Saturday Times 25370 (12th Jan)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 16:16. Pretty good puzzle, with generally very good surface readings (although in a couple of clues this was at the expense of the cryptic indications).

Across
1 BORDERLESS – ORDER (number of nuns) inside BLESS (worship). Hmm, not too keen on this one – I don’t see “worship” as a synonym of “bless”, and nor does Chambers.
6 EPIC – E(astern) + alternate letters of PrInCe. A DBE, unless the clue’s referring to the plot of a particular epic film?
9 UNINTENDED – UNIT (military team) + ENDED (finished) around N(oon).
10 WREN – hidden reversed in “thinner window”.
12 SEVENTY-EIGHT – YE (you) after EVENT (race), all inside SIGHT (what’s seen). Back in the old days (i.e. before my time) records used to be made of shellac and spin at 78rpm. When I was little my mum and dad had a big pile of them. Coincidentally, this answer also appeared in the Concise on the same day.
15 TOP SECRET – (eports etc)*, i.e. reports minus the first letter.
17 ROAST – (oats)* after R(ecipe).
18 CHOMP – M(inute) inside CHOP (cut of pork).
19 MARCH PAST – MARCH (several weeks) + PAST (ago).
20 INTERMITTENT – INTENT (plan) around TERMIT(e) (contracted social worker).
24 OXON – OX (steer) + O (round) + N(orthern). The usual abbreviation for Oxfordshire, from the Latin Oxoniensis.
25 ADMINISTER – (trade)* around MINIS (cars).
26 TOSH – TO SH, or SSSHHHHH, more like. Great clue.
27 BROKEN DOWN – BRO (family member) + KENDO (fighting) + W(eapo)N.

Down
1 BLUB – BULB(s) (onions, perhaps, minus the last letter) reversed.
2 RAIL – first letters of Right Away Into Lounge.
3 EXTREME SPORT – (metres)* inside EX (old) + PORT (harbour).
4 LANCE – C(ossack) inside LANE (way).
5 SPECTATOR – double definition, the second a weekly magazine which also has a fine crossword.
7 PARAGUAYAN – PARA (soldier) + GUYANA (South American country) with an A moved up.
8 CONSTITUTE – CO (business) + (i)NSTITUTE (research organisation, minus the first letter).
11 REPREHENSION – RE (about) + PENSION (guest house), around HER (woman’s) reversed.
13 STICK IT OUT – STICK OUT (project) around IT (computer technology).
14 APPORTIONS – (Spain poor)* around (investmen)T.
16 REMAINDER – REMINDER (jogger) around A.
21 THICK – HICK (country bumpkin) next to T.
22 OTTO – COTTON (clothing material) minus the first and last letters.
23 GRIN – GRIND ON (progress slowly) minus DON (teacher).

11 comments on “Saturday Times 25370 (12th Jan)”

  1. Collins has BLESS = worship, COED has BLESS = praise (God) which I think amounts to the same thing.

    The definition in 6 is ‘film’ so I don’t think that makes EPIC a DBE, but ‘cut of pork’ for CHOP at 18ac is in my book.

    A very pleasing puzzle that took me 27 minutes and I also particularly liked 26ac.

    Edited at 2013-01-19 11:28 am (UTC)

      1. I see your point but I was thinking pork is only one example of a meat that may be served as a chop. There’s often more than one way of looking at these things things and on reflection I can see the point that Andy was making now.
  2. I agree that this was an entertaining and well-constructed crossword. Kudos to setter.
    I still don’t understand what is wrong with DBEs. If film = epic is wrong, so is architect = Wren and Weapon = lance etc etc.. And if any or all of them were the other way round, so that epic = film, what would be wrong with that?
    1. What’s wrong with DBEs is that an example doesn’t define a word. So “France” is not a definition of “country”, whereas “country” is a (partial) definition of “France”. Whether this bothers you is, of course, a matter of taste. Personally I can’t get too bothered about it as long as the example leads reasonably directly to the category.
      I don’t remember much about this puzzle, but I seem to have found it pretty easy as I finished in just under 10 minutes.
  3. I have read the above but I am none the wiser I’m afraid. France may not technically be a definition of country, but it sure narrows the field, doesn’t it? And a cut of pork can indeed be a chop.. what matter, if lamb can be too? Mystifying.

    As the great advocate Lord Birkenhead said, when a judge said “I have listened patiently to you, Birkenhead, but I am none the wiser.” “Perhaps not, my Lord, but you are much better informed.”

    1. “Technically” is rather the point: it’s a rather technical objection, after all. Blame Ximenes!
  4. Very enjoyable, under-the-half-hour puzzle; many thanks to the setter.

    I too was tickled by the clue for TOSH, though there’s not much shushing in libraries these days: last time I went into my local library, it was hosting a mother-and–toddler group singing “The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round”.

    Wondered if SEVENTY-EIGHT might be considered “young-ist”, though my son bought me a mint-condition 78 rpm record of Josef Locke singing “Hear My Song” (what else could it be?) for Christmas. We played it on the old HMV wind-up gramophone, and everyone was astonished by the sound quality and how loud it was: the volume is almost uncontrollable except by literally shoving a sock into the horn, which we duly did.

  5. I found this quite difficult and wasn’t helped by having my train of thought interrupted by a 25 minute phone call. Checked out in 39 minutes. LOI was REPREHENSION, a word I can’t remember seeing before and hope never to see again! Ann
  6. I can’t remember what slowed me down, but 11d was my LOI. I’m glad I’m not the only one whose eyebrows rose at ‘bless’. Loved 26ac, also 20ac, 25ac, and 16d.

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