Solving time: 6 1/2 minutes.
Hello everyone, long-time lurker, occasional poster, inveterate solver here. This was a nice pleasant stroll with nothing too challenging for me. I solved it on line so was held up by the cursor skipping and two clues didn’t have indications that they were phrases. Minor grumbles that I’ll either get used to, or the techies will sort.
Across |
1 |
CONSTABLE – The definition here is the whole clue. STABLE (unlikely to waver” after a slang word for a criminal (CON) |
6 |
PAD – P (very little money) + AD (these days, anno domini) Definition is ‘accommodation’ |
8 |
DOGMA -A + M (male) + GOD (divinity) – all reversed |
9 |
TERRIER – A double definition clue, but a bit cryptic – Breed of dog and volunteer refers to a type of soldier. |
10 |
NORTH SEA – Given as 8 on line, but 5,3 in the paper. An anagram (indicated by drunk) of TENOR HAS. |
11 |
MAZE – Take a type of corn and remove the ‘kernel’, middle letter. MA(i)ZE. |
13 |
GRANDFATHER – A thousand pounds (GRAND) + obese (FAT) + woman’s (HER) = relative. |
17 |
POPE – I made this clue more complex than it is! One of those I wrote the answer in from the checking letters and looked why, assuming it was (Vox) POP – an ad hoc report. Nothing of the sort! POP = Unexpected report, i.e. a sudden bang. A report is another word for the noise of a gun or other weapon. Add E (European). |
18 |
IN FLIGHT – Given as (8) on line, but it’s (2,6). IF LIGHT (If not heavy) with N (any number) inside (carried)- the definition is ‘during plane journey’. Edit: This should be (2-6) Thanks Jackkt!
|
21 |
RESERVE – Double definition. A word that means to book and the name for a substitute player. |
22 |
TROLL – T (little time) + ROLL register. Definition is ‘provocative post’. I knew the internet troublemakers were called trolls but I didn’t realise one of their posts can also be called it. |
23 |
THE – Definition is ‘article’. THE(M) – those people abridged, i.e. last letter missing. |
24 |
WISCONSIN – The definition is ‘a state’. WIS(E) – mostly sage + CONS (Tories) + IN. |
Down |
1 |
CEDING – ‘Allowing’ is the definition. CE (Church) + DING (bell’s sound). |
2 |
NIGER – NI (Part of UK) + GER (German) = NIGER (land). |
3 |
TEACHING – TE (Half a term) + ACHING (feeling pain). Definition is ‘working in classroom’. |
4 |
BUTTERFINGERS – A double definition, with half of it cryptic (indicated by the question mark) A way of describing someone who is clumsy / a type of thin shortbread biscuits. |
5 |
EARL – Definition is ‘nobleman’. Answer is hidden inside FEARLESS |
6 |
PRIVATE – Another double definition. A word meaning ‘uncommunicative’, keeping oneself to oneself, or a name for a soldier. |
7 |
DOREEN – DO (social event) + NE’ER (never) – reversed (upset). |
12 |
STILETTO – T (last letter, finally, of LEFT) inside an anagram (oddly) of TOILETS. The definition is ‘pointed weapon’. |
14 |
RIPOSTE – An anagram (possibly) of ROPIEST. Definition is ‘comeback’. |
15 |
SPIRIT – A double definition. Alcoholic drink / energy. |
16 |
STOLEN – The definition is ‘pinched’. Take the name for a type of Christmas cake popular in Europe, STOLLEN and remove L (middle bit missing). |
19 |
GLOSS – A homophone (superficially) of the shortened form of Gloucestershire. Definition is ‘attractive appearance’. Thought this was probably the only weak clue here. |
20 |
CREW – A final double definition. The name for the company on a ship and the noise made by a cockerel. |
Thanks to Flamande for a nice pleasant solve.
Incidentally 18 should be (2-6) rather than (2,6).
Another excellent first-time blog and I like your user-pic.
Edited at 2014-03-13 10:38 am (UTC)
My faves were BUTTERFINGERS and TROLL, I just thought they were clever.
Edited at 2014-03-13 10:43 am (UTC)
I found this the easiest so far: a little over four minutes. Perhaps the brain workout from doing the difficult main puzzle helped.
Great blog macavity. Like keriothe, I came to this wired up from one of the best main cryptics I have seen.
The “easiest” of the offerings so far – I got each down clue on the first try.
Edited at 2014-03-13 07:30 pm (UTC)
Whilst this did not stop me getting CEDED, TEACHING and EARL (all of which further reinforced my original thought that CONSTANCE was somehow right!) I came to a grinding halt with BUTTERFINGERS. As this was to some extent the “spine” of the puzzle, progress then became a lot slower.
Eventually sorted myself out when I concluded BUTTERFINGERS had to be right, and then the whole thing fell into place.
As with others, very irritated by the incorrect enumeration issue. Odd how this has returned today after two days when it appeared fixed. Hope they sort it out soon once and for all.
Thanks for great blog.
To get around the absence of a print option, I resorted to a screen shot. Which left me wondering why the clues are so far removed from the grid. Surely it would help if they were closer?
It’s a shame to see so many fewer comments here today than on previous days.
Doesn’t work well on my MacBook (too small), but it’s OK when I plug it in to a large-ish Dell monitor. Then, of course, it’s necessary to “shrink to fit” at print time. Can send a sample if you like.
It does seem a shame to me that the Times have gone off half-cock yet again. The puzzle is a great idea for getting new solvers involved but having no print option will surely put off a large proportion of the potential target audience. I simply cannot solve puzzles on line. I practised everyday for weeks on the Times 2 and eventually gave up on it.
I take it the “revealed” answers don’t give the hyphens and spaces (they didn’t with these. At a pinch, both answers so affected can be found online with no spaces anyway, though perhaps not convincingly enough.
I’m with “anon” of 195.81.243.53 on 19: there isn’t a homophone indicator – “appearance” is just part of the definition Gloucestershire conventionally shortens to Glos, and its ‘s at the end gives you the other one you need for GLOSS.
*Also accessible in facsimile on-line, but not until around 6AM GMT.