ST 4375 (Sun 3 Apr) – Antre matter

Author   talbinhoPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 3:01

A fastish time usually means a decent crossword, and by and large this was. The clues were straightforward but mostly read fairly smoothly with concise and accurate cryptic indications. A couple of things were new to me: ‘pavid’ meaning ‘timid’ (I can feel Tony wincing) and ‘slop’ meaning a gown, although ANTRE at 27ac was probably the most obscure answer.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
1 DUTY (2 defs)
3 PASTY-FACED; PASTY (= ‘pie’) + (DECAF)* – this clue amused me.
10 PRACTICAL; (R[ead] + ACT I + C[hapter]) in PAL
11 A + L + ARM
12 TONIC; rev. of (IN in COT) – punctuated, the cryptic reading is: ‘Back, IN [with] COT outside’.
13 PAVI[d] + LION
15 SCALLOP; SLOP around CAL – a slop is a loose garment such as a gown, apparently.
17 VULPINE; (LIVEN UP)* – nice anagram.
19 NATURAL (2 defs) – because the white keys on a piano are naturals while the blacks are sharps and flats.
21 PATIENT (2 defs)
22 PRODIGAL; PIG around ROD, + A + L[ake]
24 [s]INGLE – ‘Hint of’ meaning ‘first letter of’ is unusual outside advanced (barred) cryptics.
27 ANTRE; (RENT A)*
28 ON THE NAIL (1 def, 1 literal reading)
29 LACHRYMOSE; (CHOLERA MY S[on])* – well-worded; ‘son’ = S is so common that I hardly noticed the indirectness of the anagram.
30 TSAR; rev. of RAST[a]

Down
1 DEPUTISING; (P[avarotti] + I SING DUET)*
2 TRAIN (2 defs) – nice, I don’t think I’ve seen this wording before.
4 ALCOPOP (hidden)
5 TEL AVIV; rev. of (VIVA + LET)
6 F + RAIL
7 CHAMOMILE; MOMA in CHILE – the MOMA is the Museum of Modern ‘Art’.
8 DUMB[o]
9 STICK(L)ER
14 BEST SELLER; (TREES + BELLS)* – ‘to decorate’ doesn’t really make sense as an anagram indicator but the intention is clear. I’d have expected the enumeration to be (4-6) or (10), though the (4,6) given is probably ok.
16 ANTARCTIC; ANT, + ARTIC around C[old] – I applaud the use of ‘Perhaps’ here (since not all ants are soldiers); even the daily Times puzzles commit the crime of omitting such ‘definition by example’ indicators sometimes.
18 LATRINES; (ANTRE + IS + L)*
20 LEGROOM; LE + GROOM
21 PILATES; I in PLATES – because ‘plates of meat’ are feet in rhyming slang. I confess I spent a few seconds surprised that Pilates were exercises for the feet before seeing the wordplay.
23 D(R)EAR
25 G + LASS
26 HAL + L

11 comments on “ST 4375 (Sun 3 Apr) – Antre matter”

  2. How did lorry fit into the answer?
    (CLUE: Perhaps a soldier takes lorry around cold region — bitterly cold)
    I thought the soldier was TA (territorial army) around (Back) and that somehow N meant a lorry
      1. Thanks for help on artic. Now I live in the States, it would be SEMI for truck!
        This blog is a great resource – thanks to all of you…
  4. I agree with Peter – I think 3:01 has to be rated “fast” rather than just “fastish” – certainly fast compared with my miserable 7:02, in which I kept thinking of correct answers but then being unable to justify them quickly through the word-play – even when blatantly obvious, like 22A – and so failing to put them in straight away.

    I certainly wouldn’t wince over “pavid”, which I’m only faintly familiar with, and even then I suspect mainly from the Latin pavidus. (I don’t think I’ve ever actually winced at any lack of knowledge on your part, though I may have raised an eyebrow occasionally 🙂

  5. Must have been quick because, now I look, there are no workings-out on the page at all. But 3 minutes is amazing! Maybe so fast that you completed it the day before it came out? (See blog title.)
  6. Went back to the club site and checked whether I had ‘alcOpop’ and darned if I hadn’t put down ‘alcApop’ when there it was in front of me all the time. I’d say 20 minutes….or is it eight days now?

    3 minutes and 1 second? Brilliant.

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