Solving time: 7:10
My average against Pedro is still up above 9 minutes, so I was pleased to find this at the slightly more accessible end of the spectrum. According to the Quitch table, 50% of Pedro’s grids have a NITCH value of 105 or more. There seems to be plenty of think-of-a-word-and-remove-one-letter clues today.
Whenever the H grid appears (the one with the big black H in the middle), it’s worth looking to see whether the setter has worked in a little bonus.
COD for me was definitely 2d – great word!
How was it for you?
Definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [directions in square ones].
| Across | |
| 1 | Ambience? A most peculiar piano in this place (10) |
| ATMOSPHERE – Anagram [peculiar] of A MOST then P (piano) HERE (in this place) | |
| 8 | Suggestion from republican finance industry? (7) |
| BANKING – BAN KING is what a republican might suggest | |
| 9 | Start to patronise London airport skipping new destination for extended flight? (5) |
| PLUTO – First letter [Start to] of P{atronise} LUTO Luton Airport, which opened in 1938, was renamed London Luton Airport in 1990. It is still the fifth busiest airport in the UK, behind Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted. |
|
| 10 | Be glum as motorcycle loses rear end (4) |
| MOPE – MOPE |
|
| 11 | Spray enveloping popular member of cabinet (8) |
| MINISTER – MISTER (Spray) containing [enveloping] IN (popular) | |
| 13 | Cordiality and warmth welcoming traveller at last (5) |
| HEART – HEAT (warmth) containing [welcoming] final letter [at last] of {travelle}R | |
| 14 | Missile transporter missing opening (5) |
| ARROW – Needed a (very short) alphatrawl to think of BARROW as a type of transporter e.g. a wheelBARROW |
|
| 16 | Intimidating blokes acting out of turn to begin with (8) |
| MENACING – MEN (blokes) AC |
|
| 17 | Unproductive, with no soil, with no carbon (4) |
| LEAN – |
|
| 20 | Cancel regular publication after second article rejected (5) |
| ANNUL – ANNU |
|
| 21 | Flexible element in the last ice-cap (7) |
| ELASTIC – Hidden [in] in the last ice-cap | |
| 22 | Foresight regarding Southern Channel Islands during change (10) |
| PRESCIENCE – RE (regarding) S (Southern) CI (Channel Islands) all inserted into PENCE (change) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Recording almost entirely useless, from America (5) |
| ALBUM – AL{l} (entirely) without its final letter [almost], then BUM (useless, from America) | |
| 2 | Answer not hard to see in golf? Male coming over, being patronising? (12) |
| MANSPLAINING – ANS (Answer) PLAIN (not hard to see) IN G (golf i.e. NATO phonetic alphabet), all topped [coming over] by M (Male)
Male is required in both the definition and the wordplay. Merriam Webster has MANSPLAIN as a verb that means to explain something to a woman in a condescending way that assumes she has no knowledge about the topic. The word exists in dozens of languages, including the German herrklären, French mecspliquer, and Italian maschiegazione. If you are still unsure, the chart in the following link might be helpful – Mansplaining, explained in one simple chart – BBC Worklife |
|
| 3 | Second family hide (4) |
| SKIN – S (Second) KIN (family) | |
| 4 | Meal for Macbeth? Witches bringing in good one (6) |
| HAGGIS – HAGS (Witches) containing [bringing in] G (good) I (one) | |
| 5 | Rare slip after arranging retaliation (8) |
| REPRISAL – Anagram [after arranging] of RARE SLIP | |
| 6 | Film comedian repaired broken statue (6,6) |
| BUSTER KEATON – Anagram [repaired] of BROKEN STATUE | |
| 7 | Regret a lot of painful argument (6) |
| SORROW – All but the last letter [a lot of] of SOR{e} ROW (argument) | |
| 12 | Very precise individual line in adhesive label (8) |
| STICKLER – L (line) in STICKER (adhesive label)
As an agent noun from stickle meaning “mediate” from the 1530s, a STICKLER was a “moderator, umpire, attendant on or judge of a contest,” which in turn, came from Old English stihtan “to rule, direct, govern, arrange, order.” The meaning of “person who contends or insists stubbornly,” about anything is recorded by 1640s. |
|
| 13 | Religious book extreme elements of holy men are loving at the outset (6) |
| HYMNAL – Outside letters [extreme elements] of H{ol}Y M{e}N, then initial letters [at the outset] of A{re} L{oving} | |
| 15 | Annoys park wardens, blowing top (6) |
| ANGERS – ‘top’ is apposite as this is a down clue. |
|
| 18 | Appropriate place, hot, in French resort (5) |
| NICHE – H (hot) inserted into NICE (French resort) | |
| 19 | Asian resort erected one experimental location (4) |
| BALI – I (one) LAB (experimental location) all reversed [erected] | |
Nice puzzle. Around half an hour to complete.
FOI hymnal
LOI album – couldn’t parse it so thanks for the explanation
COD banking
thanks all
A late solve for me and I found it decidedly tricky in places. My FOsI were MOPE and MINISTER and my last two were ELASTIC and ANGERS. LEAN had to be a bit of a guess and my COD was PRESCIENCE.
Time = 30 minutes.
Many thanks to Mike H and Pedro.
10:01, nothing to add
13:33. Got MANSPLAINING eventually but took even longer on STICKLER which should have been a write-in!
A very late solve for me, after a day when a 7am meeting wrecked my usual routine. All done in 15:46, COD to BANKING. Thoroughly enjoyed the comments here today too!
Thanks to Mike and Pedro.