Still in my run of 12 minute solves so either I’m getting slower or the QCs have upped their game a bit. There seemed to be a lot of positional clues throughout this crossword and some unusually long definitions – which I only fully appreciated when teasing it all apart for the blog.
Definitions, where included, are from Collins.
Definitions, where included, are from Collins.
ACROSS
1. Express disapproval with uniform dress (4)
TUTU – express disapproval (TUT), with uniform (U).
4. Guided round island, certainly having much free time (8)
LEISURED – guided (LED) round island (I) and certainly (SURE).
8. Tired and unhappy oarsman back in Canada (8)
CAREWORN – oarsman – rower back (REWOR) in Canada (CAN).
9. End of fish, end of sea (4)
CODA – fish (COD), se(A).
10. Someone’s skin remedy is safe (6)
SECURE – the skin of – outside layer/2 letters – (S)omeon(E), remedy (CURE).
11. English chap Queen returned to give a new title to (6)
RENAME – all backwards – returned – English (E), chap (MAN), Queen (ER).
12. Conservative valley landscape receiving constant restoration (13)
CONVALESCENCE – conservative (CON), valley (VALE), landscape (SCENE) receiving constant (C) inside.
16. Loud protest exposed about railway (6)
OUTCRY – exposed (OUT), about (C), railway (RY).
17. Second copy? ’E can make one (6)
SCRIBE – second (S), copy (CRIB), ‘E (E). I think this a partial &lit. A scribe can make a second copy so most of the clue is defined by itself.
19. Complete start of form badly (4)
FILL (e.g. a form!) – (F)orm, badly (ILL – e.g. judged).
20. Unsuspecting trader uses tariff, unusual externally (8)
TRUSTFUL – externally tells us to take the front and rear letters of each word – (T)rade(R) (U)se(S) (T)arif(F) (U)nusua(L). My least favourite clue type to blog as it’s so fiddly messing about with all the brackets!
21. They confused empty line with neon for flammable gas (8)
ETHYLENE – anagram (confused) of THEY, empty the letters out of (L)in(E), neon (NE).
22. Couch returned before time for money to be paid (4)
DEBT – couch – bed – returned (DEB) before time (T).
DOWN
2. Highly intelligent person is after university employment (5)
USAGE – highly intelligent person (SAGE) is after university (U).
3. Uniquely wild, keeping expressing feelings loudly and explicitly (13)
UNEQUIVOCALLY – anagram (wild) of UNIQUELY keeping (containing) expressing feelings loudly (VOCAL).
4. Talking indiscreetly in toilets on ecstasy (5)
LOOSE – I think loose=talking indiscreetly just about works – toilets (LOOS) on top of ecstasy (E).
5. What are inside pub on a road south (7)
INNARDS – nice definition – pub (INN) on top of a (A), road (RD), south (S).
6. Profane? Second nature, unfortunately, when Charlie’s involved (13)
UNCONSECRATED – Anagram (unfortunately) of SECOND NATURE with Charlie (C). The ? allows for a little flex in meanings – unconsecrated – not having been made or declared sacred or holy = profane – concerned with everyday life rather than religion and spiritual things.
7. Adapted medicine, eliminating one type of disease (7)
ENDEMIC – anagram (adapted) of MEDiCINE without (eliminating) one (I).
10. Bag regularly found in search (3)
SAC – regularly found in (S)e(A)r(C)h – well yes that type’s a bit fiddly to blog too!
13. Former ophthalmologist is in old religious group (7)
OCULIST – a former term for ophthalmologist (so a link with 15dn) – is (IS) inside old (O) and religious group (CULT).
14. Even now dressed in passed on baby’s clothing (7)
LAYETTE – even now (YET) dressed in passed on (LATE).
15. Organ used by Meyerbeer (3)
EYE – used by the word M(EYE)rbeer. Giacomo (ˈdʒaːkomo) Meyerbeer, real name Jakob Liebmann Beer.1791–1864, German composer. Is it just me or does this chap’s first name look like glaucoma?
17. Relish novel cause (5)
SAUCE – anagram (novel) of CAUSE.
18. Publisher’s way of advertising obscure book (5)
BLURB – coined by Gelett Burgess (1866–1951), US humorist and illustrator – obscure (BLUR), book (B).
I really struggled through much of this and eventually ground to a complete halt with three answers missing in the NW. When I got it down to one I glanced at my watch and found I was coming up to 25 minutes (only a couple short of my solving time on the main puzzle today) so I decided enough was enough, gave up and used aids to find CAREWORN. It wasn’t that difficult a clue but I’d become fixated on the second word being DOWN (unhappy) and that’s what did for me.
Chris, you have a typo in your anagrist for SAUCE.
Edited at 2019-11-26 11:41 am (UTC)
It will be interesting to see who else, apart from Our Kev and Lord Keriothe, can beat ten minutes.
FOI 2dn USAGE
(LOI) 4ac LEISURED
COD Most of them but I’ll go for 4dn LOOSE
WOD 14dn LAYETTE
A great contrast to yesterday’s speedfest.
Edited at 2019-11-26 07:01 am (UTC)
Held up by careworn, outcry, layette (dnk and mer at yet = even now), ethylene (or hetylene), and LOI oculist.
COD scribe.
Edited at 2019-11-26 09:46 am (UTC)
Never mind, there’s another one tomorrow!
Thanks Chris and Joker.
Templar
The complete opposite of yesterday, as others have said.
Sort of comforted to see that I wasn’t the only one! It doesn’t look quite so bad when presented as 2.5K, which would be about my norm. A good workout though, and nothing unfair – just quite hard. Let’s put this down as A Challenging Day 😉
We seem to have had layette a few times recently.
FOI Fill
LOI Careworn
COD Coda !
Time 19.41 (put the timer on today)
Many thanks to Joker and Chris, and well done those who came in under the 10 minute mark 😊
Loved CODA, LOI was OUTCRY.
I seem to have been one of the minority who were on Joker’s wavelength, and was looking at another clean sweep until I couldn’t get TRUSTFUL. I didn’t have LAYETTE at that point, and then spotted the possibility immediately the missing T was served. However, I couldn’t parse it, so it was a biff – something I seldom have to resort to on a QC – and I needed Chris’s excellent blog to show me where I’d gone astray. Quite simply, I’d used the device to get only the last two letters, instead of the whole clue. I suspect I was not alone ! I loved it when I knew what was going on, but it’s a bit of a toughie at this level.
FOI TUTU
LOI OCULIST
COD TRUSTFUL
TIME 4:07 (I’m proud of that in view of what others say)
FOI was EYE; SAC not long after. I then solved the RHS quite quickly but the LHS remained pretty blank. My last three were 3d, CAREWORN and finally OUTCRY. Some difficult stuff for a QC. COD to CODA , no pun intended.
I reckon just under 25 minutes for this. David
After 45 mins I seriously only had about 4 answers. However, I persevered, and have just finished. I can’t post the time because I lost track and it would no doubt be embarrassing, but the fact I completed it is a bonus in itself.
In hindsight, very enjoyable, although there were a few descriptions that I ended up “tutting” at:
“Tutu” = Dress – I thought it was a ballet skirt.
Couch = Bed – wasn’t the first on my mental list.
“Leisured” – was thinking in the present tense
FOI – 1ac – The above mentioned “Tutu”
LOI – 2dn – “Usage”
COD was a toss up between 5dn “Innards” (tried to fit entails at first) and 4dn “Loose” (mainly because I saw a double meaning that probably wasn’t there).
Thanks as usual.
My first version of 1a was ughu! No idea how you’d pronounce it tho 😊
In my experience, such “mombles” sound (or look) at least vaguely sensible in relation to the clue. I could well imagine an “ughu” being a form of military dress during the British Empire in some far flung location.
DNF today. Reassuring to not be the only one. My target is 2 Rotters. Johnny
FOI was tutu (and a bit of a mer about ‘dress’ as others have said), then ‘usage’. Biffed layette from the ‘L’ and the ‘Y’ but got nowhere near parsing it. The long ones went in fairly early after getting some of the checkers.
Careworn was the last one in (before I resorted to the aid) and teased out by writing ‘rower’ backwards and realising that the c and n came from Canada. I was originally looking for an obscure town or province ‘in Canada’ – probably ending in ‘toon’
Probably about 40 mins in total.
Thanks for the blog
Really tough, but fair, no complaints, got to learn as we go.
Incidentally, I think compilation book five is published in January. Would be ideal late Christmas/New Year gift.
Tim (not that Tim)