Time taken: 9:27.
This one was right up my alley, with a lot of crafty wordplay, some of which might be visiting us from Mephistoland. There were several answers where I had to trust the wordplay, so I was relieved when it came up with no errors.
How did you get along?
| Across | |
| 1 | Pair winning almost immediately? (6) |
| PRONTO – PR(pair) and ON TOP(winning) minus the last letter | |
| 4 | Married woman or country boy featured in curse (7) |
| MALISON – two wordplays: M(married), ALISON(woman) and MALI(country), SON(boy). A curse that hasn’t appeared in the daily puzzle for nearly 10 years | |
| 9 | Old piano delivered before time for stage performance (5) |
| OPERA – O(old), P(piano) then ERA(time) | |
| 10 | Forswearing group full of English hypocrisy (9) |
| RECANTING – RING(group) containing E(English), CANT(hypocrisy) | |
| 11 | A boy given time becomes VIP (9) |
| PERSONAGE – PER(a), SON(boy) and AGE(time) | |
| 12 | Instrument costing nothing no good? Return it! (5) |
| SITAR – GRATIS(costing nothing) minus G(good) reversed | |
| 13 | Payment slashed? (4) |
| RENT – double definition | |
| 14 | Remarkable chum hugging female and old blokes (10) |
| PHENOMENAL – PAL(chum) containing HEN(female) and O(old), MEN(blokes) | |
| 18 | Trade ad is out to catch people ultimately, offering essential items? (10) |
| DESIDERATA – anagram of TRADE,AD,IS containing the last letter in peoplE. | |
| 20 | One church had to be decorated (4) |
| ICED – I(one), CE(church), ‘D(had) | |
| 23 | Projection of sentimental stuff suiting the nobs? (5) |
| CORNU – CORN(sentimental stuff), U(suiting the nobs). Got this from wordplay. Since there’s a bunch of comments about this answer, I’ll add my two cents. Cornu is Latin for horn, and in English means either a horn or a hornlike pattern in nature, so a projection. More commonly found as the first part of CORNUCOPIA, horn of plenty. It might be more common in the USA, but CORN or CORNY meaning sentimental or trite came quickly to me. | |
| 24 | What makes Oxford look bright? (9) |
| SHOESHINE – cryptic definition | |
| 25 | Officer studies information schematically presented (9) |
| CONSTABLE – CONS(studies), TABLE(information schematically presented) | |
| 26 | Piece of cloth I found behind organ (5) |
| LUNGI – I after LUNG(organ). Another from wordplay – last appeared in a Times puzzle in 2015 | |
| 27 | Duck is some swimmer, seriously! (7) |
| IMMERSE – hidden in swIMMER SEriously | |
| 28 | Hearing that is very irritating (6) |
| TRYING – double definition | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Publicity bod hurried round about and was successful (9) |
| PROSPERED – PRO(Public Relations Officer, publicity bod) then SPED(ran) surrounding RE(about) | |
| 2 | Series of deliveries managed but took too long (7) |
| OVERRAN – OVER(series of deliveries in cricket), RAN(managed) | |
| 3 | Table with a flower still to be put up outside (6) |
| TEAPOY – A, PO(flower) with YET(still) reversed surrounding. Another from wordplay, and a search of the site shows it popped up in two Jumbos in 2016 and 2012, but has not been seen before in a daily. | |
| 4 | Fellow consuming cold mineral (5) |
| MACLE – MALE(fellow) containing C(cold). Last appeared in a Mephisto in 2021 | |
| 5 | Solitary advance amount of cash reported (8) |
| LONESOME – sounds like LOAN(advance), SUM(amount of cash) | |
| 6 | Bird with leg in something mouldy (7) |
| STILTON – STILT(bird) and ON(leg side in cricket) | |
| 7 | Country boy with change of direction finally (5) |
| NIGER – NIGEL(boy we’re only making plans for) with L changing to R | |
| 8 | Bishop back, having embraced the brief time out? (8) |
| BREATHER – B(bishop) and REAR(back) containing THE | |
| 15 | Ignore heartless nut spouting gas (8) |
| NITROGEN – anagram of IGNORE and NuT minus the central letter | |
| 16 | Heather coming across snake and running (9) |
| LADDERING – LING(heather) containing ADDER(snake) | |
| 17 | A revolutionary socialist restricts fair person who’d make small changes (8) |
| ADJUSTER – A then RED(socialist) reversed containing JUST(fair) | |
| 19 | Problem gripping Rex in a state (7) |
| SURINAM – SUM(problem) containing R(Rex), IN, A | |
| 21 | Drink? Church worker imbibes one — and another one (7) |
| CHIANTI – CH(church), ANT(worker) containing I(one) and then another I | |
| 22 | Bird losing tail, pinned down by wood and stone (6) |
| ASHLAR – LARK(bird) minus the last letter underneath ASH(wood) | |
| 23 | A court beset by a hundred and one plants (5) |
| CACTI – A, CT(court) inside CI(a hundred and one) | |
| 24 | Black farm building time’s forgotten (5) |
| SABLE – STABLE(farm building) minus T(time) | |
Aa words include Haar and Bazaar, as well as Aardvark!