I went through this very quickly for 04:53 and an Excellent Day. No obscurities, I think, except maybe 14a. A very neat, well-constructed puzzle; hope you all enjoyed it too.
Definitions underlined in bold.
| Across | |
| 1 | Fortitude in champion, British individual (8) |
| BACKBONE – BACK [champion] + B [British] + ONE [individual]. | |
| 5 | Wicked Satan abandons daughter (4) |
| EVIL – {d}EVIL [“abandons daughter” indicates remove a D]. | |
| 8 | Some sensors on a radio locating system (5) |
| SONAR – hidden. | |
| 9 | Check bloodsucker removed (4,3) |
| TICK OFF – TICK [bloodsucker], OFF [removed]. When our children were small they often picked up ticks on holiday in the Highlands; to soften the blow my wife introduced a rule that they got a sweet for every tick removed. That led to our youngest sneaking out to roll around in the heather to ensure a good tick/sweet count … The Law of Unintended Consequences in action. | |
| 11 | Factors then for cooking breakfast item (6,5) |
| FRENCH TOAST – anagram [for cooking] of “factors then”. | |
| 13 | Reportedly, seat cast away (6) |
| THROWN – aural wordplay [reportedly] of thrown/throne [seat]. | |
| 14 | Returning distance runner first to pass early test (6) |
| PRELIM – MILER [distance runner] and P [first to pass] all reversed [returning]. I have just read Melvyn Bragg’s Another World (his time at Oxford) so PRELIM for “early test”, which I think is mainly an Oxford thing, came easily. People who like to chunter about Oxbridge bias in the crosswords may now clear their throats and proceed. | |
| 17 | Virtuoso dismissed reputation (11) |
| OUTSTANDING – OUT [dismissed] + STANDING [reputation]. I hesitated over the definition for a moment but then thought “virtuoso performance/outstanding performance”. | |
| 20 | Wild region capital of Denmark passed over (7) |
| IGNORED – anagram [wild] of “region” + D [capital of Denmark]. | |
| 21 | After villa, terraced houses (5) |
| LATER – hidden [houses]. | |
| 22 | Strand of narrative? (4) |
| YARN – definition with a cryptic hint (a good yarn/good narrative). | |
| 23 | Rent lower — evidence of distress? (8) |
| TEARDROP – TEAR [rent] + DROP [lower]. My LOI. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Work of art in smithereens? (4) |
| BUST – definition with a cryptic hint. | |
| 2 | Trick with fire damaged tree (7) |
| CONIFER – CON [trick] + an anagram [damaged] of “fire”. | |
| 3 | Drink, breaking law, try a beer! (6,5) |
| BARLEY WATER – anagram [breaking] of “law try a beer”. “Mr Matthias Robinson invented Robinson’s Patent Barley and Barley Groats in 1823”, according to the BBC. Robinson’s then moved into the rather nicer-sounding lemon version in the 1930s. They did a sponsorship deal with Wimbledon from 1935 to 2022, which explains why I remembered it as being associated with tennis. | |
| 4 | See it once when camouflaged (6) |
| NOTICE – anagram [camouflaged] of “it once”. Such a neat clue, COD from me. | |
| 6 | One found in book, a musical instrument (5) |
| VIOLA – I [one] inside [found in] VOL [book] + A [a]. All the viola players I’ve ever met have told me they took it up because it was so much easier to get into an orchestra as a viola than a violin. | |
| 7 | Corrupted file, item in existence (8) |
| LIFETIME – anagram [corrupted] of “file item”. | |
| 10 | Provide food and support for little animal (11) |
| CATERPILLAR – CATER [provide food] + PILLAR [support]. | |
| 12 | Mixture of ricotta and gravy, ultimately an abomination! (8) |
| ATROCITY – anagram [mixture] of “ricotta” and Y [gravy ultimately]. Can’t see that recipe catching on. | |
| 15 | Smoker’s accessory easier to pick up (7) |
| LIGHTER – double definition. | |
| 16 | Figure with digger regularly worried (2,4) |
| ON EDGE – ONE [figure] + DGE [digger regularly]. | |
| 18 | Singer with cash for the audience (5) |
| TENOR – aural wordplay [for the audience] with “tenner” [cash]. | |
| 19 | Stay forward (4) |
| PROP – double definition, the second one being a position in rugby (league and union). | |
Stumped by 23a. Surely RENT is past tense, so TORE ….. TEAR (present tense) is REND. Sorry to be pedantic, but I think setters should play by the rules!
You’re actually not being sufficiently pedantic, Steve. It’s “rent” as a noun, not a verb.
Collins: rent
in British English
noun
1. a slit or opening made by tearing or rending; tear.
2. a breach or division, as in relations.
Always worth checking dictionaries before assuming that the setter is wrong; they are rather good at this game.
Thanks for clarification, Templar. Yes, I should have thought of that noun/verb trick! Always happy to learn, as I’m a relative novice.
👍🏻