Saturday Times 24185 (28th March)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 10:46, and should really have been sub 10 minutes. I remember having three or four unconnected clues left at the end which should have gone in right away but didn’t. 25D SHOT was one of them. As predicted last week, after two easy ones today’s was a real stinker but a thoroughly enjoyable 29-minute battle for me.

Across
1 REPUBLICAN – PUBLIC replacing A,G(rand) in REAGAN. Great surface too, as the Republicans are known as the Grand Old Party.
6 ISIS – (cr)ISIS. The river Thames is known as the Isis when it goes through Oxford.
9 OROTUND – O(ld) + ROT + UND (and in German).
10 BACKLOG – BACK + LOG.
12 APOLOGETIC – A + (Marco) POLO + G(ood) + CITE reversed. Nicely built with a smooth surface.
13 MAR – MAR(k), and a statement of fact in the surface reading. Not often you have such a good clue for a three-letter word.
15 FORMAT – FOR (representing) + MAT(thew).
16 CONTESSA – CON + ASSET reversed.
18 TINTAGEL – TINT A GEL.
20 SINBAD – a variation on an old chestnut.
23 EAT – alternate letters of rEpAsT, semi &lit.
24 SUBMISSION – SUB MISSION.
26 AMBIENT – AM + (I in BENT)
27 SPINACH – A + CH after SPIN
28 LIED – E inside LID.
29 EMBANKMENT – BANK MEN inside (met)*.

Down
1 ROOK – hidden in CarisbROOKe.
2 PROSPER – PROS + P.E. + R
3 BOUILLABAISSE – (Be bilious alas)*
4 INDIGO – I + N(itrogen) + DIG + O (round).
5 AMBITION – (l)AMB(s) (b)IT(e) (l)ION(s). Excellent clue – how did the setter come up with such an original treatment?
7 SALAMIS – SAL(t) + AMIS(s). A famous sea battle between the ancient Greeks and Persians.
8 SUGAR CANDY – (saucy, grand)*
11 COCKTAIL STICK – COCKTAILS (sidecars, say) + TICK (mark). Something you might put through a piece of Cheshire cheese.
14 OFF THE WALL – double definition.
17 VERBATIM – B inside VERA, + TIM.
19 NOTABLE – NO TABLE, I assume from the dummy in bridge, but there may be an alternative explanation I’ve missed.
21 BROCADE – (be a cord)*
22 MIASMA – MIA’S MA
25 SHOT – S(on) + HOT.

25 comments on “Saturday Times 24185 (28th March)”

  1. A nice Saturday puzzle – not so hard (24mins) with a bit of a food theme (particularly if you include 7dn!) and plenty of S’s.

    Some original clueing – I liked 1ac in particular – but too many of the definitions were immediately gettable.

    I had the same take on 19dn, although it feels a bit awkward.

  2. 30 minutes for this one which is on the good side for me. I didn’t know the battle at 7 but worked it out from the rather awkward wordplay.

    Speaking of today’s puzzle is there a mistake in the on-line clue to 17D? No discussion of the answer here, of course.

    1. It seems to be the same as the printed version, and it looks OK to me.

      The battle at 7 always caused mirth at school, conjuring visions of men fighting with sausages.

    2. Jack, I think 17D today is a bit odd and can see what you mean about a possible misprint. It was my last in based upon the definition and two pieces of the wordplay but not the third.
  3. This was a gentle stroll with only the Greek battle site giving me any problem. But, since there is a Salamis Kebab House near where I live and there is often a bit of aggro around it on a Saturday night, I plumped for that.
  4. Agreed, very easy. AMBITION is excellent.

    I don’t quite see NOTABLE. In bridge the dummy is the hand laid out ON the table or the (virtual) player sitting in that position. Can’t see how that ties in to NO-TABLE. Could it be two meanings, the second being an important person and thus(?) not a dummy? Or is it a play on NOT-ABLE = dummy? It appears to be very weak unless we’re all missing something clever.

    1. The date above is right, the number is wrong. You will have to solve today’s crossword all on your own 🙂
  6. For me, it was a toss-up between MARK(k) and MAR(l). I finally settled for MARL = soil, since it seems more direct.
  7. Dummy being the tabled hand, a person who is never the dummy is a ‘no table player’ – notable meaning important.

    At least, that’s how I read it.

  8. Nearly got a perfect complete again, but had to resort to electronic aids for tintagel and brocade.

    I thought (as a newbie) that 21a was a little unfair. I guessed I was looking for a type of fabric and that there was probably an anagram due to ‘woven’. However I thought ‘to’ would be in the anagram fodder, but couldnt make anything from it so gave up. Once I saw it was ‘be a cord’ , I was a bit miffed. I thought ‘woven to’ doesnt really feel right as an anagram indicator (unless its the word prior to woven) and is a tad misleading. But hey im probably wrong and showing my greenness.

    1. Don’t be ashamed of greenishness – we were all newbies once.

      I would say 21a is sneaky rather than outright unfair. It seems common practice to include, in anagram clues, some words that could be, but aren’t, the ones in the anagram.

      1. I think “Anonymous” makes a very fair point. I’ve been doing these puzzles for years and this clue grated with me at the time. As far as I can see “TO” is unfairly superfluous. The trouble with “BE” in anagram fodder of course is that it often needs to be preceded by “TO” or “CAN” etc in order to read properly. Unless that word is also part of the anagram, or can be comfortably accommodated in the surface, then IMO it shouldn’t be there and another idea should be tried.
        1. I don’t see it as superfluous: “definition woven anagram” wouldn’t make sense to me. “Definition woven from/to anagram” would.

          We’ll have to consult the Biddlecombe Authorities.

          1. 1st anonymous here again, Chris in oxford. btw.
            ‘woven from’ I whole heartedly agree with, heysey. I wouldnt have complained about that as an anagram indicator. Though obviously in this case it wouldnt have scanned with the fodder.
            ‘woven to’ is really pushing it for me and tripped me up as an amateur, I guess the old hands can see past these things.
  9. I don’t know if anyone will read this, since it is somewhat late.
    The ‘answer’ and the ‘fodder’ are anagrams of each other. When one thinks about it, the setter starts with the ‘answer’ and anagrams it TO a suitable clue ‘fodder;. In “21d. Raised fabric which might have been woven to be a cord (7)”, the setter is telling us that ‘brocade’ might have been (and actually was) anagrammed (woven) TO ‘be a cord’. ‘Answer’ and ‘fodder’ may change roles.
    1. Wow, I would never have seen that, but i guess that makes me feel a little better about it.

      thanks

    2. Wow, I would never have seen that, but i guess that makes me feel a little better about it.

      thanks

      chris

  10. DNK OROTUND at 9a but the clue was kind. Oxford’s current at 6a has a sinister sister when capitalised.
    No problem for me with the weaving at 21d.

    The soup at 3d was my first one in. I would never have been able to spell it correctly without the anagram.

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