I felt this was a pretty standard Monday puzzle with a lot of the types of clue that I find most straightforward. I think there were three anagrams, four double definitions and two hidden words. I know some people have said that they find double definitions difficult and I agree that in the 15×15 they can sometimes be quite elusive but the ones that spring up in the quickie don’t normally give much resistance in my experience and such was the case today. Also one very obvious homophone at 5D. The rest of the clues were mostly charades that fell into line without much thought, such as 10, 15 and 22A, and 4, 6, 13, 16 and 18D. So all in all a very pleasant stroll to start the week off. Many thanks to Orpheus for that.
FOI was 1A. I can’t really remember what my LOI was. For some reason I don’t think it was 21D although it should have been because I think this puzzle could very well have been a sequential solve. As it was it was more a case of seeing lots of answers more or less at the same time and breaking off the natural sequence because I couldn’t resist putting answers in that had caught the corner of my eye as I was filling in something else. No discipline at all, I’m afraid, and I think my old school and university teachers might have recognised the pattern with more than a tut of disapproval.
Nothing really stood out as a COD any more than the others. Maybe 17A just because it was a little different and now I come to think of it perhaps that was my LOI as well.
Definitions are underlined and everything else is explained just as I see it as simply as I can.
Across | |
1 | In fiction, an inspector on public transport (5) |
REBUS – RE (on) + BUS (public transport) gives Ian Rankin’s famous detective. | |
4 | Onset of terrible pain in artist’s windpipe (7) |
TRACHEA – T (onset of Terrible) + ACHE (pain) ‘in’ RA (Royal Academician, artist). | |
8 | Love affair rocking Cremona (7) |
ROMANCE – straight anagram (‘rocking’) of CREMONA. | |
9 | Nocturnal primate girl observed crossing river (5) |
LORIS – LOIS (girl) ‘crossing’ R (river). | |
10 | Urchin knocked back fish and a toasted cake (10) |
RAGAMUFFIN – RAG (GAR (one of the famous Crossworld varieties of fish that we were talking about the other week) ‘knocked back’) + A MUFFIN (a toasted cake). | |
14 | One stopping to get an item of tack (6) |
HALTER – double definition, I suppose the first slightly cryptic. | |
15 | Stiffener celebrity required before church (6) |
STARCH – STAR (celebrity) before CH (church). | |
17 | When eventually in credit, girl gets squeeze-box (10) |
CONCERTINA – ONCE (when eventually, as in “ONCE I have finished this crossword…”) ‘in’ CR (credit) + TINA (girl). | |
20 | Perfect declaration of one distributing cards (5) |
IDEAL – one distributing cards is a DEALER, who might presumably declare “I DEAL”. | |
22 | Old club in Northern Ireland initially bearing defeat (7) |
NIBLICK – NI (Northern Ireland) + B (‘initially’ Bearing) + LICK (defeat). Niblick is an old type of golf club, along with mashie. There were also mashie irons and mashie niblicks but I can’t explain the difference off the top of my head. Suffice to say that I believe a niblick was a bit like a modern wedge, i.e. a club with a lot of loft. | |
23 | Escape? I don’t believe you! (3,4) |
GET AWAY – double definition. | |
24 | What lovers sometimes do in Handel operas (5) |
ELOPE – hidden word: ‘in’ HandEL OPEras. |
Down | |
1 | Lightly cooked? It’s not common (4) |
RARE – double definition. | |
2 | Union leader overwhelmed by British politician’s impact (4) |
BUMP – U (Union ‘leader’) ‘overwhelmed’ by B (British) + MP (politician. | |
3 | A line she’s rewritten in Sri Lankan language (9) |
SINHALESE – straight anagram (‘rewritten’) of A LINE SHE’S. | |
4 | Old Greek citizen in the bar (6) |
THEBAN – THE + BAN (bar). A citizen of Thebes. | |
5 | Be sick, alcoholic drink being spoken of (3) |
AIL – sounds like ALE (alcoholic drink). | |
6 | Bovine animal at this place on crossing (8) |
HEREFORD – HERE (at this place) ‘on’ (i.e. ‘above’ in this down clue) FORD (crossing). | |
7 | Sailor’s article about popular liqueur (8) |
ABSINTHE – ABS (sailor’s) + THE (definite article) ‘about’ IN (popular). | |
11 | Tunnel Abe engineered, impossible to defend (9) |
UNTENABLE – straight anagram (‘engineered’) of TUNNEL ABE. | |
12 | Appalling treatment in resuscitation room? (8) |
SHOCKING – cryptic definition. | |
13 | Mournful bloke weighed down by scheme (8) |
PLANGENT – GENT (bloke) ‘weighed down by’ (i.e. ‘underneath’ in this down clue) PLAN (scheme). | |
16 | Mean street in outskirts of Grimsby (6) |
STINGY – ST (street) + IN + GY (‘outskirts’ of GrimsbY). | |
18 | Cover over open-air swimming pool (4) |
LIDO – LID (cover) + O (over, as in cricket). | |
19 | Island contributing to risky enterprise (4) |
SKYE – hidden word: ‘contributing to’ riSKY Enterprise. | |
21 | Vulgar thing cattle often do (3) |
LOW – double definition. |
LOI 14ac HALTER
COD 22ac NIBLICK
WOD 10ac RAGAMUFFIN
Is 6dn HEREFORD there to celebrate Red Bull’s victory last night!? Poor old Hamilton!
Edited at 2021-12-13 12:28 am (UTC)
Mashie – a sort of 12-13 iron
Spoon – between a 3-7 wood
and there was a jigger – ‘a chipper’ and ‘a cleek’ – a putter.
– all wooden handled and only for right-handers!
In my golf bag there is no such thing as a 12-13 iron. 9 iron is the top number followed by things like wedge, utility, sand iron and 54/56 degree wedges. Unless perhaps those things were all numbered sequentially at one time, but still I think mashie is more of a medium iron.
You may have superior knowledge and may be right and if so please put me right. But that is my understanding.
Since 1998 Callaway have made a pro ‘Big Berta’ 12 iron.
I apologise guys for misleading y’all by living in the 19th C. – I last played at Cotton Bay, Eleuthera in 1892! (1992). I am a ‘leftie’ and perhaps a bit on the rusty side!
A bit of a gift of a puzzle, a treat on a dank morning.
Some slightly unusual vocabulary in PLANGENT, LORIS, THEBAN and NIBLICK.
COD was RAGAMUFFIN.
4:14
Edited at 2021-12-13 10:34 am (UTC)
Edited at 2021-12-13 10:38 am (UTC)
RAGAMUFFIN sprang to mind straight away. Must have been on the wavelength.
Thanks all, esp Don.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the challenge and just managed to avoid the SCC. Last in were PLANGENT, TRACHEA, and THEBAN. Thanks to both. John M.
Edited at 2021-12-13 09:53 am (UTC)
Our American son has a cat called Muffin — but he’s grey and sleek and beautiful — not a rag in sight.
Diana
Edited at 2021-12-13 10:13 am (UTC)
Edited at 2021-12-13 10:32 am (UTC)
I know what you’re saying, but I’ve never really understood why people get so upset about it.
I mean someone waved me onto an escalator the other day with an “After you, young man”. Well I’m not a young man but I thought no more about it until now. And had I been female I might have had “young lady” but I still can’t imagine getting het up about it.
But no offence. I do take your point, it’s just not something that bugs me personally.
Don
NHO NIBLICK but went in with a shrug once all the crossers were in place.
LOI PLANGENT, which I’ve only ever read and never heard anyone say out loud.
CONCERTINA went in with a shrug, never quite unpicking the clue but couldn’t think of anything else for squeeze-box
Nice Monday morning puzzle, all in all. Thanks Orpheus and Astartedon
Was able to guess my way through most, but did not think of the random ladies name of LOIS.
Drink of the day: ABSINTHE.
I followed a hunch and checked the puzzle on my iPad using the ‘new’ Times app. It shows Orpheus, as you say. However, I prefer the ‘old’ (classic?) app. It still shows Izetti as setter there.
Perhaps rotter and I are the only ones using the old app. It does seem odd, though. John.
Edited at 2021-12-13 11:46 am (UTC)
Finally a more gentle offering! I got a bit stuck around plangent, concertina and niblick, but the rest went in smoothly for a sub 20 solve.
FOI Trachea
LOI plangent
COD ragamuffin
Thanks Orpheus & Don
11 minutes in all and I would be surprised if it was an Izetti puzzle, not least because he did Friday’s. Perhaps the editors failed to update the byline from Friday’s QC.
Many thanks to Don (the other Don!) for the blog.
Cedric
I got bored of staring blankly at the SW so took a break and when I came back the not too testing SHOCKING and HALTER became obvious and the rest quickly followed.
Finished in 13.23 with LOI PLANGENT
Thanks to astartedon
Edited at 2021-12-13 11:48 am (UTC)
Tim
Edited at 2021-12-13 01:59 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2021-12-13 12:37 pm (UTC)
FOI RARE, LOI CONCERTINA, COD STINGY, time 09:02 for 1.9K and a Decent Enough Day.
Many thanks to whoever set it and Don.
Templar
Edited at 2021-12-13 12:51 pm (UTC)
However, the fact that I still made it to the finish line, despite my poor GK/vocabulary, perhaps demonstrates the skill of the setter – and I may have learnt something along the way.
Many thanks to Orpheus and startedon.
FOI – 1ac REBUS
LOI – 16dn STINGY
COD – 14ac HALTER
FOI REBUS (my favourite crime novels, and Ken Stott brought him to life superbly in the later TV series, which occasionally still appears on “Drama”).
LOI SHOCKING
COD STINGY
TIME 3:42
Got there eventually with HALTER LOI having narrowly rejected HOLDER which lurked as an easy way just to get to the finish.
29:50 in the end. ORPHEUS outplayed me but I enjoyed the tussle.
David
FOI — 1dn “Rare”
LOI — dnf
COD — 10ac “Ragamuffin”
Thanks as usual!
Oh well, not in my camp.
This was difficult and I DNF. Well I gave up with 50% incomplete.
Old-school-Orpheus strikes again.
Utterly out of my league
Thanks all
John George