Time: 26 minutes
Music: Vaughn Williams, Antarctica Symphony, Boult/LSO
This should have been a very easy puzzle, and I did race through most of it. Most of the across clues went in on the first go-round, and I had plenty of crossing letters for the downs.
I was, however, slowed down by a few of the more difficult clues. I had the recently solved dedication in mind as I looked at 10, so I was looking for a similar sort of word. Maybe deduction, or induction, or reduction, or redaction? I finally found the cryptic and solved the clue. In the end, I was left with the unhelpful _ E _ R _ E for 28, and the cryptic didn’t help at all. An alphabet trawl followed by a back-fill was required.
I suspect everyone else will be much faster – if you biff decree, your are golden.
| Across | |
| 1 | Old socialite facing endless danger? Rubbish! (6) |
| DEBRIS – DEB + RIS[k] | |
| 4 | Calling social worker to meet reticent person (7) |
| CLAMANT – CLAM + ANT, giving a word that some solvers may not know. | |
| 9 | The people in protests briefly (5) |
| DEMOS – Double definition. Demos is Greek, but demonstration is Latin – no etymological connection. | |
| 10 | Act bound to be bad with one being captured? (9) |
| ABDUCTION – Anagram of ACT BOUND around I – a clever &lit. | |
| 11 | Girl in daily prize draw losing track (9) |
| CHARLOTTE – CHAR + LOTTE[ry] | |
| 12 | Weapon knight’s hidden in fine material (5) |
| LANCE – LA(N)CE, an escaped Quickie clue. | |
| 13 | Expression of disapproval you heard for skimpy garment (4) |
| TUTU – TUT + U | |
| 14 | Family needing inner energy eats plants (10) |
| CELANDINES – C(E)LAN + DINES | |
| 18 | Delicacy isn’t fashionable in attire — not right! (10) |
| DAINTINESS – D(AINT IN) [r]ESS | |
| 20 | Secure provincial party with nothing smuggled in (2,2) |
| DO UP – D(O)UP, the Democratic Union Party again. | |
| 23 | Second contest in film (5) |
| MOVIE – MO + VIE. | |
| 24 | Gee — a right baddy! (9) |
| GARROTTER – G + A + R + ROTTER, another &lit. | |
| 25 | Proper drink I have, being unsophisticated (9) |
| PRIMITIVE – PRIM + IT + I’VE, as in gin and It. | |
| 26 | Grab old boy to become overseas ruler (5) |
| NABOB – NAB + O.B. | |
| 27 | The woman, a lefty that’s somehow sheep-like? (7) |
| SHEARED – SHE + A RED. | |
| 28 | Get less, having cancelled a second order (6) |
| DECREE – DECRE[a,s]E. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Dutiful editor in charge, old-fashioned on the outside (9) |
| DEDICATED – D(ED I.C)ATED. | |
| 2 | Dangerous device on a street makes one rant (7) |
| BOMBAST – BOMB + A ST. | |
| 3 | Slight gains ultimately reduced all round (6) |
| INSULT – Hidden in [ga]INS ULT[imately]. | |
| 4 | Notice soldiers under colonel initially, a small fighting force? (5) |
| CADRE – C[olonel} + AD + R.E. | |
| 5 | Taking care of boy in a church is an honour (8) |
| ACCOLADE – A C(C/O + LAD)E. | |
| 6 | Go in van around French city (7) |
| AVIGNON – Anagram of GO IN VAN. | |
| 7 | Numbers with minimal English — something they need to learn about? (5) |
| TENSE – TENS + E. | |
| 8 | Criticise the performing group of all-time greats? (8) |
| PANTHEON – PAN + THE + ON. | |
| 15 | Deeply interested brothers sitting up in a bunk maybe (8) |
| ABSORBED – A B(BROS upside-down)ED. | |
| 16 | Like sheep and goats, extremes in some Bible story (9) |
| SEPARABLE – S[om]E + PARABLE. | |
| 17 | Guide needing to conceal untruth? That’s harder (8) |
| STEELIER – STEE(LIE)R. | |
| 19 | Bill‘s trendy way of speaking (7) |
| INVOICE – IN VOICE. | |
| 21 | Commander to be facing resistance in time of revolution (7) |
| OCTOBER – O.C. + TO BE + R. | |
| 22 | Attack quietly with little weight (6) |
| POUNCE – P + OUNCE. | |
| 23 | Miseries of work, being surrounded by endless muddle (5) |
| MOPES – M(OP)ES[s] | |
| 24 | Learner in good Scottish organisation (5) |
| GUILD – GUI(L)D. | |
Why separable?
Never really got a handle on this, as illness is taking its toll – making my mind half-involved only with solving. Normally I agree with most here on the “Monday-ness” of a puzzle, but to me it felt more like Friday. Just a few entered at first pass ( top right and bottom left) apart from NHO CLAMANT. Went downhill from there…
Stupidly bunged in GARIBALDI at first glance at 24a, which threw me off solving most of SE corner, and for some reason didn’t think I was looking for a name for 11a for my COD CHARLOTTE. Too many clever devices for me this morning.