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. | |
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.