Music: Thelonius Monk Quartet, Monk in Action
Time: 14 minutes
Well, the streak of easy Monday puzzles continues. I only had to think a little, as most of the answers wrote themselves in, especially after a few checking letters were available. Why did I think of Enoch Powell and Jacques Chirac almost instantly? Why did I put in paint the town red while hardly even reading the clue? Too many years of doing these things, I suppose – you just develop a nose for the answer.
I am teaching a beginner in my Friday club, and let me assure you, the skill levels we have take a long time to grow.
| Across | |
| 1 | British papers covering Powell perhaps, heartless exercise (5,5) |
| BENCH PRESS – B (EN[o]CH) PRESS. | |
| 6 | Smart former President shunning Republican area (4) |
| CHIC – CHI[ra]C. | |
| 9 | Personnel I introduced to television editor flourished (7) |
| THRIVED – T(HR,I)V + ED. | |
| 10 | Run aground acting as sentry (2,5) |
| ON GUARD – Anagram of AGROUND. | |
| 12 | Lines about classical theatre (5) |
| ODEON – ODE ON. | |
| 13 | Waving “ta-ra now!” outside Greek temple (6,3) |
| ANGKOR WAT – Anagram of TA-RA NOW around GK. | |
| 14 | Rod, home doctor, left Daisy dressing (8,7) |
| STICKING PLASTER – STICK + IN + GP + L + ASTER. | |
| 17 | Party hard to find with mobile phone and Twitter (5,3,4,3) |
| PAINT THE TOWN RED – Anagram of PHONE AND TWITTER. Eminently biffable, with this enumeration. | |
| 20 | King’s guard exploit last of free ale bottles (9) |
| BEEFEATER – BEE(FEAT,[fre]E)R. | |
| 21 | Competitor very invested in Middle East cash (5) |
| RIVAL – RI(V)AL. | |
| 23 | Golf club supporters smile occasionally (7) |
| BRASSIE – BRAS + S[m]I[l]E. | |
| 24 | Dose of subatomic Röntgens that’s symbolised by O (7) |
| OMICRON – Hidden in [subat]OMIC RÖN[tgens]. Presumably, diacritics are disregarded in these puzzles. | |
| 25 | Making sound spoils instrument (4) |
| LUTE – Sounds like LOOT. | |
| 26 | Underground column’s wasted time at POW camp (10) |
| STALAGMITE – STALAG + anagram of TIME. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Lowest odds about United being toast? (7,2) |
| BOTTOMS UP – BOTTOM S(U)P, where SP = starting price. | |
| 2 | From Scandinavia once Spanish chap, cycling (5) |
| NORSE – SENOR, moving the first to letters to the rear. | |
| 3 | Nervous as an expectant queen? (6,7) |
| HAVING KITTENS – Jocular cryptic hint. | |
| 4 | Northern prison officer turned up, drafted again (7) |
| REDRAWN – N WARDER upside-down. | |
| 5 | Makeshift plug hole? (7) |
| STOPGAP – STOP GAP, it doesn’t get any simpler. | |
| 7 | Senior restaurant employee leaving India in spring, perhaps (9) |
| HEADWATER – HEADWA[i]TER. | |
| 8 | Police trainee detective on vacation given whip round (5) |
| CADET – CA(D[detectiv]E)T. It was the cat! | |
| 11 | A hot topic: worldwide conflict with China? (6,7) |
| GLOBAL WARMING – GLOBAL WAR + MING, where dinnerware has joined the conflict. | |
| 15 | I can rave about the ultimate in Apple roaming (9) |
| ITINERANT – I + TIN + [appl]E + RANT. | |
| 16 | Suggestion concerning charity formerly bestowed on new church (9) |
| REDOLENCE – RE + DOLE + N + CE. | |
| 18 | Uncomfortable position pinched bottom (3,4) |
| HOT SEAT – HOT, i.e. stolen + SEAT. | |
| 19 | Work hard to contain university room disarray (7) |
| TURMOIL – T(U,RM)OIL. | |
| 20 | Infant sat on large racket (5) |
| BABEL – BABE + L. | |
| 22 | Italian barman maybe burned, skin peeling off (5) |
| VERDI – [o]VERDI[d], in the sense of overcooked, the only tricky one – but most solvers will just put in the obvious answer. | |
Could the parsing for two down be ES (abbreviation for Spain) and RON (chap) reversed (cycling)
Late because paper based Australian solver
Yes, very enjoyable and quick (for me): knew the temple but not the golf club – but very generously clued. So probably my least problematic solve for a few months now – didn’t have to cheat anywhere! Oh but BENCH PRESS did hold me up, as I’m not conversant with much gym paraphernalia! Liked the long ones a lot, and HAVING KITTENS. Just my level of solving, I’m afraid.