24112 – Late Night Final

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
 
I printed this off last night intending to solve it this morning and thought I would take a quick look to see what I was in for, however the first couple of clues went in at first glance so I decided to continue and despite feeling dead tired I got through it in 35 minutes. It was a straightforward solve and I have no quibbles with any of it but it doesn’t really leave much to say.

Across
1 COPPER,(BOTTOM),ED
9 (h)UNS,KILLED
10 SUCRE – S(wap) U(nusual) C(oins) R(egularly) E(xchanging) – the currency in Ecuador apparently
11 S(W,E)ET
12 (vegetable)S,TEAMED UP
13 MONTEREY – TER(m) inside MONEY. I immediately associated Monterey with the song It Happened In Monterey by Billy Rose and Mabel Wayne famously recorded by Frank Sinatra amongst others, however that city is in Mexico so its not the one referred to here. This one is in California and has its own reference in a 1967 song title recorded by Eric Burden and the Animals.
15 STUD,I,O
19 FRI(day),SKIER
22 INDUCTION – Double definition
23 PASH,A 
25 PASSENGER – RE,G(NESS)AP (rev)
26 CHARLTON HESTON – Star of the film Ben Hur and many other Biblical epics. This is the football team + (HE’S NOT)*. I have always thought the team’s name was Charlton Athletic but apparently it can be also be called just Charlton or “The Addicks”
 
Down
1 CRUISE MISSILES – Sounds like “crews miss isles”. Not sure if “having” is anything other than padding to aid to the surface reading.
3 E.LI(O)T
4 BALUSTER – (BUS ALERT)* – balusters are posts that support rails.
5 T(roop),I,DIED
6 OPSIMATHS – OP+(THIS MA)*+S(ucceeded) – an opsimath is a person who learns later in life.
7 ENCODED – ENDED around C(rosswords) O(ften)
14 EX(ER)CISE,R
16 B(ank),RINGS, ON
18 LADDISH – Hidden word
20 INSIGHT – Sounds like inn site
21 TIN,POT
23 PIE,C(ak)E

24 comments on “24112 – Late Night Final”

  1. After the disorientation of the last week, it was nice to be back to business as usual. As Jack says, a straightforward solve – about 25mins. It may have something to do with a drop in temperature from 34C to 18C today.

    At the risk of opening recent wounds, I always associated Monterey with Steinbeck.

    At 26ac, I spent a while wondering why “player” was there, whether Charlton was a reference to Jackie / Bobby (leaving “star” as the definition), the club or both. I decided probably the club as per Jack’s blog (are the Charltons still alive?) but also that it really doesn’t matter anyway.

    I am still trying to work out whether I am an opsimath.

  2. Surely this was the puzzle for hungover yesterday – a much easier ride at about 25 minutes to solve.

    I didn’t know there is a MONTEREY in California but guessed it had to be the answer, had not come across OPSIMATH before but an easy guess from checking letters and made life briefly difficult for myself by putting “ones” instead of “your” in 8D. Luckily STUDIO was very easy, which sorted that out. I agree “having” looks like “improve the surface reading” padding at 1D. I think 1A is a splendid clue.

    Both the Charlton brothers are still alive so far as I know but are not connected to Charlton Athletic which is named after an area of London like Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham, etc.

    1. I thought you’d know Monterey from golf, Jim! Cypress Point and Pebble Beach are both on the Monterey Peninsula.
      1. I either didn’t know that or have forgotten it – an increasing possibility these days. Have never been lucky enough to play either course, both of which are apparently set in stunning seaside locations.
        1. I’ve never been either, Jim, but I have an International Golf Atlas and travel in my mind!

  3. I quite enjoyed this one. I didn’t time myself as I was simultaneously enjoying fish and chips (I’ll make my resolutions next year!). Am I the only one who doesn’t understand PASH=CRUSH at 23a? 19a gets my COD nod.

  4. Agree with all of the above, including the criticism of “having” in 1dn as unimaginative padding to aid the surface reading. Clue would have read better along the lines of: “Bombs with which airmen fail to hit islands, it’s said/reportedly”. But, as jimbo says, 1ac was excellent. About 35 mins for me.

    Michael H

  5. As I understand it, “pash” is an abbreviation fo “passion” and very old fashioned slang for the kind of “crush” that, typically, schoolgirls develop for each other or a favourite schoolmistress.

    Michael H

  6. Not to mention the Monterey Pop Festival where Jimi Hendrix famously burnt and then smashed his guitar (I’ll have it if you don’t want it, Jim!), only to be completely upstaged by Ravi Shankar, who just played. And the Monterey Jazz Festivals, of course.

    Anyway, took longer than 30 mins, possibly because I expected better of many of the clues. Sweet? Liked 19a also and I did learn I was an opsimath, possibly not for the first time. And that you could actually buy stuff in Ecuador with sucre (echoes of sweet?).

    “Having a pash” was standard terminology at our school for what the headmaster described as “necking”, at least after the notorious prefects’ room incident. I suppose some inexpert crushing could have been involved, but I think the allusion in the clue was to “having a crush” on someone?

    1. I agree with yours and Michael’s interpretation. It’s also in Chambers “adolescent infatuation” – That I do remember!!!
    2. Echoes of sweet? You might think so, but actually no. “Sucre” is French for sugar, but in Spanish sugar is “azucar”. According to my Spanish encyclopedia the sucre is named after a General Antonio Jose de Sucre.
  7. Far easier than yesterday, solved in 25 minutes. I didn’t like “Having” in 1d either. I’ve come across “opsimath” only once before in a crossword.
  8. 18 minutes, initially wrote KEPT ONES HAIR ON at 8 and BRINGS UP at 16 otherwise it would have been a lot faster. SUCRE and OPSIMATH were new for me based on wordplay, an addition with POLYMATH to the MATH collection.
    1. And the Woopsimath – someone who absorbs knowledge like blotting paper, only to find they have it all backwards (old joke).

      Just realised there might be a secondary more scatalogical definition of woopsimath (a la Frank Spencer).

  9. 16 mins and would have been a bit quicker but for writing in MESSENGER at 25A. On which basis, I expect there will be some very low times. I agree with the disapproval of ‘Having’ in 1D,

    Tom B.

  10. 9.24. All of the long ones except 8D took me a while to crack. Got 1D immediately I got 1A, and life became a whole lot easier.

    I’ve trained myself never to write in ONES or YOUR but always to leave it blank and assess the options in my head.

    I’m with the people for whom Monterey means the pop festival.

  11. a much easier puxzzle than yesterday’s…enjoyed it all and am looking forward to anoher year of puzzles. may i wish you all a gold plated if not copper bottomed New Year!
  12. 16:54 .. Everything’s been said, but I’ll reinforce the comments about ‘having’ in1d – the wrong kind of misleading.

    ‘pash’ is definitely very Roedean/Cheltenham Ladies College. Or at least it was. I imagine it’s been usurped by some textspeak alphanumeric by now. PASHA always makes me think of one of history’s finest baddies, the stupendously vengeful Ali Pasha, who waited more than forty years to avenge the death of his father by wiping out the village of his birth, using such imaginative methods as slow roasting on a spit, just to make the point. I feel we’ve lost that kind of patient dedication to villainy.

    COD .. has to be 1across.

    1. Everyone seems to have missed the first entry of “pash” in Chambers – “to strike, to dash, to crush”
  13. Liked 1a as well , also 25. Steady progress and only held up for a minute by putting ‘ones’ instead of ‘your’ in 8.
    Must be Charlton Heston’s first appearance since he only passed away last year.
    11.30 today
    JohnPMarshall
  14. NPBULL’s Crossword Rule 1:

    Where there is a choice of ONES or YOUR in answer it is ALWAYS ONES – except when it isn’t.

    This was fun – especially with a rare example of YOUR instead of ONES in 8d.

    There are just the 4 “easies”:

    17a Private Eye lovers put in new order (6)
    SOLVER

    24a Priest – a saint and prophet (5)
    ELI A S

    2d Notice new rear entrance (7)
    POSTER N

    8d Still be shocked? Remain calm! (4,4,4,2)
    KEEP YOUR HAIR ON

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