50 minutes. I solved all the LH side and half-a-dozen answers RH in 30 minutes but then ground to a halt before making progress slowly picking off the remainder one by one. 6, 8, 10, 12 16 and 19 gave me particular problems, but having solved them eventually I can’t see why they should have. For all that, I really enjoyed this puzzle and was very pleased to finish without resorting to aids as I had been beginning to fear at one point.
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 now use a Caret sign ⁁ to indicate an insertion point in containment clues. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and [] other indicators.
 Across |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Run from large snake (6) |
| LADDER – L (large), ADDER (snake) | |
| 5 | Left family member’s nursing home (8) |
| SINISTER – S⁁ISTER (family member) containing [nursing] IN (home) | |
| 9 | During trial it must establish critical indicator of success (6,4) |
| LITMUS TEST – Hidden in [during] {tria}L IT MUST EST{ablish} | |
| 10 | Bird missing front bit of foot (4) |
| INCH -{f}INCH (bird) [missing front]. I wasted ages thinking of the wrong type of foot! | |
| 11 | State failure over university essentially buried (8) |
| MISSOURI – MISS (failure), O (over), U (university), {bu}RI{ed{ [essentially] | |
| 12 | Relax earl beset by very painful condition (3,3) |
| VEG OUT – E (earl) contained [beset] by V (very) ⁁ GOUT (painful condition). I got to this after thinking first of PEG OUT which didn’t quite fit the wordplay and would have been a bit too relaxed! | |
| 13 | Writer’s guild met periodically (4) |
| GIDE – G{u}I{l}D {m}E{t} [periodically]. André Gide 1869–1951. | |
| 15 | Protestant man hared after boor, dropping ring (8) |
| LUTHERAN – L{o}UT (boor) [dropping ring], HE (man), RAN (hared) | |
| 18 | Anxious to have son in the lead for cushy job (8) |
| SINECURE – INSECURE (anxious) with S (son) moving into the lead gives us SINECURE | |
| 19 | Dance with heretic, but not bishop (4) |
| REEL – RE{b}EL (heretic) [but not bishop] | |
| 21 | Party to put back election (6) |
| BALLOT – BALL (party) then TO reversed [put back] | |
| 23 | Foolish European climber nearly slipping on ice at first (8) |
| IMBECILE – I{ce} [at first], then anagram [slipping] of E (European) + CLIMBE{r} [nearly] | |
| 25 | Distinguished singer against plugging charity, having retired (4) |
| DIVA – V (against – versus] contained by [plugging] A⁁ID (charity) reversed [having retired] | |
| 26 | Quietly looking embarrassed, journalist accepts penalty set in advance (10) |
| PREDEFINED – P (quietly), RED (looking embarrassed), E⁁D (journalist) contains [accepts] FINE (penalty) | |
| 27 | Possibly heading for a fall, not prepared to make king saint (8) |
| UNSTEADY – UNREADY (not prepared) makes R (king) into ST (saint) to become UNSTEADY | |
| 28 | Popular story remaining unverified on purpose (6) |
| LEGEND – LEG (on – cricket), END (purpose) | |
| Down |
|
|---|---|
| 2 | Defence of Area 51 not straight (5) |
| ALIBI – A (area), LI (51), BI (not straight) | |
| 3 | Obstruct American act in part of Middle Eastern city (9) |
| DAMASCENE – DAM (obstruct), A (American), SCENE (act in part – part of an act in a play) | |
| 4 | Suggestive question stops salary increase (6) |
| RISQUE – QU (question) is contained by [stops] RIS⁁E (salary increase) | |
| 5 | Eyes parcel, livid about courier service (7,8) |
| SPECIAL DELIVERY – Anagram [about] of EYES PARCEL LIVID | |
| 6 | Origin of new carbon-free business (8) |
| NATIVITY – N (new), A{c}TIVITY (business) [carbon-free] | |
| 7 | This person informed nurses taking legal action (5) |
| SUING – SUNG (informed) contains [nurses] I (this person) | |
| 8 | Support shut up about old United manager in the end (9) |
| ENCOURAGE – ENC⁁AGE (shut up) containing [about] O (old) + U (united) + {manage)R [in the end] | |
| 14 | Check that line’s removed from copy (9) |
| IMITATION – {l}IMITATION (check) [that line’s removed from] | |
| 16 | Improving the quality of river feature restricting current in England (9) |
| ENRICHING – R (river) ⁁ CHIN (feature) containing [restricting] I (current), all contained by [in] EN⁁G (England) | |
| 17 | Prevent vicar regularly touring topless bar in unsightly development (8) |
| SUBTOPIA – S⁁TOP (prevent) + {v}I{c}A{r} [regularly], containing [touring] {p}UB (bar) [topless] | |
| 20 | In flipping wellies, bafflingly descend with control (6) |
| ABSEIL – Reversed [flipping] and hidden [in] {wel}LIES BA{fflingly} | |
| 22 | Thin and tense, had a rest (5) |
| LEANT – LEAN (thin), T (tense) | |
| 24 | Continue to sleep with porky Italian on vacation (3,2) |
| LIE IN – LIE (porky – pie / CRS), I{talia}N [on vacation] | |
Broadly similar experience. Left hand side went in very quickly but then frustrated by some of the clues you mention, in particular ENRICHING where I tried to make ‘enhancing’ work. Always an unpredictable business what one sees immediately and what one can be held up by even when the construction is not particularly egregious.
A lovely Tuesday puzzle. Similar hold-ups to our blogger with VEG OUT being my second-last one in after also considering ‘peg out’, which didn’t parse. That then gave me NATIVITY, which I thought was a great clue. Sadly, I missed SUBTOPIA even with all the checkers as it was a NHO and didn’t quite get the wordplay to figure it out. COD to DAMASCENE. Jack, you need ST for UNSTEADY.
Thanks Jack and setter.
Thanks, I’ve added the missing T.
I biffed subtopia as my LOI without a clue to the parsing – all correct by dumb luck. I did appreciate the clever clue for alibi, and solved enriching from the cryptic without seeing what word the answer was – look what I found!
Time: 28:05
If I had ever heard of SUBTOPIA I might have finished in 25, but I hadn’t so I didn’t. That’s a DNF but it was a fun journey, thanks Jack.
From Tryin’ To Get To Heaven:
When I was in MISSOURI, they would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry, I only saw what they let me see
You broke a heart that loved you
Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore
I’ve been walking that lonesome valley
Trying to get to heaven before they close the door