Times 28897 – Lib Lab

Author   ulacaPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

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 RABbLE
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 – Ease in NI (part of Ulster) CE
12 Endlessly aspire to put an end to game (9)
HOPSCOTCH – HOPe SCOTCH
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 Izmir
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 – mARCh
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 – stILLNESS
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) LighT in RAY
Down
1 Capital citizen managed to secure high honour (5)
ROMAN – OM in RAN
2 Forestall gift, having change of heart (7)
PREVENT – PREsENT becomes PREVENT
3 Fish-eater in restaurant initially crazy about port (9)
ROTTERDAM – OTTER in Restaurant MAD reversed
4 Trouble involving leader of Romantic poet’s fraternity (11)
BROTHERHOOD – Romantic in BOTHER HOOD (Thomas – 19th century poet)
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 ALICe; perhaps no longer a heavy drinker, of course. Should this one have got the question mark?
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 (Allocated, aka ‘allocated primarily’) in A (‘a’ from the clue) LLL (bunch of liberals); putting on my Cassandra hat, I am certain that there are some who will like this clue…
21 Sort of tea service brought up at beginning of afternoon (5)
ASSAM – MASS reversed follwing Afternoon
23 Like a pallid person taking cake without resistance (5)
PASTY – PASTrY
25 Starchy tuber a girl served up (3)
YAM – MAY reversed

68 comments on “Times 28897 – Lib Lab”

  1. 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.

  2. 14’52” but looking at the very low Snitch I can’t help feeling I should have been quicker. LOI ALLHEAL

  3. 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.

  4. 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 😉

  5. 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!

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