Saturday Times 25879 (30th August) – a significant milestone!

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time – 11:55, so not a tricky puzzle but certainly a major accomplishment by the setter. The Times don’t often reveal the setter’s name, but I’d bank on this one being by 1ac 8dn, and I’d also hazard a guess that it’s his 1500th Times puzzle.

A couple of years ago (Jan 17th 2012 to be exact) he celebrated his 40th year of setting with this one, his 1404th (or 1414th perhaps), so he’s been just as prolific since then.

Across
1 Meat after sandwich perhaps in an Oxford college (6)
WADHAM – HAM (meat) after WAD (sandwich perhaps).
4 Suit: notedly a girl’s best friend? (8)
DIAMONDS – double definition.
10 Deny help in retirement, standing around (9)
REPUDIATE – AID (help) reversed inside REPUTE (standing).
11 Last character in register, one who produced noted scores (5)
LISZT – Z (last character) inside LIST (register).
12 An honest duo, possibly — or a much larger number (3,8)
ONE THOUSAND – (an honest duo)*.
14 Hairstyle not initially agreed to? The opposite (3)
FRO – AFRO (hairstyle) minus the A.
15 Communications jargon is making a comeback (7)
SIGNALS – SLANG (jargon) + IS, all reversed.
17 Maxim of police department backed by corporation (6)
DICTUM – CID (police department) reversed + TUM (corporation).
19 One travelling to new school in Derbyshire (6)
REPTON – REP (one travelling) + TO + N(ew). Repton, a famous public school.
21 Sexless film shown in various quarters (7)
EPICENE – PIC (film) inside E, E, N, E (various quarters).
23 Private cricket side hosting Worcestershire’s opener (3)
OWN – ON (cricket side) around W(orcestershire).
24 Number Domitian initially represented in Rome (4,7)
FIVE HUNDRED – the Roman numeral for 500 is D (Domitian’s initial).
26 Tool used by medic, in a manner of speaking (5)
DRAWL – AWL (tool) next to DR (medic).
27 Figure getting financial district in right muddle! (9)
RECTANGLE – EC (financial district) inside R(ight), TANGLE (muddle).
29 Energy in a high degree united all (8)
EVERYONE – E(nergy) + VERY (in a high degree) + ONE (united).
30 A bloke’s touring arranged by Lewis’s neighbour (6)
HARRIS – HIS (a bloke’s) around ARR (arranged). Lewis and Harris form the largest island of the Outer Hebrides.

Down
1 Rare show designed for stage and screen entertainment (3,5)
WAR HORSE – (rare show)*. Both a play and a film, both based on a 1982 children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo.
2 Sort of time to serve up some caramel pudding? (5)
DUPLE – hidden reversed in “caramel pudding”
3 Auxiliary note finally omitted from opera (3)
AID – AIDA (opera) with the last note (A) removed.
5 Modest outlay for South African crossing the Spanish state (7)
IRELAND – 1 RAND (modest outlay for South African) around EL (the Spanish).
6 Curse ruling framed by old woman celebrity (11)
MALEDICTION – EDICT (ruling) inside MA (old woman), LION (celebrity).
7 English boy upset bellows-mender — blowing this? (4-5)
NOSE-FLUTE – E(nglish) + SON (boy) reversed + FLUTE (bellows-mender).
8 Excessive rises covered by tabloid in London borough (6)
SUTTON – OTT (over-the-top, excessive) reversed inside SUN (tabloid newspaper).
9 Spymaster in Paris who infiltrates a second resistance movement (6)
MAQUIS – M (spymaster) + [QUI (in Paris who) inside A + S(econd)].
13 Something drunk completely beneficially? (11)
HEALTHFULLY – HEALTH (something drunk) + FULLY (completely).
16 Good to get involved again, producing fruit (9)
GREENGAGE – G(ood) + RE-ENGAGE (get involved again).
18 Lacking caution, he’s seen round parts of Leeds (8)
HEEDLESS – HE’S around (Leeds)*.
20 Like assorted ingredients Ed missed in Granny’s stew (7)
NAVARIN – VARI(ed) (like assorted ingredients, without “ed”), inside NAN (granny). “A stew of mutton or lamb, with turnip and other root vegetables.”
21 Moral code staggering the Irish civil servant at first (6)
ETHICS – (the)* + initials of Irish Civil Servant.
22 Staff welcoming old duke’s lackey (6)
POODLE – POLE (staff) around O(ld), D(uke).
25 Turn up with king and queen, received and understood (5)
ROGER – GO (turn) + R(ex) (king) all reversed, followed by ER (queen).
28 Karenina’s half-hearted collection of reminiscences (3)
ANA – ANNA (Karenina) minus one of the N’s in the middle.

22 comments on “Saturday Times 25879 (30th August) – a significant milestone!”

  1. Straightforward fare for a Saturday morning especially welcome after a taxing week. Most enjoyable. 34 minutes.

    1dn was first and foremost a novel.

    Edited at 2014-09-06 06:13 am (UTC)

  2. 17 mins. I noticed the ONE THOUSAND and FIVE HUNDRED answers but nothing else. Despite having both checkers it took me longer than it should have done to see AID(A), EPICENE was solved from the wordplay, and the REPTON/NAVARIN crossers were my last ones in.
  3. In today’s crossword should 17ac be 3-5-4, as opposed to 3-5-6 as shown?

    If not my answer is wrong!

    3. Not solved that clue yet but in the treeware version it’s “3-5.6” which looks most odd and I thought it was some clever trick.
  4. Managed to complete this one (five Sats and Suns in a row now – thereby further reinforcing my theory that the weekend offerings are somewhat easier than the weekdays – even the “easy” weekdays which still see me struggling).

    Re. 17 ac, stuck in the answer from def and reversed CID, but could not see how TUM equates to corporation. Appreciate any enlightenment please.

    Particularly liked HARRIS and FIVE HUNDRED.

    Thanks to setter and blogger – all most enjoyable.

  5. Nice puzzle with some interesting words, and that’s impressive longevity from Mr Sutton. WAD=sandwich wasn’t familiar (though it did appear in June 2012) but I knew the college so bunged it in based on the checkers and the rest of the wordplay.
    1. Thanks mohn, never heard of that (and not in my dictionary!)

      Much appreciated – one to remember.

  7. 11:44. Straightforward but enjoyable puzzle, from what I remember. I completely missed the nina, but then I always do. Congratulations (again!) to Mr Sutton.
  8. About 12 mins for this celebratory puzzle – well done Mr Sutton, that’s an awful lot of crosswords.
  9. Didn’t get the navarin Repton cross, but enjoyed the rest. Glad I read the blog before I tried today’s mis-numbered. Thanks. Thanks for deciphering the Nina, Andy. 1500 good puzzles deserves recognition.

    Edited at 2014-09-06 01:23 pm (UTC)

    2. Repton is not that well known even in England, so I sympathise. Other public schools – besides Eton and Harrow – that may crop up (taking account of their relative fame and their attractiveness for setters) include Rugby, Stowe, Canford, Bedford, Clifton, Highgate, Oundle, Mill Hill, Lancing, Malvern, Millfield, Oakham, Radley and St Paul’s, plus Fettes in Scotland.
  10. 27 minutes, held up by the mis-enumeration at 1d. Mine, not the setter’s. Navarin and epicene new to me.
  11. I actually managed to finish one.

    Took about 3 hours and I had to check 4 words definitely existed in the dictionary, but I did do it! By myself!

    Not exactly an earth shattering achievement, I’m sure, but just to say thanks for an excellent forum – it’s really helped (as have doing the Quick Cryptic and Everyman).

    1. Congratulations smicks.Trust us all, it will get easier but even after 50 years of solving, I still get the buzz of finishing a crossword, however quickly.

Comments are closed.