Times 28,205: Anyone For Tennis?

Author   VerlainePosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I was slowed down a little bit, a little bit in the SE where 20dn followed. by 22ac were the two last to fall, but overall there weren’t many speedbumps in this tractable puzzle. I put in far too many of the answers just from the crossers, but nothing was too tricky to parse afterwards either, except possibly 8dn.

My favourite things were the &lit questions, in particular 12dn with its nice storyline about too-early wake up calls. I’m in a cold sweat just thinking about it – thanks setter!

Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 Describe coming across the fourth cousin perhaps (8)
RELATIVE – RELATE [describe] “across” IV [the fourth]
5 British PM’s never-ending conflict (6)
BATTLE – B ATTLE{e}
10 One interacted awkwardly with the French, agreeing this? (7,8)
ENTENTE CORDIALE – (ONE INTERACTED*) + LE, semi-&lit
11 Peace-keepers object, arresting family regardless (10)
UNTHINKING – U.N. + THING, “arresting” KIN
13 Bowl over during Test, unsuccessfully (4)
STUN – hidden in {te}ST UN{successfully}
15 Dispatch mostly words on passing data unit (7)
KILOBIT – KIL{l} OBIT
17 Islam and he are intricately connected (7)
ISHMAEL – (ISLAM + HE*) &lit
18 Not all red beans, say, are revolting (7)
REPULSE – RE{d} PULSE
19 Lines inserted in successful work The Crown (7)
HILLTOP – L L “inserted in” HIT OP
21 Spoils excessively large reels (4)
LOOT – TOO L, reversed
22 Band close to hand look out retro pieces (10)
WATCHSTRAP – WATCH [look out] + reversed PARTS
25 Personal possessions put away at right time in smallest room (7,8)
PRIVATE PROPERTY – ATE at PROPER T, in PRIVY
27 Former nurse to make bigger offer (6)
EXTEND – EX TEND [former | nurse] + double def
28 Avoiding river, lug a spruce cut for roof support (8)
CARYATID – CAR{r}Y A TID{y}
Down
1 Venison supplier, born in Brussels, housed in Gibraltar? (7)
ROEBUCK – B inside E.U., inside ROCK
2 Minor interruption in service permitted (3)
LET – double def, the first tennis-y
3 Clare’s town bishop stops unlikely missile in court (6,4)
TENNIS BALL – ENNIS B “stopping” TALL
4 Jumper possibly plunging? (1-4)
V-NECK – cryptic def
6 A squad lacks top assistant (4)
AIDE – A + {s}IDE
7 One leading tributes to expert quietly leaves (11)
TOASTMASTER – TO {p}AST MASTER
8 Indestructible cross nicked from outside (7)
ETERNAL – E{x}TERNAL [outside, minus X = cross]
9 Fairly new ascetics commandeering a foreign hospital (8)
YOUNGISH – YOGIS “commandeering” UN + H
12 One waking you in inept hotels in error? (11)
TELEPHONIST – (INEPT HOTELS*), semi-&lit
14 Nothing separating boy and girl’s principles (10)
PHILOSOPHY – O separating PHIL and SOPHY
16 Youth keen to grasp German finally after half term (8)
TEENAGER – EAGER “grasping” {germa}N, after TE{rm}
18 Trained tree to climb, ignoring one setback (7)
RELAPSE – reversed ESPAL{i}ER
20 Studied minor report first, gawping (7)
POPEYED – EYED [studied] following POP [minor report]
23 Top-class police once heading up church court (5)
CURIA – reversed A1 R.U.C.
24 First light note pad turns up (4)
DAWN – reversed N WAD
26 Go off regularly on time, always at the start (3)
ROT – R{egularly} O{n} T{ime}

70 comments on “Times 28,205: Anyone For Tennis?”

  1. Finished all-correct even with covid brain fog. Didn’t know CARYATID but not too hard to work out. The bottom right was the hardest. My last one in was WATCHSTRAP. I had the strap bit, and the checkers, but just couldn’t see it. The definition “band close to hand” was clever.
  2. ….then had to battle with the right. Apart from thanking Verlaine for parsing my LOI, I’ve nothing else worthwhile to add.

    FOI RELATIVE
    LOI TOASTMASTER
    COD WATCH STRAP
    TIME 13:13

  3. Perhaps I should have saved my learned disquisition on 18th and 19th Century literature for further down the thread but in the unlikely case that anyone is interested it’s up near the beginning in reply to Corymbia. I enjoyed this although I did a lot of post-solve parsing. Enigmatist has a puzzle in the Guardian today which should keep me out of mischief for a while. 18.23
  4. A pleasant genial solve over 17 minutes, with the kind of clues that make you feel a bit clever: spotting the espalier and knowing who ISHMAEL was with the link to Islam.
    I thought we might be getting a bit mucky at 25, and essayed PRIVATE FUNCTION as something you may be doing to put away stuff in the loo, but was relieved to uncover the PRIVY.
    On the other hand, I’m nowhere near enough educated to question the spelling of SOPHY.
  5. 29:49. My printer packed up half way through printing so I had to supply the missing bottom few clues from my phone. Despite that (or because of it) got through without too much hesitation, bar the same doubt about the plural verb for the [watchstrap] band as others have noted, also my LOI.
  6. Failed on this one, unable to see WATCHSTRAP as I was convinced that ‘close to hand’ was going to be D. Also didn’t know CURIA.

    I thought UNTHINKING was excellent.

  7. As others, I made an excited start, thinking that I could break my PB on a Friday, then slowed down in the SE. Took far too long to get the first part of watchstrap. Enjoyed the pdm of recognising what the definition was. Same with the ‘proper’ part of 28ac. Knew I was looking for ‘at right time’ but failed to split it up.
    I was another who started with oft for 26dn (fits the wordplay but not the definition – O and F from ‘Go off’ and T for time). Also trying to start 28ac with ea (ear without the r).
    Solution finally arrived because I went back to my ‘new regime’ of giving myself a fixed time and determinedly sticking at it. It also helps to have the question running internally: “How will I solve this?” rather than “Can I solve this?”
    Thanks to the setter and to Verlaine, especially for the parsing of 3dn. I clearly don’t know my Irish towns well enough.
  8. Like Keriothe CARYATID went in w/o too many difficulties but I realise now I had no idea what it meant.

    RELAPSE was rather good and was my poi before LOOT

    Thanks V and setter

  9. There’s an accessible Enigmatist in the Guardian today, for those who like John Henderson’s stuff, or those, like me, who have a masochistic streak.

    Edited at 2022-02-04 01:20 pm (UTC)

  10. 44:02. FOI 5ac BATTLE. A good start, like others, and a struggle to finish. LOI CARYATID thinking I wouldn’t spell it like that. But I don’t know how I would
  11. TOASTMASTER, ETERNAL, TENNIS BALL particularly. Got WATCHSTRAP even though it was LOI.

    21:43

  12. 20.24. Decent puzzle not too much of a stretch. It helped that I was able to bung in entente cordiale from the last three words of the clue. That then provided plenty of crossers to work with.
  13. Pleasant and not too taxing for a Friday. Nice to see a mention of Ennis, where I have numerous family members, and the CARYATID for the smug classicist in me.
  14. I’ve had a good week — all cryptic crosswords completed successfully. I feel as though I can now say that I can do the Times Cryptic Crossword — one of my ambitions on retirement. Only took me 8 years, with help on the way from the Quick Cryptic and studying this blog. Thanks!
  15. My time suggests I found this easier than I thought I did while I was doing it. Perhaps that means it was the kind of puzzle that made you think, but not too hard.
    FOI V NECK
    LOI RELAPSE
    COD between ROEBUCK and WATCHSTRAP

    Enjoyed that, so thanks, Setter! And V for the blog, naturally.

    Have a great weekend, everyone.

    Mark

  16. I was home in just over 13 minutes.COD Watchstrap. WOD Espalier! TOD (Town of the the day) Ennis.
  17. I found this surprisingly easy with a 32-minute solve (including proofreading). In fact, RELATIVE was my FOI and then I just filled the grid at a steady rate, with a few hitches along the way. “Born in Brussels” suggested NEE (at least in half of Brussels), but RONEECK didn’t sound very likely. I was sure 25ac would be LOO around some other letters, or after getting the I perhaps TOILET around some other letters, but RELAPSE, which I biffed at first, gave me the P and then the rest was clear, also that the smallest room would be the PRIVY. I had a little trouble with BATTLE since I couldn’t think of a PM that would fit, until I saw that British gave the B. And my first try at TOASTMASTER was HEADTOASTER, which seemed a bit strange. My LOI was YOUNGISH, also with an alphabet trawl preceded by searching my brain for names for new ascetics (I couldn’t think of any, and of course I didn’t have to).

    Edited at 2022-02-04 05:50 pm (UTC)

    1. YOGI for ascetic is a bit of a stretch for me, but then I suppose I’ve never been a fan of that stuff since the Beatles were seduced.
  18. Solved the LHS. Forays into the RHS = property, cordiale and stun. Thanks for the blog, Verlaine; for the puzzle, setter.
  19. 24.57. Thought I was on for a good time but got becalmed in the SE quadrant. LOI watchstrap. Pleased to eventually recall curia . Liked popeyed and philosophy.

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