Solving time: 32 minutes
A fairly straightforward 15×15 on my watch this 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]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Computer devices after backing up becoming smoother (6) |
| PUMICE | |
| UP reversed [backing], MICE (computer devices). A light volcanic glass used as an abrasive for cleaning and polishing. Some sources also have ‘mouses’ as the plural. | |
| 4 | Shakespeare’s first to reverence his justice (7) |
| SHALLOW | |
| S{hakespeare’s} [first], HALLOW (reverence). Justice Robert Shallow appears in two of Shakespeare’s plays. I didn’t know this but the wordplay gave me confidence. | |
| 9 | Equipment I had fixed (5) |
| RIGID | |
| RIG (equipment), I’D (I had) | |
| 10 | Earlier, a shot in court (9) |
| AFOREHAND | |
| A, FOREHAND (shot in court – tennis etc) | |
| 11 | Predictable blow, traffic having to twist and turn (5,4) |
| TRADE WIND | |
| TRADE (traffic), WIND (twist and turn) | |
| 12 | Like a chimp pair, regularly in tree (5) |
| APISH | |
| P{a}I{r} [regularly] contained by [in] ASH (tree) | |
| 13 | Dull, short book, one of a collection (4) |
| MATT | |
| MATT{hew} (book) [short]. A reference to The Gospel According to St Matthew which is part of the New Testament, so ‘one of a collection’. Matt. is an official abbreviation so this is not actually a deletion clue. | |
| 14 | Thought blue team a different colour (10) |
| CONSIDERED | |
| CON (blue – Conservative), SIDE (team), RED (different colour – to blue) | |
| 18 | Using drone in conflict is decisive (10) |
| RESOUNDING | |
| Anagram [in conflict] of USING DRONE | |
| 20 | Hack work, first chapter (4) |
| CHOP | |
| CH (chapter), OP (work). ‘First’ indicates position. | |
| 23 | Cargo in galleon’s restricting progress (5) |
| GOING | |
| Hidden in [restricting] {car}GO IN G{alleon} | |
| 24 | Drink in fresh coffee at last, having done this? (9) |
| PERCOLATE | |
| COLA (drink) contained by [in] PERT (fresh), {coffe}E [at last]. The definition is reflexive. | |
| 25 | Drained state of pint seems to require refreshing (9) |
| EMPTINESS | |
| Anagram [to require refreshing] of PINT SEEMS | |
| 26 | Group of hotels, the third becoming the last in the country (5) |
| CHINA | |
| When the third letter of CHAIN (group of hotels) becomes the last we have CHINA | |
| 27 | Being legless, repents moving about (7) |
| SERPENT | |
| Anagram [moving about] of REPENTS. The definition needs to be read as ‘legless being’. | |
| 28 | Enthusiastic about entertaining good music (6) |
| REGGAE | |
| EAGER (enthusiastic) reversed [about] containing [entertaining] G (good) | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | One sharing job perhaps is to leave with watch (4-5) |
| PART-TIMER | |
| PART (leave), TIMER (watch) | |
| 2 | One starting a new life being married, I concede (7) |
| MIGRANT | |
| M (married), I, GRANT (concede) | |
| 3 | Mock royal receiving grand old man (6) |
| CODGER | |
| COD (mock) + ER (royal – the late Her Maj) containing [receiving] G (grand) | |
| 4 | Rebuke son without emotion (5) |
| SCOLD | |
| S (son), COLD (without emotion) | |
| 5 | City article held back for broadcast (8) |
| ADELAIDE | |
| A (article), then aural wordplay [for broadcast] DELAIDE / “delayed” (held back) | |
| 6 | One king guarding another that is less discreet (7) |
| LEAKIER | |
| LEAR (one king) containing [guarding] K (another king) + IE (that is). SOED: leaky – fig. (of a person) unable to keep a secret. | |
| 7 | Accompanied by daughter to take inside measurement (5) |
| WIDTH | |
| WITH (accompanied by) containing [to take inside] D (daughter) | |
| 8 | Island, I gather, having many features (8) |
| MANIFOLD | |
| MAN (island), I, FOLD (gather – e.g. in dress-making) | |
| 15 | Summer clothing small — take it off? (8) |
| SUNDRESS | |
| S (small), UNDRESS (take it – clothing – off) | |
| 16 | Protest against repeated cold snaps (9) |
| DEPRECATE | |
| Anagram [snaps] of REPEATED C (cold) | |
| 17 | Complete confusion of business meeting swamped by papers (8) |
| QUAGMIRE | |
| AGM (business meeting – Annual General Meeting) contained [swamped] by QUIRE (papers) | |
| 19 | Butterfly, one passing over (7) |
| SKIPPER | |
| Two meanings | |
| 21 | Leader shortly taking band for audition (7) |
| HEARING | |
| HEA{d} (leader) [shortly], RING (band) | |
| 22 | Disreputable and unsteady, speaking drunkenly (6) |
| LOUCHE | |
| Tongue-in-cheek aural wordplay [speaking drunkenly]: LOUCHE / “loose” (unsteady) | |
| 23 | Old songs left for silly people mostly to collect (5) |
| GLEES | |
| GEES{e} (silly people) [mostly] containing [collect] L (left). We had a discussion here a while ago about glee clubs, barbershop singing and the like. ‘Glees’ as songs originated in the 17th century. | |
| 24 | Pressure on girl at last to consume tuck (5) |
| PLEAT | |
| P (pressure), {gir}L [at last], EAT (consume). After ‘gather’ and ‘fold’ at 8dn we now have ‘tuck’ and ‘pleat’! | |
40′ or so after a long and hot golf match. Clued QUAGMIRE from the parts (if there’s a U try a Q) but agree the definition isn’t great. Never heard of POI GLEES but it parsed and I took comfort from the TV programme and SHALLOWS also put together without knowing the bard reference. Also never thought to DEPRECATE = to protest, but it does. ADELAIDE was LOI after an alphabet trawl and a loud DOH (in reality another word)! so my COD. Thanks Jackkt and setter.
29’29”. Phew, crept in under the half hour. As others, not entirely happy about PERCOLATE. Felt the clue really invited PERCOLATED or PERCOLATION. Missed the QUAGMIRE quagmire, but agree it’s not quite the same as CONFUSION. Many thanks to all.
36:42
Last two in were EMPTINESS and QUAGMIRE, which required my remembering the old rule of “see a U, look for a Q”.
Thanks Jack and setter
Very slow going despite there not really being anything out of the ordinary. QUAGMIRE took ages at the end, so 53 minutes. Never heard of SKIPPER butterflies and I didn’t know Justice SHALLOW, but it seemed Shakespearean enough. GLEES made sense because there were glee clubs when I went to school and they sang. Incidentally, I find the discussion of quagmire and confusion above a bit too pedantic — they don’t have to be exactly the same thing, do they? You just have to be able to interchange them in certain, possibly very special, situations and for me they seem to be close enough. Every English word has nuances, so absolutely precise matches are really quite rare, I would say.
Exactly. As The Temptations sang around 1970, it’s all A Ball Of Confusion.
24.30 but with another LEARIER!