I needed 40 minutes for all but two clues and then after a further 10 minutes I was getting nowehere so I threw in the towel and resorted to aids. Sometimes you just know that you don’t know an answer and if the wordplay won’t come togther it seems better to cut one’s losses and move on. Generally this was interesting and entertaining though.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | China last to claim victory, symbolically (4) |
| PALM – PAL (china – CRS ‘china plate / mate’), {clai}M [last]. SOED has ‘palm’ as a palm leaf, esp. one used as a symbol of victory or triumph. The Golden Palm, or Palme d’Or, awarded to the winner of the Cannes Film Festival is one example. | |
| 4 | Ordering audit from time to time, no women being involved? (10) |
| ADJUSTMENT – A{u}D{i}T [from time to time] with JUST MEN (no women) contained within [involved] | |
| 9 | Dinosaur‘s decline complete in the vicinity (10) |
| DIPLODOCUS – DIP (decline), DO (complete) contained by [in] LOCUS (vicinity). One of the two clues I failed to solve today. A search through TftT history reveals that I claimed not to know the word in 2009 and more recently in November 2016, but at least on that second occasion I managed to arrive at it because it was plainly clued as an anagram. Today’s clue I feel is not at all helpful to the point of being a little unfair for an uncommon word. ‘DIP / decline’ is fine and ‘DO / complete’ perhaps, but ‘LOCUS / vicinity’ less so, because LOCUS usually indicates an exact place or location whereas ‘vicinity’ is more vague. | |
| 10 | Heading to the back, wander past (4) |
| OVER – {r}OVE (wander) becomes OVER [heading to the back] | |
| 11 | Old sailors on ship prompt to turn criminal (6) |
| SUBORN – SUB (ship), O (old), RN (sailors – Royal Navy). Some contributors in the past have queried whether submarines are ‘boats’ rather than ‘ships’ or ‘warships’. It’s evidently a moot point but not one that I have strong feelings about. | |
| 12 | Wild daisy covering most of area, maybe (1,4,3) |
| I DARE SAY – Anagram [wild] of DAISY containing [covering] ARE{a} [most of] | |
| 14 | Jump, ultimately failing to take the lead (4) |
| STAR – STAR{t} (jump) [ultimately failing] | |
| 15 | Snarling Parisian in stern of boat, Walton’s craft (10) |
| ENTANGLING – EN (in, Parisian), {boa}T [stern], ANGLING (Walton’s craft). My first one in. It’s easy if one happens to know of Izaak Walton’s book The Compleat Angler first published in 1653. I have no interest in fishing and have never read the book but I know of it because it shares its name with a rather fine hotel and restaurant next to the bridge and weir on the Thames at Marlow. | |
| 17 | Impious bishop on island about to engage in affair (10) |
| IRREVERENT – I (island), RR (bishop), RE(about) contained by [to engage in] EVENT (affair) | |
| 20 | Stitch-up / that’s annoyed me (4) |
| DARN – Two meanings | |
| 21 | Brand one lover “short of ecstasy”, taking another (8) |
| FLAMBEAU – FLAM{e} (one lover) [short of ecstasy – E], BEAU (another – lover). Two words for a flaming torch. | |
| 23 | Bees take it from flowers close by, bordering court (6) |
| NECTAR – NEAR (close by) containing [bordering] CT (court) | |
| 24 | Reportedly keeps back vital equipment for tower (4) |
| ROPE – Hidden and reversed [keeps back] in {r}EPOR{tedly}. Not so vital, as most people would prefer to put their trust in a chain or similar metallic device rather than use a rope which is liable to snap. | |
| 25 | Like some curves, deliberately exaggerated (10) |
| HYPERBOLIC – Two meanings | |
| 26 | Converted coaches, not one fitted with silencer? (10) |
| TRANSMUTED – TRA{i}NS (coaches) [not one], MUTED (fitted with silencer) | |
| 27 | Veggie food seaman from East always rejected (4) |
| SOYA – OS (seaman) reversed [from East], AY (always) reversed [rejected]. It’s a little unusual to see separate reversal indicators for adjacent elements of a clue when one would have done, but it improves the surface reading here. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | A religious sect north of river, devoted to queen and her workers? (11) |
| APICULTURAL – A, PI (religious), CULT (sect), URAL (river) with ‘north of’ serving as a positional indicator in a Down clue. I used aids for this unknown word which it seems has never appeared in any Times crosswords (including the Mephisto) since TftT was founded. I saw the ‘bee’ reference immediately and was working along the right lines with wordplay with A PI and URAL, but I thought the fourth letter had to be A (as in apiary, apiarist etc) and that set me on the wrong track. | |
| 3 | Victoria’s first PM providing her capital? (9) |
| MELBOURNE – Two meanings, the second being the state capital of Victoria in Australia. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne was the first Prime Minister of Queen Victoria’s reign, which I must admit I know only because I watched the recent TV dramatisation covering her early years on the throne. [Thanks to the first anon below for pointing out that Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria, and not of the whole country, which is of course Canberra. I’m always muddling that up!] | |
| 4 | Many uncovered poet quite slowly (7) |
| ANDANTE – {m}AN{y} [uncovered], DANTE (poet). Italian musical direction. | |
| 5 | What disillusioned preacher may do for lords and ladies? (4-2-3-6) |
| JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT – A straight definition preceded by a cryptic one. I’d never heard of this but I knew ‘lords and ladies’ as a plant and assumed rightly that the answer would be an alternative name. The cryptic definition, the enumeration and available checkers helped me to arrive at it. It’s also called ‘cuckoopint’. | |
| 6 | America must cut pollution to keep up (7) |
| SUSTAIN – US (America) contained by [must cut] STAIN (pollution) | |
| 7 | Lifts, commonly for high part of building (5) |
| EAVES – {h}EAVES (lifts) [commonly – dropping the ‘h’] | |
| 8 | Dilatory sailor on duty cleared out (5) |
| TARDY – TAR (sailor), D{ut}Y [cleared out] | |
| 13 | Freak may be on trial abroad, after English withdrawal (11) |
| ABNORMALITY – Anagram [abroad] of MAYB{e} ON TRIAL [after English withdrawal] | |
| 16 | Alternative to “ridiculous” one’s put out (9) |
| LUDICROUS – Anagram [alternative to] R{i}DICULOUS [one’s put out]. A somewhat inventive variation on the standard anagram clue with the definition consisting of both anagrind and anagrist. I think we have to say the clue is semi&lit to get round the double duty. | |
| 18 | Second person with false bottom in English town (7) |
| EVESHAM – EVE (second person), SHAM (false) with ‘bottom’ as a positional indicator although it’s really only needed for the surface. I’m not sure how far around the globe this town is known. | |
| 19 | Plastic denture kept for an agreed time (7) |
| TENURED – Anagram [plastic] of DENTURE | |
| 21 | Initial “R” in one’s own writing (5) |
| FIRST – R contained by [in] FIST (one’s own writing) | |
| 22 | I’m surprised to secure record top mark (5) |
| ALPHA – AHA (I’m surprised) contains [to secure] LP (record). Knowing me, knowing you… | |
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