No Spoiling [Sep 26 - Oct 1]

@ DA: Re 15D - didn't know you had an artistic bent...

Beat me there, Bon. My first checkers in 15 were the first and last, and without looking at the clue beyond the first word, I theorised a different, more domestic, occupation for him.

Delighted to see that the setter picked out a suitable solution for our hero...

9ac had the kind of answer that you can't believe your luck with if you don't know it! Who would have picked such a clunky phrase?

27ac is really the clue for DA today of course.

Still two to go: 13 + 17.

Done. Found 13D hardest, since I don't deal in such things. First in was 14A, and I'll think you'll get it Anthony. With 24D, I am a regular at this, so if there's anyone out there who also enjoys it, let me know.

Same here - 13 was the trickiest, though the wordplay is pretty good. Actually finished at Maccas while the kids played, so it can't have needed too much concentration!

Lucky you mentioned 24dn - I'd meant to double check it, and forgotten. Correct vowel now in place...

Does 10ac look like it's a bit meh to anybody else?

Favourite today was 26ac, though 5dn was the funniest surface.

I've come first to this post as my first crack still has some cracks to be filled. (Though I was wrestling the lab in the sunshine too, as it's that kind of day in Melbourne.)

Thought 21ac read well, on top of wisely resisting the cross-ref on offer from 25ac's letters.

I don't play 24dn, Bon, but I do know the game is part & parcel of The Tin Drum.

Half to go, and the Brownlow glam-fest my deadline.

Have the palindromic 9119 in the bag, an OK KO. Nothing that shoots the lights out though. 1D first in, last 5A. Sneaky little rat, that last one - reads well too. Enjoy!

5 is still holding out on me - can only see one viable word for it, but not how it would fit the clue...

Otherwise some nice misdirection in the defs today.

Loved this puzzle. Lean and lively. Thought quite a few clues - 7dn, 12ac, 22ac - read v well.

Never got the wordplay - you're right, Bon, very well crafted - but convinced myself I could get away with the definition, so 5 gave me 5 in a row.

Agreed, DA - 12ac was one of those nice clues. 25ac has to be the COD though, for its extra layer of wordplay.

Some adventures today with 9120. 6dn could be nasty if you don't know it; 15dn takes a fair bit of untangling; 28ac you need to just trust your gut...and then there are a few that are just so easy you doubt them. Officially a curate's egg, I suspect.

Plenty left to go, though.

5 to go. 3 of them isolated. It's not going to be pretty.

Incidentally, DA, you may want to revise the dates attached to the post titles this week...

Thanks Anthony. Have changed both headers.

I've been nibbling 9120, encouraged, teased, and still have 1/2 to go. So many fractured weeks lately, and I seem to have lost my assassin mojo.

I'm halfway in as well and struggling, I must say. Can't get the click happening today for some reason. Will see how we progress eventime.

... and finally got there, I believe. Sorely tempted to Google a few things. I'll say more on the other thread.

Just dribbled over the line too, with 8dn my LGI (last guess in) - from the definition.

16ac - very nicely deceptive clue.

A much softer offering today - all but the SE went in without much effort. Last one in, ironically, was the rectory. Felt like perhaps there was a Cluedo vibe going on!

The church clue, though, I thought was nice.

An odd day, with visitors from four completely different hometowns (Edmonton got the record), so little time to look at today's...and I think I might need more.

Been there, Anthony. In time poverty, at least.

Happily this Times challenge has mutated more into a drop-in club. Solve'm when you can. If they're good (or tough), then let us know.

As for 9123, a breezy delight, except for the English port. Rated 1dn as the best clue for a 3-letter answer I've seen for a while, and 21dn was likewise dandy.

Taste warning for 22ac. Enjoy your w/end.

Remarkably, I came through 9122 unscathed, with 5ac my last one in, unsurprisingly. Some really lovely clues there - the 'erratic drama' was a highlight for my money. Lucky seven in a row.

9123: yep, an easier piece. I laughed at 1dn. 21dn I thought was a bit pedestrian, but each to his own. 15ac was looking difficult until I corrected the opening pair of 16dn (which I was about to unfairly meh).

Still have three to go, but might save them for tomorrow.

Not sure that they actually made it to today - once I got the boxer in 27ac, 14dn finally made sense. Having resisted PORT WENN on the basis that it could never fit, I was forced to put something in that did. 8 down. If I get the next two, it'll be my first double digit run, falling on my birthday...

Fingers Xed, Anthony.

Hope the port doesn't leave you short.

I'm not terribly worried, just being flippant. I usually check the Times for the Times blog rather than wait for the next day...

Nice puzzle in Fairfax this weekend, some lovely clues that took a fair bit of deciphering. 27ac, my last in, after trying to figure out how to shoehorn DY in there somewhere ;-). 16dn the pick of the bunch. Was 7dn deliberately leaving an opening for error? I was sure it was meant to be RESPITE for quite some time, as the checkers kept lining up, and I was wondering if there was a composer called REE!