Solving time: 32 minutes
I didn’t find this hard but there were some devious definitions and naughty humour that put me in mind of a certain Sunday Times setter who used to contribute regularly to our discussions in the days when I was starting out at TfTT.
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 | Pallor of one confined by previous head (9) |
| PASTINESS | |
| I (one) contained [confined] by PAST (previous) + NESS (head) | |
| 6 | In this Siberian forest you might catch predator (5) |
| TAIGA | |
| Sounds like [you might catch] “tiger” (predator) | |
| 9 | Time to go and twist a bit? (7) |
| TWIDDLE | |
| T (time), WIDDLE (go – urinate) | |
| 10 | Decide on artist to depict vengeful daughter (7) |
| ELECTRA | |
| ELECT (decide on), RA (artist). Note that ‘on’ belongs with ‘decide’ here, so the usual rule regarding placement in an Across clue doesn’t apply. Electra conspired with her brother to kill their mother. | |
| 11 | Go on foot in a westerly direction (3) |
| YAP | |
| PAY (foot e.g. the bill) reversed [in a westerly direction]. Talk too much. | |
| 12 | Sheet anchor (11) |
| PAPERWEIGHT | |
| Cryptic with reference to sheets of paper. ‘Sheet anchor’ is actually a nautical term for a strong anchor for use in an emergency. A clever concise clue. | |
| 14 | Raise charge after a year (6) |
| PARENT | |
| PA (a year – per annum), RENT (charge) | |
| 15 | Abandoning Charlie, crowd heading in the right direction (2,6) |
| ON COURSE | |
| {c}ONCOURSE (crowd) [abandoning Charlie] | |
| 17 | I hear schedule has Frenchman making comeback (8) |
| LISTENER | |
| LIST (schedule), then RENE (Frenchman) reversed [making comeback] | |
| 19 | Gamble on soldier protecting bishop in place of execution (6) |
| GIBBET | |
| GI (soldier) + BET (gamble) containing [protecting] B (bishop). A gibbet was originally a gallows but later it came to mean an upright post with a projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were hung after execution. | |
| 22 | Fellow constituent behind the bar (11) |
| COUNTERPART | |
| COUNTER (bar), PART (constituent) | |
| 23 | This, in Cicero’s day, a sign you’ve had too much to drink? (3) |
| HIC | |
| Two meanings. Cicero was Roman so ‘This, in Cicero’s day’ indicates the Latin word for ‘this’. Oh for the joys of learning to decline the various forms of the word, especially when chanted out loud by a class of 11 year olds – hic, haec, hoc etc. The genitive plural never failed to give rise to sniggers around the classroom: horum, harum, horum. | |
| 25 | Uneasiness of those from Penang, might one say? (7) |
| MALAISE | |
| Sounds like [might one say] “Malays” (those from Penang). I believe Americans pronounce it ‘Maylay’, as did Noël Coward when performing his song Mad Dogs and Englishmen, to scan and to get the internal rhyme:
In the PhilippinesThere are lovely screensTo protect you from the glare.In the Malay StatesThere are hats like platesWhich the Britishers won’t wear.At twelve noonThe natives swoonAnd no further work is done.But mad dogs and EnglishmenGo out in the midday sun. |
|
| 27 | Express demanding sacking of Conservative leader (7) |
| DECLARE | |
| Anagram [sacking] of C (conservative) LEADER. After finishing the puzzle I spent far too long thinking about the parsing here before realising it was an anagram. | |
| 28 | Still around to defend Republican’s effrontery? (5) |
| NERVE | |
| EVEN (still) reversed [around] containing [to defend] R (Republican) | |
| 29 | Individual’s dreadfully insolent gesture at first (9) |
| SINGLETON | |
| Anagram [dreadfully] of INSOLENT G{esture} [at first] | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Shame to have husband caught short (5) |
| PITHY | |
| PITY (shame) containing [to have…caught] H (husband) | |
| 2 | One in charge of light drinker pocketing £1000 (7) |
| SKIPPER | |
| SIPPER (light drinker) containing [pocketing] K (£1000). Another that presented parsing problems as I was considering ‘one in charge of light’ as the definition and wondering if ‘light’ might be a type of boat like a ‘lighter’. | |
| 3 | Doing one’s own thing daily (11) |
| INDEPENDENT | |
| Two meanings – the second being The Independent on-line newspaper. | |
| 4 | Release old film about backbencher? (6) |
| EXEMPT | |
| EX (old), then ET (film) containing [about] MP (backbencher?) | |
| 5 | Wife engaging in extreme bad language (8) |
| SWEARING | |
| W (wife) contained by [engaging in] SEARING (extreme – intense) | |
| 6 | Place for drivers there from time to time (3) |
| TEE | |
| T{h}E{r}E [from time to time]. Our golfing clue of the day. | |
| 7 | A number having wage cut by half in Bury (7) |
| INTEGER | |
| {wa}GE [cut by half] contained by [in] INTER (bury) | |
| 8 | A natter with MP about accommodation (9) |
| APARTMENT | |
| Anagram [about] of A NATTER MP | |
| 13 | Conceited cities gloat appallingly (11) |
| EGOTISTICAL | |
| Anagram [appallingly] of CITIES GLOAT | |
| 14 | Complain anew about English PC (9) |
| POLICEMAN | |
| Anagram [anew] of COMPLAIN containing [about] E (English). Police Constable. | |
| 16 | Perfect advice for a peeping Tom? (8) |
| PEERLESS | |
| PEER LESS (advice for a peeping Tom?) | |
| 18 | One having a row in unfinished part of kitchen (7) |
| SCULLER | |
| SCULLER{y} (part of kitchen) [unfinished] | |
| 20 | How one can learn Times has courage (2,5) |
| BY HEART | |
| BY (times), HEART (courage) | |
| 21 | Pass Chinese academic (4,2) |
| HAND ON | |
| HAN DON (Chinese academic) | |
| 24 | Uncle Andrew keeping off the drugs (5) |
| CLEAN | |
| Hidden in [keeping] {un}CLE AN{drew} | |
| 26 | Leader of Republic deposed, creating anger (3) |
| IRE | |
| {e}IRE (republic) [leader…deposed] | |
Honestly, I don’t like the clue for DECLARE, unless “demands” and “of” can be really deemed parts of the anagrind. Otherwise, what’s it doing there? (I’m being a hardcore Ximenean here.)
In its defence… “demanding” is just a linkword – crosswords demand patience, Def demands WP. And “of” is part of the anagrind, as “sacking” is a noun, like “destruction of”. So each word is doing something.
All else being equal I would prefer a clue without a linkword, but it’s not superfluous and works so well in the surface.
It works so well, that hardly anyone got how the wordplay worked, even if they picked the right word!
At least it’s not in between the anagrind and the anagrist, as I’ve seen that recently too. (Actually, I marked that other, little word as part of the anagrind—giving the setter and editor the benefit of the doubt.)
I said I was presenting a purist position on this.
Is SEARING the same as EXTREME? Seems a bit loose to me. Good fun, and I came in on 17’54” – though once again the SNITCH seems very low. I didn’t think it was that easy. Many thanks.
A DNF after 37 minutes, needing a word search aid to get LOI PARENT, even with all the checkers in place. Had no idea what was going on without the blog. That’s about par for us on the 15 x 15. Aiming for about half the snitch but occasionally needing some help with the last one or two. Pleased to get TWIDDLE rather quickly. Also needed the blog to understand the parsing of DECLARE but we’re making progress. Thanks Jackkt and setter!
Failed on both QC and 15×15. At least with DICTATE I am in good company.
27 minutes, but I hadn’t heard of the Siberian Forest and put TUIGA, for reasons I can’t even begin to understand.
I too alternated between DECLARE and DICTATE, but the former seemed a better synonym for ‘express’.
As a keen student of Asterix in my youth (and more recently) I should not have taken so long to get HIC.
35 mins and a frustrating DNF. Undone by yap where I managed to choose the wrong vowel and declare which I decided was not as attractive as dictate. Mind you that was a lot better than my first thought of Lactate.
Only pleasing aspect was getting Hhand on which was my COD.