11:58, reflecting a gentler offering which was much appreciated after both the heat wave this week, as well the difficulty of my last several blog puzzles. I enjoyed this greatly: excellent clues through and through! Though now that I’ve had my rest, I feel ready for a challenge again!
| Across | |
| 1 | Henry tucked into piece of cake and currently hot toast (4-4) |
| CHIN-CHIN – H in CINCH (piece of cake) + IN (currently hot) | |
| 5 | Groups aboard boats picked up sail (6) |
| CRUISE – homophone of CREWS | |
| 9 | Daughter forsakes trifling romance for marriage (8) |
| ALLIANCE – {d}ALLIANCE | |
| 10 | Retiring policeman’s maintaining place without much upstairs (6) |
| STUPID – DI’S reversed around PUT (place) | |
| 12 | He unexpectedly helped a parent aboard cargo train in motion (4,9) |
| GOOD SAMARITAN – A MA in GOODS (cargo) + anagram of TRAIN | |
| 15 | Abridged books containing article by unknown amateurs (5) |
| LAITY – (LIT around A) + Y (unknown) | |
| 16 | Like a bad waiter’s tip I meant to revise (9) |
| IMPATIENT – anagram of TIP I MEANT | |
| 17 | Scottish writer, odd figure hoarding Time back numbers (9) |
| STEVENSON – SEVEN (odd figure) around T + reversal of NOS. (numbers) | |
| 19 | Fine in case of bigger drug bust (5) |
| BROKE – OK in B{igge}R + E (drug) | |
| 20 | Trip runners poorer at running through French city (4,9) |
| TOUR OPERATORS – POORER AT anagrammed (running) in (through) TOURS (French city) | |
| 22 | Broadcaster screens current news free of padding (6) |
| SKINNY – SKY around (screens) I (current) N N (news)
I don’t mind ‘news’ = NN. |
|
| 23 | Yogi perhaps follows American behind capital city (8) |
| CANBERRA – BERRA (Yogi perhaps) after CAN (American behind)
A double US reference here, to Yogi Berra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi_Berra) and our (?) word for the rear end. |
|
| 25 | You dictated right extension for original document (6) |
| URTEXT – homophone of YOU + R (right) + EXT (extension) | |
| 26 | Hold cake and hold bananas (8) |
| HEADLOCK – anagram (bananas) of CAKE + HOLD
Charmingly weird clue. |
|
| Down | |
| 1 | Raphael maybe entertained by game that’s fixed (10) |
| CHANGELESS – ANGEL (Raphael maybe) in CHESS | |
| 2 | Problem generated by Iago’s opening lines (3) |
| ILL – first letter of IAGO + L L (lines)
I don’t mind ‘lines’ = LL. |
|
| 3 | In unsophisticated fashion clothing from couturier, equally foxy (7) |
| CRASSLY – C{outurie}R + AS (equally) + SLY (foxy) | |
| 4 | Working with assignment following pay cut (2,10) |
| IN COMMISSION – MISSION after INCOM{e} | |
| 6 | Artist cheers rubbish noise made by rapper (3-1-3) |
| RAT-A-TAT – RA (artist) + TA (cheers) + TAT (rubbish)
…suddenly there came a tapping,/as of someone gently rapping, rat-a-tatting at my chamber door… |
|
| 7 | I look to seize writers with love for Homer or Milton’s work (2,9) |
| IL PENSEROSO – I LO (look) around PENS (writers) + EROS (love for Homer)
I think we perhaps need a question mark, but I think it’s fine to omit in this case. Love the clue. |
|
| 8 | Top children’s toy to create current disturbance (4) |
| EDDY – {t}EDDY | |
| 11 | Consider cutting endless red tape, oddly, to be most important (12) |
| PREPONDERATE – PONDER in anagram of RE{d} TAPE | |
| 13 | He wanted more surprising end, say, after finale of concerto on organ (6,5) |
| OLIVER TWIST – TWIST (surprising end, say) after last letter of CONCERTO + LIVER (organ) | |
| 14 | Suffer anxiety over correct pronunciation guide (6,4) |
| STRESS MARK – STRESS (suffer anxiety over) MARK (correct)
This seems like a newish use of the word STRESS. Etymonline has the meaning ‘subject (a person) to mental or emotional stress’ attested by 1973, but the meaning in this clue feels more modern than that, where the person ‘stressing’ is the person undergoing stress. Chambers has “(informal)”. |
|
| 18 | Like horse, tailless bovid’s in biannual event (7) |
| EQUINOX – EQUIN{e} + OX | |
| 19 | Sang and wittered on with Liberal in higher position (7) |
| BLABBED – BABBLED with L earlier | |
| 21 | Heir of Isaac Hayes auditioning covers (4) |
| ESAU – hidden in HAYES AUDITIONING
Again a very lovely clue. |
|
| 24 | Friend of Winnie’s runs round and round (3) |
| ROO – R + O + O | |
I was off to a flying start with the across clues, but then slowed down to my more normal speed, finishing in 24 minutes. The only really serious hold-up was at 1ac where, like others, I had done myself no favours by starting 4dn with ON and not IN. Eventually I worked out the meaning of piece of cake and saw what the setter was aiming at. Not familiar with URTEXT but the clueing and crossers left little option. An enjoyable puzzle with no issues.
FOI – CRUISE
LOI – CHIN-CHIN
COD – CHANGELESS
Thanks to jeremy and other contributors.
44 mins totally stuck at the end with SKINNY, CRUISE and EDDY holding me up. Very much off the wavelength, but with most of my attention on the Open, perhaps not surprising…
2 errors held me up – PREPONDERANT and ON COMMISSION. Realised the first one didn’t fit the anagrist, which then made my LOI HEADLOCK a write in.
23:11
43.35 with LOI preponderate after concluding my first bash of preponderant needed a review to make the anagram of cake and hold work. Very relieved. Checked urtext after entering but I’ll give myself that one.
Good Friday puzzle, shame it’s the wrong time of year.
No time to declare but I’d estimate around 25’. LOI was STRESS MARK. An enjoyable Friday puzzle with a few helpful literary references that helped progress and an American reference (CAN) that I’d not encountered – but what else could it be before BERRA?
Thank you, plusjeremy and the setter.
30:41, with IL PENSEROSO my LOI.
Enjoyable but tricky.
NHO URTEXT.
COD EQUINOX.
Thanks plusjeremy and setter
Another DNF although I enjoyed most of this. Like others I didn’t get 1ac as I’d mistakenly rushed in with ON COMMISSION for 2d. TOUR OPERATORS and EQUINOX were cleverly clued.
Musical knowledge helped with URTEXT but have never heard of CAN used in this sense and together with my zero experience of American baseball players was stumped completely by 23ac as I could only think of Yogi Bear and yoga gurus 🙂
Thanks again to setter and blogger.
This is my second comment and I will always be last because of the Australian press and my inertia. I absolutely loved this one, principally because I actually got a lot of it without aids and tbe rest with help from Wiki. I am no classicist and therefore at a disadvantage with some clues but that just makes me try harder and learn faster.
COD 1d
Not necessarily…