Time taken: 7:51. I was pretty quickly on the wavelength of the setter, and the early solvers have some pretty slick times (at the time of starting the blog I’m sitting at #3, that will change).
There’s a fair few biffable answers here, but after a couple of silly typos and made up words earlier in the week (ASSEREVATE, anyone?), I wanted to make sure I had everything sorted out on blog day. There’s a lot to enjoy here, how did you find it?
| Across | |
| 1 | Reportedly detects change in Washington? (5) |
| CENTS – homophone of SCENTS(detects) | |
| 4 | Awful writing perhaps in Old English message (9) |
| EXECRABLE – R(writing is one of the three R’s) inside EX(old), E(English), CABLE(message) | |
| 9 | Fight cancelled in US — kill ticket seller (3,6) |
| BOX OFFICE – BOX(fight), OFF(cancelled), ICE(kill in the US) | |
| 10 | Revolutionary work gathered speed (5) |
| TEMPO – OP(work) and MET(gathered), all reveresed | |
| 11 | Stress at home — little sibling tense (6) |
| INSIST – IN(at home), SIS(little sibling), T(tense) | |
| 12 | Loud organ: two notes terrifying (8) |
| FEARSOME – F(loud), EAR(organ) and then the musical notes SO and ME | |
| 14 | High and low part missing with spoiled print (10) |
| LITHOGRAPH – anagram of HIGH,LOW and PART minus W(with) | |
| 16 | Book last character in time (4) |
| EZRA – Z(last character in the alphabet) inside ERA(time) | |
| 19 | Journey starts in The Rip, ends in the outback (4) |
| TREK – first letters of The Rip and the last of thE outbacK | |
| 20 | Axe penetrates once he’s splintered shield (10) |
| ESCUTCHEON – CUT(axe) inside an anagram of ONCE,HE’S. One of the words burned into my memory by its use in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, where it is one of the components of a game of Eschaton. | |
| 22 | City in which a friend curtailed addiction? (3,5) |
| ABU DHABI – A, BUD(friend) then HABIT(addiction) minus the last letter | |
| 23 | Have no users partially connected to vital supply network (6) |
| VENOUS – hidden inside haVE NO USers | |
| 26 | Letters inside shelter disturbed woman (5) |
| ETHEL – anagram of the central letters of sHELTEr | |
| 27 | No change in state active under cover of darkness (9) |
| NOCTURNAL – NO, then TURN(change) inside CAL(state) | |
| 28 | Content to defend a Murdoch mocked (9) |
| SATIRISED – SATED(content) containing the author IRIS Murdoch | |
| 29 | Almost losing lead in advance (5) |
| EARLY – NEARLY(almost) minus the first letter | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Oomph in something like rented carriage (9) |
| CABRIOLET – BRIO(oomph) inside CA(circa, something like), LET(rented) | |
| 2 | Linked group crossed lines in New England? (5) |
| NEXUS – X(a shape made by two crossed lines) inside NE US(New England is the north-eastern states) | |
| 3 | Sentimental weakness seconds frequently notice (4,4) |
| SOFT SPOT – S(seconds), OFT(frequently), SPOT(notice) | |
| 4 | Osprey finally leaving nest for lake (4) |
| ERIE – remove the last letter of ospreY from EYRIE(nest) | |
| 5 | American after team place for test (6-4) |
| ELEVEN-PLUS – US(American) after ELEVEN(team), PL(place) | |
| 6 | Slow down on time machine saving lives (6) |
| RETARD – RE(on), then TARDIS(Dr Who’s time machine) minus IS(lives) | |
| 7 | Puzzle book retired mum left, consumed by drink (9) |
| BAMBOOZLE – B(book), then MA(mum) reversed, and L(left) inside BOOZE(drink) | |
| 8 | Grind down before accepting arrangement with bank (5) |
| ERODE – ERE(before) containing OD(overdraft, arrangement with bank) | |
| 13 | Image associated with skull vexed surgeon (10) |
| CROSSBONES – CROSS(vexed), BONES(surgeon) | |
| 15 | Engine hurling stones but three caught somehow (9) |
| TREBUCHET – anagram of BUT,THREE and C(caught) | |
| 17 | Frequently visits topless consort — fair game? (4,5) |
| AUNT SALLY – HAUNTS(frequently visits) minus the first letter, then ALLY(consort) | |
| 18 | Programme dropped Christmas broadcast (8) |
| SCHEDULE – homophone of SHED(dropped) and YULE(broadcast). The homophone might not work in parts of the world where the C is not silent | |
| 21 | Salt gathering in massive quarry? (6) |
| WHALER – cryptic definition | |
| 22 | Partners in crime with Abraham and Eliot? (5) |
| ABETS – ABE(Abraham) and TS Eliot | |
| 24 | Single run stopped by wicket keeper (5) |
| OWNER – ONE(single), R(run) containing W(wicket) | |
| 25 | Missile beginning to climb in south of France (4) |
| SCUD – first letter of Climb inside SUD(South in French) | |
Gave up with WHALER missing after 45 mins. Might have got it if I’d resorted to the alphabet trawl, but couldn’t be arsed. Liked this in general.
30 mins, but with RETARD unparsed. Never was a fan of The Doctor, and doubtless will be caught by references to the TARDIS in future. The Doctor, of course, will already know that.
28 mins – found this tough, spotting WHALER just before calling it a day. More than the usual number unparsed, including the much-aforementioned RETARD and SATIRISED.
24 mins, but had to use my Scrabble help for -H-L-R, there were 4 options and I don’t think I’d have ever got WHALER without it.
Quite a nice puzzle, perhaps slightly easier average than but with enough quirks to keep it interesting. I did think WHALER was a poor clue, though, one of those you hesitate to write in until you’ve tried to think of alternatives because the solution looks too clunky to be correct.
But then for crossword folks salt is a sailor, and quarry is prey more generally. I thought the misdirection of the salt mines was rather good.
I understand that, I just personally still think it’s a clunky clue. One thought I had was “perhaps I haven’t fully parsed this and once I have it will turn out to be a better clue than I think”. But none of the subsequent explanations told me anything I hadn’t already worked out.
Hours after commenting, and having read all the comments, including the ‘explanations’, I still have no idea about WHALER. Yeah I get salt, I get quarry, but…ah, forget it. Not on my list of million favourite clues.
Done in two sessions so no specific time to report. Most of the clues were solved before going out, but two had stopped me in my tracks. Typically when taking it up after a break on my return, the answers came instantly, and ETHEL and finally WHALER were entered. About thirty or so minutes for an easier than average puzzle.
42:20. WHALERva long time to finish that particular clue… nothing else seemed to slip through the net and I plodded through. Some fun vocabulary (can’t recall last time I used ESCUTCHEON in anger). Great puzzle.
Didn’t “Blot on escutcheon” appear from time to time in “1066 and All That”?
No problems with this puzzle – what happened to tricky Thursday?
I’m sure Tricky Thursday will be back soon. Maybe the editor messed up and thought this was Z’s week.
42:07, with time at the end staring at WHALER before the penny finally dropped.
COD to CROSSBONES.
Thanks glh and setter
Thank you glh & setter.
5d Eleven plus. I took mine in 1960 and Worcestershire sent me to a public school as the grammar school was too small.
21d Whaler, cheated, thought it was a boat (it is), entered it then realised we are talking Cap’n Ahab and his men, not the boat his men used. DOH. Was introduced to the whaler when in the Naval section of the CCF. Ghastly boat; heavy and stable, oar powered in the main. That is because the sails were rubbish.
22d Abets. Foxed me until I realised that “partners” is a verb.
Coming late to this, but if there’s a competition, I took the 11+ in 1955.
Passed. But DNF today because I didn’t get the Tardis reference (never watched) nor the cryptic definition of whaler
Finished in several sittings but the first one I’ve done in quite a while without the odd sneaky reveal. I still needed the blog to parse a few but was delighted to find both ESCUTCHEON and TREBUCHET lurking in my brain somewhere. Got WHALER quite quickly but the one that held me up the most was OWNER, of all things. Didn’t spot that VENOUS was a hidden 🙄 Loved RETARD. Many thanks glh.
Briefly held up by putting EMMA for EZRA, convincing myself that EMMA was NATO-talk for the letter ‘e’ (last character in time). BAMBOOZLE set me right. Thought the WHALER clue was excellent because it sent us all down a blind alley. I spent a good few minutes on a chemical salt spelled *H*L*R. I’m still half-convinced that one exists. Phalar? 19’21”. Many thanks.
1 hour. Got stuck on BONES part of CROSSBONES which was inexcusable. (Star Trek – was Scottie also referred to as Bones?) WHALER also troublesome, spent time trying to fit usual sailor words esp. TAR in there. Amazing people can complete these in like 5 minutes – could spend 10m on one clue alone. Just got to keep practising!
18.28
Late entry, just back from a first visit to the Gower. Impressed with there and this puzzle, which like Ulaca I did as quickly word for word as the Quickie. Go fig (love that, thankee Keriothe).
For once I thought the cryptic WHALER was very good but the eyes do need to be screwed quite tightly to get it.
Otherwise seemed to know the vocab though I wouldn’t say I was particularly well read. On the other hand if you are in your fifties; went to Grammar school; did Classics and like cricket you are 99% of the way there with these things.
Thanks setter/George
78 minutes! All parsed except for LOI SCHEDULE, which took twenty minutes by itself. According to the Snitch, the puzzles have all been quite gentle this week, but this seemed very much harder. Then again, I can’t stop yawning so it’s probably me. Thanks glh.
LOI WHALER and I’m definitely in the camp with those who didn’t think much of this clue. Anyway, all’s well in the end so I’m still a happy bunny, especially because I thought there was some tricky stuff here (though not for our blogger clearly).