‘shot’, as in damaged.