Solving time: 9:59, which is pretty close to my target time, so I feel good about this one. It isn’t simple, but not too tricky.
It is very rare that a Times daily puzzle has a theme, and I don’t recall in my time here having the luck of blogging one with a theme. Today the setter has managed to sneak in a number of references to the muscial comedy duo Flanders and Swann, who can be found in symmetrically-opposed entries and that makes me extremely happy. I teach thermodynamics almost every semester and subject students to the First and Second Law song.
Given the answer to the first clue in today’s QC, I wonder if Joker wrote this one as well?
Away we go…
Across | |
1 | Female is drunk, engaging another female in tussle (9) |
FISTFIGHT – F(female), IS, TIGHT(drunk) containing F(female) | |
6 | More than one picket comments on website (5) |
POSTS – double definition | |
9 | Love family vacationing perhaps in Scotland or Japanese city (7) |
OKINAWA – O(love), KIN(family), AWA’ (Scots form for away, vacationing) | |
10 | Produced a lot of revolutionary dry wine (7) |
MADEIRA – MADE(produced), and then ARID(dry) reversed, missing the last letter. F&S song “Madeira, M’Dear” | |
11 | Moved twistily, heading off out of cover (5) |
NAKED – SNAKED(moved twistily) missing the first letter | |
12 | Trace European policy in time (9) |
DELINEATE – E(European), LINE(policy) in DATE(time) | |
13 | Awkward study with a run bagged in Test (8) |
CONTRARY – CON(study) and A, R(run) inside TRY(test) | |
14 | Part of the world, mostly unchanged area (4) |
ASIA – AS IS(unchanged) missing the last letter, A(area) | |
17 | Tubing that is partly interfering with pianos? (4) |
PIPE – I.E. (that is) messing with P, P(pianos). Swann did the piano playing. | |
18 | Footwear placed outside toilet when giving display (8) |
SHOWCASE – SHOE(footwear) outside WC(toilet) and AS(when) | |
21 | Take on chief leading all-English league at last (9) |
CHALLENGE – CH(chief), then ALL, ENG(English), and the last letter of leaguE | |
22 | No remorse, ditching University bridge player (5) |
NORTH – NO, then RUTH(remorse) minus U(university) | |
24 | No flights for me? East of Germany well-supplied (7) |
OSTRICH – OST(East, in German), RICH(well-supplied). Another F&S song… peek a boo, I can’t see you… | |
25 | Omnipotent in general (7) |
OVERALL – double definition | |
26 | Silence covering revelation of resignation (5) |
SHRUG – SH(silence) and RUG(covering) | |
27 | Ready-to-wear accessory? (5,4) |
MONEY BELT – cryptic definition |
Down | |
1 | Admit being kept under by father displaying severe expression (5) |
FROWN – OWN(admit) under FR(father) | |
2 | Item in first-aid kit: splint, say, and gear with splint, possibly (8-7) |
STICKING-PLASTER – STICK(splint, strip of wood), then an anagram of GEAR and SPLINT | |
3 | Location in Europe’s fine planetary vehicles? (8) |
FLANDERS – F(fine), LANDERS(planetary vehicles) | |
4 | £1000 getting a lot of rubbish wine (5,3) |
GRAND CRU – GRAND(a thousand pounds) then most of CRUD(rubbish) | |
5 | Critical comment about origins of Manchester United likely to produce uproar (6) |
TUMULT – TUT(critical comment) surrounding the first letters of Manchester United Likely | |
6 | Particular person in prison will be visited by US lawyer (6) |
PEDANT – PENT(in prison) containing DA(District Attorney, US lawyer) | |
7 | One ascending by twisted means will aggravate a satirical press (6,9) |
SPIRAL STAIRCASE – anagram of A,SATIRICAL,PRESS | |
8 | Computer programs to do some running battle in London area (9) |
SHAREWARE – HARE(to do some running), WAR(battle) in the SE(London area) | |
13 | Extensive international lying not admitting of remedy (9) |
CAPACIOUS – CAP(international), then MENDACIOUS(lying) missing MEND(remedy) | |
15 | Squeeze garden into trimmed surroundings (8) |
SHOEHORN – HOE(garden) inside SHORN(trimmed) | |
16 | Is this a pen-supplier? Answer (Y/N) after review (8) |
SWANNERY – anagram of ANSWER,Y,N and a pen is a type of swan | |
19 | Travelling overseas? There’s romance about the unknown (6) |
FLYING – FLING(romance) surrounding Y(unknown) | |
20 | Articles on source of music, church music? (6) |
ANTHEM – AN and THE(articles) with the first letter of Music | |
23 | Composer’s vacation close to forest (5) |
HOLST – HOLS(vacation) and the last letter of foresT |
Shade over 20 minutes for me in a mostly clockwise solve.
No pictures on scorecards, as they say.
Really like the ready-to-wear clue; a good CD is difficult to find.
“only an island”
Didn’t even think about OKINAWA, and Flanders and Swann passed me by.
Thanks george and setter.
I also missed the parsing at 13dn where I thought the word for ‘lying’ that needed cutting down was {fall}ACIOUS but couldn’t find anything to indicate this.
Edited at 2021-02-04 07:04 am (UTC)
Got the CAP in CAPACIOUS but couldn’t parse the rest although it had to be what it was so thanks, George.
No problem with OKINAWA City as, once a year for my work I used to have to visit Kadena Air Base, one of the very many US military bases on the island of OKINAWA.
COD for me was MONEY BELT.
Edited at 2021-02-04 07:18 am (UTC)
15 mins pre-brekker so it must have been a gentle one.
MER (as usual) at Cru being wine rather than the vineyard.
Thanks setter and G.
And if anyone’s wondering why
SWANNERY made me sad
And OSTRICH is bad
Still a bird, even if it can’t fly
FOI 25ac OVERALL OshKosh?
COD 13dn CAPACIOUS – 27ac MONEY BELT was just too-too obvious. ‘Ready’ is ever a spoiler alert!!
WOD 16dn SWANNERY to go with 3dn. Is there a link here to the QC?
And who put in BAND AID at 2dn, without spotting the anagram?
Andyf
No dramas; nice puzzle. Thanks george.
SWANNERY is lovely word, which pleasingly I put in not long after hearing Flanders and Swann’s “The Slow Train” on Radio 3.
The two fairly-easy long downs opened things up very comfortably.
Test Match on Channel 4 tomorrow. What larks!
Thank you setter and blogger.
MONEY BELT made me giggle.
14’42”
I rarely comment on the 15 x 15s as I do them less frequently than the QCs, and occasionally resort to aids from time to time, but today was unaided, but with a biff — ACIOUS. Thanks both.
Very enjoyable otherwise, embarrassed not to have spotted the Flanders and Swann theme (but I save the quicker puzzles for tea time)
LOI 13A CONTRARY
I sailed through the NW then SW other than 13A everything was so promising. Alas I had stupidly entered 4D GRANNCR (for GRAND CRU) and therefore reluctantly entered 13A CONTRACT and moved on. In the SE corner, SHOEHORN held me up but inevitably SHOWCASE followed very quickly afterwards. Things ground to halt in the NE corner until I finally spotted my earlier error in 4D and everything eastward fell into place. Fortunately, I realised at the last moment that CONTRACT must now be also wrong and I was home. I very much enjoyed this – but I either have to sort out my constant errors using the Times online – or arrange to collect the physical newspaper every morning.
Thanks, glheard and the setter
LOI SHAREWARE where I had the cryptic all wrong, looking for some obscure London borough.
20 mins while waiting for wife at the surgery.
Another rewarding puzzle and for the first time this week avoided those annoying traps.
14:31 on the clock but add another 30 minutes for the paper session.
Fun puzzle. Missed the nina despite reading the QC blog (not very carefully).
David
COD: Money belt.
COD MONEY BELT
EDIT: I had to go to Google… Oh, hell, it’s a sports term. Well, I’ll remember it now.
Edited at 2021-02-04 05:49 pm (UTC)