Solving time: 35 minutes
Not a particularly hard puzzle but the clues are interesting and varied in tone and construction so that it was a pleasure to solve and blog it. How did you do?
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 | Incompatible staff given role following appeal (5,5) |
| POLES APART | |
| POLE (staff), SA (sex appeal), PART (role) | |
| 6 | Saccharin oddly dropped as energy drink ingredient (4) |
| ACAI | |
| {s}A{c}C{h}A{r}I{n} [oddly dropped]. The word has come up before, even as recently as this month in a Sunday puzzle, but it’s the first time it has been clued as anything other than a berry or fruit. Collins has: açaí – a berry that grows on palm trees in the Brazilian rainforests. Because it is rich in nutrients, it is used to make energy drinks. | |
| 9 | Leader of Soviet revolt stifles resistance, causing shock (10) |
| SURPRISING | |
| S{oviet} [leader of…] + UPRISING [revolt] contains [stifles] R (resistance) | |
| 10 | Maybe Russian in bar almost drinking litre (4) |
| SLAV | |
| SAV{e} (bar – except) [almost] containing [drinking] L (litre) | |
| 12 | Seeking Parisian in Angola’s capital gobbling sandwiches (12) |
| ENDEAVOURING | |
| EN (Parisian ‘in’), then DEVOURING (gobbling) contains [sandwiches] A{ngola’s} [capital] | |
| 15 | Most stout and claret drained, with partners tucking in (9) |
| CHUBBIEST | |
| HUBBIES (partners) contained by [tucking in] C{lare}T [drained] | |
| 17 | Two kings with large housing areas in African village (5) |
| KRAAL | |
| K+R (two kings) + L (large) containing [housing] A+A (areas) | |
| 18 | Something played in prom breathtakingly (5) |
| OMBRE | |
| Hidden [in] {pr}OM BRE{athtakingly}. I’d heard of this 18th-century card game but have never played it. | |
| 19 | Useless and, for Marx, boring socialist worker, say (9) |
| REDUNDANT | |
| UND (‘and’, for Karl Marx who was a German) contained by [boring] RED (socialist) + ANT (worker, say) | |
| 20 | Dissolute rake seized by school head — odd character! (12) |
| FREAKISHNESS | |
| Anagram [dissolute] of RAKE contained [seized] by FISH (school) + NESS (headland) | |
| 24 | Humorous use of language, not unknown in press (4) |
| IRON | |
| IRON{y} (humorous use of language) [not unknown – y] | |
| 25 | Showed the way job’s secured in design originally (10) |
| SIGNPOSTED | |
| POST (job) contained by [secured in] anagram [originally] of DESIGN | |
| 26 | I’m grateful after unwrapping some yarn, say (4) |
| HANK | |
| {t}HANK{s} (I’m grateful) [after unwrapping]. This is a circular loop of yarn or thread etc, sometimes of a specific length. | |
| 27 | Left the setter twinkling rings, getting amount paid (10) |
| INSTALMENT | |
| INSTANT (twinkling of an eye) contains [rings] L (left) + ME (setter) | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Hard drink turned up in market (4) |
| PUSH | |
| H (hard) + SUP (drink) reversed [turned up]. If you market a product you may promote or push it in a sales campaign. | |
| 2 | Colourful bird from which bank of Liffey? (4) |
| LORY | |
| ‘Which bank of L{iffe}Y?’ gives us a choice of L OR Y | |
| 3 | Reason clock stops working in American’s holidays (6,6) |
| SPRING BREAKS | |
| The cryptic intro got me to the answer. Although its meaning is self-explanatory I wouldn’t have considered ‘spring break’ as a lexical term, but my AI assistant now renamed Gemini advises: ‘Spring break’ in America is a time-honoured tradition for students, a week-long escape from classes and exams. It typically falls between March and April. | |
| 4 | Silly sports coats and old hat (5) |
| PASSE | |
| PE (sports) contains [coats] ASS (silly). We don’t often see ‘silly’ as a noun. | |
| 5 | Brought up-to-date wine plugged by European tax-free? (9) |
| RENOVATED | |
| RED (wine) contains [plugged by] NO VAT (tax free) + E (European). VAT = Value Added Tax. | |
| 7 | State commercial breaks Italy broadcast cease to work (4,2,1,3) |
| CALL IT A DAY | |
| CAL (state), then AD (commercial) is contained by [breaks] anagram [broadcast] of ITALY | |
| 8 | Ask to box good fighter, turning up to prevent cheating (10) |
| INVIGILATE | |
| INVITE (ask), containing [to box] G (good) then ALI (fighter) reversed [turning up] | |
| 11 | In France, noble ruler’s excessively liberal means of punishment (7,5) |
| DUCKING STOOL | |
| DUC (in France, noble – duke), KING’S (ruler’s), TOO (excessively), L (liberal) | |
| 13 | Rich person in Ithaca developed test for believers (3,2,5) |
| ACT OF FAITH | |
| TOFF (rich person) contained by [in] anagram [developed] of ITHICA | |
| 14 | Eastender’s ashamed, inhabiting urban area in disrepair (10) |
| TUMBLEDOWN | |
| {h}UMBLED (Eastender’s ‘ashamed’] contained by [inhabiting] TOWN (urban area) | |
| 16 | Going out with no one, southern Frenchman’s upset (9) |
| EGRESSION | |
| NO + I (one) + S (southern) + SERGE (Frenchman) all reversed [upset] | |
| 21 | Group‘s reason for not playing badminton? (5) |
| NONET | |
| NO NET (reason for not playing badminton?) | |
| 22 | What might swell looker sport as well as yuppie’s jackets? (4) |
| STYE | |
| S{port}T + Y{uppi}E [jackets]? Styes affect eyelids so we have to interpret ‘eye’ (looker) as more than just the eyeball itself. | |
| 23 | Polish detective in film (4) |
| EDIT | |
| DI (Detective Inspector) contained by [in] ET (film). ‘Polish’ in the sense of put the finishing touches to. | |
37’03”
Slowly away, never nearer (trainer reported the old hack has had a hacking cough).
However, I was pleased to get round in only fractionally over par, with only a question mark next to acai.
When I finally got going I enjoyed wrestling with the misdirection in this a lot.
Thank you setter and Jack, and Myrtilus for the Betjeman.
Like the QC earlier, I started well and slowed towards the end. It took me a while to get my LOI ENDEAVOURING, even with all the checkers. I was pleased to cross the line well inside target at 35.15, only to be faced with a wrong answer for 11dn, where, like others I failed to duck preferring to dunk. The second in a row I have failed by a single letter, which was something I used to do on a regular basis for some reason. I hope I’m not back in the habit of doing that, it is very frustrating!
34:12
A slow but pleasant solve which I had to leave halfway through to do some work. When I returned, I cleaned up the SE corner which left most of the NW. LOI was 12a. SPRING BREAKS was a bit meh.
This was a toughie for me. Most of the short ones went in quickly, but many of the long clues took ages to decipher. As with many others, LOsI were the crossing INSTALMENT and EGRESSION, NHO, though I know egress. ‘Amount paid’ seems very vague for instalment, to be honest, and I was fixated on a word meaning glisten. I had ENER at the end until the crossers proved otherwise and even with No1 in place, I didn’t think of SERGE for ages. Amusingly, I also took a long time over INVIGILATE, despite doing that in schools since my retirement 6 years ago!
Late on to this, we are having our lime trees pollarded and I have been helping to cut up and transport the logs. Hopefully I shall be able to move again, tomorrow..
I didn’t find this particularly straightforward. Egression/instalment last in, and I see I put lyre, heaven knows why since it doesn’t parse at all. But I am not strong on colourful birds ..
14’06” late in the day. No issues.
Late in the day after golf, enjoyed this one, all done in a good time with a hold up on my LOI EGRESSION as the only word that fitted. I don’t understand why people went astray with DUNKING when the clue gives DUC for the French duke.
I’m always late in the day – evening post-work solver. Which means it’s often hard to add anything to all that’s been said already! Enjoyed that, and did ok – 15’49”. COD STYE.
I found this tough taking 37 mins before finally cracking it before it cracked me. LOI egression when I finally realised rene is not the only Frenchman . Lots of others took a toll but liked tumbledown and hank was my COD. Phew!…
I liked this a lot, especially because when I first looked at it I thought: “Oh dear! Another impenetrable one”. Came back to it in short bursts ( between household tasks) and found it SURPRISINGLY easy! I’m beginning to believe in the theory that the subconscious works on these clues while we’re not aware that’s happening, and returning to ‘difficult’ clues often results in a shoo-in. I have to admit to a fair(?) bit of biffing, based purely on definition, but the result was a happily filled grid within -for me- the minimum of time. CODs to CHUBBIEST and NONET. Only wrong guess was LYRE, as I’d NHO LORE.