Had to bash this out fast as a result of (a) work and then (b) champagne as the fruits of work. No frills; no time either (see point (b) above). Hope you enjoyed it.
Definitions underlined in bold.
| Across | |
| 1 | Makeshift quantity of butter he’d put in cup (7-2) |
| PATCHED-UP – PAT [quantity of butter] + HE’D inside CUP. | |
| 6 | Pet fur? Nothing shed (3) |
| CAT – C{o}AT. A coat could be “fur”, remove the o [nothing shed]) | |
| 8 | Glamour in good collection of puppies? (7) |
| GLITTER – G [good] + LITTER [collection of puppies]. | |
| 9 | Some assassin in Japan (5) |
| NINJA – hidden, and an &Lit. | |
| 10 | Confirm nastiest tuba is melted down (12) |
| SUBSTANTIATE– anagram [is melted down] of “nastiest tuba”. | |
| 12 | Hard wood is what steerer holds (4) |
| HELM – H [hard] + ELM [wood]. I got fixated on “ash” for the wood and had to move on till the E arrived. | |
| 13 | Boy returned hot food (4) |
| NOSH – NOS [boy returned, i.e. reversal of “son”] + H [hot]. There used to be a takeaway van on the pier at Tobermory called Posh Nosh, marvellous scallops straight off the boats. | |
| 17 | Emergency worker can name album that’s playing (12) |
| AMBULANCEMAN – anagram [that’s playing] of “can name album”. | |
| 20 | Skill retaining O and A in key supply of blood (5) |
| AORTA – ART [skill] including O [retaining O] + A [and A]. | |
| 21 | Emergency mission, perhaps, first couple of chaps having fallen from mountain transport (7) |
| AIRLIFT – {ch}AIRLIFT. Chairlift is “mountain transport”; remove the CH [first couple of chaps having fallen]. | |
| 23 | Popular name for place to get drinks (3) |
| INN – IN [popular] + N [name]. | |
| 24 | Precocious child — great new source of exasperation, possibly (9) |
| TWEENAGER – anagram [possibly] of “great new” and E [source of exasperation]. Chambers doesn’t list tweenager at all [edit: see the discussion in the comments below. I was using Chambers online, which doesn’t have it, but it seems that various paper editions do. I didn’t bother checking my paper Chambers, since there was no entry online!] Collins just has it as “a child of approximately eight to fourteen years of age”, nothing to do with being precocious. Not totally convinced by the definition, therefore, but I don’t have online OED and my paper one is far too elderly to have it, so one source unchecked. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Servant opening up over closure of palace (4) |
| PAGE – PAG [opening up, i.e. reversal of “gap”] above [over] E [closure of palace]. | |
| 2 | Compliment family welcoming aunt regularly (7) |
| TRIBUTE – TRIBE [family] containing [welcoming] UT [aunt regularly]. | |
| 3 | Attractive MC disowning son (3) |
| HOT – “host” [MC, i.e. Master of Ceremonies] without the S [disowning son]. | |
| 4 | Doctor to act badly around university city (6) |
| DURHAM – DR [doctor] + HAM [to act badly] going outside [around] U [university]. | |
| 5 | Little change about English idiot? A sorry state (9) |
| PENITENCE – PENCE [little change] going around [about] E [English] + NIT [idiot]. | |
| 6 | Conservative General Assembly dance (5) |
| CONGA -CON [Conservative] + GA [General Assembly, no doubt a valid abbreviation somewhere for someone]. | |
| 7 | In the morning, diving into the southern river (6) |
| THAMES – AM [in the morning] going inside [diving into] THE + S [the southern]. | |
| 11 | Time to support distribution of musical’s programme on different media? (9) |
| SIMULCAST – T [time] at the bottom of [to support] an anagram [distribution of] “musical’s”. | |
| 14 | Winter sport takings revived (7) |
| SKATING – anagram [revived] of “takings”. | |
| 15 | Question one kidnapping a sailor from Arab country (6) |
| QATARI – Q [question] + I [one] containing [kidnapping] A TAR [a sailor]. Doesn’t look right without a U, does it? | |
| 16 | I am at end of line welcoming new resident (6) |
| INMATE – I’M [I am] + AT [at] + E [end of line] containing [welcoming] N [new]. | |
| 18 | Dull person endlessly referring to chemical element (5) |
| BORON – BOR{e} [dull person endlessly] + ON [referring to]. | |
| 19 | Celebrity’s backing singers (4) |
| STAR – people who “sing” (grass, squeal, inform) are sometimes called “rats”. Reversal gives you STAR. I hate it when the reversal indicator is the middle of three words. Rats/star, star/rats. No real way to be sure which it was so I waited for checkers. | |
| 22 | Sprint disaster — I must drop out (3) |
| RUN – “ruin” [disaster] without the I [I must drop out]. | |
You might have an older Chambers, Templar. I think it was the 2014 Chambers that was the first to include the following definition of tweenager: A child who, although not yet a teenager, has already developed an interest in fashion, pop music, and exasperating his or her parents.
5:25, got held up by the long anagrams.
Hmm, thanks George. I used Chambers online and it still gives me “Sorry, no entries for Tweenager were found.”
https://chambers.co.uk/search/?query=Tweenager&title=21st
I’ve never worked out what that site uses, as it’s certainly not the standard Chambers dictionary. I think to get that you would have to subscribe to an app. Others will know.
TWEENAGER is in my 2011 12th edition of Chambers, but also in my original copy published in 2003. The ODE defines it as a child between the ages of about 10 and 14 which sounds more plausible to me than Collins starting at 8.
14 minutes with time lost on TWEENAGER and ruling out HASH at 12ac. The former appeared once before in a QC 4 years ago.
We have TIMES QUICK across the middle.
Good catch!
Thank you! Didn’t spot that. See point (b) again. Don’t drink and solve, kids.
Ah. So there is a U after the Q after all …
Seeing TIMES QUICK didn’t help me with a quick time and I just avoided the SCC at 19 minutes. Never really got going and I thought there were some hard ones here, especially TWEENAGER (love the Chambers def) and SIMULCAST. I agree with Templar about the positioning of the reversal indicator for STAR at 19d, especially as the across clues providing crossing letters weren’t easy.
Favourites were NINJA and THAMES; I imagine not too much morning diving taking place with your current weather.
Thanks to Pedro and Templar – enjoy the champers
Surprisingly straightforward with some chestnuts and anagrams that jumped out into place. Finished in 16mins for a good result. Cold wind dropped the temperature to forego fishing so opted for a sweater and bike ride instead. Definitely exercised pedalling back against the wind.
Thanks Pedro and Templar.
A good one not to submit a time on, with a SNITCH well north of 120.
10:16 for me, with the tricky (and ugly) TWEENAGER going in last.
Second the frustration with 15d. It’s even more frustrating when getting the reversal backwards scuppers a relatively brisk solve via incorrect checking letters in a crucial location. AIRLIFT and TWEENAGER were my LOIs because I was looking for a precocious child with an S at the end and an emergency mission with an R at the end.
Even if this was my slowest QC in ages (10:47), it was nevertheless an enjoyable solve. And ironically enough after the struggles detailed above, my COD was the one for TWEENAGER. Thanks Templar and Pedro!
Turns out I can’t spell PENITENCE. If only I’d parsed properly I’d have caught that A! Super fast until a standstill, partly caused by reversing the wrong word at rats/STAR and partly because SIMULCAST and TWEENAGER were both stored in the deep recesses. Huge relief to finally see how TWEENAGER worked – that is was an anagram remained hidden for ages. Just under 17 with a well-deserved, non-typo, pink square.
A disaster for me (not unusual for a Pedro puzzle) which tipped me into the SCC. Just not on wavelength. I finished it but found it an unsatisfying slog, I’m afraid.
Thanks to Templar for helping me appreciate a couple of clever clues that I had glossed over.
21:04 – about average time for me. Held up by SIMULCAST & TWEENAGER: what is precocious about one? Slow to get going with the acrosses, but found the downs easier.
A sparkling 9:09 for me, and especially pleasing as I often find Pedro challenging. By the time I got to 19D I had the T checker so fortunately there was no chance of being confused by whether it was STAR or RATS, but I agree it is not ideal when a clue cannot be solved at all on its own. It would never make a Quintagram clue!
My bigger hold-up was with SIMULCAST and TWEENAGER, neither of which are words I am familiar with. Both solved from wordplay alone and put in with fingers crossed on the grounds that, even if not very elegant, they looked plausible enough. I did actually look up Simulcast after completing the puzzle and I’m not sure the definition is quite there – it seems from the dictionaries (and indeed the construction of the word) that the essence is that the broadcasts are not just on different media but simultaneous – of which there is no hint in the clue.
Many thanks Templar for the blog.
Pushed over my target by this tricky offering. From HOT to TWEENAGER in 11:46. Thanks Pedro and Templar.
12:38
I remember SIMULCASTs from the days of analogue broadcasts, when there were none of the arbitrary delays of digital broadcasting, and the BBC would sometimes broadcast a concert simultaneously on television and FM radio, to enable those with good sound systems to enjoy the stereophonic music in perfect synch with the television.
Thanks Templar and Pedro
Out of synch dialogue with pictures is a bit of an irritation of mine. Happens a lot with sports broadcasts, particularly when being shown in UHD.
Too true. I can adjust delays on my soundbar, but trying to lip-synch without a clapper board is a quick route to madness.
Mostly fair but I didn’t like tweenager – doubt I’ll ever see it or hear it outside a crossword. Celebrity had to be star but if it wasn’t obvious you had to get into US slang rather than UK jargon. Over here tell-tales, snitches and grasses rather than rats I would suggest. Thanks though
Liked SIMULCAST. Not too many problems with this – those that were were of my own making. Putting RATS instead of STAR, and puzzling over P…ANCE in PENITENCE, which I should have known how to spell! All sorted in the end, with AIRLIFT and TWEENAGER (NHO) last in.
Around 16.50 for us – a happy event. In general, on Pedro’s wavelength, held up by PAGE and PATCHED UP.
As lack of U in QATARI – we are in Malta, where pronunciation is a source of constant wonder.
Happily, English is also a national language.
For those with time.. I add the below
https://www.tiktok.com/@maltesewithben/video/7522748655095287058
Thanks to all concerned!
I found this much more straightforward than yesterday’s although finishing in much the same time (18 minutes). NHO SIMULCAST or TWEENAGER so those two held me up somewhat towards the end. I had no problem with STAR as I had the crossers but I did wonder why rats were singers! All is now clear.
FOI – 8ac GLITTER
LOI – 19dn STAR
COD – 21ac AIRLIFT
Thanks to Pedro and Templar
In considerable despair – hadn’t completed one for a week, and not on this wavelength either. Wasted an hour on 13a diSH (which works perfectly well but of course precludes PENITENCE), NHO BORON but worth a try? Finally stared at L2I apparent SIMULCAST and TWEENAGER, NHO either but reached for the dictionary (2003 Chambers), wonder of wonders, there they both are. Thanks for sympathy, Cedric, and for blog, Templar. (We’ve had singers = rats several times before.)
Finished a few seconds outside target at 10.02, but feel I was relatively on form to achieve that time as it feels on the tough side. I had to repair two answers as I had initially put in MASH for 13ac, and after deliberating for ten seconds decided on RATS instead of STAR. All was correct by the time I finished however, winding up with PATCHED UP and finally HOT.
23:00
NHO SIMULCAST and TWEENAGER was vaguely familiar but not in relation to precocious.
PATCHED UP took too long trying to fit MUG in as opposed to CUP – d’oh.
All parsed in the end excepting LOI STAR which was bunged in with fingers firmly crossed – thanks Templar.
FOI: GLITTER
LOI: STAR
COD: AIRLIFT
Thanks to Pedro and Templar
Only bloodymindedness got me through this as I haven’t been so far off a setters wavelenth for a very long time. No particular clues felt overly difficult I just had problems everywhere.
Fell over the line in 12.46.
Thanks to Templar for the blog and Pedro for the education.
20:50
Made a complete hash of that one! Confidently entered DAHL for 13ac with lad returned with hot and RATS for the singers at 19dn. Needless to say it was a struggle getting the rest to fit. Must have cost me 5 minutes before I saw the light. LOI TWEENAGER.
I was also a DHAL at first…
Can setters please not reference chaps falling off ski lifts just as I am packing for the Alps…. 🫣
I tried DHAL too at first, then MASH, before arriving at NOSH. They all seem to work!
NHO SIMULCAST. I fiddled around with the anagram then looked up words beginning Simu in the paper dictionary where I found it.
Biffed TWEENAGER – I thought it just meant 11-12 year olds, not necessarily precocious.
Quite slow today as I missed some of the easy ones like GLITTER on my first read-through. CNP STAR.
Liked AIRLIFT, PENITENCE, PATCHED-UP, and NOSH.
Thanks vm, Templar.
13 in 20 and then no more. Does this mean I’m getting better and giving up too easily?
I started very well with this one, but got stuck on three clues which I just could not answer even with aids.
I had absolutely no idea what 11d was saying. Completely lost on me. I decided to give up on this one today.
First Lap: 12
Answered without help: 20
Answered with help: 3
DNF: 3
Time: 41:08
I seem to remember struggling with a Pedro in the past, but this puzzle seemed fairly straightforward. All correct and parsed before the cuppa cooled.
Liked PENITENCE and TWEENAGER
Thanks Pedro and Templar
11:11
Had a late change from Durban to DURHAM when I tried actually parsing the clue.
LOI the surprising TWEENAGER.
“…..and the first shall be last”. Which was a little annoying because it was the only thing that stopped me from another straight through top to bottom solve!
I obviously missed the Nina as usual. TWEENAGER went straight in from the parsing, but I had to research it on finishing the puzzle. Thanks Templar and Pedro.
FOI CAT
LOI PATCHED UP
COD AIRLIFT
TIME 3:34
My least favourite type of crossword. Raced through all but three and then gave up on the last three after half an hour or so of staring at them without any ideas. DNK Tweenager and bemused by dictionary wars, only in Collins is bad enough, but now you see it now you dont is surely beyond the pale, particularly as OED has it but “USA English” and with no mention of precosity. (by the way it’s a derived anagram as well – boo). Had star immmediately but never heard of rats for informers, perhaps I dont watch enough US movies.
Inmate was fair enough but I’d lost the will to live by the time I got to it.
Thanks to both the first 10 mins were fun!
15 mins…
All went in fairly smoothly. Main hold up was 5dn “Penitence”, for which I initially biffed Minnesota based on vague clueing connections. In the end the answer appeared with some proper parsing, along with 24ac “Tweenager” where I originally had a hastily misspelt “Teennager”. As above, not convinced about the definition on that one.
FOI – 1dn “Page”
LOI – 24ac “Tweenager”
COD – 4dn “Durham”
Thanks as usual!
Like DearHector I reversed LAD and added h for DAHL and then found myself stuck for ages. Only when all crossers meant 14d had to be SKATING did I get NOSH – and that led to a happy ending: but 25 minutes gone.
I enjoyed the mixture of easy-ish (now I’m getting the hang) and headscratchers. Admit to biffing TWEENAGER without any idea that it was a real word (unlike tween). Thanks Pedro and Templar – like the sound of that Pol!
Another multi-session finish. There’s only so much enjoyment to be had from finally completing a struggle with some weird cluing. Invaiant
Another tricky one for me. I did eventually get over the line but got stuck on TRIBUTE and ended up revealing the ‘R’ which of course gave the game away. Also slow to parse STAR 🙄 and fumbled with the spelling of QATARI. Thanks for the blog Templar.
I think I might have enjoyed this a bit more with a glass of champagne! As it was, I had a not very hot cup of tea 😅 Quite slow, some tricky clues for a quickie, and – of course – I didn’t see the nina. I wonder if it was a special one for Pedro.
There was a children’s programme called the Tweenies when my two were just the right age – about 5 or 6. Different from a TWEENAGER, that’s for sure.
14:01 FOI Glitter LOI Tweenager
Thanks Pedro and Templar
10 clues solved in 20 mins then circular thinking kicked in!
Gosh! That became increasingly tricky towards the later stages. 34-35 minutes, so little longer than average today.
My LOI was PENITENCE, which I couldn’t parse at the time and which also took me ages to parse afterwards. STAR was my other unparsable clue, because I never thought of the informers meaning of rats.
SIMULCAST and TWEENAGER were awkward and I kept thinking that AIRLIFT should start with ‘ch’. Pedro is rarely easy, these days.
Many thanks to Templar and Pedro.
I put ‘wasabi’ instead of ‘Qatari’. I guess it doesn’t really fit – you can presumably be a wasabi from anywhere…the thinking was question = Was I around AB for sailor. Silly mistake
Felt like there were a couple of tricky ones so I was pleased to get home in all green in 8:53. Thanks Templar.
LOI for me was PAGE
6.30
Unusually on the wavelength compared to recent efforts.
Liked the puzzle; loved the blog.
Were we on the wavelength today? A faster than average 10:17. Some compensation for yesterday’s effort which eventually took us over twice as long for a rather similar Quitch. It did feel like it needed some hard thinking at times though. LOI TWEENAGER which, having heard of it and having all the checkers, we didn’t pause to parse. COD AORTA. Thanks, Templar and Pedro.
Very enjoyable. I liked airlift and the long anagrams. I’ve never heard of simulcast or, like some others, tweenager. Thanks for the help
I found this one straight forward 8:41
I made very good progress until the SE. Don’t see any connection between Precocious and Tweenager. I’d consider 15d Rats to be US rather than British. Not keen on Inmate=Resident other than as a prisoner – I live in a small community and Residents is often used between us, but we’d never consider ourselves Inmates!
FOI 1a patched up
LOI 19d star
COD21a skating