With hindsight, quite a tame one from Phi.
A number of answers, with a common feature, are entered in an unusual manner, implying a numerical value for a letter of the alphabet.
With nearly 80% of the grid filled I still hadn’t come across any of the ‘specials’. Then I got HARD TIMES, the novel at 6a, to be entered as HAR-HAR, quickly followed by PASTIMES, to be entered as PA-PA-PA-PA-PA at 13a. So, the common feature is TIMES, implying D=2 and S=5. Without too much extra effort, I discovered SOMETIMES (SOM-SOM-SOM) for 15d (so E=3) and CENTIMES (CE-CE-CE-CE) for 19d (N=4). That’s it. The clued answer containing only those particular letters of the alphabet in numerical order is DENS at 28d (not SEND at 17a; nor indeed ENDS at 27a, as noted in comment 4).
Still don’t understand the wordplay for REASONER (10d): “This careful thinker, if ignoring sound measure, would be a pray!”; the surface doesn’t even seem English – “pray” as a noun? A few other quibbles, noted below: (22a) BLOUSON for “hoodie?”; (4d) “cuisinier’s” to indicate French; (21d) COLITIS as a “stomach complaint”.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Answer Entry |
Wordplay |
| 1 | RESENT | REST(=others) around EN (=nut {printing}) |
| 6 | HARD TIMES HAR-HAR |
[HAD MERITS]* HAR 2 times, D=2 |
| 11 | HA’IT | HIT (=success) around A (=one) |
| 12 | FREDAINE | FINE (=admirable) around RED (=revolutionary) & A (=one) |
| 13 | PASTIMES PA-PA-PA-PA-PA |
SAP (=student) around EMITS (=issues) rev. PA 5 times, S=5 |
| 14 | AT IT | TITAN (=imposing figure) – N(ame) rev. |
| 16 | INKS | (s)INKS (=fails to float) |
| 17 | SEND | SENDAL (=thin fabric) – A & L(ength) |
| 18 | OURIE | O(ld) + URINE (=water) – N(ew) |
| 21 | CITROËN | COEN (=US film director) around IT & R(ight) |
| 22 | BLOUSON | B(ritish) + LOUTS (=yobs) – T(ime) + ON (=with respect to) {never seen a blouson with a hood} |
| 25 | TOLLS | Double definition |
| 26 | NE’ER | REEN (=ditch) rev. |
| 27 | ENDS | (t)ENDS (=looks after) |
| 29 | TECH | TEC (=detective, =eye) H(ospital) |
| 31 | CLOISTERED | CLOD (=fool) around I (=one) & STERE (=quantity of wood) |
| 32 | TYPTOING | [TOP]* & IN & G(reek) after T(ense) & Y(ear) |
| 33 | SECO | SECO(nds) (=supporters) |
| 34 | SPASMS | SPA (=well) + SMS (=short message service) |
| 35 | SITREP | I (one) in STREP (=streptococcus, =bacterium) |
| Down | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Answer Entry |
Wordplay |
| 1 | RHEA | HEAR (=try), R to top |
| 2 | EASTERLY | EA(ch) + SISTERLY (=of nuns) – IS |
| 3 | SIPING | SIP (=drink) + IN + (snu)G |
| 4 | ÉTAT | EAT (=food, archaic) around (gourme)T {“cuisinier’s” simply seems to indicate French} |
| 5 | TRAM | MART (=market) rev. |
| 6 | HEPARIN | HEARIN(g) (=court session) around P(hosphorous) |
| 7 | ADAMITISM | AM(erican) around DAM (=restraint) & IT & IS |
| 8 | RAPIERS | RA (=Royal Artillery) + PIERS (=supports) |
| 9 | HIANT | HINT (=suggestion) around A(ustralian) |
| 10 | REASONER | SONE (=sound measure) in REAR (=buttocks, =prat) {don’t understand “would be a pray”} {typo for “prat” – see comment 1} |
| 15 | SOMETIMES SOM-SOM-SOM |
STIMES (=peers, Scottish) around OME(n) (=threat) SOM 3 times, E=3 |
| 17 | SUBJECTS | U(nitarians) & B(aptists) & J(esuits) in SECTS (=religious groups) |
| 19 | CENTIMES CE-CE-CE-CE |
CE (=this, French) + T(ime) in NIMES (=French town) CE 4 times, N=4 |
| 20 | OUTSITS | [TITUS OATES – ATE (=worried)]* |
| 21 | COLITIS | COLT (=youngster) & IS around I (one) {colitis is inflammation of the large intestine, not the stomach} |
| 23 | FEEDER | FEE (=charge) + DEAR (=expensive) – A (=one) |
| 24 | L-DOPA | A + POD (=school) + L (=learner =student) |
| 28 | DENS | DEANS (=college fellows) – A (=article) |
| 29 | TEST | (firs)T + SET (=part of match) rev. |
| 30 | HOOP | HOOP-LA (=excitement) – LA (=the, French) |
10d – one key to the left in ‘pray’ gives you ‘prat’ – typo’s in my original, so mea culpa. (spellcheckers never spot this sort of error, do they?!)
Cuisinier’s – yep, indicating Frenchiness
Stomach – C justifies loose usage as ‘belly’, and I guess most would identify colitis as being in the tummy area
Blouson – again there’s a fairly loose concept here, with even C defining blouson as windcheater (while blaming the French for it), and then windcheater as anorak. Not too anorakky to conjecture a hood here, I feel.
I found the theme late, like Holyghost, but found it very satisfying when I did!
I had the same quibbles as Holyghost – I did think that the grammar was peculiar in 10D, but never thought of a misprint!
My main quibble, though, was the double definition at 25A. I am far from clear that “the cost in damage, injury or lives;” (Ch) equates to “injured parties” (Phi)
Phi – not entirely your fault, I should have spotted the typo. Quis custodiet…
Add me to the ‘got the theme late on’ group. Probably about the same point as the penny dropped with Phi’s Slim Dusty puzzle in fact!
A very nice puzzle though, particuarly the CITROEN clue. I’ve only just spotted now that ENDS and SEND also appeared as possible pitfalls. Vety nice.
Thanks HolyGhost.
Another very enjoyable Inquisitor.
My heart sank on reading the rubric and seeing there was a numerical quality to the puzzle – I thought Phi’s ‘Hard Going’ puzzle was just that!
I was another who found the theme late and ‘Hard Times’ was the clue that opened it up for me.
Couldn’t work out the wordplay for 10 down – I now see it’s a misplaced clue from a Grauniad puzzle.
Also wondered if 2345 was a significant number but 234 x 5 is 1170,10 numbers on from this puzzle.