About average difficulty, but I felt like I was helped along by a few bits and pieces still fresh from recent puzzles.
I forget which puzzle it was, but it meant the horse at 17ac went straight in from wordplay more than the helpful definition. And BID (at 19ac) was still stuck in my head (as an incorrect synonym for “offer” in yesterday’s 12ac in the 15×15). Those and some other bits ushered me along to a breezy 6.01 in an otherwise poor solving week, so many thanks to Hurley!
Anagram indicators in italics.
| Across | |
| 1 | With no crops cut, aunt lived unhappily (12) |
| UNCULTIVATED – CUT AUNT LIVED unhappily | |
| 9 | Prepared for conflict having worked land, though not initially (5) |
| ARMED – fARMED (having worked land), “though not initially” | |
| 10 | Greatly enrage one, note — unfortunate scene (7) |
| INCENSE – I (one) N(ote) and an unfortunate SCENE | |
| 11 | Drink, neither vegetable nor animal (7) |
| MINERAL – double definition: the first as in a (dated?) term for a soft drink; the second as in “vegetable, animal or mineral” | |
| 12 | Soldier carrying king’s coat (5) |
| PARKA -PARA (soldier) carrying K(ing) | |
| 13 | Exclaim woman’s wearing this bright colour (6) |
| CHERRY – CRY (exclaim) that HER (woman) is wearing / is in | |
| 14 | Support runner-up (6) |
| SECOND – double definition, the first as a verb. | |
| 17 | Go over main points again as horse is backed? (5) |
| RECAP – PACER is our horse, reversed | |
| 19 | An attempt at home — eager at heart to become permanent (7) |
| ABIDING – A (an) BID (attempt) IN (at home) G (eaGer “at heart”) | |
| 21 | New cola? Right: that is item of interest to slimmers (7) |
| CALORIE – New COLA, R(ight) I.E. (that is) | |
| 22 | One living abroad, formerly linked to French island (5) |
| EXILE -EX (formerly) linked to ILE (French word for island). I was wondering where the sun-kissed shores of Pât might be. | |
| 23 | British way — choosing actors for TV business (12) |
| BROADCASTING – B(ritish) ROAD (way) CASTING (choosing actors) | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Candidate not backing away, this writer’s choice in the end (7) |
| NOMINEE – NOt “backing away”, MINE (this writer’s) E (choicE “in the end”) | |
| 3 | With inadequate amount done in advance, rep endured rap at work (13) |
| UNDERPREPARED – REP ENDURED RAP at work | |
| 4 | Dessert, small bit (6) |
| TRIFLE – double definition | |
| 5 | Something bad here I’d included identifying politician? (4,9) |
| VICE PRESIDENT – VICE (something bad) PRESENT (here) with I’D included | |
| 6 | Male singer’s general drift (5) |
| TENOR – double definition | |
| 7 | Resistant to change? I’d heard differently (3-4) |
| DIE-HARD – I’D HEARD differently | |
| 8 | Somewhat stoical maybe, not excited (4) |
| CALM – “somewhat” stoiCAL Maybe. Could pass as a semi-&lit. | |
| 13 | Vegetable? Gosh! Not cheering Old Boy at first (4,3) |
| CORN COB – COR (gosh!) Not Cheering Old Boy “at first” | |
| 15 | View of edible plant entertaining private investigator (7) |
| OPINION – ONION (edible plant) entertaining PI (private investigator) | |
| 16 | Arrived with artist, snapped by this? (6) |
| CAMERA – CAME (arrived) with R.A. (artist) | |
| 18 | Musical instrument in small room, old (5) |
| CELLO – CELL (small room) O(ld) | |
| 20 | Being rewritten in part and increased in size (4) |
| GREW – beinG REWritten “in part” | |
Solved on a sweaty train home after a sweaty day in Court. I seem to have left most of my brain cells in the Chancery division because CHERRY almost defeated me. I was *that* close to bunging in “cheers” and submitting without leaderboard. PDM just in time for 07:16 and place 105 out of 241 😩
Anyway, all good clean fun. Loved BROADCASTING and immediately thought of the Lady by the Window!
Many thanks Hurley and roly.
Templar
Another expat here, which caused a brief delay. Would have been v close to a good time, but held up a little by ABIDING. Still finished in 16 mins, due largely to a lot of biffing. Need to beat 25 mins tomorrow to achieve my weekly target.
No issue with CORN COB, but NHO PACER. Will look it up.
Well done to those if you who recorded PBs or other impressive times today.
Excellent blog as ever, many thanks.
Well done GA 👍
Well done to us both today. A very enjoyable QC. I struggled hugely with this setter for a while, but more recently I have found their wavelength.
Good luck tomorrow!
Perhaps I should always wait until late to attempt the QC. I have just completed it in what I think is a PB, 9:44. Very happy with that having parsed everything along the way. I didn’t have any MERs but then I always assume that the compiler knows best! Thanks to Hurley and rolytoly.
FOI: UNCULTIVATED
LOI: CHERRY I had considered it earlier but waited until I could parse it.
COD: MINERAL because it brought back happy memories of the programme mentioned earlier, Animal, Vegetable or Mineral? Yes, I am old enough to remember it. My dad would always introduce a version of it on long train journeys. I now play it with my grandchildren on long car journeys!!
25:11, which is pretty quick for me.
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. Now that I’m completing these with some degree of reliability, even though I’m not hugely bothered about my time I still find myself hoping for a PB when I get a good start, at which point my brain inevitably shuts down. On past experience, after a while I’ll stop caring entirely at which point the problem will resolve itself.
LOI ABIDING – my brain seized upon “asinine” from the checking letters and wouldn’t let it go, despite it not fitting the clue in any conceivable manner.