Saturday Times 25323 (17th Nov) – better late than never!

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Apologies for the lateness of this – I ended up pulling an all-nighter and most of yesterday and was too tired to do the blog afterwards. But here it is – solving time 14:53, very smooth surface readings throughout and one (16dn) I can’t fully explain.

Across
1 PASTIS – PAST (no longer up to) + IS (one’s)
5 SOMETIME – cryptic definition, from the famous last words of Captain Oates in the Scott Antarctic Expedition: “I’m just going outside and may be some time.”
9 MORATORIUM – ORATOR (speaker) + I (one), inside MUM (silence).
10 WONT – double definition, the first for WON’T.
11 LEVERAGE – RAG (newspaper) inside LEVEE (bank).
12 LITTER – double definition.
13 AGRA – half of AGRARIAN, meaning “of the land”.
15 MONOGLOT – MOG LOT (cat’s fate), around ON (working).
18 PESKIEST – SKIES (puts up) inside PET (dog, say).
19 LOAF – LO (observe) + A + F(emale).
21 PASTEL – LEAP (bound) reversed around ST(one).
23 MAINSTAY – MAINS (water distribution network) + TAY (River).
25 MINX – sounds like “minks”.
26 CHECK DIGIT – CHECK (inspect) + DIGIT (finger).
27 CRUSADES – (saucers,Disintegrate)*
28 TAHITI – T.A. (army) + HIT (bombed) + I(sland).

Down
2 AROSE – OS (Ordinary Seaman = sailor) inside ARE(a) (district shortly).
3 TRADEMARK – ME + DART (spring), both reversed, + ARK (boat).
4 SLOGAN – SLOG (work hard) + AN (article).
5 SHIVER MY TIMBERS – SHIVER (break) + MY TIMBERS (the wicket I’m at, cricket slang).
6 MUMBLING – MUM (parent) + BLING (jewellery).
7 TO WIT – TWIT (fool) with O inside (i.e. empty).
8 MINNESOTA – (tension)* inside MA (old woman).
14 GRENADIER – (in red gear)*
16 GOLDSMITH – referring to Oliver Goldsmith, author of The Vicar of Wakefield, and somebody called Adam. I can’t find a famous enough Adam Goldsmith or a goldsmith called Adam (first name or surname). Edit: mohn2 has the explanation – “or” = GOLD + Adam SMITH the economist. Brilliant clue, too clever for me.
17 PELLUCID – (Cupid)* around ELL (only a few feet, a variable measure based on the length of the arm).
20 PICKET – PICK (select) + E.T. (film).
22 TEXAS – X (unknown) inside TEAS (drinks).
24 A-LIST – ALIT (got down) around S(ociety).

6 comments on “Saturday Times 25323 (17th Nov) – better late than never!”

  1. 46 minutes. Cheated on 17dn which was maddening because I had previously thought of having ELL in an anagram CUPID but simply didn’t recognise the result and discounted it. I didn’t know the cricket reference in 5dn and nearly put ME for MY in the answer by thinking of Tony Hancock’s imitations of Robert Newton as Long John Silver.

    Not sure of outpost for PICKET at 20dn but perhaps I haven’t looked hard enough in the dictionaries.

    Edited at 2012-11-25 10:24 am (UTC)

  3. I’m another who didn’t see the reference to Adam Smith. I’ve never heard of CHECK DIGIT but got it easily enough from the cryptic and the checkers. I liked the Capt Oates clue at 5 across – a nice “doh” moment when the penny dropped. 34 minutes. Ann
  4. I put in ME timbers, because I thought that’s what the fellow said, and I’ve never seen or heard the phrase used with ‘my’. I also managed to come up with SWOTAN, having found ‘SWOT analysis’ in my dictionary; ironic, in that ‘swot’ is non-US while ‘slog’, of course, is universal. Ah, well.

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