Times 26805 – trickier than a magicians’ megafest

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I like a challenge. I enjoyed most of this, it has some excellent clues with nice PDMs. Looking at it now I’ve finally got there, nearly an hour, with the use of a solver for one clue and an exposed ignorance of the Old Testament, I’m sure some of the Old Hands will not have struggled as I did. 1a is a brilliant clue, but I couldn’t see it for the life of me. 16d I eventually clocked, although it’s a word I didn’t know existed; I was confounded by pencilling in EBay for 21a ! It parses, but too commercial for a weekday no doubt. How did you all find it? Tricky, or with (a fav quote) “as much talent for disguise as a giraffe in dark glasses trying to get into a ‘Polar Bears Only’ golf club.”

Across
1 Weight, energy and speed unaltered (8)
EMPHASIS – E(nergy), MPH (speed), AS IS = unaltered. I’d forgotten the mph thing, I didn’t have the H in, just the S blank S, and it took me an age to see. But no complaints.
9 Time you Yankee chaps reflected! (3,5)
THE ENEMY – Not sure, but here’s a stab. THEE = you, NEM = men, chaps reversed, Y = Yankee. I looked up quotes including this phrase (time is the enemy) and there are many, but I can’t see the obvious stand-alone one. Useless. Maybe time to hang up the blogging boots!
10 To get around that, I live separately (3,2,3)
ONE BY ONE – ONE (I), BE (live), insert YON (that).
11 Seasoned pro players initially have had a look at sides (8)
PEPPERED – Insert P P (initial letters of pro players) into PEERED (had a look at).
12 Truck in dip, labouring, one responsible for road hold-ups (4,6)
DICK TURPIN – My FOI. (TRUCK IN DIP)*.
14 What’s spread evenly among UN: parts of alliance (4)
NATO – Alternate even letters of uN pArTs Of.
15 Gradually manoeuvre taxi in reverse — and forwards (4,3)
BACK ROW – Reverse all of WORK CAB.
17 Chap following wobbly lines (7)
STROPHE – To be in a STROP is to throw a wobbly; HE = chap. One of those poetry things I know zero about, but the word sounded like something to do with lines, given an apo-strophe ‘goes between’ to separate things.
21 Facility where drugs may be picked up (4)
EASE – Yes, I know, it was stupid. I was getting my E’s at EBay. But it just sounds like E’s.
22 Fabulous female, male hosts help to spoil one (4,6)
MAID MARIAN – Another one where I was trying hard to get ‘something MAIDEN’ and looking for someone from Greek mythology until I had the R from 18d. MAN = male, insert AID, MAR (spoil), I.
23 One’s deflated as a result of this competition? (5,3)
PRICE WAR – Nice cryptic definition. Might even be &lit.
25 Inspiring person to go for gold, clinching win finally (8)
ANIMATOR – Insert N (win finally) into AIM AT (go for), OR = gold. Topical clue at the end of the World Championships.
26 Official, being bold, cut down on staff (8)
MANDARIN – MAN = staff, DARIN(G) = bold, cut down.
27 Old people collectively righted a wrong (5,3)
THIRD AGE – (RIGHTED A)*. When do I get to the Fourth Age? Feel I’m there already, today.

Down
2 Oil, basil, an omelette needs for serving up (4,4)
MONA LISA – She’s hidden reversed in B(ASIL AN OM)ELETTE. Not an anagram of OIL BASIL after all.
3 It’s not in practice sound for a cook book (8)
HABAKKUK – One of the more obscure books of the OT. I thought I had heard of most of them but I had to search for words ending K blank K to get it. I think this goes: practice = HABIT,
It’s not in = HAB; A KKUK sounds like a cook. Old Habakkuk seems a bit of a mystery man, only mentioned in two verses and no biog at all, unlike the other minor prophets; I won’t forget him though.
4 Pack that’s way over weight (4)
STOW – ST (way) O(ver) W(eight).
5 Close to beaches, note, litter increases (4-3)
STEP-UPS – S = close to beaches, TE = note as in do re mi, PUPS = litter.
6 Spy doing tweets to his boss? (7,3)
PEEPING TOM – The spy’s (Bond’s) boss was M, so TO M; PEEPING for doing tweets.
A bit weak I thought.
7 7 Glower from aristocrat caught in swindle (4,4)
REAR LAMP – EARL inside RAMP = swindle.
8 One my Dr’s treated? (8)
SYNDROME – (ONE MY DRS)*. &lit.
13 You surprise me when I tell you to! (4,2,4)
UPON MY WORD – Double definition, I think.
15 Buzzer round’s beginning quiz that’s held in pub (4,4)
BEER PUMP – BEE = buzzer, R(ound’s), PUMP = quiz.
16 Copper ring, polished on the outside, with padding? (8)
CUSHIONY – CU = copper, SHINY = polished, insert O = ring. It is a word, I checked, but it sounds more like something from the Uxbridge dictionary to me, as in ISIHAC (the best radio 4 programme around, for overseas listeners’ enlightenment)
18 In custody as required, having run for days (2,6)
ON REMAND – Change the D in ON DEMAND to an R.
19 Principal wish is not considered (8)
HEADLONG – HEAD = principal, of a school; LONG (for) = wish (for).
20 Lively sextet refuse request, ultimately (7)
VIBRANT – VI = sextet (six), BRAN = refuse (Kelloggs may disagree), T = request ultimately.
24 Girl I judge is in a state.
FIJI – FI (ona) = girl, I, J(udge) is in.

104 comments on “Times 26805 – trickier than a magicians’ megafest”

  1. I couldn’t parse FIJI, my LOI. (Don’t know any Fionas. Almost put in FIFI.) Also held up, not by Mr. Turpin, but by BACK ROWS (“forwards”?!… *flipping* rugby, of course) and “ramp” for “swindle,” another Anglicism… and “wobbly” with “strop” give you two for the price of one! Forgot to go back and parse “ONE BY ONE”––that would merely have taken me another hour. Excellent puzzle! I only hope tomorrow’s is a tad easier, or I could be preoccupied during karaoke.

    Edited at 2017-08-16 05:39 am (UTC)

  2. … with Guy (the man of the sartorial hat!): couldn’t quite see the ROW part of 15ac.
    This held me up no end and the BACK part was only given by the 4 crossers and a slight hint of a reversing taxi.
    So what of 15dn? BELL PUSH, BELL PULL … ? Well, they are kinds of buzzers!

    Overall though: enjoyed this despite trying to solve while a plumber banged about, replacing my ancient lav. and the dog next door not appreciating the disturbance.
    I’ll spare you the joke about “nothing to go on”.

    (Oh yeh … back to paper solving today. But the printout is still about as legible as Etruscan.)

    Edited at 2017-08-16 05:53 am (UTC)

  3. Brilliant stuff but I couldn’t finish unaided. When I want to know something about the Old Testament, I ask Z8. Doesn’t everyone?

    I think HABAKKUK has come up before but I wasn’t going to get there because a closing ..K.K seemed ridiculous and I kept thinking my speculative BACK … for 15a must be wrong — speculative because I wouldn’t know which end of a rugby ball to hit with the racket if my life depended on it so I never got BACK ROW either.

    Congrats to all who finished this, and a tip of the hat to the setter for some genius clues.

    1. You don’t hit rugby balls at the end, you hit them at the bottom, using a club and not a racket. I thought everyone knew that. I mean what else are Rugby Clubs good for?
  4. This seemed like a much harder wavelength to get on than usual, with loads of potential places to come a cropper. Time as THE ENEMY comes up in crosswords all the time (mostly as part of the wordplay!) but I put in 15ac on faith that it somehow made sense to rugby aficionados and was also almost stymied by the “glower” (was sure it was going to be NEAR LOOK, so something of that ilk). 16ac could so easily have gone in as CUSHIONS and, while I normally enjoy teasing keriothe about obscure Biblicalities, even I wasn’t sure if 3dn was 2-b’s-one-k to start with. Whew! Glad to have this done inside my normal NITCH at 8 minutes, most of the midnight solver crew didn’t come anywhere near I see!
    1. I can feel a re-write of a Rolling Stones song coming on!

      Edited at 2017-08-16 07:16 am (UTC)

      1. Thanks for that Mark, I’m enjoying Simon’s vlogs.

        And I’m sure you’ll be hugely relieved to know that you weren’t alone with UPON MY SOUL.

  5. 19.44 with one error.
    Great puzzle but sadly I thought I knew how to spell HABAKKUK and didn’t use enough Ks.
  6. Progress was so slow in the first hour that I nodded off more than once so I’m not sure it’s fair to count more than half of it in my solving time. Anyway at the end of that I had about 6 answers scattered around the grid. Fully awake by now, I did better from then on but still ended up using aids for 3dn and (to my shame) the first word in 23ac.

    On 10ac, Pip, you found the relevant saying “time is the enemy” and the correct wordplay, so ‘job done’! My problem here was that there’s also a saying that ‘time is the old enemy’, and I initially put OLD as the first word.

    Back to 3dn, my dictionary informs me that it can also be spelt HABBAKUK and as I couldn’t see the wordplay for the first part of the answer I was unable to decide which spelling was required.

    Not exactly a joy to solve but we need to be stretched like this occasionally – just not on my blogging day please!

    Edited at 2017-08-16 06:46 am (UTC)

  7. A tough 25 minutes for me, which is looking comparatively good. There’s not much to know about HABAKKUK, including how he might be pronounced, so the homophone bit of the clue is a bit of a conjecture. Mostly upset about God’s indifference to suffering, rather like one of us complaining about the new site or the difficulty level of today’s crossword.
    I struggled with the “forwards” bit of a clue that clearly started BACK, and since it crossed with a word beginning with U that I couldn’t fathom even thou I had the MY WORD bit, my closing phase was, shall we say, extended.
    CUSHIONY?? Really? I look forward to curtainy, chairy and setteey.
    1. Pip has confirmed that CUSHIONY exists but contrary to my expectations it’s in ALL the usual sources.
    2. Well I knew of Habakkuk so naturally I think 3d a fine clue.. except I am inclined to agree with Jimbo that the homophone was unfortunate. I assume the setter is alluding to present-day pronunciation, given that the prophet himself, assuming he existed, would have spelled his name differently, never mind pronounced it differently. Possibly.
  8. I think Keriothe is being overly complimentary about 3dn.
    I had HABACKUK, and have awarded myself an all-correct.

    Very enjoyable puzzle though, some brilliantly-disguised definitions. BACK ROW was a write-in.

    Thanks setter and Pip.

    1. I had a different version of the homophone (does it matter which one?) and have awarded the setter a DNF.
      1. Give the setter a DNF! Indeed. I won’t mind if I never see HABAKKUK again, but if the setter puts it in, they have to give an assist with the spelling in the clue, in my view. Anagram or charade, never “sounds like”.
  9. Can’t believe that I finished this in 50 minutes. PRICE WAR, CUSHIONY, BEER PUMP were put in with fingers crossed. Similarly LOI THE ENEMY. Of course I knew HABAKKUK but still haven’t parsed it. Why is HAB ‘it’s not in”? By a short head from MAID MARIAN and MONA LISA. COD DICK TURPIN. A great friend of mine is a Victorian novel scholar. I once reviewed his weighty tome on Harrison Ainsworth on the basis that he couldn’t get anyone else to do it and I’d once read an extract from Rookwood at school. From my experience, THIRD AGE is better described as GWR, God’s waiting room. Great puzzle. Thank you Pip and setter.

    Edited at 2017-08-16 08:48 am (UTC)

    1. Take the ‘it’ out of ‘habit (practice). I think Pip forgot the ‘practice’ in his parsing
    2. It is “It is not in practice” = HAB(it).. as in: it is my practice/habit to help out with parsing, when I can…
      1. Thank you Jerry and Sotira. As always, it’s obvious once you know how. I didn’t!
            1. .. well we are all friends here, boltonwanderer (may I call you Bolton?) .. I’ve been telling my wife certain things repeatedly for forty years, that she still can’t quite seem to take on board
  10. 50 mins to DNF on the impossible 3dn/15ac combo. First 30 mins enjoyable with overnight oats – then with 3 left (inc. P-I– War) had to take the car to the garage. A further 20 mins and I gave up.
    Thanks setter and Pip.
  12. Knowing all the books of the Bible is a prerequisite to crosswords like knowing the 2-letter words is in Scrabble, it seems. Get used to it people!
        1. You’ll be LOLing on the other side of your face when we get a cryptic definition for an obscure grape variety or financial term. 😉
          1. I actually came a (relative) cropper on a recent David McLean puzzle due to my lack of knowledge of grape varieties… *shakes fist*
            1. Wine is part of our culture, knowledge of obscure grape varieties is quite rightly a prerequisite for solving crosswords. Get used to it!
      2. An alternative is to watch Monty Python movies. The only time I’ve heard Habakkuk spoken is in “The Life of Brian.” Tried but failed to find a youtube link – but I’m sure they pronounce the second syllable to rhyme with LUCK not COOK. And what higher authority can there be than the Pythons?
        FWIW I couldn’t spell it, and for reasons that aren’t clear I didn’t go back to read the clue and work it out when I realised it was the answer, just had a guess. Idiot.
        2. One of the many advantages of being from the North of England is that luck and cook rhyme.

          Edited at 2017-08-16 01:45 pm (UTC)

      3. Seconded. There are many things I’ll bone up on for the good of my solving, but Biblical knowledge shares joint top of my List of No alongside football. I shall simply be content to roll my eyes and forgive myself for a DNF like today’s.
        1. I really couldn’t agree with you more. I absolutely refuse, no sorry I absolutely refuse to learn the names of all the books of the bible because someone has decreed that this is ‘required knowledge’ for solving these puzzles. General knowledge is general knowledge, it is not what you, the setter, feel we ought to know. The number of knowledgeable and experienced solvers here who had trouble with this clue is conclusive, as far as I’m concerned.
          [rant over]

          Edited at 2017-08-17 02:06 am (UTC)

  13. Interrupted mid-solve, so no time, but no matter as it was off the scale anyway and I needed help with the book. I was left with three clues at the end, all with a double unchecked which made me a little grumpy (no strike that – very grumpy). HABAKKUK was borderline unfair I thought. Glad to see that SNITCHY currently has this one in ‘stinker’ territory.
  14. Very difficult puzzle that took 3 cups of coffee

    1A is excellent. 3D is awful.

    I biffed 3d from the ending K.K but using a homophone to clue such obscurity is unfair. As z8 says – who knows how he pronounced his name and I’m with galspray and his self-awarded all correct. I looked it up before writing it in!

  15. Took me about 75mins but it was hypnotic! Didn’t really want it end – so good.

    3dn HABAKKUK was OK for me as the OT was familiar gound.

    But DNK 17ac STROPHE never got the STROP as I was too busy elsewhere.

    FOI 11ac PEPPERED. LOI 15dn BEER PUMP – BELL PUSH was an early possible

    I had 13dn as UPON MY SOUL for a long time.

    20dn VIBRANT was unsure because BRAN in my book and Kellog’s) is not waste! But Chambers puts us right.

    COD 1ac EMPHASIS with 5dn STEP-UPS not far adrift.

    WOD 9ac THE ENEMY (Remember the New Musical Express!)

    More please, Sir!

  16. I don’t understand why I have never heard about the excellent SNITCH website before now?! Must have missed something somewhere along the way. It seems to have been built by someone after my own heart, though much more energetic. well done, Starstruck..
    Vinyl, maybe we could consider posting a permanent link here to this website? I note that we have a “links” section top right of this page, with just the blogging calendar in it at present
  17. You’re welcome.

    Apropos of nothing at all, there’s a photo doing the rounds online today, relating to Daniel Craig returning as Bond, that made me very happy. I’ve put it on my LiveJournal blog (just click on my name)

    1. Yes, of course that’s who M is, and has always been. Good to see the soubriquet honoured too. – joekobi
    3. :-))

      ..though I see no reason to make it look like an accident. When you have as many detractors as he has, no-one would know where to start anyway.

  18. Some brilliant stuff here, including my final penny drop moment when I realised that “forwards”, not “gradually manoeuvre” was the definition for 15ac, thus explaining my inability to find a four-leter word for “cab” which fitted into K_O_ to complete the clue.

    My first thought when presented with the prophet (apart from the not very sporting way it was clued) was the remarkable story of Operation Habakkuk. If you enjoy reading about WWII boffins and their works, the wiki article is well worth five minutes.

      1. It’s reassuring to see that an inability to know whether to spell is Habakkuk or Habbakuk is universal across all fields of human endeavour, at least.
        1. From the (very interesting) Wiki article, I reached the opposite conclusion.. apart from Pyke himself, everyone seemed to know how to spell the word!
          Still one cannot help but warm to any project described as “plausible but ludicrous”
      1. That’s the snag. They’ll get Google’s tax accountant on the case. We won’t even get our tea back.
  20. 29:17. Definitely a meaty puzzle with few chances to biff. Instead the pleasure of building up an answer from the wordplay and then the PDM when the connection with the definition is recognised. A fine example of the setter’s art so thanks S and pip.
  21. Still can’t get puzzles from club site on my desktop, so solved on main site in 30 min. ‘Unlucky’ message made me think I had 24dn/25ac (my LOI) wrong, as I wasn’t happy about the parsing – it was only after revealing the solution that I saw I’d spelt 3dn wrong. (As others have remarked, the wordplay doesn’t help.) There were some others that I hadn’t parsed, so thanks Pip for elucidation.
    FOI was 9ac – by the way, the BRB doesn’t give that sense explicitly, though it’s implied therein by ‘how goes the enemy?’.
  22. After zero answers on first run, finished in 30 minutes, but with HABBAKUK, unsurprisingly unparsed. A most enjoyable challenge overall, thanks pip and setter.
  23. Finally dredged up 3 dn. thinking it may have been an early novel of Conrad’s. Took me to 50 min. total. I rather like the clue – a touch of flimsy whimsy doesn’t go astray in a field of gimlet logic. A fine puzzle – a real sense of combat with the setter to whom thanks. – joekobi
  24. Also still stuck on the main Times site. At least if you get it wrong, you are told to go back and try again (reminds me of my school days). In this case it turned out that I had CUSHIOND (sic) and TEAR LAMP (it does exist!). How do you pronounce HABAKKUK anyway? I’d rhyme it with luck…
  25. Wow that was tough! 70:02 for me, although having worked out the WP for 3d, I was still unsure of the spelling, ackuk or akkuk, so I looked it up before submitting. Knew it had to be one B from the HAB(it). Glad to see it wasn’t just me! At 15a I had BAC from early on, but took forever to see that forwards was the definition rather than gradually manoeuvre. Some very well hidden definitions in this puzzle and it was a real challenge! A great sense of humour was pervasive. I couldn’t see the parsing for the obvious VIBRANT until I remembered that I wouldn’t like to eat the contents of a bran tub. My LOI was PRICE WAR after staring at P_I__ WAR for an age. FOI was STOW. Cracking puzzle. Thanks setter and Pip.

    Edited at 2017-08-16 12:47 pm (UTC)

  26. I gave up after 2 hours with 3dn and 9a still eluding me.

    Not sure how much time I wasted with BELL TEST for 15dn!

    Thanks to blogger and setter (but not for 3dn).

    Mr Chumley

  27. I thought I was going to have to admit to a DNF but if HABACKUK is good enough for Gallers then it’s good enough for me so let the record state I was all correct in 21:44.

    That apart, my only real problem was deciding on the right sort of war at 23.

  28. Way beyond me but enjoyed the explanations. Some pretty dodgy clues if you ask me. But I did the hard Killer Sudoku in just over 10 minutes (par was 56 mins) so that will do nicely. Oh for a setter with vague elements from the periodic table or croquet terms.
    2. I did the Killer Deadly in 10 minutes too. It’s a pity you posted, N. I was feeling good about myself until I read this. Now I’ve spoilt it for you too. At least Wanderers got a point last night. We can still harbour our delusions of adequacy.
      1. getting a point is nothing in comparison to United’s performance on Sunday against Man City reserves (West Ham)- three points and four marvellous goals!

        1958 still wrankles hereabouts!!

          1. Possibly my favourite poem, BW. Though obviously it would hold a little more significance for you.
  29. 32 minutes spoiled with the wrong spelling of the OT geezer. It annoyed me in the way that the old TLS puzzles used to because the crossing letters were no help. Same as Vinyl on “paint war” and I had to do a laborious alphabet run on BACK ROW. I was also held up by trying for “Marion” in 22a until I remembered that if spelled that way it was probably a man, as in John Wayne’s real name.
    1. ah, never realised his name was spelled in a manly way! I did put Marion to start with, but soon had to correct it
      1. There’s also the American writer F. Marion Crawford. He’s not much read now but his short story The Upper Berth is often included in anthologies of ghost stories. I’d have been much slower with this without weekly TLS practice, and I was sooo pleased with myself for getting the old prophet.. pride goeth.
          1. Well that’s a thought Jerry. So you’re having withdrawal syndrome too…. I see the digital sub for the US and Canada is $115p.a. My children have an exaggerated idea of my prowess at crossword solving and were terribly disappointed about what has happened and suggested giving me a year’s supply for my birthday in October. I suppose it would mean sharing a u/n and p/w but that would be ok with me. PB went so far as to suggest such a remedy. Do you think it might work?
            1. I will email you Olivia… btw £75 is $96 today, so they are ripping our colonial cousins off, rather!
              if anyone else is still interested in the TLS crossword, send me a PM

              Edited at 2017-08-16 05:35 pm (UTC)

    2. I was held up by MAID MARION as well. And I should have known better because in Welsh there is a male form of Mair (Mary) which is Meirion. My next-door neighbour is a Meirion. I believe that in England Marion used to be the male form of Mary but has fallen into disuse because it’s become a female name (Like Evelyn)
        1. Port Meirion : Still a site of pilgrimage for fans of “The Prisoner”. They used to gather there every year. I don’t know if it still goes on. Ann
          1. This year more than ever, in fact, as it’s the 40th anniversary. But Portmeirion is worth a wander around even if you’ve never seen The Prisoner, of course: the fact it’s such a batty place in general was why McGoohan choose it.
            1. Some of my friends used to be members of 6 of One. I remember the penny-farthing T shirts. My only connection with the place is a Portmeirion coffee set. I assume the pottery is still going as well.
  30. Famous quote from Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” comic strip: “We have met the enemy, and he is us”.
    Very appropriate these days.
  31. I didn’t enjoy this much – possibly because I’m under the weather today. I almost gave up and was relieved to finish it at all. 57 minutes. LOI HABAKKUK which was vaguely remembered as an OT book. When I first saw the ending K?K I assumed I’d made a mistake with the crossing letters. Not helped by having MARION at 22a which made 19d impossible. Only corrected when STROPHE finally fell into place. So chewy it was almost indigestible. Ann
  32. Still don’t understand “It’s not in = HAB”
    I agree about “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue”. Being able to understand “Mornington Crescent” should be part of any citizenship test.
    63m 53s

    Edited at 2017-08-16 03:46 pm (UTC)

    2. In that case I would fail the test. In fact, isn’t not being able to understand it rather the point, Martin?!
  33. Is it shocking to discover that some here are less than fully conversant with the names of all the old Testament books?

    No, it isn’t. Including me. DNF, because I had to look it up, and was utterly surprised to see it. Still can’t tell if it’s a person, place, or thing. Or an adjective, for that matter.
    Regards.

  34. It took me an hour to end up with one mistake, “Habbakuk”, which serves me right for not parsing it. I only knew HABAKKUK (albeit spelled wrongly) from Project Habakkuk – I had no idea they’d named a chapter of the bible after it.

    [EDIT – a quick review of the literature reveals that Pyke himself was in the habit of spelling it “Habbakuk”, which at least partially excuses my error. In fact, given the decided lack of reliability in many parts of the bible, I am more likely to believe Pyke’s spelling.]

    Edited at 2017-08-16 05:39 pm (UTC)

    1. Ha, you would be amazed what they have named books of the bible after, Thud.. my son Daniel, for example
      1. I think the whole bible-naming thing is a bit messed up. Admittedly, calling the first one “The Old Testament” showed that they had their eyes on a sequel. But they’ve not left themselves many options for continuing the franchise.
  35. After 30 mins on the morning commute I had all of the LHS done apart from 15ac. Another 22 mins at lunchtime wrapped up the rest. I enjoyed this one and think it rewarded close attention to detail which suited me today. There were a couple of fiendish clues with well hidden definitions – 15ac and 9ac – but overall I didn’t find it too much of a head scratcher and looking at the difficulties many others have set out I’m pleased to have got through this one unscathed. Apart from initially wondering whether Nabbakuk was in the OT (my “H” in emphasis looked a bit like an “N”) not too many problems at 3dn. I was confident that the wp was giving me “hab(it)” “a” and then “-k-k” for a homophone of cook which I always felt was kkuk – I didn’t even consider ckuk. But then again I think I had vaguely heard of the book, had it not struck a chord from the dim recesses I might well have felt otherwise about it. I wasn’t sure about bran for refuse (I’m even less certain about it for breakfast) but vibrant was pretty obvious from sextet and lively. Also not entirely confident about 7dn. Perhaps the biggest pause for thought came at the slightly odd word in 16dn with its Uxbridge Def – like a cushion? I see that the following clue contains the very next entry in the UED after cushiony; “custody”: like a custard.
  36. A 2-hour DNF for me, in a couple of sessions. I’d got as far as thinking it might be HOBBIKUK (“not in practice sound” clueing a homophone of “hobby”), so I was close-ish, but I knew it was wrong.

    As a relative beginner and an atheist, I don’t kick myself when something obscure and religious beats me.

    FOI 1a, LOI that worked BACK ROW (I know even less about Rugby than I know about the Old Testament!) Thanks to setter and blogger.

  37. Pleased to find myself in exalted company. I too had a DNF due to entering an unparsed ‘Habbakuk’ and also, initially, entered a misspelled ‘Maid Marion’. The latter blunder is, perhaps, forgivable, but as a Religious Studies graduate (albeit an agnostic one) the former is a shocker. In mitigation, m’lud, I did remember the existence of the book but my spelling, once again, let me down.

Comments are closed.