Solving time: I couldn’t time it as I did it in bits on the train/tram on the way to work. From start to finish probably about forty minutes, but there was a 10 minute bike ride and good deal of changing trains, etc. in there so probably no more than 20-25 minutes actual solving time. I should also point out that I’ve not had a chance to enter my answers online yet, so it’s unchecked, but I’m pretty confident about it all.
I completely forgot it was my turn to blog last night so I was grateful for an easy one that I could sprint through on the train and then quickly type up when I got to work. No time for more preamble now.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this
Across | |
---|---|
1 | SET ASIDE = |
5 | PRELIM = R + (LIE)* in PM – ‘heat’ was the definition – an excellent clue with a good surface and good misdirection. My COD |
9 |
|
10 | INSPECTIONS = (SPINE)* + |
12 | CORIOLANUS = |
13 | BORE – dd |
15 | SMYRNA = M |
16 | SHIFTED = (FISH)* + T |
18 | REVENUE = EVEN (stable) in EUR |
20 | ON TICK – hidden |
23 | SITE = “CITE” |
24 | RESPIRATOR = (A SPORTIER)* + R |
26 | OLIVER TWIST = OVER (finished) + TWIST (unexpected plot development) all about (I + L) rev |
27 | LAB = BAL |
28 | FILL IN |
29 | ATTORNEY = “A TOURNEY” |
Down | |
1 | S + TRUCK |
2 | TANTRUM = T after (T + AN) + RUM (odd) |
3 | SKI-TOURING = KIT in SO + U + RING – I’ve not heard of the sport so I had to work it out from the wordplay |
4 | DISPARAGEMENT = D + (A + GEM) in PARENT |
6 | RAT + |
7 | LOOKOUT – dd – ‘cave’ in its Latin meaning of ‘beware’ |
8 | MISLEADS = M + (LADIES)* + S |
11 | EMULSION PAINT = (ON AN IMPULSE I)* + |
14 | TINTORETTO = RE (about) in TINT (shade) + OTTO (German) |
17 | B + RUSH-OFF |
19 | VITRIOL = TRIO in VIL |
21 | CAT + ALAN |
22 | C(R)ABBY |
25 | SE + MI |
I wasted time at 21 because of “English” in the clue which is both unnecessary and misleading but I guess that’s what cryptic puzzles are about.
I’d also never heard of SKI-TOURING which from its description sounds more like an activity than a sport, and Collins agrees, adding that it’s non-competitive. Chambers gives the okay to ‘sport’ though.
Was held up for a long time by TINTORETTO. When I see Italian painter, I run through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If that doesn’t work I’m in trouble, but today it was gettable from the wordplay.
Still looking forward to breaking my duck for 2014. Maybe on Monday.
Managed all correct (first for little while, so must have been on the easy side…), and managed to parse all but CORIOLANUS.
Didn’t like the “English” in 21D and post solve looked up “Alan” in the The Oxford Names Companion. It’s of Celtic origin, originating from Alan Earl of Brittany who was a Breton follower of William The Conquerer who was rewarded with large estates in England after 1066!
I note with relish how my reverse mental disintegration is working on our Aussie. 🙂
(Oooooohhhhhhh says the crowd, nasty delivery).
Thought you might like this: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rrWcQfcviqo
Did 12th Night for O-level English Literature. I know way more about Viola and the other characters than for any other play.
Edited at 2014-01-03 11:31 am (UTC)
I put in a lot of them from the literals without thinking too much, which you can do in a puzzle like this. At the end, I got stuck on ‘Tintoretto’ and wasted another 15 minutes before I saw the obvious.
Threw vitriol in without stopping to parse and conversely had to rely on wordplay for the “sport” and the ancient city.
I wondered about transfix as an inserticator but it can mean to pierce which I guess is OK although it’s not a meaning I knew.
As I played Feste the clown in Twelfth Night in my callow youth, the 12th Night reference came pretty easily. Can’t agree that Olivia is “tedious” – after all she falls in love with a boy that’s really a girl dressed up as her twin brother, then she mistakes the brother for her/him and…oh, the fun!
“Still that’s all one and our play is done and we’ll try to please you every day…”
COD .. PRELIM, for sure.
I’m impressed, Dave, with your cerebral take on the biathlon – bike riding and crossword solving. Could it catch on? How’s Magoo on a bike?
I completed the RHS much faster than the LHS. CORIOLANUS went in from the definition, SKI-TOURING from the wordplay, and then my last three in were REVENUE, BRUSH-OFF and VITRIOL in that order.
Not much excitement, either. Ski touring looks weird.
Failed to parse CORIOLANUS, and a lot of the others were parsed after they’d been filled in. SMYRNA was one of those things I know but don’t know why I know it – history and geography were never my strong suits, and I kept trying to fit UR into it, but got there in the end.
I’d never heard of SKI TOURING, but since I can’t ski that is not surprising.
I wish this had been trickier, since I’m off duty tonight and therefore at a loose end. Pity to miss the all-night party that is A&E on a Friday night, but you can’t win ’em all. I might dig out my box-set of House so that I’ve got something to shout at.
Edited at 2014-01-03 06:29 pm (UTC)
Meantime, how deep in snow are the Hudson Valley and Nova Scotians? How deep in water is Dorset?
Nice to see thud_n_blunder back. Happy New Year.
Stick with Border Collies!
I love border collies, but they have two big drawbacks:
1. They are so active you can never tire the beggars out,
2. They are so intelligent they make me look even more stupid than I am.
Until last June, I also had a Labrador/Staffie/Rottie cross. He was a big lad, and when he sat on my lap there was no way to even attempt a crossword (or anything else), but I can’t tell you how much I miss him.
Best wishes, and I hope that Mrs bt is now fully recovered from her accident.
George
As to the border collie, tell me about it! I have never let on but he helps me out with the crosswords!
Edited at 2014-01-04 12:12 pm (UTC)
I wondered both about the Englishness of Alan and the Spanishness of CATALANs. The latter is a political fact of course but there’s no need to rub it in. Alan Greenspan might feel the same way.
No problem with TINTORETTO (seen plenty of his paintings in Venice :-), but (like others) I hadn’t come across SKI-TOURING before.
Enjoyed putting together CORIOLANUS – involving two plays for the price of one! Twelfth Night was our college summer play back in the day. I still remember my wig – it certainly hung “like flax on a distaff”!