30:32, a time which includes a short nap. Let me make clear that the nap in no way reflects the quality of the puzzle: I found this to be a nice challenge, a tasteful mix of easier and more difficult clues.
| Across | |
| 1 | Author [in] online catalogue after end of autumn (8) |
| NOVELIST – E-LIST (online catalogue) after NOV (end of autumn [= November]) | |
| 5 | Go quickly out of control, indication of indecision after caution (6) |
| CAREER – ER (indication of indecision) after CARE (caution) | |
| 9 | Saintly female in charge in place of a couple of gentlemen (8) |
| VERONICA – IC (in charge) in VERONA (place of a couple of gentlemen)
A reference to The Two Gentlemen of Verona, by William Shakespeare. I haven’t read this one — thought it was a comedy but a glance at the synopsis reveals otherwise. |
|
| 10 | Predator that apparently prays [in] mass with enemies (6) |
| MANTIS – M (mass) + (with) ANTIS (enemies) | |
| 12 | One of seven letters [from] country admitting old novelist and, separately, me (5,7) |
| ROMAN NUMERAL – RURAL (country) around (admitting) O (old) MANN (novelist) and, separately, ME
I, V, X, L, C, D, and M — which of course were invented to keep track of the number of Superb Owls. |
|
| 15 | About half of score in many cases (5) |
| OFTEN – OF (about) TEN (half of score [= 20]) | |
| 16 | Far from lively prisoner sheltering a new one (9) |
| INANIMATE – INMATE (prisoner) around A N (new) I (one) | |
| 18 | Naturally nobody speaks this strangely neat prose (9) |
| ESPERANTO – anagram of (strangely) NEAT PROSE
Naturally nobody speaks any language, but I appreciate what the setter was going for here, Esperanto being an invented language. |
|
| 19 | At home wearing headgear, having turned back flap (5) |
| PANIC – IN (at home) in CAP (headgear) reversed (having turned back) | |
| 20 | Illustration in book is central to revised perfection (12) |
| FRONTISPIECE – IS in (central to) anagram of (revised) PERFECTION | |
| 24 | Hot ingredient for sauce, despite what you hear (6) |
| CHILLI – ironically, a homophone of CHILLY | |
| 25 | Small missile making shrill noise (8) |
| STRIDENT – S (small) TRIDENT (missile) | |
| 26 | Having a meal, sound as a bell, content to be doubled up? (6) |
| DINING – DING (sound as a bell?) with the middle letters (content) repeated (to be doubled up) | |
| 27 | Kind of bottle sailors found in end (5-3) |
| SCREW-TOP – CREW (sailors) in (found in) STOP (end) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Stated opposition about very small service (4) |
| NAVY – NAY (stated opposition) around (about) abbreviation of (small) V (very) | |
| 2 | As such, there’s no difference between best and worst (4) |
| VERB – as verbs, ‘best’ and ‘worst’ both mean “to get the better of” | |
| 3 | Learner with an unhappy experience, one who’s invested in his fields (9) |
| LANDOWNER – L (learner) + (with) AN DOWNER (unhappy experience) | |
| 4 | What causes communal tension? It’s Americans out of order (12) |
| SECTARIANISM – IT’S AMERICANS anagrammed (out of order) | |
| 6 | Alternative to reveille in Territorial Army (5) |
| ALARM – hidden in (in) TERRITORIAL ARMY
For some reason this innocuous word always brings my mind to Gente, gente, all’armi, all’armi!, the Act IV finale from Le nozze di figaro. |
|
| 7 | Plays some music, say — record isn’t a remix (10) |
| ENTERTAINS – ENTER (record) + ISN’T A anagrammed (remix) | |
| 8 | Toughness on island in sound? Just the opposite (10) |
| RESILIENCE – RE (on) + I (island) in SILENCE (sound? just the opposite) | |
| 11 | Hostile frenzied action gains time (12) |
| ANTAGONISTIC – anagram of (frenzied) ACTION GAINS T (time) | |
| 13 | Impassive fire controller, female, provided great service (5-5) |
| POKER-FACED – POKER (fire controller) F (female) ACED (provided great service [in tennis]) | |
| 14 | Block proposal [for] cinematographic technique (4-6) |
| STOP-MOTION – STOP (block) MOTION (proposal)
If I have one criticism of the puzzle, I did not care for STOP appearing twice. |
|
| 17 | One Parliamentarian with kind of voice [that’s] influential (9) |
| IMPACTIVE – I (one) MP (Parliamentarian) + (with) ACTIVE (kind of [grammatical] voice) | |
| 21 | Gripping part of hobby (5) |
| TALON – cryptic definition, a ‘hobby’ being a small falcon | |
| 22 | Parts of body / more than twice as long as hands (4) |
| FEET – half way between a cryptic and double definition, a foot being 12 inches and a hand being 4 inches (horses are traditionally measured in hands) | |
| 23 | Parrots, for example, sent up [for] bit of flight (4) |
| STEP – PETS (parrots, for example) reversed (sent up) | |
I seldom do the Guardian puzzle, but I have heard of said person as a famous setter, I wouldn’t have been sure he did the G, but I know the name of the tree. Does the full clue not give a hint of the second meaning?
14 d comment. Stop appearing twice? Stop and step?]