Hi all. This one didn’t put up too much of a fight but did make me smile. My COD is 15a, with its smooth surface and furry solution. It also reminded me of this recent “news” fluff piece, although that features a Siberian Forest cat rather than a tortie – and one who is far from being a lost stray.
So it’s purrs from me. I wonder what Pumpa’s verdict will be? And what did you think? Thanks Alex!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Grip cold electrical appliance (5) |
| CLAMP — C (cold) + LAMP (electrical appliance ) | |
| 4a | Passenger bill includes rodent (6) |
| GERBIL — PassenGER BILl includes the answer | |
| 9a | Captain beginning to skin smoked fish (7) |
| SKIPPER — The initial letter of (beginning to) Skin + KIPPER (smoked fish) | |
| 10a | First of all merchants exchange limes or nectarines for other fruit (5) |
| MELON — An acrostic: the first of all Merchants Exchange Limes Or Nectarines. (Strictly speaking the definition is “other fruit” – that is, referring back to the clue, fruit other than limes or nectarines) | |
| 11a | Copy first of adult games (3) |
| APE — The first letter of Adult + PE (games) | |
| 12a | Former railway employee is one sending goods out (8) |
| EXPORTER — EX-(former) PORTER (railway employee) | |
| 15a | Hoteliers lost stray cat perhaps (13) |
| TORTOISESHELL — An anagram of (… stray) HOTELIERS LOST | |
| 17a | Oddly hear poet producing musical (8) |
| HAMILTON — Odd letters of (oddly) HeAr + MILTON (poet) | |
| 18a | Tack in three directions (3) |
| SEW — The three directions are South, East and West | |
| 20a | Reportedly vote against animal noise (5) |
| NEIGH — Sounds like (reportedly) NAY (vote against) | |
| 22a | Rotten team not in position to score (7) |
| OFFSIDE — OFF (rotten) + SIDE (team) | |
| 23a | Cornered brick carrier holding returned chicken product (6) |
| HOGGED — HOD (brick carrier) holding the reversal of (returned) EGG (chicken product) | |
| 24a | Lily left books with you and me (5) |
| LOTUS — L (left) + OT (books) + US (you and me) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Say a cult transformed injured party (8) |
| CASUALTY — SAY A CULT anagrammed (transformed) | |
| 2d | Nimble US soldier drowning in beer (5) |
| AGILE — GI (US soldier) surrounded by (drowning in) ALE (beer) | |
| 3d | Seasoning on one sausage (9) |
| PEPPERONI — PEPPER (seasoning) on I (one) | |
| 5d | Wood regularly found in vellum (3) |
| ELM — The answer is given by regular letters of (regularly found in) vElLuM | |
| 6d | Trust from worker perhaps covering cover up (7) |
| BELIEVE — BEE (worker perhaps) surrounding (covering) VEIL (cover) reversed (up) | |
| 7d | Guided around North in advance (4) |
| LEND — LED (guided) around N (North) | |
| 8d | In favour of job suggestion (11) |
| PROPOSITION — PRO (in favour of) + POSITION (job) | |
| 13d | Bitter half seen in soothing surroundings (9) |
| RESENTFUL — Half seEN in RESTFUL (soothing) surroundings | |
| 14d | Perfect force having no rules (8) |
| FLAWLESS — F (force) + LAWLESS (having no rules) | |
| 16d | Fearing losing head studying (7) |
| READING — dREADING (fearing) minus the first letter (losing head) | |
| 18d | Change loose dress (5) |
| SHIFT — Two definitions | |
| 19d | Part of foot in church (4) |
| INCH — IN + CH (church) | |
| 21d | First signs of horsefly’s unwelcome, exasperating appearance (3) |
| HUE — Initial letters or first signs of Horsefly’s Unwelcome, Exasperating | |
Just avoided the SCC, finished in 19:32. Did a double-take when I saw the puzzle number: for the last year and a bit the rule has been that if the number ends in a 2, then it’s my turn to write the blog. But the Saturday quickie changed that calculation. Phew.
Anyway, as ever I struggled with the long anagram and needed help with that. LOI was GERBIL, once the crossers made RAT impossible.
Thanks to Kitty and Alex.
Yes, I always have a bit of a moment when the puzzle number ends in 5. (But Mondayness trumps fiveness, so I’m only actually likely to panic now if a xxx5 falls on my off Monday.)
not on Alex s wavelength today
DNF 😠
Guestimate finish of 30mins. Held up by Tortoiseshell (was trying to think of a character from CATS the musical) and my LOI The easy in hindsight Flawless.
Can we have a ban on the weekly Ape?
5:43. A bit on the slow side for me. TORTOISESHELL and HAMILTON (my LOI) held me up a bit but I was mostly bamboozled by the phantom anagrams of “team not” for 22A, the (1 letter short; doh) “lost stray cats” for 15A and “hear poet” for 17A. Up the garden path I was well and truly led. Thanks Alex and Kitty.
A happy 9 minutes with the cat and the poet proving to be the sternest and final resistance. Thanks all.
I took about 4 hours on this, because of one of those phone calls where you wait and wait and never know when you’re going to be replied to, so I decided to do today’s QC. The endless thanking me for waiting frazzled my mind and I thought it was rather hard. Then eventually I got through and forgot about the QC and went out. When I returned I finished it off, but the timer had been going all that time.
24:19
Was just about on target with all but one done in under 19 but got stuck for 5 mins on LOI SHIFT.
17 minutes.
I suppose it’s a sign of progress that I am dissatisfied with this. Slow start and the usual crop of silly mistakes. At least I avoided the usual last clue catastrophe, but might have been better.
Thanks for the blog.
All green within the hour. LOI was BELIEVE which had me stumped for ages and in the end was a guess from the crosses – thanks Kitty for the explanation. Must remember Bee for worker and Up for reversed – both of which I recognise from previous puzzles.
Bee rarely. More usually Ant or Hand from my limited experience