Solving time: 7 minutes A couple of clues (1ac and 23ac) stopped me in my tracks for a moment re parsing and there was one answer (12dn) I didn’t know and had to guess from checkers and residual anagrist.
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]
Across | |
1 | Up and down? That’s exaggerated (4,3,3) |
OVER THE TOP – The first part of the clue gave me pause for thought, but then I realised for something to go over the top of something else it would likely travel both upwards and downwards. The question mark covers any alternative scenarios. | |
8 | Do without overdose permanently (3,4) |
FOR GOOD – FORGO (do without), OD (overdose) | |
9 | Principally known only as lovable Australian? (5) |
KOALA – First letters [principally] of K{nown}, O{nly} A{s}, L{ovable} A{ustralian}. I understand their cuddly appearance as reflected in the surface reading belies their true nature. | |
10 | Run from the house in panicky retreat (4) |
ROUT – R (run), OUT (from the house) | |
11 | Shows contempt about a king wearing these? (8) |
SNEAKERS – SNEERS (shows contempt) containing [about] A K (king) | |
13 | Claire demolished pastry (6) |
ECLAIR – Anagram [demolished] of CLAIRE. The anagrist doesn’t require much unravelling as only one letter moves. | |
14 | Fuss as the two meet monarch (6) |
BOTHER – BOTH (two), ER (monarch) | |
17 | Applaud role being rejected as nonsense (8) |
CLAPTRAP – CLAP (applaud), PART (role) reversed [rejected] | |
19 | Short exchange is a type of jazz (4) |
TRAD – TRAD{e} (exchange) [short]. My preferred style of jazz. | |
21 | Pair touring Olympic city earlier (5) |
PRIOR – PR (pair) containing [touring] RIO (Olympic city) | |
22 | Farm work only while young? (7) |
TILLAGE – A straight definition with a cryptic hint suggesting TILL AGE | |
23 | Spicy sauce cooked in several ads (5,5) |
SALSA VERDE – Anagram [cooked] of SEVERAL ADS. I was tempted to write ‘salsa verdi’ but for blogging purposes felt the need to check the anagrist carefully and thus avoided the trap. Further research confirms this is a herb sauce so I have doubts that it’s appropriate to define it as ‘spicy’. |
Down | |
2 | Goodness, not all supported by a Liberal, in such reality (7) |
VIRTUAL – VIRTU{e} goodness [not all], A, L (Liberal) | |
3 | Curry, not the first, in space (4) |
ROOM – {g}ROOM (curry) [not the first] | |
4 | Avoiding being taken for punishment (6) |
HIDING – Two meanings. I wondered about the origin of ‘hiding’ as a form of punishemnt and found this on Google: “There is a (now rare if not obsolete) colloquial verb ‘to hide’, meaning ‘To beat the hide or skin of; to flog, thrash’. A ‘hiding’ is simply a session of this activity”. Along the same lines as ‘skinning alive’ then. | |
5 | Acknowledge applause, and prepare to play perhaps (4,1,3) |
TAKE A BOW – A definition and a mildly cryptic hint | |
6 | Identify fish in the sound (5) |
PLACE – Sounds like [in the sound] “plaice” fish. As in ‘I can’t place your face’. | |
7 | Loopy sort of game that’s rocked Kitty? (4,6) |
CATS CRADLE – A definition and a cryptic hint. I learned how to construct a cat’s cradle as a child but never played it as a game or ever knew that it is one. | |
8 | Remarkably safe recipe for emergency exit (4,6) |
FIRE ESCAPE – Anagram [remarkably] of SAFE RECIPE | |
12 | Tortilla cooked on the shore (8) |
LITTORAL – Anagram [cooked] of TORTILLA. Collins has: existing or occurring on or adjacent to the shore. This was the clue that gave me most difficulty as I didn’t know or had forgotten this word. A quick Google suggests it has come up only once before as an answer in a 15×15 although it appeared a couple of times in clues, so I’d suggest it’s probably not the most suitable material for a QC. | |
15 | University serious about a bible (7) |
HARVARD – HARD (serious) containing [about] A + RV (bible – Revised Version) | |
16 | From Market Harborough originally, a woman (6) |
MARTHA – MART (market), H{arborough} [originally], A. Fortunately for solvers who have never heard of this Leicestershire town the clue doesn’t require any knowledge of it. | |
18 | A girl is wrong (5) |
AMISS – A, MISS (girl) | |
20 | Enemy crossing lake ice (4) |
FLOE – FOE (enemy) containing [crossing] L (lake) |
I thought 22a TILLAGE was quite tricky and I needed that to find Martha as there are so many girls’ names ending in A ( I only saw MART after solving).
I remembered the French word for on the shore so that was OK for me but I agree it’s not common in English. David
No problems for me this morning.
FOI OVER THE TOP (Just OTT these days)
LOI ROUT
COD ROOM by quite some way
TIME 3:22
Edited at 2019-05-27 08:11 am (UTC)
Thanks for the blog
Struggled with tillage, salsa verde, cats cradle, martha, and loi the unknown littoral.
Cod the &lit koala.
liked 9A (principally known only as lovable Australian?).
Some tough ones today like cat’s cradle, Harvard
Satisfying nonetheless.
Thanks
SRT
In fact, both the quickie and the 15 x 15 were done and dusted in under an hour, bar one not-quite-completed clue in the big one – so frustrating when all you need are two letters but they’re going with -i-e!
Winnebago instead of bible would have been lovely.