I thought this was going to be easy but I got a bit bogged down towards the end and spent ages on the two unchecked letters at 18ac. Other than that final hurdle I had completed the grid in 40 minutes. 3dn is my COD.
* = anagram
Across |
|
---|---|
1 | PATHETIC – B (Bishop) in ‘bathetic’ (such a letdown) is replaced by P (pawn) |
6 | MIASMA – I and S inside MAMA (mother) |
9 | COUPON – COUP (great achievement), ON (working) |
10 |
INTEREST – IN T |
11 | ONLY – As in ‘ONLY child’ and ‘if ONLY…’ (expressing hopeless wish) |
12 | CHESTERTON – CHEST (part of body), TONER*. G K Chesterton is probably best known for his “Father Brown” series of detective stories recently revived by the BBC and put out in the daytime when few were able to see it. Well worthy of a prime-time slot in my opinion. |
14 |
OMELETTE – |
16 | VAIN – A (article) inside VIN (Bordeaux) |
18 | CROP – This double definition was my last one in extending my solving time by at least 10 minutes. One meaning is the stock or handle of a whip, the other is what grazing animals do when they bite off the tops of plants. I didn’t know this second one. |
19 | HARDSHIP – D (daughter) inside HARSH (severe), 1P (very little money) |
21 | EASY DOES IT – (SEASIDE TOY)* |
22 | OPAL – 0,PAL |
24 |
MILL RACE – M |
26 | CHICHI – CHIC (elegant), HI (greeting). I’m not sure I ever knew this means showy and/or pretentious. I think I have always assumed it to mean much the same as its first component. |
27 | CYMBAL – Sounds like “symbol” (representative) |
28 |
SOLITARY – SO (very), LIT |
Down |
|
2 | ACORN – A, CORN (hard growth) |
3 | HAPPY-CLAPPY – HAPPY (slightly drunk), CLAPPY (a bit diseased!) |
4 | TENACITY – NET (free of tax – reversed), A, CITY (Geneva). I thought that ‘net’ was after tax rather than free of it, but perhaps I’m being picky. |
5 |
CHINESE WHISPERS – CHINE (backbone), SEW (join), then PER |
6 |
MUTATE – A inside MUTTE |
7 |
AYR – Hidden. I wasted time on the Iranian city HIR |
8 | MUSSOLINI – U (sort of turn) + LOSS (defeat – reversed) inside MIN (short time), I |
13 | REVISIONIST – I, (INVESTOR IS)* |
15 |
MORTALITY – |
17 | PROTOCOL – P (quietly), ROT (rubbish), O (old), COL (army officer) |
20 | NO BALL – NO (drama), B (born), A, LL (couple of pounds) |
23 |
ABHOR – A, H (hard) inside BOR |
25 | LOB – First letters of Lunch Over Barmaid |
Found this hard to get on with at first. But 6ac was my way in. Gradually got there but all the 4-letter answers (ONLY, VAIN, CROP & OPAL) came at a price.
My sympathy to the setter having to clue CHINESE WHISPERS.
LOI … also CROP, which was a hit-and-hope for me, too. A double-rare-def. always strikes me as not quite cricket. But then cricket’s not quite cricket these days.
COD .. ONLY
I enjoyed this far more than yesterday’s which, although I eventually finished I didn’t share others enthusiasm for: I found many of the straight clues too irritating. But then it takes all sorts…
I agree that NET is really after deductions; I didn’t attempt to parse either 5D or 8D just wrote in from definitions and checkers
15D is of course also a mathematical subject of great interest to actuaries and soon every retiring pensioner it would seem. I see great scope for confusion and misrepresentation!
I can’t tell you how pleased I am..
I’m happy with net as before VAT so free of tax seems just about OK.
I’m not convinced that Abhor really works. I thought that A couldn’t be clued as one in the Times daily (as the blog seems to indicate) meaning that A BOR(e) would have to work as one endlessly tedious but surely it should be one tedious endlessly shouldn’t it? There’s no QM to justify anything else.
I couldn’t parse Chinese whispers or Mussolini so thanks for those Jack. Re the latter I was convinced that turn defeat on its head was INIL (one-nil) reversed.
todays link if anyone is interested
jfr
Thank you for clearing it all up in the blog.
Nairobi Wallah
If ever it becomes important to finish it in one sitting, then you must find a mental equivalent of the above. Some here have. But I recommend not to take it that seriously 🙂
Edited at 2014-04-18 04:35 pm (UTC)
I concur with Penfold re 23.
CROP had to fit but didn’t get the second definition.
Favorite clue MIASMA
Wishing all bloggers and solvers – and setters – a Peaceful and Happy Easter. May all your Easter Eggs be ovoid, oviform, ovate …
HAPPY CLAPPY made me smile, but I didn’t really find a COD. Couldn’t be bothered to parse CHINESE WHISPERS either – too much assembly required!
I was slowed by wanting 11ac to be ENVY and by trying (and failing) to parse MUSSOLINI – I eventually abandoned the attempt as the answer couldn’t be anything else. (I’d wanted “short time” to be MO and “defeat on its head” to be I-NIL, and it took me some time after I’d finished before I finally twigged the way the wordplay really worked.)