Saturday Times 25574 (7th Sept)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 21:16 – I think I found this a bit tricky just because I was getting tired after already solving the previous Thursday and Friday puzzles in the same session. Good puzzle though – I liked the two 15-letter entries but COD has to go to the Van Gogh clue, brilliant.

Across
1 PEDAL – (Siegfrie)D inside PEAL (ring).
4 LONG JOHNS – LONG (itch) + JOHNS(on). The female pilot was Amy Johnson, who in 1930 was the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
9 BLACK BELT – B(ritish) + LACK (have no) + BELT (clout).
10 EXTOL – sounds like “ex-toll”, which might be a previous charge.
11 OF NOTE – OFTE(n) (frequently abridged) around NO (Japanese drama).
12 PUREEING – (eg unripe)*
14 HEAVENLY HOST – HEAVY (leaden) + HOST (anchor, i.e. TV presenter), around EN (in French) + L(ake).
17 PLUM PORRIDGE – “PLUMP FOR FRIDGE” (choose cool storage unit), minus the Fs (each time omitting fine). I quite like the sound of the dish, although according to this it’s just another name for Christmas pudding.
20 FLIPPANT – FLIP (see red) + P (phosphorus) + ANT (insect).
21 NEPALI – alternate letters of “girl had pie and”, reversed.
23 PIQUE – sounds like “peak” (maximum amount). I think apart from the definition in the first word, the rest is all just homophone indicator.
24 IVY LEAGUE – ELY (cathedral) reversed, next to IV (4 = Roman square), then AGUE (fit).
25 TEENSIEST – A removed (area denied) from TEEN SIESTA (rest of adolescents in afternoon)
26 SUSHI – SU (girl shortly) + SH (order to wrap up) + I (one).

Down
1 PIBROCHS – (RC bishop)*
2 DRAW NEAR – Van Gogh wouldn’t have “DRAWN EAR”. Great clue, my COD.
3 LIKE THE CLAPPERS – LIKE (appreciate) THE CLAPPERS (those people giving one a hand).
4 LEES – LEEDS without the 4th letter.
5 NOT MUCH COP – cryptic double definition.
6 JEEPERS CREEPERS – JEEP (military truck) + ERRS (strays) around SCREE (loose stones) + PE (exercises).
7 HOTTIE – OT (books of verses) after H(ours) + TIE (draw). Slang for a hot-water bottle, although that wasn’t the first thing that sprang to mind!.
8 SILAGE – IS reversed + LAGE(r).
13 CLEMENTINE – (processio)N + (bizarr)E after CLEMENT I (pope from 92-99 AD).
15 IDEAL GAS – IDES (fateful day) around (gala)*.
16 BERIBERI – sounds like “bury berry”.
18 OFF PAT – OFF (rancid) + PAT (butter).
19 RISQUE – BISQUE (fish soup) with the 1st letter replaced by R(ight).
22 CYST – CYCLIST (peloton member) with CLI(p) removed.

6 comments on “Saturday Times 25574 (7th Sept)”

  1. Thought this was going to be a stinker at first but then it came out easier than expected. I’m pretty sure that JEEPERS CREEPERS and LIKE THE CLAPPERS have cropped up recently, though maybe not in The Times, so they both went in immediately. Some excellent clues in this, in particular RISQUE, NOT MUCH COP, and LONG JOHNS, though I wouldn’t mind seeing the “My” device (as used in JEEPERS CREEPERS) given a rest for a while.
  3. I didn’t know this could mean a hot-water bottle, I was only aware of the lad’s mag sense. Whatever next ? I thought, but good! Nice connection with RISQUE to say nothing of LONG JOHNS.
    Geoffrey
  4. Like Andy, I ticked the Van Gogh for COD. One of the reasons I particularly enjoy the puzzle is for interesting and creative fill; so irrespective of the cluing I liked finding Long Johns, and learning Not Much Cop
  5. I struggled a bit with this but got there eventually, some way over the hour but sorting wordplay as I went. Never heard of PLUM PORRIDGE, nor HOTTIE for HWB.
  6. No time because I fell asleep midway through the solve. I found it hard to get going but then JEEPERS CREEPERS opened up the RHS, and once I’d corrected “brown belt” to BLACK BELT (I hadn’t read the clue properly and saw have=own) the LHS fell into place. NEPALI was my LOI.

Comments are closed.