Sunday Times 4928 by Dean Mayer

Author   keriothePosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
20:34. I found this hard overall, but most of the difficulty was with a relatively small number of clues. I got badly stuck in the NE corner with the unknown LOGIA, the slightly odd 6ac, and 8dn, where for ages I couldn’t make head or tail of any aspect of the clue and I lacked the checking F and L (where I couldn’t quite believe the answer at 18ac was what it was). 5ac also puzzled me but there was little doubt about the answer.

All fair though, in spite of a nasty biff-trap for the unwary at 14ac. Except of course that it doesn’t fit! What a muppet I am. I did very nearly bung it in but if I had I would have noticed. I had all the required knowledge, so for me at least the difficulty arose from cunning clues rather than obscurity, and I enjoyed it a lot.

So thanks to Dean and here’s how I think it all works…

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (TIHS)*, anagram indicators are in italics.

Across
1 Second mate will welcome her round
SPHERAL – S, P(HER)AL. Not a word I can remember coming across before.
5 A man’s right?
HIMSELF – I think the explanation here is that if you’re ‘yourself’ then you’re ‘right’. I’m not sure this is entirely convincing but I can’t think of anything better.
9 Army might motivate royalty to keep enemy captive
FIREPOWER – FIRE(POW), ER.
10 Get into trouble over religious sayings
LOGIA – Reversal of AI(GO)L. Get = scram = go. A term I didn’t know.
11 Crude oil’s made in town flat?
TWO-DIMENSIONAL – (OILS MADE IN TOWN)*.
13 What a shame — line is wonky
AWRY – AW, RY (railway, line).
14 Aspiring starlets, maybe, with fine hair
WAITRESSES – W, AI (fine), TRESSES. Hands up if you biffed ACTRESSES. You didn’t, of course, because it doesn’t fit. The Emma Stone character at the beginning of La La Land, for instance.
17 In a manner of speaking, patriotic?
INTONATION – IN TO NATION, geddit?
18 Mark’s young lady has nothing to hide
GOAL – G(O)AL. I thought the definition was rather odd, because a GOAL is not quite the same thing as a mark or target. But Collins defines ‘mark’ as ‘a target or goal’ so that’s me told.
20 Drug one rejected — insult it during call
PHENOBARBITONE – PHONE containing a reversal of ONE, then BARB (insult), IT. I knew this drug because one of my kids took it when very little as a precaution against seizures. Also known as phenobarbital.
23 Vanilla left in French bread
PLAIN – P(L)AIN. This might be a reference to the figurative sense of the word (often ‘plain vanilla’) but vanilla ice cream, for instance, is often referred to as PLAIN.
24 Slight gradient, unusual direction
DENIGRATE – (GRADIENT)*, E.
25 Girls’ school or, contrarily, area in paradise
ROEDEAN – reversal of OR, EDE(A)N.
26 Bondage makes you drool, yes?
SLAVERY – SLAVER, Y.

Down
1 Seat that’s long yet slightly short
SOFA – SO FAr.
2 Outlaw’s cut in profit? What about bounty first?
HEREWARD THE WAKE – reversal of EH, REWARD, T(HEW)AKE. An Anglo-Saxon rebel against Norman rule who has appeared in past puzzles. TAKE is revenue rather than profit, but I expect the non-accountants among you will be less bothered by this.
3 Charges across quiet part of river
RAPIDS – RA(P)IDS.
4 See chicken turn, mostly harmless
LOW-IMPACT – LO, WIMP, ACT. Reminds me of trying to play Elite when I was a kid. The game wasn’t available on the ZX Spectrum, which is what I had, so I had to try and play it at a friend’s house on his BBC Micro. I never had time to figure it out, which a part of me still – rather strangely – regrets.
5 Bird that woman’s cooking
HERON – HER, ON.
6 Hatmaker wrong to stop one working on face
MILLINER – M(ILL)INER. As in a coal face, of course.
7 Speed event that may damage part of clutch
EGG-AND-SPOON RACE – CD. A lot of people don’t like cryptic definitions but when they work they’re one of my favourite types of clue: they’re sort of extended puns, and I love puns. This one works.
8 Pat Wild opens zip
FLAWLESSLY – F(LAWLESS)LY. I didn’t think of LAWLESS for ‘wild’, I didn’t think of FLY for ‘zip’ (I thought it would be something to do with nothing) and I didn’t get anywhere near thinking of FLAWLESSLY for ‘pat’. Eventually I got all the checkers, saw the answer from that, and reverse-engineered the workings of the clue.
12 Blemish is very good for a potato
MARIS PIPER – MAR, IS, PI (good or seemingly so), PER (for). A floury variety excellent for chips, roast potatoes or mash.
15 Brass instruments new to some R’n’B
TROMBONES – (TO SOME RB)*.
16 A new type of word put on church report
ANNOUNCE – A, N, NOUN, CE.
19 “T” in “S” as a brand
STIGMA – S(T)IGMA.
21 Poet in a posh study
AUDEN – A, U, DEN.

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

Innit.
22 Hot edges of stone axes
SEXY – StonE, XY (abscissa and ordinate).

32 comments on “Sunday Times 4928 by Dean Mayer”

  1. Shoot, I was hoping you would have a better explanation than I did for HIMSELF.

    I was pleased to discover the MARIS PIPER strictly from wordplay.

    1. MARIS PIPERs are common here but I know from going to Canada that you don’t see them in North America. The other good floury variety you see often here is King Edward’s, so look out for them too!

      Edited at 2020-11-15 06:45 am (UTC)

      1. Also try growing Sharpe’s Express (Charles Sharpe, Sleaford) and Golden Wonder which is a potato and not just a crisp (potato chip).
        1. I don’t grow potatoes myself, H, but I’m very interested in different varieties and how they perform in different contexts. At the moment I’m going through a kleftico phase, and waxy ones seem best for that. I used charlotte today and they were excellent. Maris Pipers would have collapsed, I reckon.
  2. Nice puzzle, probably moderate difficulty by Dean Mayer’s standards.
    I’m another baffled by ‘himself’ but looking forward to being enlightened.
    I like the knack the setter has for condensing the clues for long/-ish answers – Maris Piper a fine example.

    Wasn’t sure about Y for Yes in Slavery, but it had to be that. It’s not in Collins or Oxford, but who knows? In the latest ST competition a perfectly decent clue is relegated on the grounds that R for recipe isn’t in Collins or Oxford, but Dean Mayer used it a couple of years ago (in ST4480 – I looked it up having a vague memory of it). I suppose a professional setter is allowed liberties that competition entrants aren’t, but it seems unfair to single someone out for it. C Davies

    1. I didn’t think twice about Y for yes. It’s very common (often in the form ‘Y/N’ on questionnaires) so I’m surprised it’s not in the dictionaries.
    2. Himself: quoting Dean himself, in his notes: “CD ‘Not feeling right/himself'”.

      I’m pretty sure I’ve said here and/or in clue writing reports that Y=Yes and N=No are non-dictionary abbreviations that I allow because they are so common in real life. I also allow ones which are on the single-letter abbrev list for Times setters. I believe one or two of those are outside our usual dictionaries.

      I don’t know which puzzle you’re referring to about R=recipe. STC 4480 was by Tim Moorey and printed in 2012. I looked at 4880 but that’s not Dean’s.

      It is possible that I’ve made an inconsistent decision, but there is no intentional difference between what our setters are allowed to do and the comments in the clue writing contest. That includes the fact that I’m extremely reluctant about words and meanings which are in Chambers but not Collins or Oxford D of English.

      1. I’m sorry for my bad typing error, it was actually puzzle ST 4800, 12 down, Dishearten: “Put off food, worried about recipe”.
        If it’s one you overlooked and can’t remember then it’s one of those things, but the competition entrant and others may have had a memory of it and be flummoxed about the ruling. CD
        1. I’ll happily admit to overlooking it on that occasion. That sort of accident is one reason for advising clue writing entrants to look at the dictionaries rather than past history.
            1. I’m sure it does – SOED is the most significant dictionary I don’t have. Chambers has it too, but neither are suitable dictionaries for blocked grid cryptics (unless you want something like the Times Crossword Club’s monthly “Club Special” every day of the week). As far as abbreviations go, the fact that I allow ones from both Collins and ODE gives setters a much wider choice than Times crossword setters have.
  3. No time for this, as I went offline early and picked at it on and off. HIMSELF was my LOI, natch. I didn’t know LOGIA, but the L_G_ _ suggested LOGOS, which of course didn’t work but which led to a solution. Which led to POI FLAWLESSLY. DNK the potato, and checked once I thought of MARIS (PIPER I had earlier on). Luckily I remembered HEREWARD from earlier cryptics, and biffed from REWARD; I don’t seem to have parsed the whole thing. Damn, Dean’s good.
  4. The dictionaries haven’t all caught up with text speak. Certainly people often reply “y” for yes (and use “u” for “you” etc). I didn’t finish this with a few left in the top right, but I guess I never came back to it and they are still blank in my grid. I didn’t get HIMSELF and still don’t get the clue. Then I didn’t have enough crossers to get FLAWLESSLY (the wordplay does not hand it to you!).
  5. K, I like your explanation of HIMSELF which I think covers it perfectly.

    I’m not sure how one might biff ACTRESSES (9) for WAITRESSES (10) although I suppose one might attempt to do so before realising one’s mistake.

    I used aids eventually to get to FLAWLESSLY and the unknown LOGIA.

    My understanding is that the ST relies upon Collins and the ODE but as long ago as 2015 Peter B stated that he would allow ‘Y / Yes’ and ‘N / No’ even though they don’t appear in those dictionaries (or didn’t at the time). They’re not in my Chambers either. Another one he allows is ‘H / Hearts’ although Chambers has that covered, as does the Bridge column over on the next page of the Sunday Times!

    Edited at 2020-11-15 06:17 am (UTC)

    1. You’re right of course, I’m an idiot! I did very nearly bung it in but thought twice quickly enough that I didn’t even realise it didn’t fit.

      Edited at 2020-11-15 06:45 am (UTC)

    2. I honestly thought at least one of Collins and Oxford had caught up with H D S and C as used re card games. Same principle for D = draws etc from the sports pages, if they haven’t got those.
  6. 35 minutes with LOI LOW IMPACT, which I should have seen quicker. I biffed HIMSELF from crossers but I think you’ve furnished us with the explanation, K. COD to TWO-DIMENSIONAL for the surface reading. I think there could be the genesis of a pun in that sentence. On HEREWARD THE WAKE, I was less concerned with compliance with accounting standards as to whether he could properly be described as an outlaw. I knew him best as a Britannia class locomotive, 70037. A good, tricky puzzle. Thank you K and Dean.
    1. Googling for [“Hereward the wake” outlaw] reveals that he was also called “Hereward the outlaw”. (Maybe to avoid being asked what “wake” meant.)
  7. ….”I’m glad to hear it Mrs.Smith, it’s a disgusting habit he’d picked up.” Of course, many Irish wives refer to their husbands as HIMSELF, so I shrugged and moved on without worrying about the more subtle nuances of the clue.

    NHO LOGIA. Never managed to parse HEREWARD THE WAKE (thanks !)

    Alas DNF as I incorrectly biffed my LOI. Nothing to do with actresses though….

    FOI PLAIN
    LOI “mattresses” (You stupid boy !)
    COD LOW-IMPACT
    TIME 15:45

    1. I nearly put that in too thinking, naughtily perhaps, of those landing parts via the, ahem, casting couch.
      1. The old definition of “mistress” comes to mind :

        Lady who comes between master and mattress.

  8. I managed to solve 14 clues in a first session of about an hour. FOI was EGG AND SPOON RACE. I was down to my last six by 2.05pm, namely 5a,10a,14a, 18a, 6d and 8d.
    I did briefly consider Mattresses at 14a, which does fit, but found the clear and clever answer. Had a problem parsing Himself (now clearly explained -thanks) and Goal. Last two were LOGIA (unknown) and COD FLAWLESSLY.
    Was delighted to finish this eventually all correct. Worth the effort.
    David
  9. Top class effort from Dean as ever, much enjoyed.

    Thought himself as in “he’s not himself/right today” was OK.
    Sadly I know almost nothing at all about Hereward the Wake, including his legal status. Looking at the Wiki entry, neither does anyone else.

  10. 24:45 but I had only 4 left after 13 minutes. Stuck in the NE not believing HIMSELF at first until I found the parsing as our blogger did. LOI, which took an age, was PLAWLESSLY after I eventually realised that 10A was not LOGOS (which also fits the definition… but not the wordplay). Lovely stuff from Dean, thanks. Thanks to for the blog K.
  11. 55:31 most of the difficulty came in the NE with the unfamiliar logia, justifying himself, reverse engineering flawlessly and convincing myself of mark for goal. Challenging.
  12. Unusually, I found this on the easy side and was all done in 21.33, a PB for a Dean puzzle I think. HIMSELF held me up for a while and FLAWLESSLY was my LOI after FEARLESSLY put me on the right track. LOGIA was constructed from crossing letters and wordplay. SPHERAL was FOI. HTW from enumeration and the H from SPHERAL. Must have been on the wavelength!. Thanks Dean and K.
  13. Mr. Mayer even managed to get HIMSELF amongst the gals at 25ac!
    I assumed actresses were banned after ‘the smelling salts incident’ a few months back on the QC with Miss Jeanie. How are the PC brigade with WAITRESSES?

    FOI 23ac PLAIN

    LOI 10ac LOGIA

    COD 12dn MARIS PIPER

    WOD 14ac WAITRESSES

    Time: I started at 2.40pm

    Edited at 2020-11-15 05:42 pm (UTC)

  14. Thanks Dean and keriothe
    Pretty tough going for me probably caused by the use of so many of the lesser known definitions of a word for the answer or the different components of the word play – HIMSELF, WAITRESSES, ‘get’ – GO, FLY – ‘zip’, ‘army might’, etc.
    Found that was having to use the word play to derive an answer more so than the other way round in this puzzle.
    A number of new terms – the potato, religious sayings and the drug. Thought that 11a and 17a were the pick of a very good bunch.
    Finished, like many in that NE corner with FLAWLESSLY, LOGIA and HIMSELF the last few in.

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