Stepping into the breach for one of our regular team, I took my Android tablet to bed hoping to make an early start. However the Times coding doesn’t like my Android browser and mis-produced some of the clues; I had to resort to good old Windows to do the buusiness without &rm;% and suchlike appearing instead of apostrophes. However, I’m here now.
I haven’t done a Wednesday before but thought this was a tad harder than the Friday fare I usually blog, as it combines anagrams and other cryptic bits in the same clues, e.g 16ac.
| Across |
| 1 |
FUNGAL – Light-hearted = FUN, lass = GAL, together describing Candida, a yeast fungus which afflicts some people in delicate places (thankfully not me). |
| 4 |
REMAIN – RE = concerning, MAIN = concerning, remain can mean wait. Not the most testing clue. |
| 8 |
VICIOUS CIRCLE – Cryptic definition, VICIOUS = nasty, CIRCLE = clique, def. ‘makes situation ever worse’. |
| 10 |
USAGE – America = US, a long time = AGE, def. convention. |
| 11 |
OVERALL – OVER = on top of, ALL = everything, def. altogether. |
| 12 |
IMPORTATION – Anagram (I’M NO PATRIOT)*, indicated by ‘working’, meaning ‘something from abroad.’ My tablet browser displayed gibberish instead of the apostrophe in I’m. |
| 16 |
TABITHA – (HABIT)* is after (‘chasing’) TA (territorial army, part time soldiers), def. is ‘Female’. |
| 17 |
SNORE – Irritated = SORE is ‘interrupted’ by N (start of noise) for the slightly amusing def. ‘sound asleep’. Allegedly I do, but I’ve never heard it. |
| 18 |
CONSIDERATION – CON = against, SIDE = team, RATION = share, put together for the def. ‘reward’. |
| 19 |
OYSTER – hidden word, ENJ(OYS TER)RIBLE, for the far-from-terrible variety of seafood. |
| 20 |
SECTOR – SEC = dry (of wine, or in French), TOR is a small hill or hilltop, def. ‘area for military operations’. |
| Down |
| 1 |
FAVOUR – Relish = FLAVOUR (well, sort of), remove the letter L (left), def. partiality. You favour one side or another, you’re partial. |
| 2 |
NO CLAIMS BONUS – ‘about’ indicates this is an anagram of (SO OMNIBUS CAN L)*, the L is ‘in’ the anagram, def. ‘insurance deal’. Easier to guess the answer from the clue numeration and work out the anagram fodder afterwards! |
| 3 |
ADORE – A + DO (party) + RE (Royal Engineers), def. ‘love’. |
| 5 |
EVIDENT – An EVENT is a competition, insert (enter) I’D, to get the def., EV(ID)ENT, obvious. |
| 6 |
ARCHAEOLOGIST – (COAL SHORTAGE I)* ‘involved says it’s an anagram, def. ‘one working on excavation’. Spelling it right was perhaps the biggest challenge. |
| 7 |
NEEDLE – Want = NEED, ‘the’ French = LE, def. ‘to annoy continually’. |
| 9 |
SHORTCAKE – A milky drink is a SHAKE. Take OR and the ‘odd bits’ of T-U-C-K i.e. T-C and insert into SHAKE, to get a not very interesting kind of biscuit. |
| 13 |
OUTLINE – No longer existing = OUT, railway route = LINE, together make the def., ‘general plan’. |
| 14 |
STUCCO – Reductions are CUTS, ‘upset’ to give you STUC, add CO for company, def. is ‘fine plaster.’ |
| 15 |
KEENER – A double definition, to KEEN is to cry, and a KEENER knife or point is more piercing. |
| 17 |
STAGE – ‘Showing wisdom’ is being SAGE (as an adjective), about T (team’s leader), gives you STAGE as in the old wild west. |
LOI was FUNGAL, which became clear once I got my P(enultimate)LOI FAVOUR. Must admit flavour is not (for me) an intuitive response to “relish”: I was running throug the mustards, salsas, horseradish etc – but I’m sure it’s fair enough. We are in crosswordland after all 🙂
Good puzle and thanks to pip for a succinct and elegant blog.
On edit: sorry, seem to have inadvertently posted this as a reply rather than a comment. Silly me…
Edited at 2014-05-14 09:57 am (UTC)
My Timesian/Tablet fun with the Quickie takes the form of iPad solving that tantalises by letting you enter some letters in words, indeed some whole words, but not all letters in all words.
Sometimes I wonder if there is a unit within the Times IT Dept dedicated to this kind of thing – the Apparently Random Grelmin (sic) Generating Organisation* (AGGRO).
* They practise what they preach.
Only problem was 15dn my last one in. Just didn’t see it, used the checking letters.
As a note:
2dn is a anagram of ‘so omnibus can’ indicated by ‘go about’ and, the L from learner.
I am really enjoying these Quick Cyrptic puzzles and this blog.
Thanks to all.
Eurc.
LOI 1 ac rather nasty in content, I thought.
COD 8 ac lovely double meaning!
I am beginning to grow in confidence.. Lovely blog Pip, many thx xx!
This is the first puzzle I’ve ever tried to do online and not having a pencil in my hand or the freedom to doodle and jot down words on the paper made me feel uneasy and may have contributed to my lack of success. Eventually I stumped up the £1.20 even though I knew there was another copy of the paper at home, just so I could have a “proper go” on the train but I still couldn’t do it.
No victory chocolate for me tonight — perhaps instead a ration of consolation chocolate…
Update: Super Fiendish SuDoku 6535 done in 5 minutes flat! So now allowed victory chocolate as well as consolation chocolate 😛
Edited at 2014-05-14 07:35 pm (UTC)