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. | |
I knew MYRMIDON but couldn’t remember what it meant (so checked after it all went green). As with today’s QC, I felt a PB slipped through the fingers. This is because I completed this in 26:55 (PB is 17 or so), but that included a major interruption from a colleague, which I’m sure amounted to more than 10 minutes. Ah well, I’ll never know.
Very frustrating as I solved correctly and without typos today but as I had to use the non-club portal, my answers were wiped as soon as I closed the page as is usually the case unless I use the club link, no doubt a local system failing – if not pilot error.
The only answers that delayed me were IRE which I biffed as I could see no alternative, MYRMIDON which I had to convince myself I had heard of in some unknown context and IRON AGE where, again I thought I had encountered the seaweed before somewhere.
Thanks to setter and vinyl1.
23:51
MARTINMAS has resulted in my having “The Wife of Ushers Well” stuck as an earworm.
PERVERSION was my LOI.
Thanks Vinyl and setter
Always dissappointed not to finish especially when flying all the way to 28 ac. Memo to self “biff and hope”.
Didn’t do as well as I should have, considering this was a Monday puzzle: had the same number of mistakes as usual (not telling!) NHO MYRMIDON (had forgotten MY for GOSH!) but understood that an anagram of Nimrod was needed; and completely stuffed up the SW corner by triumphantly entering RICHARDSON (thinking the actor / composer relationship?). Liked SMATTERING (we’ve had it a couple of times recently) and ACQUAINT.