Solving time: 20 minutes
My PB is somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes and it’s vary rarely I visit that territory but I achieved it both yesterday and today. The puzzle didn’t seem especially easy as I worked through it but it all just gradually fell into place. I was unaware of any obscurities here but possibly there are some which I happened to know.
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 | Strange how Humpty Dumpty ended up (3,3,4) |
| OFF THE WALL | |
| The main definition is followed by a cryptic hint with reference to the nursery rhyme | |
| 7 | Vital Kremlin embraces dialogue (4) |
| TALK | |
| Hidden in [embraces] {vi}TAL K{remlin} | |
| 9 | Architect catching large fish (8) |
| FLOUNDER | |
| FOUNDER (architect) containing [catching] L (large) | |
| 10 | Intended one to pay for losing knight (6) |
| FIANCÉ | |
| FI{n}ANCE (pay for) [losing knight – n] | |
| 11 | Request with regard to investing £1000 (3,3) |
| ASK FOR | |
| AS FOR (with regard to) containing [investing] K (£1000) | |
| 13 | Reportedly gave up after former wife eclipsed (8) |
| EXCEEDED | |
| EX (former wife), CEEDED sounds like [reportedly] “ceded” (gave up) | |
| 14 | In favour of authorities restraining university press (6,6) |
| FOURTH ESTATE | |
| FOR (in favour of) + THE STATE (authorities) containing [restraining] U (university). First estate, the clergy; second estate, the nobility; third estate, the commoners; fourth estate, the press. The first three date from the French revolution but the fourth was added later. | |
| 17 | Way in which one might pay for treatment? (6,6) |
| HARLEY STREET | |
| Cryptic with reference to the street (way) in Marylebone occupied principally by expensive private medical practitioners. | |
| 20 | Rancour of nurses so absurd (8) |
| SOURNESS | |
| Anagram [absurd] of NURSES SO | |
| 21 | Me and my dog? (6) |
| SETTER | |
| Two meanings | |
| 22 | Extraordinary escape (3,3) |
| WAY OUT | |
| Two meanings, the first in similar territory to 1ac | |
| 23 | Regret returning with sailors to get this train (8) |
| EUROSTAR | |
| RUE (regret) reversed [returning], OS + TAR (sailors – Ordinary Seaman). This is the high-speed passenger train service that operates through the Chunnel. | |
| 25 | Guys who make you laugh? (2-2) |
| HE-HE | |
| HE + HE (guys) | |
| 26 | Director of show starring me dancing (10) |
| RINGMASTER | |
| Anagram [dancing] of STARRING ME | |
| Down |
|
| 2 | Rest after busy period (4,4) |
| FULL STOP | |
| FULL (busy – I have a full/busy day ahead of me), STOP (rest). ‘Period’ is of course American for ‘full stop’. | |
| 3 | Leading character in Troy, as often written by Homer? (3) |
| TAU | |
| TAU = T{roy} [leading character] in the Greek alphabet [as often written by Homer] | |
| 4 | “Duck!” woman cried out (5) |
| EIDER | |
| Sounds like [cried out] “Ida” (woman). I wonder if younger generations know of this duck since eiderdowns, which used to be on nearly every bed, fell out of fashion. | |
| 5 | Bald Cockney is so oppressive (7) |
| AIRLESS | |
| {h}AIRLESS (bald) [Cockney] | |
| 6 | Biography about girl: lesson for aspiring artist? (4,5) |
| LIFE CLASS | |
| LIFE (biography), C (about – circa), LASS (girl) | |
| 7 | Doctor detects rare formula known only to a few (5,6) |
| TRADE SECRET | |
| Anagram [doctor] of DETECTS RARE. The clue might have benefited from a question mark. |
|
| 8 | Dirty old man having look around church (6) |
| LECHER | |
| LEER (look) containing [around] CH (church) | |
| 12 | Two extras to add to that (11) |
| FURTHERMORE | |
| FURTHER + MORE (two extras). I thought at first this was going to be a reference to extra runs in cricket. | |
| 15 | A type of ant, I gather (9) |
| HARVESTER | |
| Two meanings, not unrelated | |
| 16 | Honour suffering of European veteran (8) |
| VENERATE | |
| Anagram [suffering] of E (European) + VETERAN | |
| 18 | English getting behind in Japan perhaps (7) |
| EASTERN | |
| E (English), ASTERN (behind a ship) | |
| 19 | Gypsy coming back with beer and spirits (6) |
| MORALE | |
| ROM (gypsy) reversed [coming back], ALE (beer) | |
| 21 | Republican at heart of fraud? Get away! (5) |
| SCRAM | |
| R (Republican) in the middle of [at heart of] SCAM (fraud) | |
| 24 | Family member from India on board? (3) |
| SIS | |
| I (India – NATO alphabet) contained by [on board] SS – Steam Ship | |
45:59
I occasionally venture up from the quick cryptic if the snitch shows a score under 75 but this was the first time I’ve actually completed the grown-ups crossword. Didn’t quite parse LOI MORALE, but I’ll take it anyway.
About 12 minutes (I do it in the paper so it’s not timed), although last night I did one from December 2017 on the club site which was 11 minutes something- which is probably my pb- so this would be very close. Took me a bit of convincing of EUROSTAR until I saw OS as the second sailor. Thanks as ever to setter and blogger.
A PB by one minute. 29 mins. First one ever completed in under half an hour.
Easy. Too easy. Something’s brewing. Prepare for the beast. They’ve got to hit us with something hard now. 12’30”
10.22 which is my second fastest time.
QCish but none the worse for that.
FULL STOP was good
Thanks all
Was hoping for a rare sub-20 but like many others was stymied by a catastrophic lack of morale. 24 mins.
DNF. Could not get past entering ” get out” for 22ac Therefore never got morale .Even so the word for gypsy is surely Roma and not Rom ! Not pleased since I knocked off the rest of the puzzle very quickly.
As Invariant above, I exceeded my expectations time-wise on this (without looking at the clock), but for reasons best left unknown I was looking for an architect at 9a and convinced myself I hadn’t heard of him! Which of course made harder work of TAU ( of which I had, distantly, heard). Raced through the rest with hardly a hesitation (apart from 25a, which was a bit weak, and had a decidedly Bunter-sequence feel to it). Not unhappy with two question marks only.