Times 24738 – Head on the block

Author   kororarekaPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Today we welcome a new blogger, who has graciously volunteered to take over Peter’s Wednesday slot. There’s been a minor glitch in the system, so I’m (kororareka) posting on his behalf today. Without further adieu, I’ll hand you over to the inimitable mctext…

Solving time: 12 minutes.

But now I know how much harder even a basic puzzle is when you have to blog it here! My hats are well and truly off to all the other regular bloggers now that I’ve had a go at it. So please excuse any errors: take them as would-have-been wickets (but for the no ball decision) from a left-arm spinner on debut who is mindful of the great player whose boots he’s trying to fill.

Across
1 CHIEFTAIN. Semi-&lit made from an anagram of C(lan), and “thane if” plus an extra I from “one” (Thanks to linxit for spotting the oversight).
6 DE a rest FOE.
9 AUGUR. Half of Augustus (Caesar),R.
10 Omitted.
11 SAT,SUM,A. The tricky def is “that is easily uncovered”; an allusion to its peelability.
12 CA(YEN)NE.
13 ALL HANDS ON DECK. Double def; one more cryptic than the other.
17 MAKE UP ONES MIND. Anagram of “no denims” with the anagind (make up) inserted into the light.
21 WI(THOU)T. The def is “lacking”.
23 TUMBREL. T,(lumber)*
25 POINTLESS. Double def.
26 OMITTED, but I would have included it if I had a suitable container.
27 S(tocks),PEAR.
28 T(hat),HACKER,AY. “Cover blown” tells us to remove the “hat”. Neat!

Down
1 C(LASS) (W)AR, where “waged” is doing double duty as part of the def and providing the W so as to get yet another &lit-ish effect to match 1ac.
2 IN (for “home”) and GO (for “run”), plus T (from the end of “circuit”), gives us INGOT, a block.
3 FOR(TUNA)TE.
4 APP,LA(U)D.
5 NABUCCO. Rev of CUBAN (like the habanera),CO. An opera by Joe Green; full title Nabucodonosor according to the Wik, which I had to consult, knowing nought of opera.
6 D(ahli)A,IS,Y.
7 FIB (false statement), ON (about) A, CC (constants), I (one) = FIBONACCI. Leonardo of Pisa famous, inter alia, for his sequence of numbers.
8 EARNER. That is, LEARNER minus the L; as in “a nice little …”.
14 LEAST,WISE.
15 DISEMBARK. Anagram of “made brisk”; the trader is an example of a sea-going vessel.
16 IDOLATRY. I (one), DOLT (fool) inc A, then RY (railway). The def is the first five words of the clue.
18 PAT(I)ENT.
19 NATASHA, from War and Peace, as played by the lovely Audrey in the film. It’s a reversal of AH (a hard) and SATAN (tempter of men). Hands up, if like me, you were looking for a reversal of AS AH.
20 S(WIPE)S. Any recent parent will have solved this right off.
22 OUTER. Double def: one re ring roads and the other re the great game of darts. On Edit: I think the concensus, and indeed, on re-edit, the consensus, is it’s ROUTE* and a reference to archery.
24 ROGER. The name (handle) of the famous Irish patriot and the two-way radio code for “received and understood”.

54 comments on “Times 24738 – Head on the block”

  1. Ran into trouble after being in the zone for the fist 25 minutes. Failed to enter anything at 27ac, spotted that before reading the answer in the blog, and still got it wrong: putting ‘steer’ (‘stocks’ as in ‘stock’ anyone? no – didn’t think so). Earlier, I was tripped up by 6ac, where I managed the difficult bit of taking ‘a rest’ out, but failed dismally to lift and separate ‘enemy’, ending up with a novellist called ‘Deene’, who was new to me and, I dare say, to everyone. My misery was complete when I considered ‘fib’ at 7dn only to dismiss it (because of ‘Deene’) in favour of ‘noble’ reversed for the false statement to give an unlikely mathematician called Elbonacci.
  2. Ah, yes, no one wrote opera like good old Joe Green; pity he’s not around today, to give Elton John a few pointers.
    I couldn’t believe how fast I was able to do this one: 13 minutes, which means tomorrow’s is going to be hell. It surely helped that there were so many repeats of recent words: DEFOE, ROGER (Casement), IDOLATRY.
    7d was one of those lovely clues that go to waste precisely because the choices are so few; how many mathematicians can one think of whose name begins with F? At least if one is as ignorant of math as I am (I add that to forestall Jimbo from rattling off 10 names).
    1. I would have thought Fermat & Fourier would be reasonably well known, particularly the latter, without whom the digital revolution might not have happened. The father of statistics, R.A.Fisher, is probably only known to cognoscenti, as is Feller Volumes I, II & III. As far as other mathematicians with 9 letters in their name go, Frobenius, might be it.
  3. Congrats on the first blog. I took 22 to be an anagram of ROUTE and an allusion to archery.

    Chris

    1. So it is — the anagram, at least. Well spotted. Will ask koro to make the correction.
      Though I think we have outers in both darts and archery?? Only know the former.
      Note from teacher: “the new boy must pay more attention in class”. Off now to the butchers to buy umbles. The pie crust is ready in the kitchen.
      1. On reflection, in archery the “bull” is more properly the “gold”. In darts the bull and the outer are adjacent. Shooting, perhaps? Anyone know?

        Chris

        1. Chambers defines ‘bull’/’bull’s-eye’ as ‘the centre of a target’ and ‘outer’ as ‘the outermost ring on a target’, so I think your first shot was on target.
        2. In full bore target shooting the main target areas are commonly called the bull, inner and outer. Not to mention Xbulls and magpies..
  4. Despite having subconsciously seen all the answers this still entertained me for a goodly half hour or so. I didn’t have a clue about the peelability of Satsumas and Nabucco would have been more difficult if I hadn’t already seen the answer. COD to THACKERAY’s hat, but DEFOE is also deuced clever.

    Not so sure about 26 though; isn’t “gangs that” singular in the cryptic reading?

  5. Managed to complete most of this within 30 minutes but spent another 10 or so on the final five: 16, 24, 26(!!!), 2 & 9. I didn’t know the mathematician but worked him out from the wordplay.

    Well done, McT. Yes, blogging does make a difference. I find that after 2 (or is it 3?) years it doesn’t get any easier and I can’t believe I’ve somehow got away with it so far, more or less. I’m still expecting the day when after an hour I have only a couple of answers in place and can’t even explain them.

    1. Jack, the lounge room is already full of kittens. I can’t possibly handle any more. And … one day, someone’s going to have to enlighten the daily non-blogging user about the LJ HTML template and its vicissitudes. As noted, I for one, now have a much greater appreciation of everyone’s, often unthanked, painstaking work.
      1. I’m not sure that non-bloggers would want to know about the HTML template but it might be useful to have a discussion (on one of our private LJ accounts?)on how best to use it. I’m sure we all have different methods of approach. I, for example have the script saved within an Excel document and I have written a macro in VB that prompts me to insert clue numbers and answers, then I edit in the explanations. It works quite well for me but I suspect I have over-complicated matters and there are easier ways of achieving the same or better results.

        Since we are under new management perhaps we could all get together some time and compare notes?

  6. Another one on the easy side (…or could it possibly be, no, surely not, that I’m actually getting better at this…!), but again I was left with one that I convinced myself was some unfamiliar word, only to kick myself when a solver revealed the relatively common (or maybe not?) SATSUMA. I missed a couple of the cryptics (the hat at 28 and the devil at 19), and the cart was put in from wordplay alone, but other than that, this went relatively smoothly. Mr Casement’s reappearance certainly helped with 24, too.

    Well done for the first blog, and thanks to all bloggers – I can’t begin to imagine the stress it must put you all through, but sooo appreciated that you do!

  7. Still MC, helped take the mind off events elsewhere but.
    Excellent blog, clear and concise; whatever happened?
    Steady solve (mathematician last in, of course from wordplay) while listening to the last few overs from the SCG and wondering if I was still dreaming.
    COD to the splendid DEFOE without which I would still be trying to fit LIE around something or other eg LIBANDCCEI and variatons thereof.
  8. Well done, mctext; as always, I’ve learnt from the blog (most notably, 28ac). Again came in under 30 minutes; however, my last in (NABUCCO) was a fortuitous guess based on the wordplay.
  9. Easy one this, solved in bed before getting up to face the day. 12 mins or thereabouts.
    Welcome Fibonacci, one of the earliest European mathematicians and famous for his Numbers. Also, welcome to the blogging fraternity, MC!
  11. Slowed up in NE (and don’t get the “of” in 6 ac.). 24 minutes. Must say I like the nerve of ‘Cover blown, that…’. Slowed up generally by too much Ashes watching but worth it for this Englishman.
  12. Well done McText and welcome to the blogger’s dread. My greatest surprise was how long it took to write the blog and how painstaking a task it is. It is also amazing how many times the parsing of an answer occurs to one whilst writing the blog.

    You’ll get harder ones than this to contend with although some of the wordplay is quite clever. I don’t like 11A SATSUMA very much where the definition is pants (been dying to use that since seeing it explained here). There needs to be at least some allusion to fruit – there are countless things that are “easily uncovered”

    1. Jimbo, many thanks. I thought I’d missed something re Satsuma too. Turns out it’s also a former province of Japan and kind of pottery therefrom. But neither of those helped. Never consulted so many reference works for one puzzle … not ever!
      1. I’ve just discovered they’re mandarins rather than plums. I was wondering who peeled plums. Verdi’s slaves, perhaps?
        1. Don’t know how satsumas, mandarins etc. are related botanically; but I’ve been told that the Japanese call them ‘mikan’, not ‘satsuma’; and the leading producer is not Satsuma, but Wakayama prefecture (south of Osaka)!
          1. I once started reading something about the difference between satsumas, clementines, tangerines and mandarins but got very bored very quickly and gave up reading before finding out.
  13. I did the top half of this in what must have been record time but then got a bit bogged down in the bottom half. I still finished in 15 minutes, so was fairly pleased, but then on checking through found I’d carelessly put in MADE UP ONES MIND and THACKARAY and then later saw that I’d written NUBACCO in spite of constructing it from wordplay. So my official time is about an hour, and if it were a competition I’d probably have submitted with an error.
    As a father of young children both WIPES and SATSUMAS are a regular part of daily life for me, the popularity of the latter contributing greatly to the use of the former.
    Congratulations to mctext on an excellent first blog.
  14. well done mctext, and congratulations on a snappy time too! I was bowling along quite nicely (probably the only person in Sydney today who was, ho ho) until I got caught out (enough – ed) by the Tolstoy question. I figured the tempter of men had to be a siren, and came up with a good Russian-sounding name, NERISHA. Oddly enough, that helped me get POINTLESS and THACKERAY, but brought me to a grinding halt when it came to TUMBREL. 51 minutes to pick my way out of the mess.
  15. I printed this off with a view to solving later then went and started it with 13:20 on the clock, finishing at about 28mins so I would very much consider this an easy one.
    COD to 28a – hats off to the setter.
    Very nice blog mctext – I have been in a similar position on other crossword blogs so am well aware of the extra frisson of performance anxiety!
  17. Have fun with the Wednesday slot, mctext. Miserable performance for me today – a mistaken click on “print” before buying and eating my sarnies meant 28 extra minutes on the club clock, and some mental aberration meant that NSBUCCO got through my checking of the grid.
    1. I’ve never understood why printing the puzzle starts the clock on the website anyway. By definition if I print a puzzle I’m never (except for the odd Saturday) going to complete it online. I’ve got several puzzles that are marked on my stats as started and unfinished as a result.
      1. If you’re never going to complete it online, starting the clock doesn’t matter. But if you print it, go off and solve it and then want to type in the answers and record a time, the total elapsed time since you printed it is a more reasonable time to use than the time it took to type the answers.
        1. Yes I suppose you’re right, assuming “unfinished” puzzles don’t contribute to any of the stats. I guess there probably are solvers out there who prefer to solve on a piece of paper but still want to record a time.
  18. 32:21 with one real mistake, although a mistyped crossing letter got it recorded as 3 wrong. Got a bit bogged down in the bottom half after about 20 minutes, so took a five minute break to take on some caffeine before polishing it off in another five minutes or so.

    Hadn’t heard of NABUCCO or habanera, guessed that it might be a cabin (bit like a hacienda perhaps?) and went for NIBACCO. Otherwise quite straightforward. A gentle introduction to blogging for mctext – I suspect they’ll get harder! Welcome to the fold.

  19. Hurrah, our PB! Completed without aids in 43 mins despite spending much of the night with Cook abd Bell at the SCG. Thanks and congrats to MCtext. For us novices, could you expand on the explanation of ‘make up’ in 17ac? [Can’t find ‘anagind’ in the dictionary.]
    1. “anagrind” is blogging shorthand for “anagram indicator” also sometimes “anagrist” for the letters that form the anagram

      At 17A an anagram of “ones mind” gives “no denims” so “decide” is the definition then “no denims could possibly make it” becomes could “make up” “ones mind”. A bit convoluted!!

      2. Just to clarify: I deliberately use the word “anagind” rather than “anagrind”. This is the term used by the great and concise Australian setter Noel Jessop whose introductory books are well worth the price of admission.
  20. Hi, could someone explain 6ac – I still don’t get the wordplay even though I got the answer. Thanks
    1. Author of “Dearest Enemy” wanting a break from work: author = definition, dearest enemy = de[arest]* foe

      * minus ‘a rest’ (wanting = lacking ‘a break from work’).

  21. Thanks. I had a blind spot thinking DE was from the first letters of Dearest Enemy and so was trying to connect foe to break from work. Doh! PS as a very rare commentator but regular reader I would like to say that I find this blog is both immensely useful and very enjoyable. It has become an essential part of my daily routine.
  22. Well done mctext, great first blog and a pretty good time too. Beat my 14:11 anyway. One small error which nobody else seems to have noticed is the anagram fodder for 1ac – it should be C(lan) + (thane if I)*, the I from “one”. Welcome to our clan!
    1. Thanks and well spotted. Koro has done the right thing on my behalf. Starting and (almost) finishing the blog with anagram errors is not an auspicious beginning I fear.
      1. Whatever you do don’t start worrying about typos. The audience will quickly spot serious ones and tell you. One of the great things about this blog is how friendly the vast majority of contributors are. After the first half a dozen blogs your nerves will ease off anyway and you’ll find you spot more of your own mistakes.
  23. Today’s puzzle was a bit operatic, what with NABUCCO and the habanera. Fortunately for me, “Nabucco” was the first opera I ever saw (Courtesy of Welsh National Opera in the 50s) and made me a lifelong opera addict. Also the “habanera”, which someone here had never heard of, is a very well recognised song/dance from “Carmen”. I wasn’t aware that it was Cuban – you learn a lot from these crosswords. I was also gifted NATASHA, since “War & Peace” is my Forth Bridge book – finish it then start again. In spite of this I clocked a slowish but enjoyable time of 44mins.
  24. Thanks and well done to Mctext for the debut effort.

    About 17 minutes for the puzzle, pretty much top to bottom, left to right, ending with ANGST, which this puzzle didn’t cause much of, except for introductory blogging jitters, which were clearly conquered by Mctext. I thought many of the definitions were very clever today, so an enjoyable solve. Thanks again Mctext, and the setter as well. Regards to everyone.

  25. Mainly posting this to see if i got my picture to work! However….found this surprisingly easy given there was some unknown vocabulary and some quite convoluted definitions. Would have touched a personal best had I not mucked around in the SE corner, putting in TRUMBLE, then TUMBLER, then finally TUMBREL, guessing that any one of them was “that word I cant remember for a cart”. As it was this was a rare 10 minute solve.

    Clearly it is the holy grail to know what constitutes making a puzzle hard or easy, and I had always used the clarity or obscurity of the definition as one of the most likely suspects. This grid confounded that notion, so I suspect that the ease came from the order and inference of the checking letters and word lengths mainly. The search goes on….

  26. Thank you setter for 17 enjoyable minutes. No COD, just consistently good. And welcome to the hot seat mctext, I wouldn’t have the bottle.
  27. All of this is getting to be a bad habit: raced through most of it (well, for me 3/4 of an hour is racing) and then I couldn’t see 24dn and 26ac for ages. After returning hours later I first filled in ROGER from “I got that” (must remember the association with Casement, but I’d forgotten it despite recalling that it was in a recent puzzle), and then ANGST followed quickly. At least I finished correctly and unassisted, for the first time this week.

    I’ll chime in on congratulations to mctext on a job well done.

  28. Two easy ones in a row, but I just can’t get down below 6 minutes, with an annoying 6:02 today. A bit of music, a bit of maths, a bit of literature – right up my street really.
  29. Never heard of NABUCCO – easy to see when you know the answer. Apart from that one, 33 minutes.

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