Solving time: 7:06
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Pretty quick, but needed to double check my final answer (1d) which I did not know was an actual thing – I suspect I may not be the only one.
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I guess there may also be a few who are not quite sure of the wordplay at 6d.
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Other than that, I hope you found it an enjoyable solve!
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Let me know how you got on…
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Definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [directions in square ones]. The tilde ~ indicates an insertion point in containment clues.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 8 | Charge every individual backing mischief-maker (7) |
| IMPEACH – EACH (every individual) behind [backing] IMP (mischief-maker) | |
| 9 | Girl making Rachel envious to some extent (5) |
| HELEN – Hidden [to some extent] in Rachel envious | |
| 10 | Go after vehicle returning with king (5) |
| TRACK – CART (vehicle) reversed [returning] then K (king) | |
| 11 | Wise, misconstrued as “inept” (7) |
| SAPIENT – Anagram [misconstrued] of AS INEPT | |
| 12 | Time messenger comes with duck and fruit (7) |
| TANGELO – T (Time) ANGEL (messenger) O (duck) | |
| 14 | Man maybe at the east side of a passage (5) |
| AISLE – ISLE (Man maybe) to the right of [at the east side of] A | |
| 15 | Left work in the middle of week to go to Gretna Green? (5) |
| ELOPE – L (Left) OP (work) between [in] the middle letters of {w}E~E{k} | |
| 17 | German city worker cut short series of deliveries (7) |
| HANOVER – HAN{d} (worker) without its final letter [cut short] OVER (series of deliveries i.e. in cricket) | |
| 19 | One throwing large jug (7) |
| PITCHER – Double definition | |
| 20 | Under arch, offering accommodation for the Spanish (5) |
| BELOW – B~OW (arch) containing [offering accommodation for] EL (‘the’ in Spanish) | |
| 22 | Professional wearing an outer garment for protection (5) |
| APRON – PRO (Professional) inserted into [wearing] A~N | |
| 23 | Delighted editor backing requests (7) |
| PLEASED – ED (editor) following [backing] PLEAS (requests) | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Order unhealthy food for one to tuck into? (4) |
| FIAT – I (one) inserted into [tucked into] F~AT (unhealthy food) . If something is done by FIAT, it is done because of an official order given by someone in authority – from Latin, meaning “Let it be done“. . Questionable perhaps whether FAT is always unhealthy food, hence the question mark at the end of the clue. |
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| 2 | Odds on wet weather bringing physical injury (6) |
| SPRAIN – SP (Odds i.e. betting abbreviation for Starting Prices) on RAIN (wet weather) . ‘on’ is apposite as this is a down clue |
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| 3 | Customer’s first request — quantity of beer? (4) |
| CASK – First letter of C{ustomer} ASK (request) | |
| 4 | Hippy so hearty after manipulation — treatment to improve movement? (13) |
| PHYSIOTHERAPY – Anagram [after manipulation] of HIPPY SO HEARTY | |
| 5 | Fellow at home entertaining the French minister (8) |
| CHAPLAIN – CHAP (Fellow) IN (at home) containing [entertaining] LA (‘the’ in French) | |
| 6 | Strangers beginning to assert legal rights (6) |
| ALIENS – First letter of [beginning to] A{ssert} LIENS (legal rights) . A LIEN is an official order that allows someone to keep the property of a person who owes them money until it has been paid. |
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| 7 | Clothes ink spoilt and water ruined (8) |
| KNITWEAR – Anagram [spoilt] of INK then anagram [ruined] of WATER | |
| 12 | The son, affectedly religious, an actor (8) |
| THESPIAN – THE S (son) PI (affectedly religious) AN . I sometimes like to look things up to verify definitions, but attempts to verify that PI means ‘affectedly religious’ (rather than merely ‘religious’) are swamped by references to mathematical PI, or references to the book/film ‘Life of PI’, so on this occasion, I’ll take it as read… |
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| 13 | Huge animal damaged a net — help! (8) |
| ELEPHANT – Anagram [damaged] of A NET HELP | |
| 16 | More than one mammal staggers with head hidden (6) |
| OTTERS – |
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| 18 | Bag is buried in valley (6) |
| VALISE – IS inserted into [buried in] VAL~E (valley) | |
| 20 | Sounding unhappy, exhaled forcefully (4) |
| BLEW – Homophone [Sounding] of BLUE (unhappy) | |
| 21 | Some new idea of great scope (4) |
| WIDE – Hidden [Some] in new idea | |
11:00 exactly here. Very enjoyable, even managed to unravel a 13-letter anagram without resorting to paper and pen. Admittedly I waited until I had all the crossers and it was my LOI, but I’m still putting that in the win column.
I’ve only ever seen SAPIENT in Terry Pratchett, where there was a trunk made of “sapient pearwood”. To be honest, until today I thought he’d invented the word!
Thanks to Izetti and Mike.
Definitely stretching the vocabulary for this (by definition given other comments?) inexperienced solver! SP for odds, LIEN for legal rights, PI for something religious, TANGELO as a fruit (not in my supermarket) and FIAT for order. Not words I’m expecting to use IRL.
We didnt know Tangelo either
I got going quickly with IMPEACH and HELEN and, despite never having heard of a TANGELO and SAPIENT, I arrived at my L2I with just 17 minutes on the clock. This is very fast for me and a rare SCC escape was there for the taking. Except that those last two (wretched) clues, TRACK and the NHO FIAT, ate up a further 10 minutes.
Alphabet trawling __A_K for ‘Go after’ and _A__ for ‘vehicle’ was a nightmare, as was trawling _I__ for a word I’d heard of that meant ‘Order’ and trawling ___ for an ‘unhealthy food’ that wasn’t FAT.
A time of 27 minutes is still on the good side of average for me, but yet another breeze-block experience took the edge off things.
Many thanks to Mike and Izetti.
8 minutes. Should have been quicker but kept thinking 4dn was going to be PSYCHOTHERAPIST!
A pretty straightforward and quick 8:05 for us. We knew FIAT which helped as we don’t consider fats to be necessarily unhealthy!
Put trace instead of track 😡 then pale for the beer.
Clang
8:21
Held up at the end by FIAT and TRACK.
I was amused many decades ago by the joke that a Papal Fiat was one of the popemobiles.
Thanks Mike and Izetti
2 hours plus on 15 x 15, only to fail by half a clue! It’s left me feeling exhausted, frustrated and discouraged. No sense of accomplishment or satisfaction.
Very late to the party – it’s been a busy day! But what a cracker – I had everything done and dusted (and had the GK) in a very quick time, and there were smiles all over the place. First one went to ELOPE (did Pen elope😅) and the second to ELEPHANT, and I really liked the anagram for PHYSIOTHERAPY too. So all in all a Very Good Day (and less than 1K too – just!).
5:48 FOI Impeach LOI Blew COD Menswear
Thanks Izetti and Mike
8.39, with much of the time spent on 1d. It wasn’t that I did not know the meaning of ‘fiat’ as an order, but that I don’t regard fat as necessarily ‘unhealthy food’. I am not appeased by the Question Mark at the end of the clue.
Chambers says “pi” is “obtrusively religious, sanctimonious” — alternatively, being short for pious, one might argue that it’s “religious,” affectedly
Knowing that this was an Izetti I made sure that I had the time to fully relish the process. No matter that I had to wait until late evening.
Thoroughly enjoyable, not difficult but just perfect.
Took my time and savoured each moment. 9:30.
Didn’t know FIAT but it had to be and I’ve learned a new word.
Thank you both.