Music: Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker Suite, Levine/Chicago
Time: 14:54
This did not feel like an easy Monday at first, as I struggled to get started in the grid. After five minutes, I only had a few answers here and there. But once I had a sufficient quorum of crossing letters, I started to speed up dramatically. Yes, I biffed one answer after another, often not even fully reading the clue, but just putting in the only English word that fit.
| Across | |
| 1 | Feature of building computer programs, we hear (4) |
| APSE – Sounds like APPS. | |
| 4 | Good humour always at home in the course of game (10) |
| CHEERINESS – CH(EER IN)ESS, a biff. | |
| 9 | Looked at team showing anger maybe after trick (10) |
| CONSIDERED – CON + SIDE RED. not fully parsed while solving. | |
| 10 | Capital this person’s invested in American city (4) |
| LIMA – L.(I’M)A. | |
| 11 | Left in Calais, unable to communicate successfully? (6) |
| GAUCHE – Double definition, one a bit dubious. | |
| 12 | Competes in race that’s most laborious (8) |
| HEAVIEST – HEA(VIES)T. | |
| 14 | Pitch made by one favouring war? (4) |
| HAWK – Double definition. | |
| 15 | What’s carried by ship is scary — discarded loot (10) |
| SCHILLINGS – S(CHILLING)S. Discarded in the sense of no longer used. | |
| 17 | Small unit that could make mice tremor (10) |
| MICROMETRE – Anagram of MICE TREMOR, giving .001 of a millimetre, a length seldom required in casual talk. | |
| 20 | Irishman bringing post around (4) |
| LIAM – MAIL backwards. I was tempted to biff Sean, but held off. | |
| 21 | One drafted in — being cute, I end getting redeployed (8) |
| INDUCTEE – Anagram of CUTE, I END. Leaving out the IN would have helped the clue, as that suggests the answer. | |
| 23 | Figure is round and not totally lifeless (6) |
| ISOGON – IS O + GON[e]. | |
| 24 | Meeting female, give false account willingly (4) |
| LIEF – LIE + F. | |
| 25 | British journeys frenetic, needing introduction of one female attendant (10) |
| BRIDESMAID – B RIDES MA(I)D. | |
| 26 | Insignificant person to enforce delay upon being picked up (10) |
| MAKEWEIGHT – sounds like MAKE WAIT. | |
| 27 | Numbers given hotel grub (4) |
| NOSH – NOS + H. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Form of impropriety when academic leads a country (11) |
| PROFANATION – PROF + A NATION. | |
| 3 | Poet’s village festival entertaining a hundred folk regularly (4,5) |
| EAST COKER – EAST(C + [f]O[l]K)ER. | |
| 4 | King, say, upset, being taken in by bounders and scroungers (7) |
| CADGERS – CAD(R, E.G upside-down)S. | |
| 5 | Momentous things are threat somehow (5-10) |
| EARTH-SHATTERING – Anagram of THINGS ARE THREAT. | |
| 6 | Flighty type narrated story in auditorium (7) |
| REDTAIL – Sounds like READ TALE. | |
| 7 | Old priest with the heartless description of the chosen people (5) |
| ELITE – ELI + T[h]E. | |
| 8 | Barely sufficient examination taking minimal time (5) |
| SCANT – SCAN + T. | |
| 13 | Unexpected gains with politicians — those endorsing proposal? (11) |
| SIGNATORIES – Anagram of GAINS + TORIES. | |
| 16 | A three-legged race location (4,2,3) |
| ISLE OF MAN – Cryptic definition, alluding to the triskele and the Tourist Trophy races. | |
| 18 | Greek character leading board not necessarily permanent (7) |
| MUTABLE – MU + TABLE. | |
| 19 | Identity needed to enter sporting occasion? That is obvious (7) |
| EVIDENT – EV(ID)ENT. | |
| 21 | African country set up to accommodate second religion (5) |
| ISLAM – MAL(S)I upside-down. | |
| 22 | Part of ship storing bit of rotten rubbish (5) |
| DRECK – D(R[ortten]ECK. | |
Would have been sub-ten but for misspelling micrometer, which held me up for a couple of mins. Liked Schillings.
28:55
LOI was ISOGON. I was not convinced it was a real word, and did an alphabet trawl looking for alternatives.
I had most of the left side done very quickly, but then got stuck. Lots of jobs to do today, driving to and from Stroud, so only had more thinking time late this afternoon. The break did me good, and I finished the right side quite quickly. Had to cross my fingers over LIEF and ISOGON.
13 minutes. Biffed Isle of Man and got isogon from wordplay, having never heard of it. I’m a fan of Four Quartets but East Coker is not as good as Little Gidding!
10.38 including a typo check for once
What Pootle and Keriothe said about the puzzle and Martin John D and others said about LIEF which has reminded to check out The Notes and the Words again – some lovely songs on there
There’s an unaccounted for ‘a’ in the clue for 3D
11’57”
A very quick time by my standards spoke to an easy puzzle. Several BHO words but all generously clued.
12:54 and still outside the top 100! Stuck on LOI ISOGON, but otherwise plain sailing. Many thanks V.
DNF. All except for ISOGON in 35 minutes and I gave up after 45. The rest was fine. Thanks vinyl1.
I had no idea about LIEF, as some others I have only heard the word in Fairport Convention’s album title. In the semiconductor industry, MICROMETRES are far too large for anything these days and we are all about nanometres (or nanometers normally).
Completed this in good time (for me), but unhappily with a couple of mistakes (NHOs): ISOPOD and LIED and TACK ( don’t ask). But happy with my effort. COD CONSIDERED, as first one in.
LIEF is well known to readers of Georgette Heyer. DRECK is also familiar, I think from Red Dwarf.