16:44. This was a solid puzzle which gave me several smiles but no problems. Why should I be disappointed with that? I’m not, and it’s not the setter’s fault, but I realized that I tend to brace myself for a gut punch on Fridays, and this certainly wasn’t that! So, as much as we all like to be made to suffer now and again, I hope you could look past that and enjoy this lovely puzzle on its own merits.
| Across | |
| 1 | Forgive a cheat in navy after pressure (6) |
| PARDON – A + DO (cheat) in RN (navy), after P (pressure) | |
| 4 | Ready for stock control pub company regularly dreads (8) |
| BARCODED – BAR (pub) CO (company) every other letter in (regularly) DREADS | |
| 10 | Coach remaining [in] location for actors (5,4) |
| STAGE LEFT – STAGE (coach) REMAINING (left) | |
| 11 | New black mostly replaced white (5) |
| BLANC – anagram of (replaced) N (new) BLACK minus the last letter (mostly) | |
| 12 | Pinch a day some weeks after Easter (7) |
| WHITSUN – WHIT (pinch) SUN (a day) | |
| 13 | Speaking in public once before a politician (7) |
| ORATORY – OR (once [archaic form of] ‘before’) + A + TORY (politician)
I can’t imagine this held anyone up, since -ATORY is clear and the definition is, too, but OR is rather obscure, no? |
|
| 14 | Savage jumbo [in] setter’s latest style left unstarted (5) |
| ROGUE – last letter of (‘s latest) SETTER + VOGUE (style) without the first letter (left unstarted)
A rogue elephant is what’s being referenced here. |
|
| 15 | Childish about smell [being] severe (8) |
| INHUMANE – INANE (childish) around (about) HUM (smell)
So many words for ‘smell’ in British English! Also, I think INANE for ‘childish’ and INHUMANE for ‘severe’ are a tad tenuous for my tastes. |
|
| 18 | Donnish boss lives outside Oxford Universty (8) |
| STUDIOUS – STUD (boss) + IS (lives) around (outside) OU (Oxford University) | |
| 20 | Drums initially beaten in traditional Indian rhythm (5) |
| TABLA – first letter of (initially) BEATEN in TALA (traditional Indian rhythm)
I was ready to biff TABLA immediately with the Indian-flavored drums in the surface reading, but I had never heard of TALA, so hesitated until the end of my solve. |
|
| 23 | Italian city [in] country — one in good area (7) |
| PERUGIA – PERU (country) + I (one) in G (good) A (area)
Don’t know the city, but the wordplay and crossing letters made this solvable. |
|
| 25 | Task to insert a line [in] hymn tune (7) |
| CHORALE – CHORE (task) around (to insert) A L (line) | |
| 26 | Very curious about one piercing? (5) |
| NOISY – NOSY (very curious) around (about) I (one) | |
| 27 | Where king may be lying about current grand cause (9) |
| INSTIGATE – IN STATE (where king may be) around (lying about) I (current) G (grand) | |
| 28 | Staining damage linked with expensive jewellery (8) |
| MARBLING – MAR (damage) + (linked with) BLING (expensive jewellery) | |
| 29 | Celebratory of baby to come — welcoming son (6) |
| FESTAL – FETAL (of baby to come) around (welcoming) S (son)
Great clue! |
|
| Down | |
| 1 | Father’s blade which can open doors (8) |
| PASSWORD – PA’S (father’s) SWORD (blade) | |
| 2 | Blazing row in gang (7) |
| ROARING – OAR (row) in RING (gang) | |
| 3 | Lay out a lot [of] drove pens all over the place (9) |
| OVERSPEND – anagram of (all over the place) DROVE PENS | |
| 5 | Fool grabbing Oscar, say? One is in court who knows the stars (14) |
| ASTROPHYSICIST – ASS (fool) around (grabbing) TROPHY (Oscar, say) + I (one) + IS in CT (court)
I was able to get this and 9 down within seconds, which immensely helped the solve. |
|
| 6 | Openings of charmer’s old basket reveals arising —? (5) |
| COBRA – first letters (openings) of CHARMER’S OLD BASKET REVEALS ARISING
The definition is the blank “—” to be filled in. Or you could take it to be the whole clue, of course. |
|
| 7 | Soldier died by Burmese capital without a name (7) |
| DRAGOON – D (died) + (by) RANGOON (Burmese capital) removing one (without a) N (name) | |
| 8 | Foot [of] old flyer just over half preserved (6) |
| DACTYL – 6/11 of (just over half preserved) PTERODACTYL (flyer) | |
| 9 | Rig renovation I arranged [giving] new strength (14) |
| REINVIGORATION – RIG RENOVATION I anagrammed (arranged) | |
| 16 | See this crossing the sky or meet it broken on top of earth (9) |
| METEORITE – OR MEET IT anagrammed (broken) + (on) first letter (top) of EARTH | |
| 17 | Prince holds member of insurgency which is growing in the country (8) |
| HAREBELL – HAL (prince) around (holds) REBEL (member of insurgency) | |
| 19 | Dog runs into lake in extremes of terror (7) |
| TERRIER – R (runs) in (into) ERIE (lake) in first and last letters (extremes) of TERROR | |
| 21 | Horrid child circumventing prohibition [in] old part of Europe (7) |
| BRABANT – BRAT (horrid child) around (circumventing) BAN (prohibition) | |
| 22 | One nominally involved? Gosh, no, the reverse of that (6) |
| EPONYM – MY (gosh) NOPE (no) reversed (the reverse of that)
Loved this clue. |
|
| 24 | Audible breather [taken in] deep ravine (5) |
| GHYLL – homophone of (audible) GILL (breather)
Didn’t know this word, which can also be spelled ‘gill’, but it’s the only way I could form a homophone using the checking letters. |
|
7dn needs ‘old’ or ‘ once’ – Rangoon (Yangon)is no longer the capital of Burma (Myanmar). It was changed ages ago to Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw), a new and completely separate city.
I thought that using Burma instead of Myanmar was meant to indicate pre-Naypyidaw
Burmese is still usually used as the demonym, I think, which complicates matters a little.
Very slow today, and two wrong. I had a K instead of the C in DACTYL (I never could spell terrordaktyl) and then I invented the TABRA. Well, now I know
I knew TABLA, as my grandchildren once had a lesson on playing them in the village hall on the island of Coll, but wasn’t sure of TALA. MARBLING was held up by a biffed ABYSS, and the fact that I thought BLING was cheap jewellry. Got there eventually. As Penfold mentioned, the ODG and NDG in Langdale will be familiar to any regular visitors to the Lake District. PARDON was FOI and DACTYL brought up the rear after a few moments thought. 19:25. Thanks setter and Jeremy.
Very enjoyable crossie. Naypyidaw is actually the capital but I suppose it still works as a clue now that the country is called Myanmar
DNF. Refused to reconsider 11a BLANK (rather than BLANC) so no 8d DACTYL, and was very worried about OR for before in 13a ORATORY.
Was unable to parse 14a ROGUE, thanks plusjeremy.
NHO 20a TABLA nor tala. Tabor yes, but singular.
Don’t like the unmarked use of US fetal for foetal in 29a. I accept that all professional users have dropped the o, but I haven’t. Don’t really believe in FESTAL as a word, but it is in the usual sources.
Rangoon is now Yangon, we should have had a pointer IMHO. Also as Paratsoukli points out that city hasn’t been the capital for a long time. Getout as Chris above points out is that Burma is also defunct.
DNK 24a GHYLL
Wiktionary:
“Ghyll (Scotland, Northern England) A ravine.” So abstruse and not indicated. Have been to Lake District but managed to miss the two pubs mentioned by Penfold. On the other hand I did manage to get to quite a lot of others with odd names, one of which is known as “The Struggle”, officially The Kirkstone Pass Inn.
Just under half an hour, with the final ten minutes spent on HAREBELL. I spent ages looking for long names of princes, then looking for eight letter country names ending in L, before finally remembering Prince HAL and REBEL. By that point my brain was so frazzled that I spent a while staring at HAREBELL thinking “is that a word?”
Owain Glyndwr is the most famous rebel to have been defeated by Prince Hal, and he was never captured.
Finished in around 45 mins although I did hit reveal for the NHO TABLA, and double-checked that DACTYL was indeed a foot, so DNF. Often in the Lakes so no problem with GHYLL. Dredged BRABANT from the recesses. Trying to tackle around 3-4 of these per week as I graduate from the QC. Some days I’m totally baffled, others, like today, I have a fair crack. All very enjoyable.
38 mins including a deep sleep…. LOI DACTYL, you either see it or you don’t. I didn’t.
Did this a while ago, and have forgotten most of it already. Had BLANK for a bit until I realised it was DACTYL.
Moderate level, and SNITCH tells me my time was more or less exactly what should be expected.
17:49
I decided to avoid what looked to be a headache inducing alpha-trawl for the missing bits of G-Y-L, so Instopped with one left empty. For neatness, I think the “lying” goes with “where the king is” rather than with the “about”. Thanks, jeremy
16’02” LOI FESTAL. NHO GHYLL but it had to be.
FWIW, I parse INSTIGATE slightly differently:
IN STATE (where king may be lying) around (about) I (current) G (grand)
“Lying in state” is a thing after a monarch dies. You may remember in Autumn 2022 the queue to see the late Queen’s lying in state – and when that became full, the queue to get into the queue.
19.07 but a couple of educated guesses with ghyll and dactyl. Saw tabla straight away but didn’t bother to work it out.
Liked Harebell and the aforesaid ghyll but eponym was my COD.
39’20”
Failed to quicken at any stage……
…but very enjoyable nonetheless, albeit at an up, rather than down, Langdale pace.
I narrowly avoided an attempted entry of The Dungeon Ghyll Inn via the roof when losing my footing on the precipitous path above it; whether it was the Old or the New I know not. I had no idea that there are two.
Lots to like; thank you setter and Jeremy.
Got all of this fairly easily especially with the easy long answers at 5d and 9d. Only missed out on BLANC and DACTYL which seem obvious now I have read the blog :).
As ever, general knowledge helped with PERUGIA, GHYLL and TABLA.
A HAREBELL is often called a “Scottish Bluebell” . It’s a more delicate summer wildflower than the more widespread bluebell which gloriously carpets the woods in springtime.
So many of these clues were flying in I had to keep checking this really was Friday (catching up on old crosswords after a trip North) and then, like Jack, knowing neither the drums nor the beat, I gave up on TABLA.
COD WHITSUN. Beguilingly effortless.
Thanks Jeremy