Times Cryptic Number 26564

55 comments on “Times Cryptic Number 26564”

1. 25ac CRI DE COUER a heartfelt plea that Hillary trumps Donald.

   The pound will be weaker yet but the world will be happier.

   40 minutes where the Cornish Quarter was a little resistant.

   LOI the tortuous 26ac TRACK EVENT

   FOI 11ac NO BALL (crickit!) COD 21ac HEATHROW

   WOD CLINTON

2. I found this one pretty hard, taking a long time to get CATECHISED, CATALPA, CRI DE COEUR (unknown) and CORACLE. The ones not starting with C weren’t such a problem!

   As for 5dn, I somehow missed the novel, the four films, the three TV series and the musical, but the answer seemed quite likely.

   Also had TRACK for a long time before I got EVENT at 26ac.

   Good challenge, leaving me 5 under for the week. Thanks setter and Jack.

   Edited at 2016-11-08 01:02 am (UTC)

3. Had a few problems with this; perhaps because of an inflamed trigeminal nerve. (Not recommended if you can’t take severe pain.)

   A number of nice resonances for me: the ship that famously stole the Fenians from Fremantle Gaol (4dn), leading to an equally famous folk song; the “pet” name of the last football team I played for (27ac) — though how they got YAKS from “European Travellers” I know not; and a hint of a favourite novel, Iain Sinclair’s Downriver, recommended for postcard collectors, cricket fans and those curious about the lesser-known parts of London.

4. A 15 performance from me. I had a snooze as well, but even so took an hour and a bit. I thought this was harder than the usual Tuesday, and I took a while to get TRACK EVENT, CATECHISED and DOWNSTREAM. My favourites were CORACLE and OTOSCOPE.

   Thanks to setter and blogger.

5. A bit of a Donald Trump hair day for me with a cheat on the ear thingummy (couldn’t see O to! for the life of me) and a disaster in the SW, where I biffed deathrow and then was really pleased with myself for dredging up dalit (even if they don’t really fit the definition and have no discernible wordplay whatsoever). And not even a fast time, to boot.

   Talking of carrots, may I wish all our American solvers the very best as they choose the next leader of the free world. Will you land us with a, um, honest, principled and compassionate leader who will finally break through the glass ceiling, or will you do the decent thing and give us all someone who will entertain us enormously for the next four years?

   Edited at 2016-11-08 02:28 am (UTC)

   1. This old quote seems to sum up the feelings of a lot of Americans:

      “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”

6. Started off at a rate that would have given me a pb if I hadn’t petered out with 4 or 5 to go. OTOSCOPE took a while, because I was thinking ‘canal’; nice clue. Biffed 2d and 25ac (from ‘courier’). Like Galspray, I had TRACK long before the EVENT; another nice clue. I find nothing whatever entertaining about that obscenity, ulaca, nor should anyone anywhere in the world be amused. And Galspray’s quote is only half accurate.

   Edited at 2016-11-08 02:55 am (UTC)

   1. Agreed Kevin, I wasn’t expressing my own assessment of the alternatives.
      But all the reporting we’re getting is this “Devil or the deep blue sea” scenario.
      1. Of course, that should really be the devil or the deep orange sea.
         1. Or else … if you have two boring pests, choose the lesser of two weevils?
            1. I remember Carter being dubbed the evil of two lessers before the ’80 election.
7. I speak, by the way, not with any sense of futility, but with a panicky conviction of the absolute meaninglessness of existence which could easily be misinterpreted as pessimism.
8. DNF and I am looking for someone or something to blame. Failing dismally at that, too, so will settle on non-existent jet lag.
   Good crossword in retrospect. Thanks setter and blogger.
9. On message today home in 20.I am always consoled by Winston’s old chestnut.You can always rely on Americans to do the right thing…once they’ve tried eveything else.Spoilt for choice this time.
10. Does this crossword know more than the rest of us? The Woman in White is crossed by the word HINES, which the Urban Dictionary claims means either “To be a ‘champion’; lead, grow, build” or “To be redneck, English & Spanish speaking, and laidback all at the same time. A Hines loves what he does and is a man of his word.” or again “A hine is a collection of your own hair over a lifetime”. If it’s intended to be oracular, then as is the case with the best oracles, I have no idea what it portends. Spooky, eh?
    More seriously (or not, can’t tell) 15.49 for this which makes it relatively easy in my book, about 2 under par. CATALPA one of those words which, if you meet it in the street, you’d struggle to recognise, and walk on thinking it’s something Lenny Henry says.
    1. I had a similar thought, noting there was a Nina, or rather an Edna, in the northwest and wondering if one Edna Hines of Smallsville, North Carolina will, after an unexceptional lunch at the Four Spoons diner, cast the vote that decides the election and begins the end of days. “But I didn’t think he’d actually win,” she said …
       1. A quick Google tells me the sad story of Edena Hines, granddaughter to Morgan Freeman, who was murdered last year. Stuff happens.
          1. Oh, good grief. Now I feel awful. I think I’ll get out of the oracle business.
11. A DNF for me, with two left at my hour bell. I’m not quite sure how I didn’t see DOWNSTREAM, and the fact that NONPAREIL was unknown to me isn’t really an excuse, given that so were CATECHISED and CATALPA, and I got both of those…

    Perhaps if I can speed up on the easier clues, I’ll have a little longer to stare at the tricky ones…

12. 16:21 … fun and satisfying, one of those heavily contingent crosswords with a lot of clues that resisted solving at first glance but fell readily into place once a letter or two had appeared. And that’s my favourite sort of puzzle.

    Last in TRACK EVENT.

    Thanks jackkt and the setter.

13. Pretty tough today. I thought I was going to have to put it down and come back to it but I managed to persevere. NONPAREIL was tricky with no conventional anagrind. ‘Lighter in canal’ for OTOSCOPE was a well hidden definition.

    I’m with horryd for my COD, HEATHROW. Though I’ve not used it much myself, I’m sure for some people there’s an irony in its closeness to Death Row.

    1. The similarity had never occurred to me before!
       but then I have been to HEATHROW far more often than the other place.
       1. Up until now…
          1. Oooo-la-la-ca!

             I note that today that HK is more resonable on this issue than hereabouts.

14. Excellent puzzle that required determined concentration.

    I feel for my old US colleagues today as they wrestle with a huge voting conundrum. We used to debate the pros and cons of a hereditary powerless monarch as against an elected president. I wonder if their views have now changed a little in the light of recent events.

15. I knew yesterday’s PB was a blip. I was on the RACK today with no-one to hear my CRI-DE-COEUR. Eventually got there in 50 minutes, overstepping the front line by checking CATALPA and OTOSCOPE to make sure I wasn’t going up what my Dad used to call a squeezy bally entry. The circumflex in French denotes that once an ‘s’ followed, doesn’t it? Says it all for compôte. COD CORACLE, HEATHROW and CATECHISED, the last of which is becoming a regular feature. Continuing the cricket theme, I think that the snickometer would not see a swerve and DEFLECTION as the same thing.
16. I found this quite enjoyable with clues that needed careful reading to tease out the definition. My FOI was ETON, which I thought set the tone for the rest of the puzzle. A bit quirky. 42 minutes in all, finishing with the unknown CATALPA. The NE held me up the most. Thanks setter and Jack.
17. THE WOMAN IN WHITE is a brilliant book, and reminds us that once upon a time, to establish one’s identity, you had to have people affirm who you are. Agree with boltonwanderer re DEFLECTION, I hope DRS can tell the difference. Hopefully I’ll wake up tomorrow and the world won’t be any worse off, I’m more than a bit scared. 28′, thanks jack and setter.
18. CATALPA one of those words which definitely doesn’t meet my definition of standard general knowledge i.e. Things I Happen to Know. However, the setter might point out that if I arrived at this unknown word from the wordplay, then what’s my problem? Quite right too. Besides, I went down enough blind alleys of my own devising – wondering for ages how COLD could be made to mean “lump”, and attempting to come up with a convincing way of using the phrase PASS THE MARK. All in all, very enjoyable despite my ignorance.
    1. The setter might also point out that you managed to get it from wordplay last time, too (26119). 😉
       1. I wish I could remember which Great Man said that the joy of a bad memory is that it allows one to enjoy things for the first time over and over again. Obviously I could Google it, but as I have proved once more today, where’s the fun in that?*

          Even more shamingly, turning to Google reveals that on that occasion (26119), I’d failed to remember saying EXACTLY THE SAME THING about EXACTLY THE SAME WORD in puzzle 23914…

          Anyway, I look forward to resuming this thread in a couple of years.

          *I’ll save anyone else the trouble, and reveal it was Nietzsche, always the go-to man for a pithy and inspirational quote, especially if you have an interest in abysses and the futility of life.

          1. Sorry!
             1. Of course, if I felt impugned by this slight on my receding vocabulary, I might threaten you by saying in a menacing fashion that I’ll remember this incident, but it’s pretty obvious there’s no chance I’d succeed in doing so 🙂
19. Sneaked in under the 8 minute mark here so no real problems. My biggest stumbling block was writing in DEFLECTING for 17ac and then wrestling with 19ac, which clearly had to be GO SH_E_ until the light finally dawned.
20. Very pleased to make this second completion of the week as I completed in bits and pieces. I hoped the setter would recognise the world-changing event about to happen tomorrow (yes, the first test match between India and England). But then maybe they did with no ball, no sweat, dodge, pass the buck, clod (playing a sweep shot to a spinner) and yaks (presumably slang word for sledging). Thanks blogger
    Alan
21. 38.43. Found this challenging and satisfying. The Collins novel maybe signals the past and future occupant of said house. It seems to be taken for granted she’s pretty well as much a disaster as the utter and complete parody of a statesman she’s up against. I don’t see it – she could well be an exceptionally able president. Certainly no clod – maybe no nonpareil either – yet I wonder.

    Edited at 2016-11-08 01:52 pm (UTC)

    1. tricky and entertaining today, 35 minutes, catalpa only from wordplay, the rest teased out eventually. Liked OTOSCOPE best. Sold all my gold ETFs yesterday so will be poorer and very sad if the billionaire “man of the people” wins and gold price zooms up. What a fiasco.
22. A good meaty puzzle. I stuggled longest with ‘otoscope’ and the ‘event element of 26a, but it was all completely fair and enjoyable.
23. In my experience you don’t actually get a choice of terminal….

    I went to vote at dawn and came back because the line stretched from York to First Avenue and around the block. When I returned at 11a.m. it was just the same but I have now voted. I haven’t seen a turnout this big, even for Obama’s first election, and our votes make no difference to the electoral college (in this bluest of blue States) although they will swell the overall count. But the enthusiasm and determination were infectious. Now what do we do about the rest of the country. My younger daughter is going to watch the returns at the Wellesley Club, my husband at the Yale Club. I’ll be in my jammies hoping for an early night. My older daughter took the userpic above this morning in her Brooklyn neighbourhood.

    Oh dear, it doesn’t show up in the pic but it’s the street signs at the intersection of President and Clinton Streets in Carroll Gardens.

    Edited at 2016-11-08 05:32 pm (UTC)

    1. Good for you, Olivia. Invariant
    2. >Heathrow
       >In my experience you don’t actually get a choice of terminal…

       You do if you’re travelling on the Piccadilly Line.

24. 16 mins. I agree that there was some excellent cluing in this puzzle, particularly the “lighter in canal” definition for 12ac. CORACLE was my LOI after TRACK EVENT. Fingers crossed for the election.
25. 14m. Sotira sums up my feelings about this puzzle perfectly.
    As for the election, David Schneider has summed up the ‘conundrum’ best: ‘Poor America. Such a tough choice: a lying, misogynist, racist, dangerous, unpredictable narcissist, or a woman who used the wrong email.’

    Edited at 2016-11-08 05:49 pm (UTC)

    1. I think you have summed up the attitude that makes “Flyover Country” vote for Trump.
       1. You may well be right. A vote for Trump can’t really be a vote for something, can it? This tends to be the way with fascists.
26. A poor effort from me today, taking 48 minutes and getting OTOSCOPE and CATALPA wrong. (Oroscope and Catalma, since you ask.)
27. Hello all. The puzzle took 20 minutes, ending with DEFLECTION, which took me a while to see, as I don’t think ‘swerve’ is the closest approximation of it, or even that close a relation. The CATALPA is a pretty common tree over here, growing large leaves and very large showy flowers in June or July, so it didn’t present any problem. Unlike the US election perhaps. But I don’t wish to be political here, so I’ll hold my tongue, other than to say that the election of Trump appears very unlikely, whatever your opinion. So if you’re worried, rest easy. At least I think so. Regards to all.
    1. That’s what we said about Brexit…..
    2. Poor Kevin!
       .. but life will go on, as it has here after Brexit
28. 14:57 for me, some way off the setter’s wavelength.

    There were some very fine clues today, but the puzzle as a whole was marred by some doubtful definitions: I don’t regard an (eye)LASH as part of the eye in 24ac; surely you “paddle” a coracle rather than “row” it in 18dn; and I’m not convinced that LET ON means the same as “admit” in 1ac.

    Edited at 2016-11-08 11:31 pm (UTC)

29. I’d have to agree with all of Tony’s quibbles. In particular, I would like the see the Oxford and Cambridge race run with coracles – it would certainly restore much of the entertainment value that seems to have been lost to professionalism in recent years. If the crews could wear oversize foam-rubber costumes, à la “It’s a Knockout”, so much the better.

    But, quibbles aside, I got through this one in some 54 minutes – a respectable 3.6 Severs for what I thought was a chewy one. CATALPA was my FOI, and was then immediately deleted because I realized that it was a completely made-up word. Only when I had all the checkers did I concede that somebody might actually have made up a plant to go with it.

    Looking back, I can’t really see why I found this one so difficult since, apart from CATALPA, there was nothing especially tricky or obscure. No doubt it requires special skill on the part of the setter (to whom thanks, along with our blogger) to create an easy puzzle which is difficult to solve.

    As I write, Trump appears to be romping home. Time, I think, to buy shares in the manufacturers of firearms, bricks and barbed wire. Still, “Trump for the Whitehouse!” is a phrase to raise a smile amongst the more vulgar Brits, including myself.

30. substituted letter is indicated by ‘here’
    1. No, ‘here’ is part of the definition.
       1. No, it’s ‘choice here’ that gives the H…maybe
          1. So what do you consider the definition to be? And how exactly does “choice here” indicate “h”?

             I believe Jack has the parsing spot-on in his blog.

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