Maybe just me, but I found this one hard and I was granted permission to enter the hallowed portals of the SCC by a full 14 seconds to complete it.
Even on review, I still found it difficult to parse some of the answers and there were a few unfamiliar words eg 2d, 14d and the colloquialisms at 9a and 10a.
Thanks to Orpheus for a toughie, but possibly others’ experience was different (with a nod to 6d).
Definitions underlined in bold, deletions marked by strikethrough
| Across | |
| 1 | Wanderer’s tie with Virginia and Georgia (8) |
| VAGABOND – BOND (‘tie’) with VA (‘Virginia’) and GA (‘Georgia’) | |
| 5 | Father after Oscar (4) |
| PAPA – Follows Oscar in the Nato alphabet | |
| 9 | Prison officer’s wage (5) |
| SCREW – Double definition
To me the second definition, slang for salary or wages, is less familiar |
|
| 10 | Meal we hope not to have on the motorway! (7) |
| BLOWOUT – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint
This was my last in and only courtesy of the second definition and crossers. On reflection, I suppose I had heard of a blowout (or blow-out) for a lavish meal, but it didn’t occur to me when solving |
|
| 11 | US city man introducing article on London theatre (12) |
| PHILADELPHIA – PHIL (‘man’) preceding (‘introducing’) A (‘article’) on ADELPHI (‘London theatre’)
Not your usual LA or NY for the ‘US city’ and a not common random man’s name so another one I found hard. Using brackets to further explain the parsing, it’s PHIL preceding (A on, or following, ADELPHI). This obeys the X on Y = X follows Y convention for an across clue |
|
| 13 | Motorist’s club (6) |
| DRIVER – Double definition | |
| 15 | French street with upper-class books? Not so (6) |
| UNTRUE – RUE (‘French street’) with U (‘upper-class’) NT (‘books?’) | |
| 17 | Concluded successfully, being proficient (12) |
| ACCOMPLISHED – Double definition | |
| 20 | The Case of the Government Ministers? (7) |
| CABINET – Double definition or could be seen as a cryptic definition. ‘Government ministers’ may not be members of CABINET (at least where I come from), hence the question mark | |
| 21 | Evergreen tree — old, as it happens (5) |
| OLIVE – O (‘old’) LIVE (‘as it happens’)
As in a “live” TV broadcast |
|
| 22 | Record held by greyhound is challenged (4) |
| DISC – Hidden (‘held by’) ‘greyhounD IS Challenged’ | |
| 23 | Study of weapons finally kept in garden (8) |
| ROCKETRY – T (‘finally kept’=last letter of ‘kepT‘) contained in (‘in’) ROCKERY (‘garden’) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Pass very agilely at first around island (4) |
| VISA – V (‘very’) A (‘agilely at first’=first letter of ‘Agilely’) containing (‘around’) IS (‘island’) | |
| 2 | Engraver and painter leaving house for court (5) |
| GARTH – William Hogarth, painter and satirist, A Rake’s Progress etc. My second last in. I’d forgotten this word for a courtyard surrounded by a cloister |
|
| 3 | Perplexity shown by less civilised chaps involved in wager (12) |
| BEWILDERMENT – WILDER (‘less civilised’) MEN (‘chaps’) contained in (‘involved in’) BET (‘wager’)
Described my experience with lots of today’s clues very well! |
|
| 4 | Nonentity’s complaint about inferior wine? (6) |
| NOBODY – Definition with cryptic hint. If you were making a criticism about an ‘inferior wine’ you might say it had NO BODY | |
| 6 | A different article — by him, presumably? (7) |
| ANOTHER – A (‘Article’) followed by (‘by’) NOT HER (‘him presumably?’)
I initially parsed this unconfidently as a cryptic definition. |
|
| 7 | Toothless type that may take in the workers (8) |
| ANTEATER – Cryptic definition
My COD. I don’t think you could describe this as a “barely cryptic” cryptic definition. Pangolin, echidna and others |
|
| 8 | Very rich plant producing railway carriages, etc (7,5) |
| ROLLING STOCK – ROLLING (‘Very rich’) STOCK (‘plant’)
A stock is one of several types of plant or the plant or stem from which cuttings are taken |
|
| 12 | Made progress, being precocious (8) |
| ADVANCED – Double definition | |
| 14 | One youngster in Students’ Union — a nightmare! (7) |
| INCUBUS – I (‘One’) CUB (‘youngster’) contained in (‘in’) NUS (‘Students’ Union’)
NUS as abbreviation for National Union of Students |
|
| 16 | Pie-eyed bachelor’s first game (6) |
| BLOTTO – B (‘Bachelor’s first’=first letter of ‘Bachelor’) LOTTO (‘game’)
One of many colloquialisms for “drunk” so beloved of our setters |
|
| 18 | Woman in City area originally teaching law (5) |
| EDICT – DI (‘Woman’) contained in (‘in’) EC (‘City area’) T (‘originally teaching’=first letter of ‘Teaching’)
A more common random woman’s name than PHIL for ‘man’ in 11a anyway. EC as postcode for ‘City’ of London |
|
| 19 | Tax the French extremely viciously (4) |
| LEVY – LE (‘the French’) VY (‘extremely viciously’=first and last letters of ‘ViciouslY‘) | |
Another toughie, but not quite as slow as yesterday. Finished in 27:53 with BLOWOUT. NHO GARTH and thought he must be an unknown engraver as I conveniently forgot about the court bit upon realising I had to take the Ho out of Hogarth. Also never heard of wage=screw. Maybe that’s the origin of being screwed over. Anyway, thanks Orpheus and BR.
Wouldn’t like to say how long this took as people will think I’m an idiot. The only real quibble I have is Garth. Never heard of it, apart from as a character in a newspaper comic strip. Like others I do wonder if the setters are trying to crowd out us simple folk.