What I did like: COD 25ac which was an excellent marriage of surface and cryptic, the brio of the presentation for the fairly simple 5dn, and “in clandestine manner” as an anagrind. Thank you to the setter and here’s hoping I get my cryptic mojo back sooner rather than later… could be worse of course, I could be off the boil with a Times Cryptic Crossword Championship only a few short weeks away!
1 Part of journey left, including northern region (7)
LAPLAND – LAP L AND [part of journey | left | including]
5 Paper ticket covering first of our breaks (7)
TABLOID – TAB [ticket], + LID [covering] (which) O{ur} “breaks”
9 Right party for fool? (3)
CON – double def
10 Party given limited quota of famous people? (11)
CELEBRATION – or alternatively CELEB RATION, a “limited quota of famous people”
11 Girl’s instant control on aircraft (8)
JOYSTICK – JOY’S TICK [girl’s | instant]. FOI.
12 Port sent further back, without tips (6)
ODESSA – {p}ASSED O{n} [sent further], reversed, first and last letters removed. We’ve had a very similar clue not that long ago, it was hard to “see” then, and it’s still hard now.
15 End bitten off pasty, smallest amount (4)
WHIT – WHIT{e} [pasty, as in complexion, with the last letter removed]
16 Way to bank money, people formerly taxing cheese! (10)
LANCASHIRE – LANE [way] to “bank” CASH IR [money | people formerly taxing]
18 Nonsense jokes associated with Punch (10)
CODSWALLOP – CODS [jokes], associated with WALLOP [punch]
19 Storage space got rid of (4)
SHED – double def
22 Old Greek bronze captures Greek goddess, almost entirely (6)
THEBAN – TAN [bronze] “captures” HEB{e} [Greek goddess, missing last letter]
23 Country in recent test (8)
PASTORAL – PAST ORAL [recent | test]
25 Where one’s going on date, is it rude to pinch person’s behind? (11)
DESTINATION – (ON DATE IS IT*) [“rude”], to “pinch” {perso}N
27 Nice tea chest finally put away (3)
EAT – {nic}E {te}A {ches}T
28 The French all there to scoff good Italian food (7)
LASAGNE – LA SANE [the French | all there] to “scoff” G [good]
29 Old poet, a little salacious, pens erotica (7)
SPENSER – hidden in {salaciou}S PENS ER{otica}
DOWN
1 Muscle tightening in rugby player, long conversation ensuing? (7)
LOCKJAW – LOCK JAW [rugby player | long conversation]
2 Supporter for women plying trade in clandestine manner (5,6)
PANTY GIRDLE – (PLYING TRADE*) [“in clandestine manner”]
3 A bed bagged by officer for US writer (6)
ALCOTT – A + COT [bed] “bagged” by LT [officer]
4 Lovely dresser originally fit for office (10)
DELECTABLE – D{resser} + ELECTABLE [fit for office]
5 VAT on article? Blow me! (4)
TUBA – TUB [vat] on A [article]
6 Awful din in loud display (8)
BRANDISH – (DIN*) [“awful”] in BRASH [loud]
7 Sash for brim, odd bits trimmed off (3)
OBI – {f}O{r} B{r}I{m}
8 Equipped with serrated edge in hollow, dug in (7)
DENTATE – DENT ATE [hollow | dug in]
13 Fragments scattered in mess, at that point buried (11)
SMITHEREENS – (IN MESS*) [“scattered”], (with) THERE [at that point] “buried”
14 Jumping through hoops perhaps, bachelor fills in puzzle, second to last (10)
ACROBATICS – BA [bachelor] “fills in” ACRO{S->}TIC, having moved its S (for second) to the end
17 Promising appreciation of music, being into jazz (8)
SWEARING – EAR [appreciation of music], “into” SWING [jazz]
18 Kremlin directed a jerk in the wrong direction (7)
CITADEL – reversed LED A TIC [directed | a | jerk]
20 Muscle you need to lift register and large papers (7)
DILATOR – reversed ROTA L ID [register | large | papers]
21 This second hundred comes in one (2,4)
AT ONCE – TON [hundred] “comes in” ACE [one]
24 Shave couple by the ears? (4)
PARE – homophone of PAIR [couple]
26 Lives with son’s relative (3)
SIS – IS [lives] with S [son]
Edited at 2019-09-20 05:51 am (UTC)
Finished off by BRANDISHING a DENTATE TABLOID in LANCASHIRE at around the 45 minute mark.
Like Verlaine I found the NE the most difficult area, finishing with DENTATE. I had one gripe today which was the clueing of PAST as ‘recent’. Clearly the past doesn’t have to be recent so am I missing something here?
The above may be clouding my judgment somewhat, but I did enjoy the puzzle. PANTY GIRDLE and DESTINATION are both terrific.
As my target half-hour approached I had 4 answers missing in the NE quarter but perservered and finished on 36 minutes, which I rank as a success after a poor beginning.
I thought the standard of setting was fine.
Edited at 2019-09-20 06:12 am (UTC)
Thanks Blogger and Setter.
If it makes you feel a bit better, V, I had to come here to get the parsing of TABLOID, so you still have your uses.
Went from left to right, totally on the wavelength for once.
FOI 28ac LASAGNE
LOI 20dn DILATOR
COD 8dn DENTATE (Denticulation is the subject of a forthcoming book of mine! I’ll fetch me coat!)
WOD 13d SMITHEREENS (Simpson’s little Smithers!)
As per The Hon. Harmonic-Rowe, Mr. Snitch is rather uppity today.
Edited at 2019-09-20 01:15 pm (UTC)
Thanks verlaine and setter.
9m 27s, I thought this was a nice puzzle. LANCASHIRE was my COD, THEBAN was LOI, and my only MERs were for some loose-ish anagrinds.
If it makes you feel a bit better, V, I had to come here to get the parsing of TABLOID, so you still have your uses.
Maybe it’s no coincidence that one of the things you liked, the use of “in clandestine manner” as an anagrind, was the thing that caused me a MER.
Edited at 2019-09-20 11:57 am (UTC)
FOI ALCOTT
COD LANCASHIRE
Same problem as many others as I’d almost exhausted the across clues before setting pen to paper at 27A. Fortunately, I then constructed DILATOR by working backwards, and SMITHEREENS followed quickly. From that point I worked steadily to finish in a half-decent time.
Thanks to V for parsing TABLOID, and (to my shame !!) ODESSA. I needed to write out the half-completed anagrist before seeing CELEBRATION.
FOI EAT
LOI THEBAN
COD LANCASHIRE (Mrs.Kirkham’s creamy please !)
TIME 12:34