Time taken: 10:25
Please forgive me if I am a little distracted and numb today. I became a US Citizen in 2014, and have spent today obsessively watching the events going on in Washintgon DC, talking with friends there, and talking with colleagues and students about the truly awful events of today that surely must signal the end of an era in US politics. I’m ashamed of the leadership of my adopted country.
OK – puzzle. My time is just a scratch better than my average, but I think there’s a few that can be biffed without thinking too hard of the wordplay (which in one case is exceptionally clever). Though looking at the early leaderboard, it is verlaine, aphis99 and myself who are in the top three, so maybe this is a shade more difficult than usual.
Added after I completed the write-up… this is a really good puzzle! Looking back at the clues, there is a lot of good wordplay, solid surfaces and a challenge. I think I enjoyed it more as I was writing it up.
Away we go…
Late addendum: Thanks for all the kind comments and empathies. It is interesting to me that the Jonathan apple is not particularly familiar – they were pretty popular in Australia, and although they are not so much in the US, a related Jonagold apple (a cross between Jonathan and a golden delicious) is.
Across | |
1 | Confucian text about time is causing irritation (7) |
ITCHING – the Confucian text is the I CHING, insert T(time) | |
5 | Partially hang a cross around Italian artist (7) |
ORCAGNA – hidden reversed in hANG A CROss. Grateful for the wordplay here, I don’t recall hearing of the 14th centuary Florentine artist | |
9 | Good to take in friend and propose housing area (9) |
PALATABLE – PAL(friend) and TABLE(propose) containing A(area) | |
10 | Losing face, grimace in stress (5) |
ICTUS – remove the first letter from RICTUS(grimace) | |
11 | Gosh! I’m not sure what steals Jonathan’s heart? (5) |
CORER – COR(gosh) and ER(I’m not sure). Jonathan referring to the type of apple here. | |
12 | Feeling less clear about famous residence (6,3) |
NUMBER TEN – NUMBER(feeling less) then NET(clear) reversed for the Prime Minister’s residence. This is by far my favorite clue in today’s puzzle, well done, setter. | |
13 | This person’s on tram stoned, excited and showing off? (13) |
DEMONSTRATIVE – I’VE(this person’s) after an anagram of TRAM,STONED | |
17 | How shop closes, bailiff’s work showing bias (13) |
PREPOSSESSION – last letter of shoP, then REPOSSESSION (bailiff’s work) | |
21 | Playing arena, band’s Indian accompaniment (4,5) |
NAAN BREAD – anagram of ARENA,BAND | |
24 | Whirling around, party in bar (5) |
LEVER – reversal of REVEL(party) | |
25 | More pathetic view from European beach? (5) |
LAMER – from an Eurpoean beach you may see LA MER | |
26 | Where one may study royal fashion (9) |
PRINCETON – PRINCE(royal), TON(fashion). A university in New Jersey | |
27 | New weaponry initially dropped in sister’s home (7) |
NUNNERY – N(new), then GUNNERY(weaponry) missing the first letter | |
28 | Transport rental including hotel transport (7) |
ENTHRAL – anagram of RENTAL containing H(hotel) |
Down | |
1 | Legislator blocking current law’s effect (6) |
IMPACT – MP(legistaltor) inside I(current), ACT(law) | |
2 | Romantic pass finally made before watershed? (9) |
COLERIDGE – COL(pass) then the last letter of madE, and RIDGE(watershed), referring to the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor | |
3 | Lag, one put inside when students attend school (7) |
INTERIM – I(one) inside IN TERM(when students attent school) | |
4 | Vulgar speaker given tropical fruit flip (2,7) |
GO BANANAS – GOB(vulgar form for mouth) the ANANAS(tropical fruit) | |
5 | Listeners’ disapproval in ancient theatre (5) |
ODEUM – sounds like ODIUM(disapproval) | |
6 | Illusion’s toll on artist (7) |
CHIMERA – CHIME(toll as a bell) and RA(artist) | |
7 | It’s mean to criticise (3,2) |
GET AT – double definition | |
8 | Missing person dispatched during a competition (8) |
ABSENTEE – SENT(dispatched) during A BEE(competition, particularly at spelling) | |
14 | Go for spin in cricket shot, following match (4,5) |
TEST DRIVE – DRIVE(cricket shot) after TEST(cricket match) Double cricket! There’s no cricket going on in Sydney right now due to rain. | |
15 | Wrought iron’s imported tax-free for pioneer (9) |
INNOVATOR – anagram of IRON containing NO VAT(tax-free) | |
16 | Love to write schedule without divisions (4-4) |
OPEN-PLAN – O(love), PEN(write), PLAN(schedule) | |
18 | Ball’s carried for English playmaker (7) |
OSBORNE – O’S(ball’s) BORNE(carried) for John OSBORNE, playwright of Look Back in Anger | |
19 | Suffering? Current back spasm ruled out (7) |
ILLICIT – ILL(suffering), I(current) then a reversal of TIC(spasm) | |
20 | Where men go home through river (6) |
URINAL – IN(home) inside the river URAL | |
22 | Angry after 1000 sinks getting article for plug supplier (5) |
ADMAN – MAD(angry) with the M(1000) at the bottom, then AN(article). Another really good clue, using conventions that would only work for down clues. | |
23 | My pet cuckoo is vain (5) |
EMPTY – anagram of MY PET |
I also wondered part the “It’s” is playing in 7D. This and 10A slowed me down in the NE corner.
Thanks for the blog, George, despite the goings-on in the US. We look aghast from afar, so I’m sure it’s much worse up close. Hang in there.
Edited at 2021-01-07 02:27 am (UTC)
Fortunately a delayed delivery of Australian chocolates (a Christmas gift from an old friend) arrived this afternoon so I could watch the downfall of American democrazy with caramello koalas.
Edited at 2021-01-07 02:33 am (UTC)
Don
I had difficulty concentrating on the puzzle, and could probably have shaved a few minutes off my time. Anyway, FOI ITCHING, POI ICTUS–all I could think of was INCUS, which couldn’t be right–LOI GET AT. NHO ORCAGNA, and it took me a while to realize I hadn’t seen a hidden yet.
Watching the PBS News Hour at the moment. All very depressing.
My heart sank when I saw that the first word in the first clue was ‘Confucian’ so I delayed that one for a while and it proved to be perfectly easy once I had some checkers in place. There were two unknowns however, ORCAGNA (which looked very unlikely) and ICTUS.
🙂
😉
FOI ORCAGNA Andrea de Cione – I know Orvieto well and its lovely wines – having done the Grand Tour.
LOI 20dn URINAL – I left it until last as I’m a bit of a wee-wee! Sorry ladies!
COD 22dn ADMAN – my trade
WOD AMERICARNAGE
George you have my sincerest commiserations, mais
toute nation a le gouvernement qu’elle mérite. de Maistre
Edited at 2021-01-07 07:30 am (UTC)
But certainly, in any case, to have dropped la particule.. 😉
Edited at 2021-01-07 05:33 pm (UTC)
Thanks setter and G.
Steady solve; no dramas. Thanks george. Those chocs sound nice 🙂
I followed the wordplay to construct ORBISON at 18dn, brain insufficiently caffeinated to notice immediately that I was in the wrong arts department.
Shocking to see the events across the pond. Surely the 25th must be invoked to stop the madness? I note that none of the members of the Monster Raving Loony party invading the Capitol were wearing masks. Perhaps the virus will teach them something about reality.
Didn’t parse OSBORNE, and wouldn’t have got anywhere near it without having all the checkers, so thanks for the explanation. Jonathan as a type of apple was new to me too, though I managed to get CORER.
FOI Chimera
LOI Odeum
COD Princeton
Tuned in to CNN last night to watch the sacred ritual of the college votes, and was impressed by some eloquent speeches, even from Mitch, before all hell broke loose. Our American friends, you have my sympathy, but also my admiration for the electoral marvel that is Georgia. There is light.
Didn’t know Jonathan as an apple either.
Edited at 2021-01-07 09:33 am (UTC)
My heart goes out to you George, and to all sane Americans. But as Z says above, didn’t Georgia do well?
Dnk ORCAGNA, ODEUM.
15′ 58″, thanks George and setter.
Mainly posting though to sympathise with George’s comments on the US situation. I too have been obsessively following events from here in sleepy old Hammersmith, London, UK. I don’t understand why the Republican Party don’t publicly disown him and leave him to rot amongst all the litigation that ought to be coming his way in a couple of weeks’ time. But then again I suspect that just shows that I don’t understand US politics at all. I guess the fact is that the Republican Party are very much made in his image. Still, major figures have now come out and condemned him e.g. Romney, Pence and Bush which ought to give the craven rank and file enough reason to turn on him. But I don’t know. I suppose he’ll survive like Japanese Knotweed and come back stronger and more vitriolic in 4 years’ time.
Also George, some years ago I used to enjoy reading about your battles with The Listener while carrying on my own occasional campaign but it had fallen off my radar of late. Then I remembered the other day how much I used to enjoy it and visited the link but it seems you have allowed it to wither. Which saddens me although I understand it was probably just taking up too much of your time. Still, just thought I’d say how much I used to enjoy it but I guess it would have been better to have told you at the time!
All the best to you and I sincerely hope your adopted country manages to avoid another Civil War!
Don
Listen with Others is still going strong, with far fewer off-colour jokes.
1a was my LOI in 6m 37s.
24A: LEVER Spent ages trying to understand how either DO or an abbreviated political party could be accommodated; then became obsessed with LIVID. All to no avail.
20D: URINAL Parsed the structure of the clue and knew that IN was ‘home’ – but couldn’t fathom the waterway or ‘where men go’ despite having to take a short comfort break part way through!
As so often for me, the above clues now seem very reasonable ones that I could have managed with the application of greater imagination and determination.
FOI: ITCHING
I guessed, based on wordplay:
5A ORCAGNA (subsequently looked up in Vasari’s ‘Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects’ in which he (with two brothers) is afforded 10 pages.
11A: CORER (presumed Jonathan must be an apple or pear)
Thank you, glheard and the setter.
Edited at 2021-01-07 11:44 am (UTC)
Nice puzzle although DNK ORCAGNA in spite of “doing” art history eons ago. Clearly I wasn’t paying attention. 14.25
And like George, I’d been rather distracted today. Got hung up in the northeast because I couldn’t quite believe the artist’s name, and also because I’d put in DEMONSTRATIVE (taking “on” as part of the anagrind and “this person” to simply indicate “I” rather than “this person’s” indicating “I’ve.” ABSENTEE straightened me out on that.
I don’t recall ever encountering this sense of PREPOSSESSION.
Thanks to both setter and blogger and my sympathy to the latter
Never heard of ORCAGNA. Follows on another never-heard-of person earlier this week, DELLER.
26’09”
Lots to enjoy here. Didn’t know ORCAGNA or ICTUS (other than knowing it was a word) but wordplay seemed clear-cut.
Lots to like worked out itching before dimly remembering I Ching. Other likes rictus, Coleridge , corer and the hidden Italian artist. Who he?
Thanks setter- well explained as ever and setter.
Had to check meanings of ICTUS and ODEUM.
Anyone who’s visited the URINAL at a major sporting venue once play ends will see why I found the clue very amusing to read.
FOI ITCHING
LOI COLERIDGE
COD GET AT
TIME 8:18
Always have to look up a few answers, but getting better every day thanks to you lovely folks!
I parsed 4D as: GOS (as in gossip) for vulgar speaker, with BANANA (tropical fruit) inside.
I’m very much at the same stage as you, Elliot. This took me ages and needed helpers for ORCAGNA and ODEUM, but still satisfying to complete.