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Hi, Rusty!
Alleluia!
I have finished the crossword!
Really truly....all done bar one parsing!
I think it must be down to the walking away from it (literally!) in the middle!
I obviously viewed it all with a fresh eye on my return!
My last ones in were 5d and 11a.
I took a while over 18a before I realised that Copenhagen was the Duke of Wellington's horse!
The one I cannot fully parse is 12d: cornerstone = outermost art of building (def)
corners - traps
But does "tone" mean " tenor"?
I am very pleased with myself!!
And yes, the icing on the cake........I KNEW that all that learning of chunks of Shakespeare would come in useful one day.....!
The quotation is from Henry V.......
"Once more into the breach, dear friends........
blah , bah,
Then imitate the action of the tiger,
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood......."
I rather enjoyed reading Shakespeare at school!

Hi elle
Instead of saying "the tone of the discussion" one might say "the tenor of the discussion", for instance.

Ah, yes...thank you, Chris!

Hello, Elle!
Yes, tone can mean tenor.
The answer to the quote one is "tiger".
How is the ordinary punter to decipher that from the clue?
That was in 1960.
There was an editor after that who jumped on the setters and told them to produce crosswords for the modern generation and not for those who studied Classics at Oxford etc.
He said Times readers drove buses and worked as typists as well as the well educated people who tackled the crosswords.
The modern crosswords are much better.
A fine evening here!

Hi, Rusty!
We have a lovely evening here, too, although it is fast becoming dark now.
I couldn't see tone and tenor as being the same - I do now - but my mind was on tenor as in "singing voice"!
I would never have been able to do today's 15 x15 were it not for all the help I have received in the past both from yourself, and others on here......and of course practice helps!
Yes, I agree a wider -based crossword is much better then a classics- based one........
And I only knew the Shakespeare quote because such passages were drummed into us at school!
We used to have to learn chunks by heart and then recite them out loud!
I even doubt that "Shakespeare" is taught any more in the more modern school?
Now, I have a gem of a word for you that I certainly had never heard before....
A "tintiddle"!
Have you heard of this?
It apparently means a witty retort that you wish you had made, but thought of too late!
The question was on "15 to 1" !
Oh, and one of the competitors was an ex cyclist (retired) who used to take part in the Tour de France!

Hello, Elle!
You are doing very well at The Times crossword now.
Onward and upward!
I think there were four Shakespearean quote/clues in the 1960 puzzle.
Three too many!
And this one, which I do not get!
"Frequently possessed by tiger? (5)
The answer is "often", I am stumped!
Frequently is often
Possessed by is "of", I would say.
Why is tiger "ten"?
Tintiddle is a new word to me!
I wonder who the rider was?
I think Brian Robinson would be the oldest.
He will be mid eighties now, I think.

Hey, Rusty!
Oh dear, four quotes from Shakespeare are indeed a lot!
I have no idea as to how that clue, with the answer "often," could be parsed!
I can see no connection between "tiger" and "ten"?
It is annoying to be "beaten", isn't it?
The competitor who claimed to be an ex Tour de France rider was called "Andrew" ( sorry, didn't get his surname) and hailed from Paisley.
I have finished my book by Mark Billingham....it was very enjoyable.
I might look him up on Amazon....I haven't used any of my Gift card money as yet.
I have decided not to replace my Shakespeare volume - yes, it is very tatty but it was given to me many years ago by an old friend......old at the time of giving and long deceased, so the book does have sentimental value.
My brain is ceasing to function...I have worked it too hard today!

Hello, Elle!
I have never heard of an Andrew from Paisley riding Le Tour.
I can only think of four Scots who rode.
Ken Laidlaw, Ian Steel, Robert Millar, and David Millar.
May be others but I cannot think of them.
Yes, I think you should keep your Shakespeare volume.
Sentiment cannot be replaced.
I think "tiger" was the answer to "ten across" or something equally silly.
Rubbish clue!
You did very well with the Qualifier, though!

There is a new blog up at the loch.

Hi, Rusty!
That is strange then about the "15 to 1" competitor telling the show's host, Sandi Toksvig, that he used to ride in The Tour?
Maybe it was just an idle boast?
But how foolish if so, as there must be people who will know it is not true.
My great aunt - my Scots cousin's grandmother (a Lancastrian born and bred) - used to say "There's nowt so queer as folk!"
I think she was right!
Yes, I have read the blog....I have yet to see Laddie doing his spell of incubating.
It is always Lassie sitting on the nest whenever I look in.
Right, I am away now to my bed........

Good morning, Elle!
Lovely start to the day!
No, Andrew from Paisley is a mystery to me!
I have been online and completed the crossword.
You will be pleased to know there is a Shakespearean "reference" in one clue!
There is a nice "sunrise" photo of the loch.
Did you see it?