Solving time : 8:39 – and I thought it looked more tricky than usual, so I was surprised to find my time at 5th out of the first 15 solvers. There’s a wide range of knowledge in this puzzle, but the wordplay is very good for the more obscure answers (though I have an advantage at 26, which I suspect may be a stumbling point for some solvers).
It was first pointed out by jakkt last week, my first Thursday Times blog was November 22, 2007, so with this offering I am passing 10 years of contributing to Times for the Times, having shared the Thursday spot with Richard Grafen, Uncle Yap and now z8b8d8k. It continues to be fun!
Away we go…
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
STRATEGY: TARTS(call girls) reversed, then EG, Y |
| 5 | CANNOT: ANN(a woman) in COT(bed) |
| 9 | LABRADOR: LOR(surprised cry) containing A, BRAD(nail) |
| 10 | SHOGUN: remove the middle letter from a SHOTGUN wedding |
| 12 |
CORRESPONDENT: CORESPONDENT(one alleged of adultery in a divorce case) containing R |
| 15 |
TARDY: TAD(little), then |
| 16 |
AGAMEMNON: GAME(meat) inside AM(before noon), then ON(leg side in cricket) |
| 17 |
DEFLECTED: D(daughter) then |
| 19 | SHAKE: sounds like SHEIKH |
| 20 | COMMISSIONERS: COMERS(people who arrive) surrounding MISSION(embassy) |
| 22 | PRISSY: SIR(teacher) reversed in an anagram of SPY |
| 23 | NEBRASKA: NE(Newcastle), BRA(supporter), then SKA(’60s pop) |
| 25 | SUNKEN: KEN(fellow) with SUN(tabloid) |
| 26 | STANNITE: STATE(condition) containing INN(pub) reversed. A tin ore |
| Down | |
| 1 | SOLICITUDE: CI(Jersey is a Channel Island) inside SOLITUDE(loneliness) |
| 2 | RIB: BIRD(prison time, something served) reversed missing D(duke) |
| 3 | TRACERY: TRACY(woman) containing ER |
| 4 |
GROUP CAPTAIN: anagram of IN,A,PACT with GR(great), OUP(Oxford University Press, publishing firm) |
| 6 | ATHLETE: LET(obstruction) in A,THE(articles) |
| 7 | NIGHTINGALE: NIGH(near), TINGLE(sensation of prickling) containing A |
| 8 | TINY: hidden in fruiT IN Yellow |
| 11 | INCANDESCENT: C(caught) in IN(cool), ANDES(mountain range), CENT(little money) |
| 13 | RAREFACTION: RARE(uncommon), ACTION(procedure) containing F(female) |
| 14 | INTERSTATE: anagram of ATTIRE,SENT |
| 18 | EN MASSE: E and SE(points) surrounding N(new), M.AS(graduates) |
| 19 | SPORRAN: S(singular), PR(pair), RAN(managed) containing O(old) |
| 21 | OPUS: O(over) then UP reversed, S(son) |
| 24 | SKI: first letters of Such Knockabout Institutions |
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