Nothing too unusual or obscure here. Even if the geography or mythology are unfamiliar, the wordplay leaves very little room for error. I thought many of the down clues were elegant and witty, 3, 5, 6 and 7 in particular.
Very best wishes for the holidays.
| Across | |
| 1 | SWEDEN– ED (editor) has NEWS backwards (returned information) around it (about) for the country. I found this surprisingly difficult to parse on paper! |
| 4 | CLOVER– LOVER (enthusiast) alongside C (first letter, or front, of conservatory) gives plant. |
| 8 | WESTERN– WE (you and I) plus BACK (stern, of a ship) for film. |
| 10 | ASCOT– racecoursefrom SCOT (highlander, possibly) behind A. |
| 11 | TALON– the definition is claw, which is part of eagleT A LONg. |
| 12 | GO TO POT– fail completely. Cooking ingredients may also do this. |
| 13 | SOLITAIRE– anagram of TIE with SAILOR (indicated by unexpectedly) for game. |
| 17 | SPECTRA– ranges of coloursthat is an anagram of CARPETS (indicated by woven). |
| 19 | FRIAR– brother, and a homophone of “frier” (one preparing eggs). |
| 20 | REIGN– if something were to fall, it would rain. This homophone (reported) means dominion. |
| 21 | EARNEST– anagram of EASTERN (indicated by cooking) gives genuine. |
| 22 | SIGNET– another homophone! Hearing the word “cygnet” (little bird) might make you think of this seal. I only recently discovered that sealing letters is the purpose of these rings. |
| 23 | POETRY– POE (US author) plus TRY (to attempt) for verse. |
| Down | |
| 1 | SOWETO– SO WET (very damp) plus O (old) for this townshipin South Africa. |
| 2 | EASY LISTENING– anagram of SEEING SAINTLY (indicated by novel) for something which is simply noted(straightforward musically). |
| 3 | ETERNAL– endlessfrom last letter of dialoguE (dialogue finally) with an anagram of LEARNT (indicated by surprisingly). |
| 5 | LEAST– last letter of scorE (score ultimately) put inside LAST (at the end) gives lowest. |
| 6 | VICE PRESIDENT– anagram of ISNT PERCEIVED (indicated by doctor) for second in command. |
| 7 | ROTATE– the first word in the clue, turn, is the definition. OT (to turns) inside RATE (speed). |
| 9 | NIGHTMARE– NIGHT (dark) plus MARE (horse) in terrifying experience. |
| 14 | INFERNO– INFER (imply) with NO (a rejection) is hell. |
| 15 | OSIRIS– the first letter of Outstanding (outstanding head) plus SIR (teacher) plus IS for god. |
| 16 | PRETTY– double definition. |
| 18 | TENSE– an example of a tense (past, perhaps) and emotionally strained. |
Don’t want to open a can of worms (particularly in the festive season!) but I am a bit queasy with imply clueing infer, when they are essentially opposites.
I seem to recall (either here or on the main cryptic blog) a discussion about this in recent months where opinions were divided, and I have revisited Chambers which (under INFER) includes “imply – often condemned as a misuse, but generally accepted over four centuries”. Well, that would appear to be that: suffice to say I am spiritually anchored 401 years ago where there was a clear acceptance of the difference.
There is also always the pragmatic analysis “did you work out the answer from the clue? If yes, then it’s OK…” In which case fair enough. But…
Thanks to William for a neat blog – compliments of the season to you! – and to our setter Mara.
Dis and un interested annoy me even more – infer and imply are not synonyms but they are not opposites either, they are actions by different actors and sometimes they are linked. Disinterest is GOOD – lack of bias (which in my world is crucial). Being uninterested may be bad, depending on the context. Disinterest is always reasonable even in a context where one of the actors might actually prefer it if there was some (favourably) bias at play.
The fact that so many people don’t know basic English does not in and of itself excuse retrofitting meanings to change them to what people would like them to mean when this is based on ignorance rather than a conscious decision to reclaim or repurpose a word (eg wicked – I haven’t got a problem with that being used in its original or modern context, since it’s fairly easy to understand which meaning is intended).
Having said all that I do now use Moo point and supposeably both as a result of the relevant friends episodes so I may be a bit of a hypocrite. 😉
On imply / infer etc I take the view that anything in the usual dictionaries is fair enough, even when it’s “wrong” with any complaints to go to the lexicographers and not to the crossword setter / editor. We had an imply / infer exchange only a couple of days ago here or in the main cryptic, but I’m reminded we haven’t had mechanic /engineer for a while!
Edited at 2014-12-19 10:48 am (UTC)
Safari. You can play the quick cryptic but not the main one – but that one is printable.
Edited at 2014-12-19 08:33 pm (UTC)
Here it is again – link-less.
I have the Sunday Digital pack for £2 a week which gives online access (via Safari) to the Times and Sunday Times papers. Click on puzzles, then the crossword link and you get to the Quick crossword which can be played online. The 15×15 must be printed. You can also access the crossword club via the link given on the crossword page.
Looks like the digital pack at £6 a week is still on. Try Googling for the Times subscriptions.
Maybe there’s just a problem with the app. A few months ago I could only play the Quick on the iPad in portrait rather than landscape mode. Maybe you need to download the latest version of the Times app from the App Store.