Saturday Times 24090 (Dec 6th)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
24:57 – another tough Saturday, although looking through it again now I can’t remember where I got stuck. One thing is for sure though – there’s plenty of tricky wordplay to explain.

Across
1 HIAWATHA – HI + A(nswer) + W(ith) + A(rrogan)T + HA. Looks complicated but it’s just a basic charade that happens to have a lot of components. Went in straight away for me.
5 LIQUID – I inside L QUID. £50 is “two ponies”, as a pony is gambling slang for £25. An easy one for me as I used to be a betting shop manager.
10 BOSSA NOVA – BOSS + A NOVA.
11 LOSER – (c)LOSER – C being the symbol for the speed of light.
12 URGE – hidden in “savoUR GEnius’s”
13 BILLABONG – NO BALL reversed inside BIG. An Australian word with a cricket reference inside – one for our antipodean friends!
15 GOLDEN GOAL – OLDEN GO (= “former energy”) inside GAL. In football, in some competitions, if the scores are still level after extra time, the next team to score wins the match. This is called a “Golden Goal”.
17 STAT – first letters of Skater Trying Axel Turns.
19 NOAH – NO AH (i.e. when the dentist says “Say Ah!”)
20 BACKGAMMON – BACK + GAM + MON. Also watch out for GAM = school, which comes up occasionally.
22 AIR-BRIDGE – (brigadier)*
24 ANNA – ANNA(l)
26 NYLON – (cursor)Y + LO inside NN (“news” = more than one “new”)
27 ON THE LINE – double definition.
28 SASHAY – S.A.’S + HAY
29 PLAY-PENS – rhymes with “grey hens”. Put in reluctantly at the end once I had all the crossing letters. Not my favourite clue…
Down
1 HOBO – OB inside HO. Yes gives the definition, no gives the wordplay. Great clue, although easy enough to get.
2 AUSTRALIAN RULES – (ultra-sensual air)*. I’ve seen this on TV – not sure what “rules” is doing in the name. Rule 1 – if you’ve got the ball, kick it. Rule 2 – If you haven’t got the ball, start a fight with the nearest opponent. Sounds like a great game.
3 AWAKENED – A KEN inside A + WED. Took me a while to remember how this worked – A KEN = a field in the sense of a range of knowledge. “A pair” in the cryptic reading should be separated, as pair is doing duty as a verb, “to pair” = “to wed”.
4 H-BOMB – B + H(ard) around MOB, all reversed.
6 I’LL SAY – ILLS + A + Y
7 UNSPORTSMANLIKE – (PORT’S + MAN) inside UN’S LIKE.
8 DEROGATING – (to gear)* inside DING.
9 BALL PARK – BALL + PARK. Definition is just “rough”, although I’d dispute the (4,4). When used like this as an adjective it’s just (8), e.g. ballpark figure, not ball park figure.
14 AGONY AUNTS – AGO + N.Y. + AUNTS
16 GRANDSON – GRAND’S ON
18 SAVAGERY – AG inside SAVE + RY
21 GRANTA – GRANT + A. Granta is a literary magazine. I’ve never subscribed, but I did pick up a few back issues at an auction a few years ago so I knew of it.
23 EXTOL – sounds like “ex-toll”.
26 JESS – JE(we)SS. It’s a falconry term for a strap round a hawk’s leg.

10 comments on “Saturday Times 24090 (Dec 6th)”

  1. I’m not timing Saturday puzzles these days, but they’re mostly taking me around 25-30 minutes at a leisurely pace, which feels just right.

    I had a ‘hm’ against the splitting of ‘ballpark’, too, though there’s probably a dictionary entry somewhere that supports it. I also have a slight problem with clues like 19a, where there isn’t really a definition, though it’s clear enough.

    Another ‘Injun’ reference and another ‘Jewess’, both of which have raised some hackles in daily puzzles of late.

    Some great clues, though. 1d HOBO is wonderful, and I loved the 2 ponies in 5a. I personally liked 29a, where I thought the misdirection with ‘rhymes’ was clever. Each to their own, then.

    COD 1d HOBO

  2. An excellent puzzle which I completed in 49 minutes.
    We’ve had a good run of Saturday puzzles.
  3. I really can’t add anything to the comprehensive blog. A good puzzle – 3dn took forever to work out.

    Couldn’t agree more on Australian Rules! I’ve been in Australia 20 years but still find its appeal totally perplexing.

    As linxit says, the name has always seemed to belong in that group of expressions which humorously indicate the very lack of the thing referred to. They seem to be characteristically Australasian, such a “bushman’s handkerchief” and (in rugby) the “Maori sidestep”. I can’t think of any in UK or US English, but I’m sure they exist.

    (I expect flak from George for this.)

  4. kurihan – I haven’t really watched rugby since it went professional – I miss the days of the little wizards (Phil Bennett was my favourite ever player), but what is the Maori sidestep? I’m guessing it’s ploughing straight through the opponent, in the fashion of Lomu, the man who changed everything.
  5. Another excellent Saturday puzzle. I’ve just looked through it again and struggled to remember some of the constructions – a sign of great craftmanship by the setter. I have a lot of ticks by clues and particularly liked agony aunts.

    Chambers supports both ball park and ballpark and I can’t say that this caused me any problems, the word play is good but straightforward. The same goes for play pens where once you separate nursery and rhymes the clue is really quite easy. I did wonder on a minor point if 8D should say “making smaller” rather than “making small”

  6. Can’t remember a time but enjoyed BILLABONG, as extra = NO BALL made a change from the usual choices.
  8. I agree this was an excellent offering.

    19a Does have a literal – “A Host of animals”. Noah hosted animals on his ark and so was “A host of animals”. As for No ah at the dentist – I have been that patient.

    The use of “Indian” at 1a and “Jewess” at 25d I also agree should probably have been phased out by now.

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