Solving time: 12 minutes
An enjoyable puzzle I found mostly straightforward, but how did you do?
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | A portion of haggis always lacks flavour at first (4) |
| HALF | |
| H{aggis} + A{lways} + L{acks} + F{lavour} [at first] | |
| 3 | Yell about terrible tune for quite a long time (7) |
| CENTURY | |
| CRY (yell) containing [about] anagram [terrible] of TUNE | |
| 8 | Somehow computerise nearly all valuable material (8,5) |
| PRECIOUS METAL | |
| Anagram [somehow] of COMPUTERISE, then AL{l} [nearly] | |
| 9 | Sort of info lawyers know to begin with (3) |
| ILK | |
| I{nfo} + L{awyers} + K{now} [to begin with] | |
| 10 | Urge, say, almost vanished (3,2) |
| EGG ON | |
| E.G. (say), GON{e} (vanished) [almost] | |
| 12 | Look, food is likely a big element of holiday expenditure (7) |
| AIRFARE | |
| AIR (look – appearance, manner), FARE (food) | |
| 14 | I told you, the cuts hurt (2,5) |
| SO THERE | |
| THE is contained by [cuts] SORE (hurt) | |
| 16 | Poet periodically welcomes in a doctor and priest (5) |
| PADRE | |
| P{o}E{t} [periodically] contains [welcomes in] A + DR (doctor) | |
| 17 | Cheek, or something next to it! (3) |
| LIP | |
| A cryptic hint refers to parts of the face | |
| 20 | Getting redundant sign updated (13) |
| UNDERSTANDING | |
| Anagram [updated] of REDUNDANT SIGN. Geddit? | |
| 21 | Discredited official silenced after losing millions (7) |
| REFUTED | |
| REF (official), {m}UTED (silenced) [after losing millions]. One can refute or discredit an argument. | |
| 22 | Dog possibly swallows small bug (4) |
| PEST | |
| PET (dog, possibly) contains [swallows] S (small) | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Trousers for fashionable types (8) |
| HIPSTERS | |
| Two meanings | |
| 2 | Place is somewhat foul, i.e. unpleasant (4) |
| LIEU | |
| Hidden in [somewhat] {fou}L IE U{npleasant} | |
| 3 | Caught person throwing part of game (6) |
| CHUKKA | |
| Aural wordplay [caught]: CHUKKA / “chucker” [person throwing]. Each of the periods into which a game of polo is divided. Polo players wear chukka boots. | |
| 4 | Celeb ditching the practice of mentioning famous connections (4-8) |
| NAME-DROPPING | |
| NAME (celeb), DROPPING (ditching) | |
| 5 | Inconvenient direction hospital worker may once have gone? (8) |
| UNTOWARD | |
| UNTO WARD (direction hospital worker may once have gone). ‘Once’ indicates use of the somewhat archaic ‘unto’. | |
| 6 | University awayday’s ending with beer! (4) |
| YALE | |
| {awayda}Y [’s ending], ALE (beer) | |
| 7 | Elaborate item printers get wrong (12) |
| MISINTERPRET | |
| Anagram [elaborate] ITEM PRINTERS | |
| 11 | I’d forget about trash (3,3,2) |
| GET RID OF | |
| Anagram [about] of I’D FORGET. Colloquial slang meaning to throw away. It can also mean to wreck. |
|
| 13 | Vision certainly embodied by rowing crew (8) |
| EYESIGHT | |
| YES (certainly) contained [embodied] by EIGHT (rowing crew) | |
| 15 | Joyful story upset newspaper boss (6) |
| ELATED | |
| TALE (story) reversed [upset], ED (newspaper boss) | |
| 18 | Engine noise is mostly clean, right? (4) |
| PURR | |
| PUR{e} (clean) [mostly], R (right) | |
| 19 | Large amount of money in substantial property (4) |
| PILE | |
| Two meanings. Stately homes or mansions are sometimes referred to as country piles. | |
Short on time and not really firing on all cylinders today. Happily revealed a few answers along the way including CHUKKA, AIRFARE and PILE. COD to UNTOWARD (brilliant!) but also liked CHUKKA once I saw the answer 😄 Enjoyed what I did. Many thanks for the blog and congratulations to Jalna.
14 mins
Tried to complete without writing out the anagrams, but failed.
COD get rid of.
17.02 Held up by CHUKKA, AIRFARE, HIPSTERS, HALF and especially LOI PILE. Thanks Jack and Jalna.
It took a while to get CHUKKA, but it brought back memories – my grandmother used to love the polo at Smiths Lawn in Windsor (although it was notable that she only went when the royal family were due to be in attendance!) Afternoons up there were beyond tedious for us under-10s – I’m fairly sure my parents felt the same 😅 How funny though, that we could have been pushing in the divots alongside Ulaca!
This started off quite well but I slowed right down with about four to go – SO THERE (I was strying to make an anagram of ‘the cuts’ with ‘hurt’ the anagrind!) and AIRFARE being particularly slow to appear, but I finished, all parsed, in 14:39. on edit: just realised that I didn’t parse MISINTERPRET correctly after all!
FOI Half LOI Airfare COD Name dropping – one of the easier ones, I think, but amusing.
Thanks and congrats to Jalna, and thanks to Jack too
Phew! The SCC was beckoning. No problems with CHUKKA but we spent a great deal of time staring at the 1a / 1d combo until a PDM for Mrs T on the obvious once you see it 1a then unlocked 1d in rather swifter fashion. 18:35. Thanks Jalna and Jack.
Wonders never cease. My first ever sub 30 min for big and little puzzles for the same day; okay 29:54! and so late in the day nobody will read it but hey.
I read it! Well done Edric, hope that makes you less Wild.
I haven’t read about your excellent achievement, Eric.
Well done.
Took me well over an hour to do the 15 x 15 and much of that was guesswork rather than skill, so your achievement is fantastic!
Tricky in parts and some time to get going! Long anagrams helped. Thought MILL might be the money (million) and property (a large mill) so that stymied me. No problem with HIPSTERS (remember them well) and CHUKKA. But well into the SCC – thanks Jalna and Jack! And congrats on the half century!
This is just a test message, as I think I may have found my missing avatar.
Was it down the back of the sofa or in the last place you’d think of looking?
It was hidden in a log(in) pile in the back garden.
Q: Why are lost things always to be found in the last place you look?
A: Because once you’ve found them you stop looking.
First back-to-back DNFs in a couple of years, I think, this time foiled by CHUKKA and PILE. I could probably have eventually got the latter with an alphabet trawl, but given that the former was (for me) impossible I didn’t see much point. A bit dispiriting but tomorrow is another day.
Congratulations to Jalna on the half-century, and thank you for the blog!
I’m always excited when it’s a Jalna, as he’s probably my favourite setter, although I only started doing the quick crosswords relatively recently compared to the 15×15, so wasn’t aware of him until I discovered he’d set an excellent Competition one in the Times Crossword Championships, since when I’ve been on the lookout for them. Congratulations, Jalna, on your half-century – please keep them coming! FOI HALF, LOI AIRFARE, which kept me puzzling quite a while.
Difficult I thought… slow and after 25 minutes had to give up on Airfare and Chukka….
Just couldn’t get Chucker out of my head and thought the C was the caught bit.
Wouldn’t have got either part of Air and Fare for Look and Food – will need to keep those in mind for future!
Otherwise I enjoyed the challenge!
Thanks Jalna and Jack
Regards
John
31 minutes – dismal start to the week.
As the time ticked away, I became increasingly frustrated/stressed at my inability to solve long anagrams.
A lot of effort but I can’t say it was enjoyable. I felt under pressure the whole time and could not relax.
No chance that I will make my revised target this week.
Enjoyed this one. I found it medium on the difficulty scale. Got all except misinterpret and pile, but probably would have got both if I had persevered, I had the anagrist and knew both meanings of pile. Learned a new meaning of refute which I would previously have defined as “disagree with”.
One week of glorious sun and sea, and all my solving knowledge has washed away. DNF because of NHO CHUKKA but it was all taking unreasonably long anyway. NHO HIPSTERS as trousers either. Loved AIRFARE though it was slow to appear, ironically.
Thanks Jalna and jackkt!