I was going along quite nicely until I got to 19 down. Thereafter, I got no further. An early look at the leaderboard shows the expected fast times. I wonder how many others were nonplussed.
Across | |
1 | A half-hearted mob at theatre, possible to reform (9) |
REPARABLE – REP (theatre) A RAB |
|
6 | Immature creature picked up from volcanic discharge (5) |
LARVA – sounds like ‘lava’ in non-rhotic varieties of English | |
9 | A storm raging about European conductor perhaps (7) |
MAESTRO – anagram* of A STORM around E *(European) | |
10 | A pain being back in charge, supplying oxygen (7) |
AEROBIC – A BORE reversed IC | |
11 | Relative ease at first in part of Ulster church (5) |
NIECE – E |
|
12 | Endlessly aspire to put an end to game (9) |
HOPSCOTCH – HOP |
|
14 | This place providing retreat for male sheep (3) |
PUT – TUP reversed; I take the first word to be operating along the lines of ‘this word that follows, in other words,’ PLACE | |
15 | Like some aerials originally located in outskirts of Izmir (11) |
DIRECTIONAL – LOCATED IN I |
|
17 | Stop luxury car rammed by a road-mending vehicle (11) |
STEAMROLLER – A in STEM (Stop) ROLLER (luxury car) | |
19 | Part of circle at heart of demo (3) |
ARC – |
|
20 | Accountant’s girl, one fated to be disbelieved (9) |
CASSANDRA – CA’S SANDRA; daughter of Priam and Hecuba, cursed with a prophetic gift which no one recognised – quite a common complaint in these social media days… | |
22 | In break, see lively dance (5) |
GALOP – LO in GAP | |
24 | Pardon girl taking in shelter (7) |
AMNESTY – NEST in AMY | |
26 | Way being removed from calm leads to bad health (7) |
ILLNESS – |
|
27 | Scope, some would say, for discharge (5) |
RHEUM – sounds like ‘room’ to some people, some of the time etc etc | |
28 | Irish county fellow accepting extremely light civic office (9) |
MAYORALTY – MAYO (Irish county) L |
Down | |
1 | Capital citizen managed to secure high honour (5) |
ROMAN – OM in RAN | |
2 | Forestall gift, having change of heart (7) |
PREVENT – PRE |
|
3 | Fish-eater in restaurant initially crazy about port (9) |
ROTTERDAM – OTTER in R |
|
4 | Trouble involving leader of Romantic poet’s fraternity (11) |
BROTHERHOOD – R |
|
5 | Woman Caesar’s greeting upset (3) |
EVA – AVE reversed | |
6 | Part of unusually rich contribution to songwriting? (5) |
LYRIC – hidden; I guess you could count it as an all-in-one if you factor in the question mark in a certain fashion | |
7 | Teases heavyweight, offering type of apple (7) |
RIBSTON – RISB TON | |
8 | Short woman eating large salmon, a heavy drinker (9) |
ALCOHOLIC – L (large) COHO (type of salmon) in ALIC |
|
13 | Oddness of English copper, one prevaricating in shame (11) |
PECULIARITY – E CU LIAR in PITY | |
14 | Constrain president to provide transport for the young (9) |
PUSHCHAIR – PUSH CHAIR | |
16 | Routine supporting Irish freedom fighter perhaps (9) |
IRREGULAR – REGULAR on IR | |
18 | Extract from notes suppressed by German city (7) |
ESSENCE – C & E (musical notes) under ESSEN | |
19 | Curative plant a governor allocated primarily among Liberals (7) |
ALLHEAL – HE (His or Her Excellency, aka ‘governor’) A (A |
|
21 | Sort of tea service brought up at beginning of afternoon (5) |
ASSAM – MASS reversed follwing A |
|
23 | Like a pallid person taking cake without resistance (5) |
PASTY – PAST |
|
25 | Starchy tuber a girl served up (3) |
YAM – MAY reversed |
24 mins to fail on the RIBSTON/AEROBIC crossing. I had pencilled in RAGSTON and just couldn’t summon up “bore” for “pain”. Hey ho, it was fun and I managed to tease out ALLHEAL.
Thanks ulaca.
14’52” but looking at the very low Snitch I can’t help feeling I should have been quicker. LOI ALLHEAL
24 minutes, DNF. NHO RIBSTON but the wordplay was clear. I spent eight minutes getting nowhere with 19d and I eventually biffed ALLWELL as a plausible curative plant. Thanks ulaca.
Unfortunately I do the xword on my phone, and had to take a call in the middle, and unless you close the xword the clock keeps ticking. So i think I might have beaten 10 minutes for the first time if it hadn’t been for that, as I was whizzing through it…
LOI was the NHO ALLHEAL for which I thought of the all… by analogy with allspice, then it had to be ‘he’ for the governor and ‘a’ for allocated initially.
Thanks setter and blogger, I’m sure I’ve got that 10 minutes in my sights now 😉
Six random names, two instances of that unpleasant use of “at” to mean “alongside”, poor definitions (push/constrain, prevaricating/lying, suppressed by/underneath) and that dreadful 14ac. Yes it was easy but I sure didn’t like it!
New Caltech from watching The Big Bang Theory !!