Times Crossword Championship 2009 – 1st Qualifier

Author   yfyapPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

This first qualifier has about the same degree of difficulty as a normal weekday Times puzzle; in fact, a tad on the easy side. I found more difficulty reading the 6 point font than solving the clues. On the whole, quite entertaining but not too challenging.

 

ACROSS

1 STAG BEETLE Cha of STAG (excluding women) BEETLE (project) vi to jut, to overhang; to scurry; adj (always applied to brows) overhanging, scowling

6 TARN Cha of TAR (Jack Tar, sailor) & N (new)

9 COEXIST Insertion of EX I (former partner, one) in COST (sacrifice)

1 0 GREMLIN Kremlin (Russian government) with first letter replaced by G

12 STAGECRAFT Allusion to HMS Pinafore, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan

13 APT Cha of A PT (point)

15 HARROW dd

16 PILASTER Insertion of I (one) in PLASTER (rendering)

18 TALK SHOP TALK (Odd letters of team like) SH (quiet) OP (work)

20 COUPLE Insertion of L (learner or new driver) in COUPE (car)

23 URN BURN (stream) minus B (British)

24 GREEN SALAD GREENS (vegetables) A LAD (boy) I like the def

26 TRUSSED Homophone of TRUST (credit) to fix for cooking, as with a skewer

27 THISTLE *(L it’s the)

28 REDO Rev of ODE (poem) R (right)

29 MECHANICAL *(Michael can)

 

DOWN

1 SACK dd

2 ABETTER Cha of A & BETTER (superior)

3 BRIDGE OF SIGHS Bridge (game) OF SIGHS (sounds like of size) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_sighs

4 ENTICE Cha of E (last letter of referee) NT (New Testament, books) ICE (reserve) Lovely misleading surface disguising books as a verb

5 LOG CABIN Cha of LOG (record) CAB IN (taxi’s arrival) This must be a reference to Abraham Lincoln’s humble beginning

7 AT LEAST Insertion of E (European) in AT LAST (eventually)

8 NON-STARTER *(entrant so r)

11 EXTRAPOLATION Extra (further) *(optional)

14 SHOT-PUTTER SHOT (try) PUTTER (golf club used on the green) Another good def that gets a chuckle

17 BONE IDLE ha

19 LANGUID *(gun I lad)

21 PLASTIC Insertion of LAST (finally) in PIC (film)

22 SNATCH Insertion of NAT (rev of TAN, beat) in SCH (school)

25 REEL Cha of R (river) EEL (fish)

Key to abbreviations
dd = double definition
dud = duplicate definition
tichy = tongue-in-cheek type
cd = cryptic definition
rev = reversed or reversal
ins = insertion
cha = charade
ha = hidden answer
*(FODDER) = anagram

8 comments on “Times Crossword Championship 2009 – 1st Qualifier”

  1. Very little else to say – a straightforward opener in the usual Qualifying puzzle style. All the clues I really liked get a mention above. Punting around on wiki confirmed a vague memory that one of New York’s historic prisons also had a “bridge of sighs”.
  2. When I read this I had a sudden panic that I was missing the second qualifier.. but it does not come out until 23rd April.

    The Club Monthly has arrived today on schedule, however 🙂

  3. Really pretty easy, but I don’t think I’ll be making the trip to Cheltenham (for more than the obvious reason).

    I think there is also a bridge of sighs across a small street in Oxford (Hertford perhaps). Mark would know.

    1. Both Oxford and Cambridge have a “Bridge of Sighs”, though the naming is fairly tenuous. The Oxford one looks much more like the Rialto bridge, and the Cambridge one is just a covered bridge. Neither connects with a prison!

      Wiki’s disambiguation page turned up a UK prison-related one, in Chester.

  4. Pretty straightforward, not a blindingly quick time from me but good enough to send my entry in with. I see noone else has mentioned a time so I won’t say what mine was in case Peter wants it that way. I was in the unlucky 26th place in last year’s heat, so my ambition is to improve on that by at least one (if not 14).

    Already booked my hotel for the weekend over a month ago – the main reason for going is the social occasion. I assume the pub and the curry will be the same as usual on the Saturday night, and the usual procession from campus to pub after qualifying and final.

    1. I’m playing things very safe, so we’re still keeping shtum about qualifier times.

      I’m sure xwd/pub/curry traditions will be maintained.

  5. As a relative newcomer who fantasizes about participating one day in the Championship, I am curious to know what solving time one ought to target before daring to post an entry (and the £15!).
    1. To avoid wasting money, a fact worth knowing is that a year or two ago it was stated that everyone sending a correct qualifier with a time under 30 minutes got in.

      If you want an indication of the standard among those who turn up, see similar discussion last week, in the comments at http://community.livejournal.com/times_xwd_times/387082.html – which includes a link to my own unofficial page about the championships. You can also find reports on previous championships on thios blog – use the “view all archives” link on the right and check the first or second Sunday in October.

Comments are closed.