Saturday Times 25430 (23rd March)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Fairly straightforward, most of it – I had it all finished except for 18ac in about 16 minutes, then took another 10 to get that one. No idea why I went blank for that, it wasn’t hard. COD to 19ac, closely followed by 14d.

Across
1 BISTRO – BRO (little brother) around 1ST.
4 OPENED UP – PEN (writer) + ED(itor) inside OUP (Oxford University Press, publishing house).
10 DROPS IN – “DROP SIN”.
11 SKIPPER – (land)S + KIPPER.
12 RATE – R (“ring”-leader) + ATE (put away). I thought such devices were frowned upon by the Times editor – very un-Ximenean.
13 TOOK CHARGE – TOOK (lifted) + CHAR (cleaner) + E.G. (say) reversed.
15 ANCHORMAN – CH (Companion of Honour) inside A NORMAN.
16 OFFIE – I (one) inside (c)OFFE(e). Short for Off Licence, a booze shop.
18 TORUS – sounds like “Taurus”, one of the Signs of the Zodiac (also called Houses by crossword setters, although I don’t think they’re interchangeable like that).
19 MOTORCADE – (Democrat)* around O (round).
21 PARTICULAR – double definition.
23 DRIB – BIRD (time inside) reversed.
26 SEAGULL – SEAL (marine creature) around LUG (drag) reversed.
27 CORONET – ONE (I) next to OR (gold), all inside CT (court).
28 IN THE END – D(aughter), next to THEE (you) inside INN (pub).
29 SCREWY – Y(en) next to S(econd) + CREW (team).

Down
1 BADER – BADE (ordered) + R(esistance). Sir Douglas Bader, WW2 fighter pilot and amputee.
2 SPORTS CAR – R(uns) inside SPOT (difficulty) + SCAR (cliff).
3 REST – BREST (town in France) minus the B.
5 PUSHKIN – PUSH (promote)
6 NEIGHBOURS – (bush region)*. Australian soap opera.
7 DOPER – DR around [E (drug) after OP].
8 PERSEVERE – PE (exercise) + R(outine) + SEVERE (tough).
9 ON FORM – O(ld) + NORM (standard) around F(lagpole).
14 CONSTITUTE – CONTE (short story) around TITUS (emperor), with the S moved to the front.
15 ANTIPASTI – AN (article) + TIP (advice) + ASTI (wine).
17 FRAGRANCE – RAG (daily paper) inside FRANCE.
19 MAUDLIN – M(aiden) + (sundial)*.
20 THATCH – hidden in “Felt hat chosen”.
22 ROAST – double definition.
24 BUTTY – BUT (yet) + T(ast)Y.
25 CROC – alternate letters of “scare once”.

12 comments on “Saturday Times 25430 (23rd March)”

  1. A very easy one coffee offering that I completed with my toast on Saturday morning. Didn’t like the silly politically correct “was chair” at 13A and what is “created” doing in 25D?

    Andy, at 18A Chambers makes direct reference to astrology when defining “house” and the practioners use the term constantly for the twelve divisions

  2. Agree this was straightforward.
    Re 12ac, I thought it was it was pretty well settled that The Times editor is by no means a “Ximenean,” .. (good job too 🙂 – but the clue seems unexceptionable to me
    1. I was just expressing my surprise, as I don’t think I’ve ever come across anything like that in 30 years of solving the Times crossword. I also solve the Guardian every day, so I’m pretty used to seeing similar several times a week, just not in the Times.

      I agree they’re not strictly Ximenean in the Times, but generally uphold most of his rules most of the time. One thing we can probably be sure of is that this one wasn’t set by Don Manley!

  3. A Saturday puzzle that was of a similar standard to the others that week. I was about to say that CONTE was an unknown for me, but I’ll have to amend that and say it was a forgotten for me, as it also appeared in early January. We had a similar clue for DROPS IN about a month ago (“Calls to repent”), though I thought then that it needed the question mark that today’s setter provided.

    I’d thought that the Times was generally Ximenean, but maybe that’s just in comparison with, say, the Guardian. I suppose it also depends on what you consider the worst non-Ximenean sins.

    1. Well, I rather object to calling a clue “sinful” because it doesn’t fit the preconceptions of a single dead setter… who I believe would be deeply shocked himself, at such a prospect. He never intended his views to be taken as gospel and used as some sort of straitjacket.
      Still, this is an argument that clearly will never be won, and won’t even change anyone’s point of view, so I think I will drop this subject for good now, and just smile benignly when next he is taken in vain. Try to, anyway..
  4. As I know nothing at all about astrology, I Googled for “zodiac houses” and found this, which describes the meanings of the 12 houses and how are associated to and differ from the signs.
    1. When the moon is in the Seventh House
      And Jupiter aligns with Mars
      Then peace will guide the planets
      And love will steer the stars

      This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
      The age of Aquarius
      Aquarius!
      Aquarius!

      Ee, lad! Takes me back; days of ridiculous trousers and big hair.

  5. Found this one straightforward and remember enjoying Drops In, Took Charge, Neighbours, Maudlin and Thatch in particular.
    Is Neighbours still on air? I watched it as a teenager in the 80s.
  6. 38 minutes for all but 18ac which sent my solving time off the scale and even after resorting to aids I was unable to crack the clue until I returned to the puzzle the following day. TORUS was offered by the solver but I failed to recognise the literal and didn’t spot the cryptic possibility offered by “house” despite its coming up many, many times before.

    The unusual goings-on at 12ac (if indeed they are unusual) never occurred to me for a moment and certainly don’t bother me in the slightest.

    Edited at 2013-03-30 11:48 pm (UTC)

    1. Well, by crossword convention. It’s a fairly common construction, and I’m sure we’ve seen it a few times more since March.

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