For some reason I absolutely tore through this in 4 minutes, which is my quickest time in ages. Everything is pretty familiar, to an experienced solver at least. The only one that gave me pause was 23 ac
| Across | |
| 1 | Benefit to a smaller extent in Crosby? (8) |
| BLESSING – LESS inside BING (Crosby) | |
| 5 | A revolutionary form of suffering (4) |
| ACHE – A + CHE. As usual, the anodyne description ‘revolutionary’ is used, rather than the more accurate ‘psychopathic murderer’ | |
| 8 | Coarse person in Derby, a hooligan (5) |
| YAHOO – hidden word: DerbY A HOOligan | |
| 9 | Subjects about right for the Torrid Zone (7) |
| TROPICS – TOPICS around R | |
| 11 | Military men carrying a pole for rowing (3) |
| OAR – OR (other ranks) with A inside | |
| 12 | Veronica’s source of methamphetamine? (9) |
| SPEEDWELL – A well full of speed | |
| 13 | Boisterous girl’s play about old doctor (6) |
| TOMBOY – TOY around O MB | |
| 15 | Thus delicate fabric provides comfort (6) |
| SOLACE – SO + LACE | |
| 18 | Himalayan ridge a girl surprisingly ran up (9) |
| ANNAPURNA – ANNA + anagram (‘surprisingly’) of RAN UP | |
| 19 | Chart made by woman going west (3) |
| MAP – PAM written towards the west, i.e. backwards | |
| 20 | Possibly draw flatfish to east of harbour (7) |
| PORTRAY – PORT + RAY | |
| 21 | Like old Peruvian serving prison sentence (5) |
| INCAN – IN (the) CAN (slang for prison) | |
| 22 | Meadow flower, originally, or part of one (4) |
| LEAF – LEA + F for flower | |
| 23 | Install Queen, one seen around north (8) |
| ENTHRONE – ER + ONE with NTH inside. Took me a minute to spot this, as I haven’t seen NTH as an abbreviation for North before | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Blacklist young lad on bed, it’s said (7) |
| BOYCOTT – BOY + COTT | |
| 2 | English novel meeting resistance in Surrey town (5) |
| ESHER – E + SHE + R. ‘Novel’ in crosswords is often an anagrind (i.e. indicates an anagram). When it refers to an actual novel, it is usually She by H Rider Haggard | |
| 3 | On board ship, how formal headgear produces a sensation (4-7) |
| SHOW-STOPPER – A ship is SS. ‘On board’ it we have HOW. Then TOPPER for formal headgear | |
| 4 | National leader — complete gonzo! (6) |
| NUTTER – N + UTTER | |
| 6 | Agree with artist, it’s a fanciful dream (7) |
| CHIMERA – CHIME + RA (Royal Academician) | |
| 7 | Calm conclusion of Liverpool supporter (5) |
| EASEL – EASE + L (end of Liverpool) | |
| 10 | Fussy one-time desire to tour Arab state (3-8) |
| OLD-WOMANISH – OLD (one-time) + WISH round OMAN. ‘Arab state’ is always OMAN | |
| 14 | Male marine predator circling popular Mediterranean island (7) |
| MINORCA – M + ORCA round IN for popular | |
| 16 | Cost of keeping female swans in river? (7) |
| EXPENSE – PENS are female swans, inside the river EXE | |
| 17 | Criminal pinching a chap’s drawing implement (6) |
| CRAYON – CON surrounding RAY | |
| 18 | Horrify a person like Revere, do we hear? (5) |
| APPAL – Sounds like A PAUL | |
| 19 | Virile Chinese leader once restricting church (5) |
| MACHO – MAO outside CH | |
I’ve found this week to be a grind. However the excellence of the blogs has helped my understanding no end.
Have a good weekend.
GaryA