Saturday Times 25723 (1st March) – and lots of opportunities for new bloggers.

Posted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 16:44, quite tricky in places with a couple of unexpected partial words (BIOG, IMPROV), but nothing too obscure and I should have been quicker than that. Now then, I was surprised to read on the Crossword Centre Message Board today this post from Times Crossword editor Richard Rogan, because I never had a clue until now:

Many may not yet know that a new crossword starts on Monday (March 10) in The Times. It’ll be a 13×13 square version of the main Times Crossword.

To be known as the Times Quick Cryptic, it will appear along the bottom of the back page of the Times Two section (in MindGames) and also of course at the Times Online and digital versions the way other puzzles do now.

It is supposed, in general, to be easier than the main puzzle and might hopefully attract new people to crosswords, and encourage those who struggle with the main cryptic.

So, I think we need to get recruiting – blogging is fairly time-consuming, so I wouldn’t expect current bloggers to increase their workload (unless they really want to). As it’s designed to encourage newcomers, perhaps some of the less experienced solvers who come here might be willing to have a go? So we could have six new blogging spots up for grabs – please do all rush at once, first come first served.

Across
1 LISP – LIPS (pair involved in speech), with the P moved to the end (quietly retreating).
4 JACK HORNER – JACK (raise) + HORN (alarm) + RE (on) reversed.
9 COCKCHAFER – COCK (haystack) + CHAFER (rubber).
10 BIOG – BIG (major) around O (nothing).
11 IMPROV – IMPROVE (enhance) minus the last letter. A winger in crossword-speak is a letter at either end of a word.
12 EVERYDAY – EVE (girl) + DAY (light), around RY (railway = track).
14 ANTI – hidden reversed inside “wait naturally”
15 HIT THE SACK – HACK (journalist) around I (one) + TT (motorbike racing) + HE’S (fellow’s).
17 DEFENSIBLE – (belief, ends)*
20 IBIS – first letters of Bend In Stream, after I (current, physics abbreviation)
21 MYSTIQUE – sounds like MISS (pine for) TEAK (furniture wood).
23 EDGIER – ED (journalist) + GIVER (presenter) minus the V (releasing volume).
24 RANK – triple definition, the film executive being J. Arthur Rank.
25 OZONE LAYER – LAYER (better, e.g. on horses) next to O(ld) + ZONE (patch).
26 NOSY PARKER – (prayer’s on K)*
27 TONY – ANTONY (Shakespearean title role) without AN.

Down
2 IRONMONGERY – (inn room, grey)*
3 POKER DICE – POKER (jabber) + C (about) inside DIE (finish).
4 JEHOVAH – HAVE (own) + J(udge) around O(ligarc)H, all reversed.
5 COFFEE-TABLE BOOK – cryptic definition.
6 HARLECH – R (king) inside HALE (blooming) + CH(eck). Well-known Welsh castle.
7 NAIAD – alternate letters of “antacid and“.
8 RUGBY – RUG (one walked on) + BY (past). Well-known public school, just a few miles down the road from me, where William Webb Ellis famously cheated at football in 1823.
13 ARCHIMEDEAN – AREA (place) + N(ame), around CHIMED (rang a bell perhaps).
16 SKIN GRAFT – FT (paper, the Financial Times) underneath (sink)*, (rag)*.
18 SEQUOIA – QUOI(t) (ring shrunk a bit) inside SEA (salt water). Giant tree and one of the shortest words containing all 5 vowels.
19 EYEWEAR – EAR (listener) around YEW (material out of which bows are made), E(nglish).
21 MORON – MO (tick) + R(ight) + ON (leg).
22 SINUS – SUN (star) + IS, all reversed.

35 comments on “Saturday Times 25723 (1st March) – and lots of opportunities for new bloggers.”

  1. Not the most difficult, but enjoyable nonetheless.
    I will resist the temptation to extend my blogging activities, although the new crossword does sound intriguing. Also, I suspect that initially it will only be available in the print edition or on The Times website, ie not through the crossword club, so I won’t see it
    1. Good point, I suspect we’ll have to wait till Monday to find out if it’s also available on the Crossword Club. I’ve emailed Pete to see if he knows.

      NB: you know you do have free membership of The Times online until the end of June, as do all current Crossword Club members?

      Edited at 2014-03-08 11:43 am (UTC)

      1. I haven’t, Andy. All I get is what visitors get, ie half an article and an invitation to pay them money. Last year I could access the website, but not now.
        1. That’s what I get on my iPad, but I have full access to the website on my PC. You should complain.

          Edited at 2014-03-08 12:21 pm (UTC)

          1. I haven’t the nerve I’m afraid. Not having paid them anything lately, it is hard to claim unjust treatment..
  2. Assuming that I can solve the new puzzle more quickly than the existing one, I’d be prepared to have a go.
    1. I think you should find it easier, so consider yourself on the list. Thanks for volunteering. Due to the extremely short notice we might not have enough people in place by Monday, and I’ll understand if you don’t want to dive in and take the very first one, but I’ll be in touch with details of how to join the Community with write access etc.
  3. 50 minutes enjoyable solve after the hell of the previous day.

    I had “not qualified to give order” as all one definition at 24ac but I see now it can be two.

    Wasted time on HIT THE DECK at 15ac.

    I emailed separately about the new puzzle but need to add it’s dependent upon it being available on-line.

    Edited at 2014-03-08 11:40 am (UTC)

  4. 18:20 on this one -enjoyed the solve.

    Work prevents me from adding to my current blogging commitments, but hopefully when I retire, I might be interested.

  5. I don’t know why but I found this extremely difficult, and it took me nearly an hour: over twice as long as the jumbo!
    I’d be up for having a go at blogging but my life just isn’t predictable enough for me to fill a regular slot reliably.
  6. 29 mins, although I made a note that I was drifting off as I was solving it. POKER DICE was my LOI after LISP.

    Although I have been able to post every day for quite a while that may change shortly, so for the time being I won’t make an offer to blog.

  7. I had everything solved in about 25 minutes except for 1a. After 10 minutes trying to justify various possibilities I went to bed. It took 2 days for the wordplay to emerge from the mists. And it looks so simple now!
  8. I thought this was tough, with my LOI LISP – the kind of clue whose surface makes me grimace. COD to RUGBY for its economy.

    I probably don’t count as a less experienced solver, but if you don’t get enough volunteers fitting that profile then I’d be willing to blog this new puzzle.

    1. Thanks, I might take you up on the offer. The “less experienced” profile would be a “nice to have”, but I’m not saying it’s mandatory. We’ll hopefully get a lot more visitors on Monday so we’ll see how many people fancy a crack. Perhaps we’ll have enough that no-one’ll have to do more than one a fortnight.
      1. Hi linxit

        In principle more than happy to put my hand up to have a crack at blogging the new offering. I’d be coming at it very much from the less experienced perspective.

        Before committing, I’d like to take a look at a few to make sure I have the appropriate level of skill (no point in having a blogger who has to admit “b*ggered if I know…”).

        Cheers

        Nick

        1. Actually that’s a good point, but I tend to disagree. Even us so-called “experienced solvers” who’ve been doing this for years occasionally have to ask for help – there’s no shame in it (especially when you wear your inexperience on your pseudonym ;-)). I’d say give it a go anyway and ask for help here if you’re struggling – there’ll always be plenty of help on hand.
  9. Yes – “lisp” made me feel a right “moron”.

    I’m sorry but I don’t think I can step up to the blogging plate just now. Starting in early April about 3 days per week I will be out of range of reliable internet until October. But I have put on my calendar that I should get back to you then just in case reinforcements are still needed. At that point I would be very willing.

    Does anyone know if the new puzzle submits will be incorporated into the existing cryptic leaderboard or will they have a separate one? If they are incorporated I foresee an even worse horlicks than we already have.

  10. I think Richard R said in a forum post that even he isn’t sure about online incorporation / leader boards for the new puzzle. It seems all that stuff is in the hands of the IT crowd, who presumably live in a windowless void somewhere in the bowels of Murdoch Towers. I certainly hope that the leader boards will be kept separate. If the Telegraph’s Quiptic is the model, then it will be a rather different beast to the traditional daily.

    linxit: I do think you should repeat your call for new volunteers on Monday, when more of the newer arrivals will be reading. I really do think it should be blogged by people quite new to cryptic puzzles if possible.

    1. Yes, I intend to – I’ll put up a “sticky” post at the top on Sunday night. Hopefully we’ll get a few more lurkers involved.

      PS The Quiptic is in the Guardian 🙂

      1. Absolutely right. As Penfold would say, “I was wondering which of you would be the first to spot that.”
      2. It occurs to me (somewhat late in the day) that there may be 10-12 slots to fill, as the current Mon-Fri crew only blog one puzzle each per fortnight.
      3. It is going to be interesting to see how difficult these will be. As I mentioned here yesterday, RR also commented that on occasion the ‘easy’ cryptic will be harder than the regular one.
        1. I think all he meant by that was that there will inevitably be some overlap between the easy end of the cryptic range and the hard end of the quick cryptic range – going by comments on other forums, this happens occasionally in the Guardian with the Cryptic and the (supposedly easier) Quiptic.
  11. 74 minutes, last in LISP. COCKCHAFER really belongs in a Private Eye puzzle. 🙂
  12. I’m a lurker who’d be willing to give blogging a go. I rarely complete the main crossword without help from here, though, so I won’t be offended if the job goes to a better qualified candidate!

    Will

    1. Hi Will – first thing you need to do is get yourself a LiveJournal account (which is free), as you have to be logged in to post a blog. Let me know when you’ve done so and I’ll be in touch. You’ll be most welcome.
  13. Didn’t do well. Can someone help with the LISP definition? I got it from the wordplay. You know my views on pseudo-words. IMPROV is OK (but just OK), but I didn’t like BIOG any at all. Did, though, like a lot of the rest.
    I’m about to start a new job with long and irregular hours. If I get it under control I’ll see if there’s still a blogging spot open, but I won’t know for a couple months.

    Edited at 2014-03-08 05:12 pm (UTC)

  14. I sent you a private message about offering to volunteer as a blogger,but haven’t heard anything.

    Thanks

    1. Hi macavity123,

      Sorry, but I haven’t received a private message from you. I’ve just had another look and there’s one from william_j_s, but that’s all.

      I’ll be contacting all those who have offered to help tomorrow, as hopefully we now have enough volunteers to cover the first week at least.

    1. Hi Linxit,

      Sounds like you’ve had a few volunteers for blogging, but I’m happy to make up the numbers if needed.

      Allan

      1. The more the merrier – I think we need a minimum of 10 new faces, and we haven’t reached that yet. Look out for a new post at the top later this evening.

Comments are closed.