Time: 13:30
Music: Keith Jarrett, Fort Yawul
I hope none of our usual solvers find any difficulty here; in fact, I would encourage those who usually stick to the Quickie to give this one a go. Even if you don’t finish, there are lots of easy clues to get started. Experienced solvers will be going for a personal best.
I did think that the quality of the puzzle was only moderate, with some looseness here and there. “This can only be a crossword clue” applies to some of the offerings, but the art of making a clue sound completely natural is not easily achieved. The vagrant with the case of dengue, and the idiot with the surprised expression, are a bit clunky. I did like the colonel on board and the cryptic setter turning in his grave.
And you?
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Makes new recording of Plant’s backing band from Georgia (9) |
| REMASTERS – R.E.M. +ASTER’S. The literal is inaccurate; you can make a new record by remastering the original tapes, but not a new recording. | |
| 6 | Domicile lacking contents and gracious furnishings? (5) |
| DECOR – D[omicil]E + COR. | |
| 9 | Briefly tense, faced with angry rhinos (2,5) |
| IN SHORT – Anagram of RHINOS + T. | |
| 10 | Herb found over in Parsonage Road (7) |
| OREGANO – Backwards hidden in [Pars]ONAGE RO[ad]. | |
| 11 | Daringly unconventional, treated a vagrant with case of dengue (5-5) |
| AVANT-GARDE – Anagram of A VAGRANT + D[engu]E. | |
| 12 | Filthy place ultimately became eyesore (4) |
| STYE – STY + [plac]E, a bit of a chestnut. | |
| 14 | European in exotic land is loaded (5) |
| LADEN – E in anagram of LAND. | |
| 15 | Whine of siren possibly detaining boat, short of time (9) |
| BELLYACHE – BELL(YACH[t])E. | |
| 16 | Tesla, perhaps last of many in stock (9) |
| INVENTORY – INVENTOR + [man]Y. | |
| 18 | Understood one is bound by discretion (5) |
| TACIT – TAC(I)T. Another chestnut. | |
| 20 | Animal sanctuary in County Tyrone evacuated (4) |
| COTE – CO + T[yron]E. | |
| 21 | Broadcaster and poet close to having romp (10) |
| SKYLARKING – SKY + LARKIN + [havin]G. | |
| 25 | Our kid intermittently absent following chill in nostril? (7) |
| ORIFICE – O[u]R [k]I[d] + F + ICE, where definition by example is indicated by the question mark. | |
| 26 | Mean rugby player with huge energy (7) |
| PROPOSE – PROP + O/S + E. | |
| 27 | Greeting great suffering with love (5) |
| HELLO – HELL + O. | |
| 28 | Fluff on clothing and carpet (5,4) |
| DRESS DOWN – DRESS for clothing + DOWN for fluff. | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hairdresser getting educated about American Indian food (5) |
| RAITA – R(A)ITA, from a movie that is not quite as popular as E.T. among setters. | |
| 2 | Verbally summoned colonel on board (7) |
| MUSTARD – Sounds like MUSTERED. The colonel is in Cluedo in the UK and Clue in the US. | |
| 3 | Baker’s fat and becoming less tall (10) |
| SHORTENING – Double definition, surprising not seen before. | |
| 4 | In Essex, trainer bit player (5) |
| EXTRA – Hidden in [Ess]EX TRA[in]. | |
| 5 | Rowdy pals destroyed fencing (9) |
| SWORDPLAY – Anagram of ROWDY PALS. | |
| 6 | Passes on every second letter from advisers (4) |
| DIES – [a]D[v]I[s]E[r]S. | |
| 7 | In turmoil, companion starts to avoid obnoxious jerk (7) |
| CHAOTIC – C.H. + A[void] O[bnoxious] + TIC. | |
| 8 | President massaged lover’s toe (9) |
| ROOSEVELT – Anagram of LOVER’S TOE. Probably more suitable for Harding. | |
| 13 | Cryptic setter’s beginning to turn in grave (10) |
| MYSTERIOUS – MY + S(T[urn])ERIOUS. | |
| 14 | Left at home with idiot wearing surprised expression and dhoti? (9) |
| LOINCLOTH – L + O(IN + CLOT)H. | |
| 15 | Dope and Scotch on top of beer (9) |
| BLOCKHEAD – BLOCK + HEAD. Scotch usually means kill, not just block. | |
| 17 | Invective from learner driver stuck behind six musicians (7) |
| VITRIOL – VI + TRIO + L, a more sophisticated construction. | |
| 19 | Who benefits from youngster pinching current Beatle’s wife? (3,4) |
| CUI BONO – CU(I)B + ONO. | |
| 22 | Gradual decline of northern nomads reported (5) |
| LAPSE – Sounds like LAPPS. Not necessarily gradual. | |
| 23 | Leaders refused to agree on common land (5) |
| GREEN – [a]GREE [o]N. | |
| 24 | Boozer and wife Nora both half-cut (4) |
| WINO – WI[fe] NO[ra]. | |
Yeah, I had the same thought about “Scotch.” I didn’t mind an easy one tonight
I always think of Macbeth’s “We have scotched the snake, not killed it”.
21:06
DNK Rita was a hairdresser. I biffed REMASTERS, not being able to parse the clue. The setter likes gutting words to leave the initial and final letters: 6ac, 11ac, 20ac. ‘Case of …’ is getting a bit chestnutty.
You have to think of the 80s film ‘Educating Rita’, with Julie Walters (a hairdresser) and Michael Caine.
I assumed (from ‘educated’) that it was that film, which I’ve never seen; as I said, I didn’t know she was a hairdresser.
29 minutes. No problems with ‘scotch’ as in ‘scotch a rumour’ – put a stop to / block it. I knew ‘dove cote’ as a place where the birds roost but hadn’t thought of it as a sanctuary until today. CUI BONO from wordplay on trust.
I see that now… “to block with a chock”… what’s a chock? Ha
Chocks away!
21.50, I’m guessing Rita was from Alfie and assuming R.E.M. is from Georgia. As GK goes I think that is kinda niche and hope, given the number of US bands and the number of US states, it doesn’t catch on. But mostly fairly straightforward, thank you V.
From One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below):
Your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
MYSTERIOUS and dark
Easy Monday, which suited me as I had lots to do. Didn’t know CUI BONO. Nearly everything else was a write-in from the literal. 3d reminded me of the song ‘Short’nin’ Bread’. I wonder if this standard will continue for the rest of the week.
Thanks V and setter.
28 mins and pretty straightforward. Last three all went in together, BLOCKHEAD, BELLYACHE & MYSTERIOUS. Agree re the comments on BLOCK.
I liked SKYLARKING.
Thanks V and setter.
9.30
A gentle Bank Holiday offering, with plenty of amusing clues.
“Susan’s just my real name, but I’m not a Susan anymore. I changed my name to Rita, you know, after Rita Mae Brown.”
LOI GREEN
COD RAITA
20 minutes but felt it should have been quicker. Led astray in search of various forms of fencing by a glimpse of pal in the anagram fodder, don’t think I’ve seen SWORDPLAY previously but it seems so obvious now I can’t believe no setter has been down that route before. Another who has not previously thought of COTE in that sense.
Thanks to vinyl1 and a kindly setter.
About 20 minutes.
– Liked the misdirection of 1a, which had me trying to fit some combination of Led Zep into the answer (though it’d be wrong to describe them as Robert Plant’s backing band!) before I separated the clue differently, remembered that R.E.M. are from Athens, Georgia and got REMASTERS
– Didn’t know SHORTENING as baker’s fat
– Nearly invented LINOCLOTH, but luckily though of LOINCLOTH before entering it
Thanks vinyl and setter.
FOI Stye
LOI Shortening
COD Swordplay
Liked this, a gentle romp for a Monday. I took it on trust that REM were from Georgia – who knew Tbilisi was such a happening place? – and that Rita was a hairdresser, though I have seen the film.
If you remaster the original recording, don’t you end up with a new recording?
STYE is STY + (becam)E.
Nothing new is recorded though, as that might risk substantially altering the original and breaching the copyright.
19 minutes. Not too difficult but with enough unknowns and uncertainties (eg that R.E.M. came from Georgia and never remembering the names of the Cluedo characters) to slow me down. Happy to have one which was a bit gentler than most here (and elsewhere) recently.
20.07, off the pace, with no early hits in the NW corner, even though RAITA is a standard Indian food in these parts. I left parsing it to the end, when I was educated about the profession of Michael Caine’s mature student. That added to the impression that this puzzle contained some unusual GK: I’ve seen REM clued just as a group before, but that they came from Georgia merely side tracked this solver, as did Robert Plant (naughty capital that). I suppose Yoko is the obvious Beatle’s wife, but it didn’t help that Bono didn’t, as far as I know, marry Ringo. And is The Times still in the same stable as Sky? Is the crossword contractually obliged to remind us occasionally of their existence? Add the Colonel and a President from an age which seems another universe away, and us oldies are I suppose being favoured. But then why wasn’t Ian Dury refenced: it would have scotched the scotch debate.
Stay cool, everyone.
I too wanted sex and drugs and rock-n-roll to get a mention there…
I didn’t share our esteemed blogger’s view of the facility of the puzzle, although I finished in 11’31”. Hairdresser, Georgia (and Cluedo) are perhaps stretching GK, and the first two are distractors. I didn’t know the meaning of SHORTENING either.
I will be staying indoors, or always in the shade, today.
Thanks vinyl and setter.
I’m losing my religion here, or at least my identity as Bolton Wanderer as commenter. I’m let in but then not recognised. It’ s too sunny to waste time playing computers, but it’s not the way to be treated after the joy of the play offs yesterday. PROPOSE to mean MEAN? Otherwise no problems. COD to SKYLARKING. Thank you V and setter.
What do you mean / propose to do about it?
Out and about for half term on my phone so no accurate time but felt this would have been quick.
Didn’t know Rita was a hairdresser but had heard of but not watched the film. Couldn’t parse my LOI REMASTERS I think my head got stuck on Led Zepplin and the abbreviation for Georgia.
Enjoyed a number of smooth surfaces with the simple COTE COD.
Thanks blogger and setter.
A question for anyone else who solves on the app- has it stopped saving your progress if you click out?
For me no, not on the Crossword. But it does on the Polygon and Lexica.
23.05
A fairly straightforward puzzle, very welcome on a sweltering day. I found the playfulness/ looseness of some of the clues slightly irritating but that’s probably the heat. I did like MUSTARD and CUI BONO
Thanks to Vinyl and the setter. Congrats to Bolton Wanderers. – a “proper” club that I’ve always had a soft spot for.
Hah! I got all of Bolton Wanderers autographs, including that of Billy Wright, when they stayed in the same hotel back in 1955.
Managed crossword fairly quickly, but there were some sticky ones – got thrown by the Led Zeppelin reference, and, having taken inventories in the past I don’t see it as a synonym for ‘in stock’. Have heard of a dovecot, but not a cote as an animal sanctuary. FOI stye, LOI cote, COD skylarking. Thanks Vinyl and setter.
21:39. Yes, the top half was a doddle and on course for a PB but the bottom was a different matter.
FOI and COD to REMASTERS being a big fan of the boys from Athens, GA. Ditto the wonderful Educating Rita.
I struggled with the placing of OH in LOINCLOTH, Tesla not being EV given the V, didn’t parse BLOCKHEAD and having no Latin would have spelt CUI with a Q. I have an embarrassing memory of not knowing who Larkin was on the day he died. I do now but it still took a while.
A game of two halves. Thanks to setter and vinyl.
I found this tricker than usual for a Monday. 54:08 and an aid needed to unblock BLOCKHEAD, and to find a six-letter poet ending in -IN. Thanks Chambers Crossword Dictionary.
NHO COTE, but putting “dove” on it makes it obvious. It’s a mid market restaurant chain around here.
When Ghandi presented the King with a piece of handloomed cloth, Queen Mary refused to accept it, thinking it was one of his LOINCLOTHs.
Had QUI BONO at first, but then remembered my Latin. Quibus, quibus, quibus.
7:18. No problems today and lots of biffing. I didn’t know where REM were from or Rita’s profession, but I didn’t need to.
A remaster is a new recording of the material on the original tapes, seems fine to me.
18:40
Pretty smooth completion bar the last two PROPOSE and LAPSE – I don’t follow rugby (played and hated at school) and so, it was some time before I remembered PROP. The P made 22d much easier. Pleased with CUI BONO – it’s come up here before, I’m sure, but wouldn’t have remembered it off the bat. And no, though I saw Educating Rita perhaps thirty years ago, I’d forgotten that she was a hairdresser.
Thanks V and setter
11:50
COD: MUSTARD
Thanks to vinyl and our setter.
24:18
A fast start, then scotched by BLOCKHEAD.
MYSTERIOUS and BELLYACHE were my last two in.
Thanks Vinyl and setter
Raced through the top half, but slowed down considerably down below. A very enjoyable puzzle though. From EXTRA and AVANT GARDE, to MYSTERIOUS and GREEN in 18:15. Thanks setter and Vinyl.
10:30. A fun puzzle with some amusing surfaces. Another who DNK Rita was a hairdresser, but then if I have see the film it was over 40 years since I did. Favourite clues today include DRESS DOWN, ROOSEVELT, LOINCLOTH, MYSTERIOUS, GREEN and WINO. Thank-you Vinyl and setter.
DNF with the NHO CUI BONO which I didn’t get from wordplay. As others have said, I felt there was some stretching here, though I knew REM came from Athens (as did the B52s) so that was a write in. Spent a long time on BELLYACHE trying to drag up my scant knowledge of Greek figures esp any with the presumed “y-che” ending. The B from (the slightly off) BLOCKHEAD eventually put me right. Downhill from here I suppose given everyone else found this simples.
Thanks Vinyl and setter
No real problems today – 18 mins. Held up very briefly by COTE, but dovecote and sheepcote swung it for me. I quite often solve this puzzle in our local COTE. Thanks Blogger for explaining REMASTERS and GREEN. First in was WINO and last BELLYACHE (which caught me out several weeks ago). Favourite three clues: to STYE, DRESS DOWN and SHORTENING. Thanks Setter and Blogger.
My fastest since my three sub tens in a month period last year so I dont care that I totaly failed to parse cui bono. Thanks all.
Being a bit of a pendant, I parsed 12a as; Filthy place (STY)+ E( ultimately becamE).
Still, fast for me @ 16:45 whilst trying to combat the heat with a few pints of lager.🙂
Quite right re 12ac! I had that too.
I think on the easier ones especially many people (like me) just skim over the blogger’s parsings.
Far too hot in the garden, so I decided to have a stab at the 15×15. My joy at an eventual completion only lasted until I saw the Snitch – I thought it would be quite a bit higher than 62, but then I suppose refusing to check the spelling of the vho Raita/Riata didn’t exactly speed the solve along.
Blockhead and Bellyache in the SE held out until almost the end, with the surface of Mysterious making it my pick. Invariant
Well, it felt easy to start with, but I got very bogged down with the SE corner.
COD to MUSTARD
An all correct start to the week.
Thanks Vinyl and Setter
A refugee here from the QC following a hint this worth a try… Surprised to finish in 80 minutes .
FOI 10a Oregano
LOI 15d Blockhead
COD 14d Loincloth.
Generally I find the 15×15 a big step up from the QC so I don’t expect to be so soon!
13 mins on the beach. I thought that the Masters in REMASTERS related to the annual golf tournament in Georgia, but couldn’t make sense of the rest of the clue. Still can’t, actually. Are we really supposed to know that REM come from Georgia?
Easy enough but I know my 17’15” should have been quicker. We have — I feel pretty sure — had the GEORGIAN BAND = REM thing before. Not that I remembered it. SKYLARKING brings back the Reggae song of that name by Horace Andy. Many thanks.
CUI BONO from wordplay, but otherwise pretty straightforward. Wasn’t entirely sure about COTE, but figured it was more likely than CYTE! Didn’t think of Dovecote. Liked MYSTERIOUS most.
26 minutes – I didnt find this hard but far off any kind of pb…