Solving time: 47:53 - Held up a bit by having a wrong answer at 23.
I don't know who the compiler is here, but I find it very reminiscent of the sort of puzzle that Sunday solvers are used to expecting from Dean Mayer. Regular readers of my Sunday blog will appreciate the compliment implicit in that.
There was a lot of beautifully crafted wordplay here and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, I completely forgot it was my turn to blog today, until I was about to go to bed after watching a late night movie. So I had to solve this when I was quite tired which was a shame as I would have much preferred to give a puzzle of this quality my full attention.
It's very difficult to pick out a COD as there are so many contenders. I think I'll give to 1a for setting the scene so nicely for what was to follow. But 7, 15, 20 & 22 were all good, as indeed were pretty much all the others. My congratulations to the setter.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (--)*, and removalslike this
I don't know who the compiler is here, but I find it very reminiscent of the sort of puzzle that Sunday solvers are used to expecting from Dean Mayer. Regular readers of my Sunday blog will appreciate the compliment implicit in that.
There was a lot of beautifully crafted wordplay here and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, I completely forgot it was my turn to blog today, until I was about to go to bed after watching a late night movie. So I had to solve this when I was quite tired which was a shame as I would have much preferred to give a puzzle of this quality my full attention.
It's very difficult to pick out a COD as there are so many contenders. I think I'll give to 1a for setting the scene so nicely for what was to follow. But 7, 15, 20 & 22 were all good, as indeed were pretty much all the others. My congratulations to the setter.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (--)*, and removals
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | LITTLE SLAM = |
| 6 | S |
| 9 | CHAIN STORE = AIN'T about S all in CHORE |
| 10 | LEAN - dd - Sir David Lean was the film director |
| 12 | T(AIL)END + CHARLIE |
| 14 | GO + E + THE |
| 15 | GLIBNESS = (BLESSING)* - a beautifully disguised anagram |
| 17 | REP + EATER |
| 19 | ENIGMA = GIN (trap) in ME (this person) all rev + A |
| 22 | VLAD THE IMPALER = (PRIVATE HELL + MAD)* - another excellently constructed anagram |
| 24 | TOKE - hidden |
| 25 | FLEA-BITTEN - dd |
| 26 | DATA = A TAD rev |
| 27 | PENTAGONAL = (PANT |
| Down | |
| 1 | LOCO - dd |
| 2 | TEA CAKE = CA |
| 3 | LONELY HEARTS - dd |
| 4 | S + A + TINY |
| 5 | A |
| 7 | WHEELIE = WEE (short) + LIE (story) about H |
| 8 | GINGER SNAP = (GREASING + P |
| 11 | CAR(BOND + AT)ING |
| 13 | AGGRAVATED = AGATE about GRAV |
| 16 | REVEILLE = EVER rev + ILL + E |
| 18 | P(LACK)ET - Not a word I knew, but it was quite gettable just from the wordplay |
| 20 | GREATEN = |
| 21 | UMLAUT - cd |
| 23 | A + NIL - I had TEAL for ages, and it took me a long time to convince myself that it had to be wrong. Anil is a word I'm only vaguely familiar with. |
Page Summary
paulmcl : (no subject) [+0] - ulaca : (no subject) [+0]
- z8b8d8k : A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man [+0]
- jackkt : (no subject) [+0]
- topicaltim : (no subject) [+0]
- jerrywh : (no subject) [+0]
- dorsetjimbo : (no subject) [+0]
- keriothe : (no subject) [+0]
- mohn2 : (no subject) [+0]
- sotira : (no subject) [+1]
- vinyl1 : Back to normal... [+1]
- chris_gregory01 : (no subject) [+0]
- grestyman : (no subject) [+0]
- glheard : (no subject) [+0]
- janie_l_b : (no subject) [+0]
- pipkirby : (no subject) [+0]
- joekobi : (no subject) [+0]
- kevin_from_ny : (no subject) [+2]
- (Anonymous) : Plackets [+0]
- tony_sever : (no subject) [+2]
- falooker : (no subject) [+0]
- (Anonymous) : (no subject) [+1]
Comments
LOCO takes me back to a shaming moment in Spanish class where I completely failed to understand como un loco as "like a madman", unable to get a steam engine out of my mind. Some wounds never fade completely.
UMLAUT gets my CoD despite it being a CD, but there's a lot of other very good and chewy stuff here. Thank goodness for the relatively kind (if you have the GK) long ones.
Of the clues giving me trouble, all but UMLAUT were in the NW where I didn't really know LITTLE SLAM and the Roman General I learned about at school had long faded from my memory. But the real killer here was 1dn where I knew exactly that I was looking for a double definition but completely failed to see the oh so obvious LOCO as the solution to my problems.
Elsewhere I didn't know PLACKET or TOKE but wrote both answers in without a moment's delay. I think my confidence is still dented from Thursday's adventure and once again I was glad it wasn't my blogging Friday.
Edited at 2013-02-01 10:43 am (UTC)
Excellent puzzle, not quite as difficult as yesterday because the long clues are quite easy.
No quibbles and no unknowns (although I know PLACKET as a piece of armour and just assumed the term had been absorbed into a more general usage)
LITTLE SLAM is a real cracker - thanks to setter and nice one Dave
Well I found this a real stinker, and much harder than yesterday's. But a very enjoyable challenge with pennies dropping all over the place.
Quite a lot I didn't know today: LITTLE SLAM (I almost bunged in LITTLE STAR in desperation but persisted) "syrup of fig", PLACKET, ANIL, and of course GREATEN. I still can't quite believe it's a real word.
I remember being flummoxed by TAIL-END CHARLIE while in the audience for the championship final in 2009 and it has stuck in my brain ever since. Loved the Dracula clue, which reminded me of a favourite cryptic definition from the Telegraph (?) many years ago: "Alarming blood count?" (7)
Many good clues, but I just loved GLIBNESS.
I'm trying to improve my solving times by being a bit more Dave Brailsford ("aggregation of marginal gains") about it. Training oneself to notice those question marks and react accordingly might be a good start!
Cheers
Chris.
Edited at 2013-02-01 04:59 pm (UTC)
Charlie is slang for cocaine ... hence drug. Not in NYC?
Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of
silks betray thy poor heart to woman: keep thy foot
out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen
from lenders' books, and defy the foul fiend.
I remembered this from my A levels 45 years ago: I couldn't recall the precise wording but 'plackets' has stuck in my mind ever since. I wondered when it would come in useful.
"Vegetable sleeps standing up, his pants on one leg (7,5)"
http://times-xwd-times.livejournal.com/6
34 enjoyable minutes today, the NW last to fall, triggered by getting 1d LOCO.
Rob