Times 29073 – a semi to make me quaver

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

This was the first of the TCC semi-final puzzles, so 52 of you have already attempted it and I believe 40 got it all correct, as well as the other two puzzles. I didn’t find it that easy. I found I had finished the lower half of the grid before any answers emerged for the top part, eventually arriving at completion with some raised eyebrows and a few “I suppose that works”. I wasn’t in great form, true, after a prolonged Golf Club dinner last night, but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as usual. Well done to those who romped through it in less than the 20 minute target.

Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, [deleted letters in square brackets].

Across
1 Company flying flag initially ran off at sea (7)
BAFFLED -BA (British Airways), F[lag], FLED (ran off).
5 Dog collars cruciverbalists put back are delightful (7)
BEWITCH – dog = BITCH, insert WE the solvers.
9 Fashion trend with gel covering one with curls (9)
RINGLETED – (TREND GEL I)*.
10 Half-heartedly chattered about strip of clothing (5)
DEBAG – I think this must be GABBED = chattered, reversed with a central B removed. I suppose having your trousers removed or pulled down does constitute partially stripping of clothing, but I thought it was rather loose.
11 Stick clutched by extremely cheeky tots in riding gear (7,6)
CYCLING SHORTS – C[heek]Y, SHORTS being measures of spirits or tots, insert CLING = stick.
13 Ruffian around a creek rolling over in lounger (8)
LAYABOUT – ruffian = LOUT, insert A, BAY (creek?) reversed. How is a bay a creek? Another stretch.
15 Threaten to go out first from Gatwick Express (6)
GUTTER – G[atwick], UTTER = express. No quibbles with this one, but it took me ages to move on from the definition idea of (just) threaten.
17 Make good business, plugging pure rubbish (6)
RECOUP – CO (business), insider (PURE)*.
19 Perhaps someone shooting a bit of magic in EastEnders (8)
CINEASTE -hidden word.
22 Person holding cup? I bet that gets smashed — it’s what impatient waiters do (5,2,3,3)
CHAMP AT THE BIT – CHAMP[ion], (I BET THAT)*.
25 Creature that flies round lake in rainy weather (5)
OWLET – O (round) then L[ake] inside WET weather. I’m the owl man, I think when an owlet can fly, it has become an owl.
26 Doctor to unwind, absorbing hospital casebook? (9)
WHODUNNIT – H inside (TO UNWIND)*.
27 Mellow wine, like certain spirits (7)
KINDRED – KIND = mellow, RED = wine, reference to the common phrase ‘kindred spirits’.
28 Activity handymen do, maintaining cunning system with two rulers (7)
DIARCHY – handymen do DIY, insert ARCH for cunning.
Down
1 Perhaps Holly’s outside watering hole, close to drunk (4)
BARK – BAR, [drun]K.
2 Particular, distasteful part of fish to start with (7)
FINICKY – FIN (part of fish), ICKY means distasteful, it’s in the dictionary.
3 Phone cases character used on Apple products overturned, making bloomer (5)
LILAC – phone = CALL, reverse it and insert I as in iPhone, iPad etc.
4 Tons invested in stock, flipping American junk (8)
DETRITUS – I’m not clear about this one. US at the end, so we have TIRED reversed with T for tons inserted. How does tired mean stock? As in “a stock phrase” being used often so tired?
5 Two pieces of personal info brought up in wine store (6)
BODEGA – the two pieces (reversed) are AGE and D.O.B., date of birth.
6 Funny writer with family penning poem (9)
WODEHOUSE – W[ith], HOUSE (family, as in historical dynasty?), insert ODE = poem.
7 Tasteless stuff edging plain upholstery fabric (7)
TABARET – TAT (tastless stuff), with BARE for plain inside. I’d never heard of it, nor had Mrs piquet, but got it from wordplay; it is in Collins, dating from 1855.
8 Cryptic indication of setter’s part of town (4,6)
HIGH STREET – (SETTER)*. I’m not keen on ‘high’ as an anagram indicator, I thought this was a weak clue.
12 Recalling marines on strike, one could sound the reveille (5,5)
ALARM CLOCK – “A LA” = French à la, recalling, in the manner of; RM the Royal Marines, CLOCK = strike, hit, wallop.
14 Naughty dog, say, turned on kids’ programme (4,5)
BLUE PETER – BLUE = naughty, PET = dog, say; RE (on) reversed. Apparently it’s the longest running children’s programme in the world, since 1958, although have I managed to avoid it for all 66 years.
16 Affluent banks in Madrid bagging working capital (8)
RICHMOND – RICH for affluent, M[adri]D has  ON = working inserted (bagged). Richmond is a town in Yorkshire, and Richmond-on-Thames is a London borough. There are also some Richmonds in USA, one of which is the capital city of the state of Virginia, so it is a capital of sorts. I’d have thought ‘capital’ usually refers to a nation capital but that’s not so here.
18 Comic actor’s crack — brief piece of dialogue (7)
CHAPLIN – CHAP (sore, cracked bit of skin), LIN[e].
20 Thus accepting an outcome of sunbathing is very bad (7)
SATANIC – SIC (Latin for ‘so’), insert A TAN an outcome of sunbathing.
21 Loaded son with possible reason for going to church (6)
STOWED – S[on], TO WED a reason for going to church. I liked this one.
23 Barbarian aboard boat, regularly getting fare from Asia (5)
BHUNA – B[o]A[t] with HUN the Barbarian inserted.
24 Wander off, ditching right guy (4)
STAY – STRAY loses R. Stay as in a guy rope.

 

76 comments on “Times 29073 – a semi to make me quaver”

  1. Two answers (LILAC and BODEGA) went in easily but then nothing for a good 10 minutes and I really started to think this might be beyond me. But then I spotted what was going on at 1dn and with BARK in place things began to flow nicely and I completed the grid with 43 minutes on the clock. No good for competitive solving, but not too bad for me having already lost so much time early on.

    I didn’t understand ‘stock / TIRED’ in DETRITUS, so thanks for explaining that, Pip, and now it’s been resolved I think we have had it before.

    BHUNA and TABARET from wordplay. I was going to say I NHO either but TABARET has come up a few times over the years. most recently in a QC by Izetti last July, and also in 2018 in a 15×15 I blogged myself.

    We’ve discussed state capitals vs capital cities on more than one occasion in the past so I assume setters consider it fair game.

    1. We have certainly had SACRAMENTO (where I live) before and HONOLULU. But those are probably better known than RICHMOND, perhaps more famous for being the capital of the confederacy than the state. But I guess that is still a capital.

      1. Desmond, I suggest you post a query using the Contact Us link on the Help menu to get assistance from our resident site techie.

  2. This took me an hour, although not focused the whole time. Several clever clues where how rhe wordplay worked was not clear at first. As is so often the case, my LOI was the hidden clue CINEASTE, so that was a kick myself moment. I have been to RICHMOND VA but it seemed a little unfair in an English crossword to have US state capital without a hint of what type of capital you were looking for (especially since capital in crosswords often means money). I’d never heard of TABARET either, but easily gettable. I also agree that stock for TIRED is a stretch.

  3. 59:40, including some time nodding off.
    I never did figure out BEWITCH, and only got HIGH STREET post-submission. (I didn’t mind ‘high’.) NHO BHUNA, and only got it by going to the dictionary and looking for BHU… (figured I start trawling with H ). Had the same doubts as Pip about DEBAG, and parsed DETRITUS as he did; it seemed OK to me.
    A bay is certainly not a creek to an American–a creek being a stream–but in the UK they’re both inlets, no? ODE defines both as such, although a bay is broad and a creek narrow. The Oxford thesaurus gives bay as a synonym of creek, but not vice-versa.

  4. Slightly out of championship contention with a leisurely 37.34, I mostly enjoyed this one though I agree with some of Nelson’s observations regarding loose language and stretchy definitions. I needed his help to understand HIGH STREET and CHAMP (etc etc) but was pleased to get the unknowns DEBAG, TABARET, BHUNA and DIARCHY from wordplay.

    From If You See Her Say Hello:
    If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
    I always have respected her for doing what she did in getting free
    Whatever makes her happy, I won’t stand in her way
    But the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her STAY

  5. And while we’re on the subject of US State capitals, this from the pub quiz our team came second in last night:
    Which two US capitals rhyme?

    2. I suspect there was some discussion about this. There are many pairs ending in -a.
      But I did get a better answer.

    3. It rather depends what you mean by rhyme. Arguably, three state capitals rhyme with each other. I expect the quizmaster’s decision was final, but subject to annoyance, disbelief and ridicule.

      1. We got it, so no complaints from our table. Enough time has passed for me to spoil it for everyone else: Boston and Austin. But Z you might tell us what the three rhymers are that you mention…

        1. I thought at the first, yes, of Boston,
          To rhyme with the city of Charleston
          Austin I would
          Say isn’t as good
          But I might want to advocate Trenton

  6. Got it out but very slowly around 2 hours. Once I got some around the middle I just concentrated on each corner from NE to NW then SE and then really slowly on the SW. FOI BODEGA LOI OWLET. I parsed tots as shorts because babies are short (didn’t see spirits connection) CHAMP AT THE BIT was very slow as I couldn’t parse it so had to get it finally from the crossers. I originally thought it was related to drinking at the bar.
    Thanks Piquet
    According to SOED owlet also applies to several species of small owl which can fly.

  7. Got there in an hour, with a couple of cheeky checks on the way.

    My attempt to make BUOYANT work at 5 across was a dead end. I thought “cruciverbalists” would be YOU reversed, and “buoyant” isn’t too far from “delightful”. I only had the B of BODEGA in at that point. But the setter was more inclusive, with WE.

    Mrs Merlin helped out with TABARET, and I was able to guess BHUNA, from the barbaric middle. No problem with RICHMOND.

    DUARCHY was a pink square, I thought it an odd mix of Latin and Greek ( like “television”).

    COD CINEASTE, what a great Hidden.

    1. I lost another 5 minutes trying to justify BUOYANT and even went as far as looking up BANT, but to no avail.

  8. Another entertaining revisit. A slight eyebrow-waggle at some of the people who were at the champs but have nonetheless submitted on leaderboard today – surely something rang a bell…

    On the day, OWLET made me smile, as she’s my niece’s favourite character in the cartoon PJ Masks.

    Thanks both.

    1. I always submitted after I’d redone a championship puzzle – but if it took me 11 minutes on the day, I’d set a stopwatch and not press submit until that time had elapsed

      1. Ah, I see. I only know my cumulative time for the three, and although I suspect I spent similar times on each, I couldn’t say that with any confidence.

  9. Now hollow fires burn out to black,
    And lights are guttering low:
    Square your shoulders, lift your pack,
    And leave your friends and go.
    (A Shropshire Lad, LX, AE Houseman)

    Very tricky, I thought. I kept going and finished with LOI Cineaste in 45 mins pre-brekker. Congrats to those who did it in regulation time.
    Ta setter and Pip.

    1. I misremembered GUTTER from Eliot’s street lamp in Rhapsody On A Windy Night but it helped anyway. BTW I think CINEASTE means film enthusiast not maker. Hardest champ so far.

  10. 42:32 fully parsed, which looks like a decent effort given the times of some of the speedsters. A few guesses entered purely from wordplay, but I thought the wordplay was all fair. I passed through Richmond on my way into London this morning, but about 5 mins too late for it to have helped with the solving! I have no problem with using US state capitals, and most of them come to mind quite readily.

  11. 20’21”, a steady solve. Didn’t understand DETRITUS, but now do.

    DEBAG is, or was, a thing in public schools / boys’ clubs, where it does mean ‘strip of clothing’ -something done to someone else for a prank (no longer acceptable).

    Pleased to complete this, thanks pip and setter.

  12. 46:46

    I found that very hard – just five inked in at the 20-minute mark. Things improved after filling in the NW corner, managing to work my way around the bottom half, leaving the NE which, apart from BODEGA and CYCLING SHORTS had me stumped for a good while – eventually figured out HIGH STREET which got things moving again – final two in were DEBAG and the NHO TABARET. Well done to all that managed to solve this and two others within the hour available at the Championship.

    Thanks P and setter

  13. 23:21 with a couple of interruptions, so happy with that.

    Re 25a – an owlet is also a species of owl, as well as a young owl. I looked that up as I initially had the same doubts as Piquet about the definition, although I have no idea when any young creature technically becomes an adult. Maybe a particularly precocious tawny owlet can fly…

  14. When I saw this was a competition crossword I expected something not too difficult because of the time factor. In fact I found it fairly tough, and I’m reassured after coming here and finding that others did too. I don’t time myself and solved this in less than ideal conditions (workmen in the house so various distractions) but would guess 40 minutes or so. I had the same thoughts as others, NHO TABARET, and I thought stock to indicate tired was a bit of a stretch, even though I saw the reasoning. Oddly I think I’d have enjoyed this one more if I hadn’t realised it was a competition crossword until after I’d solved it!

  15. DEBAG: Shades of Telemachus:

    “Young shouts of moneyed voices in Clive Kempthorpe’s rooms. Palefaces: they hold their ribs with laughter, one clasping another, O, I shall expire! Break the news to her gently, Aubrey! I shall die! With slit ribbons of his shirt whipping the air he hops and hobbles round the table, with trousers down at heels, chased by Ades of Magdalen with the tailor’s shears. A scared calf’s face gilded with marmalade. I don’t want to be DEBAGged! Don’t you play the giddy ox with me!”

    Got everything in the end with RINGLETED LOI. Thanks setter and blogger.

  16. Just under 25 minutes.

    – Didn’t know TABARET or DIARCHY but the wordplay helped in both cases
    – BHUNA made me think of Smithy from Gavin and Stacey: “Pete, have you thought about my bhunas?”
    – Wasn’t sure about bay=creek for LAYABOUT
    – Might have objected to a state capital being used for RICHMOND, but affluent=rich was obvious enough then the rest of the wordplay fell into place instantly

    Thanks piquet and setter.

    FOI Bark
    LOI Cineaste
    COD Stowed

  18. Tough (47 mins) but very enjoyable. Witty and with cleverly concealed definitions. Only one real NHO in TABARET. Maybe DIARCHY but it fits the pattern of all the other -archies.
    US state capitals are pretty standard quiz fare. Unlike Dacorum yesterday.

    FOI: LILAC
    LOI: CINEASTE with a large groan.

  19. I’d have been quite happy with this on the day, although I only parsed CYCLING SHORTS, DETRITUS, WODEHOUSE, BLUE PETER and HIGH STREET afterwards.

    FOI GUTTER
    LOI STAY
    COD BAFFLED
    TIME 10:48

  20. 12:33
    Like Brando I could’ve been a contender! More realistically I saw lots of definitions and bits of parsing quickly and hit a hot streak, but we can dream.

  21. 23.30, so I’ll have to speed up on the next two. Almost my last in was CINEASTE, not just because I didn’t spot the hidden but because I stubbornly insisted that one such was a movie goer, not a movie maker. I also lost time wondering if a DESAG was a form of Ghandian nappy, and trying to think of a breed of dog. Are we allowed to type in “bitch” on this site?
    I’m pretty sure I’ve seen an identical clue for BARK in this neighbourhood, even down to the unnecessarily specific Holly. Might have been in a Mephisto, but I remember it eluded me for ages there too.
    Does 3d contain the longest ever indication of a single letter we’ve ever had?
    Good, honest blog from piquet, teasing out this puzzle’s eccentricities!

    1. Re. BITCH. Why not? The clue specifies ‘dog’. I don’t see why words that have long been part of the English language should now be taboo, even when used properly in context. Near where I grew up, in Linlithgow, there was a pub called The Black Bitch. The name came from a story about a faithful dog – you can look it up yourself – and it was a well-known story in the town, so much so that some people from Linlithgow refer to themselves still as Black Bitches. Then along came Greene King, who bought over the pub and changed the name, just in case someone was offended. I’m by no means a ‘political correctness gone mad’ kind of guy – ‘political correctness’ is there for good reason. But it’s a shame that the history and tradition of the name can be ignored and erased because someone in East Anglia or London decides it’s not a good look.

      1. I have a memory, possibly corrupt, that LiveJournal had a censorship routine that would have bleeped “bitch” and similar words that were deemed as possible insults.

      2. There is a pub near me in Kent called the North Pole. Its name derives from the fact that when stringing the poles in a hopfield, you start from a master pole, which is usually put in the North corner of the field.
        It is quite an old pub.
        Needless to say, the pub sign was recently changed and now features a polar bear …

  22. Forgot to say I was disappointed to take so long thinking of WODEHOUSE as only yesterday I finished watching the TV adaptations of the Blandings stories starring Timothy Spall. So funny, and much better than the versions starring Ralph Richardson I saw many years ago.

  23. Beaten all ends up by the NE corner. NHO TABARET, and though I had the STREET part of HIGH STREET I’d not have seen ‘high’ as an anagram indicator and didn’t get it. BEWITCH also missing. Was actually pretty pleased to get as far as I did. Wasn’t mad about recalling = à la, but at least the answer was clear.

  24. DNF. Cheated quite a lot. Came here because I stalled with the whole of the NE blank, and took 5a Bewitched, which was enough to get me back on my way and finish off.
    I had 8d High St pencilled lightly, but I suppose among the millions of anagrinds high will do. 11a Had Cycling but the shorts wouldn’t come to me. I also tried 10a Desag for a while. NHO 7d Tabaret.
    Found Wodehouse missing from Cheating Machine! Although PGWodehouse was in (1,1,9). I also added him with (2,9) just in case.

  25. This was hard but I struggled on, initially only using aids to check that BHUNA and TABARET were things, and I finished in just over the hour having used aids at the end. Quite happy with ‘high’ as an anagram indicator. Slow to see the excellent hidden. For no good reason I had trouble understanding LILAC and entered it with a shrug, as I did DETRITUS.

  26. At 30 mins I just had _L_R_ left but not realising it was a Champ puzzle came here to see what I was missing. Just couldn’t think of that sort of clock

    Liked DEBAG amongst others

  27. I had almost no conscious memory of this, but solved it in just over 7 minutes, so clearly the subconscious helped.
    I have no problem with US state capitals. I always think it’s quite striking, considering the geographical extent of the Civil War, how close Richmond is to Washington.

    1. Along the same lines Belgrade seems to have been almost on the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914, and also Seoul seems uncomfortably close to the North Korean border.

  28. 39:47

    Pleased with that in the end, as I had ten to go with 37’ gone. FINICKY was my saviour as it gave me 1, 9 and 13, and the L led to speedy completion of an almost empty SW and LOI my namesake.

    Smashing puzzle I thought.

    Thanks all.

  29. 22:40 – tough, but fair. The hidden CINEASTE held out to the end and the NHO TABARET was assembled from the wordplay. Hard to believe anyone could solve this in – presumably – four or five minutes.

  30. Delighted to finish this in 50 minutes. Very enjoyable. Same comments as others about “Tired = Stock” and “Tabaret”.
    LOI = my COD = Cineaste, great hidden.

  31. I was interrupted by a knock at the door during my solve, so “paused” and went downstairs to deal with. When I got back, I discovered I had submitted with 25% complete after 8 mins. Idiot. Anyway, I restarted off the club site, let the 8 mins pass and got going again.

    Finished with CINEASTE, constructed the same clues as others, and enjoyed the puzzle. A bit of time to make up if I want to do three of these inside an hour…

    22:21

  32. 42:06 for me. Just pleased to finish without aids in under an hour what felt like a tough offering. Unlike the blogger, I had the top half complete before looking further down, finishing with 12d. Didn’t know TABARET but the wordplay was clear. Might not have come across DIARCHY either but the construction was straightforward.

  33. 40:57. It hadn’t registered that this was a championship puzzle, but perhaps that meant I enjoyed it more with the “pressure” off.
    I didn’t know CINEASTE as a film maker, rather than a film fan. I would have given RINGLETED two Ts. I am pleased to have learned so much about OWLETS. I was happy with “high” as an anagram indicator by analogy with “drunk” or is your objection, piquet, that we already have far too many drug references?
    Lots to like including the extremely cheeky CYCLING SHORTS. COD GUTTER and WOD FINICKY

  34. I don’t usually notice when there’s a competition puzzle, but had been alerted to this one by a comment on the QC site, so approached it with wariness. The NW yielded naught, but BODEGA arrived in the NE quickly followed by HIGH STREET. Those 2 enable me to get BEWITCH and then WODEHOUSE. The SE also yielded without too much angst with BHUNA starting things off. CHAMP AT THE BIT gave a lot of assistance and the bottom of the grid filled up nicely, even the unknown DIARCHY. Back upstairs things developed with LAYABOUT leading to FINICKY and DETRITUS. BAFFLED and LILAC led to the elusive CYCLING SHORTS. DEBAG led to the construction of the NHO TABARET and BARK finished the proceedings. 30:20. Thanks setter and Pip.

  35. 11:15. Took my time in the northeast. LOI CINEASTE and kicked myself when I saw the hidden word.

  36. My first post here, though I’ve been a reader of the blog for a while. 32:16 for me with no dreaded pink square. Top half very empty for much of that time, then quickly fell into place after cycling shorts. Annoying that baffled baffled me for so long…

    1. Well done and welcome.
      I lurked for many years, now occasionally post, but belatedly as I’m a treeware solver in Australia. To do this in that time is an achievement. I missed the hidden and resorted to an aid for barbarian, should have got it but NHO bhuna. (Neither has my spellchecker.)

  37. Home in under 20 minutes but could I have done that in a silent room on a hot afternoon in London?😊

    Seemed to get on the wavelength easily – although there were several MERs which I see Pip shares.

    After yesterday’s controversies no complaints that we are supposed to know a furniture fabric from the 19th century?

    Thx p and setter

    1. The fabric is in current use. It is that stripy stuff you see on upmarket chairs in stately homes, too good and too expensive for me think of exposing my cats to.

  38. No time as done in three on/off sittings. Pretty tough though. LOI the NHO TABARET took an age.

    Pleased to have finished but I don’t think I’ll be contemplating entering the Competition any time soon!

    I liked HIGH STREET & ALARM CLOCK.

    Thanks pip and tricky setter.

  39. Unfortunately I left the timer running in the app when I had to break off, so I can only guess the time but I think around 35 minutes.
    LOI was Bodega where I‘d been fiddling around with Dabs and Id’s and Bins before finally getting there.
    I got Bare inside Tat ok and tabaret rang a bell, at any rate I felt confident.
    Oh and I had „it the bat“ before thinking of champ and almost left it like that as some obscure cricketing phrase I didn‘t know, before realising 😉
    Thanks setter and blogger

  40. One square incorrect- Debug for DEBAG. I also had to check TABARET was a thing. Very tough for me.

  41. 59’20”
    Asleep in the stalls and failed to manage much of a pace after that …

    … but all parsed. Tabaret went in on trust; I’ve never been aware of sitting on any, but may well have used some to add the finishing touch to one of these things.
    Despite being bewitched, baffled and bewildered for so long, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
    Many thanks to setter and Pip.

  42. As predicted in my QC comments I didn’t quite make it here. The north east corner did for me, and I just ran out of steam after an hour. The bottom half went in fairly quickly, and it looked very lopsided with virtually nothing in the top half. I’m disappointed I didn’t think of WODEHOUSE, but even though I had STREET I didn’t get HIGH as the anagram indicator, even though others accept it I don’t care for it much.

  43. 76.10. I didn’t think I’d make it through that but got there eventually. always humbling to have the harder ones and makes me appreciate the softer targets! Excellent puzzle and worth the effort. Thanks both!

  44. Did some of this this morning (the bottom half, mostly, though WODEHOUSE was first one in) and the rest while invigilating an exam – not a public one, I hasten to add. NHO DIARCHY or even TABARET, though I’m usually sound on materials. I was also unable to parse HIGH STREET, though I should have. LOI the brilliant CINEASTE hidden, after being baffled for ages. It’s safe to say I won’t be troubling the Championship contenders at present!

  46. I took handyman to be a professional one hires to do a job, so not a DIYer in that sense.
    The chap is the initial impact on the skin causing roughness and soreness. The cracky bit is the skin recovering from the chapping, but I suppose it’s a valid stretch.
    I’m surprised a crossword with so many loose definitions was thought suitable for the championships, where I’d have thought the aim was to offer the best that a crossword could offer ie the purest wordplay, precision, smooth surfaces, no obscurities and nothing open to debate. And a semi-final too. If I’d been involved on the day I’d have been really really upset and with a feeling of having been massively let down by this offering.

    1. A quick Google for synonyms suggests that DIYer for handyman and crack for chap (as a verb) are among the most common.

  47. Pleased with my 23’15”, achieved despite wife chatting on phone throughout (for which subtract a good five!). CYCLING SHORTS went in near the end, because I couldn’t work out where the TOTS fitted. Finally decided SHORTS was slang for KIDDIES, as in TOTS, so bunged it in. Reasoning was false, but result was good. Never saw the hidden CINEASTE and assumed there was some cockney thing going on which I couldn’t spot. Many thanks.

  48. 54 minutes – it took me a long time to get started. Some great hidden definitions! Had never heard of tabaret so it was a wordplay job. (Wasted a bit of time trying to make ‘at sea’ work as an anagram indicator.)

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