Greetings all! I’m delighted to contribute my first blog post on the new site. My time for this puzzle was 6:35, and it was hard-won. Nothing was too easy or too hard, but I really had to work for it. Congrats to all who made it to the end!
And for those following along with the comings and goings of my personal life, I finished my exams for the semester so I’m hoping to do more puzzles this summer!
My conventions in the solutions below are to underline definitions (including a defining phrase); put linking words in [brackets]; and put all wordplay indicators in italics. I also use a solidus (/) to help break up the clue where necessary, especially for double definitions without linking words.
| Across | |
| 1 | Tactless [and] absurd claim I’d put on (12) |
| UNDIPLOMATIC – anagram of CLAIM I’D PUT ON | |
| 8 | Offence, capital, here in Egypt (5) |
| SINAI – SIN + A1 | |
| 9 | Excellent one mile motorway / in French / southeast (7) |
| IMMENSE – I + M + M + EN (‘in’ in French) + SE
Not my definition of choice. Is this common UK jargon? |
|
| 10 | Secure / draw (3) |
| TIE – double definition | |
| 11 | A non-drinker, Dan, in hospital department, waiting on (9) |
| ATTENDANT – A + TT + DAN in E.N.T. | |
| 13 | American animal, sullen? Not right (5) |
| MOOSE – MOROSE – R | |
| 14 | Made verbal contribution [identifying] part of wheel (5) |
| SPOKE – double definition | |
| 16 | Rapid rise transformed poor condition (9) |
| DISREPAIR – anagram of RAPID RISE | |
| 17 | Performance [of] group, Irish, grand initially (3) |
| GIG – first letters of GROUP IRISH GRAND | |
| 19 | Flexible English / carry on / in charge (7) |
| ELASTIC – E + LAST + I.C. | |
| 21 | Hackneyed, ultimately worn-out, ceremonial (5) |
| TRITE – last letter of WORN-OUT + RITE | |
| 22 | Theatre specialist, participant in yen, euro, surge once (12) |
| NEUROSURGEON – hidden in YEN EURO SURGE ONCE
This is surely the longest hidden word I’ve ever encountered! The ‘theatre’ here is the operating theatre, of course. |
|
| Down | |
| 1 | Unexpected result, winning over group of people (5) |
| UPSET – UP + SET | |
| 2 | A rude song at sea — dicey! (9) |
| DANGEROUS – anagram of A RUDE SONG | |
| 3 | Surprisingly static — reprove part of economy (7,6) |
| PRIVATE SECTOR – anagram of STATIC REPROVE | |
| 4 | Drug work — I scoffed (6) |
| OPIATE – OP + I + ATE | |
| 5 | Official publicity cars pursued by turncoat, we hear (13) |
| ADMINISTRATOR – AD + MINIS + homophone of TRAITOR | |
| 6 | Watering hole popular before noon (3) |
| INN – IN + N | |
| 7 | To some extent ironic entreaty [for] place to meet (6) |
| CENTRE – hidden in IRONIC ENTREATY | |
| 12 | Close to leading, so animated! (9) |
| ALONGSIDE – anagram of LEADING SO | |
| 13 | Race [in] sea the French try at last (6) |
| MEDLEY – MED + LE (‘the’ in French) + last letter of TRY
I didn’t know this definition, which Chambers gives as, “A race in which each team member runs a different distance or (in swimming) uses a different stroke”. |
|
| 15 | Faction starts to collapse acrimoniously: punch-ups on regular basis to follow! (6) |
| CAUCUS – first letters of COLLAPSE ACRIMONIOUSLY + every other letter of PUNCH-UPS | |
| 18 | Campaigner good / about / environment (first and second) (5) |
| GREEN – G + RE + first and second letters of ENVIRONMENT | |
| 20 | Drink event with reduced prices failing to start (3) |
| ALE – SALE without first letter | |
17:49
That has to be the longest hidden word I’ve ever seen. And I still took a while to see it. Biggest hold ups were ALONGSIDE where I was looking for a synonym of animated and LOI TRITE.
For a Hurley, I found this reasonably straightforward. Took a while on the anagrams, but don’t have any issue with immense (it’s a word my students employ).
After recent struggles, I enjoyed this QC. Don’t know the time but we’ll under the hour mark.
Out early this morning on a guided trap inspection with a lepidopterist, so bright and fresh when I came to the QC. Sure enough, the grid was filling in what was looking to be a record time for me of under 12 mins. Sadly not to be as I ground to a halt with 4 left. Had to do some actual work. Having just picked it up again the last four (UPSET, SINAI, GREEN, TRITE) went straight in. Funny how that happens.
COD ADMINISTRATOR
I also left HEARTSURGEON unparsed and now I know why! Didn’t spot the hidden.
Thanks Hurley for a good test and to Jeremy for the blog.
Prof
I think the best very long hidden that I’ve ever seen is one by B. Burton, which in 2006 was given a VHC in Azed 1775: ROUGH-AND-READY: ‘For sort of repair newspaper DIY column may suggest, search through and read yesterday’s!’
Commenting very late today as I spent most of the day driving slowly home from a holiday in far Scotland. And I find most of my thoughts have already been made – the long long anagrams, the slight MER at Immense = Excellent, the applause for the hidden neurosurgeon.
All done in 12 minutes. Many thanks to Jeremy for the blog.
Cedric