Time: 7 minutes. This was my best QC solving time since my last blog a fortnight ago. How did you do?
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I now use a tilde sign ~ to indicate an insertion point in containment clues. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
|---|---|
| 7 | Is monkey allowed to eat this? (6) |
| CANAPE – CAN APE (is monkey allowed to?) | |
| 8 | A vote, initially on name for space programme (6) |
| APOLLO – A, POLL, O{n} [initially] | |
| 9 | Confirm live data needs correcting (8) |
| VALIDATE – Anagram [needs correcting] LIVE DATA | |
| 10 | Support nobleman when caught (4) |
| PIER – Aural wordplay [when caught]: “peer” (nobleman) | |
| 11 | Abandon the Sahara? (6) |
| DESERT – Two definitions, the second by example | |
| 13 | Quietly recommend expulsion (5) |
| PURGE – P (quietly), URGE (recommend) | |
| 14 | Aussie native runs round and round (3) |
| ROO – R (runs), O (round), O (round) | |
| 15 | Almost losing head at dawn? (5) |
| EARLY – {n}EARLY (almost) [losing head] | |
| 17 | Careless about failure (6) |
| REMISS – RE (about), MISS (failure) | |
| 19 | Couple I encountered on way back (4) |
| ITEM – I, then MET (encountered) reversed [on way back] | |
| 20 | Tory I rip off is most pressing concern (8) |
| PRIORITY – Anagram [off] of TORY I RIP | |
| 22 | Resident gullible about start of trouble (6) |
| NATIVE – NA~IVE (gullible) containing [about] T{rouble} [start of…] | |
| 23 | Shopkeeper selling food increasingly vulgar, I hear (6) |
| GROCER – Aural wordplay [I hear]: “grosser” (increasingly vulgar) | |
| Down |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Two personal assistants for old man (4) |
| PAPA – PA + PA (two personal assistants) | |
| 2 | US state harbouring resistance fighter (6) |
| MARINE – MA~INE ( US state) containing [harbouring] R (resistance) | |
| 3 | Depart NY in turmoil, splitting hairs (8) |
| PEDANTRY – Anagram [in turmoil] of DEPART NY | |
| 4 | Contact attendant at court (4) |
| PAGE – Two meanings | |
| 5 | Policeman, one managing to acquire power (6) |
| COPPER – COP~ER (one managing) containing [to acquire] P (power) | |
| 6 | No crossword setter could be so ignorant (8) |
| CLUELESS – A cryptic hint precedes the literal. | |
| 12 | Ultimate net value to be adjusted (8) |
| EVENTUAL – Anagram [to be adjusted] of NET VALUE | |
| 13 | What you might have at breakfast time in prison? (8) |
| PORRIDGE – Two meanings | |
| 16 | Last of weather holding me up (6) |
| REMAIN – R~AIN (weather) containing [holding] ME reversed [up] | |
| 18 | Former Lothario hoards red wine (6) |
| MERLOT – Hidden in [hoards] {for}MER LOT{hario} | |
| 20 | Periodically protect man of letters (4) |
| POET – P{r}O{t}E{c}T [periodically] | |
| 21 | Outsiders expelled from Athens at that time (4) |
| THEN – {A}THEN{s} [outsiders expelled] | |
Yes, nothing much to hold me up here, though I needed a few stabs before NATIVE fell.
5:13.
If you’re looking for a tougher challenge, today’s main puzzle is a little tougher than your average Monday. The last couple may prove difficult.
4:11
A gentle one–lowest SNITCH in months. A MER, though, at NATIVE; natives are not necessarily resident, nor residents native.
I agree this was pretty easy. I didn’t like porridge because the two definitions are etymologically connected. In the end, I got completely stuck on the canape/marine crossing. Yes, a monkey and an ape are technically two different things, but since I tried can and may early on I should have thought of it.
Time: 7:07
On 23/2 we have #3232, for what that’s worth which is nothing. Came in a tad under 6 having pulled the wrong rein as usual on the PIER/PEER homophone and losing a little time tracking down the error. Enjoyable QC, thanks to Pipsqueak and Jack.
Yep also brisk for me, 7.28 which I think is my personal record… and that’s after initially leading myself astray with LAUD for support/sounding like lord
Prefacing this comment by saying that I was going for speed today, and so my error was 100% my fault. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. If I had thought about the clue for more than a second, I would have had a near-PB of 4:09.
Having said that — and I’m guessing this has been a longstanding whinge amongst cryptic solvers for years before I undertook this highly enriching hobby — a monkey is not an ape.
In any event, lovely puzzle. Always nice to encounter a breeze once in a while. Ta Pipsqueak and Jack. COD was CLUELESS.
A pretty good seven on the first pass of acrosses even if most were in the bottom half. The downs were similar and then I the others needed hard work. VALIDATE and PRIORITY both took more unscambling that they shoud have and CANAPE took me past the eight minute mark at the end. Big relief to finally see it to finish all green in 8:23.