Saturday Times 24999 (5th Nov)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 13:44. I don’t know why, but I was expecting a bit of a corker for the last puzzle in the 24000’s, but this was just a standard workaday offering. Unusually, all single-word answers, and only one bit of difficult vocabulary.

Across
1 REPROOF – REPRO (copy) + O (nothing) + F(ollowing).
5 EXCITE – EXIT (going) + E(ast) around C(ape).
8 HIDEBOUND – HIDE (screen) + BOUND (heading).
9 NAURU – URN (vessel) reversed around AU (gold).
11 BOOST – BOO (utter disapproval of) + ST (saint).
12 PAVAROTTI – PI (sanctimonious) around all of A + ROT (degenerate) + T(ime) after AV (Bible).
13 LIKENESS – KEN (range) inside LIES (stories) + S(mall).
15 CRANIA – hidden reversed inside “certAIN ARChaeologist”.
17 THRICE – T(uto)R around H(earts) + ICE (diamonds).
19 CALAMARI – A inside CLAM + ARI(d).
22 TOADSTOOL – D(evelop) inside TOAST (brown) + OO (rings) + L(ake).
23 PITTA – PIT (mine) + TA (thank you).
24 DOGMA – DOG (trouble) + M.A. (degree).
25 MAHARISHI – (sham air)* + HI (greeting).
26 PRAYER – RAY (beam) inside PER (a).
27 OBSCENE – O.B. (outside broadcast) + SCENE (setting), i.e. not from studio.

Down
1 REHABILITATED – (the tribal idea)*.
2 PADDOCK – PAD (stuff) + DOCK (cut).
3 ORBIT – B(ook) inside TIRO (novice) reversed.
4 FRUMPISH – FISH (search) around RUMP (part that remains).
5 ENDIVE – END (complete) + (g)IVE (offer excluding good).
6 CINERARIA – C(hapter) + IN (fashionable) + ERA (period) + AIR (manner) reversed. A composite plant, and a new meaning of the word for me. Easily gettable from the wordplay though.
7 TAUNTON – TAUNT (provoking remark) + ON (about).
10 UNIMAGINATIVE – MAGI (star’s followers) + NATIVE (mother, as an adjective), underneath UNI (institution for students).
14 NECESSARY – (see cars)* inside NY.
16 BALLYHOO – BALL (dance) + Y(a)HOO (brute without A).
18 REALGAR – REAL (genuine) + RAG (piece of cloth) reversed.
20 ARTISTE – (stir tea)*.
21 FORMER – FOR ME (in my opinion) + R(esistance).
23 PARIS – IS (lives) underneath PAR (average).

7 comments on “Saturday Times 24999 (5th Nov)”

  1. 45 minutes. Didn’t know NAURU, nor the required meanings of BOUND at 8ac and CINERARIA at 6dn.
  2. Just over 13 minutes, but poor spelling met careless anagramming in MAHARASHI. Bleurgh.
    Didn’t know NAURU or CINERARIA.
    1. Oh, yes, it’s so simple! I was confused by the dictionaries; something about mathematics and sets of statistics. I’ve probably remembered that wrongly so don’t set Jimbo on me!
    2. … or “I’m bound for the Rio Grande” for those who prefer something more secular.
  4. 10:30 for me – all pretty straightforward. CINERARIA has been on my list of difficult words for many years, probably because I spelt it wrong at some time in the past, possibly in response to a less helpful clue.
  5. 49′, the NE being the most recalcitrant: 1ac, 3 and 4d,and 8ac finally succumbing almost at once. I liked 21d.

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