This one took me 9 minutes so I’d rate it at the easier end of the spectrum, and with some confidence considering how tricky Izetti’s offering was on Friday, and that’s not a criticism btw. I don’t think there are any unfamilar words or meanings today and the clue construction and wordplay are mostly straightforward, though I note some of the clues are quite wordy (10 in a couple of cases!) so less experienced solvers may have found themselves a bit bamboozled by this. The aim when stuck on long clues is to try to break them down into their various components by identifying key words that define the answer or indicate something such as anagram, reversal, containment, deletion, homophone etc. Other words may be “charades” clueing a word or a syllable that makes up part of the answer. Here we go…
Definition {deletion} [indicators]
|
Across |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Energetic person outside pit to behave arrogantly (8) |
| DOMINEER – DOER (energetic person) outside MINE (pit) | |
| 5 | Setback: British crestfallen (4) |
| BLOW – B (British), LOW (crestfallen) | |
| 8 | Working together, almost arrest bishop before speech (13) |
| COLLABORATION – COLLA{r} (almost arrest), B (bishop), ORATION (speech) | |
| 10 | Second left to see football, say (5) |
| SPORT – S (second), PORT (left) | |
| 11 | Meals at higher level in Sunday School (7) |
| SUPPERS – UPPER (at higher level) in SS (Sunday School). I wondered whether the two S’s needed to be parsed separately as Sunday and School, but Collins confirms that they can be used together in this context. | |
| 12 | Singular place of safety for beardless? (6) |
| SHAVEN – S (singular), HAVEN (place of safety) | |
| 13 | Near the end some regret talking back (6) |
| LATTER – Hidden [some] and reversed [back] inside {reg}RET TAL{king} | |
| 16 | Speak disapprovingly to salesman and wander off (7) |
| REPROVE – REP (salesman), ROVE (wander off) | |
| 18 | In recession manage hospital for period (5) |
| EPOCH – COPE (manage) reversed [in recession], H (hospital) | |
| 20 | Fashionable article, one maybe containing tobacco policy, on its way (2,3,8) |
| IN THE PIPELINE – IN (fashionable), THE (article), PIPE (one maybe containing tobacco), LINE (policy). A lengthy charade. | |
| 21 | Good year, oddly, for painter (4) |
| GOYA – Alternate letters [oddly] of G{o}O{d} Y{e}A{r} | |
| 22 | One greatly disliked bandana the maid displays (8) |
| ANATHEMA – Hidden [displays] in {band}ANA THE MA{id} | |
|
Down |
|
| 1 | Moves quickly to avoid waterbirds (5) |
| DUCKS – Double definition | |
| 2 | Republic first to move on out-of-date eggs (7) |
| MOLDOVA – M{ove}, OLD (out-of-date), OVA (eggs) | |
| 3 | None breathe nervously, close to indecency (4,3,4) |
| NEAR THE BONE – Anagram [nervously] of NONE BREATHE – our first today! | |
| 4 | Self-centredness, say, starts to offend in some measure (6) |
| EGOISM – EG (say), [starts to] O{ffend}, I{n}, S{ome}, M{easure} | |
| 6 | Collective knowledge about island river (5) |
| LOIRE – LORE (collective knoweldge) encloses I (island) | |
| 7 | House in downs I refurbished? Right (7) |
| WINDSOR – Anagram [refurbished] of DOWNS I, R (right). The current Royal Family are members of this Royal House. | |
| 9 | Making concessions as policy, change a steppe name (11) |
| APPEASEMENT – Anagram [change] of A STEPPE NAME. A policy that’s had a bad press over the years but is sometimes necessary for self-preservation. | |
| 12 | Portion in southeast region initially accompanied by French wine (good) (7) |
| SERVING – SE (southeast}, R{egion}, VIN (French wine), G (good) | |
| 14 | Act deceitfully also, we hear – note I’m taken in (3-4) |
| TWO-TIME – TWO sounds like [we hear] “too” (also), then I’M inside TE (note – that Julie Andrews drinks with jam and bread) | |
| 16 | Give up tenure or commit oneself again? (6) |
| RESIGN – Double definition, the second one probably needing a hyphen – “re-sign” | |
| 17 | Crazy child’s place to go (5) |
| POTTY – Double definition, the second one amusingly cryptic | |
| 19 | Surprised expression about longing for doglike mammal (5) |
| HYENA – HA (surprised expression) enclosing [about] YEN (longing) | |
Quite a few tricks of the trade on display here (e.g. recession = reverse), so a particularly good one for those starting out on this great adventure.
Thanks to Hurley and to jack for his usual succinct and informative blog.
Good to start the week with a completed puzzle, especially as I managed to parse them all as well – a rare event indeed.
In some ways, I didn’t find this the most satisfactory of solves, but it does echo the feeling I have with some 15×15 puzzles.
Edited at 2015-03-09 07:47 pm (UTC)
SOED has: a person who acts rather than merely talking or thinking. There are load so others, including a cheat!
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