There’s a problem with access to this puzzle and since it has not been resolved overnight I have posted it temporarily on my Live Journal page. To go there, click “jackkt” under my userpic. I shall remove this later when the problem on the Times site has been sorted out. The puzzle is now available on the Times site at : http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20150112/571/
This one took me 16 minutes in total, 9 minutes for all but three then another 7 minutes for 16ac, 20ac and 8dn. I’m not sure there’s anything obscure here, but perhaps the crows at 20ac might qualify and I guess there are a few others such the part of the ship that may not be in everyday use. I note that the majority of the clues had the definition right up front which I found a litttle repetitive but it may have helped out less confident solvers.
Definitions {Deletions} [Indicators]
|
Across |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Isambard Brunel’s domain (7) |
| KINGDOM – It’s also the engineer’s middle name | |
| 7 | Wicked little devil with evidence of debts (7) |
| IMPIOUS – IMP (little devil), IOUs (evidence of debts) | |
| 9 | Train like a former journalist? (7) |
| EXPRESS – EX (former), PRESS (journalist) | |
| 10 | Sign made by riot cops, oddly, when short of time? (7) |
| SCORPIO – Anagram [oddly] of RIO{t} COPS [short of time]. The eighth sign of the zodiac. | |
| 11 | Lacy mat daughter’s given away, soaked in viscous liquid (4) |
| OILY – {d}OILY (lacy mat) [daughter’s given away] | |
| 12 | What some workers do, voting in a bright candidate ultimately (9) |
| POLLINATE – POLL (voting), IN, A, {brigh}T, {candidat}E [ultimately]. ‘Workers’ with reference to bees, of course. I’m not sure it has ever occurred to me before that the ‘E’ in ‘pollen’ becomes ‘I’ in this word derived from it. | |
| 14 | Ability to understand what judge pronounces about one (9) |
| SENTIENCE – SENTENCE (what judge pronounces) [about] I (one) | |
| 16 | Devoted attachment? It’s nothing to some sportspeople (4) |
| LOVE – Double definition, the second with reference to tennis where ‘no score’ is termed ‘love’. It’s derived from ‘l’oeuf’ the French for ‘egg’ because of the numeral’s shape. | |
| 17 | Dance round shelter accompanied by old record (7) |
| ONESTEP – O (round), NEST (shelter), EP (old record – extended play). Tricky parsing here as ’round’ is not indicating enclosure on this occasion. According to all my sources this should be hyphenated (3-4). | |
| 20 | Husband with food treats no good for crows (7) |
| HOODIES – H (husband), {g}OODIES (food treats) [no good]. Not a word that came easily to mind, but it’s in the dictionary in its own right as a variation on ‘hooded crow’ or ‘hoodie-crow’ and I have certainly met at least one form or another in the past. | |
| 21 | Throw into confusion, exploding grenade (7) |
| DERANGE – Anagram [exploding] of GRENADE | |
| 22 | Reported access jockeys require before race? (5-2) |
| WEIGH IN – Sounds like [reported] WAY IN (access) | |
|
Down |
|
| 1 | Do as promised – retain single weapon (4,4,4) |
| KEEP ONE’S WORD – KEEP (retain), ONE (single) SWORD (weapon) | |
| 2 | Emperor, not in Paris, carrying a staff (8) |
| NAPOLEON – NON (not in Paris) enclosing [carrying] A+POLE (staff) | |
| 3 | Sketched river, surrounded by atmospheric vapour (4) |
| DREW – R (river) surrounded by DEW (atmospheric vapour). I’d question whether dew can be defined as vapour as I’d have thought it’s rather the product of condensed vapour. | |
| 4 | Service book – a weapon for Americans, do we hear? (6) |
| MISSAL – Sounds like MISSILE (weapon) as spoken by Americans, allegedly | |
| 5 | Suitable computer program opening, initially, internet location (8) |
| APPOSITE – APP (computer program), O{pening}, SITE (internet location) | |
| 6 | Stern of ship going up and down (4) |
| POOP – One definition plus an indication that it’s a palindrome [up and down]. I think this is most commonly used with reference to the poop deck of a ship | |
| 8 | Man or woman representing the bicycle factory? (12) |
| SPOKESPERSON – Cryptic definition | |
| 12 | Way of indicating mortar between bricks (8) |
| POINTING – Double definition | |
| 13 | Surprise greatly with regard to broken shin (8) |
| ASTONISH – AS TO (with regard to), anagram [broken] of SHIN | |
| 15 | Rising writer cut relative (6) |
| NEPHEW – PEN (writer) reversed [rising], HEW (cut) | |
| 18 | Bring in vessel referred to in speech (4) |
| EARN – Sounds like URN (vessel) | |
| 19 | Sun-helmet – most superior one (4) |
| TOPI – TOP (most superior), I (one) | |
Very enjoyable grapple, I thought. Probably towards the trickier end, but nothing obscure (although I must admit I had to guess at MISSAL – but that is probably more a reflection of my lack of churchgoing than anything else).
Hard to pick a COD from several good contenders, but the spokesperson probably just edges the impecunious imp for me.
Edited at 2015-01-12 08:38 am (UTC)
Looks like the puzzle is now accessible on the Times site.
http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20150112/571/
Thought spokesperson was excellent.
Had I been creative enough to think of it in the first place (which I was not!)I’m sure I’d have been stuck on this on the basis bows “just had to be right…
COD definitely spokesperson!
I thought the puzzle was a nice challenge with words I’m not that familiar with, e.g. TOPI, HOODIES and IMPIOUS, though all gettable from the cryptic. Not sure about ONESTEP and agree with Jakckkt that it should be hyphenated.
Thanks to jackkt for the blog and to Orpheus for the puzzle.
The links published on this page work fine (thanks for those) but orthodox entry through the “front door” on the Times website meets with the all too familiar “crossword loading or you are not logged in” (despite waiting several minutes for the thing to ,load and definitely being logged in…)