Times Cryptic 29258

92 comments on “Times Cryptic 29258”

1. I spelt MYCOLOGIST with an ‘I’ instead of a ‘Y’ so failed to parse it. Figured it must be RAKISHNESS but it took a while to see that it could have the meaning required. SMOKE ALARM had me baffled for quite some time. Saw LANDSCAPER from the ‘Brown’ in the clue and ‘touches the earth’ which, aside from ‘lands’ I think can also be a description of his work, but didn’t know that meaning of spring/caper. Also confused by FLASH MOB as I thought it would be a noun. Thought SAID was very clever. Slightly thrown by ”all back’ in the clue for GORILLA as I assumed it would mean everything was reversed, but after writing out ‘G OR I’ saw what was going on. Loved LION CUB with the ‘born under Leo’. COD to VANDALIC, but many contenders today in a fun crossword.
   Thanks Jack and setter.

2. 24:10. RAKISHNESS took me an eternity. Didn’t know Brown but fortunately the wordplay helped. ‘Work’ in the clue for WORKSOP was infuriating if you didn’t know the town. (I didn’t.) There’s no law against it but it’s as close to a convention as these things come.

   I also couldn’t really see how OVER = ‘left’ so the crossing OVERHAUL took me a long time. For that matter, OVERHAUL isn’t my favorite definition for ‘examination’, though I’m sure it’s attested.

   1. There are 3 sweets left/over after handing round?
      I’ll give the motor an overhaul /examination?

      1. Maybe it’s an American English thing? Or a me thing? I say ‘left over’ but not just ‘over’. And for me, ‘overhaul’ has always meant a update or refurbishment, not a looking over. Anyway, I got there in the end!

         1. I agree. You’d examine a motor and then — if needed — overhaul it. Two different things.

            1. All the dictionaries used by Times crosswords carry the meaning to examine with a view to repair if necessary, so the setter is well covered on this one. I understand the word originated in the 17th century as a nautical term relating to the rigging on sailing ships and by the 18th century it was being used more generally for the meaning required here.

3. Around 55 minutes. I got most of it out quickly but was held up by some on the LHS such as IMPRESARIO and LOI ICEBERG.
   Thanks Jack
   How is “one receiving help from angels” a definition for IMPRESARIO . I thought an IMPRESARIO gave help.

   1. There is at least a cigarette paper’s width between an IMPRESARIO, who may indeed be a producer putting up money for a show as well as directing it or arranging for it to be produced… but is not necessarily, and an “angel,” who is strictly a financial backer.

   2. While an impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, they typically rely on a variety of funding sources e.g. investors/backers known as ‘angels’ who put up capital in exchange for a share of the profits.

4. Unlike our blogger, I read the first three words of the clue and wrote in mycologist as the obvious answer. I have also heard of both Worksop (home of Lee Westwood) and Capability Brown. It was rakishness that gave trouble, as I kept shifting the letters around until finally a word fell out.

   Time: 26:33

5. RAKISHNESS was my LOI, and the NHO WORKSOP was finally found just before that, though I could hardly believe that it would have WORK in the town’s name.

   1. Quite so about WORKSOP – and the NUT has been defunct since September 2017!

      1. True but try getting the letters in the new iterations into a crossword clue!

         1. Disinterested teachers lag behind without a bit of instruction (7) 😉

            1. A jumble of teachers take drug to stop perspiration (7)

               I can’t sort your clue so please deliver me from my ignorance 😊

               1. NEU+ TRA{i}L 🙂

                  1. 👍😊

                     Have you worked out my little effort?

                     1. Aha, I think I have! UNSWEAT? 🙂

                        1. Smarty pants 👏😉

   2. I so could hardly believe it that I tried MILLSOP, which stayed in until OVERVIEW made me reluctantly correct it.

6. Think it must be “meet” as a noun for FLASH MOB, which Collins has a noun but not as a verb (though it has the gerund FLASHMOBbing), and which Dictionary.com does have as a verb, though I never heard it like that and “meet” is perfectly natural as a noun. Also: It’s a noun in the surface!

   1. I agree that it’s a noun in the definition but it’s a verb in the surface.

      1. What is “gaudy” doing if it’s not modifying “meet”?

         1. A gaudy is ‘a celebratory festival or feast held at some schools and colleges’ (Collins). Particularly associated with Oxbridge – Balliol for instance!

            1. I went to one once, but have absolutely no memory of how I got home…

               1. I’ve been to a few – in the same place I believe – and that’s how they’ve all ended.

         2. Gaudy is FLASH, as per the blog?
            “Flasher than a rat with a gold tooth”, in the local idiom.

            1. In the wordplay, yes. But in the surface reading it’s a party.

               1. Indeed it is! Not knowing that meaning of gaudy I read the surface completely differently. No parties were held. A bit embarrassing, I read it exactly as Guy seems to have done, modifying “meet”, but misunderstood his post.

7. Failed on WORKSOP, put off by the double appearance of work and the fact that I’d never heard of the joint. So a DNF in 32. Was pleased to get LANDSCAPER and REASSEMBLE, took way too long to see VANDALIC and IMPRESARIO. Thank you Jack.

   From If Not For You:
   If not for you
   Winter would have no spring
   Couldn’t hear the robin sing
   I just wouldn’t have a CLUE
   Anyway it wouldn’t ring true
   If not for you

   1. Reminds me of Olivia Newton John pre-Grease. Maybe not what you want to hear!!

8. Did this in 21’51”, no real issues, but it was hard.

   Stuck for a while on ALLERGEN, was convinced that ‘larger’ must be involved.
   Liked FLASH MOB, thought it was one word.
   I had IMP- straight away but the angels took time to emerge – thought processes involving Jesus, Elijah and Doctor Who.
   And MYCOLOGIST was painfully extracted, and in the end, not having heard of the fungus, I thought it must something to do with the growing medium of mushrooms, or the mushroom theory of management (keep them in the dark and…).

   Enjoyable throughout, thanks jack and setter.

9. Completed slowly but got there with no cheats or aids.

   Found the anagrams RAKISHNESS and MYCOLOGIST very hard, switching round letters until something plausible popped out. Still don’t understand the IMPRESARIO definition, angel investors back all sorts of ventures, so why a play and not an AI startup?

   Tiresome SA=it again, at least I’m getting better at seeing it.

   COD HERETOFORE

   1. Though “angel” in this sense has traditionally referred to the theatrical stage or something easily likened to it, you could probably extend the sense and be comprehended. At this point, though, it seems that would imply an analogy between theatrical productions and whatever field you applied the term to instead.

      1. And anyway the clue says ‘one receiving help from angels’ not the one and only type of person receiving help from angels.

10. Nice puzzle. Would one of you kind people remind me of the VAN = ARMY link. It rings the faintest of bells. I was thinking of NAV(Y) turned up, but knew I was on the wrong track. Hey ho.

    Getting, and parsing, LANDSCAPER was one of those rare moments when I feel very smug and enlightened and get the urge to show everyone how clever I’ve been, before remembering that literally no-one in my immediate circle could care less.

    1. van – the foremost part of a group of people moving or preparing to move forwards, especially the foremost division of an advancing military force.

       1. Thanks!

    2. Here at TftT, we’d only be impressed if you knew his real first name.

11. Gave up on the hour. Failed on 4d and 20a intersection. Had Herebefore. Bill – Vanguard as opposed to Rearguard action I think. In the Van is at the front. Thanks all. Nice puzzle.

12. 36 minutes. COD to LANDSCAPER , the last penny to drop. The unknown MYCOLOLOGIST by then looked nailed on by crossers. I’ve no real idea what a FLASH MOB is and sincerely hope I never meet one. Have I missed something in Worksop being clued with Doncaster? OK, they are reasonably close but in very different counties. Thank you Jack and setter.

    1. It hadn’t occurred to me that they are in different counties so it’s useful being reminded but I’m not sure it indicates a problem with the clue. Worksop is across the border in Notts 15 miles from Doncaster, but sticking to South Yorkshire Rotherham and Barnsley might be marginally closer, but only by a mile or two at most.

13. 18:38
    Struggled with this, especially the SW corner where the double unches didn’t help. I too thought a couple of definitions rather loose and starting the first two answers with OVER looks clumsy. Probably grumpy because I have to fly home shortly, sorry setter!

14. Gave up on CAMERA after only 25 mins or so. Really didn’t enjoy this one for some reason. Got out of the wrong side of bed maybe.
    SMOKE ALARM was neat.

15. 29.59 so just beat the 30 minute cut off! A very pleasurable but taxing solve for me. Had most sorted in under 25 mins but almost threw in the towel before having a eureka moment.

    Inhumane first followed in swift order by iceberg( doh!) , reassemble, Vandalic, mycologist and omen.

    Only saved at the last by seeing the anagram for the former.

    Thx setter and blogger.

16. There was much to not enjoy.

    WORKSOP, home to the wonderfully named Wetherspoons pub “The Liquorice Gardens”, has a Sheffield postcode and is 18 miles away from Doncaster – and in a different county (Nottinghamshire).

    Starting two consecutive answers with “over” is something that even an amateur compiler like myself would consider less than satisfactory.

    LION CUB must have escaped from a QC.

    SA and “it” have been done to death. Has anybody actually used SA since 1960?

    I’m sure IMPORT=message can be justified somewhere, but to me the IMPORT is the meaning of the message, rather than the message itself.

    Teacher’s union should have been prefixed by “old” or “former”.

    IMPRESARIO was incredibly nebulous.

    Despite all of the above I eventually waded through it, but I cannot remember when I last had so many quibbles with regard to a single puzzle.

    FOI OVERVIEW
    LOI ALLERGEN
    COD ENCAMP
    TIME 13:14

    1. Couldn’t agree more on SA/it. I’ve giving up moaning!
       ‘Message’ can refer to the meaning of something: not necessarily a message. The ‘message’ of a film, for instance. ‘The medium is the message’ and all that.

17. 8:27. Steady solve, nice puzzle. I thought I knew what a MYCOLOGIST was, but I didn’t know this meaning of ‘smut’ which had me doubting myself. It had to be the answer though.
    The presence of ‘work’ in both clue and answer is a bit off-putting but they’re completely separate so why not I guess.

    1. Yes, one begins to wonder if the double usage was intended to mislead.

       1. It didn’t mislead me. I didn’t notice it. Such speed, you know…

18. After speeding through yesterday’s puzzle and failing at the final hurdle this was more of a slog but atleast it was a finish. I don’t think I biffed anything and only LESS, EVIDENTIAL and SMOKE ALARM went in on the first pass. Had to come back to this in a combined time approaching an hour.

    I found this one tough but it maybe that one of my eyes is swelled half shut with hayfever. Rather mockingly ALLERGEN was LOI.

    Agree about WORKSOP but suppose it makes a good surface.

    RAKISHNESS took an age despite the majority of letters already being in order.

    Didn’t understand the definition for IMPRESARIO (thanks blogger) gets an mmm from me now I understand.

    Liked LANDSCAPER someone I’ve learned about from previous Times Crosswords.

    SAID took longer than it should with me really wanting it to end with IT.

    Not at 100% today but I enjoyed that.

    Thanks blogger and setter

19. 29:30
    Just sort of waddled through this with no particular hold-ups.
    Thanks, jack.

20. Just under 15 minutes.

    – Wouldn’t instinctively think of an OVERHAUL as an examination, but I suppose there’s enough overlap
    – Biffed HERETOFORE once I had enough checkers
    – Pieced together the unknown MYCOLOGIST based on what sounded like the most plausible combination of remaining letters
    – Same MER as others over IMPORT=message, though I note the explanations above
    – Was confused by REASSEMBLE as I missed that both the chaos and the island were being reversed (so I thought there might be an island called Able)
    – Forgot about the financial backer meaning of angels, so IMPRESARIO went in solely on wordplay
    – Had to trust that spring=caper to get LANDSCAPER

    Thanks Jack and setter.

    FOI Overview
    LOI Mycologist
    COD Reassemble

21. 33:11. quite hard – had to really work at quite a few of the clues. even though there were a few write-ins, it felt as though it was on someone else’s wavelength – not mine! LOI was IMPRESARIO. I had it in my mind that angels could be backers of any investment, but now I see that it’s especially used in theatres. It turns out I didn’t know what an impresario was really either, and had him more down as a showman than the producer. great puzzle!

22. Like Busman, I had to « wade » through this, taking ages. No time as I also had several interruptions, but it wasn’t quick. The SW corner really held me up until I finally got INHUMANE and the rest ICEBERG, HERETOFORE, MYCOLOGIST (NHO) fell into place.
    A tough one.

    Thanks Jack and setter.

23. 15:14

    If you are travelling south from WORKSOP you may well see directions to NEWARK. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who suffers from the compulsive reflex to anagram NEWARK whenever I see it written on a road sign.

    1. Indeed you are not alone in compulsively making anagrams from place names, and Newark has often appealed to me on that basis. My local football club have Latin charm….

       1. Inter Milan!
          … no, wait… AC Milan (rht!)

24. About 30′ and a little bit annoyed by some of the same quibbles as mentioned above. Not nearly as enjoyable as yesterday’s IMO. Didn’t quite see the definition of RAKISHNESS but the anagram was easily seen (albeit I was put off given it had the same “ness” ending). I believe the grounds in our golf club still have some remnants of Capability Brown’s work. Thanks Jackkt and setter.

25. 22.39, not at my impressive best. I think the repeated OVERs in the first two clues didn’t help, as I tried to complete the second otherwise. Work in WORKSOP went by subliminally, I think. RAKISHNESS and HERETOFORE were my most obdurate hold-ups, and “Capability” took a while to make himself known. MYCOLOGIST, while I didn’t really associate it with smut, was easy enough once I saw the -OLOGIST was available (you’ve got an ology, you’re a scientist!). There wasn’t much left to arrange.
    VANDALIC looks made-up. OK, we’ve got Gothic, but surely not Visigothic?
    And just to be really picky, how does a LION CUB get to be born under Leo? Surely only Lea is present at the time?

    1. I had the same thoughts about LION CUB when preparing the blog but found this when I researched it and decided not to mention it unless someone raised a query:

       While “Leo” as a given name is traditionally masculine and means “lion” in Latin, it’s generally associated with the male lion due to its strong, regal connotations and the male lion’s iconic mane. However, the word “lion” itself (from which “Leo” is derived) is often used to refer to the species as a whole, encompassing both male and female lions. So, in that sense, if someone were to use “Leo” informally to refer to a lion in general, it wouldn’t be technically incorrect in terms of the animal itself.

    2. There are Wikipedia entries for Visigothic Kingdom and Visigothic Art and Architecture among others. My first thought for “under Leo” was that the son’s name would appear beneath the father’s in a genealogical chart.

26. 32 mins and nothing terribly challenging, though VANDALIC was new to me as the adjective and I’d NHO of ‘angels’ as financial backers, so the parsing of IMPRESARIO defeated me. Thought of ‘Capability’ Brown immediately, so LANDSCAPER was easy – and a lovely clue.

27. I didn’t know MYCOLOGIST but once I’d identified the anagrist and knew the checking letters it had to be. I also didn’t know where WORKSOP was in relation to Doncaster but the cryptic made it easy to get. For me an enjoyable puzzle of about average difficulty.

28. Good Xword, not overly taxing but with some clever clues.
    23a Mycologist, DNK smut=fungus, so entered with a shrug. Had thought it would be scatologist but that’s too long.
    1d Vandalic, NHO but the wordplay was clear.
    18d Universe, for some reason I had a mental blank here. LOI.
    Thanks to jackkt and setter.

29. 21:47

    No issues with the consecutive answers beginning OVER-, nor with the town clued with the same word but for a different part of the answer, though clearly it does help if you have heard of the place. RAKISHNESS fell into place once the final two checkers were in place – immediate thought was -NESS leaving fewer letters to play with. PDM for MYCOLOGIST – oh, that sort of smut – trickier were LANDSCAPER and ALLERGEN – needed GORILLA to put me on the right track with the first letter of the latter.

    Thanks Jack and setter

30. 22 – knew the scientist but not the name of the fungus disease, which made me doubt the stringency of the clue – fortunately without causing any delay.

31. All straightforward enough, but nicely chewy. I had no objection to the WORKSOP clue. But I did to the IMPRESARIO one. An impresario isn’t necessarily helped by an angel: sometimes yes, but not always. So there should have been a question mark at the end of the clue.

32. 30 minutes. What everyone else has said about Mycologist & Vandalic.
    I knew Caper = spring from my hobby (Morris dancing)! Capers can be plain, single, double, half, furrie, split – there’s probably more. At my age, I don’t spring as much as I used to, unfortunately.

33. Just one quibble – examination and overhaul very different. Took a while to see over = left, slight MER at feminine LEO, didn’t notice OVER and WORKS repeating. For some reason I’ve heard of Worksop… F1 team based there? No, according to google. Don’t know where Doncaster is (outer suburb of Melbourne, Victoria) but do know there’s a racetrack there, courtesy of these puzzles. Similarly know of Brown, Capability, so seeing Brown with the capital in the clue the answer was a write-in. Not too bad, but not the best puzzle ever. Knew mycologist as a thing, and after a few seconds said Mushrooms! Heard of SMUT, but didn’t remember it.

34. Not close to finishing this one. Only about a third of clues (but some hard ones) completed.
    Noted some of the polite but definite MERs by others earlier.
    Actually had LION CUB 17ac but still can’t understand how that works.
    Bit hard expecting solver to choose ELBA among all islands and other elements to make 3d?
    DNK ‘angels’ were theatre backers.
    Got 15d LANDSCAPER from capability Brown but could not parse ‘spring’ = ‘caper’.
    26ac ‘NUTSHELL’ very difficult unless one happened to know the old union.
    Will not go on. Would prefer to say good things.
    Number 29228 solved recently from the Australian newspaper, also blogged incidentally by Jackkt, had at least four (4) remarkably clever and amusing clues and was still reasonably challenging IMHO.
    Will endeavour to participate in comments if anyone wishes, but may be stopped by time differences in due course.

    1. ELBA is worth remembering as an island, as it is often employed due to its reversal being a common suffix.

       We have a reasonable Antipodean contingent on here, so you’re not alone!

       1. There’s a famous palindrome referencing Napoleon in exile: Able was I ere I saw Elba.

       2. A kind voice from the void !

    2. I’m not sure the clue is much to wrote home about, but the general idea is that the little ‘un pops out from under his mum, when she gives birth, as lions often do, standing up.

35. I didn’t write LION CUB in straightaway because I thought it had to be a trick. AND although I didn’t know MYCOLOGIST I was strangely confident about it being right.
    FOI OVERVIEW
    LOI ALLERGEN
    COD HERETOFORE

36. I had what seems to have been the same thought as everyone else about OVERHAUL but the first definition of the verb in Collins is ‘to examine carefully for faults, necessary repairs, etc’, with a second and separate definition ‘to make repairs or adjustments to (a car, machine, etc’. To be fair the noun definition has both – ‘a thorough examination and repair’ – but in ODE the repairs are also optional: ‘a thorough examination of machinery or a system, with repairs or changes made if necessary’.
    All in all I think the dictionaries give the setter enough cover on this one.

37. DNF for me, though getting a second wind after UNIVERSE suddenly appeared to me was nice. COD for MYCOLOGIST, after getting it from the wordplay and M,C,I and T and then thinking “could that be a word?”

38. 24.44

    Also struggled a bit particularly with those anagrams. Liked SMOKE ALARM.

    Thanks Jackkt/Setter

39. A fairly steady solve with OVERVIEW FOI and RAKISHNESS an easy POI, thanks to the crossers. CAMERA caused a hiatus at the end, even with the assumed RA. No real issues, and WORKS OP was generously clued, since I couldn’t have told you the nearest place to it. I’m afraid I don’t even know what the current Teachers’ Union is known as, and I didn’t know that meaning of smut, though the answer was obvious.

40. A fair challenge, all done in 30 minutes while waiting for an electrician to fit a new meter. No major issues, though I was a bit surprised at the WORKSOP clue and the outdated NUT.
    FOI – OVERVIEW
    LOI – LANDSCAPER
    COD – ICEBERG – because I was rooting around for every conceivable salad vegetable before the eventual PDM.
    Thanks to jackkt and other contributors.

41. 23 minutes – found it easier than yesterday’s. Like others, I wasn’t familiar with this definition of “smut”, but knew the word MYCOLOGIST, in connection with mushrooms etc.

    Assumed that “meet” in 8dn was serving as a noun, since FLASH MOB is surely not a verb.

    I think of the NUT as a teachers’ rather than a teacher’s union, but it could, of course, also be the union to which an individual teacher – among others – belonged.

42. Just scraped in under target at 44.31, but about five minutes of that was spent on my LOI HERETOFORE. I almost gave up before inspiration finally kicked in. I know my UK geography pretty well, and that WORKSOP was a viable answer even though it is North Notts and Doncaster is South Yorks. I did hesitate a little though as WORK appears as part of the clue, which makes it a less than satisfactory clue in my opinion. MYCOLOGIST was assembled from the anagrist without me knowing what precisely one is a specialist in.

43. Struggled with FLASH MOB at the end. It fitted, but I have to confess I had no idea what a FLASH MOB is!

44. 21 mins, with a MER at OVERHAUL while solving but I see from this blog that the meaning is perfectly fair. I’m a keen forager, so MYCOLOGIST was easy given the anagram, although I’d NHO smut (as a fungus), oddly enough. HERETOFORE gets my COD.
    Thanks setter and Jack

45. Didn’t think BORN UNDER LEO was a great clue. LEO and LION are too closely related. Odd puzzle which I sort of enjoyed, but not wholly. 20’02”

46. 26:45, no real problems, LOI NUTSHELL
    I see I’m about average time today
    Thanks setter and blogger

47. LOI SAID convinced it needed Hip or In and couldn’t see it annoyingly
    33‘ – felt like moderate difficulty
    COD UNIVERSE maybe obvious but neat
    Agree with comments about Overhaul & Import definitions being a bit iffy but still enjoyed puzzle

48. Came to the puzzle late today as I completed the last leg of my trip to The George (an excellent gathering!) and drove home to Middlesbrough from Northampton. Had 1 or 2 clues left to do when Just Eat arrived with my tea, and I forgot to pause the puzzle, so my 24:09 is probably a couple of minutes longer than I actually took. The observant among you will deduce that I had my tea before commenting, and then didn’t get around to it until now! From OVERVIEW to MYCOLOGIST in something under 24:09. Didn’t have the energy to mull over the clues which seem to have provoked some discussion, so put in what looked like the required answer and moved on. Thanks setter and Jack.

49. Not sure why an intervening county boundary is relevant in how far Doncaster is from Worksop but then as I grew up near the former and my mother was born near the latter it wasn’t a difficult clue for me (didn’t even notice the work repeated).

50. Mycologists have made the news recently, giving evidence in a long murder trial, so that was a write in. Worksop biffed, as I,too, had doubts about the o from a doubled ‘over’.
    Had a blind spot at 10 across so DNF, thanks for the explanation.
    In all, an enjoyable workout.

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