Time: 34 minutes
Music: Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um
I found this more difficult than expected, although the two long entries were simple enough. I finished the whole right-hand side without much difficulty, but the left side gave considerable trouble. Part of the problem was a wrong answer, where I found a hidden word that was not the right hidden word, that seemed like it must be the answer. Eventually, having become a little suspicious, I erased it and found I could now solve the other clues.
There is some clever stuff here, but it should have been a pretty easy puzzle if you have knowledge expected of an skilled Times solver.
| Across | |
| 1 | Altercation had by society girl (6) |
| DEBATE – What the DEB ATE. | |
| 4 | Write to head of MI6 about betrayer (3-5) |
| TWO-TIMER – Anagram of WRITE TO + M[16]. | |
| 10 | One always fuming Brit looms nastily (9) |
| STROMBOLI – anagram of BRIT LOOMS. I had no idea what stromboli is, except a pizza place in NYC, but that must be it. | |
| 11 | Revolutionary source of light, son cries (5) |
| BLUBS – BULB backwards + S. | |
| 12 | A guard holding case of ammunition up (2,2,3) |
| AT AN END – A + T(A[mmunitio]N)END. | |
| 13 | Attempt to seduce? One might with item from Ann Summers? (3,2,2) |
| TRY IT ON – Double definition, one semi-jocular. | |
| 14 | Letter has half of them worried in recession (5) |
| THETA – TH[em] + ATE backwards. | |
| 15 | Acts as guide abroad, they say (8) |
| OVERSEES – Sounds like OVERSEAS. | |
| 18 | Brainy brother drinking rye? The opposite (8) |
| CEREBRAL – CERE(BR)AL. | |
| 20 | Leader of armed mob almost seizing city in battle (5) |
| ALAMO – A[rmed] +LA + MO[b]. | |
| 23 | Ducks outside range freely, finding something smelling nice (7) |
| OREGANO – O + anagram of RANGE + O. Well, it smells OK. | |
| 25 | What dog may do to welcome garden visitor? (7) |
| WAGTAIL – WAG TAIL. The garden visitor is a bird, if you didn’t know. | |
| 26 | Jack’s approval, quietly overlooked (5) |
| RAISE – [p]RAISE, not a sailor or a card this time. | |
| 27 | Complaint of students backing coup (9) |
| SUNSTROKE – NUS backwards + STROKE. | |
| 28 | Study agreements society put forward (8) |
| TREATISE – TREATIES with the last letter moved forward one position | |
| 29 | Model prisoner first of those getting out of nick (6) |
| TRUSTY – T[hose] + RUSTY. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | The horror of one’s experience under duke (8) |
| DISTASTE – D + I’S + TASTE, where the literal seemed a bit overwrought to me. | |
| 2 | Anger in local leading to assault (7) |
| BARRAGE – BAR + RAGE. | |
| 3 | Leaving old city, fever becomes mild (9) |
| TEMPERATE – TEMPERAT[ur]E. | |
| 5 | Exposing evil action of a referee? (7-7) |
| WHISTLE-BLOWING – Double definition, with meanings to similar to be very cryptic. | |
| 6 | Fat man I married needs new top (5) |
| TUBBY – -h,+TUBBY, a random letter-substitution clue, a style disliked by many solvers. | |
| 7 | Cop, second one in Paris Match (7) |
| MOUNTIE – MO + UN + TIE. | |
| 8 | Rebellion? Reluctantly at first I reveal all (6) |
| RISING – R[eluctantly} I SING. | |
| 9 | Wait, as groom may have to do? (4,4,6) |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES – Double definition. | |
| 16 | Killing earl’s thug arranged (9) |
| SLAUGHTER – Anagram of EARL’S THUG – great clue. | |
| 17 | Dog on the tracks? It’s mine (8) |
| COLLIERY – COLLIE + RY, a bit of a chestnut. | |
| 19 | Solitary Europeans possessing authority (7) |
| EREMITE – E(REMIT)E. | |
| 21 | Atlas so useless, leaving one perplexed (2,1,4) |
| AT A LOSS – Anagram of ATLAS SO. | |
| 22 | Swap tips on highly charged little Dickensian? (6) |
| DORRIT – TORRID with the first and last letters switched. Little Dorrit was the Dickens novel I liked the best, in the grad school seminar where we had to read all of them. | |
| 24 | Reread EP Thompson? Some of it’s brilliant (5) |
| ADEPT – Hidden in [rere]AD EP T[hompson], and not DEPTH as some (including me!) might suppose. | |
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