Sunday Times 5160 by Dean Mayer

Author   keriothePosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic

21:36. A tricky one from Dean this week, with a few quirks. The device at 9ac is unusual in a Times or Sunday Times puzzle, and might even be considered a little [whisper it] Guardianish 😱. Does CYCLE mean ‘pattern’? How does ‘base’ equate to SINISTER? I also found myself marking an unusual amount of deletion as I wrote up the blog. All fair though and good fun. How did you get on?

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (TIHS)*, deletions like this, anagram indicators are in italics.

Across
1 Divine website I can regularly show in prison
CELESTIAL – CEL(wEbSiTeIcAn)L.
6 Minimising all would actually save the environment?
WASTE – just the first letters (minimising) of Would Actually Save The Environment. &Lit. Two clues in and we’re already in double figures on deletions!
9 Malefactor, apparently, with a red …
MAGENTA – male = M and factor = AGENT, so when you put them together malefactor = MAGENT. Then add A.
10 … rag — wrong to wrap hands
TORMENT – TOR(MEN)T.
11 Sadly accepting first of their many plans
ATLAS – A(Their)LAS.
12 Software isn’t designed to go to department
INSTALLER – (ISNT)*, ALLER. The department here is a département, hence you need the French for ‘go’.
13 Thief runs into spike, heads for nearest emergency room
LARCENER – LA(R)CE, Nearest Emergency Room. More first letters!
14 Hostile soldier possibly attached to unit
ANTI – ANT, I (1).
17 One half provided in two quarters
WIFE – W(IF), E. A meaning usually seen in the expression ‘the other half’.
18 A flower’s detailed pattern? Absolutely
CYCLAMEN – CYCLe, AMEN.
21 Officer with blue material to drape on a Russian explorer
COSMONAUT – CO, SM(ON A)UT.
22 Duke who was in France’s aristocracy
CESAR – contained in ‘France’s aristocracy’. I had never heard of César, Duke of Vendôme, but the clue couldn’t have been kinder.
24 Alternatively, I lose dicky birds
ORIOLES – OR, (I LOSE)*.
25 Quiet life, empty not full
PLENARY – P, LifE, NARY.
26 Start without a break for food
LUNCH – LaUNCH.
27 Mid-flight air pocket?
STAIRWELL – CD.
Down
1 Very small interval, this
COMMA – DD. In music a COMMA is ‘a minute interval’ (Collins). I did not know this. The second definition refers to the COMMA in the clue – I’ve underlined the two definitions separately but you can’t see that here!
2 Many admitting careless lapses for goal in 13D
LEGAL PROFESSION – LEGION (many) containing (LAPSES FOR)*. 13D being (spoiler alert!) LAW SCHOOL.
3 Left base
SINISTER – DD. I confess I struggle to equate base and SINISTER.
4 Unreal admission by old nursing home
IMAGINED – I’M AG(IN)ED.
5 Musician wanting to keep it up
LUTIST – LUST containing a reversal of IT.
6 Was not prepared for uprising where it happened?
WARSAW – reversal of WAS RAW. A kind of semi-semi-&Lit in which you need only the word ‘uprising’ in the wordplay part of the clue to make sense of the definition.
7 Tpyo?
SPELLING MISTAKE – CD.
8 Getting ready for heavy work?
EXTORTION – CD, the ‘heavy’ here being a thug and the ‘ready’ being 19dn.
13 Local who’s about to give brief background?
LAW SCHOOL – (LOCAL WHO’S)*. Nice definition.
15 Today’s plastic covering very good for Brave New World, eg
DYSTOPIA – (TODAYS)* containing PI.
16 No one fails in this reassuring message
ALL CLEAR – definition and a cryptic-ish hint.
19 Menace over a hospital means …
MOOLAH – reversal of LOOM, A, H.
20 … patients will cross university grounds
CAUSES – CA(U)SES.
23 Sail in August
ROYAL – I don’t think I knew that a ROYAL was a type of sail but it seemed perfectly possible.

45 comments on “Sunday Times 5160 by Dean Mayer”

  1. Tougher than average Anax for me, even allowing for the delay incurred by my stupidly putting ALL RIGHT at 16d.
    I rejected SPELLING MISTAKE as too obvious at 7d, and when it eventually could have been nothing else I wondered if it was an editorial change. Seemed to lack that extra element of crypticness (unlike say “Abracadobra”, which sticks in my mind from not long ago (maybe not the ST)). I reckon a typo is more of a misprint than a pure orthographical error.
    PLENARY and LUTIST were my favourites. Thank you to Dean and Keriothe.

    1. “Tpyo” is the clue sent by Dean. “Typo” is short for “typographical error”, and as someone who changed “chnage” many times in my own work, “tpyo” seems a perfectly possible example. If I had thought of something like “abracadobra”, I suspect Dean would have agreed with it, but most edits are ones to correct mistakes or match desired clue writing standards.

    2. To my mind (and I can be sensitive about this), a typo is indeed distinct from a deliberate error.

  2. 54:16
    Evidently I decided to do this in one sitting rather than go offline and finish over lunch; it was a long sitting. I was undecided, once I got 9ac, whether this was a really clever clue or an illegitimate one, but settled on really clever. SINISTER went in without a second thought at the time, but Keriothe has a point. (A bend sinister supposedly indicates bastardy, and Collins gives ‘illegitimate’ as one (archaic) definition of ‘base’.) I especially liked LAW SCHOOL & COSMONAUT.

  3. Nice seeing the musical (tuning) sense of COMMA here, which I know from my studies in just intonation (any system that uses “pure” harmonic intervals, i.e., whole-number ratios such as are found in the—idealized—natural harmonic series). The magic of modulation is made possible in equal temperament by making all scales identical in any key, which is accomplished, however, by straying from these perfect consonances. Basically, a piano tuner flattens the “fifths” in the diatonic scale—the “dominant,” G in C, E in A, etc.—by two hundredths of a half-step (cents), a deviance that is barely perceptible to most ears in most music but becomes literally palpable when the flattened tone and the natural are sustained at length. Schools teach the “circle of fifths,” which runs thru all the keys and comes back to where you started. But the “fifth” is in nature the third harmonic, vibrating three times as fast as the tonic, and if you go from, say, C to G to D to A via pure (“Pythagorean”) fifths, that’s 3x3x3x3, 81, whereas the A in equal temperament is 80. That 81:80 ratio is the syntonic comma, usually what is meant by “comma” tout court.

    Equal temperament forces what would naturally be distinct harmonic entities onto the same key of the piano, to be distinguished only by their naming (F sharp/G flat) or not even that (as A, say, has to function both as the sixth in the key of A and the dominant in the key of D). The only natural harmonies reflected in equal temperament are the third harmonic (“fifths” and their inversion, “fourths”) and the fifth harmonic (“thirds”… and no, I didn’t mix that up). The harmonies approximating the fifth harmonic (major and minor thirds and sixths) are all of 14 cents sharp or flat! (Indian music accommodates the seventh harmonic, which is rather flatter than, say, B-flat in C.)

    I hope that is fairly clear, but the essential point should be evident to anyone with a mathematical mind. The octave is a power of 2. You obviously can’t get to a higher octave of your tonic by multiplying by three, as the circle of “fiths” would have you believe. The syntonic comma is a symptom, if you will, of the clash between artifice and nature.

    1. I cannot see how the circle of fifths suggests 3 rather than 4 as the multiplication relating to two octaves. What it does imply is that 1.5 raised to the 12th power is 128, rather than about 129.75.

      1. If you really can’t see, look again. You’re talking the language of equal temperament, which is based on the irrational number of the 12th root of 2; hence, “about” is indeed the operative word. I was contrasting that with what the “circle of fifths” would mean if pure harmonic ratios were used instead. This discrepancy is the only reason anyone ever talks about the syntonic comma (to be slightly hyperbolic. Just intonation is still a hot topic these days).

        The 12th root of 2 is a never-repeating decimal. Tuning to that (or trying to), you can’t feel the consonances in your bones and in the sympathetic resonances of your sitar, guitar, piano strings, etc., the way you would with just intonation. Most Western music is more melodic than harmonic and the mind makes up the difference as the tones fly by, so it doesn’t matter. To really explore harmonic intricacies and “further out” harmonics, tones must be sustained for longer stretches of time.

        1. The point I was making was about “getting to a higher octave” by “multiplying by three” rather than two or four. That’s a far bigger degree of strangeness than anything I can see as being implied by the circle of fifths.

          1. But the circle of “fifths” involves nothing other than multiplying by three! Step by step. Sure, you’d multply the tonic by a power of 2 to get an octave. How do you get to the same place by consecutive multiplications by 3 (“fifths”)?

            The reason your G sounds consonant with your (lower) C is because it is vibrating three times as fast (in just intonation, exactly three times; in equal temperament, three times minus “2 cents”—a measurement based on an irrational number—so a little bit off, and perceptibly so to anyone if the tones are sustained; you hear the beats).

            To go from C in the lower octave to an in-tune higher C by “fifths” is possible only in equal temperament, and done only by making each tone just ever so slightly inharmonic. That’s what your math is all about.

            In just intonation, if one proceeds by a “circle of fifths,” the higher C comes out too sharp. “Study of the [so-called] comma pump dates back at least to the sixteenth century when the Italian scientist Giovanni Battista Benedetti composed a piece of music to illustrate syntonic comma drift” (Wikipedia). There has always been “experimental” music.

            1. Yes, the circle of fifths is strongly connected with multiplying a note’s frequency by three to get a note one octave plus a perfect fifth higher (I would say “based on” if I was certain that the doubling of frequencies to produce octaves was known about when it was invented). That’s why your statement that the circle of fifths would “have you believe” that multiplying by three will produce an interval which is a whole number of octaves is a mistake in your text which you are apparently unable to see.

              1. I don’t hallucinate any such thing.
                The circle of diatonic fifths (dropping the scare quotes because the term is qualified) starts and ends on the same note, but an octave higher.
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths
                In equal temperament, this is indeed what happens. As I’ve noted.

                It’s only “hav[ing] you believe” something if you think that’s all there is. I could have added, “but what if you tried that in just intonation?”

                I don’t feel that you’re trying to understand. Well, I tried.

                1. I think my “failure to understand” was not reading “multiply by three” as “multiply by three N times” where N might be 4, 8 or 12.

  4. My worst performance for a Sunday puzzle ever – just too difficult .Looking at the answers, I’m just pleased that I didn’t waste any more time on it than I had already.

  5. 59 minutes. Considering how long this took me I’m surprised there are no workings-out on my copy.

    I failed to parse LEGAL PROFESSION as I thought it was going to be an anagram of LAPSES FOR GOAL IN, but that wouldn’t work and I didn’t pursue the matter as I was sure my answer was correct.

    I didn’t know the comma thing in relation to music despite years of study and an early career in that field. I took ‘very small interval’ to mean a tiny pause, just as it does in punctuation.

    I’m pretty sure the device at 9ac has not appeared in previous ST puzzles, nor in the weekday Times where I think it was specifically forbidden by the late RR or a predecessor. I’m used to meeting it in The Guardian almost daily so it doesn’t bother me although I did raise an eyebrow coming across it here.

    1. The need to split words like “malefactor” has been mostly avoided in my editorial spell. I think I’ve allowed one or two previous versions with an indication of what’s going on, and decided to try a clue with the otherwise logically unnecessary “apparently”, to see what was said, rather than insisting on a change.

      1. Joshua and Henri, over at Out of Left Field, have been doing this kind of thing for a while now. I can report that some test solvers (not me!) didn’t like it. (I like the new-fangled “cycling” device too.)

  6. Found this very difficult but I did complete it after multiple attempts. Tpyo? was very entertaining, but I couldn’t decide between PRINTING ERROR and SPELLING ERROR until I had a few more cross-checkers. COMMA was known to me. SINISTER needed a trawl through Chambers to convince me of its equivalence with BASE. Didn’t have a problem with CYCLE as ‘seasonal cycle’ would permit pattern as a substitute.

    1. Your trawl through Chambers was evidently more successful than mine! What did you find that I missed?

      1. I had to go to the thesaurus part of the app. Wicked list listed under both sinister and base (2).

        1. Ah right. I don’t think that’s good enough, personally. The connections made in a thesaurus are often quite tenuous.

          1. I agree with that. A tenuous link is all I could manage. It’s some sense of badness but that’s as close as it gets.

  7. At time of solving I was bothered by MAGENTA, SINISTER and INSTALLER which detracted but since then I have warmed to all three. As Peter says above, the word ‘apparently’ is definitely needed for MAGENTA.

  8. I didn’t find this nearly as hard as some Dean puzzles. I couldn’t parse MAGENTA, as I haven’t seen that type of clue previously, and hadn’t heard of CESAR but, as K says, it’s clear enough with checkers. I had no problem with SINISTER as base meaning born illegitimate. Good, satisfying workout.

    1. I can’t find any dictionary support for ‘born illegitimate’ as a meaning of SINISTER. And the relevant meaning of ‘base’ is designated archaic/obsolete in Collins and Chambers respectively.

      1. There may be no dictionary reference, but it’s a common enough joint usage in historical books and family trees referring to being born outside marriage.

        1. If it’s that common it’s surprising to say the least that it’s not even in the OED. The usual dictionaries all have ‘bend sinister’ or ‘bar sinister’, heraldic marks that denote illegitimacy, but I can’t find any support for ‘sinister’ on its own.

  9. DNF

    A few missing in the SE as I ran out of steam on the hour. Thought this was v tricky tbh. Some lovely clues (WARSAW was excellent) but I just don’t get “tpyo” at all. The answer went straight in but I just couldn’t understand how it could be that obvious.

    Thanks all

    Ps I think I get the point of Tpyo now – it’s a (mis)spelling of a word meaning “mistake”. Apols for denseness

    Pps meant to mention the comment about “aller” made below. I love a bit of quirkiness but I stuck it in very doubtful it was complying with what I thought were the generally accepted rules. Dare I cheekily suggest that if Peter had been marking it in a compiling comp it would have been summarily discarded?

    1. I hope there is some, er, indication in my clue writing reports that if someone thinks of a form of indication that has never been used and tries it, the question is not whether it’s new but whether it makes enough sense to be fair. As an alternative to French city names that happen to be English words, I thought it was fair when I saw it in this puzzle.

  10. A struggle which took just over an hour with PLENARY my LOI. I thought SINISTER for ‘base’ was OK as in “base/sinister motives” and “base” is in the Oxford Thesaurus entry for “sinister”. Didn’t know the musical sense of COMMA (liked the def) and entered MAGENTA from ‘red’ but couldn’t parse the ‘factor’ bit. I thought there was some wordplay in STAIRWELL that I was missing but apparently not.

    ? ALLER for ‘to go to department’ a bit iffy without any indication a foreign word is required, especially as “département” is in Collins.

    Thanks to Dean and keriothe

    1. I’m surprised no- one else has made the same observation . Is it reasonable to expect the solver to translate a random word into English, without any indication that this is required, particularly in this case when the spelling isn’t exactly the same? As Kevin would say..so unfair!

      1. It’s just the English translation of the French word. It’s in Collins as such. I can’t really see a problem.

        1. Just to confirm, the version in English spelling has the necessary def in both Collins and the Concise Oxford, with France as the only country named.

          1. Yes, but the English word, “department,” has, of course, a much broader general meaning that has nothing to do with France, and the solver is not given any reason to think of the more specialized meaning. I don’t think its origin in Old French would be anywhere near the first thing that comes to mind, for most people; it’s been in the English language since at least 1735 (Merriam-Webster). Nothing in the clue says “French.” If you happen to pick up on ALLER for “go,” sure, you can guess what “department” must be intended to signify… Not saying it’s “wrong” (this is an art, not a science), just that I didn’t know why it was spelled that way. I didn’t consider that the word has entered English with that specific meaning, though that follows from its being the consistent translation of département (whose italics and accent would give it away).

            1. Almost all words have multiple meanings, and it’s part of the setter’s art to misdirect you to the wrong one. Since ‘department’ is an English word meaning French département it seems absolutely fair game to me.

  11. – Somehow missed that WASTE required all those first letters and just bunged it in with a shrug
    – Didn’t understand the ‘aller’ part of INSTALLER
    – Had no idea how CYCLAMEN worked
    – Didn’t know CESAR the duke
    – The clue for ORIOLES feels appropriate given how much the Baltimore Orioles have been losing so far this season
    – Had to assume ROYAL is a type of sail

    Thanks keriothe and Dean

    COD Warsaw

  12. DNF big time. Had limited success in the South, and biffed Torment at 10a, despite the absence of 9a, giving me the dubious Spelling Error. Tpyo is not an error I would describe as of type spelling.
    I wouldn’t have got Magenta in a month of Sundays, and wouldn’t call it red either. I don’t remember being this lost on any ST, and don’t usually have a huge problem with Dean Mayer AFAIK.
    Thanks Dean Mayer & keriothe.

  13. I deliberately underlined it, because it’s part of the definition (“, this”).

    1. Oh, right. I misunderstood when you said you underlined them separately but that couldn’t be seen (thought you meant there was a problem) and even wondered why you would leave the comma out. What’s wrong with me this morning? Think I’ll delete that comment! Ha, sorry.

  14. 54 minutes, chuckling all the way. I would love to say which clues I particularly liked, but there are too many of them. They almost all quietly creep around you and then pounce on you from behind, but I found them very solvable because you know that’s what you must expect from Dean. So although I didn’t get all of the parsings (MAGENTA, for example), on most of them I did see the intended readings fairly quickly. Candidates for my CODs would be COSMONAUT and its blue material or EXTORTION or many, many others. And I have no problem with SINISTER meaning “base”.

  15. I also thought 9ac seemed rather Guardian. I think it would be better to have a more clear indication that you have to split up Malefactor than “apparently”.

    I’ve now properly learnt the meaning(s) of STAIRWELL. Most of the dictionaries like Collins say things like:
    “a vertical shaft or opening that contains a staircase”
    …which I think is how many people now use that word.

    But, I see from digging a bit deeper (cf “well”), that the original, more precise meaning is:
    “The central open space forming the vertical core around which the stairs of a winding or spiral staircase may be set”
    (ie the just void in the middle of the stairs; not the part of the building where they’re contained).

    Looking at previous clues, I see they more often use the Collins definition. But today’s was a very good clue for me, to properly understand the meaning.

  16. Needed quite a few look-ups to get started (apart from COMMA, which went straight in – no idea about the musical relevance); appreciated the lovely definitions- “many plans” for ATLAS, even SPELLING MISTAKE for TPYO, where it’s clearly nothing to do with bad spelling! And “brief background” for LAW SCHOOL. All very enjoyable, even if a lot of ‘cheating’ necessary.

  17. Should have solved 13 and 2 d sooner than I did, having been there and done time in that…but not as a brief.
    Defeated by 1 a, gave up with it and four others unsolved.

    Usual thanks, lots of lateral thinking required.

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