QC 2957 by Mara – Times for The Times

11:48, but with a very slow start

Definitions underlined in bold , synonyms in (parentheses) (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, other wordplay in [square brackets] and deletions in {curly} brackets.

Across
1	Marathon backed by top athlete (4,6)
	LONG JUMPER – LONG (Marathon) + JUMPER (top) This would be the use of Marathon as an adjective: “that was a marathon solve, sixty-eight minutes”. Marathon has spawned countless “-thon” offspring, each inheriting their parent’s sense of endurance and sustained effort. The modern world now teems with telethons , swimathons , dance-a-thons and hackathons.
8	Creator runs into Satan, I suspect (7)
	ARTISAN – (SATAN I)* [suspect] contains R{uns} I was sure this would end -IST.
9	Tight skirt finally seen after adjustment (5)
	TENSE – {skir}T + (SEEN)* The device “finally” can just as easily be used to truncate the preceding or subsequent word, and this time I was chasing down a rogue {see}N
10	Catch part of the argument (4)
	HEAR – hidden in “the argument”
11	Fictional island nitwit oddly located in map reference (8)
	ATLANTIS – N{i}T{w}I{t} inside ATLAS (map reference) I was embarrassingly slow to think of this one. I had Avalon, Brigadoon, Treasure. Of course many people (such as Graham Hancock) think Atlantis was not fictional.
13	Roosevelt’s bedtime companion? (5)
	TEDDY – Cryptic Clue The name “TEDDY Bear” originated in 1902 after President Theodore “TEDDY” Roosevelt refused to shoot a captive bear during a hunting trip. A political cartoon depicted this moment, inspiring toymaker Morris Michtom to create a stuffed bear named “Teddy’s Bear.” After getting Roosevelt’s permission to use his name, the toys became wildly popular and the name stuck.
14	Smile having pinched a bit of salt, say? (5)
	GRAIN – GRIN (smile) contains “a”
16	A novel is translated in European country (8)
	SLOVENIA – (A NOVEL IS)* [translated] And I’m off there next week, it so happens (Piran, on the Adriatic).
17	Bypass ship’s captain (4)
	SKIP – Double def SKIP for captain originated in the early days of merchant sailing where “skipper” comes from the Dutch word “schipper” meaning “ship’s master.” Thence cut down to SKIP.
20	Diner dined in centre of Peru (5)
	EATER – ATE (dined) contained in {p}ER{u}
21	Refraining from punishing half-hearted fighting (7)
	SPARING – Double def This looks odd, as I would have thought that SPARING had a double R to indicate a short-A vowel sound. But it doesn’t. “bar” becomes “barring” and “bare” becomes “baring”; star/stare/starring/staring work similarly.
22	Inherited factor less cultivated in old actor (4,6)
	GENE WILDER – GENE (inherited factor) + WILDER (less cultivated) Well-known for his role as the original Willy Wonka.

Down
1	Lead role ultimately bagged in hit (5)
	LEASH – {rol}E contained in LASH (hit) Does Lead=Leash? Pedants claim “lead” is used to lead something while a LEASH is used to restrain something. So, in America, dog handlers refer to it as a “lead” and ordinary pet owners refer to it as a LEASH. We Brits treat them as equivalents, I think.
2	Practicalities of securing devices? (4,3,5)
	NUTS AND BOLTS – Nuts and bolts are examples of “securing devices”, although I think “fasteners” is the usual way of talking about them. And lets not forget the famous headline about an Escapee from an Asylum who assaults women in a Launderette and then flees: NUT SCREWS WASHERS & BOLTS
3	Lawful, by a hair’s-breadth (4)
	JUST – Double def
4	Barely perceptible amount of time (6)
	MINUTE – Double def
5	Alienate set struggling with diversity (8)
	ESTRANGE – (SET)* [struggling] + RANGE (diversity) We had this clue in the QC late last week,
6	Characteristic of monorail enthusiast? (3-5,4)
	ONE-TRACK MIND – Cryptic definition And of course there is the Springfield Monorail from the Simpsons.
7	Soul for every boy (6)
	PERSON – PER (for every) + SON (boy)
12	From the pen of Eliot or Orwell? Dear me! (2,6)
	BY GEORGE – GEORGE Eliot (The pen name of Mary Ann Evans) & GEORGE Orwell, both authors Very nice. Bernard Shaw might be confusing, as would R.R. Martin. So Eliot and Orwell make the cut.
13	Perfume sample setter sprayed about (6)
	TESTER – (SETTER)* [sprayed about] TESTERs are either very small vials or the bits of cardboard the perfume is sprayed on. I think you then make noises like sniffing wine and make up unlikely scents (“I’m getting Pomegranate with a hint of New Car”)
15	Cleaner matter under bottom of carpet (6)
	TISSUE – ISSUE (matter) follows {carpe}T
18	Messaging device opening up electronic records primarily (5)
	PAGER – GAP (opening) reversed [“up” in this down clue] + E{lectronic} R{ecords} I think this was the hardest to parse this morning, although the clue was easy to guess. How long before “Messaging Device” has to be described as “Old Messaging Device”, as Gene Wilder is described as an “old Actor”. He died in 2016, about the same time as PAGERs did.
19	Country involved in formal institutions (4)
	MALI – Hidden in formal institutions This country appears extremely frequently in crosswords, but they only got a 10% tariff in Trump’s list, so there’s that.

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