Solving time: 5:09 [edit: one mistake (9ac)]
I felt sluggish over this, despite it seeming fairly easy, which is in keeping with most of my solving recently and doesn’t bode well for today at Cheltenham. The clues were pretty good, if mostly fairly basic in construction, with some nice surface readings and little to quibble about.
* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.
Across | |
---|---|
1 | DI(VERGE)D |
5 | CH + ARMS |
9 |
|
10 | SALMON PINK; ALMON[d] + P (= soft), all in SINK |
11 | ESTHER (hidden) |
12 | BRIGADES; (BASED)* around RIG |
14 | MODERNISED; MORE + R.N. + IS + ED |
16 | SACK (2 defs) – ‘cashier’ in this sense being cognate with ‘quash’, I believe. |
18 | WEIR[d] |
19 | MISCELLANY; IS CELL in MANY |
21 | CHEERS UP; (SHEEP CUR)* |
23 | WITHAL; WIT + HAL[e] – sidetracked by ‘wag’ here, and made harder because ‘not completely’ could have applied to either part of the wordplay. I think I’ve only come across this as part of ‘wherewithal’. |
25 | INSTRUMENT; INSTRU[c]T around MEN – ‘not about’ indicating ‘remove C’ (for ‘circa’). This was my last solve: I’d never have got it from ‘legal document’ without the checking letters and had spent a while going through options for ‘men’ instead of taking the word at face value. |
27 | [d]AVID |
28 | KENYAN; KEN (= ‘range of knowledge’) + rev. of NAY (= ‘no’) |
29 | SCRAPP[i]ER |
Down | |
---|---|
2 | IRONSTONE; (TENOR IS)* around ON (= ‘performing’) |
3 | EPOCH; rev. of H[ospital] + COPE |
4 | GASTRONOMES; (MARGE NOT SO)* + S[pecial] – a nice ‘double whammy’ clue. |
5 | DELIBE[rate]S |
6 | COO[l] |
7 | APPRAISAL; (R.A. IS) in A P PAL – R[oyal] A[cademician] for ‘artist’, P for ‘piano’ (= ‘quiet’). |
8 | MANSE; MAN (= ‘fellow’) + SE[e] |
13 | IN DEEP WATER (1 def, 1 literal interpretation) – wasted some time here on a non-existent anagram. |
15 | EAR(NEST)LY |
17 | CANTABILE; CAN’T A BILE – ‘cantabile’ means something like ‘in a singing style’ in musical notation. |
20 | SUPPERS; PER in SUPS |
22 | HENCE, from FENCE – the ‘coping’ of a wall is its covering, so ‘new coping’ means ‘a new first letter’, although I’m not keen on devices like this when the replacement letter isn’t indicated. |
24 | TRAM + P |
26 | [t]URN |
According to Peter’s blog you were second to finish in the Times championship final, coming 7th directly behind Peter & Tony with just 1 error.. a fine result, well done!
Barbara
On the other hand, the wonderful ‘unexceptionable’ was not my coinage but that of a commenter; au contraire, this puzzle was exceptional for the Sunday Times in that it did not contain a mistake (unlike my solving).
I do also object to the letter replacement where the replacement letter is not indicated.
Mike
Skiathos