Hello all. Thanks to Teazel who kicks off a fresh week of quick cryptics. I liked the cup match running a little short in 9a, the multitudes of beasts in 15d and the upset God at 18d. Although the same abbreviation is used twice, it’s nicely disguised the second time and I only noticed because it featured in two of my favourite clues. How did you find it?
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 | Congregation is to collapse (4) |
| FOLD — Two definitions, the first a churchy one. I was very lucky I didn’t settle for a half-parsed FALL here, which would have been a FAIL! | |
| 3a | Caught exactly what is required in authentic poetry reading (7) |
| RECITAL — C (caught) and IT (exactly what is required) in REAL (authentic) | |
| 8a | Some northerners sip unrivalled cocktail (13) |
| LIVERPUDLIANS — An anagram (cocktail) of SIP UNRIVALLED | |
| 9a | In cup match, time is a minute short (3) |
| TIE — TI[m]E lacks an M (is a minute short) | |
| 10a | Anger fellow rather inhibits (5) |
| WRATH — FelloW RATHer holds (inhibits) the answer | |
| 12a | A little condensation that’s right under your nose? (7) |
| DEWDROP — A double definition. I had to check the second: a drip just where the clue says | |
| 14a | What’s required by computer professional? Good memory (7) |
| PROGRAM — PRO (professional) + G (good) + RAM (memory) | |
| 16a | Cockney’s to take a breath for a long note (5) |
| BREVE — A Cockney might say BREVE for BREATHE (to take a breath) | |
| 17a | Priest’s vestment, a pound (3) |
| ALB — A + LB (pound) | |
| 20a | What hearing aid can offer for light music (4,9) |
| EASY LISTENING — A hearing aid could be said to provide EASY LISTENING | |
| 21a | Son goes very slowly and writes illegibly (7) |
| SCRAWLS — S (son) + CRAWLS (goes very slowly) | |
| 22a | Sounds from cat in desirable street (4) |
| MEWS — Two definitions | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Check progress of translation of “wolf”: “loup” (6,2) |
| FOLLOW UP — An anagram of (translation of) “WOLF”: “LOUP”. (Loup is French for wolf, although you don’t need that to solve the clue) | |
| 2d | Television screening priestly tribe (4) |
| LEVI — TeLEVIsion is hiding (screening) the answer, one of the tribes of Israel | |
| 3d | Badly defeated, sent on a course (6) |
| ROUTED — Two definitions, although (unless you are American) the answer for each is pronounced differently | |
| 4d | Intense nervousness of dog reportedly shows unsteadiness (12) |
| COLLYWOBBLES — COLLY here sounds like (… reportedly) COLLIE (dog); add WOBBLES (shows unsteadiness) | |
| 5d | Cross party-goers stuck in centre of Ostend (8) |
| TRAVERSE — RAVERS (party-goers) stuck in the middle letters of (centre of) OsTEnd | |
| 6d | By no means the first to survive (4) |
| LAST — A double definition | |
| 7d | Relative is horrible — want out (7-2-3) |
| BROTHER-IN-LAW — HORRIBLE — WANT anagrammed (out) | |
| 11d | Movement of Timor Sea is what creates mist (8) |
| ATOMISER — An anagram of (movement of) TIMOR SEA | |
| 13d | Titles always found in poetry filling contents of books (8) |
| PEERAGES — E’ER (always found in poetry) inside (filling) PAGES (contents of books) | |
| 15d | Large numbers of minute beasts (6) |
| MASSES — M (minute) + ASSES (beasts) | |
| 18d | Crisis involving Eden upset God (4) |
| ZEUS — SUEZ (crisis involving Eden) reversed (upset) | |
| 19d | Uproar beginning to enliven feast (4) |
| DINE — DIN (uproar) + the first letter of (beginning to) Enliven | |
A mostly unremarkable 10:45 for us though, as LindsayO said, BREVE was a breath of fresh air and so is my COD. Didn’t we have COLLYWOBBLES clued very similarly not too long ago?
Longer for me than Biggy by ten mins. Almost all on fall/fold
Another who struggled with FALL and SUEZ buzzing around the brain, but got there in the end. Thought the rest was a fair test.
Thanks to both.
33 minute DNF – awful beyond measure.
Seriously, what’s the point of continuing with this? Barely got anything on first pass and a massive struggle throughout.
Put LIVE for 2dn. No idea what clue meant. Why, after 4.5 years, can I not get that clue? Truly appalling.
I am utterly, utterly incapable of doing this in anything resembling a reasonable time. I note that I am, by some distance, the slowest poster today. I look at the times recorded by other competitors and wonder why I bother.
Another week blown to smithereens! I don’t know where I go wrong with this, but I’m totally fed up with failure. I just don’t have it and I never will. Very disenchanted. How so many of you find this easy is beyond my comprehension.
DNF. Hardly any clues solved on first pass, therefore very little to build on. Never got beyond middling/slow pace and glacially slow towards the end. Teazel is sometimes too hard for me.
Failed on 3 clues:
1a: Biffed FALL and forgot to go back and check it at the end.
4d: Wrote COLLYWOBBLEr – No idea why.
18d: Gave up on SUEZ – Could not parse; Lack of GK (the former PM and the god).
Also, whilst I did solve them, I never parsed RECITAL or TIE and I had NHO the LEVI tribe or ALB.
Many thanks to Kitty.
DNF – I was one who had a FALL not a FOLD. should really have had that… Otherwise nice and easy, would have had a 5:05.