Saturday Times 25347 (15th Dec)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 16:05, so about average for a Saturday puzzle. Sorry it’s a bit rushed, but I’m lousy with flu this morning. Hope I feel better by Tuesday!

Across
1 DOWNPLAY – L (pounds) inside DOWN (reduced) + PAY (wage).
5 WHACKS – sounds like “wax” (get bigger).
9 HOT SPOTS – HOOTS (laughs derisively) around TSP (teaspoonful, small serving of drink).
10 IMPAIR – I’M (I am) + PAIR (brace).
12 IDLED – ID (papers) + LED (light).
13 FAR FROM IT – FAR FROM (Quite out of touch with) + IT (Information Technology, computers).
14 DECONSECRATE – DEACONS (ministers) without the A, + EC (city) + RATE (speed).
18 INADMISSIBLE – (Men’s alibis I’d)*
21 THRUSTING – TRUSTING (holding belief) around H(usband).
23 BOMBE – BO(y) (lad almost) + MBE (modest decoration).
24 RUGGED – DRUGGED (sedated), minus the first letter.
25 NOWADAYS – NO WAD (without a stash) + (say)*
26 ARNOLD – R(un) inside AN OLD (a former). Thomas Arnold, former headmaster of Rugby School who was immortalised in Tom Brown’s Schooldays.
27 IN DETAIL – cryptic definition: “The devil’s in the details”.

Down
1 DAHLIA – AIL (droop) + HAD (owned), all reversed.
2 WATTLE – W(ith) + ATTLEE (political leader), mius the last letter.
3 PIPE DREAM – PIPED (having played instrument) + REAM (make hole bigger).
4 ACT OF WORSHIP – (fact, wish poor)*
6 HOMER – HOME (sort of fixture) + R(ight).
7 CHARMIAN – CHAIRMAN (leader of meeting) with the I moved down. A historical servant of Cleopatra, who appears as a character in the Shakespeare play Antony and Cleopatra.
8 SPRITZER – REPS (salesmen) reversed around RITZY (luxury) minus the last letter.
11 DRESSING GOWN – (wrong designs)*
15 CALIBRATE – C(aught) + [BRAT (annoying kid) inside A LIE (a whopper)].
16 WISTARIA – WIST (old word for “knew”) + ARIA (something to sing).
17 TARRAGON – TAR (sailor) + RAG ON (poorly clothed).
19 IMPALA – IMPALE (thrust spear into) minus the last letter, + A
20 VESSEL – double definition.
22 SWELL – (inflate)S + WELL (properly).

8 comments on “Saturday Times 25347 (15th Dec)”

  1. 63 minutes. I didn’t know the variant spelling of “wisteria” or Cleopatra’s servant but otherwise this was quite straightforward so I have no excuse for allowing it to delay me for so long. DOWNPLAY and WATTLE were my last two in.

    I don’t really see how a TSP can be a drink. It’s simply an abbreviation used as a measure in recipes.

    Edited at 2012-12-22 10:15 am (UTC)

  2. I didn’t bother keeping my copy of this because there really didn’t seem much to say. Wistaria came up before, some months ago.
    A tsp can I suppose be a drink in exactly the same way as a pint can, both being liquid measures… one for beer, one for (eg) cough syrup
    1. I disagree, Jerry. People go into bars every day and order “a pint” but nobody has a ever ordered “a tsp”, or “a teaspoonful” for that matter. And a tsp is not necessarily a measure of liquid anyway.

      Edited at 2012-12-22 01:43 pm (UTC)

      1. You are very welcome to disagree Jack. but I have had a tsp of medicine many times. It often says so on the bottle

        Edited at 2012-12-22 01:46 pm (UTC)

  4. I’m always amazed at the paucity of comments on the weekend puzzles. I’m so glad the bloggers persevere in spite of the lack of interest. This was a real challenge for me this morning. Maybe I was being particularly dense but it took me just over an hous to finish it. I expected this to be equally hard for a lot of other people. But I’m in the minority. Need a new brain. (Monty Python had them at 13/6 from Curry’s) Ann
    1. My friend and I only do the weekend puzzles – she in Sussex and I in NY. We look at the blog EVERY weekend, but only rarely comment. Always glad to have solutions either verified or amplified. Please do not assume lack of comments means lack of interest, as with many blogs, there are “lurkers” and you can count us as “plus 2”.
      1. I’m a veteran lurker myself. On some sites I lurked for 10 years before venturing a comment! I lurked here for over a year before taking the plunge. Come on in – the water’s lovely. Ann

Comments are closed.