Music: Dvorak, Symphony #7, Davis/Concertgebouw
Time: 19:38
I did not find this particularly difficult, at least to solve. The problem was getting the puzzle, since the Crossword Club is unable to provide it. Fortunately, it eventually appeared in the online newspaper and I was able to print off a copy. Having put a new toner cartridge in my printer, I am now able to read the clues more easily, which may also have helped my solve.
As for the actual puzzle, it was typical Monday fare, with some good clues but nothing too obscure. I biffed a fair number of answers, such as iron age, acquaint, adolescent, provender, Martinmas, and rigmarole, but I confirmed with the cryptic in every case.
Due to the problems over at the Crossword Club, the SNITCH will have to get its solving times from those posted in this blog. Currently, of course, nothing is available.
| Across | |
| 1 | What schoolkids enjoy Romeo and Juliet season? (8) |
| PLAYTIME – PLAY + TIME, simple cryptic hint. | |
| 5 | Brave and fortunate in pursuit of power (6) |
| PLUCKY – P + LUCKY, a bit of a chestnut. | |
| 8 | Old Catholic is a malevolent creature (3) |
| ORC – O + R.C. | |
| 9 | Theatre backing variety in debased production (10) |
| PERVERSION – REP backwards + VERSION. | |
| 10 | Like a TV series is copied for broadcasting (8) |
| EPISODIC – Anagram of IS COPIED. | |
| 11 | Impersonate fancy don (6) |
| ASSUME – A very fine triple definition. | |
| 12 | Animals always found on delta (4) |
| DEER – D + EER. | |
| 14 | Second important bit (10) |
| SMATTERING – S + MATTERING. | |
| 17 | One directing acts of Wagner? (10) |
| RINGMASTER – RING + MASTER, another cryptic hint. | |
| 20 | Maiden butting in to make a knight foolish (4) |
| DUMB – DU(M)B. | |
| 23 | Second bag containing one jigsaw picture? (6) |
| MOSAIC – MO + SA(I)C. | |
| 24 | Make familiar account oddly unfamiliar (8) |
| ACQUAINT – A/C + QUAINT. | |
| 25 | Youngster’s inclination to accept benefit (10) |
| ADOLESCENT – A(DOLE)SCENT. | |
| 26 | Father whipping son in anger (3) |
| IRE – [s]IRE. | |
| 27 | Religious dissent unknown by present society (6) |
| HERESY – HERE + S + Y. | |
| 28 | Gosh! Nimrod’s playing — one follows instinctively (8) |
| MYRMIDON – MY + anagram of NIMROD. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Demonstrated rise of tomato-like food (9) |
| PROVENDER – PROVEN + RED upside-down. | |
| 2 | Records where bees go following middle of month (7) |
| ARCHIVE – [m]ARC[h] + HIVE. | |
| 3 | Make cautious progress in mostly excellent English (6) |
| TIPTOE – TIP-TO[p] + E. | |
| 4 | Queen can appear in Mother’s Day celebrated in church (9) |
| MARTINMAS – MA(R,TIN)MA’S. | |
| 5 | Couple obese after one’s shifted rich dessert (7) |
| PARFAIT – PAIR, FAT with the I moved up. | |
| 6 | Upper-class United dinners suffering vandalism will be not covered (9) |
| UNINSURED – Anagram of U + U + DINNERS. | |
| 7 | Family member coming over, name’s Nike, not European at all (7) |
| KINSMAN – Anagram of NAM[e]’S NIK[e]. | |
| 13 | Hit soldier raised in position — a complicated procedure (9) |
| RIGMAROLE – R(RAM GI upside-down)OLE. | |
| 15 | Unfaithfulness every former queen’s shown during trial (9) |
| TREACHERY – TR(EACH E.R.)Y. | |
| 16 | Attempt to gamble on small new broker? (2-7) |
| GO-BETWEEN – GO + BET + WEE + N. | |
| 18 | For instance, a seaweed thrown up some time ago (4,3) |
| IRON AGE – E.G. A NORI upside-down. | |
| 19 | Shooting protester, not male, before end of rally (7) |
| ARCHERY – [m]ARCHER + [rall]Y. | |
| 21 | One university heartlessly sacked (7) |
| UNIFIED – UNI + FI[r]ED. | |
| 22 | Mike’s after running scout convention (6) |
| CUSTOM – Anagram of SCOUT + M. | |
Same problem and same solution to the non-appearing puzzle. I was a little distracted by something while I was solving, but my impression was that a few of the synonyms, both in the definitions and in the wordplay, were a step further than I was comforatble with.
13:37
It’s been a while since we’ve had a screw-up from the club site; I suppose we were due. I went to the Times site, waited and waited until I finally got the puzzle. Like Vinyl I biffed a bunch, but confirmed each once I’d typed it in, except for LOI MARTINMAS
I have never heard of MYRMIDON but given that it was clearly MY followed by an anagram of NIMROD, no other arrangement would work. Held up a little at the end by the distraction of 1A ending with the letters that would fit AUTUMN (and the clue ending “season”) even though I don’t know wny word that ends that way. Once I fot th eP it was obvious though.
Myrmidons are Achilles’ folk. The Iliad is actually quite a good read.
‘Come here about me, you my Myrmidons. Mark what I say.’ Achilles plans to kill Hector with the help of his followers in revenge for the killing of Patroclus. Troilus and Cressida. I played Troilus (very badly) at Uni and the lines have stuck.
I think KINSMAN is not an anagram (although the letters work) but rather a reverse hidden (with all the Es dropped). At least that was how I solved it. Of course, any hidden clue is also an anagram by definition, since it involves that same letters.
Agree, I think the “coming over” suggests a reversal. Also agree that it doesn’t really matter.
To be fair to the setter the hidden reversal requires a little more thought on their part than an anagram?
I also read it like this.
8:51 for a bit of Monday morning fun.
As others have said, the biggest challenge was accessing the puzzle. I did it on the puzzles page instead of the club site, which saved me the few seconds I always take to fumble my way to the “submit” button.
I’ve heard of MICHAELMAS but not his brother MARTIN. And MYRMIDON is one of those words of which you’re vaguely aware but have never really encountered. As Paul said, the checkers helped out with the spelling.
A few of the other clues wouldn’t have been out of place in the Quickie but there’s nowt wrong with that on a Monday.
Thanks Vinyl and setter.
Try the Steeleye Span song “The Wife of Usher’s Well’.
Ok, googled. To be fair he could have just said November. And could have lightened it up a bit while he was at it!
26:29 (on the app). Several such as KINSMAN and RIGMAROLE half-parsed and I’d forgotten the meaning of MYRMIDON. Like galspray, I didn’t know the date or significance of MARTINMAS, which I’ve now found out occurs on Armistice Day; interesting to look it up.
I was happy to be able to complete a puzzle without too much trouble after the travails of last week. I liked ADOLESCENT and then noticed ACNE in the unches a few rows up; who knows, but probably not a deliberate Nina.
ACNE – good spot!
MYRMIDON was a bit of fresh vocab that was the highlight of this puzzle for me,
Printed it out from the e-paper.
Sadly I got all muddled up with PERVERSION so that’s a fail in about 30. I found it less easy than others, mainly because I fell for every misdirection, disguised definition and sheer trickery that was on offer. Much enjoyed nonetheless, thanks V.
From Subterranean Homesick Blues:
Look out kid, don’t matter what you did
Walk on your TIPTOEs, don’t try No-Doz
Better stay away from those that carry ’round a fire hose
Keep a clean nose, watch the plain clothes
You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows
I didn’t know what No-Doz were back then. Still don’t! In any case, I think Bob spelt it DOSE in the Ginsberg video.
I wondered if he’d taken some when he was up all night, leaning on the window sill. I must check out the vid, maybe Bob was afflicted by another mondegreen – of his own song.
42 minutes. I don’t remember meeting NORI as seaweed before, but IRON AGE was easy enough not to delay me on that one. MYRMIDON from wordplay only. It has come up a few times before including once when I was the duty blogger but the definition has varied and nothing has stuck.
Knew NORI from other crosswords. All was well until a brain-freeze on -C-U-I-T, forgetting the rule about trying a Q before a U.
So dnf in 18′ or so. Thanks vinyl and setter.
The blog title may give you a hint where actual nori may be encountered, if you order the miso soup.
17mins. Nothing too daunting though it took me a while to rid myself of the notion that the non European might be a Klingon. One of the better hidden word clues. COD assume, showing the wonderful variety of meanings a single word can cover in English.
17:21, started off fast but as so often happens slowed down a lot on the last few. LOI PERVERSION.
Thanks setter and blogger
25:17, on the Puzzles page. What a shock when it suddenly said “completed” and I didn’t need my final check. LOI RIGMAROLE. I liked SMATTERING and RINGMASTER. COD to ASSUME
28 minutes with LOI a constructed MYRMIDON. I assumed there was a seaweed called NORI. I knew of MARTINMAS and thought it might be one of the quarter days, which I see it has been in Scotland. A nice start to the week. Thank you V and setter.
18:46
Done on the puzzles’ page.
No time, but felt fast, maybe 25 mins, but with two blanks at the end : PERVERSION, where I forgot the convention rep=theatre, and ACQUAINT, where I kept trying to find ways to make “oddly” either be an indicator of alternate letters, or stand alone like “rum”, didn’t think it as a modifier of “oddly unfamiliar”. It’s hard to define QUAINT in two words, but this looks both odd and unfamiliar.
Problems with ACQUAINT not helped about unease over UNIFIED, as I couldn’t see a word NIFIED with its middle removed.
We seem to have had SMATTERING a few times recently? Anyway, it went in straight away. And, for the first time I spotted a Triple definition, with ASSUME.
Pleased to get the barely heard of PROVENDER and MYRMIDON, both words that I have seen and never thought what they meant. Also didn’t know NORI, I love sushi but never knew this word.
COD MARTINMAS
10:35. I too printed out the crossword from the puzzles area of the online paper. I’m another who didn’t know MYRMIDON although it felt dimly familiar. Having looked it up, I’m not sure what “instinctively” is doing in the clue. Likewise a MER at “oddly unfamiliar” for “quaint” seems a bit of a stretch. I tried a biffed ACCUSTOM for that one at first, but UNIFIED set me straight. Thanks Vinyl and setter.
I knew that the MYRMIDONs were Achilles’s followers but ‘instinctively’ puzzled me too. ODE says ‘typically one who is unscrupulous or carries out orders unquestioningly’, and Chambers says ‘who carries out another’s orders without fear or pity’, which are both close but not quite the same thing.
13:37
On the puzzles page.
Thanks vinyl and setter.
A rare opportunity to do the 15×15 in the morning, and an enjoyable 17:10 it was too. NHO MYRMIDON, and having looked it up it made me think that the world would be a nicer place if there were fewer of them. Hey-ho! COD ASSUME, with MOSAIC running it close.
Thanks Vinyl and setter
32:51
Sluggish performance for a Monday. Correctly guessed MYRMIDON (NHO) from wordplay.
Thank you, vinyl1 and the setter.
About 20 minutes.
– Eventually put in ASSUME without being confident of how it worked – the ‘fancy’ meaning was less obvious to me
– Have we had ‘whipping’ as a letter-removal indicator before, as used in IRE?
– Hadn’t heard of MYRMIDON, and the only reference point in my mind was Stephen Fry in Blackadder’s Christmas Carol asking “What news of the foul Marmydons?”… anyway, I had the checkers and that was the most realistic-looking option
– Didn’t know nori seaweed, but IRON AGE had to be
Thanks vinyl and setter.
FOI Orc
LOI Myrmidon
COD Assume
Another with great prob s trying to find the crossie today despite having various methods of access. In the end, madame r de p found it on her ‘pooter. What a palaver.
Anyway, 34 mins which it shouldn’t have been but I held myself up with a clumsy EPISODAL. Doh.
Once I’d figured out that 4d must be MARITNMAS, all went to order. LOI PERVERSION.
Neddless to say, I’ve NHO MYRMIDON but worked it out, as others, from wp.
Thanks V and setter.
7:10
Completed on the puzzles page online. I’d forgotten this submits immediately you enter the final letter but luckily no misprints this time.
About 25′. One of those which is quite easy apart from the unknowns. PROVENDER rang a bell and was straightforward to parse. MYRMIDON was NHO and I correctly guessed the positions of the I and O.
Isn’t KINSMAN a reverse hidden without the “e”s rather than an anagram?
Thanks Vinyl and setter.
Edit, sorry didn’t see Paul’s comment above…
15:38 for me and NHO MYRMIDON but an enjoyable crossword and the first easy one, even for a Monday, in ages!
13.32 in the unfamiliar surroundings of the online non-club version. At least there’s no chance of adding to your error total. My last in was ASSUME, as I could see it was probably a multi-definition but struggled with “fancy”. So I hit reveal, and was surprised to go straight to the completion hoorah.
MYRMIDON, of course, from Troilus: Achilles apparently had them but how those ones fit the definition I’m not clear.
Not all my memories of PLAYTIME were enjoyable: our setter clearly doesn’t know (or has forgotten) the devilry kids out of the classroom were capable of.
Myrmidons did whatever Achilles told them, come what may.
As I mentioned above, The Iliad is a surprisingly good read!
I rember well, at school, some oof smacked me in the playground and I smacked him back, which was the only part of the fracas the prefect saw! I was duly punished with 500 lines on Picasso’s Blue Period. I wrote a load of twaddle on the story of his girlfriend leaving him. He was beside himself the next day. 🤨
Apologies for the late running of the 29311 service from London Bridge to Club Site via Server Central. The problem has now been fixed but you will need to refresh.
Thanks and also for replying to email, there must be lots. Great customer service.
20:22 on puzzles page which is far less user-friendly. Why would anyone use that? The club does not cost extra and you can opt out of the leaderboard. Did the QC while waiting to see if it came back.
It felt slower with some on the fringes of GK. CUSTOM was confusing after just trying to fit it into ACQUAINT.
Mondayish, thanks vinyl and setter.
16:21
Slow in committing to ASSUME as triple definitions are one of my blind spots, the unknown MYRMIDON went in as the most likely looking collection of letters, and PERVERSION took far too long as I had PORN on the brain. I also feel as if S MATTERING has held me up in the past.
An entertaining solve to start the week with nothing too out there.
Thanks to both.
Club site was up and running when I started the puzzle. From ORC to ACQUAINT in 18:09. I lost almost 2 minutes on LOI, ACQUAINT. It didn’t help that I’d put in ACC for account so was trying to solve ACCU-I-T. Have heard of MYRMIDONs, but couldn’t have told you what they were. Thanks setter and Vinyl.