Solving time: 9 minutes. I found this not entirely straightforward but still completed it 1 minute within my target 10. As is usual, the trickier clues are balanced by easier ones, so the key thing is to move on if nothing is occurring to you after a few seconds. Concentrate on finding the easy answers, get some checkers in and build from there.
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]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
|
Across |
|
| 1 | Reportedly wed good, mature woman (8) |
| MARIGOLD | |
| MARI sounds like [reportedly] “marry” (wed), G (good), OLD (mature). A rare sighting of a homophone as only a section of wordplay. | |
| 5 | Reflected sound from City house (4) |
| ECHO | |
| EC (City of London), HO (house) | |
| 8 | In Pennsylvania, a way to get Italian food (5) |
| PASTA | |
| A + ST (way) contained by [in] PA (Pennsylvania) | |
| 9 | Pair of warrant officers appearing in book (7) |
| TWOSOME | |
| WO’S (warrant officers) contained by [appearing in] TOME (book) | |
| 11 | Fearsome, though again inviting uncertainty? (11) |
| REDOUBTABLE | |
| RE- (again), DOUBTABLE (inviting uncertainty) | |
| 13 | Burrowing marsupial initially wary of man with club (6) |
| WOMBAT | |
| W{ary} + O{f} + M{an} [initially], BAT (club) | |
| 14 | Direct-sounding channel (6) |
| STRAIT | |
| Sounds like [sounding] “straight” (direct). A narrow passage of water connecting two seas or large bodies of water. | |
| 17 | Casual attitude of church fellow in north once (11) |
| NONCHALANCE | |
| CH (church) + ALAN (fellow) contained by [in] N (north) + ONCE | |
| 20 | Neat and tidy hospital attendant (7) |
| ORDERLY | |
| Two meanings | |
| 21 | Vacuous grandmother in Nimes regularly (5) |
| INANE | |
| NAN (grandmother) contained by [in] {n}I{m}E{s} [regularly] | |
| 22 | Travel by railway? It’s bloody! (4) |
| GORY | |
| GO (travel), RY (railway) | |
| 23 | Advance made by pair pursued by monster (8) |
| PROGRESS | |
| PR (pair), OGRESS (monster) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Brood, having dropped daughter off back of light motorcycle (4) |
| MOPE | |
| MOPE{d} (light motorcycle) [having dropped daughter – d – off back] | |
| 2 | Where one conducts or turns up to play unskilfully (7) |
| ROSTRUM | |
| OR reversed [turns up], STRUM (play unskilfully) | |
| 3 | Lofty, stout woman’s elderly relative (11) |
| GRANDFATHER | |
| GRAND (lofty), FAT (stout), HER (woman’s). Hardly elderly these days when the average age of a first-time grandparent in the UK is only 50. The youngest recorded in the UK in 2011 was 29. | |
| 4 | Release the French racecourse spy (3,3) |
| LET OUT | |
| LE (the in French), TOUT (racecourse spy) | |
| 6 | Fellow doctor crossing old hillside hollow (5) |
| COOMB | |
| CO- (fellow) + MB (doctor) containing [crossing] O (old) | |
| 7 | Light stage work awkward to repeat (8) |
| OPERETTA | |
| Anagram [awkward] of TO REPEAT | |
| 10 | Notable? Not in status (11) |
| OUTSTANDING | |
| OUT (not in), STANDING (status) | |
| 12 | Final act of pallid lad in extremes of suffering (4,4) |
| SWAN SONG | |
| WAN (pallid) + SON (lad) contained by [in] S{ufferin}G [extremes of…] | |
| 15 | Mean to declare present point in life (7) |
| AVERAGE | |
| AVER (declare), AGE (present point in life) | |
| 16 | One forking out cash to engage Liberal actor, perhaps (6) |
| PLAYER | |
| PAYER (one forking out cash), containing [to engage] L (Liberal) | |
| 18 | Lowest point of broken drain (5) |
| NADIR | |
| Anagram [broken] of DRAIN | |
| 19 | A man’s piece of photographic equipment (4) |
| LENS | |
| LEN’S (a man’s) | |
FOI MOPE, LOI OPERETTA.
Favourite clue WOMBAT.
Gary A