Time: 28.17
Music: Altan, Local Ground
I found this puzzle a bit difficult, and felt like I was working at the extremes of my skill level. Many of the clues were pretty tricky, at least until they clicked. This was definitely a quality puzzle, and probably requires an experienced solver to understand. I did biff some of the long ones as I was solving, but since I am writing the blog I will now parse them.
| Across | |
| 1 | Angry about being corralled by one with even stricter diet than me (10) |
| VEGETARIAN – VEG(IRATE backwards)AN. | |
| 6 | I can’t tell you to succeed (4) |
| PASS – Double definition, although a pass degree is not considered very successful. | |
| 10 | Recent pupil pines for the quadrangles (7) |
| OBLONGS – O.B. + LONGS. | |
| 11 | In Yemeni capital ran across man of note (7) |
| SMETANA – S(MET)ANA. Unfortunately, the capital of Yemen is Sanaa, but I biffed Smetana anyway. | |
| 12 | Current one working bearing string instrument (9) |
| ACCORDION – A/C (CORD) I ON. | |
| 13 | One capped once, career’s beginning to run into the sand (5) |
| DUNCE – DUN(C[areer])E. | |
| 14 | Wanting too much golf, does have to step back (5) |
| GREED – G + DEER backwards. | |
| 15 | Almost all the time in Britain, yes? This isn’t (6,3) |
| GALWAY BAY – G(ALWAY[s])B + AY. | |
| 17 | Cook lunch: I bet one so needs food for two? (2,3,4) |
| IN THE CLUB – Anagram of LUNCH: I BET. | |
| 20 | Scottish title compared with English (5) |
| THANE – THAN + E, one of the few easy ones. | |
| 21 | Heading off, risk walk (5) |
| AMBLE – [g]AMBLE. | |
| 23 | Ark struggling with no more sail (9) |
| MOONRAKER – Anagram of ARK + NO MORE, not the first sail you might think of. | |
| 25 | At first look daggers at a bloomer (7) |
| LOBELIA – L + OBELI + A. | |
| 26 | Game John edited in periodical (3-4) |
| MAH-JONG – MA(anagram of JOHN)G. | |
| 27 | Like a fish, very hard? No way (4) |
| EELY – [st]EELY. I had biffed oily, but couldn’t parse it, so erased it. | |
| 28 | Implores to move to city (10) |
| METROPOLIS – Anagram of IMPLORES TO. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Shipwrecked heroine that may be found in bed (5) |
| VIOLA – Double definition, one in Twelfth Night, one in a flower bed. | |
| 2 | One perhaps flying over grand, ancient hilltop (9) |
| GOLDCREST – G + OLD + CREST. | |
| 3 | Oddball turning up part of nose properly over small town (9,5) |
| TUNBRIDGE WELLS – NUT upside down + BRIDGE + WELL + S, one I biffed. | |
| 4 | Reacting to oxygen in sport with sharp pain (7) |
| RUSTING – R.U. + STING. | |
| 5 | Succeeded entering stadium, left side (7) |
| ARSENAL – AR(S)ENA + L, a football side. | |
| 7 | A win? Not once (5) |
| AGAIN – A + GAIN. | |
| 8 | Emergency for journey to relieve ancient city (5,4) |
| SPARE TYRE – SPARE + TYRE. I can’t say I like the literal. | |
| 9 | In principal role, one part of body controls another (14) |
| HEADMASTERSHIP – HEAD MASTERS HIP. | |
| 14 | Endlessly questioned about investment in painting (9) |
| GRISAILLE – GR(ISA)ILLE[d]. Those not in the UK might not know ISA. | |
| 16 | British: why they can’t swim in resort? (9) |
| BLACKPOOL – B + LACK POOL. | |
| 18 | Not be honest about alcoholic drink and soft one (7) |
| LIMEADE – LI(MEAD)E. | |
| 19 | 50s child eating large loaf (7) |
| BLOOMER – B(L)OOMER, another easy one. | |
| 22 | Confused situation of black murder victim (5) |
| BABEL – B + ABEL. | |
| 24 | Hindu themes initially appearing in lesser newspapers (5) |
| RAGAS – RAG(A[ppearing])S. | |
32’20”
Slowly away, nearest finish.
My only close encounter with a goldcrest was with one flitting in and out of a hedge near Clare College bridge; how can there be so much colour on a thing so tiny? Viola also cropped up in Cambridge, in a production in the garden of Newnham College. This crossword reminded me of the ones I would attempt in the coffee houses nearby.
Eclectic, elegant, entertaining and erudite, this was very enjoyable; thank you setter and Vinyl.
40:42
Held up by guessing SANTANA for 11a, which delayed getting HEADMASTERSHIP.
LOI was THANE.
Thanks vinyl and setter
49.49 FOI RUSTING. I’d forgotten Shakespeare’s VIOLA and never knew LOI GRISAILLE. Does finishing this make me an experienced solver? I don’t have an excuse for my times now. Thanks vinyl1.
35 minutes, with Lobelia biffed (didn’t spot the Obeli). Not the easiest Monday.
Like John Dunleavy above, I went all the way down to Bloomer and Mah Jong to get started, and then developed out from the SE corner.
Completed in 22:52 on a train which will pass through TUNBRIDGE WELLS, though I will have got off it by then. NHO SANA so had to take that on trust. Really challenging for me – I was lured here by the 91 SNITCH but it felt a lot harder! Many thanks V.
52:50 with 1 error. took me so long to get onto the setter’s wavelength that I rushed in with RAGIS rather than RAGAS. Very tricky for a Monday I thought, but a very deftly constructed puzzle that didn’t feel too forced. some quite tricky GK, I had to biff a few, like SMETANA (I knew the composer but not the capital), and VIOLA (I couldn’t parse, but knew the heroine). NHO MOONRAKER but it seemed like a good historical name for a sail (like WINDJAMMER). Thanks both!
Maybe someone’s made the same point (sorry I haven’t read everything), but the answer to one down could have been FLORA. As in Flora Macdonald, and flower-beds. Ok I know she wasn’t actually shipwrecked, but she had to battle some pretty nasty waves! That made for FAGETARIAN or FIGETARIAN, which could have been some new-fangled word for a dietary extremist, or FIGHTFREAK which could have meant ANGRY. No, I didn’t go there. But thought about it. 33’29” and all correct.
19.43. Biffed Smetana as I didn’t know the capital of Yemen.
21.08
V late entry. Knew the required GK so average sort of time here.
GREED raised a smile
Hey twerps the setter is now AI it should know everything
Really enjoyed this: mainly because I didn’t feel the need to look anything up until I’d entered quite a few, starting with IN THE CLUB, which has to be my COD. I persevered and wrote down the wordplay parts as they presented themselves, to give me more successes ( not just PASSes!). SMETANA dragged up from the recesses, but not unfortunately GRISAILLE ( had the GRI???LLE early on but that part of my Arts degree went AWOL when I needed it most. (NHO ISA was the problem). All the rest of the GK known, apart from RAGAS and GOLDCREST, but should have been able to work those out. Lovely puzzle, for me, at least.