Times 25523: Third Qualifier

Author   mctextPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
As the convention has it, no specific time for this. Simply to say, I found this the hardest of the three by far. This may have to do with completing the 1973 puzzle first and then readjusting to the current style. Whether or no, the top left was the last corner to fall.


Across
1 BOLIVAR. OLIV{e} in BAR. Simon Bolívar, Venezuelan patriot.
5 BEWITCH. C inserted into BE WITH.
9 SONG CYCLE. S{oft} + ON CYCLE (pedalling), inc G. Def: piano’s accompaniment to this.
10 PRIAM. 1 in PRAM.
11 ISAAC. 1, A inside SAC. Def: youth almost sacrificed.
12 ANECDOTAL. Anagram: a lot dance.
14 NOT A HAPPY BUNNY. A cryptic def. referring to the ladies of the Playboy Club.
17 PATERNITY LEAVE. LEAVE{s} (tea) after anagram of ‘in a pretty’. My first in, though from the def at first.
21 ALLOWANCE. ALAN inc LOW, C{apabl}E.
23 KENYA. KEY, A (area) inc N.
24 THOR,N.
25 POT,BOILER.
26 REFLATE. Or ‘Ref … late’.
27 RENT ACT. REACT inc NT.

Down
1 BUSK,IN. Wearing=IN. Never heard of the footwear. Another problem in this corner.
2 LONG-AGO. LOO inc N, GAG.
3 VICE-CHAIR. VC (medal) inc ICE (sweet), HAIR (covering for head).
4 RECLAMATION. RATION (allowance) inc E, CLAM.
5 BEE. Sounds like ‘be’ (live).
6 WIPED. DEW inc PI; all reversed.
7 TRISTAN. TRIST{e}+AN.
8 HIMALAYA. H (hard), LAY (song) inc IM A (ace) + A. Looks odd without the final S. No?
13 EMPTY NESTER. Two defs, the second alluding to nests, eggs and clutches thereof.
15 BREAK,DOWN. BREAK (sounds like ‘brake’), DOWN (swallow).
16 S,PLATTER.
18 TELL OFF. ELL (length) inside TOFF.
19 VAN,ILL,A.
20 PAR,ROT. My COD for the simplicity and the &lit.
22 WAND,A. A reference to the film in which Kevin Kline hears ‘Portia’ as ‘Porsche’. Setters to note.
25 PIE{r}.

13 comments on “Times 25523: Third Qualifier”

  1. Last in after two thirds of an hour was EMPTY NESTER, which I should have known, I suppose, since I’m rapidly becoming one, but which, like many modern slang expressions, has passed me by. The price for inhabiting a bygone world by reading and inclination, I fancy.

    I had PO[r]T at both 25s for a while till REFLATE sorted me out.

  2. 22 mins. What’s the point of the “no time” convention when the entry date for the puzzle has closed?

    ISAAC was my LOI after I decided to trust the wordplay for the previously unknown BUSKIN. I thought that some of the answers, such as NOT A HAPPY BUNNY and EMPTY NESTERS, gave this puzzle a lighter feel than a lot of others, and I enjoyed the solve.

    1. As Jerry wrote in his intro to the 2nd qualifier:

      “Traditionally we don’t discuss these [times], for the qualifying competition. Disclosing your time will merely give others either a probably unjustified sense of optimism, or an unhelpful gloomy feeling“.
      http://times-xwd-times.livejournal.com/983168.html

      Guess this still holds, assuming all finalists haven’t been chosen yet.

      Edited at 2013-07-18 10:54 pm (UTC)

  3. This was definitely the hardest of the three puzzles – I call it “the one where I wish I hadn’t listened to Penfold”!!!
    1. Hey!

      I was actually quicker on this one than the previous one (which I sent off and which got me a place in the finals).

      Have you entered anyway?

      1. I sent off the first one, had the same time for the second one, took a lot longer on this third one! I still may yet regret listening to you 😉
  4. Out of mere academic interest, what’s the deal on the qualifying procedure? Do you get just one shot at it, as in being allowed to submit just one of the three puzzles, and is there a selection process as such at the organisers’ end, or do they just trust the times submitted and put those folk through?
    1. You can submit just one entry, they let you know you have a place before the second qualifier appears so that if you haven’t heard you can try again (at another £15) and the same with the third puzzle. So in theory you could spend £45 and not get in at all. Presumably they pick a certain number of people each time who have submitted within a certain time band.
      1. Right, I get it, thanks. Fingers crossed for you!

        Edited at 2013-07-18 02:28 pm (UTC)

      2. I do hope you’re successful, since your times suggest you’d stand a reasonable chance of making the final and Helen Ougham’s feeling a bit lonely – though of course I may not be quite so pleased if it’s at my expense.

        The whole business of qualifying seems a bit ramshackle these days. It was more fun when there was an eliminator puzzle, though with the solving aids available these days, I suspect that even “They hang from trees in the book of Jeremiah (6)” wouldn’t present much of a problem.

  5. Like others I found this the toughest of the three, taking ages to find the setter’s wavelength – though once I’d found it, I seemed to pick up speed quite nicely.
  6. Another very long solve for me but at least it confirms my view that I would be wasting my time even considering applying to enter.

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