Solving time : 9 minutes 11 seconds on the club timer, good for top spot for now, but I suspect not for long - my last in being an anagram that I think most of the regulars will see the first time. There's a little bit of sneakiness here but everything appears to be clearly signposted with some nice surfaces so I'd recommend this one as a good one to get new solvers involed.
There was a little bated breath as I hit the submit button as 19 down went in entirely from wordplay, and I wasn't 100% on the ending of 14, which fit the definition fine, but now I have to think about wordplay as I write this up.
Away we go...
There was a little bated breath as I hit the submit button as 19 down went in entirely from wordplay, and I wasn't 100% on the ending of 14, which fit the definition fine, but now I have to think about wordplay as I write this up.
Away we go...
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | COPING(holding one's own),SAW(understood): one of those saws with a thin blade and a big hoop behind it |
| 6 | 0,AS,IS |
| 9 | LEVER: EVE is in the middle of left and right |
| 10 | URSA MINOR: Paddington is a little bear |
| 11 | MANKIND: KIN in M,AND(also) |
| 12 | ATHWART: H in AT WAR, then T (the end of West) |
| 13 | REVISED VERSION: (OR,DIVINE,VERSES) - you know I've even done a Listener crossword about this before, but I didn't see the anagram until all the checking letters were in place |
| 17 | PRESENT PERFECT: double definition, one cryptic |
| 21 | ALIGHTS: A SLIGHT with the S moved |
| 23 | SNOWCAP: NOW,C in SAP(fatigue) |
| 25 | TAILPIECE: sounds like TALE PEACE and in this case I really do pronounce those words the same way |
| 26 | our omission of a market we've seen before most likely |
| 27 | SADLY: (LADY'S)* |
| 28 | TENNESSEE: T and then anagram of (SEEN,SEEN)* - I live less than half an hour's drive from there |
| Down | |
| 1 | our down omission, you can find it wriggling in there somewhere |
| 2 | P,A,VAN: a dance |
| 3 | NARCISSUS: C in (RUSSIANS)* |
| 4 | SOUND,ED: I thought this may have been a US term - "I sounded that idea out with the boss and he thought it was baloney" |
| 5 | WASTAGE: W on A,STAGE |
| 6 | OOMPH: OOMPAH without the A |
| 7 | SINGAPORE: SING then (OPERA)* |
| 8 | STRUTS: double def |
| 14 | VERSIFIED: S(start of SPEECH) in VERIFIED(checked over) |
| 15 | SURROGATE: R in (OUR,STAGE)* |
| 16 | S,TOP,PAGE: rather liked this clue |
| 18 | N,ASCENT |
| 19 | PASTERN: ASTERN under P - nearly put in POSTERN (yes, I know now it's a gate, just remembered it being a word), but realized there was no justifying the O, so opted for PASTERN - the part of the horse's foot from the fetlock to the hoof. Rare that I decide to not do something silly! |
| 20 | CACTUS: C,ACTS(legislation) around U(start of UNION) |
| 22 | HOPPY: HAPPY with the A changed to an O - now ales are HOPPY, but most American "beers" are not at all. Still liked the clue! |
| 24 | CROSS: double def |