Bran Nue Dae

OK, I'll get the ball rolling with 9028.

Found it all quite manageable, except for 13dn. It's probably really obvious and I'm just tired, but the more I stare at it, the further out of reach it seems to be. I'll look at it afresh in the morning.

No favourite clues in this one. It was all a bit blah (which is just one level above meh in the RK ratings scale).

Funny you should mention 13dn - that was my sticking point too. In the end I went for a certain worker in stone, only because it fit. (And with zero on the clock, I thought that reasoning good enough.)

Took the same approach to 21ac as well, since I wasn't sold on the word 'attend' in connection to my speculative answer.

Will see the ugly truth this morning over coffee.

Hmmm. Didn't get 13dn, and looking at the answer, I still don't get it.

Attend is BE AT.

I wasn't starting my weekly count until today anyway. Long weekend and all...

13dn was my fave clue! Capital I to start both the clue and the answer, and then I presume st the abbrev for the weight. The latter half a slightly 'red' definition...

Capital I for Impressive, Anthony. Befuddled, not seeing that trick you described, I whacked in LAPIDARIST and hoped for daylight to explain why.

From zero back to zero...

...@DA - there's some irony on it being your last - it was the most DA-ish Times clue I've seen for a while!

Jeez oh man, I don't think I would have got that in a million years. I'm very impressed, Anthony.

Spot on, Anthony - yesterday's CAPITALIST dished out some yummy and familiar medicine. HAve only had time to potter with 9029, which is pleasingly al dente. A neat code clue in the SW corner.

One down, 99 to go.

Like the modern feel of 6dn. A query attached to the word 'baste'in 15ac - not a nuance I know. And I will confess to taking an educated punt in completing my last answer - 22dn.

Pleased to nail 9029. Some good deletions and subs here. Lucked out nicely on the Caucasian clue. And got the duck.

Well, there were a few hours there where my streak was longer than yours, DA. Lost out on this one, twice.

I'm not up on ducks, being only expert when it comes to scoring them (now retired). I'm particularly dirty to find that there are two ducks that fit, and baste has enough variant meanings that you can legitimately parse either answer.

And then 26ac also lured me into a false step, taking 'sent off' as an abbreviation.

It was a pangram, too, if anyone wanted to admire it. A grid like that is almost asking for it...so many places to hide the tricky ones.

There I was all proud of myself because I got SMEW and AZERI, thinking I had this one all sewn up (or basted perhaps), when doing a cursory check of the answers this morning I spied my error in the SE corner. Now I get what Anthony was talking about. I must admit I wasn't entirely happy with how I got the S, but EXISTING seemed such a good fit that I didn't dwell on it. Walked right into that one.

SMEW I knew, and AZERI is an airy-fairy term in my head, but the wordplay affirmed it. Survived EXISTENT too, which read very well.

Good spot on the pangram front, Anthony. And your gripe of dual answers for SMEW has me intrigued. What other duck did the trick?

As for baste, meaning to sew, it's the primary definition in our own Macquarie:

"to sew with temporary stitches, as a garment in the first stages of making; tack"

(Watch out for tack next time!)

Re 9030 - this puzzle looks delicious. I glimpsed 16dn, and solved it with a giggle.

I was thinking of SMEE - there's a meaning to baste which implies a darn good seeing-to, or alternatively when basting the roast you are seeing to it. Not as easy a fit with the clue, but still. I think if you're setting rare four letter words, you have to be very careful.

Haven't done 16dn yet, but the bottom row certainly relates to a recent post!! It seems to be a dog of a puzzle today ;-)

Enjoyed 1dn and the 16dn gag. And you're right about dogs and envelope-pushing, Anthony. Can that really be the def in 2dn?? While the repetition of an element in 21dn and 28ac is sloppy, not to mention the latter's loucheness.

Can't quite grasp the wordplay in 19dn and 23ac, but I'd bet a monte that both are right. Beware the twin obscurities in the NE corner.

Still have NE and SW to finish, but I did find your 2dn defn in use online in a couple of places, so I guess the answer is yes. But perhaps you'll rest easier if you consider options for the clue type - there is some room to move there.

I like the def in 2dn. Are we all looking at it the same way? Just 4 left for me, in the same areas as Anthony.

Got 9030 - rather enjoyed it with a couple of minor quibbles. 15A is a double container being AL within TIT within TOY. I know there's no law against these, but it's just, well, a waste of an opportunity to clue up in other ways.

DA, I smirked at both pet clues, despite the perverse imagery which was of course 29A.

19D - the monkey is the LANGUR. 23A - the country is GHANA.

Without wanting to sound too put out...Bon, you jumped the gun there! I hadn't finished - though now, having looked up the answers, I was never going to. So no harm done.

Checking in with the Times bloggers, it seems that they went with NIGH/TIE, which is a far more polite parsing! Though as hinted above, I did find NIGHTIE used as slang for one-night stand, or a participant therein. Plus there's the &lit potential.

No credit comes to me on the pangram thing, btw - I was just reporting from the UK site.

Sorry Anthony, thought I was last in. I'll check properly next time.

I had NIGHTIE without a second thought - was there another suggestion for that?

No worries.

I got NIGHTIE as a dd - 'close relationship'

By the way, I just wanted to whinge about spending a long time trying to get past the other good answer for 16dn: LEAD ACTOR.

Nice to have one out again. Turns out that most of us will actually have seen 11AC in action...her lethal kick is probably the most Hitchcockian moment in the franchise she appeared in.

COD to 21ac. 13dn would be lots of fun clued slightly differently (use an imperative for the first few letters...)!

New Araucaria on the Guardian site has some extremely lovely clues, a couple of obscurities, and some of the usual tricks. Beware of missing apostrophes (I still reckon the SMH does right here), and of seeing through a trick only once!

9031 a bit of a cinch with clues like 1D and 23D - I imagine DA will crack it in 15 minutes tops. OK, I did fall for 15A initially but fixed it up pretty quick-smart.

Obviously one of the gentle setters today.

Thought 14ac, 18ac, 27ac, 1dn and 23dn were way too easy. (There's no pleasing me, is there? Just call me Goldilocks.) In the Meh category we have 16ac, 20ac, 25ac, 5dn and 14dn. (Harsh, indeed.) I quite liked 21ac, 15dn and 17dn, but I found the def of 24dn a bit odd.

I reckon this would've been one of DA's 4 minute wonders. Probably had it finished before he'd even placed his order.

Having to pack up my office today, with builders moving in for a refit, so pushed for that 4 minutes I might need ;)

In fact blogging could be a stretch for the next few days, until I can set up an interim niche. We'll see. Grateful for a gentler setter, in fact.

1/2 right, RK - I needed 8 minutes. (Not that I like timing my solving too much - it tends to lessen the pleasure.)

Wasn't au fait with 6ac, 15ac (awaful clue) or 6dn. Meh badge for 5dn as well, while 25ac was neat.

May be wise to brush up my Austrian actors too. After Arnie and 11ac, I got nobody.

Just don't put in SPADE HERETICS or STALE GENERICS for 3dn, and you should be fine.

(Sorry if that's a cross-over spoil, not my intention. A tricky puzzle with plenty of musing before the finishing line.)

Yes, my attempts at Duplicity this week certainly taught me that S*A*E is a combo with many useful options.

I enjoyed the challenge of Times 9032. 16ac was my last and also my favourite. Thought the definition in 12ac made it hard. Took me ages to get 21dn. Why do they always take me so long? 14dn seemed to be in keeping with DA's showmen.

Not confident about 4dn, as I can't figure out the wordplay. Same for 6ac. Also crossing my fingers on 5dn as I'm not really familiar with the word, but the wordplay seems to work.

@RK - 4dn is what it seems it must be. Pommie slang strikes again.

Not quite there yet, but may be out of time today. Can't believe I took so long to get 29ac - didn't we see this before recently?

Times 9033 was the perfect puzzle for a relaxing, sunny Saturday - not too easy or hard, a light feel with a bit of humour thrown in.

My two favourites were 12ac and 14ac. I hesitated momentarily as I was about to write in 25ac, but quickly discounted the other possibility. I feel slightly uneasy about 1ac and 27ac, but think I'll be ok.

I've still got four in the NW, largely because I've got two very good candidates for 1ac. But 14ac gets my vote.

24ac seems very oddly constructed.

Finished, but required some pulling of teeth. Didn't help at all to have 12ac wrong, casting aspersions on Mum to boot. But at least one of my candidates for 1ac came off...even if it was the weaker answer for that clue!

Got home with 9033 (I think). An OK puzzle, one or two scary moments, but happy with it in the finish.

For any who were interested, I prefer JACK for 1ac, as it uses all the words in the clue. And MARMALADE sounds more scandalous than some Propergate!

Love the JACK for 1ac, Anthony. And I was thinking MARMALADE or MARGARINE for a while there. All correct for me for Saturday's.

Just a bit behind schedule today. A day spent driving, combined with a DA Omega (themed, of course) meant that I didn't start Times 9034 till after tea time. I've got most of it though. It's mainly the SE corner that's holding me up.

As DA hasn't yet put up this week's thread for the Times Cryptic, I'll post here.

9034 was a good puzzle I thought. A few traps here - watch out for 2D, 13D and 28A in particular. Interested to hear what others think about it.

Failed miserably. Got the left hand side, but virtually none of the SE and missed the nasties in the NE.

2dn a trap? I'm not sure I can see why, unless it's because of 'her'. Saw the trap in 13dn, but couldn't believe the right answer could be right. And figured out the likely answer for 28ac, but couldn't quite get the wordplay to confirm.

I'm sick of 20dn - I keep forgetting it!

A harder puzzle - 4ac springs to mind, with 7dn in tow. Yet also some gimmes in there too. I'll start my run tomorrow, perhaps...;-)

Just spotted DA's post on the other thread. Internet down, eh? Looks like the Omega theme was well timed!

@Anthony - thought some punters may have put MAFIA for 2D as it's returned in "MumbAI FAMily".

Missed just one in the end - PORTOLANO. Nautical terms are probably my weakest area in cryptic solving (perhaps tying with terms for English county subdivisions).

Could someone please explain to me the wordplay for EJECT?

If it's any comfort RK - I bombed on portolano too. Never knew the word, a prime candidate for a future WoW.
As for eject - the wordplay is stone (jet) swallowing about (c) by side of plate (e). Not so happy with c = about.
Till Friday I am much like you lot. With no access to admin and just this iPhone, I can only comment. Should help with my solver empathy. 8-)

Thanks DA2. Maybe DA would've got portolano. Sounds like things are pretty disrupted there.

A Tuesday without a Storm will be very strange indeed. I'm sure there'll be a few people (myself included) getting a lot more work done!

Actually with EJECT, I don't have a problem with about = circa = c (or ca) but I do have an issue with how this clue was constructed.
"Spit out stone about to be swallowed by one side of plate" doesn't properly convey the message that the stone (jet) is to do the swallowing of about (c). Not even the smooth surface reading can justify this.

As for stone = jet, that's one degree too far removed in my view. Jet is actually coal, so hasn't yet reached the stone stage. Better hypernyms please Times!

See this week's hiatus as a cyber-tmesis...

Times 9035 done. It was a relief to get a Tuesday one finished early in the day, as they seem to have been the more challenging ones of late, and it's the day I have the least amount of solving time.

Be careful of the damage in 6dn. And 21ac is not NICE! I don't get the second half of the clue for 4dn, and I have my fingers crossed for 8dn, as I can only make part of the wordplay work. The only clue I have any great affection for is 24dn, and 12ac is just a great word.

I'm with RK on all her comments except for 8D which I'm happy with - reminded me of the Magna Carta. I wonder if 4D has anything to do with Aesop's Fables? Liked 10A but wonder if it could be clued a little more succinctly.

I'm in too.

Both 4dn and 8dn rely on some Britishness, I believe. But with so many letters in, I've no doubt you've picked right. 4dn has less to do with Aesop, and more to do with a recent film, if I have pegged it right. Let the reader understand.

You didn't like 18dn, RK?! And 17ac with a bit of polish could have been excellent.

I'm really not confident with my 8dn. I feel like with those letters, there are probably other options I haven't considered.

And no, I'm not feeling the love with 18dn, Anthony. I guess it was clever, but at the same time it was a bit too obvious. Maybe it's because it's nautical...

You'll have to explain the film reference, Anthony, once we know that DA2 is over the line.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320239/ is pretty safe as a spoiler free hint. DA2, on the really infinitesimally small chance you haven't got 4dn, don't look yet.

Hadn't heard of the film, Anthony, but the real life story it was based on rings a bell. 4dn makes a lot more sense now.

Unlike 8dn. Got the right answer, but I'll need that one explained to me too.

Slow and steady, the HARE beat me there.
Thanks Anthony, as I did need that post-stab reference. While meathead has been through the semantic grinder over the years, clearly.
I slipped on 9035 as I thought Harmonides was a sapient Jew, which wasn't wise in hindsight.
9036 looks a good rassle -

PS I'd love a Picasso for every time I've seen 9ac in yday's Times.
Examinee: boring word, boring clue

I did warn you about the damage in 6dn DA. So you've got a pair. You're obviously just going through a rough patch. It happens to all the greats somewhere along the way.

My first look at 9036 yielded two answers. Could be a tough one. But the cup of tea is made, the sun is streaming through the window, and I'm ready for another stab at it.

@RK The way I saw it, MEATHEAD is made up of MEAD (grassland) HE (high explosive) and TA (territorial army = volunteer).

I got the HARE thankfully, more good luck than good management.

That's how the Poms parsed MEATHEAD too, Bon.

Just noticed, for those with time, that the latest Guardian is a themed Paul - looks pretty fishy...

Anyone had a crack at 9036 yet? I'm about halfway through and it's a gem - all the across clues I've filled in so far are sterling! Don't miss it.

Good spruiking Bon. I've got most of it. 1ac and 11ac my faves so far.

Sterling-ish I reckon Bon. For example, 1ac would read so much better if you traded necks with makes out.
But 5ac is fan-bloody-tastic, to use a tmesis, and so is 15ac. Don't quite get 6dn but only one phrase fits.
Can't wait for paul's aquarium

Done, very happy with today's both in terms of the clues and in getting it out.

I'll wager you London to a brick that the SE corner is your last quadrant...

Having a funny day. Have the whole NE out, and hardly anything else. Can't say I was especially impressed by 5ac - but perhaps that's from spending too much time with a Bible! 15ac was good, but not hard.

6dn - is it the defn or the wordplay that troubles you, DA2?

My last fill was 5dn, which I've come to like.
@Anthony, my beef with 6dn is how the answer's first part is derived.
After my inglorious pair I'm happy to be on the board.

Just got 1ac - was working with the wrong tapers. Very nice. Now we're cooking...

Stuck on the first word of 22ac. I think my second word is right. I'm not overly confident with my 16dn.

I have two new favourites - 14dn and 20dn. I gave them three ticks each which is an honour I rarely bestow. 5ac and 5dn were good too.

What would we do without good ol' 24dn? She always seems to be cropping up in the Times.

Just figured out 22ac. All finished (as I say to my daughter).

20dn I fear we've seen recently as an across clue, so I'm not so impressed. 24dn...yes, if she was a horse, for instance, she may well be cropping, up!

Completed, but went the wrong way with the first letter of 16dn. Once again my chance to stay ahead of DA messed up!

The Times blog noted two things - an error in 8dn, and the cheekiness of including the apostrophe in the right place in the anagrist of Pru's! And there's a second option for 16dn that is a very credible answer, so let me recommend due diligence to any who read this in time!

Boniface, you owe me London - for some reason 14ac was my last in, after 21dn and 22ac.

A curate's egg today.
Enjoyed the sleight of 12ac, 20ac, 4dn and 5dn too. On the yukky (yolky) side, 21ac and 22ac are so old they creak, while I have a meh query about 3dn, but shall wait for players to reach clubhouse.

curate's egg is a bit like 'growed like topsy' (and 'begs the question' and 'brownie points' and ....) ie its actually being wrongly used these daes, fwiw
btw was there a 'FLOWERPOT' answer earlier in the week (far nor-nor-east) if so ?? how why? girdle earth herb>??fitted with the obscure pantolino one..

3dn will come out of the meh category, I'm sure. Won't leave you with stars in your eyes, but it passes muster.

Got off to a rapid start, but now find myself staring at 11ac, 1ac, 10ac, and half of 7dn. And thinking that they can't be that tough.

I presume you were ZIPPIEST rather than NIPPIEST or even LIPPIEST yesterday. I was a mere one stroke off perfection :(

Some discussion over flowerpot, but it
a) does encircle earth, unless you're into hydroponics
b) is FLOWER=produce, POT=herb.
or else c) just a cryptic definition.

I'm at the 19th hole and coincidentally think that 9037 was 19D. Last in was 11A, got it after thinking laterally, not literally. I liked 24A but think I've seen it before. Cheers indeed!

Laterally? That's just reinforcing my urge to write MATTRESS!

I had a good lie down, and got past the mattress. But 1ac still has me beat. Is it obscure, or am I missing something?

Consider other languages...

Thanks for the hint, which saved me wasting any further time. I had picked the clue, but still came up blank. Haven't visited any pubs in that nation, as far as I can recall. However, if I capitalise the letter correctly, I could take the extra stroke from my guess for 1ac and use it on yesterday's puzzle to come out with two completely right...

My gripe with 3dn, hoping all players are off the links, relates to sign equating to ram. While I get the zodiac nod, does that mean sign could also render crab, archer or virgin? Think about it. I say it's meh.

You make a very good point, DA. My beef with this setter is why it's only the menfolk who are allowed a clear windscreen in wet weather.

12ac and 20ac were my picks.

Yes, I agree with DA too. Similar (and which I've raised before) is the use of such hypernyms as "note" to indicate A, B, C, D, E, F or G. Where does one draw the line?

I'm not so fussed about it, provided it's a restricted set. At some point, some members of groups don't have synonyms, or at least, not synonyms that don't give it away completely.

That being said, the clue could have avoided the ire of all of you, and got a little harder, by inserting 'First' as the first word - I believe Aries is the first month of the zodiac.

Still enjoying the delights of DA, haven't got to today's yet.

I understand your gripe about the use of 'note' Bon, but as someone who is constantly immersed in the language of musical notation, those 7 characters have far more meaning and significance than just being mere single letters of the alphabet. If the early notators of Western music had named each note a longer word, would that be ok? We can have doh, re and mi, so why not A, B and C?

@RK - It's more that it's lazy clueing, I think. 'Note' can usually be worked in to give a meaningful surface reading... it's just that it gives rise to too wide a group of solutions, IMO.

BTAIM, I recall as part of music theory making sentences just using these notes - they invariably involved BAD CABBAGE and DEFACED BAGGAGE. I'm sure there are plenty of others. AB FAB, I say.

There's a fantastic musical play about Lewis Carroll called Boojum! which covers such things as words from notes (and much else besides). Not directly relevant, but I suspect it would appeal to people here.

Times 9038 finished on the dot of midday. Last fill was 7dn. No great standouts. Liked the present month in 3dn. 28ac and 4dn were good. 23ac reminded me of Bon's 'note' issue. But my clue of the day has to go to 13dn in another puzzle I did today. Brilliant.

9038 done, no real issues. My fave was actually 25A followed by 3D, nice red herring there.

No big sweat here, and nothing much by way of carp or kudos. Tackled this while waiting for the Telstra tech, and just wished the answers too more time to arrive - ala the tech.

As you can see from my restored status as DA, I'm back in the swim. Though let's keep this Times forum running till the weekend, with a new Times portal due on Monday.

Thanks too for keeping the flame burning while my admin access was snuffed. Hope that DA2 guy has better luck next week too.

The lines have at last fallen in pleasant places for me, so I'm back on the bike.

And thanks RK for making me look at 13dn again. It was worth it. For some reason I'd been satisfied with the image of somebody stretching their budget to afford it...this may be an indication of how many cups my wife goes through each day...

Some nice ones in 39. 12ac, 19ac, 21ac, 1dn, 8dn, 13dn all pleased in various ways.

But 10ac...doesn't that break the rules, even if it's only mildly? And 1ac doesn't quite work.

Still have four to fill - 22dn, 28dn (pending wordplay), 7dn and 11ac.

I flopped, for the record. 28dn wasn't working because I'd been too hasty with the final across clue (30ac?). But 7dn was a stinker, and with 11ac I had a personal Natick, though 11ac at least was obtainable via wordplay.

Good luck to all.