I found this was an extremely easy puzzle in the Quixote style familiar from the IoS before he moved back to the main paper. One of my fastest solves of the year so far, just 12 minutes.
* = anagram
ACROSS
1 PUTATIVE definition, assumed TA (volunteers) in PUT (place) I’VE (I have)
5 WRITER “righter”
9 PARTING refers to hair parting which is impossible for one ‘totally distressed’ ie bald, I think
10 LIQUIDS L (pound) and quid (pound) in IS
11 RUING U (university) in RING (gang)
12 TACTICIAN tact and CIA in IN (at home)
13 CONSTERNATION CON (trick) ST (one deemed very good ie saint) ER NATION
16 DISPARAGEMENT D (daughter) IS PA (father) RAGE (anger) MEANT = intended less (ie “pouring out”) A
19 ANNUITIES (insinuate)*
20 FOSSE SS in FOE
21 UNIFORM NI FOR in UM
22 CHARLIE Code word for the third letter of the alphabet, c
23 ARROYO US word for a canyon, gully A RR and YO(u) containing O
24 CLARINET claret around in
DOWN
1 PIPE RACK churchwarden is a type of pipe
2 TERTIAN (I natter)* new word to me that I guessed from the wordplay, verifying after
3 THING definition: object THIN G(irl)
4 VEGETARIANISM (are saving time)*
6 REQUISITE is in requite
7 TUITION intuition less in
8 RISING sin in rig (engineer)
10 LACKADAISICAL lack a dais I cal(l) (term almost)
14 TESTIMONY (T)(imon) (of Athens) in testy
15 STEEPEST Stee(d) pest
16 DINGIER GI in diner
17 EPSILON no lisp E (standing up ie reversed in the down answer)
18 LAC(e) UNA
20 FLAIR F (Tony) Blair less B (second-rate)
Thanks to Quixote for an enjoyable puzzle, and to nmsindy for the blog – even if I did find your 12 minute solving time to be depressingly impressive compared to my own effort!
I had to check TERTIAN, and also ARROYO – dimly recalled from Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy. I failed to parse PARTING, so the explanation is welcome, and elevates it to my favourite.
I was also quite a bit slower than 15 minutes, but managed it in well under an hour. I think a lot would hinge on how quickly you got 1 down – I needed quite a few crossing letters before I dimly remembered that there were lots of funnily named pipes.
Yes, a lot longer than 12 minutes here too; but I’m never in a hurry with the crossword of a morning, and this was a pleasing interlude over breakfast. I never did Quixote’s IoS puzzles, but his Monday offerings do seem to be on the accessible side – all clearly clued without too many unusual words (TETRIAN was the only one I had to check today).
I liked DISPARAGEMENT, and FLAIR for referring to Mr Blair as from ‘yesteryear’ – it’s not that long ago!
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Good start to the week. Took me around half an hour which is v. good in my book. Got temporarily stuck on 13ac by putting PIPE REST (are there such things?) in for PIPE RACK on 1down as my first answer but otherwise liked 17d and 10d. Thanks nmsindy and Quixote.
I certainly wasn’t on Don’s wavelength today, took ages to get going on this and failed on Arroyo. Thanks for the blog NMS to help confirm my parsing of a few clues.
Arroyo was the only word new to me. It’s an unlikely-looking word but, for once, the wordplay was very clear (sorry Flashling). I only knew Tertian from doing Henry V at O-level. Mistress Quickly describes Falstaff’s death from a quotidian tertian. At the time, I was taught that the phrase was a nonsensical oxymoron but a quick Google today suggests that it might have been a reasonable diagnosis in Shakespeare’s time.
Tis when the agues are commixed.