Solving time: 50 minutes but a technical DNF as I used aids for my LOI at 28ac. Elsewhere I had a wrong answer that slowed me down considerably until corrected and I think by the time I got to 28ac and tried a couple of unsuccessful alphabet trawls I’d simply run out of energy.
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 | Vehicle one’s taken into allotment? I’m not driving on this (9) |
| AUTOPILOT | |
| AUTO (vehicle), then I (one) contained by [taken into] PLOT (allotment) | |
| 6 | Delta split coast (5) |
| DRIFT | |
| D (delta – NATO alphabet), RIFT (split). For much of the time I had DRIVE here which works perfectly with the wordplay and seemed close enough for the definition. I had a slight feeling of doubt as I wrote it in but only thought of reconsidering after I had been battling for ages later to find an answer at 8dn beginning with an E. | |
| 9 | Figure in great pain, not unknown following year-end (7) |
| DECAGON | |
| DEC (year-end), AGON{y} (great pain) [not unknown] | |
| 10 | Firmly held resistance I half-heartedly checked (7) |
| RIVETED | |
| R (resistance), I, VET{t}ED (checked) [half-heartedly] | |
| 11 | Not in any way practical knowledge being voiced (5) |
| NOHOW | |
| Aural wordplay [being voiced) NOHOW / “know-how” (practical knowledge) | |
| 13 | Familiarise upper class after a while with a veneer of loathing (9) |
| HABITUATE | |
| A BIT (a while) + U (upper class] contained by [with a veneer of] HATE (loathing) | |
| 14 | Let more names incorrectly in register (9) |
| ENROLMENT | |
| Anagram [incorrectly] of LET MORE N N (names) | |
| 16 | Every MP has one small worry (4) |
| SEAT | |
| S (small), EAT(worry). In this context a seat is a place in the membership of the House of Commons and also refers to the parliamentary constituency to which an MP has been elected. | |
| 18 | Blank verse poet puts first (4) |
| VOID | |
| OVID (poet) becomes VOID when V (verse) is put first | |
| 19 | Wanting bachelor, dated with scepticism and swooned (6,3) |
| PASSED OUT | |
| PASSÊ (dated), DOU{b}T (scepticism ) [wanting bachelor] | |
| 22 | Nasty argument on appeal that will suit you well (6,3) |
| SAVILE ROW | |
| SA (sex appeal), VILE (nasty), ROW (argument). Savile Row in Mayfair is famous for its high-end traditional tailoring. | |
| 24 | Fleeting little thing thus captured by people (5) |
| MESON | |
| SO (thus) contained [captured] by MEN (people). Something in particle physics, I believe. | |
| 25 | Very ardent to convert to green (7) |
| VERDANT | |
| V (very), then anagram [convert] of ARDENT | |
| 26 | Rich filling finally causing a pain (7) |
| GANACHE | |
| {causin}G [finally], AN (a), ACHE (pain). Delicious! | |
| 28 | Fatty’s right to avoid one standing bail (5) |
| SUETY | |
| SU{r}ETY (one standing bail) [right – r – to avoid]. This was the clue I gave up on and resorted to aids. I got nowhere with ‘fatty’ and having thought of ‘guarantor’ I just couldn’t come up with another synonym for one standing bail. | |
| 29 | One in a suit apparently wearing a vest (9) |
| SINGLETON | |
| SINGLET ON (apparently wearing a vest). In bridge and other card games a singleton is the only card of a suit in a hand. | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Not so fast with stake (7) |
| ANDANTE | |
| AND (with), ANTE (stake – bet). As a musical direction this is usually translated as ‘moderately slow’ or ‘at walking pace’. | |
| 2 | Regularly observed twitch (3) |
| TIC | |
| T{w}I{t}C{h} [regularly observed] | |
| 3 | Greedy types desire what everyone else has left? (8) |
| PIGSWILL | |
| PIGS (greedy types), WILL (desire) | |
| 4 | Pleasure boat avoiding area that may be packed (5) |
| LUNCH | |
| L{a}UNCH (pleasure boat) [avoiding area] | |
| 5 | Told of panic, tears into masses of data (9) |
| TERABYTES | |
| Aural wordplay [told of]: TERA / “terror” (panic), BYTES / “bites” [tears into] | |
| 6 | Set aside deed poll avoided by editor (6) |
| DEVOTE | |
| DE{ed} + VOTE (poll) [avoided by editor] | |
| 7 | Commonly suggest, very hungry, such feeding (11) |
| INTRAVENOUS | |
| {h}INT (suggest) [commonly], RAVENOUS (very hungry) | |
| 8 | Superlatively neat, is very keen to stuff bird (7) |
| TIDIEST | |
| DIES (is very keen) contained by [to stuff] TIT (bird) | |
| 12 | Voices here beginning to resound, organised in epic style (6,5) |
| HEROIC VERSE | |
| Anagram [organised] of VOICES HERE R{esound} [beginning to…] | |
| 15 | Sure path winds around European river (9) |
| EUPHRATES | |
| Anagram [winds] of SURE PATH containing [around] E (European) | |
| 17 | Period in a hospital at the end, being this? (8) |
| TERMINAL | |
| TERM (period), IN, A, then {hospita}L [at the end]. A gloomy thought at the start of the day! | |
| 18 | With regard to Victor, is travel permit coming over? (3-1-3) |
| VIS-A-VIS | |
| VISA (travel permit), V (Victor – NATO alphabet), IS | |
| 20 | One putting a little colour on new abbey (7) |
| TINTERN | |
| TINTER (one putting a little colour on), N (new). A famous ruined abbey in Monmouthshire. | |
| 21 | Dull with sleep, past taking in half a play (6) |
| BLEARY | |
| BY (past) containing [taking in] {King} LEAR (play) [half] | |
| 23 | One accompanying touring team on trailer (5) |
| WAGON | |
| WAG (one accompanying touring team), ON. Collins: Wag – informal – the wife or girlfriend of a famous sportsman. | |
| 27 | Reduced share (3) |
| CUT | |
| Two meanings | |
28:33. LOI SUETY. I never saw “surety” (and if I had I might have thought the same as JamesCheck above). I even started wondering if there was an arcane cricket term where one of the bails is knocked off leaving “one standing bail” from which I could knock off the R. But an alphabet trawl got me there in the end
Unlike others, I found the NW harder than the SW with 1A, 9A, 11A and 1D, 3D and 4D unsolved. I’d say a little harder than average for a Tuesday.
40.55, but I was listening to the Liverpool match at the same time.
I narrowly avoided NOUSE and HORMONAL (17d) but fell with TERABITES. Is there are way of remembering the difference between bits and bytes? Otherwise 26’00”. Finally finished Friday’s stinker on about 80 minutes.
38 minutes. I too remembered ‘nohow’ (and ‘contrariwise’) from Tweedles dee and dum. Didn’t care for ‘ganache’ – the definition should surely be ‘rich’ rather than ‘rich filling’, as ‘filling’ is part of the wordplay, and ‘causing’ seems a bit loose – but otherwise a really great puzzle.
Filling isn’t part of the wordplay – as the blog explains, it’s a charade
Oh yes of course – I see it now! I was thinking the G was from ‘filling’ rather than ‘causing’.
A lengthy solve, with VOID unparsed and BLEARY and DEVOTE LOsI, after SUETY came to mind when I remembered surety. I wasn’t really on the setter’s wavelength, but it was a good challenge with no quibbles from me.
25’45”
Smartly away, kept on gamely.
Giving it a go on paper, sitting on the windswept terrace of a pub with no access to any kind of aid, after a fifty minute march to get there, has done the trick again; a respectable Witch Handicap result.
Thank you setter and Jack.
Couldn’t get started on this! Needed a look-up to get a leg-up. Once I had a word to work on, things hotted up a little – there were some excellent clues here, so well hidden! Knew all the GK here, apart from MESON, which was a lucky guess, but BLEARY and SUETY needed aids to see. LUNCH and SAVILE ROW my CODs.