So yes, this is only Jet Lag’s second puzzle: the first was back in August last year, which finished up on 111 on the quitch, and I’d put this at a similar level.
And another lovely puzzle, with some cracking surfaces, well-worked anagrams, and tricksy clueing aplenty. Looking back at it, the first had a bit of a US flavour; and so again today, with JOE, CANDY, BOSTON, DENY, among others, so there could be some significance to our setter’s name.
I came home in 8:51, and would have been decently over the 10 minutes had I troubled to parse everything along the way. Lovely stuff – many thanks to Jet Lag!
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wide-ranging traveller goes through Moldova, Gabon, Djibouti, … (8) |
| VAGABOND – “goes through” moldoVA GABON Djibouti. These three countries would require a 6,000-mile jaunt, as the crow flies, and would be decidedly intrepid however you went about it. I remember being quite surprised on finding out VAGABOND is primarily a neutral word for an itinerant: wherever I first read the word when young, it was with the connotation of rogues and bandits, and that sense lodged in my head. | |
| 5 | Kid finally drank boring American coffee (4) |
| JOKE – K (“finally” dranK) to “bore”/drill into JOE (American coffee). Origin obscure for JOE, but first cited to early 40s, so maybe military. | |
| 8 | After reflection, transfer clock-watcher? (5) |
| TIMER – REMIT (transfer) is one of those words with quite a wide remit, and I quickly remembered from crosswords past that its reverse (“after reflection”) is TIMER, for which “clock-watcher?” is a fun definition. | |
| 9 | Gold stone before grave (7) |
| AUSTERE – AU (symbol for gold) ST(one) ERE (before) | |
| 11 | Business involving buying and selling chessmen opened by brother (11) |
| PAWNBROKING – PAWN and KING (chessmen) opened by BRO(ther) | |
| 13 | Upset at more conspiratorial code (6) |
| OMERTA – anagram (upset) of AT MORE. The OED says the word is not Sicilian in origin, and is most likely a corruption of the Spanish hombredad, meaning manliness; there is little evidence for the other main option, the Italian umiltà, meaning humility. | |
| 14 | High point includes characters in the Odyssey (6) |
| ALPHAS – ALP (high point) HAS (includes). Cunning little use of INCLUDES there. | |
| 16 | Field worker sees her PhD’s wasted (11) |
| SHEPHERDESS – anagram (wasted) of SEES HER PHDS. Very nice! | |
| 18 | Starts to belt a Verdi tune somewhere in Germany (7) |
| BAVARIA – the “starts” to Belt A Verdi, ARIA (tune) | |
| 19 | Quiet part is said out loud (5) |
| PEACE – is “said” the same as PIECE (part) | |
| 20 | Small quantity — it can be seen in this clue (4) |
| DASH – a DASH can be both a small quantity, and, well, the dash-shaped object currently masquerading as an equals sign in the middle of the clue. | |
| 21 | Frankly, I had 50 filling sweets (8) |
| CANDIDLY – I’D (I had) L (fifty in Roman numerals) filling CANDY (sweets) | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reject love initiated by ex-soldier (4) |
| VETO – O (love) initiated by VET (ex-soldier) | |
| 2 | Maybe old maid quietly holds back animal sanctuaries? (4,9) |
| GAME PRESERVES – GAME (maybe old maid, the card game) P (piano = quietly) RESERVES (hold back) | |
| 3 | Person perhaps observing seagull cavorting with red crab (11) |
| BIRDWATCHER – very nice anagram (cavorting) of WITH RED CRAB. I imagine a (non-cryptic) birdwatcher would consider seagulls pretty thin gruel: how about a bunch of street pigeons to gawp at instead? | |
| 4 | Barney moving close (6) |
| NEARBY – anagram (moving) of BARNEY | |
| 6 | Comedian’s gig about English furniture (3-5,5) |
| ONE-NIGHT STAND – ON (about) E(nglish) NIGHTSTAND (furniture). A one-off play/routine/etc was the original sense, first cited in 1878, with the sex sense emerging in the 1950s (both originally US). There is presumably some 50s sitcom that plays on the confusion this might cause, to great hilarity. | |
| 7 | Invigorate crude genre with one’s elegance to begin with (8) |
| ENERGISE – anagram (crude) of GENRE with I’S (one’s) and E (Elegance “to begin with) | |
| 10 | Part of a dress ought to drape loosely (8,3) |
| SHOULDER PAD – |
|
| 12 | New England city backing commercial fair (3,2,3) |
| NOT SO BAD – BOSTON (New England city) “backing”, AD (commercial) | |
| 15 | Miserable person assuming Time published mistakes (6) |
| ERRATA – RAT (miserable person) assuming/wearing ERA (time) | |
| 17 | Say no to two states bordering Pennsylvania (4) |
| DENY – the two states being Delaware and New York. I had Delaware a good bit further south in my (hazy) mental map, but I see there is a little 25-mile border with Pa. at its very north. | |
39 minute DNF.
Could not get ALPHAS, a clue that doesn’t belong in a QC. How was anyone lacking a classical education meant to solve that?
I can’t bring myself to read the 101 comments that have already been posted, but I’m surprised we were given this after yesterday’s offering. It will serve only to put off new, inexperienced and limited ability solvers (like me). No doubt the boffins liked it, but I’m not sure that’s the point of the QC.
I honestly wish I hadn’t bothered with this today.
Already over 2 hours for the week. How bad is that?
PS A pathetic 20 on the 15 x 15 in well over an hour. No progress, no enjoyment. Another awful day in cryptic crossword land.
PPS I have now read the comments and am more disheartened than ever. Those against whom I compare myself have times that grind me into the dust. What do they have that I lack? There is a secret to this that I cannot work out, no matter how much time/effort I put in.
DNF
Was doing really well with all but 3 to go at the 7 minute mark. JOKE went in with fingers crossed (NHO as coffee) which released ONE NIGHT STAND (unparsed as others).
Sat staring at 14a (ALPHAS) for what felt like an age. Zero inspiration soliciting another towel throwing.
Agree with others re PRESERVE/RESERVE.
I guess I now have a little more empathy with our American commenters solving UK centric QCs 🙂
FOI: VAGABOND
LOI: DNF
COD: DASH (for the PDM)
Thanks to Jet Lag and roly
Oh dear, so much moaning above. It’s all so depressing and, dare I say it, rather entitled (for solvers to expect every puzzle to be within their own personal Goldilocks zone…).
I found this one very hard and had to reveal LOI ALPHAS. COD DASH, although I also liked NOT SO BAD for the misdirection. Thanks JL and Roly.
In Britain we have bedside tables where Americans have night stands