Hi all. Not an easy Monday for me: I slipped just outside my usual time range. I enjoyed it though, particularly 10a, 18a and 7d. Thanks Pedro!
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 | Monetary incentive remains after Conservative support (8) |
| CASHBACK — ASH (remains) after C (Conservative) + BACK (support) | |
| 5a | Uninteresting apartment (4) |
| FLAT — Double definition | |
| 8a | Certain to engage in indulgence over varied valuable items (8-5) |
| TREASURE-TROVE — SURE (certain) inside (to engage in) TREAT (indulgence) + an anagram of (… varied) OVER | |
| 10a | Italian food not found in opening section of dictionary? (5) |
| PASTA — If something is PAST A in the dictionary it’s not in the opening section | |
| 11a | Finished with the military, missing last of many such deliveries? (7) |
| OVERARM — OVER (finished) + ARM[y] (the military) without (missing) the last of manY | |
| 12a | Chap backed place for insect (6) |
| MANTIS — MAN (chap) + reversed (backed) SIT (place) | |
| 13a | Answer framed by King when in US state (6) |
| KANSAS — ANS (answer) surrounded by (framed by) K (King) and AS (when) | |
| 16a | Settling most of new police trap (7) |
| NESTING — All but the last letter of (most of) NEw + STING (police trap) | |
| 18a | Delete Times article, ultimately (5) |
| ERASE — ERAS (times) + the last letter of (… ultimately) articlE | |
| 20a | Sent Gibraltar wild with intimidating display (5-8) |
| SABRE-RATTLING — SENT GIBRALTAR anagrammed (wild) | |
| 21a | Try and restore evacuated part of car (4) |
| TYRE — TrY and RestorE having had the contents removed (evacuated) | |
| 22a | Barrier of stakes, very common, created without front (8) |
| STOCKADE — STOCK (very common, as in a stock phrase) + mADE (created) without the first letter (front) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | TUC, as it were, to be deeply distressed (3,2) |
| CUT UP — An inverse clue, not something frequently seen in these parts: CUT reversed (UP) would give TUC, so TUC “as it were.” | |
| Other indications of this kind of clue might be “what could give …” or even a simple question mark (which I probably wouldn’t expect in a QC, as question marks can indicate so many things) | |
| 2d | Restore young fellow’s hat (7) |
| STETSON — STET (restore – in editing, to restore after marking for deletion) + SON (young fellow) | |
| 3d | Part of Indian meal — it is macabre when cooked (7,4) |
| BASMATI RICE — IT IS MACABRE when anagrammed (cooked) | |
| 4d | Vehicle bowled on, a contributor to emissions? (6) |
| CARBON — CAR (vehicle) + B (bowled, cricketing abbreviation) + ON | |
| 6d | Idiot overturned article, something used in bathroom (5) |
| LOOFA — FOOL (idiot) reversed (overturned) + A (article). | |
| I’ve seen heated debates on crossword blogs when loofah has been defined as sponge. Pedro has deftly avoided that here, at the expense of a broader definition | |
| 7d | Drink container hogged by father mostly (7) |
| THERMOS — The answer is in (hogged by) faTHER MOStly | |
| 9d | Offering restoration in article on treatment of a picture (11) |
| THERAPEUTIC — THE (article) on an anagram (treatment) of A PICTURE | |
| 12d | Way of thinking is concerned about alien (4-3) |
| MIND-SET — MINDS (is concerned about) + ET (alien) | |
| 14d | Produces cartoons without energy, needing upturn in sustained energy (7) |
| STAMINA — ANIMAT[e]S (produces cartoons) without E (energy), needing a reversal (upturn) | |
| 15d | Silver has a trace of tarnish? Horrified (6) |
| AGHAST — AG (silver) + HAS + the first letter of (a trace of) Tarnish | |
| 17d | Dignified expression of unhappiness regarding upset (5) |
| SOBER — SOB (expression of unhappiness) + RE (regarding) reversed (upset) | |
| 19d | Dog ignoring first good hole (5) |
| EAGLE — bEAGLE (dog) without (ignoring) its first letter | |
No problems here – just over 8 minutes. Several biffed but confirmed from precise word play. I agree with our blogger’s picks on favourite clues.
By the way, I did this on the app and there was no completion (success/failure) message and the clock just kept on ticking. I treble checked I’d filled in the entire grid. Does anyone know if this is deliberate or an error?
It’s an error. The Times has been updating its app for at least a couple of months and has been having real problems with it – every time they put something right, something else goes wrong whack-a-mole style. For the past few days the “error of the day” has been the completion message on QCs.
It must be frustrating for them, and devilishly difficult to track down such an obscure error – but having said that, I do wish they would test their upgrades first before releasing them and expecting us users to be the testers.
Aaargh – just typed my post, flcked over to newer comments and lost everything 😖
Anyway, in a nutshell – not a bad day, especially as I find Pedro quite challenging and, as Templar says, a tad on the wordy side. But today’s clues seemed shorter and I got everything done and dusted in 10:20.
I liked PASTA, ERASE, CUT UP and STETSON. Like Invariant, I wasted time looking for dog with 2 Gs (not Snoop Dogg for sure!) and count me in as another who spells LOOFA with an H.
FOI Flat LOI Stockade COD Sabre-rattling
Thanks Pedro and Kitty
The biggie went well today too – 18 minutes. I anticipate a backlash tomorrow!
A dog with two Gs? How about Lassie and Black Beauty?
I’m being very dim here!
Lassie = Dog
Black Beauty = Gee-gee
Mrs R and I are very pleased to hear you’re well on the way back to full health. Let’s hope your mystery ailment stays banished for good.
I was being dim 🤣 Got it now!
Ah thank you. Best wishes to Mrs R 😊
Was doing very well, until I wasn’t! 12a Mantis was problematical: man-i- ! 18a Erase too and also 16a Nesting. 9d was the only word I could think to fit the crossers…. Liked 7d Thermos and 21a Tyre.
FOI 5a Flat – surely a chestnut
LOI 16a Nesting
COD 8a Treasure Trove
Dear Mr T,
MAN_I_ bamboozled me as well. In fact, it took me more than 10 minutes, mainly because I didn’t (and still can’t) equate place with SIT.
Exasperating!
This felt a lot trickier than it was. We finished in 13:29, which is round about our average. Took us quite while to get going which may have influenced our overall impression. I liked THERMOS as ‘father mostly’ hinted at a part word to be used instead. Thanks Pedro and Kitty.
Too hard for a QC. 51 minutes for me. Really, really struggled with CUT UP, MANTIS and (my LOI) STAMINA.
Thanks all.
48 minutes of hell.
About as enjoyable as toothache.
0/5 on the Quintagram.
On the point of giving up. This stopped being enjoyable a long time ago. I’m getting worse, not better, and there is no fun in that.
I look at all the good times today and it makes me feel ignorant.
Tried the big crossword to get my mojo back. Got most of them but several clues not completed and enthusiasm level still very low.
I have made a huge effort to improve recently and I have got nowhere.
Dear Mr A,
I tackle the Polygon each morning and I usually run into the sand before the accolade of ‘Average’ comes up. Further progress is invariably a long and drawn out affair, lasting for much of the rest of the day.
Thanks Mr R 😊
13.53. Got held up by KANSAS and STAMINA at the end. Quite tricky for a Monday I felt. thanks to Kitty and Pedro!