A severely over par 09:41 for me, though this was mostly spent on two clues. Otherwise fairly straightforward, with some nice anagrams and a cracking &lit that is so perfect I can’t believe I’ve never seen it before.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identify Eastern fellow going west (4) |
| NAME – E + MAN backwards | |
| 3 | What may be offered by therapist? Service ahead of time (7) |
| MASSAGE – MASS (service) + AGE | |
| 8 | Hospital transplant? Second thoughts could lead to this (6,2,5) |
| CHANGE OF HEART – double definition | |
| 9 | Writer’s page introducing Old English (3) |
| POE – P + O + E. Edgar Allan, obvs | |
| 10 | Attempt to gain advantage once leader’s left area of influence (5) |
| AMBIT – GAMBIT (from chess) minus first letter | |
| 12 | Joy crossing lake with daughter and boat crew (7) |
| DELIGHT – D (daughter) + EIGHT (boat crew) around L | |
| 14 | Class was first aroused (7) |
| KINDLED – KIND (class) + LED (was first) | |
| 16 | Change with time being put back creates alarm (5) |
| ALERT – ALTER with T for time being put to the end | |
| 17 | Beast pauses every so often (3) |
| ASS – alternate letters | |
| 20 | Dog gets in shelter, having been disturbed (7,6) |
| ENGLISH SETTER – anagram (‘having been distributed’) of GETS IN SHELTER | |
| 21 | Literary device TS Eliot transformed (7) |
| LITOTES – anagram (‘transformed’) of TS ELIOT. Who, as we all know, can also be anagrammed as TOILETS | |
| 22 | Fat boy eating last of dinner (4) |
| LARD – LAD with [ |
|
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cheap ornament in prison can upset folk ultimately (4-4) |
| NICK-NACK – NICK (prison) + CAN backwards + [ |
|
| 2 | Drink and nuts around start of evening (4) |
| MEAD – MAD around E | |
| 3 | Elevated space editor secured (6) |
| MOORED – MOOR (elevated space) + ED | |
| 4 | One to organise the classroom? (12) |
| SCHOOLMASTER – anagram of THE CLASSROOM, and an &lit. Bravo | |
| 5 | Having two hands operating for a time? (8) |
| ANALOGUE – cryptic definition. This took me ages | |
| 6 | Food some require at six (4) |
| EATS – hidden word | |
| 7 | Devious spy I get to log as “one specialising in African country”’ (12) |
| EGYPTOLOGIST – anagram (‘devious’) of SPY I GET TO LOG | |
| 11 | Cake and fruit that’s regularly seen in tea party (8) |
| BUNFIGHT – BUN (cake) + FIG (fruit) + alternate letters of tHaT‘s. This was the other one that held me up. I biffed it but couldn’t see the parsing for ages. | |
| 13 | Clutching mammal, Edward walked uncertainly (8) |
| TOTTERED – TED with OTTER inside | |
| 15 | Marks runs (6) |
| DASHES – double definition | |
| 18 | Tumbled down hill (4) |
| FELL – double definition | |
| 19 | Greek character entertaining any number in Sicilian location (4) |
| ETNA – ETA with N inserted | |
28:58, and the thing that reminds me that I’m still relatively new at this is that when they are hard, they are very very hard. Not that it was all hard, ANALOGUE (unsurprisingly) and ALERT gave me real trouble, together providing 15 minutes of bafflement. Well, BUNFIGHT also tricky as I DNK anything other than the “petty quarrel” meaning.
The rest was steady though not speedy. SCHOOLMASTER, what a glorious anagram / &lit, and LITOTES also not bad at all.
Thanks Izetti and Curarist.
Huh, I parsed FELL as a triple definition — to FELL someone is to down them.