Times 27244 - what happened to Les One through Five?
Solving time: 11:03, which is pretty close to my average time, though I think I was on to a few lesser used techniques that popped up in here. I was a little nervous about 13 across that went in on wordplay alone.
There's a lot to like in this crossword with some intricate consrtuctions, in particular some long reversals. I love a pun, so I have to hand it to the setter for getting 28 across in.
The first definition in each clue is underlined.
Away we go....
There's a lot to like in this crossword with some intricate consrtuctions, in particular some long reversals. I love a pun, so I have to hand it to the setter for getting 28 across in.
The first definition in each clue is underlined.
Away we go....
Across | |
1 | Only this much into books, excluding royalty (8) |
SOLITARY - SO(this much), then LITERARY(into books) missing ER(royalty) | |
5 | Cloud is back in under a minute (6) |
NIMBUS - reversal of SUB(under a) MIN(minute) | |
10 | Saw notice become out of date (5) |
ADAGE - AD(notice), AGE(become out of date) | |
11 | In small bed, thorn tree (5,4) |
SCOTS PINE - S(small), COT(bed) SPINE(thorn) | |
12 | Give away pounds, having left nothing for artist (9) |
DONATELLO - DONATE(give away), L(pounds), L(left) O(nothing) for an artist who is sometimes a turtle | |
13 | Join English match (5) |
FUSEE - FUSE(join), E(English). This was my last in, didn't know it was an outdoor match | |
14 | Basket-maker getting thanks for a fine biscuit (7) |
RATAFIA - RAFFIA(palm fibres for making a basket), with TA(thanks) replacing one of the F's | |
16 | A little agitation as Republican code of honour almost rejected (6) |
TREMOR - R(Republican), and OMERTA(Mafia code of honour) missing the last letter, all reversed | |
18 | Chap sounds fit, for a Spaniard (6) |
MANUEL - Sounds like MAN WELL. Que? | |
20 | French film-maker’s company facing acute distress (7) |
Jean COCTEAU - CO(company) then an anagram of ACUTE | |
22 | Parts of church show small errors, length being out (5) |
APSES - LAPSES(small errors) missing L(length) | |
23 | Make a demand, and others raise it, beginning to swagger about (9) |
STIPULATE - ET AL(and others), UP(raise), IT, S |
|
25 | High-pitched sounds each video modulated (4,5) |
HEAD VOICE - anagram of EACH,VIDEO, along with HEAD REGISTER it can mean falsetto | |
26 | Wrong end of sponge cake (5) |
TORTE - TORT(wrong) and the last letter of SPONGE | |
27 | You need to remove middle and last line of story (3,3) |
THE END - THEE(you) and N |
|
28 | Bumper corn harvest may produce this quantity of work (3-5) |
MAN-YEARS - a bumper corn harvest woud have MANY EARS |
Down | |
1 | One way and another keeping a model (8) |
STANDARD - ST(street, one way), AND, RD(road) containing A | |
2 | Digest litre — gross! (5) |
LEARN - L(litre), EARN(gross as in wages) | |
3 | Eighty divisible by two? All the time (6-4-5) |
TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN - Eighty is TWENTY FOURS and something divisible by two is EVEN | |
4 | Parrot took off over large city (7) |
ROSELLA - ROSE(took off), L(large), LA(city) | |
6 | Say what you like, Britain is so different from N Korea (3,1,4,7) |
ITS A FREE COUNTRY - double definition | |
7 | Butterfly is absolutely filled with colour (9) |
BRIMSTONE - BRIMS(is absolutely filled), TONE(colour) | |
8 | Pin more asymmetrical? (6) |
SKEWER - double definition, with SKEW-ER | |
9 | Sign off, endlessly depressed by painful condition (3,3) |
LOG OUT - LO |
|
15 | Up-and-coming skill, covering new roofing material in render (9) |
TRANSLATE - reverse ART(skill), over N(new), SLATE(roofing material) | |
17 | Use scent liberally for appeal (8) |
CUTENESS - anagram of USE,SCENT | |
19 | Group of composers, minus nine (3,3) |
LES SIX - LESS(minus), IX(nine) | |
20 | Your setter is within reach somehow for old monster (7) |
CHIMERA - I'M(your setter is) in an anagram of REACH | |
21 | Prestige long maintained by court (6) |
CACHET - ACHE(long) inside CT(court) | |
24 | One leads from heart ace, or leads from trump ace (5) |
AORTA - A(ace) OR, first letters in T |