I thought I might be under 30 minutes again, but there were three stubborn ones at the end that took a few extra minutes. 16, 25 & 26 were the culprits. Dean mentioned on his blog a week or two ago that he'd come up with a 'perfect' clue and that it was scheduled for publication shortly. He hinted that it was three words and was essentially a name. He confirmed that it was in this puzzle on facebook on the morning of publication, so, of course, as soon as I opened the grid I immediately looked for it and found it at 25a. It took me until nearly the end to finally get it, and it was indeed very clever. But the puzzle is of such a high standard that it just fits right in with all the others.
I didn't find it all that difficult, but hugely entertaining, and extremely clever. There are many contenders for COD - 25 (of course), 8 & 12 all stood out, but the 11/14 combination was my personal favourite.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (--)*, and removalslike this
I didn't find it all that difficult, but hugely entertaining, and extremely clever. There are many contenders for COD - 25 (of course), 8 & 12 all stood out, but the 11/14 combination was my personal favourite.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (--)*, and removals
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | DOWAGER = DOER (one doesn't think) about WAG (footballer's wife) |
| 5 | ON + A + SS + IS |
| 9 | PRIMO = I'M in PRO (for) - 'top player' is the definition. I thought at first that PRO was the top player, and it was an &lit that didn't quite work until I realised my mistake. |
| 10 | CUTTHROAT = COAT (spread) about (TRUTH)* - I wasn't sure what the 'lies' was doing at the time, but I think it's just part of the containment indicator, i.e. 'lies about' |
| 11/14 | THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD - one of those 'wordplay in solution' type clues, so the reason for DAUGHTER is the changing of (THE GUARD)* - 'morning ritual' is the definition |
| 15 | GONER = GR (King George) about ONE (only) - 'toast' is the wonderfully slangy definition. |
| 17 | CUT UP - dd - 'Happy? No' and 'dice' |
| 18 | ARROGANT = ARRANT about GO rev |
| 20 | CAPITAL LETTER - This one seems to work on several levels. The first letters of London and Edinburgh are clearly capital letters in the sense that they are upper case, but also because they are letters of capital cities. Then the second part is the wordplay - CAPITAL (A1) + LETTER (sign) |
| 22 | BLOWN OVER = B + LOVER about (W + NO) |
| 24 | STAFF - dd - the members of the orchestra look at the staves on their sheet music |
| 25 | SPRAYER - 'Mister' is the definition, as in something that produces a mist = S (Bob, or shilling) + PRAYER (Hope) - brilliant in its simplicity |
| 26 | THERETO = HERE in TT + O - 'to it' is the definition, and another really good surface |
| Down | |
| 1 | DOPE - hidden |
| 2 | WHISTLE-STOP TOUR - cd |
| 3 | GLOVE PUPPET - cd |
| 4 | ROCK-HARD = ROCK (pitch) + HAD about R (runs) |
| 5 | OS + TEND |
| 6 | AS + H |
| 7 | SHOTGUN MARRIAGE - cd |
| 8 | SETS FIRE TO = (IF SO + STREET)* |
| 12 | IN GOOD TASTE = (AGED ISN'T TOO)* - It's for the surface reading that is both natural and misleading that this gets my COD |
| 13 | STOCK CUBES - cd - probably the weakest of the four |
| 16 | TRUE GRIT = (UTTER)* about G |
| 19 | C |
| 21 | IF SO = (IS OF |
| 23 | NAY = |