Saturday Times 24885 (25th June)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solved on the train to Birmingham for the Sloggers & Betters do, didn’t time it but finished in plenty of time so I’d guess around 15 minutes. S&B pictures have been posted here and here, spot the bald fat guy in the stripy T-shirt!

Across
1 PRIMA FACIE – ACI(d) (endlessly sour) inside (fair poem)* without the o (dismissing love).
7 REST – double definition.
9 LANDFILL – L AND F (both ends of loaf) + ILL (badly).
10 ITALIC – I(sland) + TALC (soft mineral) around I (one).
11 BORDER – B(lack) + ORDER (book).
13 EVENSONG – EG (for example) around VEN(i)SON (meat, I rejected).
14 YELLOWHAMMER – (merely)* around LOW (soft) + HAM (meat).
17 CARTE BLANCHE – B(ishop) inside CARTEL (association) + N (knight, chess notation) inside ACHE (desire). This also has a different cruciverbal meaning, of which today’s Listener puzzle is an example.
20 CASANOVA – S(ociety) + A NO, all inside CAVA (wine).
21 CHEAPO – HEAP (bank) inside CO (business).
22 SPRING – CALL (ring) behind S.P. (starting price).
23 IMPROPER – IMP (rascal) + ROPE (line) + R(ight).
25 STUN – TUN (barrel) next to S(econd).
26 REGENERATE – REGEN(t) (ruler mostly) + E(nglish) + RATE (class).

Down
2 REASONED – READ (study) around S(mall) + ONE (single).
3 MAD – DAM (barrier) reversed.
4 FLIER – FR (father) around LIE (whopper).
5 CALDERA – CA (about) around ALDER (tree).
6 EPIDERMAL – EP (disc) + RM (room) inside IDEAL (example).
7 REASSURANCE – (care as nurse)*
8 SKINNY – SKY (air) around INN (watering hole).
12 DELECTATION – (enticed a lot)*
15 WARMONGER – WARM (fervent) + (l)ONGER (extensive without the opening letter).
16 SHIPMENT – HIP (fruit) + M(ass), inside SENT (transported).
18 ERASING – SING (pipe) after ERA (long period).
19 CARPET – CAR (vehicle) + PET (favourite).
21 CAPON – CAP (better) + ON (functioning).
24 OAR – hidden in “no-go area”.

10 comments on “Saturday Times 24885 (25th June)”

  1. Liked the crossword a lot. And 20ac was particularly good for its lift-and-separate qualities (wine | lover).

    Not sure about the photos but. It would seem that crossword solving isn’t too good for the constitution! For all that: good to see Anax looking well. And is that a left-handed bass he has as his new userpic/avatar?

  3. Done in bed this am with a nice cup of tea. An enjoyable, though unremarkable, 36 minutes.
  4. Just over half an hour for this. An enjoyably challenging puzzle, just the ticket for a Saturday. Very much like this week’s I was stuck for ages on one at the end. This week it was 15ac, last week it was 21ac CHEAPO.
  5. 31:15, quick for a Saturday. 2d was my LOI; I couldn’t get away from ‘con’ and ‘den’ for ‘study’. CARTE BLANCHE somehow came to me early on, long before I was able to parse it. I’d give it my COD, although I liked a number of others, too.
  7. Needed to go to aids after an hour to finish this.

    Yesterday’s (25891) proved more resistant, but at least I finished under my own steam. 15ac, Keriothe’s toughie, was seen relatively early – it was the 21dn/26ac crossing that had me racking what was left of my brain.

  8. I was still far from done as of today. (This puzzle ran in our NY paper yesterday) I’ve never heard of a yellowhammer! Nor do we come across “caldera” often here! I could go on and on. This puzzle is next to impossible for me.

    If you can complete this at all, let alone in 15 minutes, you’re a god to me! Kudos! And thanks for the solutions, I don’t always manage to get the next day’s paper.

  9. Worried by regenerate as an adjective and had to check it post-solve. Not worried by the other unknown, yellowhammer – that sounded like a reasonable name for a bird.

    Vaguely unsatisfying, perhaps a few slightly strained surfaces, not as smooth as the usual standard? Or just my imagination?

    Rob

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