Times 27795 – right up my street.

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Oxbridge colleges, cricket, easy chemistry, pottery, herbs, and a painful blister (like the one on my heel after ill fitting golf shoes); our setter obviously has read my CV and wanted to make this easy for me. Twenty minutes or so, with nothing difficult. I spent more time trying to find a synonym listing for the definition in the last down clue, but failed. But it’s close.

Across
1 One not that famous in a painful spot (7)
BLISTER – a B LISTER would be less famous than an A LISTER celebrity.
5 No thanks for festival including loud military instruments (5)
FIFES – FIESTA (festival) loses the TA and has F for loud inserted.
9 Person seen in ambulance, just outside, gets home (5)
ABODE – BOD (person) inside A E being A(MBULANC)E just the outside.
10 Her action criminal, she’s in solitary (9)
ANCHORITE – (HER ACTION)*. An anchorite is someone who goes into solitary for religious reasons.
11 Duke holding place at Cmbridge (7)
DOWNING – D(uke) OWNING (holding). Downing College is one the larger colleges at that other University in the fens.
12 Tar: spoil ship with lack of litre? (7)
MARINER – MAR (spoil) (L)INER = ship lacking L.
13 One in field say returning with daughter — that’s like a certain daddy! (4-6)
LONG-LEGGED – As in the insect daddy-long-legs. LONG LEG (one in field, at cricket), EG (say) reversed, D for daughter.
15 Woman’s British: Rosemary? (4)
HERB – HER, B(ritish).
18 Violently destroy new instrument (4)
NUKE – N(ew) UKE(lele).
20 Items for dinner in such a university (5-5)
PLATE-GLASS – two items from the dinner table. The plate glass universities as named in the 60s, were such as York, East Anglia, Sussex, Kent; as opposed to the older red-brick ones and Oxbridge.
23 Base, your source of wealth (7)
THYMINE – THY (your) MINE (source of wealth). Thymine or 5-methyluracil is one of the four bases which make up all DNA, the others being adenine, guanine and cytosine. It was first isolated in 1893 from calves thymus glands, hence the name.
24 Bucketful of perverse fun, thus for the masochist? (7)
PAINFUL – PAIL (bucket) insert (FUN)*.
25 One very old language covers nothing by itself, in this (9)
ISOLATION – I (one) SO (very) LATIN (old language) insert O (nothing). We all know now what isolation is like.
26 Book marks, one found after prize-giver’s heading off (5)
OBELI – NOBEL who gives prizes, loses his heading N, add I for one. Obeli are those dagger shaped text marks. Singular obelus, from Greek ὀβελός meaning a sharp stick.
27 Children swallowing soft drug (5)
SPEED – SEED (children) insert P for soft as in music.
28 Son had fun with toys spread out (7)
SPLAYED – S(on) PLAYED with his toys.

Down
1 Sickly newborn Welsh girl (7)
BRONWEN – (NEWBORN)*.
2 Absurd, getting no credit? Not to be stomached (8)
INEDIBLE – INCREDIBLE (absurd) loses its CR for credit.
3 In Dynasty, women’s nasal speech (5)
TWANG – W in the Tang Dynasty.
4 Lying boss almost in late (9)
RECUMBENT – RECENT (late) has UMB(O) inserted. An umbo is a boss on a shield.
5 Anger about look, being covered in powder (6)
FLOURY – LO (look) inside FURY (anger).
6 Criminal seizing top-quality pottery (7)
FAIENCE – FENCE is your criminal, insert A1 for top-quality. Faience is tin-glazed earthenware, allegedly invented in Faenza, Italy, in 1233. Seems a long time ago for such an accurate date to be quoted.
7 Small display showing promise (5)
SWEAR – S(mall) WEAR = display.
8 Degree information captivates youngster coming up, here? (8)
MAGDALEN – MA (degree) GEN (information) insert LAD reversed. College of Oxford University, pronounced ‘Maudlin’. The one in the other Fenland place is spelt Magdalene and pronounced as it looks.
14 In art houses, bad reactions have gone at first right to the top (9)
GALLERIES – ALLERGIES (bad reactions) has the G moved to the top.
16 Like some rocks, since covered by the sea (8)
BASALTIC – AS (since) in the BALTIC Sea,
17 Income from farming, could one say, avoiding English perennial (8)
AGRIMONY – AGRI MONEY could be income from farming; take away the E for English to get the herb, also a homophone (could one say).
19 Very important and difficult situation in this surgery? (7)
KEYHOLE – KEY (very important) HOLE (difficult situation).
21 A northern playing area (7)
ANFIELD – A, N, FIELD; home ground of Liverpool FC.
22 Train regularly plain blue (6)
RIBALD – t R a I n = RI, train regularly; BALD = plain. At first I put in RIBAND thinking something to do with blue riband, but that didn’t work with train.
23 Simultaneous arrivals come first in empty trains (5)
TWINS – WIN  inside T(rain) S.
24 Piece of glass left in compartment (5)
PANEL – A PANE of glass, L for left. I can’t find panel = compartment being synonyms in Collins, Chambers, or Thesaurus, pehaps someone can explain.

69 comments on “Times 27795 – right up my street.”

  1. Finally there are a couple of solvers with higher SNITCH numbers than me; I must have wasted 10 minutes on TWINS. I biffed LONG-LEGGED from ‘daddy’ without an idea as to how it worked, later inferred that a long leg is something in cricket. DNK PLATE-GLASS, but again inferred something like what Pip has explained to me. Naturally DNK THYMINE.
  2. PANEL/compartment and vice versa are in my newly acquired Chambers Crossword Dictionary, but as mentioned earlier this is more of a thesaurus than a dictionary so I don’t know whether it counts.

    Edit: SOED has: panel – a compartment in a stained-glass window, containing a separate subject.

    I completed this in 39 minutes. There were several words here unknown to me or forgotten but the wordplay got me to them.

    Edited at 2020-10-14 04:54 am (UTC)

    1. Panel/compartment is also in Chambers – third definition in my edition.

      Hidden panels in old furniture, containing various plot props, are a staple of the sort of books I used to have as a child. Presumably IKEA and MDF aren’t quite as accommodating to the modern writer.

  3. I was prepared to see pink when I submitted today so it was a pleasant surprise when I didn’t. It was THYMINE that gave me most cause for doubt. I thought the word rang a bell and mine seemed pretty certain for source of wealth but I did worry there could be something else fitting _I_E which I’d overlooked (having checked afterwards there are 134 possibilities).
  4. We had REDBRICK last Thursday, at which point I took a wander on Wikipedia and found out that my place was a PLATE GLASS university, so that was very helpful. 28 minutes, with ABODE taking the longest to see. I think AGRIMONY was my only unknown.
  5. Some new vocabulary for me (FAIENCE, ANCHORITE, THYMINE) all fairly clued and gettable from the wordplay. NHO PLATE GLASS universities but what else could it be? As Ulaca says, Magdalene was always pronounced maudlin in my time at the world’s greatest university (no don’t start).

    A good, solid puzzle solved from the SE upwards, ending with FIFES thanks to the old song’s musket, fife and drum.

    Thanks Pip and setter.

  7. What a sensitive setter, giving us both Oxbridge and UEA in one puzzle! A nice puzzle, spoiled by the elitist football club at 21. More Scunthorpes and Rushdens and Diamonds, please. Setters and ed please take note.
    1. In general this puzzle appealed
      With some answers quite nicely concealed
      But the home of the side
      That the rest can’t abide
      Was awful – Down with ANFIELD
  8. Thanks for explaining GALLERIES and LONG-LEGGED, Pip.
    And thanks for PLATE-GLASS. Didn’t know universities by that name were a thing; nor did I know about Magdalen/Magdalene.
    No real stand-out clues.

    Edited at 2020-10-14 07:22 am (UTC)

  9. I am really not sure about the 23dn TWINS clue. I am a twin (anyone else?) and therefore feel in a position to query the ‘simultaneous arrivals’ concept. There is always an older and a younger twin, due to physical constraints and thus both arriving at exactly the same moment is simply not possible. Should the clue not have read ‘almost simultaneous arrivals’? Perhaps I’m splitting heirs.

    FOI 1ac BLISTER

    LOI 23ac THYMINE – which used to be added to cat food and Cornflakes along with ribolflavin?

    COD 21ac ANFIELD and The Kop – is a great ground but still not on a par with Old Trafford and the Stretford End. Respect!

    WOD Zygotic!

    Time 53 minutes

    Edited at 2020-10-14 07:34 am (UTC)

    1. I heard a theory that with non-identical twins at least, the second born is actually the older in terms of development within the womb. I have no idea whether it’s true.

    2. Was the cornflakes additive thiamine, as I vaguely recall? That is apparently vitamin B1, and something else entirely.
      1. I for sure remember studying that box as a child: Thiamin, Niacin and Riboflavin as I vaguely recall
    4. I am an identical twin and my older brother Dyvyns (Lithuanian for twin) is also addicted to crosswordland and posts here infrequently. We compare times daily and are of a similar standard even though he went to the world’s best university and I graduated from a redbrick down here in the SW …
  10. …His mind moves upon silence.
    (Obvious choice today, I accept).
    30 mins but put in ARCHONITE. Good grief, after all that Faience-finding and Agrimony work!
    OWAA!!! (Obscure Word as Anagram) should be banned.
    Thanks wordy setter and (“nothing difficult”) Pip.
    1. Yes – it was either “Anchorite” or “Archonite” – luckily I guessed correctly today.
  11. ..unfortunately I dNK OBELI, leading to a 110 minute DNF with two red letters. Just did not get from Prize-giver to Nobel, tsk tsk, must try harder.

    DNK Basaltic, Agrimony, Plate-Glass, Faience, Thymine. So a tough one on vocab for me today.

    COD : GALLERIES

    1. I only knew obeli from being caught out on an earlier crossword. The good news is you will know it nexttime!
  12. The most famous ANCHORITE, Julian of Norwich, was in fact an anchoress, and that should be the answer. Discuss.

    I didn’t get into Cambridge (like 80% of applicants at the time) and went to Sussex. Had no idea it was a PLATE GLASS university.

    Dnk FAIENCE. I hate football. COD to LONG-LEGGED.

    17’49”, thanks pip and setter.

    Edited at 2020-10-14 07:49 am (UTC)

    2. I went to Sussex and always thought it was one of the red brick universities. You live and learn.
  13. 8:11. No dramas today, but a very enjoyable puzzle. NHO PLATE-GLASS universities but it seemed logical.
    The TANG dynasty came up in the Other Place yesterday so that went straight in.
  14. Enjoyed Bronwen, though not in the biblical sense. It caused me to lapse into a Welsh accent for a while, something that also occurs if Dai or Owen appear in the grids. A tongue-worm rather than an ear-worm. I tend to blame Rob Brydon. Didn’t lapse into Liverpudlian with ANFIELD, though it was tempting.
    25:34

    Edited at 2020-10-14 08:24 am (UTC)

  15. 32 minutes with LOI THYMINE. I’m a Physicist. I’m not sure if AGRIMONY is the best or worse clue of the day, so I’ll give that honour jointly to MAGDALEN and PLATE-GLASS, ignoring that place in the Fens. I didn’t know FAIENCE and it didn’t look likely, but I had nothing else. A decent challenge. Thank you Pip and setter.
  16. Standard fare today, hesitated over THYMINE but otherwise solid progress.

    COD: BRONWEN – not Sian for a change.

    Yesterday’s answer: quince (15 in Spanish) is a bit less than seize (16 in French).

    Today’s question: Magdalen College is part of which university?

    1. University of Essex’s last turning joins a ring road (6)

      (Ok, so I used ‘a ring’. I was in a hurry)

      Edited at 2020-10-14 09:34 am (UTC)

  17. 23:11 Held up by the SW corner most, but struggled elsewhere too. Surely there is no such word as IVOLATION (doh), taking ages to see TWINS and then crossed fingers with the unknown bit of biochemistry. I liked LONG-LEGGED best, once I finally saw it.
  18. 50 mins here with several DNKs. ANCHORITE (of course) THYMINE, PLATE GLASS (for universities) and AGRIMONY. Annoyingly, could not think of OBELI though I knew I knew the word, if you see what I mean. Got there in the end. Never did parse LONG-LEGGED so thanks Pip for that. Wasn’t sure about PANEL for compartment either, from above, it seems ok. Thank setter and Pip.
  19. 19.15. FOI blister which I thought was a nice touch of humour for starters. Got a bit held up in the SW and guessed thymine but splayed opened up possibilities and then sped up for a decent finish. LOI fifes.

    A good number of pleasing clues I thought: ribald, long legged, anfield , abode and fifes. Another n in anfield and you could get an even more northerly solution at 21 dn, home of Stirling Albion till the 1990s. One for the quizzer back pocket?

    Thanks setter and blogger.

  20. Slow but steady solve. My cousins are twins – only one of them is identical, but I never know which one.
  21. I struggled with this. 5 answers resisted my attempts at solving. 3 finally yielded. These were Fifes, Floury and Ribald. But 2 held out and eventually pink squared me. I had Agronomy and, I’m ashamed to say, Poopful! Submitted at 24:11 with two errors.
  22. And let the quicks make hay. I can’t believe this. Whistled through it, unknown though thymine and plate-glass as such were, and came to a complete halt for several minutes on my last in. House in A-O-E? Finally threw in adobe. It’s serious, it matters…
  23. A late morning solve for me, and an odd one. Top half put me on track for a 10-ish time (that quick!) but the bottom half shuddered to a halt, starting with 15 looking for a woman starting with B and finishing with that 3 letter word for rosemary that Ophelia might have mentioned. Time eventually doubled at 22.40.
    I fuddled around with the university: could there be something like an onion-gravy uni? Knife-spoon?
    LOI THYMINE, thinking I’d been spelling thiamine wrong all these years along with everyone else.
    1. I did exactly the same ( on the paper copy). Thought I’d finished until I read your comment and checked – tarnation.
      Probably befuddled by Magdeburg in Germany (or is that Magdeberg???).

      Edited at 2020-10-14 01:16 pm (UTC)

  25. First came across faience when King Tutankhamun arrived in London. I think that was in the 70s. Read some of the blurb, and thought faience was a dodgy word to spell. King Tut was a loooong time before that date that our worthy blogger doubted.
    Thanks to setter & blogger
    Andyf
    1. He must have had a world tour – remember seeing the solid-gold death-mask in Melbourne about 1970s, and had the Tutankhamun sticker on the fridge up until it died about 10 years ago: “Egyptian Heavy-Metal Tour.”
  26. Lots of the same unknowns as many of us, constructed from wordplay. FAIENCE rang a faint bell. I also wondered where the A in THYMINE went! No problem with OBELI, they’re stuck in my brain. AGRIMONY is another crossword staple implanted in my noggin. Liked BLISTER,toyed with SIAN. NHO PLATE GLASS Uni. An enjoyable puzzle. 30:23. Thanks setter and Pip.

    Edited at 2020-10-14 03:00 pm (UTC)

  28. NE corner proved problematic until I saw ANCHORITE and the rest fitted nicely around it.

    NHO PLATE-GLASS universities but then I never did go to uni.

    Cheated with THYMINE – saw the THY bit but missed the MINE element so a technical DNF.

  29. Many unknowns/forgottens, same as almost everyone else, so slowish, but got there in the end.
  30. 9:27 with a bit of head-scratching over PLATE-GLASS, but figured it must go along with red brick. Three easyish ones in a row means it must be my turn to blog a stinker tonight.
  31. 19:22

    OBELI was the last in for me, the other more difficult bits of vocab seemed to be much more fairly clued.

  32. ….THYMINE, but the clue was a gimme once KEYHOLE was in. I parsed abode afterwards. I was too slow getting a foothold, and felt dissatisfied with my time.

    FOI HERB
    LOI ABODE
    COD RIBALD
    TIME 10:01

      1. I could not resist looking up Cyril, the Northern Irishman who married Val Parnell’s widow. He appeared in one episode of ‘Batman’ courtesy of William Dozier! He died at his home in Barbados in 1984. Luxury one can’t afford!
        1. One of my very favourite albums is “Luxury You Can Afford” by Joe Cocker. Our hero is barefoot in a suit on a luxurious shag-pile on the cover (alas my vinyl copy has long gone, and the CD is selling for silly money on eBay). Absolutely killer versions of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “Watching the River Flow”. C’est magnifique !
  34. Based on recent discussion of the Oxbrodge bias in the Times crossword, I got halfway through and thought “there’ll be letters to the editor today”, but that thought was at least somewhat allayed by the arrival of the PLATE GLASS institutions. Regarding that other regular perceived bias, the one against science, THYMINE is the sort of thing which crops up at quizzes and leaves me struggling; luckily in crosswords you aren’t required to show your working…
  35. I DNK FIFES, ANCHORITE, THYMINE or OBELI but they all went in from the definition and checkers. I knew FAIENCE from the French for earthenware but didn’t know it existed in English.
    SPEED, RECUMBENT and RIBALD all went in unparsed but I enjoyed working out INEDIBLE, MAGDALEN and KEYHOLE.
    COD goes to MARINER which was very satisfying to piece together.
    Thanks to the setter for the 35-minute workout and to Pip for the helpful blog.
  36. Just to clarify – my comments the other day weren’t anti-Oxbridge (or indeed any university) per se. I must admit, when I saw the various university-based clues today, I thought you’d have some fun.

    Couldn’t get 22a – I also put Riband, thinking it was some loose connection with blue, otherwise no problems.

    FOI Herb COD Anfield (I’m not a football fan so it didn’t bother me!) DNF in 45 minutes with one wrong letter

  37. As a teenager my near neighbour was a lovely SA girl called Brondwyn Dean so nearly biffed an error. Sadly (for me) she moved to Exeter, never to be heard from again. Was recently prescribed thiamine so the unrelated base was easily biffable.
  38. Mostly easy. Then very hard. I went for ARCHONITE which was my one wrong entry. But nho PLATE-GLASS in that sense, or AGRIMONY (which intersect to make it harder). So DNF.
  39. 18:57. A very enjoyable solve. FOI anchorite. Dnk the base at 23ac. Seed for children took me a while. I now know that I went to a red-brick university, not something I had previously been aware of.
  40. I thought I should clarify:
    Thymine is a base found in nucleus acids
    Thiamine is vitamin B1

    I am always rather saddened by the number of Oxford graduates lacking knowledge of the sciences who don’t realise that they are only half-educated.

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