Some twisty turns here, and with the pun in the top and bottom lines and the marquee answer PETROCHEMICALS—not to mention GAStropub and AUTOcrat—it’s almost like we’ve got a theme. I found this more difficult than the last few by Robert, but then I was so sleepy I took an off-ramp to a rest area just short of the destination. Hallucinations like seeing a random ink mark as indicating that an answer was two words evaporated in the morning.
I indicate (Ars Magna)* like this, and words flagging such rearrangements are italicized in the clues.
| ACROSS | |
| 1 | County town with no stone supply (6) |
| AFFORD |
|
| 4 | Suckers importing small brown horses (8) |
| MUSTANGS MU(S)(TAN)GS |
|
| 10 | Firm, after tax returns bill, promises to pay (9) |
| TENACIOUS NET<=“returns” + AC, account, “bill” + IOUS, “promises to pay” |
|
| 11 | Maths exponent’s faculty (5) |
| POWER DD |
|
| 12 | Immaculate hosts greeting South American chap (7) |
| CHILEAN C(HI)LEAN |
|
| 14 | Four equal sides joined the French, including Australia and England (7) |
| LOZENGE L(OZ)(ENG)E …with two acute and two obtuse angles |
|
| 15 | Wannabe warlord running for PM (6,5,3) |
| ANDREW BONAR LAW (Wannabe warlord)* This fellow was UK prime minister for just seven months (23 October 1922–20 May 1923), but his Wikipedia page would take some time to read. …I suppose everybody else has heard of him! |
|
| 18 | Three COP claims about fossil fuels (14) |
| PETROCHEMICALS (Three COP claims)* |
|
| 22 | Visits doctor before having internal operations (5,2) |
| DROPS BY DR, “doctor” + OPS, “operations” + BY, “before” (as in “I’ll finish this puzzle by dawn”) |
|
| 24 | Old barrier’s secured following crime (7) |
| OFFENCE O(ld) + F(ollowing) + FENCE, “barrier” |
|
| 25 | Strange European lake (5) |
| EERIE E(uropean) + ERIE, the lake |
|
| 26 | Fancy bar with G&T — and soup (9) |
| GASTROPUB (bar, G&T, soup)* &lit! |
|
| 28 | Smashing lingerie worn by English monarch (8) |
| BREAKING BR(E)A + KING |
|
| 29 | Tout withh{eld dep}osits, not all returned (6) |
| PEDDLE Reverse hidden |
|
| DOWN | |
| 1 | Tyrant’s car, a Tesla, carrying the king (8) |
| AUTOCRAT AUTO, “car” + CR, Charles Rex, “the king” + A + T(esla) |
|
| 2 | Kindle addict (3) |
| FAN DD |
|
| 3 | Noise here voiced by a cockney crook (9) |
| RACKETEER RACKET, “noise” + “’ere” |
|
| 5 | Greek character leading lions around (7) |
| UPSILON UP, “leading” + (lions)* |
|
| 6 | Unknown vessel capsized smuggling a precious mineral (5) |
| TOPAZ Z, “unknown” + A + POT, “vessel” <=“capsized” |
|
| 7 | Zero benefit without country sacking leader occasionally (3,3,5) |
| NOW AND AGAIN NO GAIN with |
|
| 8 | String underwear ignored in bistros (6) |
| SERIES |
|
| 9 | Briefly tramp and toff rub shoulders (6) |
| HOBNOB HOB |
|
| 13 | Insecure duo split up eventually (2,3,6) |
| IN DUE COURSE (Insecure duo)* |
|
| 16 | Check railroad for stress (9) |
| REINFORCE REIN, “Check” + FORCE, “railroad” (verb) |
|
| 17 | Get together and walk around Sussex periodically (8) |
| ASSEMBLE A(S |
|
| 19 | Mixture for freezing blubber, gone wrong (7) |
| CRYOGEN CRY, “blubber” + (gone)* |
|
| 20 | One gets excited about oneself primarily (6) |
| EGOIST (I, “one” + gets)* with O |
|
| 21 | Bill mostly bowled quickly for example (6) |
| ADVERB ADVER |
|
| 23 | Southern mountain state (5) |
| SPEAK S(outhern) + PEAK, “mountain” |
|
| 27 | Sweet potatoes, peeled (3) |
| PUD |
|
43 minutes. Just finished after several delays caused by inexplicably putting in TOTNES for 1a and falling for the trap by entering DROPS IN for 22a. I parsed the first bit of 10a as TEN, a reversal of (‘returns’) of NET (‘after tax’). I’d barely heard of the PM at 15a but confess I didn’t take the trouble to read his Wikipedia article – maybe tomorrow (or maybe not).
I liked our now customary little extras in the top and bottom rows to complement the mini-theme as mentioned by Guy and the two &lits, especially GASTROPUB.
Thanks to Robert for the as ever enjoyable puzzle and to Guy
I mark reversal clues with the word cited indicating the reversal (here, “returns”) pointing back to the implied word that is reversed as part of the answer, with it left up to the reader to see what that refers to in the clue. If that ever seems possibly ambiguous to me, I’ll spell it out.
Thanks. My misunderstanding.
29:07
Like BR I had DROPS IN at first. I knew the PM and biffed BONAR LAW from the enumeration, but didn’t know his first name and took a while to see how the clue actually worked. My COD.
I found this very mild for a Robert Price. As an American, I had actually heard of Andrew Bonar Law, although I couldn’t tell you anything about him. Petrochemicals was actually more difficult.
Time: 26:39
34 minutes. Very enjoyable. This felt more like a traditional weekday puzzle than some that we’ve been experiencing there recently.
I knew of BONAR LAW, but only ‘Edward’, until I had to have a bit of a rethink.
31 minutes
Snap!
Has Robert got a ‘bra’ fixation ? Twice in this puzzle.
Agree that this was trickier than usual- couldn’t see FAN for kindle nor POWER for maths exponent.
WOE, a silly typo that spoiled the score but not the fun. 16 mins would have been a Sunday PB. I always perk up when I see Robert Price as the setter, I only wished this one could last longer. I spent an hour or so getting 5 answers on Mephisto instead.
Like a top-end QC where the clues are perfect little jewels. Managing to hide the meaning under a convincing surface in so few words pleases me.
Thanks to Guy and Robert.
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly, rv1! 👏
I found this easy for a Sunday – all done in one sitting. LOI SERIES. I often find clues where I have to add various letters to make sense particularly obscure and the definition certainly didn’t jump out at me. I too started off with DROPS IN, only realising my mistake when trying and failing to fit ‘cry’ into 19d. The long anagrams were helpful. PETROCHEMICALS came straight away, the PM was more obscure, but I guess I’ve heard of him, as the BONAR LAW part was teased out from the crossers. I was pleased to get ADVERB quickly, as the indirect reference type of clue often catches me out.
9:00. Lovely puzzle.
ANDREW BONAR LAW was only PM for 211 days but his term is only the fourth shortest. Liz Truss’s recently-set record will probably never be beaten.
15:25 Great puzzle as always from Robert and in my goldilocks zone for level of difficulty. No fewer than 8 approving ticks on my paper copy, including 17d, 20d, 23d and 27d. As a regular walker who visited Sussex on a walking holiday last year, my COD goes to ASSEMBLE for the surface. Thank-you Robert and Guy.
15 minutes.
– Glad to see I’m not the only one who fell in to the DROPS IN trap!
– Not a fan of ‘bra’ being used for both BREAKING and SERIES
– Didn’t parse ADVERB
Thanks Guy and Robert.
FOI Autocrat
LOI Cryogen
COD Andrew Bonar Law
By the way… I saw the blog title and thought “that’s not quite right”. I recognised the song, which was released when I was 3 as my mother used to sing it to me…. the correct words are “Keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead”. They don’t write songs like that any more… “Seven little girls (sitting in the backseat)” by Paul Evans. Listen to the original here. There is also a video with Cliff Richard in the backseat here.
I’ve never heard that one! (Paul who?!)
I was citing Jim Morrison.
The Doors, “Roadhouse Blues”
Quite a different vibe!
“The future’s uncertain, and the end is always near.”
I also thought this was quite easy for a Sunday (44 minutes), but delightful as always. What fascinates me about ANDREW BONAR LAW is that once I saw that it would be an anagram, it was easy to put the letters in the right order even though I didn’t really know this PM (but also had the feeling I must have seen his name before somewhere). I also fell for the DROPS IN trap at first, which made 19dn impossible, and once I biffed the “mixture for freezing” it was easy enough to replace IN by BY. I will repeat that (on the radio): bye-bye.
10.27
I found this easier than some of Robert’s other recent offerings which just goes to show…absolutely nothing! Usual very enjoyable puzzle – I’ve just leisurely gone through the clues and there are some cracking surfaces there. Thanks all.
I knew ANDREW BONAR LAW, but had no idea that I knew! I kept thinking the ‘South American chap’ must be ‘Che’ until I got it by ignoring the ‘chap’ on the end of the clue. The one that took me longest to see was SERIES. Perhaps I’d had quite enough of bras for one day.
I knew ANDREW BONAR LAW, but had no idea that I knew! I kept thinking the ‘South American chap’ must be ‘Che’ until I got it by ignoring the ‘chap’ on the end of the clue. The one that took me longest to see was SERIES. Perhaps I’d had quite enough of bras for one day.
Thanks Robert and Guy
Was able to complete this in a single session this morning in around the 50 minutes – held up momentarily in the end with that SENDS IN that others seemed to have fallen for as well – making DROPS BY and CRYOGEN the last two in. Missed the parsing for EGOIST, lazily thinking that it was just a cryptic definition ! Only had a sneaking suspicion of a PM with BONAR in his name and had to look up his full identity.
Forgot about the customary top line / bottom line play until after the solve and then remembered that it was Mr Price setting.
As with my fellow Aussie above, I finished it in a single sitting ( probably about the same time too) but I had to look up a couple on the way. Got as far as ANDREW for 15a, having NHO the temporary PM, and was unclear about “supply =afford” for the town. Another one who automatically put in DROPS IN as well, and had “blubber=fat” too long in my head to get that . But as rv1 put it so succinctly, such economy of cluing and great surfaces are always a joy from Robert Price. COD NOW AND AGAIN.
What can I say? This Aussie spent time in UK but never heard of a Gastropub, and couldn’t find it in my dictionary, but I did guess it after a while from the clue.