Times 28251 – well polished surfaces here.

I thought this was an excellent, but not difficult, puzzle, with some fine surfaces to the clues, such as 29a 6d, 20d, and 27d. It took me 22 minutes, with a ‘must be that’ for my LOI at 28a, a word I didn’t know.

Across
1	Once rebuked poet about Liberal’s early years (9)
	CHILDHOOD – CHID (rebuked) insert L, HOOD a poet we’ve had before so I remembered him.
6	Winged figure police department guards at university (5)
	CUPID – C.I.D. has UP = at university, inserted.
9	Erase old joke finally giving offence (7)
	EXPUNGE – EX PUN = old joke, G E final letters of giving offence.
10	Henry leaves top officer taking a fortified wine (7)
	MARSALA – MARSHAL loses H and adds A.
11	Fellow introducing French art books (5)
	TOMES – TOM a fellow, ES = art, as in French tu es.
13	Nonconformist causing upset to residents (9)
	DISSENTER – (RESIDENTS)*.
14	What’s left outside entrance to major art museum (9)
	HERMITAGE – What’s left = HERITAGE, insert M = entrance to Major.
16	Rascal dismissing pressure to swindle (4)
	SCAM – SCAMP loses P.
18	Note about old hotel in central London area (4)
	SOHO – O H = old hotel, inside SO a note.
19	Slip up badly in summer month, backing freedom fighter (9)
	GUERRILLA – GUA = AUG a month backing, insert ERR ILL = slip up, badly.
22	A politician reportedly entering exam relating to speechmaking (9)
	ORATORIAL – into ORAL = exam, insert A TORI which sounds like a politician.
24	Test way to secure date (5)
	TRYST – TRY = test, ST = way, street.
25	Girl and boy crossing top of Italian lake (7)
	GALILEE – GAL (girl) LEE (a boy’s name) insert I = top of Italian.
26	Forgetful man exercising energy thus (7)
	AMNESIC – AMN = MAN ‘exercising’, E = energy, SIC = Latin for thus.
28	Like dry humour? Sounds like a lie! (5)
	PAWKY – I didn’t know this Scots word, but faced with PWY and the suggested homophone of PORKY for lie, it was easy to guess.
29	Welshman with wife visiting auction in part of Yorkshire (9)
	SWALEDALE – W (wife) ALED (a Welsh chap) go inside SALE = auction.

Down
1	Big cat Guevara viewed with rising abhorrence (7)
	CHEETAH – CHE Guevara, then ETAH = hate reversed.
2	Current member, one making mischief (3)
	IMP – I = current, M.P. for member.
3	Like hereditary rule — and city’s, oddly (8)
	DYNASTIC – (AND CITY’S)*.
4	One found in folklore, a divinity (5)
	OREAD – hidden word, Greek nymph.
5	American woman accepts rise, endlessly producing metal inlay (9)
	DAMASCENE – DAME (American woman) insert ASCEN(T) = rise endlessly.
6	Team catching emu finally and, separately, large shore bird (6)
	CURLEW – CREW = team, insert U (end of emu) and L in another slot.
7	How a realist would act, almost (11)
	PRACTICALLY – double definition.
8	Police officer going over a lightweight chart (7)
	DIAGRAM – D.I. (detective inspector) A GRAM.
12	Old woman, ultimately rather frivolous, chewing minute sweet (11)
	MARSHMALLOW – MA (old woman) R (end of rather) SHALLOW (frivolous) insert M for minute.
15	A broad smile arrested by head’s fury (9)
	ANGRINESS – A, NESS (head) insert GRIN.
17	Fabric on end of divan in Mediterranean island (8)
	CRETONNE – insert ON, N (end of divan) into CRETE.
18	Makeshift post confused boy attendant briefly erected (7)
	STOPGAP – (POST)*, GAP = PAG(E) reversed.
20	Diplomat dealing with bushy hirsute growth? (7)
	ATTACHE – AT (dealing with) TACHE short for moustache.
21	Book arable land for discharge of firearms (6)
	VOLLEY – VOL = volume, book; LEY = arable land. I remembered Blackbird Leys from Oxford days and looking up what a Ley was then.
23	Climber from Iowa with name in Californian city (5)
	LIANA – LA (Los Angeles) insert IA for Iowa, N for name.
27	Bath, possibly, initially smelling pretty awful (3)
	SPA – initial letters of Smelling Pretty Awful.

60 comments on “Times 28251 – well polished surfaces here.”

Nice and zippy with a very brief hold-up in the SW corner before VOLLEY led to PAWKY; no real concerns once the penny dropped, as I knew PAWKY was a word, even though I doubt I could have convincingly defined it in isolation. Also a brief pause while I, too, worried about the right number of Rs and Ls in the freedom fighter, which I think I’ve been spelling wrong (or at least alternatively) all these years.

Generally comfortable sail across the grid, though minor hold-ups with SWALEDALE which I failed to fully parse not spotting the ALED; CRETONNE which I pieced together and DAMASCENE (think this may have been here before).

Working in Glasgow these last seven years proved its worth with LOI PAWKY though had never thought how to spell it.

12.48. For a while, I thought today was Monday but got slowed down in the SW corner. Eventually biffed volley and pawky followed swiftly though Galilee took a bit longer. Bit lucky with swaledale. Thought it was right but eventually wondered why Dale was a welsh name. Never mind wrong thinking but right result.
Thx setter and blogger.

Beaten by PAWKY, which I’ve never heard of and won’t remember by tomorrow. Enjoyed the rest of this though, except for the word ANGRINESS, an example of a bugbear of mine, namely a noun made up from an adjective which is itself derived from a perfectly serviceable noun of identical meaning. ANGRINESS? What, pray, is wrong with ‘anger’? Not quite the same, I know, but whoever came up with ‘the quickness of the hand deceives the eye’ rather than ‘the speed …’ needs shooting.

My best time for ages.Brief pause for PAWKY but otherwise everything went in smoothly. 14 minutes. Ann

!0 minutes pushed to 13 by PAWKY, as for uncertain reasons the porky pie wouldn’t come to mind and the Scottish humour passed me by. Guessed right in the end.

The hymn writer, it seems, wasn’t too troubled about the sea/lake distinction:
Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
of our life’s wild, restless sea;
…
As the first disciples heard it
by the Galilean lake.
…but then he needed a rhyme for “sake”.

I was relieved to spot ALED in the Dale, because the clue then made sense,

18.19. Nice puzzle. I was a little bit slow working my way through this but no real difficulties until I got to the bottom half where cretonne and swaledale needed a bit of working out.

If pawky is a scottish word it cannot possibly sound like porky. I’m getting sick of this ‘sounds like’ nonsense.

The Times crossword compilers need to know that the paper is sold outside the M25.

Quite a good time for me. Better than the DNF on the “quickie”

SWALEDALE not a problem with Dad’s side from round there; OREAD and CRETONNE (LOI) not known but constructed from w/p

Liked it

Thanks Pip and setter

12:55 Held up for a good 2 minute at the end by my LOI, PAWKY after taking a while to see VOLLEY too. No complaints about the homophone.

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