Smooth cluing as always from the Funny Man. Nothing too obscure, I thought, and all done in 06:45 for a Good Day. Your mileage may vary – but I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Definitions underlined in bold.
| Across | |
| 1 | Two-term president losing lead is behind (4) |
| RUMP – The Donald, but without his first letter [losing lead]. | |
| 7 | Top social changes concerning the Pope? (9) |
| APOSTOLIC – anagram [changes] of “top social”. The Pope is believed by Roman Catholics to be the successor to St Peter, and thus to be the leader of a church directly connected to the Apostles. Hands up if you thought “Izetti” when you solved this one. | |
| 9 | Inventor beginning work after turning thirty (4) |
| WATT – first letters [beginning]. | |
| 10 | Stress where immigrants go? (10) |
| INTONATION – INTO NATION, that’s where immigrants go. It’s all about where you put the stress. What a cracking clue, COD from me. | |
| 11 | Doom sounded for outdoor entertainment (4) |
| FETE – sounds like “fate” [doom]. | |
| 12 | Announcer on TV screen was confused introducing time (10) |
| NEWSCASTER – anagram [confused] of “screen was” with T [introducing time]. | |
| 16 | Draw wild sweet peas — about a thousand (10) |
| SWEEPSTAKE – anagram [wild] of “sweet peas” including K [a thousand]. | |
| 19 | Child’s bed containing a blanket (4) |
| COAT – COT [child’s bed] including [containing] A [a]. | |
| 21 | Preparation of stadium function (10) |
| GROUNDWORK – GROUND [stadium] + WORK [function – it works, it functions]. My LOI. | |
| 23 | Heard Hungarian composer’s record (4) |
| LIST – sounds like [heard] Liszt [Hungarian composer]. | |
| 24 | Manager to perform around four (9) |
| EXECUTIVE – EXECUTE [to perform] around IV [four]. | |
| 25 | Work performed by couple expected before time (4) |
| DUET – DUE [expected] in front of [before] T [time]. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Employment of university man of great wisdom (5) |
| USAGE – U [university] + SAGE [man of great wisdom]. Wise person might have been more diplomatic but the dictionaries do specify men so pfft. | |
| 3 | What’s needed to endure comic opera by G&S (8) |
| PATIENCE – double definition. I love G&S so I’m outraged … but if Rusty Bombazine is around, Joker’s really for it! | |
| 4 | Couple filling frying pan set up to act deferentially (6) |
| KOWTOW -reading backwards [set up] you have TWO [couple] inside [filling up] WOK [frying pan]. To KOWTOW is to abase oneself prostrate, so low that one’s forehead touches the ground. Collins says that it’s a C19 word in English and comes “from Chinese k’o t’ou, from k’o to strike, knock + t’ou head”. | |
| 5 | What describes groups in Lambeth nicely (6) |
| ETHNIC -hidden word. The reference to Lambeth fooled me into looking for a dropped H or some Cockney Rhyming Slang for a while. In the end Kevin’s Law (“if nothing else makes sense it’s probably a hidden”) rescued me. | |
| 6 | Fifty carried in overweight plane (4) |
| FLAT – L [fifty] inside FAT [overweight]. | |
| 8 | Shut up and suffer defeat in court (6) |
| CLOSET – LOSE [suffer defeat] inside [in] CT [court]. This is the verb to closet. | |
| 13 | Television series (3) |
| SET – double definition. Not sure anyone calls them television “sets” any more but historical usage is fair game in Crosswordland. | |
| 14 | Spotted brief kiss in toboggan (8) |
| SPECKLED – PECK [brief kiss] inside [in] SLED [toboggan]. | |
| 15 | Quick change of direction with cutting tennis shot (6) |
| SWERVE – W [with] inside [cutting] SERVE [tennis shot]. | |
| 17 | I do sum working out number eleven in table (6) |
| SODIUM – anagram [working out] of “I do sum”. Sodium is number 11 in the periodic table. The dropping of sodium into water is one of the very few things that I recall from the Chemistry I was very badly taught. | |
| 18 | Raised US spies holding test of nuclear energy (6) |
| ATOMIC – reading backward [raised] we have CIA {American spies] containing [holding] MOT [test – note for for overseas readers: most vehicles in the UK more than 3 years old have to have an annual inspection of roadworthiness. This used to take place under the auspices of the Ministry Of Transport, and so was dubbed the MOT test. The Ministry is long gone, but its initials are immortal.]. | |
| 20 | Passage from a place like Skye (5) |
| AISLE – A [a] + ISLE [place like (the Isle of) Skye]. Altogether now … | |
| 22 | Exploits tricks to eliminate resistance (4) |
| USES – RUSES [tricks] without its opening R [eliminate resistance]. | |
I didn’t have much difficulty, putting in apostolic and intonation early on, giving me lots of crossing letters to get started in the top. Kowtow and atomic were pretty clever, and I struggled a bit with sweepstake. In the end, I was faced by the crossing of groundwork and swerve, and stumbled slightly, but they really should not have been that difficult.
Time: 7:18
6:56
I share Templar’s love of G&S, so wouldn’t have minded if PATIENCE had been clued differently. A MER at 10ac: stress is not intonation (Japanese, for instance, has intonation but no stress).
Few write-ins for me today with lots requiring some thought about the wordplay to arrive at the required destination. I didn’t know the G&S work but the checkers and wordplay gave the answer. I was trying to fit SODIUM into the space for ATOMIC for ages and wondered how the third letter could be ‘O’ before I twigged to my error. Liked the long anagrams, none of which jumped out at me. Liked AISLE and KOWTOW.
Thaks T and setter.
14 minutes. No problems but I needed time to work out several answers from wordplay.
I found this quite tough. Only five on the first pass of acrosses befor the grid filled up nicely with the downs. If it’s G&S and begins with P and it’s not ‘pinafore’ then I’m in trouble – even with all the checkers. Took ages to alphabet trawl to PATIENCE even though the definition should have been helpful. But it was FETE that took up the time – I think seeing Pele would fit had me looking for two syllables – the answer surprised me when it arrived. I’d struggled on GROUNDWORK too. All green in 15.36.
Steady going with a couple of unknowns – G&S’ PATIENCE and APOSTOLIC – but they were both kindly clued.
Started with RUMP and finished with INTONATION in 7.50.
Thanks to Templar and Joker
Nice one from Joker taking about 30 minutes.
COD to SODIUM and today I learned how to pronounce Fete properly.
Thanks Joker and Templar.
So I confidently started with one across being T(aft), until patience helped me out. The idea of Trump losing anything is rather more appealing.
Held up briefly with the anagram of sweepstake, as I assumed that 1000 would be represented by the M rather than K. Foolish I know.
COD to swerve for its smooth surface.
4.51
TAFT is a great answer.
I just looked him up and he had only 1 term, 1909 to 1913. Otherwise a superb answer.
That may explain the “two term” modifier, I wonder if the editor got Joker to put that in after making a similar assumption. It struck me odd at the time as a way of describing Trump.
I too tried TAFT but couldn’t justify the first T, then tried BUSH but that didn’t parse at all, so eventually arrived at what should have been the screamingly obvious (T)RUMP. Guess I’d just put him out of mind while I ventured into crossword-world to escape the realities of Trumpworld.
32 minutes all correct. I only got five on my first lap of the grid but slowly they came with a little help from Chambers.
A tricky one but I knew it would be when I saw the setter’s name.
You’ve been missed. Welcome back!
An enjoyable QC from Joker. I went through steadily with few gaps at first but took time to complete the lower half – I changed my biffed Newsreader to NEWSCASTER pdq when ETHNIC emerged and was slow with GROUNDWORK and SWEEPSTAKE (M for 1000 at first, like Koppite). Surprisingly, my LOI was FLAT which I had missed on my travels. 16.50 (the mid to upper teens seem to be my new normal for Joker in recent times).
All fair with some very good clues. I enjoyed KOWTOW and SPECKLED amongst many.
Thanks to Joker and Templar.
SW corner was difficult. Forgive my ignorance – did biff SWEEPSTAKE, but why “draw”, please? I’m not into betting. No wonder I had no chance of 15 and 17: had 24 opEraTIVE which seems to fit the clue equally well? Three to the bad, then … NHO tennis shot, or any numbers in the periodic table – golly, are we expected to know all those – up to how many, please? Thank you, Templar …
Sang in Patience at school, always loved it. Enjoyed notion of Trump’s RUMP.
In a sweepstake you “draw” the winner. Or in other words you have a draw to see who has won – from draw lots I assume.
The tennis shot = serve, with w for ‘with’ cutting it, to give swerve… I am sure you’ve heard of serve!
Oh I see! Yes, even I have heard of serve. Sorry, I do see Templar parses it exactly right, I read the blog too quickly. My fault. Thanks, most kind.
10:37
Slow to see RUMP, which made the NW corner the last bit, with LOI FETE.
COD INTONATION
I was in a full performance of PATIENCE at my primary school, as a dragoon. Didn’t understand a word of it.
I too – were we contemporary dragoons at the Dragon?
Bowdon Church School, Summer 1974. I was Frederick the following year in Pirates of Penzance, and had to kiss a girl on stage. High trauma for an 11 year old.
That’s very funny. Wow – you had a solo part! Further than I ever got (that applies to the kiss, too). You’re a decade younger than me, I think …
13:08
SWEEPSTAKES required pen and paper, mainly because I was not considering the right meaning of draw.
My favourite memory of SODIUM in school chemistry practicals involved someone discovering that if you poured ether into one sink in the lab and dropped some sodium into the drain of a sink at the opposite end of the room, you got flames emerging from every sink in the lab.
Thanks Templar and Joker
😀
😀
I wish I went to your school!
What a fantastic chemistry teacher … unless, of course, it only happened while they were out of the room!
😂
9 minutes. A bit more gentle than the usual Joker though SPECKLED and my LOI INTONATION (I note Kevin’s interesting comment though) were harder nuts to crack. I liked SODIUM and the periodic table reference.
Just under 30 mins.
A really enjoyable QC.
I got stick in SW which took 10 mins until pdm for GROUNDWORK.
Another one who was unaware of the G&S operetta but it was well clued.
COD 1a RUMP for the smile it brought to my face.
Thanks Joker and Templar.
Decent puzzle finished in 9:03 just inside par time. LOI SWEEPSTAKE.
Thanks joker and Templar
From RUMP to EXECUTIVE in 6:27. No dramas. Thanks Joker and Templar.
Darn, biffed CLOSEd instead of CLOSET. Silly mistake. Sh have gone back to check, as I had my doubts.
LOI PDM FETE. Otherwise fairly straight forward in a tricky sort of way.
Liked WATT, SODIUM, INTONATION, & SPECKLED. I knew G &S PATIENCE though have not seen it.
Thanks vm, Templar.
I seem to have found this gentler than others, as I fairly sprinted to a 8:13 finish – indeed the top half went in so rapidly that I wondered briefly if it was a Trelawney puzzle. The bottom half required a bit more though, and I didn’t help myself by thinking “thousand” in 16A signalled an M.
Slight surprise at SODIUM being clued as “no 11” – somewhat less that “G” GK, I’d have thought. I wonder what number we are expected to know the periodic table up to? At least the anagram was not too taxing.
LOI was CLOSET as I prevaricated between that and CLOSEd. It had to be Closet for the wordplay, but I was not familiar with the word as a verb.
Many thanks Templar for the blog.
I didn’t know that sodium is number 11 – but then no-one had to know that, really, to solve this. The definition was for something numbered in a table, and that fairly obviously suggested the periodic table. So now you’re looking at a 6 letter anagram where the answer is an element …
Re sodium, its position in the periodic table and hence its number, or vv starting from the number, is ‘O’ level / GCSE chemistry. More GK for me than the lesser known works of G&S. Fortunately Mrs T, also a scientist, was more clued up!
A very good standard of puzzle as ever from The Joker, with all the clues well crafted. I’ve had some decent times of late for this setter, and today was no different crossing the line in 7.29. Before stopping the clock, I fortunately returned to check the parsing of KOW TOW, and found that it didn’t start with a C. Schoolboy error averted.
Roughly average time for me, and felt I should probably have been a bit quicker – but I thought this was a great puzzle with some lovely clues. I was slowed down by thinking that the Pope anagram would end -SCOPAL, being some more elevated version of (EPI)SCOPAL. Thanks Joker and Templar.
10a was COD for me. Enjoyed this one. I think 1a would have been more apt if clued “loses head” given events over the last few days / weeks! Thanks to Joker and Templar.
DNF as I didn’t notice when I stopped the clock that I hadn’t completed 2dn. All the rest done and parsed in 16 minutes although I was another trying to use M not K in 16ac.
FOI – 7ac APOSTOLIC
LOI – DNF but would have been USAGE
CODs – jointly awarded to INTONATION and PATIENCE, both of which made me chuckle.
Thanks to Joker and Templar
7.44 Quickest of the week so far. I went looking for LOI ETHNIC as a hidden but failed to see to spot it until I had the checkers. Thanks Templar and Joker.
After quite a wait, I’ve finally managed to add to my list of Joker sub-20 solves, this time with a fairly smooth 18min solve from Rump to Groundwork, albeit via an Intonation that needed all the crossers.
CoD to the rarely seen Kowtow, just ahead of Swerve. Invariant
PS I note the use of a lower case ‘p’ in 1ac, but I think Joker missed several more appropriate ways to describe the current incumbent. . .
Enjoyable puzzle, 12:59 for me. COD for me was INTONATION. The way the pronunciation changes between word play and answer is most satisfying.
10 minutes for today’s Joker.
LOI was EXECUTIVE.
No big hold-ups but DNK the G&S work.
COD to SPECKLED.
David
5:27 so about average for me. LOI INTONATION. I liked SWEEPSTAKE best. Thank-you Joker and Templar.
My thanks to Joker and Templar.
1a Rump took a while as I was being very, very dim but a great clue.
LOI 11a Fete; of course they are usually outside (even if there is cover somewhere just in case) but it didn’t occur to me for ages.
11:57
Well pleased with my time and a lovely QC to boot.
Pleased 4d used frying pan as part of the clue as it prevented me spelling KOWTOW with a ‘C’ instead of a ‘K’ – another learning day.
As others, unaware of the G&S opera, but nicely clued.
FOI: RUMP (made me smile)
LOI: GROUNDWORK (a bit of head scratching)
COD: INTONATION (nice!)
Thanks to Joker and Templar
An unexciting but respectable 10:25 for us with LOI APOSTOLIC where we were slow to appreciate that it is an anagram. INTONATION is a great clue notwithstanding Kevin’s MER. Thanks, Templar and Joker.
Am I alone and unobserved? I am!
Then let me confess to you –
I’m an aesthetic sham!
Bunthorne’s faux confession has been with me since 1957 when I first saw Patience at the Queen’s Hall, Barnstaple. Endure Patience? No way! Love it!
Cod for me was 10a but I liked the duo of musical clues at 23a and 25a. 15 minutes for a really enjoyable workout: thanks Joker and Templar
I knew you were secretly a fan of greenery-yallery – the Pride of Anglia! 🙂
10:45, whew, a respite today from the week’s difficulties. Really enjoyed this one, with RUMP and NEWSCASTER special favorites, and a good laugh at 3d PATIENCE (as a G&S fan I will laugh at most anything).
FOI and COD RUMP, LOI INTONATION (haha, but my eyebrow went up in unison with Kevin’s).
Thanks Joker and Templar. I’m with you on chemistry = sodium-in-water trick. Gosh, wish I’d been there for the sodium + ether event.
Sodium + water was an ‘observe from a distance’ demonstration at my school. I was convinced for some time afterwards that Sodium must be more expensive than gold, given the minute amount used 🙂
Very enjoyable – 34 minutes for me. Sweepstake took a while as I was trying to put in an m for thousand rather than a k. LOI Apostolic which was a new word for me. Biffed Newsreader and then had to backtrack a little
Slow to get started (only three clues solved after 5-6 minutes), but the Downs were much more helpful and I sped up nicely through the mid-phase. However, my final six clues (all in the lower half) held me up for 8-10 minutes at the end and I crossed the line in 27 minutes. I’m happy with that, especially given the setter.
Many thanks to Templar and Joker.
Having started with my feet on the ground and finished at 35,000 ft I can say that I am enjoying the ride. Next stop USA. No time as interrupted by the usual administrative processions, but seemed about 25 mins as the top half dropped in nicely and the bottom half wasn’t too bad.
COD INTONATION
Thanks Joker and Templar.
Bring me sunshine, courtesy Eric & Ernie
5 d missed seeing the obvious! Started with “Strata” it fitted with 7 across as the Lambeth Group is a set of geological rock strata.
14 mins…
Fairly straightforward I thought. Only issue was putting “Operative” for 24ac until I realised 15dn “Swerve” wouldn’t work. The reactive metals experiments at school were always fun – albeit they were always done by the teacher. If I rightly remember, burning magnesium in oxygen created a fairly bright light, along with a residue of Magnesium Oxide.
FOI – 1ac “Rump”
LOI – 17dn “Sodium”
COD – 17dn “Sodium” – nice to see different kind of Chemistry clue for a change.
Thanks as usual!
16 minutes on the nose. I was racing towards a fast (for me) time for a Joker but FETE took forever.
Thought this was a fine puzzle and particularly enjoyed SPECKLED, INTONATION and SODIUM.
Thanks Joker and Templar
Lovely puzzle and now in my usual chair in the SCC. Thanks Joker.
Enjoyable puzzle, took us some time to complete.
Thanks Templar. I crossed the line in an unexceptional 8:16 with EXECUTIVE. COD to INTONATION.
Hi Templar – thank you for remembering me!
13:57. Enjoyed this, despite the surface reading to 3d. I’m sure Joker doesn’t mean it, as no civilised and educated person – which I take Joker for – could possibly not love G&S.
I should note that the quickie has planted omens for the last two G&S shows I’ve been in – Transporting gold on a boat (7) when I was doing Gondoliers, and for Ruddigore we had A foolish sheep overturned flowering plant (9) crossing with Keep actors in front of full theatre ultimately (6), and the next day Stupidly respect ghost (7).
Though I don’t post much, I always, always do the quickie and read this blog. Thanks all bloggers and posters.
Nice to see you again! And you have an unforgettable username 🙂
08:42. bit bogged down in the lower half. couldn’t remember PATIENCE, and had OPERATIVE for a while until EXECUTIVE presented itself. Good puzzle which I muddled through eventually.
Enjoyable, and what felt like a quick solve for me, even spotting the hidden without much delay.
FOI Rump
LOI Atomic
COD Patience, for the snigger
Thanks Joker and Templar
Great cluing as ever from Joker. Old fashioned science labs provided no end of fun. Connecting water to the has supply….🤯🤯
22 minutes – awful performance that felt like wading through treacle.
Barely half on big puzzle in over an hour. Out of my depth!
Another joyless experience. No improvement whatsoever despite all that time & effort. Totally fed up (as always).
No marks on my paper at all – apart from my finish time! Always a good sign 😊 What a lovely, witty puzzle from Joker – tight clues and top surfaces made for A Much Better Day. I may not know the elements’ numbers, but as soon as I saw ‘table’, I guessed where we were going, and had no trouble solving it in exactly the way T discussed with CS.
8:12 FOI Rump LOI Groundwork COD Sodium
Many thanks Joker and Templar
I struggled with this one, needing 17:30 in total and a lot of checking letters for GROUNDWORK, EXECUTIVE and whatever the pope thing was. Completely failed to parse CLOSET and SWERVE so needed Templar’s help with those.
Thank you for the blog!
09:54 A Rare Sub Ten! Found Fete Kowtow hard but got there with Patience in the end.
TaTAJ