Times Crossword Championship 2009 – 2nd Qualifier

Author   sotiraPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
No secs, please, we’re skittish – just a reminder that the posting of solving times for qualifying puzzles is frowned upon in this fashionable parlour.

A little easier than most daily fare, with a lot of fairly straightforward charades and containers – meat and drink to the more accomplished solver. But a couple of tricky ones and a trap for the speeding driver. I don’t think much explanation is needed, but I’m sure the regulars will answer any queries.

Puzzle at: Qualifier 2 – no solution visible at time of posting, but the entry date is passed so I guess it’s okay to post this.

Across
1 BACK,FIRE – def. has to be ‘rebound’
5 OFF,SET
10 (w)INNER
11 STRANG(L)ER
12 HYDR(a),OF,OIL
13 SE(C)TS
14 OVER,DUE
16 E,LICIT
18 BERE(F)T
20 M(AGENT)A – AGENT ‘drawn in’ to MA
22 ARGUS – double def. ‘Argos’ a likely trap for anyone who didn’t know either the butterfly or the all-seeing giant, Argus Panoptes
23 BATH,CHA(I)R
25 T(HE’S)AURUS – His/Her Excellency’s
26 O,AS IS
27 RINGER – ‘Spit’, meaning ‘look-a-like’, hidden in “baR IN GERmany”
28 TE(LL)TALE – as in Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart (I suppose the hyphen is optional)

Down
1 B,RIGHT ON – ‘right on’ from ‘trendy’ is neat
2 C(A,NE)D
3 FOR(GOODNESS’)SAKE – def. is ‘Really’
4 R,IS,SOLE
6 FINISHING SCHOOL – ‘going through the whole of’ = ‘finishing’, ‘coach’ is a verb here
7 S,ELECTION
8 THRU,ST – “through American” = ‘thru’, though it doesn’t feel distinctively American these days.
9 GRILL,E – So simple it’s tricky
15 EVER,GREEN
17 L(A,CROSS)E
19 TA,BARD – if you ploughed through the Prologue at school, this probably made you think of Chaucer
20 MATISSE – (as Times)*
21 MA(S)TER
24 AT SEA

5 comments on “Times Crossword Championship 2009 – 2nd Qualifier”

  1. About 25% slower than Q1, mainly from not knowing about the giant or butterfly for certain, and pondering a range of possibilities before picking the right one as the most plausible.

    Otherwise, pretty straightforward.

    1. Odd that, I was 35% faster than Q1.

      Much like yesterday’s condor, this puzzle’s ringer detained me for far too long.

  2. I was 1% faster on this than on Q1.  For some reason I took ages on 1ac (BACKFIRE).

    I didn’t know ARGUS (22ac) was a butterfly; thanks to the Wishbone Ash album, I did know he was a vigilant watcher, but I didn’t know he was a giant – nor, apparently, do the editors of the Oxford Classical Dictionary.  The equation of “faggot” with RISSOLE (4dn) was new to me too.

    The clues were generally neat, with some glaring exceptions.  14ac (OVERDUE) is very weak, as DUE has exactly the same meaning in the wordplay and in its contribution to the answer as defined in the clue.  15dn (EVERGREEN) is even worse on this score.  9dn (GRILLE) and 20dn (MATISSE) are lazy clues with awkward surface readings.

  3. I was also quicker with this than with Q1, I didn’t find any hold-ups; although I didn’t know ARGUS was a butterfly, I’m very familiar with the Greek hundred-eyed watchman.

    STRANG(L)ER must be another crossword cliche. I’ve seen it myself so many times I lost count.

  4. 18 across. Unfortunately, I put in ‘devest’. An archaic variant of ‘divest’, which could mean ‘stripped’ of clothes. Ah well, I got the rest right.

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