Solving time: 22 minutes. I had a problem getting started so began by solving all the 3-letter answers (apart from 2dn with its cross-reference) and started building from there. I was then amazed to find myself racing through it and finishing with 8 minutes to spare on my target time.
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 | Bad-tempered person driving taxi across river (6) |
| CRABBY | |
| CABBY (person driving taxi) containing [across] R (river) | |
| 4 | Voyager’s headless corpse son takes legal action over (8) |
| ODYSSEUS | |
| {b}ODY (corpse) [headless], S (son), then SUES (takes legal action) reversed [over] | |
| 10 | A severe medic in English street closest to where the sun rises (11) |
| EASTERNMOST | |
| A + STERN (severe) + MO (medic) contained by [in] E (English) + ST (street) | |
| 11 | Very easy at first, containing current struggle (3) |
| VIE | |
| V(very} + E{asy} [at first] containing I (current) | |
| 12 | Triathletes initially walk unevenly? Nonsense (7) |
| TWADDLE | |
| T{riathletes} [initially], WADDLE (walk unevenly) | |
| 14 | Noise inhibitor quietly accepted by listeners (7) |
| EARPLUG | |
| P (quietly – music) contained [accepted] by EAR + LUG (listeners) | |
| 15 | Work revising the school map: it’s for examining pupils (14) |
| OPHTHALMOSCOPE | |
| OP (work), then anagram [revising] of THE SCHOOL MAP | |
| 17 | Mineral extractor’s wangle associated with home in China? (6,8) |
| MINING ENGINEER | |
| IN (home) contained by [in] MING (china), then ENGINEER (wangle) | |
| 21 | Tatum, perhaps, works as an expert craftsman (7) |
| ARTISAN | |
| ART (Tatum, perhaps), IS (works as), AN. Possibly largely forgotten these days other than by jazz aficionados Art Tatum (1909-1956) is one of my all-time favourite masters of jazz piano, especially for his contribution to reinventing stride playing and developing it beyond previously known bounds. Just listen and marvel at his exquisite interpretation of the old favourite Tea For Two. |
|
| 22 | Animal environment where volunteers wear special clothing? (7) |
| HABITAT | |
| TA (volunteers – Territorial Army) contained by [wear] HABIT (special clothing) | |
| 23 | Part of circle in rescue vessel, do we hear? (3) |
| ARC | |
| Sounds like [we hear] “ark” (rescue vessel – Noah’s) | |
| 24 | Clarify opposition viewpoint abandoned by Society (11) |
| DISENTANGLE | |
| DIS{s}ENT (opposition) + ANGLE (viewpoint) [abandoned by Society – s] | |
| 26 | Sick man digesting lines about native of ancient region (8) |
| ILLYRIAN | |
| ILL (sick) + IAN (man) containing [digesting] RY (railway lines) reversed [about] | |
| 27 | Handsome youth lives by a Scottish river (6) |
| ADONIS | |
| A, DON (Scottish river), IS (lives) | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Brainchild of Theban king protecting a palmlike plant (8) |
| CREATION | |
| CREON (Theban king) containing [protecting] A + TI (palmlike plant). Fortunately the answer was biffable with help from checkers because the wordplay was completely lost on me. If ever I knew of the King I had long-forgotten him, and the plant is unknown to the Oxford dictionaries. Chambers has ‘ti’ as a plant without reference to palms, but that’s to be found in Collins. | |
| 2 | Jenny, perhaps, in the role of 16 at last (3) |
| ASS | |
| AS (in the role of), {oratres}S (16 Down) [at last]. Another biff. Another less than satisfactory clue, I feel. The equivalent name for a male donkey is a Jack. | |
| 3 | Range of staple food heading for this hotel (7) |
| BREADTH | |
| BREAD (staple food), T{his} [heading for…], H (hotel) | |
| 5 | Lorna’s personal obsession — act independently (2,4,3,5) |
| DO ONES OWN THING | |
| DOONE’S (Lorna’s), OWN (personal), THING (obsession). Reference the novel by RD Blackmore. | |
| 6 | Like a skit thus involving girl from the south (7) |
| SATIRIC | |
| SIC (thus – Latin) containing [involving] RITA (girl) reversed [from the south] | |
| 7 | Wrapping of pet novel unexpectedly inspiring soldiers (11) |
| ENVELOPMENT | |
| Anagram [unexpectedly] of PET NOVEL containing [inspiring] MEN (soldiers) | |
| 8 | Ride on runners? It takes a lot of skill! (6) |
| SLEIGH | |
| SLEIGH{t} (skill) [a lot of…]. Sleight of hand, for example. | |
| 9 | News church rejected: it’s unusual article for the illuminati (14) |
| INTELLIGENTSIA | |
| INTELLIGEN{ce} (news) [church – CE – rejected], anagram [unusual] of IT‘S, then A (article) | |
| 13 | Like non-believers at robbery, originally in California (11) |
| ATHEISTICAL | |
| AT, HEIST (robbery), I{n}[originally], CAL (California) | |
| 16 | Speaker’s old hair feature artist captured (8) |
| ORATRESS | |
| O (old) + TRESS (hair feature) with RA (artist] contained [captured]. I wonder what those who objected to ‘authoress’ last week will make of this. I’d have expected ‘oratrix’ and now find that’s an alternative. | |
| 18 | Popular drink, we’re told, for one in the know (7) |
| INSIDER | |
| IN (popular), then SIDER sounds like [we’re told] “cider” (drink) | |
| 19 | Entering fashionable thoroughfare, stole motor (7) |
| INBOARD | |
| BOA (stole) contained by [entering] IN (fashionable) + RD (thoroughfare) | |
| 20 | Rubbish dropped on French friend’s floor-covering (6) |
| TATAMI | |
| TAT (rubbish), AMI (French friend). I thought this word was new to me when it appeared in March, but I see I previously blogged it in a QC last October. | |
| 25 | Member of sporting party possibly one trained on the range? (3) |
| GUN | |
| Two not unconnected meanings, a person firing it and the weapon itself. | |
Just a belated fort……ORATRESS sounds to me like an injunction from the old Latin Mass, Orate, Fratres: Let us pray!
Raced through it, but like many others, fell into the SLEDGE bear trap. Oh well – tomorrow is another day.
A personal best for me by a huge margin at 17:17 thanks mainly to a solid classical education and many biffable clues. (I’m usually in the 45 min-hour territory.) FOI CABBY and worked my way round with nothing taking particularly long. Thanks to the setter and Jack.
I had a different parsing for 19d, which was IN (fashionable) BOULEVARD (thoroughfare) without the ULEV (ultra low emission vehicle – motor) ?
I had to check 20d as NHO Tatami. I thought also of Papami which fits the wordplay (but which I’d also NHO). There are probably others which I didn’t think of! Difficult moral dilemma – guess and risk getting the dreaded pink squares, or checking and getting technical DNF.
Well, with this one, I admit to checking the top of the printout to make sure I wasn’t doing the Quickie by mistake! The easiest for months, and so much more on my wavelength than yesterday’s! Probably a PB but I don’t time myself (it would be too embarrassing). However, it was around the 30 min mark, as I remember checking the clock a while before I started. Basically began at the top and worked my way down, with LOI DISENTANGLE (parsed subsequently – clever). The only NHO was the plant, but I knew the king was either Crion or Creon, so CREATION was assumed.
Off to the Lakes for a wedding tomorrow, so the solving will have to wait until I’m around a printer again or be attempted on a tablet.