Hi everybody. I haven’t encountered Izetti on blogging day for ages so this was a refreshing change. Perhaps a little stiffer than some Mondays, but I still completed in a typical QC time despite holding myself up slightly with a typo. No real favourites, but I quite liked Tom Dick and Harry (2d) and the whiskey drink at 23a. Cheers Izetti!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, I generally italicise indicators unless it seems clearer not to. Where the removed part is specified, [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. I sometimes omit link words and juxtaposition indicators if it doesn’t feel necessary to explain them. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section.
| Across | |
| 1a | Began to hug learner suffering from shock? (8) |
| STARTLED — STARTED (began) surrounding (to hug) L (learner) | |
| 6a | Bishop introducing a church composer of cantatas (4) |
| BACH — B (bishop) preceding (introducing) A + CH. (church) | |
| 8a | Artist crushed by a black horse (4) |
| ARAB — RA (Royal Academician, artist) between (crushed by) A and B (black) | |
| 9a | Set of characters needing help by mountain height (8) |
| ALPHABET — ABET (help) by ALP (mountain) and H (height) | |
| 10a | Beautiful fairy — she had died (8) |
| PERISHED — PERI (beautiful fairy) + SHE’D (she had) | |
| 11a | Garment left in sporting equipment? (4) |
| KILT — L (left) in KIT (sporting equipment?) | |
| 13a | Activity needing footwear with revolutionary elements (6,7) |
| ROLLER SKATING — A cryptic definition | |
| 16a | Provision for air conditioning in Coventry (4) |
| VENT — Hidden in coVENTry | |
| 17a | Old lady finally cut hair in bed (8) |
| MATTRESS — MA (old lady) + the last letter of (finally) cuT + TRESS (hair) | |
| 19a | Attractive person that’s wicked inside, very wicked (8) |
| DEVILISH — DISH (attractive person) that has EVIL (wicked) inside | |
| 21a | Thus a piano is provided for TV series (4) |
| SOAP — SO (thus) + A + P (piano) | |
| 22a | Lazy one worshipped, from what we hear (4) |
| IDLE — IDOL (one worshipped), soundalike (from what we hear) | |
| 23a | Cheers father having imbibed whiskey drink (3,5) |
| TAP WATER — TA (cheers) + PATER (father) having taken in (imbibed) W (whiskey) | |
| Down | |
| 2d | See mother out with Tom, Dick and Harry? (9) |
| THREESOME — SEE MOTHER anagrammed (out) | |
| 3d | Teacher, poor sportsman for the most part? (5) |
| RABBI — RABBIt (poor sportsman) except the last letter (for the most part) | |
| 4d | Shakespearean king swallowing the tough stuff (7) |
| LEATHER — LEAR (Shakespearean king) taking in (swallowing) THE | |
| 5d | Given drug, do physical exercise with first hint of drowsiness (5) |
| DOPED — DO + PE (physical exercise) with the beginning of (first hint of) Drowsiness | |
| 6d | Group together book and sporting implement (7) |
| BRACKET — B (book) and RACKET (sporting implement) | |
| 7d | Rod you found in church (3) |
| CUE — U (you) found in CE (church) | |
| 12d | Picture of place with sand blowing around (9) |
| LANDSCAPE — An anagram of (… blowing around) PLACE with SAND | |
| 14d | Top room protected by the Parisian framework (7) |
| LATTICE — ATTIC (top room) inside (protected by) LE (the, Parisian) | |
| 15d | Sauce in vessel, cup chipped on top (7) |
| KETCHUP — KETCH (vessel) + cUP missing its initial letter (chipped on top) | |
| 17d | Duck in fog is slightly damp (5) |
| MOIST — O (duck) in MIST (fog) | |
| 18d | Religious follower a celebrity that’s taken right to the top (5) |
| RASTA — A STAR (a celebrity) having moved R (right) to the beginning/top of the word (that’s taken right to the top) | |
| 20d | Put right, losing first and last (3) |
| END — Omitting its initial letter (… losing first), mEND (put right) | |
All done in a sprightly 14.16. Thanks Kitty for the parsing of perished, the fairy was NHO in these parts, but the crossers were helpful. Also enjoyed the threesome (!) and the misdirection looking for a whiskey drink.
Thanks Izetti
Breezed though this in 15:39 which for me is good
Drew a blank in the NW but the rest of it went in without any problems. Once returning to the NW what had once looked intractable seemed a lot easier, mainly by realising that 1a didn’t start with an ‘h’ and THREESOME was an anagram 🤦♂️.
Started with BACH and finished with RABBI in a slightly sluggish 8.10.
Thanks to Kitty and Izetti
12 minutes. I knew PERI as fairies but wasn’t aware of their being particularly associated with beauty, however Wiki confirms this. Whilst checking I also learnt that ‘pari’ is a alternative spelling and apparently more authentic.
No particular problems (I knew the fairy) in a 7.03 completion. Thanks Kitty and Izetti.