Time: An hour and 10 minutes left me with about a dozen which I then picked off over four 5 minute bursts. So about 90 minutes all told.
Nothing too strenuous, and the usual mixture of good and bad. An excellent &lit anagram at 28d, and a neat clue at 39a were the highlights. There were a few which I’ve really struggled/failed to parse. These were 27, 31, 42 & 47. Thanks to Jerry for his help with these.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | LEG + I + TIM(IS)ES |
| 7 | UTTER preceded by P |
| 10 | “WISE” |
| 14 | C(R |
| 15 | CHE(A + P)ER |
| 16 | PRO + DUCT |
| 18 | O in E + 3Rs + LESS |
| 19 | PACER rev |
| 21 | (WORRIED MY + W)* – The Merry Widow is an operetta by Franz Lehár about a widow who has to be found a new husband to avoid her taking her wealth out of the country. |
| 23 | F(AIR)LY |
| 25 | (HANDOUTS)* |
| 26 | cd – I think the clue is trying to evoke an image of some stairs, but my first thought was of aeroplanes so it just read as a straight definition. |
| 30 | (HAD)* in MATTER |
| 31 | PET + ER – I thought ‘Emperor’ as a definition was a little weak. I assume we’re talking about Peter the Great. Also I’m not keen on king for ER. Queen is OK as it’s the present queen being referred to, but king could theoretically mean any king over the past 1000 years or so. |
| 32 |
|
| 34 | MAR + OR about DUTY rev |
| 37 | TRANC(H)E |
| 39 | The CENTRE of SHO(PP)ING is PP = very quiet |
| 41 | (IN AN UGLY)* |
| 43 | T(A + L)ENT |
| 45 | T’AIN’T |
| 48 | NIGH + T + GO + W |
| 49 | (OR TECHNICIAN)* about A |
| 51 | RE + TIRED |
| 52 | “INN” + “GREAT” |
| 53 | (COUNTER)* |
| 55 | W + HINNY |
| 56 | (Y + (PSALTERY)*) in MY |
| Down | |
| 1 | “LACKER” |
| 2 | GEORGE + CROSS |
| 3 | TOKE + N – Heading means preceding, so it can be read as – Preceding N is TOKE. |
| 4 | MIDDLEMAN + AGE(ME)NT |
| 5 | (MY CASE)* about OR – Keys are another name for peculiarly shaped seeds that the Sycamore produces. |
| 6 | Rhyming slang for Flying Squad – Hence The Sweeney with John Thaw & Dennis Waterman. |
| 7 | PO(P)SY – I’ve not heard of this as as colloquial term for an attractive girl, but it was clear from the wordplay. |
| 8 | I guess this is supposed to be a cd, but it seems like a straight def to me. Am I missing some clever wordplay? |
| 9 | EX(P)ERT |
| 12 | (STAYS IF)* |
| 13 | POT + R + OAST |
| 20 | PASS ON about I |
| 22 | International radio code word for I |
| 24 | OP(ERA)TING + THE + (RATE)* |
| 25 | TACIT + US |
| 27 | NURSE + R + “WYE” – Although I can’t find any reference to a Nurse Fish. There’s a nurse shark of course, which is a fish, but that seems a little unfair. Any ichthyologists out there? |
| 28 | (IN RAIN DANCE I AM)* – I love really neat &lit anagrams like this – my COD. |
| 31 | P(LAY)ACT |
| 33 | MO + ON + LIGHTER – A lighter is a flat-bottomed canal boat. |
| 35 |
|
| 36 | DARE + (MA + A LASS) rev |
| 38 | C + ON DIT + IONA + L |
| 40 | (CUT + PRUNE)* |
| 42 | PAINTERS – No idea about this one. I dare say there are plenty of painters called David or Claude, French or otherwise. Monet is the most obvious. But there must be more to it than that, mustn’t there? I think the painters being referred to are Jacques-Louis David and Claude Lorrain. See comments. |
| 43 | T + ANTRUM – An ANTRUM is a natural cavity in a bone. |
| 46 | T(ANNE)RY |
| 47 | If bore = HAD then it’s just HOW + HAD rev, |
| 49 | CAGE + |
| 50 | C(R)ONY |
27dn – “nurse” is in Chambers and also in the ODI as a word meaning a type of shark.
31ac – tend to agree that it isn’t the best clue in the grid.. I also thought it was Peter the Great. ER = Edward Rex not Elizabeth, I have run into before. I tend to think, if I’ve seen it on a pillar box it must be OK 🙂
42dn – point here is that the names are surnames not christian names.. there were French painters known as Claude and David
47dn – bore as in carried, = had as in carried with him/her. I think.
27 – I guess nurse = shark = fish is OK, but it still seems a little fishy to me (sorry!)
31 – I suppose if one only considers British monarchs as opposed to English ones, then there are only three possibilities – ER (Edward VII & VIII), GR (George I – VI) or WR (William IV), although William was only king for 9 years back in the 1830s, so that would seem a little harsh. Have you ever seen queen = VR?
42 – Sorry to be picky, but Claude was the Christian name of Claude Lorrain. I guess the point is that Claude is the name he was known by. I still think it’s weak.
47 – No complaints about this one. I hadn’t thought of that meaning of bore, but I should have done.