The usual excellent puzzle by Dac – solving time. 16 mins
* = anagram < = reversed
ACROSS
1 (Union) JACK S T RAW war< a good surface reading
6 REBUS Double definition, referring to Ian Rankin’s detective
9 LORNA (A N ROL(e))<
10 BRIEFCASE (fabric see)*
11 PRO-BAND New word for me, that I got from the friendly wordplay (after toying with ‘groupie’)
12 EXI (GEN) T gen = general
14 NEIL DIAMOND (line)* Excellent seamless join at rock/singer
15 ANT hidden
16 TRY Double definition
17 LEG A L TENDER tender = nurse (one who tends – crossword staple)
19 READ MIT
21 RICOTTA (tart I co)* i.e. less OK
23 LAS (PAL MA)S
25 PROM O (6th letter of Beethoven)
26 Y EAST My favourite clue
27 NEW JERSEY (cow)
DOWN
1 JULE(s) P
2 CURIOSITY killed the cat
3 (S E)< i.e. up AWARD First letters. main = sea seamless join at main/prize
4 ROB(e)
5 WHITE-COLLAR (Recall how IT)*
6 REFRIED (ferried)* I guess beans sometimes are refried (Thanks, Colin, comment 1, for explaining that this refers to the Mexican staple dish ‘refried beans’ – 690, 000 hits on Google and a Wikipedia entry . It’s in the Concise OED, though I think not in editions of Collins and Chambers I have to hand. )
7 B RAVE Definition = having bottle (adj)
8 SPECTATOR C in (a protest)* A brilliantly concealed anagram in a superb surface reading
12 DRAUGHTSMAN Double definition board game draughts
14 NATURALLY Double definition join at thus,/of
15 AUDI T(I)ONS tons = a good deal i.e. a lot
17 LAMB AST (i) Superb use of Roast/meat
18 ES(CAPE)E precise direction = ESE so we know it’s not ‘escaper’
20 AT SEA Alternate letters
22 A GO N(ast)Y
24 SO W w = wide (cricket)
6d There is a specific Mexican dish called Refried Beans. Technically the beans are only fried once after being boiled and then mashed. Maybe it is a mistranslation of recooked.
Yep, it’s a mistranslation of the Spanish “refrito”. The late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg had an amusing joke about them (although in light of this revelation, it’s not strictly accurate!):
“I like refried beans. That’s why I wanna try fried beans, cos maybe they’re just as good, and we’re wasting time.”
Are humble readers of your blog supposed to be impressed by your solving time of “16 mins”?
I don’t think anyone’s boasting when they quote their solving times. A few of the bloggers do it just to give us an idea of the “relative” difficulty of the puzzle when compared to their other solve times. I usually seem to take about 3 times as long to do a puzzle as Nmsindy, so if I do one in only twice as long then I can feel good about myself, whereas if I take 10 times as long I go away and hide in a cupboard to read Chambers whilst chanting “I must try harder”.
Re comment 3, I note the solving times out of interest, rather than racing the clock – I think it gives an idea of the relative difficulty of a puzzle and to compare the setters. 16 mins would be very fast for me, my average for the Indy so far this year is about 31 mins. If you look at the Times for the Times site, you’ll see much faster times by some of the ‘speed merchants’.