Solving time: 55’
The last 7 or 8 clues (2 in each quadrant basically) slowed me down considerably: in particular, RECLAME, POTTER (oddly enough), HIERATIC (quite hard), CASINO, DISMAY, AIT. I did spot a slight themette with Harry POTTER, DRACO and ENCHANTRESS (though since it’s Circe, I suppose more likely to be associated with ODYSSEAN). Maybe there’s more here than meets my eye.
Lots of clever clues to write about.
Across
| 1 | DIS=rev(Sid),MAY – Having to find two TLNs (three-letter names) is a bit much frankly – given that there was no other wordplay. |
| 4 | HIER=”hire”,ATIC=”attic” – quite a hard clue and one of my last: it’s priestly hieroglyphic script. I had to check. |
| 10 | G,RE,A,T AUNT – She’s a relative. I think the word play is G=”good” and rev(ER=”king”). |
| 11 | MEAN,S – There was quite a bit of fuss in America a couple of years ago due to the homophonic nature of “niggardly”… |
| 12 | BANNOCK,BU(R)N – without checking I’m going to assume that a BANNOCK is something you can get at your bakery. Having seen (some of) “Braveheart” helped here. |
| 14 | IN,N – ref. Jamaica Inn by Du Maurier. |
| 15 | DESCENT=”dissent” |
| 17 | ENSIGN – cryptic def I suppose for a flag (quite misleading of course since it’s pilots you fixate on) |
| 19 | P(OTT)ER – OTT (over the top) in rev(rep=”agent”). And it’s Harry POTTER. |
| 21 | PIE(EYE)D – you’d think that London would have to more offer in the way of tourist attractions! |
| 24 | ENCHANT,RE,SS – a cryptic def using Circe as an example: she lay in wait for Odysseus’s ships and presumably was delighted to see them. Unless there’s some actual wordplay going on here that escapes me… Post-comment wordplay fix: I should have seen this since “ship” and SS is a cryptic cliche: it’s a case of “X with Y” indicating Y,X. Must be a good clue since the wordplay was so apposite it bamboozled me into thinking the whole thing was a CD. |
| 26 | DRAC,O=rev(O=”old”, card=”king”) – another Potter reference and it’s a constellation. |
| 27 | AQUAPLANE – a rather misleading and convoluted cryptic def for what happens when you drive too fast in the rain. |
| 29 | AR(DEN)NE’S – ARNE’S our composer and ARDENNES is also in France (though I always associate it with Belgium given the Battle of the Bulge). |
| 30 | HEAD ON – double/cryptic def: it’s a kind of crash and Charles I was beheaded so… |
Down
| 1 | DOGSBODY – sometimes a cryptic setter is a dog and, groan, a dog’s body is what a setter has… |
| 3 | A,IT – one of my last: it’s an island and IT=Italian=vermouth=sweet flavoured wine |
| 7 | TEA,SINGLY |
| 8 | C(A,SIN)O – my last clue: not that hard but I was obviously misled by “betters”. Anyway, “envy” is an example of a sin. |
| 9 | BUCK,ET – not sure about this: it’s a container but the dandy film? Ref. Charlie BUCKET character in the Dahl film?Another wordplay fix: BUCK=”dandy” and ET’s our perennial film”. |
| 16 | SHORTHAND[ed] – clever subtraction clue |
| 18 | ODYSSEAN – (one’s days)* |
| 20 | R,EC,LAME – the most recherché word for me in this puzzle. Never heard of it (in English) – and I wonder about C=abbrev(“City”) assuming I’ve parsed the wordplay correctly. Oh, it means “hunger for publicity” — from the French. Final fix: EC is “city” actually — I knew this and considered it briefly but for some reason discarded it. And “initially rather”=R. |
| 21 | PLAQUE – amusing cryptic def for what a dentist doesn’t want to be remembered for. |
| 22 | TUN,DRA[h] – rev([h]ard nut) |
| 28 | POE[try] |
A few suggestions:
24A – RE SS (= regarding ship) after (=with) ENCHANT (= delight)
9D – BUCK (= dandy) + ET (=film)
20D – EC (for City) in (R(ather) + LAME (=weak))
Thought i would bring forward my comment to qualifier 3 as most readers of this blog would have moved on by now methinks.
I did qualifier 3 in a genuine 16 minutes which for me is good especially as in the last few months i am rarely finishing the crypics unassisted . Anyway i sent it off and i have not heard either; yes i was able to trust myself on DONGA; vaguely recall it mentioned in Zulu ; maybe. My motivation is at the lowest it’s been in years; relegated to the third division in metaphoric terms. As a someone who has not knowingly finished a xcrypticxword in less than 10 mins what incentive could there be. If this year’s championship is going to be more or less like last years then it won’t be worth my while going; i would be far too grumpy and resentful for it be a pleasant social experience. AlanJC
Incentive? Depends on what you want out of a crossword championship. If it’s a reasonable chance of finishing the 3 puzzles in the time limit, you’ll need a best-ever time under 10 minutes if the difficulty level is like last year. If you’re not too worried about your finishing position and would like to meet some solvers or buttonhole the xwd ed, I’d say “go anyway”.
I really liked this crossword though only one or two clues caused me difficulty. Some really witty things like plaque,inn, head on. I don’t agree with “sweet” as part of a definition of “it” since most vermouth is dry
Paul
23a Posh officer in business during previous month (3)
ULT. U = posh and LT = officer. This is short for ultimo which is, apparently, Latin for last month. Not sure what the purpose of “in business” in the clue is? Too long a clue for a 3 letter answer anyway – as is this comment.
2d Polish ambassador kept in Asian money (5)
S HE EN
5d Come uninvited? One’s not heartless and discourteous (7)
I N(o)T RUDE
6d Stirring memories of newish skirts taken in (11)
RE MINIS CENT
25d The Spanish duke capturing an African mammal (5)
EL AN D. A majestic antelope revered by the San people.