Solving time 24:07
When I was solving this puzzle a week last Saturday, I realised it was quite tricky so made some notes on it afterwards to make writing the blog much easier this week! Not scrawled down on a scrap of paper, but properly typewritten ready to paste straight into the blog window.
Then I lost it – unbelievable! I couldn’t remember what I’d called the file or where I’d saved it. I eventually found it tonight under Documents/Crosswords/Times/Blog_23701.od
Across
1 | M,ALA(PRO,P.O.)S – P.O. being Petty Officer |
9 | CAP,U,LET – Juliet’s family name in R&J |
10 | TOSS,POT – supper as in drinker. |
12 | OX,LIP – I had no idea that it was a hybrid. Apparently it’s a cross between a cowslip and a primrose. |
13 | (b)ECOM(e),MER(C)E – I disagree with the enumeration (1,8) in the online version at least, and it held me up in solving the clue. |
14 | HARPO,N(ON)EST,RING – had to pick apart the wordplay to get this, as I’ve only ever heard it as just HARP ON. I liked ‘Brother keeping mum’= HARPO. |
17 | PRIVY COUNCILLOR – UN (foreign article) inside (v. poor Cyrillic)* |
20 | IN,CLEMENT – IN = elected, and there have been 14 Pope Clements, the last dying in 1774. |
23 | WOO,M,ERA – not a mountain range, but a firing range for weapons testing and a rocket launch facility. |
26 | GREEN POUND – why French beef? Quoting Chambers: “the agreed value of the pound used to express EU farm prices in sterling and to measure the level of Britain’s contribution under the Common Agricultural Policy.” |
Down
1 | MI,CROC,HIP |
3 | POLY,PR,OPYLEN=openly*,E – is it a resin, though? |
4 | (m)ONTH,EGO – I only figured out the wordplay of this afterwards. |
5 | OUTVOTE – tricky cryptic def. for me, and the last one I put in after going through the alphabet looking for alternatives to OUTDONE. |
7 | P,A,PERM,ILL |
11 | SOMETHING,I,SUP – there’s sup meaning drink again. |
15 | RAIN CLOUD – not sure I understand this. My guess is a reference to the phrase “Every cloud has a silver lining”. |
16 | GAR,LANDED |
20 | IO,WAN – IO being one of the moons of Jupiter. |
22 | MIA,O,U – AIM rev=’train climbing’, O=round, U=bend |
Valentine
Eight easies missing the cut:
6a Expelled for minor quarrel (4)
SPAT
21a From the right progrAMME, Grab cover girl (5)
GEMMA
24a Bird sinking top of bill into sprout (7)
BU STAR D
25a Is careless and is about to crash? (4)
NODS. I didn’t know the careless meaning but have nodded off more times than I care to mention.
2d Do like to stuff a couple of pounds in top of coat (5)
L APE L. Here the “do like” = APE which stuffs (goes inside) a couple of pounds = ££ or LL.
8d Workers drink, said pupil (5)
TU TEE
18d Love to be a song-writer, but not doing covers (4,3)
0 PEN AIR
19d Remarkable lack of furniture (7)
NO TABLE