Greetings, barred-grid fans.
The pun in the top row gave me a giggle because I solved this while on a plane, downing multiple cups of red wine out of a plastic bottle (interesting choices there, Delta). It was a first time doing the puzzle on my phone, and I saw you could solve it using a list rather than using a grid. Made it a lot easier to parse on the phone, but I don’t think it is as enjoyable as having the grid in front of you. I do like that it fills in the crossing letters as you go in the list view.
I didn’t find this too difficult, and didn’t have Chambers with me, so I was a little surprised to check back and see I completed it correctly. Now to make sure I have all the parsing sorted out.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Rogue typo behind what gets them going (6) |
| TERROR – ERROR(typo) after the first letter of Them | |
| 6 | Chippie’s chisel is comparatively strong (6) |
| FIRMER – double definition | |
| 11 | Levy’s remarkable, independent scoffed (8) |
| TALLIATE – TALL(remarkable), I(independent), ATE(scoffed) | |
| 12 | Please, no longer extravagantly tip here (7) |
| PRITHEE – anagram of TIP,HERE | |
| 13 | Burden that’s our problem: it’s ____ (4) |
| ONUS – or ON US | |
| 14 | More comfortable is more scrupulous, no question (6) |
| EASIER – QUEASIER(more scrupulous) minus QU(question) | |
| 15 | Pointless though not fine being profitable (5) |
| UTILE – FUTILE(pointless) minus F(fine) | |
| 16 | Swelling outrageously our brutes likewise turned over (12, two words) |
| TUBEROUS ROOT – anagram of OUR, BRUTES then TOO(likewise) reversed | |
| 18 | Ruling by head of Scots before return of religious study (7, two words) |
| IN POWER – IN(by), POW(head of hair in Scottish) then RE(religious education) reversed | |
| 23 | Continent cat back first finding dryness (7) |
| XERASIA – ASIA(continent) with REX(cat) reversed in front | |
| 25 | Reprobate rogue probed by a small Government’s redeeming (12) |
| REPURCHASING – REP(reprobate), then URCHIN(rogue) containing A,S(small), finished with G(government) | |
| 27 | End of these salmon going west, about time to wax lyrical (5) |
| EXTOL – last letter of thesE, then LOX(smoked salmon) reversed containing T(time) | |
| 28 | Snooker time is wasted (6) |
| STIMIE – anagram of TIME,IS | |
| 30 | In report I dallied over opening (4) |
| ADIT – hidden reversed in reporT I DAllied | |
| 31 | With express post initially dropped speed is perhaps extra (7) |
| EDITION – remove EX(express) and the first letter of Post from EXPEDITION(speed) | |
| 32 | Confuse line for very best wishes to Bibi (8, two words) |
| MAZEL TOV – MAZE(confuse), L(line), TO(for), V(very) | |
| 33 | Base in neat electronic technique for patterning (6) |
| TIE-DYE – E(base) inside TIDY(neat), E(electronic) | |
| 34 | Present state rejecting a nonconformist belief (6) |
| HERESY – HERE(present) and SAY(state) minus A | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Rabbit? Drink crowning quality up (6) |
| TAPETI – TAPE(alcoholic drink), over IT(crowning quality) reversed | |
| 2 | As before wander over Macron’s one drenched in incense (8) |
| ENRAUNGE – UN(French for one) inside ENRAGE(incense) | |
| 3 | Small branch locally found in share issue (4) |
| REIS – hidden inside shaRE ISsue | |
| 4 | Sop that is Unite again (5) |
| RETIE – RET(sop), IE(that is) | |
| 5 | Two held lorry up lacking any practical value (12) |
| OTHERWORLDLY – anagram of TWO,HELD,LORRY | |
| 6 | Turning following law on old practice (7) |
| FLEXURE – F(following), LEX(law) and URE(old usage, practice) | |
| 7 | A little virus surprisingly serving to explain (12) |
| ILLUSTRATIVE – anagram of A,LITTLE,VIRUS | |
| 8 | Uncovered spirit to render the act of debauchery (6) |
| RIOTRY – BRIO(spirit) minus the first letter, TRY(to render) | |
| 9 | A recipe leaving canned macaronis as sources of starch (7) |
| MANIOCS – remove A, and R(recipe) from MACARONIS and jumble | |
| 10 | In the matter of escorts for harbours in old Scotland (6) |
| RESETS – RE(in the matter of), SETS(secorts). Can’t think of how SET=escort but it is in Chambers as Scots and Northern English. | |
| 17 | Thoughts on small cogs (8) |
| OPINIONS – O(on), PINIONS(small cogs) | |
| 19 | To form into new state you need energy and quiet spot up in Peru (7) |
| PEPTIZE – E(energy), P(quiet) and ZIT(spot) reversed inside PE(Peru). Changing physical state. | |
| 20 | Excellent network gets pass (7) |
| EXCRETE – EXC(excellent), RETE(network) | |
| 21 | Imagined debtor pressing soft mate (6) |
| DREAMT – DR(debtor) on top of an anagram of MATE. I don’t recall seeing soft as an anagram indicator before. One of the definitions of soft in Chambers is easy, which might be the connection. | |
| 22 | First and last of these in Porridge could be mentioned (6) |
| QUOTED – the first and last letters of ThesE inside QUOD(prison, porridge) | |
| 24 | Operation’s American — touching but beat (6) |
| AGENCY – A(American) then TANGENCY(touching) minus TAN(beat) | |
| 26 | What’s often plucked from fish with tag inside? (5) |
| SITAR – SAR(fish) containing IT(tag, the children’s game, like “you’re it”) | |
| 29 | Awkward state-of-affairs beginning from mascot rage (4) |
| MIRE – first letter in Mascot, then IRE(rage) | |
I probably could have solved most of this without Chambers, but it never hurts to check, as one wrong answer can really mess you up in Mephisto. I did know most of the answers and wordplay elements, although not Rex the cat and tape the drink. I looked up sar just in case my memory was faulty.
I do expect today’s to be harder, as it should be by Robert Teuton, although they have once again omitted the setter credit.
The one thing I couldn’t find in Chambers was an *equivalence* of TAG (or “tig”) with “it.”
The game is not called “it” anywhere.
When you TAG someone and make them “it,” it’s not ever said that you “it” them.
I really wanted this clue to work, but can’t say that it does.
I had that niggle as well, but found the connection under TIG. TAG=TIG=IT
(Posted this earlier, but replied to the wrong message. Just for the record.)
My Chambers (phone app) does not provide any such connection. TAG is “tig,” and that is
« A game in which someone who is ‘it’ chases the others, the person he or she touches then becoming ‘it’
transitive verb (tiggˈing; tiggedˈ)
To touch, esp in the game of tig. »
The game was always called ‘it’ when I was a kid.
I didn’t find the “it” connection in Chambers, but did remember that children’s games can change in name regionally, and found a map showing “it” as the name of the game as well as a key player, in SE England, so decided to allow it as an imaginable possibility, from the role of “it”.
I grew up in SE England so that tracks. We never called the game anything other than ‘it’.
FOI was FIRMER (memories of woodworking lessons at school) from which I guessed the pun and immediately saw the wordplay for TERROR. That’s a first for me. Took a while to suss the wordplay for 8d and 24d. Other than those all went pretty smoothly.
I didn’t find this terribly easy: it took me a little over 45 minutes.
Small point George but in 1dn IT is indicated by ‘crowning achievement’ – the exact words used in Chambers.
Well, that was predictable. My point wasn’t political: I specifically said that my own views were irrelevant. It was a valid question about what is and is not appropriate for inclusion in a crossword clue – and this is a crossword forum, so the question should be open for debate. Is it acceptable for someone accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC to be referenced in this way? Or shall we look forward to the Cambodian riel being clued as ‘bread for Pol Pot?’
Unsavoury and controversial characters of various stripes are often referenced in these puzzles. The jokey-familiar use of a nickname could and should have been avoided here though IMO.
I didn’t see your original post, which I assume has been removed. I agree, that that clue should have avoided reference to current events given their controversiality and the associated enormous human suffering and destruction.
No emojis, but thumbs up.
The Times is supposed to have a policy on this as stated by Mick Hodgkin in the newspaper on 29/6/24 in an article about the change to the ‘living persons’ rule: “We will, however, exercise caution in avoiding topical references that could prove controversial.” It might be useful to address any concerns to him. There’s a contact email address at the foot of the weekly puzzles newsletter.
Thanks. I think I’ve identified this, and signed on for future newletters, but I’d be grateful if you could provide a link.
[email protected]
Ta.