You wait for a solve exactly 9 seconds over taget and two come along in a few weeks. Some of this was spent mulling over 12ac – let me know if I’m missing something here. Hats off to the two long definitions at 9 and 16dn with 9dn winning COD – 16dn had a rather simpler cryptic.
The definitions are underlined.
Across | |
1 | Finish getting runs in place for batsman (6) |
CREASE – finish (CEASE) containing runs (R). | |
4 | Tart and custard isn’t desirable in courses — just starters (6) |
ACIDIC – (A)nd (C)ustard (I)sn’t (D)esirable (I)n (C)ourses. | |
8 | Extensive notes showing how much policemen are indebted? (7) |
COPIOUS – notes showing indebtedness (IOUS) of policemen (COPS). | |
10 | Share out a fee for passage on the way back (5) |
ALLOT – a (A), fee for passage _ toll – on the way back (LLOT). | |
11 | Writing on the wall round gents (4) |
OMEN – round (O). gents (MEN). | |
12 | Left gold for respected poet (8) |
LAUREATE – left (L), gold (AU), for (RE). I can’t make ate=respected so have to conclude that the definition is respected poet and there isn’t any parsing for ‘ate’. Ususally in these situations someone points out to me the blindingly obvious which I’ve missed. Bernchn has come to the rescue – gold (AUREATE – meaning golden, gilded). | |
14 | Theatre operative attaching end of arm to leg (9) |
STAGEHAND – end of arm (HAND) attached to leg (STAGE). | |
18 | Spot calcium used in cosmetic cream (8) |
LOCATION – calcium (CA) in cosmetic cream (LOTION). | |
20 | A taxi passenger’s last to be dropped some way away (4) |
AFAR – a (A), taxi passenger (FARE). | |
22 | What’s in creel? Very small fish (5) |
ELVER – inside cre(EL VER)y. | |
23 | Your setter has a completely confident step (7) |
MEASURE – your setter (ME), a (A), completely confident (SURE). | |
24 | Walk street and go from side to side (6) |
STROLL – street (ST), go from side to side (ROLL). | |
25 | Just book early for a change (6) |
BARELY – book (B), anagram (for a change) of EARLY. |
Down | |
1 | Safeguard two companies working (6) |
COCOON – two companies (CO CO), working (ON). | |
2 | Former print media, say (7) |
EXPRESS – former (EX), media (PRESS). | |
3 | Son has sexy photograph (4) |
SHOT – sone (S), sexy (HOT). | |
5 | Conservative shock with chap meeting leader (8) |
CHAIRMAN – conservative (C), shock (HAIR), chap (MAN). | |
6 | Letter of thanks after getting shown the way up (5) |
DELTA – thanks (TA) after getting shown the way – led – upwards (DEL). | |
7 | Crufts regularly allowed meat on the bone (6) |
CUTLET – (C)r(U)f(T)s, allowed (LET). As far as I know, a cutlet doesnt have to be on the bone – but certainly can be. | |
9 | Where Queen may entertain government or set up Order of Merit (9) |
STATEROOM – government (STATE), or upwards (RO), Order of Merit (OM). | |
13 | Ground patrols round a country (8) |
PASTORAL – anagram (ground – as in coffee) of PATROLS around a (A). | |
15 | Mostly disagree about us lacking concentration (7) |
DIFFUSE – mostly disagree (DIFFE)r about us (US). | |
16 | What help one get a grip resolving perils (6) |
PLIERS – anagram (resolving) of PERILS. | |
17 | Queen carried in pretentiously refined vessel (6) |
ARTERY – Queen (ER) carried in pretentious (ARTY). | |
19 | Caught beyond fielding position (5) |
COVER – caught (C), beyond (OVER). | |
21 | Give a long involved story (4) |
SAGA – give (SAG), a (A). |
aureate /öˈri-ət/ adjective
Gilded
Golden
Floridly rhetorical
Not a word I recalled, but it seemed plausible.
Edited at 2021-02-23 02:28 am (UTC)
I noted in the margin that I had never heard of AUREATE but on searching TfTT I find it has come up 4 times in the 15×15 including twice in 2018 and once in 2019, and I’ve never expressed a problem with it before. The answer LAUREATE was pretty much biffable today and made easier with some checkers in place.
Edited at 2021-02-23 06:06 am (UTC)
A bit of a struggle but I managed to complete it in about 50 minutes. A slow solve, even for me!
Today’s favourite was 1d COCOON.
Thanks Joker. A taxing but satisfying puzzle.
Edited at 2021-02-23 08:50 am (UTC)
Thanks to chris and Joker for the workout.
Edited at 2021-02-23 09:52 am (UTC)
ARTERY, MEASURE, BARELY (I put in RARELY to begin with, but couldn’t place the R) – never parsed LAUREATE, so thanks for “AUREATE”, which as per Jack, will be filed away, and no doubt forgotten!
7:45.
Edited at 2021-02-23 09:37 am (UTC)
Cedric
Edited at 2021-02-23 01:08 pm (UTC)
LOI: 23a MEASURE
Time: DNF
Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 21
Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 5d, 15d, 17d
Clues Unanswered: 25a, 21d
Wrong Answers: Nil
Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 24/26
Aids Used: Chambers, Bradfords
I normally do quite well with Joker’s QC, and this one was no exception. Though a DNF with only two remaining, this one was an enjoyable puzzle. There were some clues that took me forever to work out, but once that “ah-ha!” moment arrives, it encouraged me to keep going.
21d. SAGA – I initially thought TALE but knew that SAGA or YARN could have fit. I just could not get the “give” part of the clue. It did not occur to me that here give did not mean to provide, but sag. I could not decide which to use and so DNF it.
25a. BARELY – Another I just could not work out as much as I tried. I initially thought CHANGE was the definition, but then started looking for a JUST BOOK, as in a religious text. This ended up being my second DNF clue.
16a. “What help one get a grip resolving perils.” – I was not happy with the English in this clue. “What help one…” Should that not have read, “what helpS one get a grip …”? However, I realised I was looking for an anagram of perils, and so the answer came quite easily.
No obscure words with this one, and I was pleased that I answered 12a (LAUREATE).
I didn’t manage to blog my attempt from yesterday, but it was an awful attempt with 2 wrong answers, and a DNF.
Edited at 2021-02-23 10:15 am (UTC)
I am not sure. It just did not read correctly to me. Perhaps it’s just my poor English. >.
Struggled anyway most of the way through. Luckily remembered a few cricketing terms.
FOsI. AFAR, SAGA, ACIDIC, LAUREATE (written in very faintly), ELVER. Don’t know why I found PLIERS difficult.
COPIOUS made me smile. Liked MEASURE once I worked it out.
Thank you, Chris, as ever.
Then it was slow determined progress with the SW completely blank until the end.
I thought of LAUREATE quickly but could see no way of parsing it (thanks for that to bloggers)so waited for checkers to confirm. My last two were PLIERS and PASTORAL where I had been trying to find a country name.
As I said, properly difficult, from the setter’s art not from obscure words, birds or fish. COD to BARELY -great surface -but lots of candidates.
20 minutes of hard and enjoyable work.
David
–AntsInPants
COD COPIOUS
I know a lot of commentators on here say the “quick” crossword is just a smaller version of the main 15×15 (rather than it being easier), but no matter how hard I try the approach just feels different and the methods I use never seem to work – even when they are relatively easy.
Maybe I’ve just been mentally conditioned to think it is hard and therefore I am defeated before I even start.
–AntsInPants
It helps that they grip …
I think the clue, though clunky , is correct.
Diana
–AntsInPants
Edited at 2021-02-23 04:36 pm (UTC)
Some days, extracting information from my brain is like scraping out the last of the jam from the bottom of the jar. You think it’s all done, but if you just dig a little deeper you can get that last bit stuck in the bottom of the rim.
I made a few mistakes today but had the patience to rectify them when I knew the parsing wasn’t right. 10ac “Allot” started as “Split”, 15dn “Diffuse” was “Defocus” and 24ac “Stroll” was “Stride”. Main holdups were 9dn “Stateroom” and the SE corner where I dismissed “vein” for 17dn and then forgot about “artery”. Also puzzled about the “ate” in Laureate and the surface of 16dn “pliers”.
FOI — 1dn “Cocoon”
LOI — 25ac “Barely”
COD — 9dn “Stateroom”
Thanks as usual.
FOI: crease
LOI: barely
COD: copious (but omen made me smile too)
Thanks for the blog Chris.
I foundered on 17d (ARTERY), 21d (SAGA) and 25a (BARELY) in the SE corner, 5d (CHAIRMAN) and 10a (ALLOT) in the NE, and 9d (STATEROOM) in the centre.
Why is B short for book?
Does HAIR really mean shock?
I’m fed up with clues about vessels – there are thousands of them.
On the plus side, I enjoyed solving 4a (I love TARTs) and 8a (the vision of COP IOUS made me chuckle.
N.B. Mrs Random’s summation of today’s puzzle was “Hard, hard, hard”. She finished it in 54 minutes.
Thanks to chrisw91 and Joker, and respect to all those who completed it successfully.
‘Shock’ for ‘hair’ is common enough. SOED: A shaggy and unkempt mass of hair. E19.
I always used to find Joker’s puzzles quite easy so don’t know if he’s upped the ante recently, but the last few have been quite troublesome for me. Nonetheless, today’s was full of his usual humour and top surfaces – as James says, it just took a lot longer to scrape the jam out of the jar! Most time was spent on COPIOUS, STROLL, BARELY and ARTERY.
FOI Express
LOI Barely
COD Elver
23 mins
Thanks as always to Joker and Chris
Edited at 2021-02-23 06:35 pm (UTC)
FOI CREASE, LOI SAGA, COD ACIDIC, time 2.1K for a Very Forgettable Day.
Many thanks Joker and Chris.
Templar
I thought this was chewier than today’s 15×15 .
Another reminder to self about vessels….
My father used to talk about a pair of pliers , it seems odd considering plier has a very different meaning.
Tomorrow morning will be hijacked by the cricket. ( always it seems preceded by the definite article). 🤞
FOI – 1ac CREASE
LOI – 25ac BARELY
COD – 25ac BARELY – had me completely tied in knots!
FOI ACIDIC
LOI ARTERY (on the third visit to the clue !)
COD STAGEHAND (closely followed by STATEROOM)
TIME 4:22
… and we will draw a veil over the time, which was well into SCC territory.
Some of my delays were the result of being led well astray. I was convinced “end of arm” in 14A indicated an M, and wondered hard about an anagram in 17D with “refined” in the clue — I still don’t really see why it’s there and “… in pretentious vessel” might have been neater.
But others I felt were slightly dubious cluing, with confused parts of speech (aureate means golden not gold, and equating “country” with “pastoral” is also mixing adjective and noun). And equating government and state in 9D too — they are not the same at all, and while one loose clue is OK, three is surely a Lady Bracknell moment.
Oh well, it was at least a finish. But not one I enjoyed as much as some. Many thanks to Chris for the blog.
Cedric
R Barker