Times for the Times

This one took me 15 minutes, and wasn't the easiest of puzzles. There are a few local geographical references which may cause some difficulty overseas and perhaps a couple of slightly obscure meanings, but nothing too difficult I'd say. The code number in the URL came as a surprise today having leapt forward by 27, but it leaves lots of scope for filling in the missing ones later and confusing me still further! If any Quickie bloggers are looking for their puzzles for the remainder of the week I'm afraid they're out of luck for the moment as the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday puzzles loaded to the Quick Cryptic page are actually Concise puzzles 6561-6563.I have posted a message to this effect in the General Forum in the hope that it can be sorted out before tomorrow.

Definitions underlined
Deletions in curly brackets

Across
1	Ladies' man more sensible, touring Moslem country (9)
	WOMANISER - WISER (more sensible) goes around [touring] OMAN (Moslem country)
6	Very British cry (3)
	SOB - SO (very), B (British)
8	Coward shaking, crossing line - but no actual fighting here (4,3)
	COLD WAR - anagram [shaking] of COWARD around [crossing] L (line)
9	A trollop returns to American city (5)
	TULSA - A + SLUT (trollop) reverses
10	What oracles troubled duke in country house? (6,6)
	CASTLE HOWARD - anagram [troubled] of WHAT ORACLES, D (duke) - the stately home in Yorkshire most widely known as the setting for "Brideshead Revisited" both on film and TV
12	People at university get list of choices (4)
	MENU - MEN (people), U (university)
13	Army doctor introducing himself, making rounds (4)
	AMMO - AM, MO (army doctor - Medical Officer) - the idea here is that he introduces himself saying (I) AM (the) MO. 'Ammo' is short for 'ammunition' which comes in rounds.
17	Showing arms raisedarrogantly (4-8)
	HIGH-HANDEDLY - two definitions, the latter being figurative and in common usage
20	Stow a jacket (5)
	PARKA - PARK (stow), A
21	To disparage massage a mistake (7)
	RUBBISH - RUB (massage), BISH (mistake). The answer is being used as a verb here.
23	Broughtlight (3)
	LED - double definition, the second referring to Light Emitting Diode
24	Observes proper military order (4,5)
	EYES RIGHT - EYES (observes), RIGHT (proper)

Down
1	Northerly town - it burns (4)
	WICK - double definition, the first being a town in Caithness, Scotland
2	Fight to stop man producing harmful app (7)
	MALWARE - WAR (fight) inside MALE (man). 'Stop' is the enclosure indicator here.
3	Today be aware leader's absent (3)
	NOW - {k}NOW (be aware)
4	In London, Oxford or Liverpool, say (6)
	STREET - examples (say) of streets in London
5	Reason gets one into a real mess (9)
	RATIONALE - anagram [mess] of INTO A REAL
6	Dance son's entered unfortunately, going the wrong way (5)
	SALSA - S (son) inside [entered] ALAS (unfortunately) reversed
7	Refuse extremely dry drink (6)
	BRANDY - BRAN (refuse), D{r}Y. 'Bran' = the husks separated from flour after grinding, hence 'refuse' or 'waste'. 'Extremely' indicates we need only the first and last letters of 'dry'.
11	To make brief contact and ask for money ignoble (5,4)
	TOUCH BASE - TOUCH (ask for money), BASE (ignoble)
14	I will get porcelain round for grinding (7)
	MILLING - MING (porcelain) around I'LL
15	Place of worship built cheap - a pound (6)
	CHAPEL - anagram [built] of CHEAP, L (pound - as in L.s.d)
16	Course held in centre ended (6)
	ENTRÉE - hidden inside {c}ENTRE E{nded}
18	Appear bloody, wounded by bull (5)
	GORED - GO RED (appear bloody)
19	Trya lot of pellets (4)
	SHOT - double definition
22	Ban from pub (3)
	BAR - double definition

I found this a little chewy for a Monday, though by no means difficult. If difficult is what you are looking for, try Picaroon’s excellent Guardian prize puzzle. (Saturday’s Times was pretty decent too.) 34 minutes.

ACROSS

1. MACERATED – I wanted to spell the coat with a ‘k’, which didn’t help, especially as this is not a well known word, except to foodies, I guess, as it means to soften by soaking; the wordplay is MAC + [hurricane]E + RATED and the literal therefore ‘completely soaked’ .
6. MUMPS – I don’t have my physical Chambers to hand so don’t know if that or any of the other usual sources give ‘old woman’ as a meaning of ‘mum’, which seems a bit odd to me; anyway, it’s MUM’S around P (‘quiet’), and nothing to do with ‘mum = quiet’, apart from misdirection.
9. GUEST – sounds like ‘guessed’.
10. ISLINGTON – my feeling is that you’d have to be a pretty unstylish character to go round saying that you 'sling ton' (crosswordese for fashion), but what do I know about denizens of N1?
11. PRIOR ENGAGEMENT – well, what can one say? A prior (these days, at any rate) is not permitted to marry (if he’s RC, at any rate) so you’d be unlikely to read his engagement notice in The Times. Then, if one’s not ‘here’ (meaning where you’ve been invited – we must take the perspective of the person making the invitation) it is on account of ‘it’, AKA the ‘prior engagement’. Alternatively, a prior isn’t ‘here’ (in the sense of being placed on this earth) for ‘it’ (AKA nooky). Time for a lie-down.
13. BUD+A+PEST – this clue seems to sprout forth every six weeks or so. Are we hungary for more or should it be nipped in the weak and watery American beer?
14. CAREER – quite cunning this; CARE (‘job in nursing’ – when not filling in survey questionnaires or ‘implementing health service solutions' for the latest manifestation of the NHS as dreamt up by fat-cat management in tandem with consultants from McKinsey) + ER (emergency room = A&E) .
16. CAFARD – a new one on me, but reasonably easy to get if you stick with the instructions and don’t panic; A + FAR in CD; French for melancholy.
18. CHINA TEA – mmm; the literal is ‘leaves’, and the wordplay C (‘about’) + [matc]H + IN (‘at home’) + A TEA[m] (most of 1st XI’).
21. PARTICLE PHYSICS – anagram* of CRITIC LESS HAPPY.
23. CONSERVER – CON (‘no [not] pro’) + SERVER (think Andy Murray).
25. NAME* + D; ‘of’ is the link word, the literal ‘change’.
26. SIGHT – sounds like [web]site.
27. [t]AUNTS + ALLY for the game played virtually in crosswords and virtually nowhere else.

DOWN

1. MUG UP – do Americans/Australians use this expression, which I like to consider, like ‘swat up’ as inalienably British?
2. CHEMIN DE FER – hands up who just bunged this in? It’s another charade (word or letter piling upon word or letter): C (‘clubs’) + HEM+IN (‘limit’) + DEFER (‘yield’).
3. RAT TRAP – besides being a slightly oversized mousetrap, this can refer to an unpleasant situation, a squalid building or a bicycle pedal with serrated steel foot pads and a toe clip. Just the thing to go with the drop-handlebars and the trouser clips in the good old days before lycra-warriors.
4.THINNEST – I made a bit of a horlicks of this by insisting first on skinniest (which didn’t fit) and then on scrawniest (which didn’t fit even more, and broke the rules of crossword setting, to boot); the cunning thing here is that the setter has transferred THE ST[reet] en bloc from clue to solution, with just enough room left for a modest INN.
5. DELIAN – ‘nailed’ reversed for the person from Delos, or, at a pinch, I suppose, the supporter of Norwich City.
6. MANDELA – it’s reverse hidden in conceALED NAMe, appropriately enough. Nice clue, but perhaps more effective if the first letter was not given and solvers had to work a bit harder.
7. MOT – initial letters of Master Of The.
8. SANATORIA – TRAIN+AS+ [physic]O*; a semi-&lit, says he confidently….
12. ELECTRIC EEL – being the only type of eel I know, apart from the common eely eel, this was a write-in; the wordplay is ELECT (‘choose’ – for starters, ie shove it at the front) + RICE (the staple of paella) + EL (‘the Spanish’).
13. BACKPACKS – GK Chesterton didn’t think much of the practice, writing that ‘the globe-trotter lives in a smaller world than the peasant’, while the person who is ‘rooted in a place’ lives ‘like a tree with the whole strength of the universe’. But, ‘the parsing?’ you say. BACK + PACKS (sounds like ‘pax’ – what I used to say to my prep school mates when I wanted a break from fighting in order to do a little mugging up).
15. CH+A+PERON.
17. R(AIM)ENT.
19. NAYSAYS – Two Ys (mathematical unknowns) in NASA’S.
20. OLIVIA – the setter is probably alluding to the one in Twelfth Night, but there is of course a very literate one Stateside (though, possibly, she would have been clued as ‘Heyerian’); the wordplay is LIVI[d] in (‘eclipsed by’) the middle letters of [s]OA[p].
22. SADLY – alternate letters of uSuAl DeLaY; ‘Worse luck!’ is the kind of thing I said to my prep school mate when his conker disintegrated. He probably replied, ‘What a swizz!’, or, if he was an inchoate crossword compiler, ‘What a swiz!’
24. NOG – a three-quarter reversal of GONE for the drink invariably associated with egg, Christmas and undrinkability.

There's an interesting post on the Crossword Unclued blog which might be helpful to newcomers baffled by some of the language we've invented for ourselves over the years. So if you don't know your COD from your LOI (or even if you do), head over there and read about Crossword Bloggers' Jargon - Decoded!.

This one felt a bit trickier than average, and I needed a few flashes of inspiration before stopping the clock at 16:22 (how many Magoos, keriothes, or other bespoke units of crossword solving that time equates to, it's too early to say). Lots of good and occasionally quite intricate stuff, anyway, so let's see if I can successfully unpick it all.

STOP PRESS, after blogging, by which time a few more times are in: a) slightly more than 2 Magoos for me today; b) he's the only sub-10 minute solve so far, however, so this seems to back up my feeling that it wasn't entirely straightforward.

Across
1	DISOBEY - [SO BE] inside D.I.Y.
5	SPARROW - SPAR(=box), ROW(=file).
9	HIPPODROMES - HIP(=following fashion), POD(=school, as in group of aquatic animals), ROME'S.
10	VIE - VIE{w} minus the W{eight}.
11	ICEMEN - 1 CEMEN{T}. Defined by "blocks they deliver", or more realistically, "blocks they used to deliver", since the iceman has gone the way of the lamplighter and the crossing sweeper as an occupation.
12	KNEE SOCK - (SEE)rev. in KNOCK.
14	ON A SHOESTRING - (HEROESNATIONS)* + G{rand}.
17	WOOL GATHERING - WOO(=court), L{arge} GATHERING.
21	BARDOLPH - the BARD + 0 L~~ike~~ P~~rince~~ Hal. Beautifully worked all-in-one clue; Bardolph is one of Falstaff's disreputable associates in various Shakespeare plays; (spoiler warning: his former relationship with Prince/King Henry doesn't stop him coming to a sticky end at Harfleur).
23	OCULAR - {J}OCULAR minus the J{udge}.
25	AXE - X(cross) in lAkEs.
26	HAIR RAISING - AIR(=display), RAISIN(=fruit) in Hg, chemical symbol for Mercury.
27	DESERVE - DE ("from" in French), SERVE, as in getting the rally started in tennis.
28	ENGAGED - ENG{lish}, AGED(=getting on).

Down
1	DAHLIA - DAH(the 'dit' and the 'dah' being the traditional component parts of Morse Code), (AIL)rev.
2	SUPREMO - SUP(=drink) RE(=on) MO(=tick). I shall confess to spending a while wondering if there might be a small parasitic animal called a REMO.
3	BOOMERANG - BOO(accompanies hiss), "MERINGUE", cunningly defined as "shell on (food) course". As the Scots dialect joke goes "Is that a chocolate eclair or a meringue?""No, you're not rang at all, it's definitely a chocolate eclair." Works better when spoken, not written down, of course.
4	YARD - [D{iamonds} RAY]rev., the chain in question being the old measure which still marks out the 22 yards of a cricket pitch.
5	SIMON PETER - (OMENPRIEST)*.
6	AISLE ="I'LL".
7	RAVIOLI - [0,L{eft}] in R.A. ("drawer" as in artist) VII. Another well-disguised definition in "filled envelopes".
8	WRECKAGE - [REC(=recreation ground=playground), {loo}K] in WAGE.
13	CHAT-UP LINE - (UNETHICAL,P{atient})* &lit.
15	TWITCHING - ITCH(=burn) in TWIN(=match), G(=note).
16	OWN BRAND - OWN(=admit), BRAND{y}.
18	OARLESS - O{ld}, ARLES'S. Genoa used here as a type of sail, which would be all you had for propulsion in the absence of any oars.
19	GOLDING - (DIGLONG)*, Booker and Nobel Prize winner William, presumably.
20	BRIGID - RIG(=to fix) in BID(=offer). Irish version of Bridget / Brigitte etc.
22	OPHIR - OP{us}, HIR{e}. If you know this, I strongly suspect it's from the same place as I do, to wit the opening line of John Masefield's Cargoes, "Quinquereme of Nineveh from distant Ophir..."
24	ERSE - reverse hidden in glenrothES REctor, also &lit. as the tongue in question can be Scots Gaelic as well as Irish.

Today, I hope, is a Samosa feast. Please see linxit's post on blogging jargon for further explanation. 2 dn is my COD.

Somewhat put out of my schedule by not being able to find the crossword in advance, I have less time than I'd like to blog so apologies for brevity and typos.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Dad's time: it was long ago? (4)
&nbsp &nbspPAST - Dad's (PAS), time (T).
3 Got hold of equipment, given guidance (7)
&nbsp &nbspTACKLED - Equipment (TACK), given guidance (LED). Rugby fans will understand the connection.
8 Grub in part of biker's outfit (13)
&nbsp &nbspLEATHERJACKET - A crane fly in larval stage (a bug) is one word. The leather jacket as normally worn by bikers is two.
9 Extraword of farewell (3)
&nbsp &nbspBYE - An extra in cricket is a bye as is a word of farewell. Double definition.
10 Various ideas in words selectively spoken to audience (5)
&nbsp &nbspASIDE - Anagram (various) of IDEAS. I think 2dn may have included a few.
12 Space for luggage men needed in part of journey (7)
&nbsp &nbspSTORAGE - Men (OR - other ranks below officers), in part of journey (STAGE). In my case, at the moment, it's the rather frozen boot (sorry, I should say trunk) of a car.
14 Silly dopes wanting editor removed from office (7)
&nbsp &nbspDEPOSED - Anagram (silly) of DOPES plus (wanting) editor ED.
16 Shell that's yellow found by sea in France (5)
&nbsp &nbspORMER - Yellow (OR - golden), sea in France (MER). Didn't known this but it's pretty get-able from the clue. The shell is a Haliotis tuberculata which sounds like a bad breathed lung patient - which probably isn't the sea creature's fault.
17 Group of over-anxious characters rushed (3)
&nbsp &nbspRAN - The answer is in the clue oveR-ANxious. Take your pick of the indicator - could be group of the letters or characters as in the letters. I look forward to reading any ensuing discussion later in the UK day.
20 Nevertheless, creating a clash in the diary? (2,3,4,4)
&nbsp &nbspAT THE SAME TIME - Double definition.
21 Decency of style associated with animal accommodation (7)
&nbsp &nbspMODESTY - Style (MODE), with animal accomodation (STY).
22 Bird or rabbit? (4)
&nbsp &nbspCHAT - Double definition.

Down
1 Fish to cut up — not easy (8)
&nbsp &nbspPILCHARD - To cut (CLIP) upwards, not easy (HARD).
2 Playwright in Irish: award-winner (4)
&nbsp &nbspSHAW - Fine clue - George B, an Irish playwright, is in the clue - iriSH:AWard-winner. I haven't done the research but I guess he also won awards so this could be a double definition, cryptic definition and/or one of those &lit things.
3 More than one politician attempts to convey love (6)
&nbsp &nbspTORIES - Attempts (TRIES) carrying (to convey) love (O).
4 Holiday resort on coast: clean, surprisingly (7-2-3)
&nbsp &nbspCLACTON-ON-SEA - Anagram (resort) of ON COAST CLEAN. Unusually for a Quick, some of the word play is also the definition. Get used to this folks, and you'll be on your way to getting &lit clues - the definition of which I've never been completely sure of but I'm sure there's a web site somewhere which will give chapter and verse.
5 Evangelist not a hot-gospeller? Only mildly enthusiastic (8)
&nbsp &nbspLUKEWARM - Luke is our evangelist but, (and here's the pun) as he's only warm he's not a hot-gospeller.
6 Partner on an assignation offers fruit (4)
&nbsp &nbspDATE - Double definition. A date is a partner on an assignition, so is a fruit.
7 Ideal joints for a worker? (3,4,5)
&nbsp &nbspTHE BEES KNEES - The bee's knees would be the leg joints of a worker bee. Other rather interesting terms over the years have included the flea's eyebrows, the canary's tusks, and one that still survives - the cat's whiskers.
11 Editor excited about peoples' representative brought in (8)
&nbsp &nbspIMPORTED - Anagram (excited) of EDITOR around peoples' representative (MP).
13 Nobleman that is saint: before all others? (8)
&nbsp &nbspEARLIEST - Nobleman (EARL), that is (IE), Saint (ST).
15 My dear moving miles away (6)
&nbsp &nbspDREAMY - Anagram (moving) of MY DEAR.
18 Friend is given minute token of victory (4)
&nbsp &nbspPALM - Friend (PAL), minute (M as in 60 in an hour). Palm branches were/are used as a token of victory and peace.
19 Report of attempt to find adherent of religion (4)
&nbsp &nbspSIKH - Homophone (report of) attempt to find (seek).

Very nice QC, I thought: no arcane GK required, a bit of wit and whimsy (loved 22a), and a good variety of different clue types.

Thanks very much to our setter Marty. (If anyone is struggling to access the puzzle, it is located here http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141119/354/ ).

Across
1	TOTEM - Sign is the definition. Answer also from TOTE ("carry") with M ("head of march" - i.e. head being first letter)
4	DEAD SEA - feature in Middle East is the definition. "departed" gives us DEAD, and "reportedly to visit" gives us SEA (sounds like - "reportedly" - SEE)
8	DUKEDOM - Definition (or, in this case, exemplar) is Cornwall, say. Wordplay also giving the answer is anagram of ODD ME (signalled by "travelling") around UK ("this country")
9	ELECT - Choose is the definition. Answer is hidden - backwards (signalled by "retrospective") - in "~~bes~~t cele~~brities~~"
10	LITTLE BO PEEP - Children's rhyme is the definition. Answer is also an anagram (signalled by "out") of PEOPLE BELT IT. Nice whimsical surface presenting a bizarre image of a gusty rendition of this soft lullaby by a beery rugby crowd...
12	RE-EDIT - Correct - yet again is the definition. answer also from REED ("marsh plant") "next to" IT
13	TRY OUT - Experiment is the definition. Answer also from TROUT ("fish") with a Y ("unknown") included ("consumed"). Unknowns are generally leading us to an X, Y or Z from mathematical conventions
16	WINNING POSTS - Double definition, both a little bit cryptic / jokey.
18	YOKEL - country cousin is the definition. Answer also from YOKE ("join") "by" L (standard abbreviation of "lake")
20	BARBARA - Girl is the definition. The wordplay also giving us the answer is BAR ("save"- as in all bar none) "twice" with A
21	ROYALTY - Double definition: further comment probably superfluous
22	DEFOE - Novelist is the definition (he of Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe fame). Answer is ingeniously constructed from DE ("free of" - as in "de-flea your cat") and FOE ("enemies"). Definitely my COD

Down
1	TIDDLER - one very small is the definition. Answer also built from TILER ("Floor repairer maybe") with DD inserted ("interrupted by daughters" - D being the standard definition of Daughter)
2	TAKE THE MICKEY - ridicule is the definition. Answer also built from TAKE THE MIC ("Prepare to do karaoke perhaps") with KEY ('Explanation")
3	MEDALLION - Award is the definition. Answer also from an anagram (signalled by "badly") of LAMED with LION ("international rugby player" - reference to the British Lions, the touring team who generally seem to demonstrate that the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts...)
4	DEMOBS - Removes from service is the definition. Answer also from DEMO ("protest") followed by ("after") BS ("empty BUS")
5	APE - Double definition: parrot (as in imitate) and I suppose you could say an ape is "often at home in tree". Not the most satisfying of clues, barely cryptic at all unless I have missed something
6	SKELETON STAFF - Small crew is the definition. Answer is also an anagram (signalled by "to be replaced") of LEFT OFTEN ASKS
7	ANTE - Stake is the definition (think "up the ante"). Our decapitated poet is DANTE
11	PERSPIRED - Sweated is the definition. Answer also derived from the wordplay SPIRE ("top of church tower") with REP ("traveller") reversed ("climbing"), and the final D coming (I think - took me a while to see this) simply from the pluperfect sweating of the REP ('d)
14	TESTATE - with a will is the definition (as opposed to the more frequently heard intestate). Answer also from ATE ("tucked in") "following" TEST ("examination")
15	SNOBBY - Arrogant is the definition (jarred a bit with me, but I guess it is technically correct: I tend to think of snobbery and arrogance as two somewhat separate forms of obnoxious behaviour). Answer also from the wordplay SNO ("son undone" - letters rearranged) with B(B)Y "by crossing bishop" (B being abbreviation of bishop in chess notation)
17	DYER - Double definition, one of which is a homophone. The yarn worker is the literal, and the answer also sounds like ("to listen to") DIRE ("dreadful"). If I was of a picky disposition, I might query the yarn worker / dyer connection in that my understanding (limited though it is in these fields) is that dying can occur with any material - yarn or otherwise. But hey, this is Crosswordland and the double meaning of yarn (story) with its linkage to "listened to" provides a more interesting surface
19	LIL - LILLY (or LIL~~LIAN~~ - take your pick) is our small girl, and the shortened mattress is LILO

A 7dn puzzle which took me 20 minutes, faster than the other two in this heat. No obscure words but a ferry port, a Crimean resort famous for the 1945 Conference and an Irish officer of the law call upon your general knowledge.

Across
1	CAPACITY - Cap (better, as a verb), A (second from Jack), CITY (London perhaps); def. volume.
5	MASSIF - MASS (state, of USA, abbr.) IF (condition); def. mountain is seen in.
10	STRANRAER - ST (way) RAN (passed) RAER (REAR - back, in the wrong direction); def. port, from whence ferries ply, or plied (until November 2011, apparently; see gasmanjack below) to Larne in Northern Ireland.
11	GARDA - Hidden word, Beg(GAR DA)ring; a member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force.
12	AMOS - AS (for example), around MO (doctor); prophetic book of the Old Testament, of which even I had heard.
13	GIBBERISH - BIG reversed, then (HERBS I)*; def. rhubarb.
15	CONSEQUENT - CONSENT (agreement) with QUE (Spanish for 'what') inserted; def. resulting. Even if you had no Spanish you might remember Manuel in Fawlty Towers saying 'que?'
17	WHOA - W (wife) plus HOA(X) (a fast one, short of an X = kiss); def. stop!
19	AVER - A (answer), VER (over = finished, not started); def. say with conviction.
20	FALLING FOR - Double definition.
22	BLUEBERRY - BLUE (depressed), BY (times, as in multiplied by), insert E R R (regular letters of dEaReR); def. fruit.
24	SORT - SHORT (small whisky) loses H(usband); def. kind.
26	OZONE - O (over) ZONE (area); allotrope of oxygen (O3), a pale blue gas with a pungent smell detectable at as low as 10 parts per billion in air; named by the Greek word for smell, ὄζειν.
27	ILL AT EASE - ILL A (football team Aston VILLA less the V to kick it off) TEASE (synonym for guy, seen oft in these parts); def. worried.
28	SEDATE - S E (extremely sociable), DATE (boyfriend); def. drug, as a verb.
29	CALENDAR - (CLEAR)* indicated by 'doctor', around (DNA)* indicated by 'a bit different'; def. diary.

Down
1	CAST - CATS (animals) with the last 2 letters turned; def. shy, as in throw.
2	PORTMANTEAU WORD - (WOMAN TARTED UP OR), def. 'Oxbridge' is an example of such. Lewis Carroll first used the term; Humpty Dumpty, talking about 'slithy' and 'mimsy', explains the practice of combining words in various ways by telling Alice, 'You see it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.'* Oddly enough, in French it now means a coat-rack, but originally it meant a suitcase with two or more compartments.
3	CANISTER - Took me a while to see how to parse this; obvious when you do. RETSINA (Greek wine) C (about), all reversed; def. where film may be seen.
4	TWANG - Double def; you pluck or twang a stringed instrument, and regional speech can have a twang.
6	ARGUED - A RED (revolutionary) around GU(N); def. fallen out.
7	STRAIGHTFORWARD - Double def; honest, and easy.
8	FLASH HARRY - Flash (very short time), Harry (worry, pursue); def. show-off.
9	TRIBUNAL - TRIAL (pilot), around BUN (bung, bribe, without the G); def. hearing.
14	SCRAP BOOKS - SCRAPS (fights) around BOOK (reserve); def. collections of cuttings.
16	UNAFRAID - UNA (tuna, fish, without initial letter), F(ollowing) RAID (attack); def. game, up for it, not afraid.
18	ANISETTE - Anagram of ESTAMINET without the M (Frenchman, monsieur); def. what might be drunk (in a French café).
21	OBJECT - Double def; object = thing, object = idea, as in 'that was the idea of going there'. Well, my best idea for it so far.
23	YALTA - Y (unknown) A (area) around ALT (key); Black Sea resort in the Crimea.
25	DEER - Dee (one river) R (another river); def. does, female deer.

Solving time : 16:29, but I can't say I'm in tip-top solving or blogging form. There was a screening of a remaster of "The Great Dictator" at a cinema with a very good bar attached to it, followed by dinner and drinks at another bar. So I'm home, it's past midnight, I'm happily toasted, and here we go. Wheeeeee!

I think I've got most of it figured out, but I seem to be missing part of the wordplay at 26 across and I may be overthinking 14 down, so let's see what happens.

And away we go...

Across
1	PROFLIGATE: PROF (chairman, particularly of an academic department) then L, 1, GATE(way out)
6	ATOP: or AT OP
10	PENGUIN: PEN GUN around 1. It is now time for the one on your television set to explode
11	A,STARTE~~(r)~~
12	REPLETION: (REPTILE)*,ON
13	A,DIE,U
14	CHINA: CHA around IN
15	NARCISSUS: C in (RUSSIANS)*
17	FIELDFARE: (REF,FAILED)*
20	TYLER: T, then RELY reversed - I expect this is referencing Wat Tyler, though it could possibly be early US President John Tyler
21	LIBRA~~(ry)~~
23	ROTHERHAM: OTHER,H in RAM
25	NOONDAY: NOD, AY containing ON
26	NOISILY: Hmmm... well I see SI~~(l)~~LY but I can't quite see how BOW=NOI - hive mind to the rescue? Edit: and hive mind did rescue - the bow would be #1 (No.1) in the boat
27	SIKH: SI~~(c)~~K,~~(healt)~~H

28	EDWARD LEAR: EDWARD BEAR with a new start for BEAR

Down
1	PAPER: double definition
2	OENOPHILE: sounds like O,FILE around ENO(English National Opera)
3	LAUREL AND HARDY: both are evergreens
4	GENTIAN: GEN then I in TAN
5	TRAINER: TER~~(m)~~ surrounding RAIN
7	TARSI: TAR(preservative) then IS reversed
8	PRECURSOR: RECURS in POR~~(t)~~
9	STRAW, IN THE WIND
14	CUFFLINKS: I think this is CUFF(slap) then L for G in GINKS (an odd person, hence buttons) making it an &lit. Open to suggestions though. Edit: and now I know a new word - LINKS is German for left
16	SYLPHLIKE: (HIPS,KELLY)*
18	ARAYED: sounds like A RAID
19	ESTONIA: EUSTON without the U, then A1 reversed
22	BROOK: the sister may say that the BRO's OK
24	MAYOR: ROYA~~(l)~~ reversed up to M

Solving time: easier end of things.

A nice straightforward puzzle in today's QC slot with a number of Mara's slightly risqué answers or clues. Very enjoyable and nothing that really held me up.

Incidentally, thanks for covering for me last week. I'm still experiencing lots of trips to hospital for clinics etc. Speaking of which.... toodle-oo!

Across
1	CANNABIS - Definition is 'pot'. IS following CAN (WATERING VESSEL) + NAB (BAG).
6	MARK - Double Definition - to score and an evangelist who wrote some work.
8	SCUD - Definition is 'move like clouds'. The first letters (Initially) of Some clouds (unexpectedly) don't.
9	SOUS-CHEF - Def is 'kitchen assistant', not Cook, which here is an anagram indicator. An anagram of FOCUSES with H (hot starter) inside.
10	WEREWOLF - Def = howler. WE + the reversal (from right to left) of a word meaning plant, i.e. FLOWER. A clever clue.
11	BACK - Double definition.
13	SITTING PRETTY - A way of cryptically dscribing what a model does can also mean 'doing well'.
16	STIR - A double definition. A word meaning to mix in is a slang word for prison.
17	CELIBACY - Def is 'a priest's promise'. An anagram (to fix) of A BICYCLE.
19	ORGANIST - Def = player. An anagram (nuts) of ROASTING
21	ASIA - Def = Thailand is here. A + the old name for Thailand, minus its last letter.
22	ANNE - Def = Queen. Hidden (indicated by "some...." inside "WOAMN NEFERTITI".
23	OVERTIME - Def = "extra work". This is a wordsum. OVERT (clearly evident) + I'M + E (energy).

Down
2	ALCHEMIST - The definition is "Fellow going for gold". An anagram (extraordinary) of ST MICHAEL.
3	NUDGE - Def = elbow. G (good) inside NUDE (sort of painting).
4	BASSOON - Def = "Blow it!" meaning a musical instrument. BOON (gift) with ASS (idiot) inside.
5	STUFF - Double definition. Something that means load and a word for 'things (in general)'.
6	MACABRE - Def = that's grisly. CAB (vehicle) inside MARE (horse).
7	ROE - Def = eggs. Hidden (hoarded by) inside CROESUS.
12	CATECHISM - Def = religious instruction. An anagram (kind of) of SCHEMATIC.
14	TERRACE - Def = paved area. A wordsum. T (close to [last letter of] MUTT) + ERR (stray) + ACE (one).
15	PALETTE - Def = 'range of colours'. PALE (white) + TTE (first letters of Teal, Turquoise and Ecru).
17	CAIRO - Def = capital. AIR (atmosphere) inside CO (company).
18	BEAST - Def = wild animal (or the nickname Mark Labbett off ITV's The Chase!). BEST (it's most recommended) with A inside.
20	RUN - Double definition. A word meaning to manage and to go fast.

Not my normal slot today - I'm returning the favour to william_j_s for standing in for me a week or so ago while I was on holiday.

If you're having problems accessing the puzzle, it can be found here: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141121/356/

This day in 1905 saw the publication of Einstein's academic paper in which he first posited the equivalence of mass and energy via the famous equation E = mc². Fortunately today's puzzle doesn't require such penetrating insight into the very fabric of matter, with no obscure words or complicated wordplay, though it's still an enjoyable solve with the good surfaces that I've come to associate with this setter.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1	Expert history teacher (4,6)
	PAST MASTER - PAST (history) + MASTER (teacher)
8	After first sign of snow, we rate knitted jumper (7)
	SWEATER - S (first sign of snow, i.e. the initial letter of snow) + anagram (knitted) of WE RATE
9	We run behind officer and hide in fear (5)
	COWER - WE + R (run) behind CO (officer, i.e. Commanding Officer). The same setter clued this in Quicky 146 as "Business we run will make you cringe"
10	Old Testament book giving accurate facts, except for first part (4)
	RUTH - tRUTH (accurate facts) without the initial t (except for first part). Ruth comes between Judges and 1 Samuel.
11	Fee for long-standing servant (8)
	RETAINER - double definition. This was clued in the Sunday Times Cryptic in May 2012 as "Servant's fee, paid in advance"
13	Newly-wed's second-class journey? (5)
	BRIDE - B (second-class) + RIDE (journey)
14	Criticise characters in state government during recession (3,2)
	GET AT - reversed hidden (during recession) in sTATE Government
16	Refined journalist from Warsaw? (8)
	POLISHED - POLISH (from Warsaw?) + ED (journalist, i.e. editor)
17	Soldiers capturing a base (4)
	MEAN - MEN (Soldiers) around (capturing) A, where "mean" here is an adjective
20	Health resort in European country (5)
	SPAIN - SPA (Health resort) + IN
21	Fiddles making loud noises (7)
	RACKETS - double definition
22	Helpless, being under influence of drugs but not alcohol? (4,3,3)
	HIGH AND DRY - HIGH (being under influence of drugs) AND DRY (but not under influence of alcohol)

Down
1	Difficult question for artist's model (5)
	POSER - double definition
2	Bill given with last course? That's a bloomer (5,7)
	SWEET WILLIAM - SWEET (last course) + WILLIAM (Bill). Wikipedia claims that the flowers of the Sweet William are edible - please comment below if you have recently munched on one.
3	Ally regularly embattled (4)
	MATE - alternate letters (regularly) of eMbAtTlEd
4	Loud yell from hikers in trouble (6)
	SHRIEK - anagram (in trouble) of HIKERS
5	Swap old coins? (8)
	EXCHANGE - EX (old) + CHANGE (coins?)
6	How one might shirk duty? He's wangled it somehow (5,3,4)
	SWING THE LEAD - anagram (somehow) of HE'S WANGLED IT. This phrase apparently has a nautical origin, referring to sailors who dawdled while taking soundings.
7	Territorials and gunners twice climbing mountain (6)
	ARARAT - TA (Territorials, i.e. Territorial Army) + RA + RA (gunners twice, i.e. Royal Artillery twice) reversed (climbing). The mountain that is rumoured to be the final resting place of Noah's Ark.
12	Link she forged with one capital city (8)
	HELSINKI - anagram (forged) of LINK SHE + I (one). This was clued in the Guardian earlier this year via "Where Catalans might wash in the middle of this European city" - such whimsical wordplay is unlikely to make it into either the main Times cryptic or the Quicky, but I thought it was amusing.
13	Way to get roundheart surgery? (6)
	BYPASS - double definition
15	Deficiency daughter identified on our planet (6)
	DEARTH - D (daughter) + EARTH (our planet)
18	A street in New York is very unpleasant (5)
	NASTY - A + ST (street) all inside NY (New York)
19	Examine small container (4)
	SCAN - S (small) + CAN (container)

With minimal preamble once again due to the lateness in the day. I got home very very late last night thanks to a work do, so with both a 2 year old and a mild hangover to juggle I didn't think it was worth even attempting exam conditions, but I did definitely solve this within the half-hour. (Compare and contrast with Enigmatist's Guardian puzzle today, where I'm currently floundering with only three clues solved. Yikes.)

FOI was 29A, which may be my COTD as well, as I'm not sure I enjoyed anything in particular more than "French art", though there were certainly some other tidily constructed clues. I found the right-hand side of the grid much harder than the left, and maybe it's just me but words the likes of 9A, 18D, 24D seemed somehow to lack the timeless grandeur I normally associate with the Times puzzle? Coupled with what I thought was a slightly dodgy &lit at 15A and some weakish cryptic definitions elsewhere, it wasn't my favourite puzzle lately, but perhaps it just suffered by comparison to the brilliant one I had to blog last Friday, or perhaps the hangover was just making me ornery!

Across
1	GAMETES - cells: MET + E [satisfied with energy] "stored by" GAS [fuel]
5	MAPPERS - planners: PPE [Oxford course] "inhabiting" MARS [another world]
9	DIS - show contempt for: DISH [food item] - H [hospital "put out"]
10	MOONLIGHTER - "one doing extra time": MO [second] + ON [leg] + LIGHTER [match substitute]
11	TALISMAN - "that supposedly has magical powers": TAL{e} ["short" story] IS + MAN [fellow]
12	COMBAT - struggling: MBA [businessperson] in COT [bed]
15	HOBO - HOB [rustic] + O [nothing], &lit
16	BOILER ROOM - "where the furnaces are found": BROOM [cleaner] "goes round" OILER [ship]
18	BLUEPRINTS - "plans for the future": BLUE PRINCE [unhappy member of the royal family] "reported"
19	BEEF - complain: BELIEF [view] - L I ["does not show" lake and I]
22	TIDDLY - triple def, a tiddly tiddly being a small alcoholic drink that could make you tiddly
23	DECLARER - announcer: RED [cardinal] "return" broken by CLARE [female]
25	HEDDA GABLER - woman in play: HE'D ["the fellow would"] + GAD [rush] "around" + ABLER [better]
27	DAI - Welshman: DAILIES - LIES [newspapers "denied" stories]
28	DIMNESS - gloomy quality: (MEN*) ["wandering round"] in DISS [East Anglian town]
29	GENESIS - book: ES [French art, as in "thou art", "tu es"] IS "prefaced with" GEN [information]

Down
1	GO DUTCH - "avoid any financial subsidies": GO [bash] + DUTCH [European people]
2	MUSCLE-BOUND - stiff: (BUSMEN COULD*) ["need to move around"]
3	TAMEST - least likely to thrill: TEST [match] "that's held" AM [in the morning]
4	SHOPAHOLIC - cryptic def, "in store" meaning here a retail outlet, not the future
5	MILL - economist: MILL{ions} [seven figure sums "to be halved"]
6	PEGBOARD - "feature of card game": PEG BORED [Margaret yawning] "we hear"
7	EAT - put away: {m}EAT [19 (i.e. beef) maybe "after starter"]
8	STRATUM - bed: MU TARTS [Greek character + bits of food] "sent up"
13	BIODEGRADES - breaks down: B [BUS "dropping US off"] + EG [for example] in (SIDE ROAD*) ["rough"]
14	FLY THE FLAG - offer support, cryptic/punny def
17	SPILLAGE - waste: PILL [medicine] "fed to" SAGE [plant]
18	BITCHED - complained: ITCH [long] "like an invalid", i.e. in BED
20	FORTIES - "decade of new social initiatives": FOR [beneficial to] TIES [couples]
21	FLORIN - FLORIN - "coin once": FLORID [fancy] having D [old penny] for N [name]
24	GAYS - "members of minority group": GAZE [look] "to be heard"
26	DAM - restraint: MAD [angry] "upset"

Nothing particularly to note about this one. There are a couple of definitions that might be a bit loose, but not enough to prevent solving.

No solving time noted

Across
1 HAWFINCH - HALF INCH = appropriate (Cockney Rhyming slang - half inch = pinch), with W(ater) replacing L(arge)
5 MASSIF - MASS = service, IF = provided
9 RAT-TRAP - PART = role, TAR = sailor, all reversed
14 MAINTOPMAST - MAMA'S = mother's, T(ime), around IN and TOP = POT = vessel, reversed
15 ANNIVERSARY - ADVERSARY = opponent with INN reversed replacing D(aughter)
16 ISTLE - ISLE = man, around (carpe)T
17 BAY TREE - BAY = sea inlet, TREE = one with branches
18 EGLANTINE - E.G. = for example, LANE = way, around TIN = money
19 EYEBALL - EYE = detective, BALL = dance
20 SLEEPING DRAUGHT - SLEEP = PEEL'S = PM's, reversed, IN, G(ood), DRAUGHT = cool air current
22 INTONATION - INTO = knowledgeable about, NATION = people
23 VANISH - VAN-ISH = like a van = like a commercial vehicle?
25 PROW - P.O.W. = prisoner, around R = resistance
28 COPPER-BOTTOMED - COPPER = penny, BOTTOM = weaver, ED = journalist
30 EVERYMAN - EMAN = NAME = celebrity, reversed (from East), around VERY = genuine
32 RELIGION - REGION = area, around initial letters of L(iberal) I(ntellectual)
34 IDENTICAL TWINS - (WANT IT SLICED IN)*
37 ANTI - initial letters of A(ll) N(ational) T(raining) I(nstitutions)
38 NOTING - NOT(h)ING = cipher
39 FLOODGATES - (A SET OF GOLD)*
43 FEATHER ONES NEST - double definition, the second mildly cryptic as a chat is a type of bird
45 EARFLAP - E(uropean), A FLAP = a panic, around R(adio)
47 TALKING-TO - T(enor), ALTO = singer, around KING = royal
49 OREGANO - ORGAN = possibly stomach, around E(ast), O(ld)
51 NOISE - NO = number, I = one, SE(ed), where the removed ED = little boy
52 MATHEMATICS - MA, MA = graduates, around THE = article, TIS = it's, around C(antor)
53 RECTILINEAR - (LIE IN CRATER)*
54 STERLET - ST(reet) = way, ET = film, around E(a)RL = peer
55 NESTLE - hidden reversed in cELTS ENjoy
56 SKELETAL - (LAST KEEL)*

Down
1 HEMLINE - HEM = hesitate, LINE = policy
2 WHISTLE-STOP - WHIST = game, LEST = for fear that, OP = surgery. Without checking the dictionary I am not sure whether "pause to speak", which appears to be the definition, is fair
3 IN THE MAIN - double definition
4 CAPABILITY BROWN - CAPABILITY = potential, BROWN = tan
6 ATTORNEY - ATE = worried, (landlad)Y, around TORN = rent
7 SHAKESPEAREANA - SHAKE SPEAR = show hostility, E(nglish) - see 29D, ANA = stories
8 FINGERNAIL - cryptic definition
9 REVILED - DELIVER = free, reversed
10 TURIN - TURN = short walk, around I(talian)
11 READING-ROOM - REG = chap, ROOM = MOOR = fell, reversed, around A DIN = a row
12 PAYMENTS - (PETS MANY)*
13 LAZY - LAY = narrative poem, around Z = unknown
20 SMOOTH - hidden in keswickS MOOT Hall
21 APPARAT - APT = liable, around PARA = airborne soldier (not soldiers?)
22 INCURS - IN = fashionable, CURS = dogs
24 HAVE A BONE TO PICK - cryptic definition using different meanings of "setter"
26 HOLD ONES HORSES - double definition
27 ENOSIS - ENO = ONE reversed, S(mall), IS(land)
29 ENGLISH - ELI'S = priest's, H(omily), around N(igglin)G
31 BILLET - BET = what racegoers may do, around ILL = unhealthy
33 LANDAULETTE - LAND = light, AU = gold, LETTE(r) = character
35 INTELLIGENT - IN = popular, TELL = archer, I = one, GENT = bloke
36 STENTORIAN - SIAN = Welshwoman, around TENT = red wine, and OR = alternative
40 GERUNDIAL - (GAL RUINED)*
41 OFT-TIMES - O(ld), F.T., TIMES = newspapers
42 CEREBRAL - CEREAL = cornflakes, around alternate letters in BaRd
44 REGNANT - (p)REGNANT = in the club
46 PLEURAL - sounds like PLURAL = more than one
48 IDEAL - I(rish), DAL = LAD = boy, reversed, around E(nglish)
50 ARCH - double definition

Good puzzle, no solving time noted as I was just looking at it in bits and pieces last week while working on the computer. A couple of unknowns for me (BRIDGE ROLL, the required meaning of gyp), and I invented a Ugandan currency for 29ac. LOI was 7dn though, as I thought it would have a double N in the middle, and couldn't get past that.

Across
1	Sergeant Major wears down "backward jerks"! (6)
	SPASMS - SM (Sergeant Major) + SAPS (wears down), all reversed.
5	Constant publicity surrounds state bodies (8)
	CADAVERS - C(onstant) + ADS (publicity) around AVER (state).
9	Rather arresting church glass (8)
	SCHOONER - SOONER (rather) around CH(urch).
10	Forward close in scrum initially, leg behind (4,2)
	SEND ON - END (close) inside S(crum), ON (leg).
11	Eruptive beginnings in time affect flying? Rail’s the answer (10)
	VITUPERATE - (eruptive,T,A)*, the T and A from the initial letters of "time affect".
13	Important initiative has the making of an Opposition member (4)
	ANTI - hidden in "Important initiative".
14	Runners touch lightly, second moving to front (4)
	SKIS - KISS (touch lightly), with an S for second moved to the beginning.
15	Not determinedwhere to look for loot? (2,3,5)
	ON THE FENCE - double definition, the second a bit shaky I thought, as they're unlikely to keep the stuff in their pockets!
18	Mini-submarine has list seen on highest part of vessel (6,4)
	BRIDGE ROLL - ROLL (list) next to BRIDGE (highest part of vessel). A long thin bread roll smaller than a sub. I've eaten my fair share of them over the years but never heard them called that before!
20	Chicken and ham, say medium cut? (4)
	EATS - cryptic definition? Chicken and ham are both meats, but with the M for medium removed they're both eats. Strange clue, unless I've missed something.
21	Seafood, not very good, can give you gyp (4)
	SCAM - SCAMPI (seafood) without PI (very good). I didn't know that meaning of gyp, but Chambers says it's US slang.
23	Military PA in reserve, missing start of service leave (4-2-4)
	AIDE-DE-CAMP - ASIDE (in reserve) without the S(ervice) + DECAMP (leave).
25	Revolutionary republic defends army of nearby Arabian state (6)
	QATARI - IRAQ (republic) reversed around T.A. (army).
26	French writer seen where two rivers merge (8)
	VOLTAIRE - the VOLTA in Africa merges with the AIRE in Yorkshire!
28	Weak cutting edges of rapiers used in fencing (8)
	RAILINGS - AILING (weak) inside R(apier)S.
29	Trip over rhino in Uganda and African's first to run! (6)
	OUTING - O(ver) + TIN (rhino, money) inside UGANDA minus AND A(frican). Took me ages to figure out how that worked! When solving I assumed they must have a coin called the utinga, but when I checked while writing this up I discovered they just have shillings.

Down
2	Diner, one choosing to sit outside in biting cold? (9)
	PICNICKER - PICKER (one choosing) around [IN around C(old)]. Considering the time of year, it's an &lit.
3	Commanders-in-chief fired endless weaponry (7)
	SHOGUNS - SHO(t) (fired, endless) + GUNS (weaponry).
4	American politician in shortready for Japan (3)
	SEN - SEN(ator) and an old Japanese currency unit worth 1/100th of a yen, unsurprisingly discontinued about 50 years ago, as you'd get 184 of them to the penny.
5	Excellent former force shown up in court (5)
	CURIA - A1 (excellent) + RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary, former force as it was renamed in 2001).
6	Lovely to replace student at top of flat that's untidy (11)
	DISHEVELLED - DISH (lovely) replacing L (student) at the start of LEVELLED (flat).
7	Old and new name in dispute (7)
	VINTAGE - N(ew) + TAG (name) inside VIE (dispute).
8	Keeping top of order, sort out place for rest of bats? (5)
	ROOST - O(rder) inside (sort)*.
12	Old individual helping to get acquittal (11)
	EXONERATION - EX (old) + ONE (individual) + RATION (helping).
16	Very good retiring from a hot country (3)
	TOO - G(ood) removed from TOGO (a hot country).
17	Girl in tin boat (9)
	CATAMARAN - TAMARA (girl) inside CAN (tin).
19	Perhaps a curse of cobblers, saying nothing (4,3)
	DAMN ALL - sounds like "Damn awl". I suppose I can imagine such mutterings from a cobbler if one snapped while making a lace-hole in a tough piece of leather...
20	No parking on inclination in entrance (7)
	ENCHANT - PENCHANT (inclination) minus the P.
22	Caught by hospital, an initially arrhythmic pulse (5)
	CHANA - C(aught) + H(ospital) + AN + A(rrythmic). Hindi word for a chickpea, and also (irrelevantly) the name of a second-hand car showroom just round the corner from me.
24	Rupees taken from several moneybags (5)
	DIVES - R(upees) removed from DIVERS (several). Latin word for "rich man", used as a name in the bible in the parable of Dives and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).
27	Ladies, perhaps, in academy not half upset (3)
	LOO - SCHOOL (academy), halved and reversed.

My shiny new copy of Don Manley's Crossword Manual arrived last week, meaning I now own books by two of the Mephisto setters (I have a sneaking suspicion that Paul McKenna isn't in any immediate danger of releasing a book on crosswords). Haven't had a chance to read it yet, most likely it will be a Christmas airplane read.

Regular Mephisto solvers won't find this particularly challenging, I solved this with the dictionary nearby but I think I only opened it a few times to convince myself of wordplay elements for writing this one up.

I have a show tonight so I'm writing this in anticipation of the "postpone until" feature of LiveJournal working. I don't seem to have a great deal of luck with that, so if this is very late, rest assured it was actually very early.

Away we go...

Across
1	THUNDERCLAP: (PUT,CHANDLER)*
12	KNAIDEL: LANK reversed containing IDE
13	D,~~(r)~~ETINUE
14	RASSE: RE containing ASS
15	U.N., RATED
16	SCAN: C~~(omplaint)~~ in SAN
17	NEAL: sounds like KNEEL
18	WE,SAND: another spelling of WEASAND meaning "gullet"
20	CHIPPER: referring CARPENTERING at 6 down
24	KETCH,UP: I don't like this condiment, so I was pleased to see "revolting sauce" as part of the clue. Yes, I realise writing "I don't like ketchup" is likely to get me kicked out of the US some day
27	UNTRIM: RT reversed in U,NIM(game)
28	MENU: U for upper rank
29	~~(g)~~RANT
30	STRUDEL: ST then a RUDE LOUT missing OUT. Mmmmmm... STRUDEL
32	ADENI: DEN in A1
33	CHIRRUP: CH,1, then PURR reversed
34	CELESTE: anagram of SELECTED without the D
35	MARTINGALES: straps for horses - anagram of A,GARMENT,IS and L(50)

Down
2	HYEN: hidden in filtHY ENvironment
3	ULTRAIST: U,LT, then RAT containing IS
4	DANTOPHILIST: (POINT,THIS,LAD)*
5	EKUELE: E,LUKE reversed around E(Spain)
6	CARPENTERING: I had CARPENTRYING at first - CARING surrounding P,ENTER
7	LIASSIC: (SILICA'S)*
8	PESANT: PENT(shut up) containing SA
9	BLEND,E~~(arth)~~: I've never thought of this as a single word, usually seeing it as part of PITCHBLENDE or ZINC BLENDE (well in the latter it's a separate word)
10	ADUNC: A DUNCE without E
11	SIAL: SAL surrounding I
19	ANHEDRAL: RA in (HANDEL)* - between BLENDE and this, looks like that degree in Inorganic Chemistry is finally paying off!
21	PARTNER: RENT,RAP all reversed. Probably the best thing to do with rap "music"
22	CU,RACY
23	ANADEM: A, then AD(notice) in MEN reversed
25	EOTHEN: (THE,ONE)*
26	PULPY: LP in PUY(volcanic core)
28	MURK: got this from the definition, had to get a list of Russian cities online to spot MURMANSK which needs to lose MANS here
31	EUGE: alternating letters in mE jUgGlE

Solving time: Just over the hour

I just crept over the hour with RAISE/STEINS being the last pair in. I'm not sure why it took me so long as, looking back at it now, a lot of them do seem fairly obvious. There were a handful, though, that caused me problems, mainly due to gaps in my vocabulary. 17 & 26 in particular.

Nothing especially to say about it, as I didn't detect any particularly clever wordplay.

cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (--)*, and removals ~~like this~~

Across
1	M + A + LADY
4	A + CAN (N. American bog, or toilet) + THUS
10	RE(GIST + R)AR
11	fRAISE - French for strawberry
12	DES(S)ERT
14	A + BAN + DON
15	WHIPPER + SNAPPER
18	GEORGE HARRISON = GARRISON about (HERE GO)*
22	LUCIFER = LIFER about CU rev
24	T(RUE)RIBe
25	C(RAN)E
26	CONFIDENT = N + FIDE (Int'l Chess Fed.) all in CONTe (adventure story) - I didn't know FIDE or CONTE so this one went in on a wing and a prayer.
28	SH(RudE + DD)ED
29	RE(FUN)D
Down
1	MARK + DOWN
2	LOG - dd
3	DISTEMPER = (DR + EMPTIES)*
5	CERTAIN = (CRANE + IT)*
6	NORMAl
7	HAIRDRESSER - cd
8	STEINS = (TINS + ES~~cape~~)*
9	C(Rot)ATER
13	SWIVEL CHAIR - cd
16	P(OR + Cat + UP)INE
17	UNA + BAT + ED - not a meaning of 'bat' that I'd come across before
19	EARACHE - hidden
20	ATTEND - dd
21	S~~hopper~~ + LACKS
23	FI + END
27	EMU~~late~~

The puzzle can be found here: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141124/357/

Thanks again to william_j_s for standing in for me 2 weeks ago while I was away.

I found this puzzle rather trickier than average, though I suspect that some of that was due to crossword fatigue from a marathon session over the weekend catching up on all the main cryptics from while I was on holiday. 20A, 21A, 22A, and 2D are all words that I rarely encounter outside of crosswords, 7D makes use of a distinction that I suspect many people might not have been unaware of (until it was pointed out in another Quicky recently), 14D has some complex wordplay, and 19A has minimally helpful wordplay (though the word in question is not obscure). So quite a chewy one all told but I liked it.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1	Animal's means of control - costly by the sound of it (8)
	REINDEER - REIN (means of control) + DEER (homophone (by the sound of it) of dear (costly)).
5	First-class article about Mahler's last song (4)
	ARIA - AI (First-class) + A (article) around R (Mahler's last, i.e. the last letter of Mahler)
8	Show off verse written by relative (5)
	VAUNT - V (verse) + AUNT (relative). Perhaps most commonly encountered in the phrase "much vaunted". This came up in the Daily Telegraph in December last year clued by the similar "Boast of very small relation", however it doesn't seem to have appeared in any Times puzzle since ~~records~~ blogging sites began, apart from a Mephisto last year.
9	Indicter, a person who employs about two hundred (7)
	ACCUSER - A USER (a person who employs) around (about) CC (two hundred, in Roman numerals)
11	One who has taken vows? Not any, some say (3)
	NUN - homophone (some say) of none (Not any)
12	Implant is not in centre of tree, surprisingly (9)
	INSERTION - anagram (surprisingly) of IS NOT IN RE, with the RE coming from centre of tREe
13	Returning, encounters Eastern regard (6)
	ESTEEM - reversal (Returning) of MEETS (encounters) + E (Eastern)
15	European residing in very pleasant Italian city (6)
	VENICE - E (European) inside (residing in) V (very) NICE (pleasant)
18	Quite a source of news and comment - now and then! (9)
	SOMETIMES - SOME (Quite) + TIMES (a source of news and comment - a reference to the paper itself)
19	Turkish commander going to and fro (3)
	AGA - the wordplay here (going to and fro) simply tells you that the answer is a palindrome, meaning that you have to delve into your store of words for a three-letter palindrome meaning Turkish commander, plus with the checkers you'll have A_A. At that point, you either know it or you don't.
20	Marsupial allowed to eat top of this plant part (7)
	ROOTLET - ROO (Marsupial, i.e. a shortening of kangaroo) + LET (allowed) all around (to eat) T (top of this, i.e. the first letter of this). A rootlet is a small root.
21	Daggers bishop plunged into old priest (5)
	OBELI - B (bishop) inside (plunged into) O (old) ELI (priest). An obelus (†) is a dagger symbol used in print, usually to refer to footnotes, with obeli being the plural. Eli was, according to the Books of Samuel, a high priest of Shiloh - he emigrated to Crosswordland many years ago, where it has been hard to avoid bumping into him at any and all religious functions ever since.
22	Old railway publicity that has its point? (4)
	BRAD - BR (Old railway, i.e. British Rail) + AD (publicity, i.e. the short firm of advertisement), to give us "a small tapering nail with a side projection instead of a head" (Chambers), hence the slightly oblique definition (a nail has a point). It's also the same brad as can be found in bradawl. British Rail was finally privatised in 1997 and had a somewhat checkered reputation in the UK, not least for the quality of its sandwiches, but I still have a soft spot for the "This is the age of the train" jingle (Jimmy Savile notwithstanding).
23	The kind to confront design of print (8)
	TYPEFACE - TYPE (The kind) + FACE (to confront). Arial, for this blog.

Down
1	Income still invested in French way (7)
	REVENUE - EVEN (still) inside (invested in) RUE (French way, i.e. the French word for street)
2	Put in vessel, I race up north (5)
	INURN - I + reversal (up) of RUN (race) + N (north). An awkward-looking word that was the least familiar (to me) in the puzzle.
3	Recklessly altered, mint can become harmful (11)
	DETRIMENTAL - anagram (Recklessly) of ALTERED MINT. A warning about GM crops?
4	Pass English Liberal going over part of church (6)
	ELAPSE - E (English) + L (Liberal) + APSE (part of church)
6	Composer and Antarctic explorer in one (7)
	ROSSINI - ROSS (Antarctic explorer) + IN + I (one). Sir James Clark Ross mapped a good chunk of the coastline of Antarctica between 1839 and 1843, in particular the section that was used decades later by Shackleton, Scott, and Amundsen in their various attempts to reach the South Pole. Among other things in that part of the world, the Ross Ice Shelf was named in his honour. Gioachino Rossini is perhaps best known for his opera The Barber of Seville, based on one of three plays by Pierre Beaumarchais in which the character Figaro appears - another of these plays was the basis for Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
7	King visiting Irish islands, or a Scottish one (5)
	ARRAN - R (King) inside (visiting) ARAN (Irish islands). The Aran islands lie off the west coast of Ireland and give their name to a style of cable-knit jumper. The Isle of Arran lies off the west coast of Scotland and possesses an astounding number of interesting place names - Thundergay, Sannox, Pimmill, Blackwaterfoot, Slidderywater Foot, Largybeg, etc. You can't beat Wikipedia for time-consuming distractions.
10	Grain: formerly old Tyneside mainstay (11)
	CORNERSTONE - CORN (Grain) + ERST (formerly, perhaps more commonly seen in erstwhile) + O (old) + NE (Tyneside, i.e. North-East). A nice spot by the setter to break it down this way.
14	Much upset about mob breaking up lottery (7)
	TOMBOLA - reversal (upset) of A LOT (Much) around (about) anagram (breaking up) of MOB
16	Divorcee given a pit to inspect (7)
	EXAMINE - EX (Divorcee, i.e. ex-wife or ex-husband) + AMINE (pit)
17	Forge, initially, should mould iron to help you (6)
	SMITHY - initial letters (initially) of Should Mould Iron To Help You
18	Press employee takes hour in identifying woody plant (5)
	SHRUB - SUB (Press employee, i.e. short for subeditor) around (takes) HR (hour)
19	District accommodating new stadium, perhaps (5)
	ARENA - AREA (District) around (accommodating) N (new)

Solving time: 55 minutes

Music: Mozart, Piano Sonatas, Mitsuko Uchida

Here is a puzzle that is a bit more difficult than the usual Monday offering. I had it nearly complete after 30 minutes, but the last three or four answers were slow in coming. I was particularly annoyed at not being able to recall 'halva' for the longest time, and had to work through the alphabet until I hit it.

The recent set of puzzles from the newish editor and his team have been of varying quality; the good ones are very good indeed, but in trying to stay away from the old chestnuts they sometimes get a little too clever for their own good. I certainly enjoyed this past week's set of puzzles, although I'm still chewing on Saturday's and Sunday's. They do give you a full week to solve them, after all.

Across
1	DISTAFF, D(I ST)AFF, where 'daff' is evidently a slangish equivalent of 'daffodil'. If you had supposed it was an obscure river, then at least you had the right answer.
5	RUBENS, RU(BE)NS. 'Works' as a verb, meaning something like 'controls, manipulates, keeps going'.
8	CHRYSALIS, anagram of S[imply] H[uman], SCARILY. The comma kindly indicates that you take the first letters of only those two words, then the whole of 'scarily'.
9	NEWEL, hidden in [o]NE WEL[comes]. Not a terribly well-known word.
11	WONKY, double definition, one from the 40s, one from the current meaning.
12	COME CLEAN, C[onscientious] O[bjector] + M[-a +E]CLEAN, i.e. Donald Maclean, one of the Cambridge Five.
13	TEA PARTY, TE(APART)Y, where the enclosing letters are YET backwards, and the literal is simply 'function'. I wasted a little time with cosines and such, going off on a tangent.
15	GIMLET, double definition, since 'screwdriver' doesn't fit.
17	DEFECT, D + EF[f]ECT.
19	PEDANTIC, P(E DANT)IC, where Dante's final letter is moved to the front.
22	ANATOMISE, A NATO + MISE[r].
23	CARER, CAR[e]ER, finally a bit of a chestnut, we have had something like this before.
24	HALVA, HALV[e] + A, my last in, but not really that obscure or difficult.
25	PROVISION, PROVIS(I)O + N. 'Proviso' does not come up every day, but students of American history will remember the Wilmot Proviso.
26	IDLEST, ID (L) EST, the words behind the popular 'i.e.'....well, popular with setters.
27	STERILE, double definition. I tried 'aseptic', and then 'asexual', before seeing the obvious.

Down
1	DICE WITH DEATH, cryptic definition, amusing but obvious.
2	SYRINGA, SYRI(NG)A. Those who don't know the word can use the cryptic.
3	ASSAY, AS + SAY, a really subtle clue that puzzled me for a minute.
4	FELICITY, anagram of CITY LIFE, but not a very good one since 'city' is retained intact.
5	RESUME, [p]RESUME, the equivalent of a CV in the US.
6	BONE CHINA, BON[d] + ECHI[d]NA. I put this in from the literal; the cryptic is quite complex.
7	NEW DEAL, double definition, one with reference to a card game.
10	LUNATIC FRINGE, double definition, where one of the definitions is a reverse cryptic alluding to a possible anagram of 'fringe' giving an answer of 'finger'.
14	ANCHORAGE, anagram of ON A CHARGE. Either the city in Alaska, or a general term.
16	HERE GOES, HER(E.G.)OES.
18	FLAILED, F(L)AILED. The current figurative meaning of 'flail' has somewhat obscured the original sense of hitting grain with a stick.
20	TERMINI, [win]TER + MINI. A very clever clue that gave considerable trouble.
21	LIMPET, double definition. The idea that 'pit' must play some role in the clue delayed me, and probably many others.
23	CHIDE, C + HIDE. Definitions found only in cryptic crosswords are used for 'rate' and 'fell', but we're onto them, right?

Went through this enjoyable offering with two freestyle skiers who were unused to cryptics. To dispel any misplaced stereotypes, they were really good! Lots of excellent clues of different types to keep you on your toes but no obscure vocabulary. Probably not the easiest but really well worth working through.
The crossword can be found here:
http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141125/360/

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Article appears after group rehearsed play (3,5)
&nbsp &nbspSET PIECE - Article (PIECE - as in newspaper article) appears after group (SET).
5 Thing I encountered upon retirement (4)
&nbsp &nbspITEM - I (I), encountered (MET) backwards (upon retirement).
9 Dread losing face making mistake (5)
&nbsp &nbspERROR - Dread (tERROR) without the first letter (losing face).
10 Defeat (not in sport) (7)
&nbsp &nbspOUTPLAY - To defeat IN sport is to outplay made up from not in (OUT) sport (PLAY).
11 Drawcup match (3)
&nbsp &nbspTIE - Double definition.
12 Obtain insurance to protect oneself (4,5)
&nbsp &nbspTAKE COVER - Double definition.
13 Daughter in other resort, very busy with calls? (3-3)
&nbsp &nbspRED-HOT - Daughter (D) in an anagram (resort) of OTHER. If the phone is 'ringing of the hook', as the old expression went, it could, I think, be described as red-hot.
15 Cutlery required if liver's cooked (6)
&nbsp &nbspSILVER - Anagram (cooked) of LIVER'S.
17 Crack troops wearing alien kit (9)
&nbsp &nbspEQUIPMENT - Great deception in this one. Crack (QUIP - joke) and troops (MEN) inside (wearing) alien (ET).
19 Boy, small one, not English (3)
&nbsp &nbspSON - Small (S), one (ONe) without the 'E' (not English).
20 One about to be strangled by evil Italian criminal (7)
&nbsp &nbspILLICIT - Going slowly through this - one (I) and about (C - circa) inside (to be strangled by) evil (ILL) and Italian (IT).
21 Put up with fat? Not initially (5)
&nbsp &nbspALLOW - Fat (tALLOW - as in candles) without the first letter (not initially).
22 Express disapproval: union's leader in a skirt (4)
&nbsp &nbspTUTU - Express disapproval (TUT), union's first letter (U) makes a very short skirt worn by ballerinas, made of projecting layers of stiffened sheer material (apparently).
23 Kind of canny bagging runs, I conclude (8)
&nbsp &nbspFRIENDLY - Very nearly my COD among many good ones for deception and the mental gymnastics. Canny (FLY) holding (bagging) runs (R), I (I), conclude (END).

Down
1 Top set wear out? (7)
&nbsp &nbspSWEATER - Anagram (out) of SET WEAR.
2 To the point in letter sent (5)
&nbsp &nbspTERSE - The answer is in the clue (in) letTER SEnt.
3 On reflection, survey should include what's fashionably old-fashioned? (2,10)
&nbsp &nbspIN RETROSPECT - Survey (INSPECT) around (should include) what's fashionably old-fashioned (RETRO).
4 Criminal court's top man (5)
&nbsp &nbspCROOK - Someone who does things which are 20ac - first letter (top) of Court, man (ROOK as in chess man).
6 Servant raised four in Israeli city (3,4)
&nbsp &nbspTEL AVIV - Servant (VALET) upwards (raised), four (IV in Roman numerals).
7 Civic head from Irish county close to border (5)
&nbsp &nbspMAYOR - Irish county (MAYO), last letter (close to) bordeR.
8 Merchandise no good in hosiery business? (5-2-5)
&nbsp &nbspSTOCK-IN-TRADE - This definitin of stock-in-trade is goods in stock necessary for carrying on a business - made up from the hosiery business (stocking trade) then take out the g (no good). Nice one, Tracy!
14 TT garment, close-fitting? (7)
&nbsp &nbspDOUBLET - This one gets my COD for being a word play of only two letters. TT = double T making a man's close-fitting jacket, with or without sleeves.
16 Where plane lands carrying a fugitive (7)
&nbsp &nbspRUNAWAY - Where plane lands (RUNWAY) carrying a (A).
17 Decree cited incorrectly (5)
&nbsp &nbspEDICT - Anagram (incorrectly) of CITED.
18 Go into register (5)
&nbsp &nbspENTER - Double definition.
19 Therefore cover is strong (5)
&nbsp &nbspSOLID - Therefore (SO), cover (LID). Now I'm in Freestyle Skier groupie mode, a solid run means a good, well executed but not overly ambitious run before attempting a more difficult (awesome) run.

After yesterday's ordeal my heart sank when I printed the grid and realised it contains no 3- or 4-letter words, as these are usually my way into any puzzle if available. However the setter has been quite generous with multi-word answers, my second usual way in, and these proved very useful giving me several footholds across the grid. There's nothing obscure here by way of GK or unknown words, just one alternative spelling that I managed to get by careful attention to wordplay. Sorry I'm later posting than usual. 40 minutes.

{ } = deletions

Across
1	ROBUST - R{eceivership}, 0 (nothing), BUST (bankrupt)
4	OFF AND ON - double definition, one with reference to cricket
10	SWORDPLAY - S (small), WORDPLAY (joy of cryptic crosswords)
11	REPOT - TOPER (soak - drunkard) reversed
12	DEMONIC - D (daughter) + anagram of COME IN
13	NOWHERE - NOW (present #1), HERE (present #2)
14	AORTA - A OR T (from {bo} AT), A - definition "large (blood) vessel"
15	ALBANIAN - NAB (arrest) inside NAIL (fix), A all reversed. 'Essential' is the enclosure indicator.
18	COPY-EDIT - CO (company), I (one) inside anagram of TYPED
20	MASAI - hidden and reversed
23	ANDORRA - AND (with), OR (golden), RA (sun - Egyptian god of the sun)
25	ROE DEER - {canin}E inside ROD (stick), EER (always)
26	BLANC - N (knight - in chess) inside BLAC{k}
27	KISSOGRAM - IS + SO (very) + G (good) inside MARK (book - gospel) reversed. I always thought this was spelt 'kissagram' but they are alternatives apparently.
28	GODSPEED - GO (try) then SP (species) inside DEED (action)
29	BETRAY - BET (venture), RAY (fish)

Down
1	RESIDUAL - anagram of RISE, DUAL (double)
2	BLOOMER - double definition, the first a type of loaf, the second a flower by example.
3	SEDENTARY - anagram of DENY TEARS. This describes most of my life these days!
5	FLYING BUTTRESS - FLYING (speedy), BUT (bar), TRESS (lock). It's a type of arch, and therefore an 'archer'.
6	ARROW - A, R (right), ROW (quarrel). Quarrel is a type of arrow used in crossbows so it also serves as the definition but with 'that' avoiding double usage.
7	DIPTERA - DIP (bath), T (time #1), ERA (time #2)
8	NUTMEG - GEM (stone) + TUN (cask) all reversed
9	BLOCK AND TACKLE - BLOCK (defensive action #1) AND TACKLE (defensive action #2)
16	NUMBER ONE - double definition
17	GIN RUMMY - GIN (spirit #1), RUM (sprit #2), MY (good lord) - a popular card game
19	OLD MAID - double definition, the first being an unkind term for an unmarried (matchless) woman, the second another card game
21	SHEARER - S{trip}, HEARER (judge)
24	RECAP - PACER (horse) reversed

Solving Time: Perhaps 20 minutes or so on the day, not entirely sure now. Another reasonably gentle offering from the recent Championships but golly, it does have some elegant clueing, an absolute pleasure to blog. Thank you, setter. Take careful notes, all you who want to contribute to the famous TFTT Xmas Turkey - which will be along next Monday. Don't miss it!

cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(--), homophones indicated in ""

ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online

Across
1	parodic - *(RAID COP). A nice easy one to start us off
5	Wicklow - a dd, one d referring to a candle, the other to a small port on the East coast of Eire, a rather attractive place by the look of it...
9	Las Palmas - PALM (tree) + A(~~driatic~~) in LASS (girl). Las Palmas is the capital of Gran Canaria and the ninth largest city in Spain. What it is not, is anywhere near the Adriatic, it is in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. Needless to say I wrote this in quite happily on the day, without worrying too much. Nor do I remember anyone else mentioning the faux pas. I do however remember Times setters struggling with Adriatic geography more than once before
10	metal - M (maiden, cricketing reference du jour) + ET AL, others.. I really liked this clue, even though Iron Maiden are by no means my usual cup of tea
11	cruel - sounds like "crewell," which is "A loosely twisted worsted yarn, used in fancy work and embroidery" (Collins)
12	resilient - I NEIL (boy) rev. in REST (break)
13	Ford Madox Ford - I pretty much wrote this straight in without parsing it. It's MAD (in a paddy), in FORD (crossing) + OXFORD (city, not shoe for once)
17	crème anglaise - *(NAME + SACRILEGE). A rich egg custard, though what it has to do with England is unclear. Interesting fact: a condom is called a French Letter in English, and an English Overcoat in France (capote anglaise). Pardon my French!
21	bishopric - BISHOP (chess piece) + RIC(~~HARD~~), another neat clue
24	upper - (S)UPPER.. and not (D)INNER, as I initially thought. There must be a joke involving (L)UNCHES in there too, somewhere..
25	organ - a dd. My box set has 22 cds, so he wrote a few...
26	mother wit - (WITH METRO). And not (when + metro) after all..
27	shebeen - B(~~OTTL~~)E in SHEEN (lustre)
28	sporran - SPOR(T) (games, not quite) + RAN (fled). I did like the definition..
Down
1	policy - I + C(~~irca~~) in POLY, a word from when colleges were colleges, and not universities as they seem to be now
2	reshuffle - E (Setters' usual hallucinogen of choice) + SH (say nothing) in RUFFLE (upset)
3	drawler - TRAWLER, with D(~~uke~~) replacing the T. The hell it is..
4	cameramen - CAME + RAMEN
5	wasps - WAS + P(~~estiferou~~)S
6	complex - a dd.
7	Lethe - hidden (well!) in littLE THEatre. The Lethe, like the Styx, is one of the five rivers of Hades.
8	well-to-do - WELL (source of water) + TO-DO, a flap or commotion
14	delicates - *(LADIES ETC). The word "delicates" is used on the dials of washing machines and nowhere else. Until now, anyway..
15	overpower - OVER (spare) + POWER (juice)
16	scabrous - AB (able seaman) + R(~~ANT~~) in SCOUS(E), the Liverpudlian accent (is it really a dialect? The OED says it is so I suppose it must be). The nasal Scouse accent is said to have been caused by the draught emanating from the Mersey Tunnel.
18	enounce - (FR)EN(CH) + OUNCE, a cat, specifically a snow leopard, one of the most beautiful, and most threatened, of the world's animals.
19	in utero - *(IN UTERO) - this clue a thing of real beauty
20	triton - TR(Y) IT ON. The son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. Another neat one.
22	segue - EG (say) SUE (appeal, eg for peace).
23	Roman - R(~~ight~~) + OMAN, a sultanate (aka a dictatorship). Apparently Oman is the 59th most peaceful country in the world. In case you were wondering the UK is 47th, one above France, ha ha... I daresay England would be somewhat higher placed. Though only somewhat.

Quick Cryptic 181 by Teazel

Times 259446 – I Guess That’s Why they Call it the Blues

Blogging Jargon

Times 25,947

Quick Cryptic No 182 by Izetti

Quick Cryptic No 183 by Marty

Times 25948 - heat one puzzle three

Times 25949 - and it seems to me, you lived your life

Times Quick Cryptic No 184 by Mara

Quick Cryptic 185 by Flamande

Times 25,950: Nightbusman's Holiday

Jumbo 1118

Saturday Times 25945 (15th Nov)

Mephisto 2829 - Don Manley

Sunday Times 4616 (16 Nov 2014) by Jeff Pearce

Quick Cryptic 186 by Orpheus

Times 25952 - The Bones of All Setters

Quick Cryptic No 187 by Tracy

Times Cryptic 25953

Times Crossword 25,954 - 2014 Championships, Second Preliminary, Puzzle 1