Although I completed it within my 6 minute target, this felt like a decent workout for a quickie. Some of the indicators are perhaps a little recherché , and it helps if you know what a sprit is (I didn’t), or that rotisserie is a restaurant as well as a kitchen appliance. My COD goes to 8 ac.
| Across |
| 1 |
Restaurant rubbish is strewn initially beside lake (10) |
|
ROTISSERIE – ROT (rubbish) + IS + S[trewn] + (lake) ERIE |
| 8 |
Nearly tan … half browny? (5) |
|
TAWNY – TA[N] + [BRO]WNY |
| 9 |
Perhaps vinyl LP more damaged around the start of Yesterday (7) |
|
POLYMER – anagram (‘damaged’) of LP MORE with Y for Yesterday |
| 10 |
High region covered in thick mist earlier (9) |
|
FOREGOING – FOG round anagram (‘high’) of REGION |
| 12 |
Time regularly needed for retrial (3) |
|
ERA – alternate letters of rEtRiAl |
| 13 |
See heads on Camra’s own choice of alcoholic drink (5) |
|
COCOA – Acronym |
| 15 |
Top clubs recharge one’s batteries (5) |
|
CREST – C for clubs + REST |
| 17 |
English appeal over draw (3) |
|
TIE – E + IT backwards |
| 18 |
What could be on actor is easy to carry around on location (9) |
|
SPOTLIGHT – SPOT + LIGHT |
| 20 |
One rejected from openly gay actors (7) |
|
OUTCAST – OUT + CAST |
| 21 |
Come running about a brief character role (5) |
|
CAMEO – anagram (‘running’) of COME around A |
| 22 |
Contaminate fully-fledged Ecstasy with speed (10) |
|
ADULTERATE – ADULT (fully-fledged) + E (ecstasy) + RATE |
| Down |
| 1 |
Sanction process of becoming a rodent? (12) |
|
RATIFICATION – cryptic definition, becoming a rat. |
| 2 |
Somewhere along rocky height you and I stand high (5) |
|
TOWER – WE (you and I ) inside TOR. ‘Somewhere along’ is a new indicator for me. |
| 3 |
Agent grasses up enemy in the end (3) |
|
SPY – last letters |
| 4 |
Quickness of European Pole on board? (6) |
|
ESPRIT – E (european) + SPRIT, ‘a small spar reaching diagonally from a mast to the upper outer corner of a sail.’ |
| 5 |
I will turn up. I visit mostly without reason (9) |
|
ILLOGICAL -ILL + GO backwards (‘turn’ up) + I CAL[L] |
| 6 |
Electrical unit checked after removal of terminals (6) |
|
AMPERE – HAMPERED without the ends. |
| 7 |
Style of swimming starkers to be changed (12) |
|
BREASTSTROKE – anagram (‘changed’) of STARKERS TO BE |
| 11 |
Donkey left in large area of pasture (9) |
|
GRASSLAND – ASS + L inside GRAND |
| 14 |
Make wooden box with key inserted (6) |
|
CREATE – CRATE with E inserted |
| 16 |
Gateway drink — a lager at first (6) |
|
PORTAL -PORT + A + L[AGER] |
| 19 |
Character of flowing magma (5) |
|
GAMMA – anagram (‘flowing’) of MAGMA |
| 21 |
Prompt remedy banishing runs (3) |
|
CUE – CURE minus R for runs |
DNF, had 3 clues left after 27 minutes but couldn’t figure them out. Had AMP for 6d but couldn’t finish it off, thought of ROTISSERIE but couldn’t make it fit the wordplay so never put it, and just thought it meant a cooked chicken 😆. A good puzzle none the less! Thank you for the blog explaining the clues today
38 minutes, most spent on FOREGOING and ESPRIT.
Nightmare week:
M – 35m DNF
T – 15m
W – 12m
Th -75m
F – 38m
Is it any wonder I’m so miserable? Over 4 years at this and I am absolutely nowhere! Hours and hours on the 15 x 15 trying to learn, and still can’t handle the QC. Almost 3 hours. A dismal performance.
PS 1.5 hours on 15 x 15 for a DNF. One clue incorrect. It just never happens for me. ☹️
6:33
Catching up with yesterday’s offering. Nothing too tricky – like the blogger, I didn’t know ROTISSERIE could be a restaurant (but why not, eh?). Liked RATIFICATION. LOI ESPRIT.
Thanks Curarist and Joker