Solving time: 30 minutes. I thought I was heading for a very rare sub-20 minute solve but my last two in, 8dn and 12ac, put paid to that.
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]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
| Across | |
| 1 | Distraught leaders of trade union split trophy (3,2) |
| CUT UP | |
| T{rade} U{nion} [leaders] contained by [split] CUP (trophy) | |
| 4 | Wife devoured judge in bottom section of course (5,4) |
| WATER JUMP | |
| W (wife), ATE (devoured), then J (judge) contained by [in] RUMP (bottom). The surface reading paints a gruesome picture! | |
| 9 | Management give short broadcast, making error (9) |
| OVERSIGHT | |
| Anagram [broadcast] of GIVE SHORT. We seem to have a definition at each end of the clue! | |
| 10 | View workers abandoning block of flats (5) |
| TENET | |
| TENE{men}T (block of flats) [workers – men – abandoning] | |
| 11 | Deny litter producer’s implicated in racket (6) |
| DISOWN | |
| SOW (litter producer – Oink territory) contained by [implicated in] DIN (racket) | |
| 12 | Screen translation‘s just what’s needed in Nice (8) |
| SUBTITLE | |
| IT (just what’s needed) contained by [in] SUBTLE (nice – fine). “That’s it!!”, I thought when I eventually spotted the wordplay. | |
| 14 | What windbags do best? (9) |
| UTTERMOST | |
| UTTER MOST – a cryptic hint relying on alternative spacing precedes the literal. | |
| 16 | They support members and volunteers with typing complaint? (5) |
| TARSI | |
| TA (volunteers – Territorial Army), RSI (typing complaint – Repetitive Strain Injury). Bones of the foot (member). | |
| 17 | Jack‘s last in York church body (5) |
| KNAVE | |
| {Yor}K (last), NAVE (church body – central aisle) | |
| 19 | Sense brief opening — sign on staff (5,4) |
| TENOR CLEF | |
| TENOR (sense), CLEF{t} [brief]. In musical notation clefs are signs placed at the beginning of every stave or staff (the sets of 5 lines on which notes are written) to indicate the pitch of a particular note, and hence of the other notes. They are like the key to a code, ‘clef’ being the French for ‘key’. The treble clef indicates the position of G above middle C, and the bass clef the F below middle C. The other two clefs in common use (tenor and alto) both indicate the position of middle C. The tenor clef is often used in music for cello, and the alto clef for viola. Other instruments are available. | |
| 21 | Old boy’s story involves Conservative block (8) |
| OBSTACLE | |
| OB’S (old boy’s), then TALE (story) contains [involves] C (Conservative) | |
| 22 | Drop stock complaint during trouble (6) |
| ABSEIL | |
| BSE (stock – cattle – complaint) contained by [during] AIL (trouble). ‘Bovine spongiform encephalopathy’, also known as ‘mad cow disease’. | |
| 25 | Excuse individual after jumping bail (5) |
| ALIBI | |
| Anagram [jumping] of BAIL, then 1 (individual – one) | |
| 26 | Elected party chum in Asian peninsula (9) |
| INDOCHINA | |
| IN (elected), DO (party), CHINA (chum – CRS china plate = mate) | |
| 27 | Assembly standards waiving hospital study of intake (9) |
| DIETETICS | |
| DIET (assembly – e.g. of worms), ET{h}ICS (standards) [waiving hospital – h] | |
| 28 | Now and then carpet empty library as befits it? (5) |
| APTLY | |
| {c}A{r}P{e}T [now and then], L{ibrar}Y [empty] | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Could displaced migrant settle in such a dream world? (5-6-4) |
| CLOUD-CUCKOO-LAND | |
| Anagram [displaced] of COULD, then CUCKOO (migrant), LAND (settle). I understand cuckoos don’t all migrate but some of them do to justify the description in the wordplay. | |
| 2 | Hardy girl grabbing Romeo’s hair (5) |
| TRESS | |
| TESS (Thomas Hardy girl – of the d’Urbervilles) containing [grabbing] R (Romeo – NATO alphabet) | |
| 3 | Mail was reduced regularly, primarily from late ’40s? (4-3) |
| POST-WAR | |
| POST (mail), WA{s}[reduced], R{egularly} [primarily] | |
| 4 | Carry on with period (4) |
| WAGE | |
| W (with), AGE (period). As in ‘wage war’. | |
| 5 | Old king repeatedly can start to grouch, showing pique (3-7) |
| TUT-TUTTING | |
| TUT (old king – Tutankhamun) + TUT [repeatedly], TIN (can), G{rouch} [start] | |
| 6 | Knock vale swathed in grass (3-1-3) |
| RAT-A-TAT | |
| TA-TA (vale – Latin for farewell) contained by [swathed in] RAT (grass – informer) | |
| 7 | Weird flat, perhaps, for musician? (9) |
| UNNATURAL | |
| A straight definition and a cryptic hint. More musical notation! The notes A-G are said to be ‘natural’ when not otherwise indicated as sharp or flat for example. The cryptic reading suggests that a flat is therefore ‘unnatural’. | |
| 8 | Feeble female friend absorbing current feature of lyric poetry (8,7) |
| PATHETIC FALLACY | |
| PATHETIC (feeble), F (female), ALLY (friend) containing [absorbing] AC (alternating current). I’d heard of this but had no idea what it means. SOED: the attribution of human emotion or responses to inanimate things or animals, esp. in art and literature. | |
| 13 | Wrong starter missing from film director’s pasta dish (10) |
| TORTELLINI | |
| TORT (wrong – legal), {f}ELLINI (film director) [starter missing]. La Dolce Vita is perhaps his most famous. | |
| 15 | New paintings up on top of steeple come to light (9) |
| TRANSPIRE | |
| N (new) + ART (paintings) reversed [up], then SPIRE (steeple) | |
| 18 | A short time in river Test (7) |
| EXAMINE | |
| A + MIN (short time) contained by [in] EXE (river). The Test is also a river but not the one needed here. | |
| 20 | Novel about airline carrying English cricket club (7) |
| REBECCA | |
| RE (about), then BA (airline – British Airways) containing [carrying] E (English) + CC (cricket club) | |
| 23 | Bull kept by oppressive dictator (5) |
| EDICT | |
| Hidden in [kept by] {oppressiv}E DICT{ator}. As in ‘papal bull’. | |
| 24 | Plans to exclude a date in Italy, once (4) |
| IDES | |
| IDE{a}S (plans) [exclude ‘a’] | |
Still all was forgiven after the delicious TORTELLINI.
Thanks to Jack and the setter.
Edited at 2021-06-01 02:20 pm (UTC)
Thus my crossword skills withered on the vine and had to retire to my local Trat for a bottle of chilled Soave Classico and penne con fungi e tartufo. Met up with an impromptu wedding party for more drinks!
FOI 1ac CUT UP rough!
LOI 23dn EDICT – it didn’t help that I had carelessly shoved in INDONESIA at 26ac! Doh!
COD 22ac ABSEIL
WOD 1dn CLOUD-CUCKOO LAND
Time – pathetic fallacy!
Edited at 2021-06-01 02:46 pm (UTC)
wearing glasses; too close to the camera; chin too far-up; hair covering ears; string of neckwear showing (twice); smiling; and the rest rejected by me as I looked so damned old. When a suitable portrait was forthcoming the photoset could not be released as I don’t use a cell phone. A kind Chinese passerby helped out and then payment of 30yuan became an issue. No cash taken! No PayPal! Only WassupPay!
The current Mrs. Haitch had to come the rescue.
The four identical pics had then to be separated – I don’t usually carry scissors. Eventually an assistant with shears was found and then she took two pics and gave me two back! What! What did I want with two pictures of a sad old man who looked nothing like me!?
Now I have had to surrender my gorgeous old passport and wait for three to four weeks for one that has me looking like the distressed twin of Ronnie Biggs.
And I bet that when I finally get to Heathrow I’ll be detained – because they don’t like the look of my passport photo. Mr. Biggs could you kindly follow me…….
FOI CUT UP
LOI SUBTITLE
COD WATER JUMP
TIME 7:10
No matter, a good puzzle so thank you setter and blogger for explaining why subtitle was right.
Steady solve
UTTERMOST LOI. Not sure if I knew there is this and utmost as well.
Getting the JUMP was also the key to unlocking the RHS
Thanks all