23:11. I spent a very high proportion of my time on two clues: 13ac and 5ac. I’m not really sure why: it’s just a question of looking at them the right way. I didn’t manage even this with 12dn, a brilliant clue that I had to parse post-solve: so much cunning packed into so few words.
I thought this was an absolutely super puzzle. With the possible exception of a couple of clues, It’s not particularly hard, but it’s all so darned smooth, and yet still with some lovely original touches. Bravo!
| Across |
| 1 | Familiar with second-hand book? Not me |
USED TO - USED (second-hand), TOme. |
| 5 | Spanish boy needs a lot of alcohol? LOL, no! |
MUCHACHO - MUCH AlCoHOl. You remove the letters LOL from the word ALCOHOL. A brilliant, and (as far as I know) completely original device, and one that it took me an age to see. Bravo! |
| 9 | Was a singer about to get rumbled? |
| CAROLLED - CA (about), ROLLED (rumbled). When I put this in I was a bit puzzled by ROLLED for ‘rumbled’, but I bunged it in anyway. You have to think of thunder. |
| 10 | Wooden tee’s hard to accept |
| STOLID - I can’t make the cryptic grammar work here. ‘Tee’ gives us T, and SOLID (hard) is ‘accepting’ it. But the construction suggests to me that it’s the tee that’s doing the accepting. Is it just me? |
| 11 | Old house— or seats in it? |
| RUMP PARLIAMENT - what was left after Parliament was purged by whatsisname in sixteen-something-or-other. |
| 13 | Swap letters in answer |
| CORRESPOND - DD. |
| 14 | Leave nothing to talk about |
| OKAY - O, reversal of YAK. |
| 16 | Witnesses close to police, of course |
EYES - policE, YES (of course). |
| 17 | Ace up one’s sleeve |
| OUT OF SIGHT - the sort of thing that might once have been said by a Deadhead in the 73rd minute of a particularly noodlicious Jerry Garcia solo, more normally rendered as OUTTA SIGHT, I’m sure. |
| 19 | Little sweets with lots in them |
| FORTUNE COOKIES - CD. ‘Lots’ in the sense ‘fates’. |
| 20 | Male put out after sex |
| VIRILE - VI (sex, Latin for six), RILE (put out). This sex thing confused me the first time I encountered it, but I have become wiser to it over time, without ever being entirely certain it isn’t going to catch me out again at some point. Yes of course I'm still talking about the crossword, what on earth do you mean? |
| 21 | Flower pots are inclined to produce poisonous plant |
| OLEANDER - a plant at the beginning and the end of the clue – total mare! Hold on, no need to panic, the flower is a river – the ODER, insert LEAN (are inclined) and you have something that looks very much like the name of a plant, which could very well be poisonous. |
| 23 | Run into drunk that we’d beaten |
| THWARTED - R in (THAT WE'D)*. |
| 24 | Most docile volunteers found carrying spades |
| TAMEST - TA, ME(S)T. It should be ‘former volunteers’, strictly speaking, but I’m not very strict, as my wife will attest. My kids are very familiar with the expression ‘soft touch’. |
| Down |
| 2 | Catching train, visit required |
| STATUTORY -STA(TUTOR)Y. |
| 3 | Sort of turn into the same couple |
| DUO - D(U)O. DO is short for ‘ditto’. One of those (many, many) things I know only from doing these puzzles. |
| 4 | City banks after gold |
| ORLEANS - OR (gold), LEANS (banks). |
| 5 | Music of Island Records? |
| MIDDLE OF THE ROAD - CD. A bit harsh as a judgement on the label, but a clever use of the concept of a traffic ‘island’. |
| 6 | Lead found in artificial apple |
| COSTARD - CO(STAR)D. Another word I surely only know from past crosswords, but know it I did. |
| 7 | Sailor’s single subject a constant source of conflict |
| A BONE TO PICK - AB (sailor), ONE (single), TOPIC (subject), K (constant, in this case either the Boltzmann or velocity variety, take your pick: I had never heard of either of them). |
| 8 | Jack is into baking |
| HOIST - HO(IS)T. |
| 12 | A risk to poor in each reform |
| PERESTROIKA - brilliant, super tricky wordplay here. It’s PER (a), then (RISK TO)* contained in EA (each). Bravo again! |
| 15 | They do supply cash one always splits |
| ACHIEVERS - (CASH)* containing I, EVER. I think ‘supply’ is my favourite anagrind. |
| 17 | Lavish spread put on, sandwiches extremely large |
OPULENT - (PUT ON)* containing LargE. |
| 18 | Plump to accept stories; hope it works |
| FLOREAT - F(LORE)AT. As in ‘floreat Etona’, the motto of Eton College. How on earth do I know that? |
| 19 | Trust footballers? It’s hard |
| FAITH - FA, IT, H. |
| 22 | New writer’s game |
| NIM - N, I’m (writer’s). Another thing I know only from crosswords. I think sometimes it’s the only form of knowledge I have these days. |