A rather thorny crossword today which took me 16 minutes. 15dn was my final struggle as I didn’t have the gk and couldn’t work out what was going on – until it became obvious, of course.
Definitions are underlined in bold italics.
| Across | |
| 1 | Comfy seat concealed by Francis of Assisi (4) |
| SOFA – concealed in Franci(S OF A)ssisi. | |
| 3 | Mugged fellow used to drink in pub (4,3) |
| TOBY JUG – I think it’s a cryptic definition. it’s a ceramic (rather than glass) beer mug. The general consensus is that Toby Jugs were named for an 18th-century Yorkshire man who got the nickname Toby Fillpot after he drank 2,000 pints of Yorkshire stingo (ale). A Toby Jug is a figural ceramic pitcher modeled in the form of a popular character, historical, fictional or generic. | |
| 8 | Is a time amid hardship resulting in loss of public assets? (13) |
| PRIVATISATION – With thanks to comments below: is (IS), a (A) and time (T) inside hardship (PRIVATION). | |
| 9 | Friend or enemy, primarily? Enemy (3) |
| FOE – (F)riend (O)r (E)nemy. | |
| 10 | More painful right in middle of rambling rose (5) |
| SORER – right (R) in the middle of an anagram (rambling) of ROSE. | |
| 12 | Soil thrown in trash (7) |
| TARNISH – anagram (thrown) of IN TRASH. | |
| 14 | Boy having party with little Charlie (7) |
| DOMINIC – party (DO), little (MINI), Charlie (C). | |
| 16 | Half-cut at university bar, knocked back Bloody Mary, say (5) |
| TUDOR – all backwards of: half-cut e(ROD)ed, university (U), bar (T – as in some ski lifts). Any other suggestions for half of ‘cut’? Thanks to comments below: half of a(T), university (U), bar (ROD) backwards. | |
| 17 | Paddle with duck alongside a river (3) |
| OAR – duck (O – zero score), a (A), river (R). | |
| 20 | The attraction of two Barbaras (7,6) |
| WINDSOR CASTLE – Barbaras with those surnames. | |
| 21 | Trouble in road behind nightclub (7) |
| DISCORD – Road (RD) after nightclub (DISCO). | |
| 22 | Unwanted messages get plans backwards (4) |
| SPAM – plans (MAPS) – backwards. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Fancied a little drink and sit down at first (8) |
| SUPPOSED – a little drink (SUP), sit (POSE), (D)own. | |
| 2 | Sword made from thin sheet of metal (4) |
| FOIL – double definition. | |
| 3 | Tip from tradesman fixing kitchen stand (6) |
| TRIVET – (T)radesman, fixing (RIVET). I’m not sure I properly knew that that’s what those things are called you put hot pans on to avoid burning the worktop. | |
| 4 | Rush away to dine, tucking into simple, delicious morsel? (4,1,7) |
| BEAT A RETREAT – dine (EAT) inside simple (BARE), delicious morsel (TREAT). | |
| 5 | Convict in trouble over prison term initiated by judge (8) |
| JAILBIRD – trouble (AIL) on top of prison term (BIRD) all after judge (J). | |
| 6 | End of lesson in silence for badly behaved group? (4) |
| GANG – lesso(N) inside silence (GAG). | |
| 7 | Foreign currency accepted by dodgy casinos in US city (3,9) |
| SAN FRANCISCO – foreign currency (FRANC) inside an anagram (dodgy) of CASINOS. In case anyone hmphs about the franc having been replaced by the euro, countries that use francs today include Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and most of Francophone Africa. | |
| 11 | Relics moved man to break into tears (8) |
| REMNANTS – anagram (moved) of MAN inside tears (RENTS), | |
| 13 | Something hooted on top of Ray’s tree (8) |
| HORNBEAM – also known as ironwood, apparently. Something hooted/blown (HORN) on top of ray (BEAM). | |
| 15 | Writer of piece of music on radio (6) |
| CONRAD – I have to fess up to not knowing Joseph Conrad author of Lord Jim and Nostromo among others. It turns out, I didn’t need to worry about it as the answer is a piece of the clue – musi(C ON RAD)io. | |
| 18 | Was obliged to love and marry (4) |
| OWED – love (O), marry (WED). | |
| 19 | Stage favourites making comeback (4) |
| STEP – favourites (PETS) backwards. | |
I’ve certainly done 15 x
15 puzzles quicker than this, but I’ll need to be in top form on today’s if I’m to achieve that particular feat. I was well over target, and found some of the clueing a little clunky (and I agree that, as a very amateur setter, it’s a bit rich of me to criticize the former Puzzles Editor !)
FOI SOFA (SOFA, so good)
LOI HORNBEAM (which doesn’t end with “elm”)
COD WINDSOR CASTLE (never been)
TIME 6:53 (woefully slow for me, and about twice as long as yesterday’s which I only did very late last night.)
PS The 15 x 15 took me 54 seconds longer !
Managed it in about 30 minutes – not bad for me, given that I only got a few first time round. Ground out the answers with a couple of groans and guesses en route.
6:39 this morning. Back after two of the last three weeks away and playing “catch up” generally so the Times Crossword isn’t always a top priority at the moment (pause to hang head in shame….).
After yesterday’s gentle welcome to the QC week, I found this a lot more tricky and although there were some pretty straightforward clues in the mix, there were others that wouldn’t have been out of place in a 15×15. For example, 16 ac “tudor” was quite convoluted but all in aid of a clever surface. In some cases definitions were more vague than they might have been (e.g. 3 ac “mugged fellow” and 20 ac “attraction”) but that tends to be a major contributor to the overall level of difficulty of a puzzle.
COD 15 d “Conrad”, neat misleading by the setter.
Thanks to Chris and Hawthorn
I think The Times needs a new crossword editor. How can it possibly be fair that the QC is harder than the 15×15? The world and his wife knows that I am incapable of completing a QC – yesterday I only got 4 clues. But today, on the 15×15, I got 3 clues in as many minutes! I had ideas for two more clues, and the 15×15 blog confirmed that I was on the right track. The QC is supposed to bring new people to the alleged joys of cryptic crosswords, but the Editor has missed the target today.
I started just the same (when there was only the 15×15 game in town). I got a few then used the blog to understand how the others worked, gradually I improved and enjoyed the process. That there is a QC (admittedly of varying difficulty) is a benefit to anyone starting. The big thing is to enjoy how it all works and appreciate the cleverness of the puzzles being set for you.
This was tough. I very seldom even look at the 15×15 as the clues often appear impenetrable but so did many today. This one took me hours! Just pleased to be away resting on hols and having the time to chip away u til it was done. Might take a look at the 15×15 but no desire to spend hours on that too!
Fat finger day as I meant to reply to you but it appears slightly lower than intended!
I made good progress until just into SCC terrritory (very familiar to me), but then really had to grind out my last 5 clues. They were all interconnected, mostly in the NE corner – GANG, JAILBIRD, TOBY JUG, BEAT A RETREAT and TUDOR (my LOI). Not being well read, I DNK the writer (CONRAD), couldn’t work out why Fancied = SUPPOSED (although I have now done so), and I couldn’t fully parse TUDOR. In the end, I crossed the line rather relieved in 36 minutes.
Many thanks for the workout to Hawthorn, and for the explanations to Chris.
Pleased with myself for finishing a tough one in 16 but less happy to see I’d failed to type out a hidden properly. CONRAf gave me two errors from one pink square. Great stuff.
I agree with Ian. If this is designed to encourage new solvers it is so far off the mark to be laughable. When solvers who normally do the QC in 3-5 minutes struggle something is wrong.
Surprised to be the only one to have RUBBISH for 12ac which really gums up that corner! Eventually rescued by TRIVET but I think TUDOR is simply too convoluted and I’m not sure I understand it even now with the apparently redundant ‘say’ at the end of the clue. I get the Mary Queen of Scots reference but it feels as though there are too many holes in the clue for a simpleton like me. 1d feels upside down to me as well; I had ‘sit’ as POSED so parsed ‘down at first’ as the beginning of the word. Ah well. Onwards and upwards! Thanks all
I think Bloody Mary refers to Mary Tudor who was Queen before her younger sister Elizabeth came to the throne. They were both daughters of Henry VIII. Mary,Queen of Scots was their cousin.
A harder slog than reading Conrad and that’s saying something. Give me a Carry On film any day.
Pleased to finish in 40 with half a dozen biffs.
wrong by one.
did not get privet.
toilet fitted though
Completely flummoxed by too many to mention. Feeling mauled by a quickie has not happened for some time.
Thanks of a sort to Hawthorn!
My ideal crossword is a mix of easy clues to get you started, “lightbulb” clues that are really difficult until you see them, awful puns, odd words you remember hearing but don’t really know and laugh out loud answers. This had them all.
I loved the two castles, easy sofa, liked the misdirection of Conrad, and grudgingly accepted that Franc is a current currency. Only fault was 12 ac which I thought was “rubbish”: soil = rubbish, trash = rubbish. I remembered we had a trivet once and “beat a retreat” seemed the only answer so “rubbish” became “tarnish”
Thoroughly enjoyable imo.
I seem to have a different experience with Hawthorn’s puzzles from others! It was the same last time, but wait for the law to kick in next time!
I finished this in 8:52, with only CONRAD unparsed – those pesky hiddens. I thoroughly enjoyed this – SORER and DOMINIC both made me smile, but there were lots of other lovely surfaces too.
FOI Sofa LOI Privatisation COD Windsor Castle (a great clue anyway, but as I am a displaced Windsorian, it had to be!)
Thanks Hawthorn and Chris
23 minutes for the biggie, so yes, I too found it very user-friendly 😊
A late solve after a v long day so glad to get home in around 30 mins. Recognised trivet from a relatively recent QC. Having seen some of the comments, I’ve done pretty well by my standards today.
Thanks for a great blog.
Spent about 2 hours – didn’t manage more than a third.
Went through the answers- just like a 15×15
I would literally need a month – and I don’t think I’d parse half these.
So sad – usually can get these in an hour.
This is one reason I keep my subscription.
Any more of this – and the awful news of our economy- and I will stop buying.