This was a very gentle offering from Tracy to whom I give many thanks for making my final blog such a pleasant solve.
FOI was, naturally enough, 7A. Not so naturally, its immediate neighbour 8A was, I think, my LOI. COD I find difficult to choose as usual but I’m going for 9D.
As alluded to above, this is my final outing. Hence my Freddie Mercury act in the heading. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who have read along and commented over the years, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you. I am not going to single out any special members to thank here as there would be too many. But I do read all the posts quite carefully and rest assured that if you have ever commented on my blog then I have noticed it and I am extremely grateful for your contribution and particularly for all your kind comments when I announced my departure two weeks ago. There are some of you with whom I have also entered into direct PM conversations off the main topic of the blog; you will know who you are and I have particularly enjoyed getting to know you a bit better. I am very honoured to count you all in the community as ‘virtual friends’!
I don’t really want to leave at all. If I could I would happily spend a large part of my life solving puzzles and blogging them, but I am getting to the time of life where my wife is telling me to retire and go round the world with her (although paradoxically I have no intention of retiring and I am also on the threshold of a new business venture so it’ll be interesting to see how all that works out). But either way it means that the blog is rubbing up against real life just a little bit too much for comfort.
Two people I WOULD like to say a special thank you to though from this side of the ropes are John (
jackkt) and Jonathan (vinyl1) who have made the whole blogging job as easy as it could possibly be. They run this operation with light and skillful hands making sure that every puzzle on the roster gets blogged when it should be. It must be one of those thankless ‘herding cats’-type jobs but the biggest testament to their skill is surely that we all take it for granted that if there is ever anything we don’t understand about a particular puzzle we can come here and get an authoritative comment from the duty blogger, sometimes assisted by comments from the community.
And of course, after all that, I’m not really going anywhere. I’ll still be looking in and putting in my tuppenceworth from the other side of the ropes.
So, for the last time please note that as usual definitions are underlined and everything else is explained just as I see it as simply as I can.
| Across | |
| 7 | Get to a church, after religious education (5) |
| REACH – RE (religious education) + A + CH (church). | |
| 8 | Still time for meditation (7) |
| THOUGHT – THOUGH (still) + T (time). | |
| 10 | Wild horse has to, followed by trained nag (7) |
| MUSTANG – MUST (has to) + ANG (anagram (‘trained’) of NAG). | |
| 11 | Fish, ray, rounding rear of schooner (5) |
| BREAM – BEAM (ray) ’rounding’ R (rear of schooneR). | |
| 12 | History surrounding male sanctuary (9) |
| HERMITAGE – HERITAGE (history) ‘surrounding’ M (male). | |
| 14 | Pig therefore knew, at the end (3) |
| SOW – SO (therefore) + W (kneW ‘at the end’). | |
| 15 | In truth, a yellowish type of fodder (3) |
| HAY – hidden word: ‘in’ trutH A Yellowish. | |
| 16 | Reportedly selected Oxford college illustrated (9) |
| PICTORIAL – PICT + ORIAL (sounds like (‘reportedly’) PICKED (selected) + ORIEL (Oxford college)). | |
| 18 | Raffle a revolutionary prize (5) |
| AWARD – DRAW (raffle) + A all reversed (‘revolutionary’). | |
| 20 | Finding of court going against Italian composer (7) |
| VERDICT – CT (court) ‘going against’ VERDI (Italian composer). | |
| 22 | Coach‘s sports shoe (7) |
| TRAINER – double definition. | |
| 23 | Follow, hugging right path (5) |
| TRAIL – TAIL (follow) ‘hugging’ R (right). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Truly mixed-up, mother and father (4,3,5) |
| FROM THE HEART – straight anagram (‘mixed up’) of MOTHER + FATHER. Such a neat anagram that it is probably an old chestnut although I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. | |
| 2 | Observer and Times supporting old-fashioned Republican (6-2) |
| PASSER-BY – BY (times) ‘supporting’ (i.e. ‘underneath’ in this down clue) PASSÉ (old-fashioned) + R (Republican). | |
| 3 | Flightless bird trapped by Ledger (Heath) (4) |
| RHEA – hidden word: ‘trapped’ by ledgeR HEAth. | |
| 4 | Mark of disgrace that’s initially concealed by Greek character (6) |
| STIGMA – T (That’s ‘initially’) ‘concealed’ by SIGMA (Greek character). | |
| 5 | Dark dresser, ultimately old hat (8) |
| SOMBRERO – SOMBRE (dark) + R (dresseR ‘ultimately’) + O (old). | |
| 6 | Monster therefore keeled over (4) |
| OGRE – ERGO (therefore) reversed (‘keeled over’) | |
| 9 | The enemy bound to take its toll? You’ll have to wait and see (4,4,4) |
| TIME WILL TELL – TIME (‘the old enemy’) + WILL TELL (bound to take its toll). | |
| 13 | Unwise dropping Roma’s top forward (8) |
| IMPUDENT – IMP |
|
| 14 | Curved sword — I’m carried by stupid racist (8) |
| SCIMITAR – IM (I’m) ‘carried by’ SCITAR (anagram (‘stupid’) of RACIST). | |
| 17 | Concealed hide close to sett (6) |
| COVERT – COVER (hide) + T (‘close to’ setT). | |
| 19 | A young woman has had bottom pinched, sadly (4) |
| ALAS – A + LAS |
|
| 21 | Ceremony proper, on the radio (4) |
| RITE – sounds like (‘on the radio’) RIGHT (proper). | |
Don, your blogs have always been extremely helpful and very much appreciated, and today’s is no exception. I only started these QCs less than 2 years ago and it is due to the efforts of you and your colleagues that I now finish so many and enjoy them so much. Thank you very much and a happy retirement to you — but be warned, retirement these days is not so much a chance to do nothing, but a chance to do something else. Or more usually, many things else! I predict you will not after all have as much free time on your hands as you think you will …
Cedric
An unusually early solve for me.
Didn’t find this too difficult with 14 going in on first pass. Parsing 9d was too hard but the blog makes it look easy. FOI 7a reach. LOI 2d Passer-by – BIFD but now I see the solution in Don’s blog. COD 1d from the heart as a good anagram.
13 minutes today is certainly one of our best (possibly actual best) times, so we will remember your last blog.
30 seconds within 10 minute target with some smiles when parsing biffs along the way.
LOI FROM THE HEART with what I thought a quite well hidden anagrind.
COD From the heart.
Thanks and good luck astartedon.
I think i would take up the travelling offer!
Many thank Sir for all your work and help since starting the QC
Diana
As a relative newbie, can I echo the comments made earlier by others who are new to this — your blogs have made the unfathomable clear, and I will miss them.
My very best wishes for the future.
GaryA
I suppose I’ll have to get used to giving solving times, and today’s isn’t one I mind starting with at 4:29. Sub 5’s are relatively rare for me. Enjoyed the solve, no niggles, a few smiles, so a pretty perfect QC in my book.
Anyway, I have been lurking on these pages and know just what a great job you have done, Don. You will be a hard act to follow! I hope it won’t feel too wrong commenting below the line on alternate Mondays and we continue to see plenty of you.
Edited at 2022-02-21 11:42 pm (UTC)
I do appreciate the clear explanations given in the blog. I then put in the across answers I’ve missed and continue solving!
Thank you so much for your explanations. I’m improving slowly and ploughing through ” impossible”(to start with) puzzles and filling in some answers.
I couldn’t have done this, or gained such enjoyment, without the blogs. Many thanks. Margaret