Solving time: 11 minutes. I was slow off the mark with this one and must have read more than half-a-dozen clues before writing in my first answer. After that I had to keep hopping around the grid in order to keep up what little momentum I had managed to achieve. Lovers of anagrams will be disappointed because the first one doesn’t appear until 10dn and even then it’s only partial, consisting of 4 letters. Two clues further on we get the second and final anagram of the day, and again it’s partial and only 4 letters.
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 | Liberal workers sign without giving name (8) |
| HANDSOME | |
| HANDS (workers), OME{n} (sign) [without giving name] | |
| 5 | Fool losing last friend (4) |
| CHUM | |
| CHUM{p} (fool) [losing last] | |
| 8 | Sign Liberal runs area (5) |
| LIBRA | |
| LIB (Liberal), R (runs), A (area) | |
| 9 | Damage after overturning some component of fortification (7) |
| RAMPART | |
| MAR (damage) reversed [after overturning], PART (some) | |
| 11 | Support odd instances of these (3) |
| TEE | |
| T{h}E{s}E [odd instances of…] | |
| 12 | Escapes when it’s time for bed? (6,3) |
| LIGHTS OUT | |
| Two meanings. I’ve never come across the first one and had difficulty tracking it down, but I found it eventually in Chambers where ‘light out’ is defined as ‘decamp’. | |
| 13 | Friend with excellent luxurious residence (6) |
| PALACE | |
| PAL (friend), ACE (excellent) | |
| 15 | Live link initially with small creatures in location of bats? (6) |
| BELFRY | |
| BE (live), L{ink} [initially], FRY (small creatures – tiny fish). A reference to the saying ‘Bats in the belfry’. | |
| 18 | African country doctor taken aback about one test subject (6,3) |
| GUINEA PIG | |
| GUINEA (African country), then GP (doctor) reversed [taken aback] containing [about] I (one) | |
| 19 | Bitter conflict recalled (3) |
| RAW | |
| WAR (conflict) reversed [recalled] | |
| 20 | Got a tan around end of August? Very surprised (7) |
| STUNNED | |
| SUNNED (got a tan) containing [around] {Augus}T [end of…] | |
| 21 | Animal Patronus at first abandoning boy wizard (5) |
| OTTER | |
| {p}OTTER (boy wizard) [patronus at first abandoning…] | |
| 22 | Debut for Oxford United due (4) |
| OWED | |
| O{xford} [debut for…], WED (united) | |
| 23 | Regrets blocking activity by the writer producing horror (8) |
| GRUESOME | |
| RUES (regrets) contained by [blocking] GO (activity) + ME (the writer) | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Hospital operation limiting unwell time? That’s a high point (7) |
| HILLTOP | |
| H (hospital) + OP (operation) containing [limiting] ILL (unwell) + T (time) | |
| 2 | Half-heartedly bribe an aristocrat (5) |
| NOBLE | |
| NOB{b}LE (bribe) [half-heartedly] | |
| 3 | Rocky rubble around shopping centres, note, as seen on TV? (5-6) |
| SMALL-SCREEN | |
| SCREE (rocky rubble) containing [around] MALLS (shopping centres), then N (note). Not so small these days, but it’s by comparison with a cinema screen. | |
| 4 | Illusory vision? I’m upset with anger (6) |
| MIRAGE | |
| I’M (reversed [upset], RAGE (anger) | |
| 6 | Teacher unacceptable? Leave (4,3) |
| HEAD OFF | |
| HEAD (teacher), OFF (unacceptable) | |
| 7 | Satisfied about religious texts for choral setting (5) |
| MOTET | |
| MET (satisfied) containing [about] OT (religious texts – Old Testament) | |
| 10 | Different attempt to interrupt new version of some pantomime (6,5) |
| MOTHER GOOSE | |
| OTHER (different) + GO (attempt) contained by [to interrupt] anagram [new version] of SOME | |
| 14 | The French island: certain to offer relaxation (7) |
| LEISURE | |
| LE (the in French), I (island), SURE (certain) | |
| 16 | Back half of cemetery we rebuilt, incorporating English cemetery plant? (3,4) |
| YEW TREE | |
| Anagram [rebuilt] of {ceme}TERY [back half of…] + WE, containing [incorporating] E (English). Yew is commonly found in churchyards. | |
| 17 | It may appear when sportsman needs a rest (6) |
| SPIDER | |
| Cryptic. Spider is a type of rest used in cue sports. | |
| 18 | Enthusiasm filling us today? Not entirely (5) |
| GUSTO | |
| Hidden in [not entirely] {fillin}G US TO{day} | |
| 19 | Proportion scoundrel presented with binary digits (5) |
| RATIO | |
| RAT (scoundrel) I + 0 (binary digits) | |
About average at 10:27, and TBH, I found this a fairly average puzzle. Not much jumped out as COD. Like others I didn’t know LIGHTS OUT, and would never have got it if it hadn’t been obvious what part 2 of the clue required. I didn’t fully parse HANDSOME either. But I quite liked STUNNED and CHUM, and chump is my WOD. Definitely a word that should be used more often – it has the right amount of resignation without being unkind 😅
FOI Chum LOI Noble (not sure why. I think I may have forgotten to go back to it!)
Thanks Pedro and Jack
Er …. I’m quite used to Mrs R calling me a CHUMp.
I found this tricky and, in particular, struggled with 22a Owed and 23a Gruesome.
FOI 8a Libra
LOI 23a Gruesome
COD 16d Yew Tree.
Helpful blog to straighten a few out.
35 minute DNF.
Put OPEN for OWED.
When I tell you that I’m incapable of doing this and don’t belong here, today’s horror show is Exhibit One.
My QC week is in ruins on a Monday. I should just give up. Given the Snitch score, this was a humiliation. Where do I go wrong?
Managed to finish today, but my last few went in without understanding the word play, but learnt about nobble and what a MOTET is, so thank you for the blog. 😊
10:33
Pretty slow and several interruptions from Mrs H. Didn’t know that meaning of LIGHTS OUT but apart from that, just took a while to get some traction.
Thanks Jack and Pedro
Just to compound the misery, I spent almost 2 hours on the 15 x 15 and was still 6 short. Totally useless!
I don’t know how to improve and I’m sick of spending 2 hours a day on this, just to come away feeling like a failure. It’s no fun being so far behind the rest of you.