Saturday Times 25640 (23rd Nov)

Solving time about 20 mins. I didn’t actually get around to this until I was on the way home from work last night, started it quite late in the journey and finished it when I got home. I couldn’t make head or tail of 1D at first, but it eventually went in once I had most of the checkers in place. I probably spent another 15 minutes on it this morning trying to parse it, but got there in the end. So many red herrings in that one clue! The rest was fairly standard Saturday fare, above average difficulty but not a real stinker.

Across
1 TITANIC – IT (appeal) inside TA (Territorial Army, reserve) + NIC(e) (endlessly agreeable).
5 DEFECT – double definition.
8 LOST CAUSE – ACTS (turns) reversed, inside LOUSE (contemptible type).
9 REACH – RE (referring to) + BACH (composer) without the B for British.
11 VOILE – VILE (mean) around O(ver).
12 IRREGULAR – (urge)* inside (liar)*, + R(ight).
13 NORMALLY – NO (drama) + RALLY (race) around M(illions).
15 SCLERA – odd letters of so-called + R.A. (artist).
17 EMBARK – MARK (spot) around B(ishop), all after E(cumenical).
19 SHEPHERD – PH (measure of acidity) inside SHEER (stark) + (fiel)D.
22 INAUGURAL – I + NAG (worry) around U(ranium), + URAL (river).
23 PLATO – LA (note) inside PTO (instruction at bottom of page).
24 TIGON – GO (try) inside TIN (metal).
25 VERMILION – OIL (paint) reversed inside VERMIN (pests).
26 LAMENT – LAME (weak) + N.T. (religious books).
27 CYPRESS – C(omed)Y + PRESS (force).

Down
1 TELEVANGELIST – I (one) + LEG (stage) + NAVEL (central point), all reversed inside TEST (screen). It probably took me longer to parse that than it took to solve the puzzle!
2 TASTIER – T(ime) + AS (since) + TIER (row).
3 NICHE – C(ent) + HE (man), after NI (nickel).
4 CRUCIBLE – R(esistance) inside (ice club)*.
5 DREARY – DRY (drain) around EAR (attention).
6 FORAGE CAP – FOP (dandy) around [RAGE (passion) + CA (circa, about)].
7 CHARLIE – CHAR (burn) + LIE (invention).
10 HARE AND HOUNDS – (odd hush near an)*. Something similar to what we used to call “paper chase” apparently.
14 ARROGANCE – (organ, care)*
16 CHOLERIC – CLERIC (minister) around HO (call for attention).
18 BHANGRA – HANG (drop) inside BRA (support). Indian pop music.
20 EXAMINE – AXE (cut) reversed + MINE (supply).
21 TRIVET – STRIVE (fight) minus the first letter, + T (middle letter of captain).
23 PRIMP – PR (pair) + IMP (naughty child).

6 comments on “Saturday Times 25640 (23rd Nov)”

  1. remember bunging in 1dn fairly early on but I’m not sure if I ever did parse it fully.. did see the leg and navel though.
    On the other hand I was pleased to work out the unknown BHANGRA from the cryptic. Support = bra, who’d have thought it? 🙂
  2. 22 mins with the last two or three of them on the LAMENT/BHANGRA crossers. TELEVANGELIST went in from the definition so thanks for parsing it.
  3. This was another in my long run of 60 minute (or thereabout) solves. Had to look up BHANGRA but had forgotten the word when it turned up a few days later in Private Eye clued by “What suspenders do in underwear – pop!”
    1. I was considering mentioning how strange it was to come across BHANGRA twice in a few days but decided against it because the PE is a prize crossword and the closing date hadn’t passed …………..
  4. Another one who never worked out TELEVANGELIST (I remember thinking of GIST as possibly being ‘central point’, but naturally gave up). DNK BHANGRA, and got it only after a lot of running through the alphabet to fill in between B and RA. I liked the elegance of 5ac.

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