Saturday Times 25604 (12th Oct) – one hungry setter?

Solved in 11:14 on the train on the way down to last week’s 3D Crossword Championships. Unfortunately the good form didn’t last and I made a right mess of the competition puzzle. Oh well, on to the Times Crossword Championship finals today, where hopefully I’ll have better luck. Look forward to seeing a few of you there. Back to last week’s puzzle – I didn’t notice it while solving, but on writing it up I counted seven different foods in the grid, as well as OVEREAT at 27ac. I also picked out several bits of unusual wordplay, variations on dropped letters, e.g. 16dn, 27 and 28ac – but COD to 9ac for the great anagram and for reminding me of the film.

Stop press: I’m in the final!

Across
1 GROWTHS – SH (quiet) + TWO (couple), both reversed after GR(eek).
5 CASSATA – CAT (Tom possibly) around ASS (fool), plus A.
9 NOSFERATU – (of nature’s)*. I remember watching this 1922 silent movie when I was a kid. In one scene they’re creeping around the castle, when suddenly the vampire attacks. My dad almost shot through the roof!
10 INPUT – P(ower) inside I (one), NUT (fanatic).
11 AVAIL – sounds like “a veil”.
12 UNPOPULAR – (up Ron, Paul)*
13 DISCONCERTING – semi-cryptic definition, DIS-CONCERTING.
17 ANYBODY’S GUESS – ANY BODY’S GUESTS (arbitrary visitors at funeral), minus the T.
21 PEPPERONI – ON (topping) + I (one), after PEER (look) around PP (double edge of pizza), &lit.
24 BALTI – T(ons) inside BALI (Indonesian province).
25 CIRCA – A CRIC(k) (a brief soreness in neck) reversed.
26 SOAP OPERA – SO (thus) + A POP (each) + ERA (period).
27 OVEREAT – (c)OVERE(d) + (p)AT(h).
28 TOLSTOY – TOLD STORY (narrated tale), omitting the 4th and 8th letters.

Down
1 GUNMAN – GUNN (Ben Gunn from Treasure Island, marooned pirate) around MA (old lady).
2 ON STAND-BY – (Tannoy’s)* around DB (decibels).
3 TRELLIS – TRE(e) (source of timber, cut) + SILL (ledge) reversed.
4 STATUTORY – STAY (visit) around TUTOR (teacher).
5 CHUMP – HUMP (part of camel) below C (it’s head, i.e. first letter).
6 SKIPPER – double definition.
7 APPAL – LAPP (person from Arctic) + A(rea), all reversed.
8 ALTER EGO – A + LT (lieutenant) + ERE (before) + GO (leave).
14 COGNISANT – COG (insignificant worker) + ANT (maybe a worker), around SIN (bad practice) reversed.
15 INSOLVENT – INSOLENT (rude) around V (five).
16 GAZPACHO – GAZE (look) + PACE (step) + HOE (garden tool), all losing E (last letter of “revenge”).
18 OPERATE – PE (exercises) inside ORATE (talk).
19 EMBROIL – ORB (globe) inside LIME (green), all reversed.
20 BIGAMY – BIG AMY (ref. Amy March from Little Women).
22 PUREE – CHEER UP (don’t be sad), minus the CH(apter) and reversed.
23 ONSET – (notes)*

11 comments on “Saturday Times 25604 (12th Oct) – one hungry setter?”

  1. 20:48, would have been a Saturday pb for me, I think, but I automatically (sc. unthinkingly) put in a Z instead of an S for COGNISANT. Serves me right for not stopping to parse the damn clue. LOI CIRCA, which cost me 5′. DNK Gunn, having never read ‘Treasure Island’, but assumed there was such a maroonee. COD to CIRCA.
  2. Can’t remember the time – around half an hour, I think. Had no clue how to spell the soup (trying to spell it Italian style at one point). Does Little Women have any competition for the title of tweeest book ever written?
    1. Never read LW, but Dorothy Parker, at least, might have given her vote to ‘Winnie the Pooh’: writing as ‘Constant Reader’ in the New Yorker, she quoted a Poohism and then said, “And this is where Constant Weader fwew up.”
      1. Excellent! Wind in the Willows is much its superior.

        Talking of apophthegms (which is a lot easier than spelling them), I came across a good one from Chesterton the other day, on HG Wells: ‘He sold his novelist’s birthright for a pot of message.’

  3. Good luck Andy, and to all competing in the Championships today! I am going (as a guest) so may see you later..
  4. 13 mins and I found this easy for a prize puzzle.

    CIRCA was also my LOI. I can never see GAZPACHO now without being reminded of Red Dwarf.

  5. hi
    can someone remind me what time the first (morning) heat starts please?
    (haven’t brought my letter with me)
    many thanks
    Richard F
  6. I’m with Kevin, re a PB or at least close, and also on the s-z. But I’m lucky enough to have to go slowly enough that I caught it. I liked 27a and 16d, but cod was 17a here, and the difficult CIRCA loi. I am coming to the competition as a watcher, and am looking forward to it. Good luck to the pros.
  7. A welcome relief after some recent weekend puzzles. Straightforward but chewy enough to take me 45 minutes including parsing.

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