27874 Thursday, 14 January 2021 Unimpeachable

Author   ZabadakPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I found this rather easy and whizzed through in 11.31 scarcely pausing for breath and (truthfully) making sure the wordplay worked. Unusually, there is no “hidden” answer, and no every-other-letter clue, and only two anagrams to entertain you. For the longer one, I freely admit I got the answer before checking all the ingredients were there: they are. I’d be interested to know if anyone worked it the other way round.
The Greek valley might raise a few eyebrows, but it’s been here before, and I was a bit uncertain of spelling needed for the South American country and the African city.
The editor/setter must be congratulated for slipping in 14d: I spent much of last evening watching events unfold (again) in the Capitol, in rather more orderly fashion.

Below is my discussion of the clues, showing definitions and SOLUTIONS

Across
1 Family name of Swiss banker taken in by scam (8)
COGNOMEN Originally “the last of the three names of an ancient Roman indicating the house or family to which he belonged; a surname; an epithet or nickname.” So now you know: a familiar word now with a specific meaning. Formed here by CON for scam taking in a GNOME, conventionally of Zurich, and precisely a Swiss banker. So not a river, for once.
5 Lizard in S American region, one moving to prime position (6)
IGUANA The South American region is (French) GUIANA (hence the spelling) home to Devils Island. Move the 1 (I) to the front, the prime position.
10 Achieve prominent publicity making banners? (3,3,9)
HIT THE HEADLINES I sort of get this, since banners are newspaperspeak for HEADLINES, but I’m not entirely sure where the HIT THE comes from. Making? Perhaps it’s just a cryptic definition.
11 Illustrious celebrity entertaining the Spanish Left (7)
STELLAR The celebrity is a STAR, entertaining s in giving space to the (in) Spanish EL and L(eft)
12 Affair of big cat crossing road with last of cubs (7)
LIAISON As a choral singer, I can’t hear liaison without thinking it should have a kyrie in front, but here the big cat is a LION, the road it crosses is the A1 with the last (letter) of cubS providing the rest.
13 Confusion brought about by inspector’s instruction (8)
DISORDER The (Detective) Inspector’s instruction is the DI’S ORDER
15 Liberal leaving place of worship in wooded vale (5)
TEMPE A place I know only from this one, but it’s in Chambers as the valley of the Peneus in Thessaly, praised by the ancient poets for its unsurpassed beauty. It’s in heaps of poetry as a place of outstanding beauty. Here’s Catullus:
From Tempe’s vale next ancient Peneus came,
That fertile vale immortalized in fame!
Where Messos’ blue-eyed nymphs delight to rove,
Tempe o’erhung with many a circling grove!
To get your own economy sized Tempe, take the L(iberal) out of the TEMPLE place of worship.
18 Wizardry of fighting man in rainproof garment (5)
MAGIC Raincoat MAC (what else) and fighting man therein GI
20 Neatly trim thick hair covering current dog (8)
MANICURE My last in’ fooled into thinking of haircuts. Thick hair is MANE and the current dog is I (symbol for electric current) and CUR
23 Taking notice of ambassador, say, limiting noise (7)
HEEDING Ambassadors to the court of crossword are HE (His/er Excellency) and say is EG, the two surrounding DIN for noise
25 Gibbon, for one, a senior cleric (7)
PRIMATE The well known identity of apes and bishops
26 Great hopes Berg cultivated about a stage work (3,7,5)
THE BEGGARS OPERA Our first anagram (cultivated), of GREAT HOPES BERG and A. It would have been brilliant if the music for the 20th century version (The Threepenny Opera) had been Alban Berg’s, but it was Kurt Weill’s.
27 Money you and I brought back for evergreen tree (6)
CASHEW Hands up if you knew the source of the yummy nuts was an evergreen. Money is CASH, and you and I backwards produce the EW
28 Cheek of learner leaving lucky creature outside hotel (8)
BACKCHAT Quite cute. The lucky creature is a BLACK CAT, take out the L(earner) and add elsewhere the H(otel)

Down
1 Joint party-giver’s charge for keeping house (6)
COHOST Charge id COST and HOuse is kept therein. Chambers prefers it with a hyphen, as do I, otherwise it’s salmon with a T on the end.
2 Understanding crowd (9)
GATHERING A very simple double definition
3 Eponymous hero’s extremely offbeat greeting (7)
OTHELLO Is Othello a hero? Desdemona had cause to disagree if not for very long. Anyway, extremely OffbeaT plus HELLO for greeting gives the man and his play
4 Woman finally changes sides, finding compound (5)
ETHER Start with your random woman ETHEL and change her L(eft) to R(ight)
6 Good worker everyone held to be brave and chivalrous (7)
GALLANT G(ood) plus ALL for everyone and ANT for the “worker”, as so often.
7 Woman’s name concealed by mature son (5)
AGNES Should be followed by Dei (see 12 above). N(ame) is “concealed” by AGE for mature in verbal form, and tagged by S(on)
8 No-show sailors put on course right away (8)
ABSENTEE Sailors are ABS (Able Bodied) and the course from which you remove the R(ight) is ENTRÉE. I toyed with a D on the end, thinking “put on course” was ENTERED, but it doesn’t work.
9 Witch briefly keeping old Scottish pot for boiling (8)
CAULDRON The witch is a CRONE, cut short as indicated, and she “keeps” AULD for the Scottish version of old.
14 US politician eager to crush Yankee rabble-rousing (8)
DEMAGOGY The surface is undoubtedly today the redoubtable Nancy Pelosi successfully charting the House through Impeachment 2.0. The less exciting crossword version is DEM for American politician (other makes are available) eager: AGOG on top of (NATO) Y(ankee)
16 African city reached by libertine in thirty-one days (9)
MARRAKECH At least one other spelling available, trust the wordplay. MARCH is one exemplar of 31 days, and libertine supplies RAKE therein.
17 Forceful chap I met at sea (8)
EMPHATIC Only our second anagram (at sea), of CHAP I MET
19 Egyptian citizen displays anger, breaking stick (7)
CAIRENE Another slightly unlikely spelling, so again trust the wordplay, anger: IRE inside stick: CANE
21 Outstanding feature primarily of go-ahead Native American (7)
CHINOOK Outstanding feature (in most people) is CHIN. Promarily Of gives the first O, and go-ahead in the sense of giving it provides the OK.
22 Vehicle has got hired to go round old Mediterranean area (6)
LEVANT Formerly the eastern end of the Med. VAN the vehicle has LET the hired round it.
24 English archdeacon’s betting odds (5)
EVENS An archdeacon is styled VEN(erable). Put E(nglish) on the front.

78 comments on “27874 Thursday, 14 January 2021 Unimpeachable”

  1. A number of 1-error solvers of note; MARRAKESH? And I only find one anagram. I held off on HIT until I got the T; somehow didn’t feel right. After this walk in the proverbial, tomorrow should be a nasty one. (I forget the name of the Scottish writer, back in Scotland for the first time in years, running into an acquaintance on an atypically beautiful day and commenting on what lovely weather it was; to whom the acquaintance replied, “Ay, we’ll pay for it.”)
  2. For a time I wondered/feared I was going to get my first sub-10. But the lower-right corner tied me up for a good while: PRIMATE (didn’t know one meaning), BACKCHAT (it’s BACKTALK in the US, and black cats are unlucky, I thought), CHINOOK (couldn’t parse it for the life of me), and LEVANT (knew but didn’t know I knew).

    Still, a good time on an “easier” puzzle.

    1. I raised an eyebrow at ‘lucky’, but then I thought of the blues line, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.”
        1. I thought pretty much everyone would know that according to superstition a black cat crossing your path would be good luck. So I looked it up and found that whilst that is the case in the UK it’s actually considered bad luck in some countries.
          1. “I ain’t superstitious, but a black cat crossed my path today” is an old blues lyric, but I recommend the version by the Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart on vocals. The cat in question is certainly not considered a good omen. I’m guessing that it’s considered thus as in “a witch’s particular”.
  3. I wouldn’t call OTHELLO a “hero.” “Antihero” wasn’t coined yet in Shakespeare’s time, I think… but “protagonist” would’ve done.

    Edited at 2021-01-14 04:03 am (UTC)

  4. As quick as I can go… top half at Magovian speed, not a single answer didn’t immediately suggest itself. Slowed down in the bottom half, but still probably under 10 minutes. Only holdups emphatic where I wanted it to be impact??, and checking the parsing of demagogy to get the correct last letter – e didn’t look right. No problems with the “unusual (for me)” spellings of Marrakesh and Guyana.
    1. The Guianas is a S.American region comprising of 3 countries: British Guiana (now Guyana), French Guiana, and Dutch Guiana (now Surinam). So the clue is fine – my first one in. But I didn’t know that spelling of MARRAKECH.
  5. 27 minutes, mainly held up by the spelling of the African cities, MANICURE and BACKCHAT. Interesting to read post solve about the good v. bad luck associations of black cats – I’ve always regarded them as indicating bad luck but seems they can be either.

    Couple of good crossword names in ‘Ethel’ and AGNES. Wonder when “Mackenzie” and “Addison” will start making an appearance. That should increase the solving times.

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  6. Despite the unknowns TEMPE and CAIRENE, and I wouldn’t swear that I knew COGNOMEN either, I raced through this very quickly for me and finished in 14 minutes, which may even be a PB. I have a vague recollection of achieving sub-15 once before, back in the days when I was solving on the train to work, and I shall have been retired for 10 years in May.

    I very nearly spoiled it by biffing MARRAKESH as my LOI, so I’m pleased I took an extra second or two to check the wordplay.

    Edited at 2021-01-14 06:09 am (UTC)

  7. Wondered about Othello, but he started the play as a war hero, didn’t he, so I thought it was ok. Some black cats are considered lucky in some places. The one in my house seems to be so.

    Edited at 2021-01-14 06:26 am (UTC)

  8. This was certainly a PB for me in the Crossword Club era. I couldn’t imagine solving much quicker so I feel I might have reached my limit. I rushed a little when I thought I might get a good time so I was glad to avoid potential errors – in particular, as others have mentioned, putting an S in MARRAKECH. I paused just long enough to parse and change to a C.
  9. 09:13. I sailed through this pausing only to wonder if CAIRENE and COGNOMEN could be words and to untangle THE BEGGARS OPERA. COD to 7D for giving a shout out to my Aunt.
  10. I concur with m’learned friend Z and say I found this easy.
    No problem with TEMPE. It is the suburb next door to the one I used to live in in Sydney, Marrickville, and it is right next to Sydney Airport.
    I know CHINOOK as a helicopter and as a wind in the Rockies.
  11. Lies the fair vale of Tempe: down the gorge.
    25 mins pre-brekker with the last few struggling to see Levant. It is strange what can trip me up.
    I liked the black cat and I have learned a couple of things: Tempe and Cairene.
    Thanks setter and great blog Z.
  12. Trump is now the White House ABSENTEE
    Soon he’ll not HIT THE HEADLINES we see
    GATHERING DISORDER
    And HEEDING no border
    Is EMPHATICally DEMAGOGY
    1. I feel that I must disagree.
      He’ll still be around, just you see !
      He’s like a bad smell
      And should just go to Hell.
      But life is just not that E-Z
  13. An identical experience to many – a sprint and possible PB mired in the SE corner, but still a very fast time for me of 22m on a puzzle with a very low SNITCH – just 62 at the time of writing. Thanks Z for the excellent blog and setter for a gentle workout.
  14. 16 minutes, finishing off slowly in the SE, as others. I got the native American from the helicopter. COD to BACKCHAT. I HIT THE HEADLINES without knowing why they were HIT. Otherwise straightforward. Thank you Z and setter.
  16. 11′ 31″ also, but with my first typo of the year – which will at least alleviate the anti-pink obsession.

    Anyone else bang in ‘Robinson’ for 1ac then have to delete it?

    Thanks z and setter.

  19. First ever sub-15 minute time for me.

    “Swiss banker” giving “gnome” is something I’ve remembered from previous crosswords when I didn’t get it, so it leapt out at me when I saw 1a and helped me get the unfamiliar COGNOMEN. Hadn’t heard of TEMPE or CAIRENE either, but the cluing was generous in both cases. Otherwise this was very straightforward.

    FOI Agnes
    LOI Backchat
    COD Marrakech

    Edited at 2021-01-14 09:42 am (UTC)

  20. 8:19, one error. I have been to Marrakesh four times, sufficient to have become excessively confident in spelling it.
  21. As a relative beginner, I’m constantly amazed by the obsession with speed, even down to including seconds in your timings! What is that all about !!!Still I guess it is mainly blokes on here, so that would explain it.
    Worth remembering the old story of the 2 bulls in the field next to a herd of cows, and one day the farmer leaves the gate open.The younger bull says: ” Quick. let’s run down and have a couple of ’em!” And the older bull says:” No. Let’s walk down and have the lot.”
    1. That’s a bit sexist. The blog’s name provides a bit of a clue, but to answer the question “What is that all about !!!” (I assume it’s a question as there is no question mark) you might try reading “About this Blog”.
    2. If you would like to engage in proper discussion, please have the courtesy to identify yourself. A pseudonym will do.
    3. If you solve via the Crossword Club site it gives your time to the second and puts you on a leaderboard. The pinnacle of solving for many is the annual championship where time is of the essence. So there are external factors which focus solvers on time. It all appeals to my anal nature 🙂

    4. I’m simply reporting the time recorded on the online clock when I submit (my Times account name is only slightly different).

      OK … it isn’t as simple as that … I’m also ‘a bloke’!

      (And helpful tip for my country strolls)

      Edited at 2021-01-14 10:59 am (UTC)

    5. The Times makes a rod for its own back here by running an annual competition where speed is entirely of the essence (arguably accuracy is even more important, but in practice the podium spots come down to who can muster up the insanest solving speeds). It is what is, and while I personally have tried to stop banging on about how fast I went in my Friday puzzle blog, complaining about people comparing their times in this community is a bit like mocking competitive runners for caring how fast they complete their races in!
  22. Seems I’m a shade off the boil today according to the SNITCH – one (wo)man’s write-in is another (wo)man’s puzzle.

    NW didn’t immediately present itself, did better in the NE, SW and in the middle of the park. The stage play didn’t leap out though had heard of it.

    Like many, was left with clearing up the SE corner – the play giving CHINOOK, which prompted BACKCHAT and then a few minutes thought over LEVANT (which means ‘rising’ as of the sun, providing the Spanish verbs ‘levantar’ – to rise; and the reflexive ‘levantarse’ – to get up (to rise oneself).

  23. FOI 5A: IGUANA
    LOI 1A: COGNOMEN

    I had completed the Quick Cryptic previously and, working through this, I thought some of the clues were on a par, but perhaps I was warmed up and breezing through? My downfall: entered 10A with insufficient attention (and without parsing fully) and, upon completion, pressed submit without checking …. I had typed: HIT THE HEADLINSS!!!!

    Thank you, z8b8d8k and the setter.

  24. 7.35 for my best result since joining the group. Will now check the blog to make sure any delusions of excellence are shattered.

    Needless to say really enjoyed this one. FOI iguana LOI heeding having spotted my schoolboy error of heading just in time. Not quite sure why I erred initially, I think it was jumping to ad as notice.

    NHO of cairene but clear from the cluing. Other than that unexpectedly plain sailing.

    Big thank you to setter. Can you do the job every day?

  25. I am one of those guilty parties who obsessively notes my times. Maybe it’s the male competitive instinct, but it’s only against myself that I am playing. I don’t find it detracts from the intellectual pleasure at all. I just like to check the synapses are still firing at their approved rate. Tempe I know from the Ode on a Grecian Urn. What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape, of deities or mortals or of both, in Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
  26. I looked at this over breakfast as a warm-up for the QC. FOI was PRIMATE then I just kept going. DNK TEMPE but it looked plausible. I paused to parse MARRAKECH and so replaced the S.
    I did have a problem with 21d; there are so many Native Americans it seems. My parsing led to CHINOGA which made LOI 28a impossible until I returned to my first idea -the black cat. That gave me CHINOOK and all was done in under an hour. Enjoyed it.
    Now for the QC. David
  27. One of those days where I finished, thought “that was pretty quick, I reckon I’ve given Verlaine a run for his money today”… before discovering he was over 2 mins faster than me.

    Lots of biffing today, although my first one in was ROBINSON at 1a having read ‘Family name of Swiss’… it was also my first one out.

  28. …. repent at leisure. 7:14 but two errors.

    I raced through most of this and saw the potential for a fast time. I biffed Ophelia which got changed to Ophelio after Disorder occurred and I failed to revisit. Then the predictable Marrakesh.

    Astonvilla1’s Certainty Principle. You can be fast or accurate. But not both.

  29. I did do the anagram of 26a before getting the answer, thinking initially it would be a play. Then spelt MarrakeSh wrongly as didn’t pay enough attention to the parsing requiring MAR-CH. Distracted by watching cricket in Sri Lanka at the same time, m’lud.
    Brilliant work by setter and editor, fitting a puzzle with 14d in today.

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