This puzzle struck me as quite difficult, but as I write the blog it doesn’t seem that tough. The QUITCH is over 100, but not particularly high. However, I often have difficulties with Teazel’s puzzles.
There were a few awkward clues. I didn’t care for the definition of flue, the literal for metric, and the two instances of up in the clue for strap. These anomalies slowed me up just a bit, but I wasn’t very sharp at the start and wasted a lot of time on answers I should have seen quickly, putting me over 10 minutes.
| 1 | Actually redeem joky promise, breaking Senate oath (3,4,3) |
| EAT ONES HAT – Anagram of SENATE OATH. | |
| 8 | Conventional pair embracing guy (6) |
| PROPER – P(ROPE)R. | |
| 9 | Prepares to take off one among deductions from pay (6) |
| TAXIES – TAX(I)ES. | |
| 10 | Escape illness with drug (4) |
| FLUE – FLU + E. Not the first meaning I would think of for flue – but it’s probably in the dictionary. | |
| 11 | One ironing negligently? It’s a hot day! (8) |
| SCORCHER – Double definition, the first one jocular. | |
| 12 | Modest, but sounding much in demand? (6) |
| CHASTE – Sounds like chased. | |
| 14 | Staggering, installing new sunshade (6) |
| AWNING – AW(N)ING. | |
| 16 | Almost drop argument for register of singers (8) |
| FALSETTO – FAL[l] + SET TO. | |
| 18 | Partners at table accepting one’s sensible (4) |
| WISE – W(IS)E, the bridge partners West and East. | |
| 20 | Satisfied, endlessly wealthy in such a system (6) |
| METRIC – MET + RIC[h]. The literal is poor, since such does not refer to anything in the previous part of the clue. | |
| 21 | Keep drawing attention to large jug (6) |
| FLAGON – FLAG ON. Large is not L, a bit of misdirection. | |
| 22 | Choice testimonial on page (10) |
| PREFERENCE – P + REFERENCE. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Part of Capri lovely in springtime (5) |
| APRIL – Hidden in [c]ARPI L[ovely]. | |
| 3 | Heavy-handedly control work on newspapers (7) |
| OPPRESS – OP + PRESS. | |
| 4 | Pay attention to, commonly — with this? (3) |
| EAR – ‘EAR, that is to say, the Cockney version of HEAR. This does refer correctly back to the first part of the clue. | |
| 5 | Item baked perhaps an awkward responsibility (3,6) |
| HOT POTATO – A double definition, or a cryptic hint, or whatever you want to call it. | |
| 6 | What’s sickening to numbers of Romans (5) |
| TOXIC – TO + X,I, C – all Roman numerals. | |
| 7 | Flower is cut: name? (6) |
| SEVERN – SEVER + N, that kind of flow-er. | |
| 11 | Select cap to be prepared for public display (9) |
| SPECTACLE – Anagram of SELECT CAP. | |
| 13 | Deceived and given the chop after half an hour (6) |
| HOAXED – HO[ur] + AXED. | |
| 15 | Old prison — needs this after violent breakout? (7) |
| NEWGATE – Needs a NEW GATE. | |
| 17 | Fasten up sections that have turned up (5) |
| STRAP – PARTS upside-down. | |
| 19 | Dreadful cost I accepted uncomplaining (5) |
| STOIC – Anagram of COST I. | |
| 21 | Service charge offered regularly (3) |
| FEE – [o]F[f]E[r]E[d]. | |
Well I got there in the end – had to keep returning to this during the day – it’s amazing how words will just drop in that one has struggled with earlier.
I did find this hard specially when my FOI was 21D!
A couple made me smile when the penny dropped especially SCORCHER and HOT POTATO.
I have no idea why I could not see APRIL in the beginning as my first thought was that it was a hidden – maybe too much on the mind pre-Christmas.
Thanks Teazel for the teasing and Vinyl.
Horrific. Flue for escape is nuts. scorcher for bad ironing. chased for much in demand. I could go on and on. OK.. they kinda make sense when blogged but honestly. Puts me right off Times QCs.
Oppress, Ear and Severn all far too weirdly clued. Not much festive spirit shown with this one. Yuck. Thanks fir the blog.