Times Crossword 25,248 – Not the Browning Version or the Winslow Boy..

Author   JerryWPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving Time: Well, this took me 38 minutes, longer than average even for the midnight run. Part of the problem was my ignorance of Rattigan’s plays.. 1ac and 1dn both took time to find so I never got much of a flow going. So did the other two long clues, 8dn and 26ac, come to that. There are some very good clues here, and only one or two that I thought a little thin (eg 7dn). Overall, a good effort.

cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(–).

ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online

Across
1 strip lighting – insulting = SLIGHTING containing blunder = TRIP
9 power – P + OWER, ie someone very slightly in debt, ho ho
10 carmelite – wheels = CAR + M(OVE) + crack = ELITE
11 randomised – *(ODD MARINES)
12 omitted.. ask if puzzled
14 tasting – flavour = TANG containing ITS rev. Neat clue.
16 trainee – support = TEE containing drop = RAIN
17 The Wash – hair = TASH containing cut = HEW. I had trouble with this, because I would spell it “tache,” and did not want to accept that anyone would be so completely lost to every decent linguistic impulse, as to spell it in such a slovenly manner. But apparently some do
19 Pandora – sounds like “panned aura.” Poor Pandora, she has had a bad press over the years. One trifling error, and the media just won’t let go. The clue refers to the fact that having let all the bad stuff out, she slammed the lid of her jar back down when only hope was left inside
20 bulb – a jocular dd
21 particular – a dd I suppose: nice as in a nice distinction, an item as in “complete in every particular.”
24 earthworm – *(OTHER WARM)
25 rebus – a rebus is a puzzle; and Inspector Rebus solves ’em
26 traffic warden – obviously this had to be anagram based, but only now do I see that this is *(WARRANTED), containing (O)FFIC(E)
Down
1 separate tables – a reference to the 3 and 4 times tables, and to the two Rattigan plays
2 rowan – a “dappled shade of chestnut” = ROAN, containing (CURLE)W. This took me time as I failed to “lift and separate” the chestnut tree.. the def. is just “tree.”
3 periodical – jeopardy = PERIL containing cutting = ACID + O(UR), both rev. Another neat clue, another tough one for me
4 itching – IT + CHIN + G
5 harvest – privileged few is HAVES containing R(EPRESENTATIVES) + T. Yet another that took time to see “gathering” as harvest and not just a get-together
6 idea – I + DEA(D)
7 glissando – a weak cd, or so it seems. Is a slide the same as a run? Not sure
8 George Harrison – military position = GARRISON containing *(HERE GO). I could see what was intended, but still took time to get this
13 Magna Carta – *(ACT ANAGRAM) hmm, an anagram of anagram..
15 smell a rat – fish = SMELT containing girl = LARA
18 head off – HE + FF containing trouble = ADO
19 Potomac – sink = POT, presumably in the snooker sense, + O MAC.
22 lobed – look = LO + bottom = BED
23 omitted. Woe is s/he that can’t get this one..

Author: JerryW

I love The Times crosswords..

49 comments on “Times Crossword 25,248 – Not the Browning Version or the Winslow Boy..”

  1. And one of those mornings where I was glad I gave up weekly blogging. (Thanks Jerry!)

    The “prayer” at 10ac had me flummoxed for a fair while; as did the TASH (17ac). Despite having read a few, I’d forgotten about the Rebus of the police novels (25ac) — and I suspect they’re eminently forgettable, like much scribble coming out of Edinburgh these days.

    26ac (TRAFFIC WARDEN) is a diabolical liberty of an &lit-ish clue. What about a Lovely Rita reference to go with 8dn?

  2. 51′, 12 online and then once again sensing that I’d need to sit down and have a drink first. LOI 10ac, where I only twigged to the other meaning of ‘prayer’ as I logged in here. I wasted some time at 21ac thinking that ‘Nice’ was a hint to look for something French. DK Inspector Rebus, which kept me from putting it in until forced to. Not only did I not recognize ‘tash’ for ages, we Murcans refer to it as a stache, although ‘tache’ has shown up here a half-dozen times. I realize that things have got worse since Thatcher and Reagan, but I’m not sure that the haves in the UK or US are that few, yet; which caused some delay here, too. I was going to nominate 7d for COD, but now Jerry has made me self-conscious.

    Edited at 2012-08-22 03:34 am (UTC)

  3. By the way, isn’t 3d a DBE? Or am I once again missing something? Not that I’ve ever seen the problem with DBEs, mind you.
    1. Indeed, and with a hint of dodginess about it although get-outs are available in COD amongst others. To my way of thinking ‘periodicals’ are magazines, and Chambers specifies ‘not usually including newspapers’.

      Edited at 2012-08-22 05:45 am (UTC)

  4. 40 minutes again today which wasn’t too bad considering my first in was a wrong entry at 20ac where I bunged in TUBE. I was amused a few minutes later, having corrected that to BULB, to find STRIP LIGHTING at 1ac and POWER at 9ac and was starting to wonder what weird sort of theme the setter had thought up for our entertainment.

    I can’t see anything wrong with GLISSANDO for ‘run’.

    I note that once again officials responsible for law enforcement come in for a sly dig.

    Edited at 2012-08-22 01:43 am (UTC)

  5. In under 30 minutes by 74 seconds. None of the long ones volunteered themselves for easy solving, and I needed most of the checkers for each – all of them for GEORGE, even though my first instinct was the garrison bit. I was thinking of Mount Rushmore at one desperate stage.
    I can’t remember what the latest incarnation is, but it’s not been TRAFFIC WARDEN for ages. Entered on a partial grasp of the definition without understanding it was part of the cryptic too, and didn’t get how clever it was until post solve.
    CARMELITE went in on cryptic, and a worried assumption that it was an orison that I hadn’t heard of. D’oh! came later.
    I invented LOBUM before I realised this wasn’t the Sunday Times and “bottom” meant something else.
    PERIODICAL last in, as none of the usual equivalents to “our leader” worked and I had to think of a new one.
    Let’s give CoD to EARTHWORM – warm snakes indeed.
  6. 38 minutes, periodical last in by a long way. (Parsonical hovering.) It’s OK for newspaper though; I’ve seen ‘The Economist’ refer to itself as the latter. In 21 I see the adjectival side of nice as something like fussy i.e. particular. (More the person than the distinction, though I guess it can be either. Being too nice here.) Never heard of the Inspector and rebus went in as a kind of puzzle that solves puzzles, but wasn’t too sure of it as such. Sad to see GH in 8 on a par with great musicians of the past. I know, I know.
  7. Only seven commenters (and our esteemed Bardophobic blogger!) so far and yet everything I might want to say has been covered. Last in the prayer (my d’oh! moment arrived only when I came to the blog and saw it explained) but my COD to PERIODICAL, which I have no problem with for newspaper (it’s just not a daily) for luring the unwary towards the -ed ending, just ahead of the economical GLISSANDO. 81 minutes.
  8. Good all round puzzle I thought, 25 minutes to solve.

    Saw 1D immediately, linking “three and four times” to “tables” as I read it. Hesitated a bit over “newspaper” for PERIODICAL but also remembered that The Economist refers to itself as a newspaper. Surprised at so many not knowing the Rebus books.

    Thought 26A very good and a touch of personal dislike shown by the setter, perhaps?

  9. Similar story to yesterday. 10 minutes for most of it then as long again on one clue, this time CARMELITE – the first thing I thought of looking at the checkers but one I couldn’t justify, totally failing to get the ‘one who prays’ definition (which I’m assuming it is). I threw it in anyway, but completely failed to write anything at 23d before submitting. As they say at the top of exam papers, answer all questions.
  10. I don’t know why you guys are obsessed with completing in the fastest time – where’s the fun in that? I like to solve at a leisurely pace, clues being interspersed with coffee, bacon sarnies and hob-nobs.
    1. What an extraordinary thing to say! Coffee with bacon sarnies and hob-nobs? Everyone knows it should be a good old-fashioned cuppa. Still, each to his own.
    2. Not sure I’m following you here. I do the same as you, give or take the unhealthy food. But why would that preclude me from saying how long it took me? And why would mentioning that be considered obsessional?
      1. I understood it was the custom of this site to enter one’s time when commenting. Nothing obsessive about that. The real crazies are the 3-minute-wonders on the club leaderboard.
        I second Sotira on the cuppa. For me (solving in the very early a.m. NY time) anything more stimulating would lead to all kinds of trouble. For the record – 26 minutes with compliments to the chef on “Carmelite”.
        1. Indeed, the clue’s in the name – ‘Times for the Times’. This is where people record their times for the Times crossword. The idea behind it is that it’s the simplest way to judge the relative difficulty of the puzzle. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking as much time as you wish to solve, nor does that preclude you from coming here afterwards to find out how other people found it. I myself often solve the puzzles in bits and pieces without worrying about the time, which is why my comments here are only occasional. Of course if I’m blogging then I solve against the clock as that’s what’s expected.
          1. Working as an operating theatre technician, I judge the difficulty of a crossword by how long it takes to do at work whilst surgery takes place.

            An easy one takes a hernia.
            A moderate one might take a hernia and a varicose veins op.
            A real corker might take a hernia, a gall bladder removal and a bottom abscess.

            COD for me “carmelite”.

            1. I was going to suggest that you could post appropriate pictures in lieu of solving times but it might put Penfold off his Gregg’s chicken and steak bakes.
            2. The Olympics opening ceremony (the phrase takes on a new meaning) could have combined its tribute to the NHS with one to the Times crossword…
          2. Thankyou for the background to this site. I’m a non-onliner who likes to talk to people in the newspaper shop then settle down with tea or coffee to solve it. I’ve used this site to find out why the answers ARE the answers when I can’t see it. I am so grateful to you guys who explain it well and with humour – please pass on my (and I would expect many others of the silent majority) thanks to the crew at your sloggers and whatsits bash.
      2. Grill bacon??

        Surely it has to be fried to be appreciated properly. Mmmm, getting hungry at the thought of it!

        Roger

        1. The proper way to fry bacon is courtesy of a real Greasy Spoon: you just can’t get that level of maturity and intensity in the pan at home. In your own kitchen, whack it in the George Foreman, knock off the crossword, et voila! Perfect bacon with a minimal nod in the direction of healthy living. Mind you, it has to be proper butter on the roll, and none of this wholemeal rubbish either. And proper, full value milk in the cuppa.
  11. Excellent puzzle. I made steady progress but came to a grinding halt on 8 dn – my LOI or rather not in as I eventually had to come here to get the correct answer. I had convinced myself that GARRISON had to be the second word of the solution and wasted much time in a fruitless search for a particular type of garrison that would fit the bill. Same problem as Jerry with TASH/tache – I’ve never met the former spelling before. Shared the experience of Sotira and several others over CARMELITE, knowing it to be a monastic order and seeing that it fitted the cryptic clues, so bunged it in, but unable to see how it could mean a prayer. The “one who prays” def seems to me a tad loose – plenty of people pray who aren’t monks (or nuns) – but that’s probably just sour grapes because I failed to spot the required meaning. I agree that 26 ac was exceptionally good – a brilliant &lit that also exploited some ingenious cryptic devices.
    1. The setter would probably say that indeed, not all who pray are Carmelites, however all Carmelites do (presumably) pray, so “prayer” is an accurate synonym for them..
      1. I am sure he/she would, and perfectly fairly. As I said, my quibble mainly reflects my annoyance at having failed to spot the possible alternative meaning. I guess if the clue had begun “Frequent prayer etc…” that might have made the clue completely quibble-proof.
        1. > I guess if the clue had begun “Frequent prayer etc…” that might have made the clue completely quibble-proof.

          Not for those who value a decent surface reading!

  12. 12 minutes. Just finished a Rebus book which helped (they are much better than the TV version of same). Held up most by CARMELITE.
  13. Breezed through this in 14:55 so the old puzzles solved by the pool in Espana must have had a positive impact.

    Unfortunately I spoiled my own fun by eating my Gregg’s chicken and steak bakes before rather than during the solve.

  14. Came up two short today with Separate Tables and Bulb missing. Hadn’t heard of the play and thought the Bulb might be Mole so was mulling over T?M?E? as the second word. Lots to like elsewhere including Power and Tasting which I thought were both very good as too was Car for Wheels in Carmelite. I wonder how many of the overseas solvers have heard of The Wash?

    Smell A Rat went in from definition – couldn’t work out what was the fish and what was the girl’s name! Slithery in the Earthworm clue brought to mind Lewis Carroll’s poem Jabberwocky, but on finding the poem online the word I’d remembered was “slithy” as in:

    ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
    Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
    All mimsy were the borogoves,
    And the mome raths outgrabe.

    I wonder how many nonsense words like these have appeared in the Times cryptic? I remember reading once that “brillig” had made an appearance!!

  15. I’m with daniel on the MOLE. Not that it mattered what I put there, for I could make no sense of the play. Otherwise so,e cracking clues with COD to CARMELITE. Time deliberately withheld.
  16. About 40 minutes, ending with POWER/ROWAN, after finally sussing out the play at 1D. Got CARMELITE from wordplay, smiling at ‘wheels’ and ‘crack’. I knew of THE WASH, but not the Inspector, so REBUS from the ‘puzzle’ definition alone. My COD to ROWAN, for the ‘dappled shade of chestnut’ bit for ‘roan’. Very nice, and thanks to the setter and Jerry. Regards.
  18. I really enjoyed this. The morning cuppa was a necessary accompaniment, though the bacon sarnies came later. I hesitated for a long time over TASH – a spelling I’ve never seen before – but otherwise found no major problems. I got GLISSANDO straight away from the initial letter G but would never have defined it as a “run”, which I always think of as a rapid series of separate notes. I imagined most solvers would be familiar with the REBUS books and was surprised at the number of “never heard of it” comments. 27 minutes. Ann
  19. Brain sluggish and overheating today, high 30s outside, failed to complete NE corner after an age looking for fancy names for prayer wheels beginning with C. As others above, had GARRISON for second word of 8 dn and couldn’t see the obvious. REBUS was first in and the lower half in 10 minutes but accepted a DNF after 40 or so. Thanks for the blog and comments, especially the parsing of traffic warden.
  20. 28m. Tough but very enjoyable this. I didn’t know the play or the detective, and the long ones generally took ages. The DBE at 3dn raised an eyebrow: the Economist refers to itself as a newspaper but nobody else does.
  21. I won’t sleep in my Wirksworth B&B until I find out if my WHOA is right. I can’t quite see how the wordplay ‘speaking of misery’ translates to ‘woe-er’, or something of that kind, even if the literal is clear. Or did I mess up? (Can’t check online as I chickened out and ‘submitted without leaderboard’, fearing anyway that with my time I’d not even be on the first – and only – ten pages.)
    1. Whoa is right, Ulaca. And you can check on line – “my profile” will give you the score for all crosswords, whether submitted with or without leaderboard
      1. Thanks to both you and Kevin on both counts. My long acknowledged want of technical knowledge is sadly rivalled here by a howler in my own field of study, occasioned by the strange fact that, though, I have heard ‘whoa there!’ many a time, pronounced correctly, of course, had I been asked to read the words aloud I’d have said ‘woer there!’ How exactly I thought ‘whoa there!’ was spelt is one of those questions to which I shall never now know the answer!
        1. In “Patience”, as Lady Jane (and cello, I believe) follows Bunthorne on to the stage, singing, “Woe is me! Alackaday and woe!”, Bunthorne stops short and she almost bumps into him, singing, “Woe is me! Alackaday and … whoa!”
          1. Nice example, Kevin. Sadly, G&S is down there with the Goons as stuff I just don’t care for very much, ‘though I don’t actually get annoyed by G&s as I do by Bluebottle, Eccles and co.

            Ulaca

    2. Hi there ulaca. I certainly have WHOA at 23, but it’s 23D. I expect quite surely it’s the intended answer, and I have always pronounced it the same as ‘woe’, and I assume the setter does as well. Best.
  22. 10:21 on the club timer with my typical typo keeping me off the board. TRAFFIC WARDEN in with a shrug, and REBUS from the puzzle definition, didn’t know the other. Very much liked the clue for GEORGE HARRISON
  23. 17:12 here for an exceptionally fine puzzle. Even though I never really seemed to find the setter’s wavelength, I offer him or her my compliments.

    No objection to GLISSANDO, since by the time I reached it I was ready for an easy win or two. No problem with REBUS, but I made desperately heavy weather of SEPARATE TABLES despite knowing the play. The tricky CARMELITE held me up for a minute or two at the end.

    2. Once I’d got TABLES, the play came straight to mind as I saw it in 1993 at the Albery with Peter Bowles and Patricia Hodge starring. I particularly remember it as I was strolling down the street afterwards with my children and bumped into PB who acknowledged my shy nod with a huge smile. A true gent!
  24. I took almost 2 hours to do this one, but finished with all correct and mostly understood. I forgot to parse SMELL A RAT and didn’t spot the anagram in TRAFFIC WARDEN, so thanks to Jerry for those. GLISSANDO was FOI. I like 8D but also spent ages trying to think of a type of garrison. CARMELITE was my LOI even though I was thinking of the correct meaning of prayer. The d’oh moment came when I realised wheels=CAR.
    BTW I agree that Tea goes much better with the bacon sarnies.

    Edited at 2012-08-23 01:42 pm (UTC)

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