Sunday Times 5200 by David McLean – back 2 back hits

14:01. A very nice puzzle from Harry this week. I found it rather tricky while solving, but when I came to write it up I couldn’t really see why: the clues are mostly models of simplicity. This is a mark of quality.

I don’t know if the long down answers on either side of the grid are intended as a subtle comment on current events but they are rather apropos.

How did you get on?

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (TIHS)*, deletions ~~like this~~, anagram indicators are in italics.

Across
1	Drink a little king knocked over big cheeses
	SUPREMOS – SUP, reversal of SOME, R.
5	Old country in a continent leader has fled
	PERSIA – PER (a), aSIA.
10	MC Hammer or nun with acne
	ANNOUNCER – (OR NUN ACNE)*. Nice!
11	Foreign city perhaps right to cordon off isle
	TURIN – TUR(I)N.
12	A French track overgrown with grass?
	UNCUT – UN, CUT. ‘Track’ here in the musical sense: ‘an individual piece of music on a record; track’ (Collins).
13	Europeans travelling around San Marino
	ROMANIANS – (SAN MARINO)*.
14	I deliver vocals with music producer directing
	ORGANISING – ORGAN, I SING.
17	Reach with difficulty old chap who can’t get off Madeira?
	WINO – WIN, O. I did wonder a little about WIN here but Collins uses these exact words for its 8th definition.
19	Country girl shortly to win boy’s heart
	LAOS – LA(bOy)Ss.
20	Rebelling about Republican cuts, I start ding-dong
	BELL RINGER – (REBELLING)* containing R.
22	British in numbers touring a northern city abroad
	BANGALORE – B(A, N), GALORE.
24	Dead fruit that’s first come across in backwoods
	PLUMB – PLUM, B~~ackwoods~~.
26	A tyrant making a comeback one dreaded?
	RASTA – reversal of A TSAR.
27	One quietly infiltrating military objective
	IMPARTIAL – I, M(P)ARTIAL.
28	Guy making first starter from yams and chicken
	YELLOW – FELLOW with the first letter changed to Y~~ams~~.
29	They’re our guests and joke with us ultimately
	PLUS ONES – PLUS (and), ONE (joke) uS.
Down
1	Gift from France by tasteful tie or pants
	STATUE OF LIBERTY – (BY TASTEFUL TIE OR)*.
2	One stuck in rubbish opening of cat flap
	PANIC – PAN(I), C.
3	Old specialist having shaken blues is jubilant
	EXULTANT – EX, ~~cons~~ULTANT. The blues (cons) here are Tories, of course. The consultant in question is a doctor I think.
4	Blemish found on the bottom of old award
	OSCAR – O, SCAR.
6	Corroding European silver-plated container
	EATING – E, A(TIN)G.
7	Son studying about power dissemination
	SPREADING – S(P), READING.
8	Snob messing with Irish urinal has a bad time
	ANNUS HORRIBILIS – (SNOB IRISH URINAL)*. A phrase not coined but certainly popularised by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992.
9	Outrageous fence?
	CRIMINAL – DD.
15	German rings essentially sell weed
	GROUNDSEL – G, ROUNDS, SELl.
16	Get cracking piston fixed around ten, not noon
	STEP ON IT – (PISTON)* containing TEn.
18	Gas left by son in places where people get high?
	AIRPORTS – AIR, PORT, S. Hmm, really? If you’re here you are, by definition, not high.
21	Work in which a beat is repeated from the start
	DA CAPO – D(A, CAP)O.
23	Chuck out cap Catholic left for page
	EXPEL – EXCEL with the C for Catholic replaced by P for page.
25	Posh head ousted from vegetable association
	UNION – U, oNION.

7 comments on “Sunday Times 5200 by David McLean – back 2 back hits”

You can say that again!

29:23
I failed to parse EXULTANT. DNK PLUS-ONES (LOI). Like Keriothe, I had a ? at AIRPORTS, which are places whence people get high.

I did find this unusually easy, about 100 on SNITCH if the Sunday puzzles were rated. The cryptics were crystal-clear, and groundsel was as obscure as the answers got, so there is little possibility of error for those who manage to finish.

Time: 34:36