Saturday Times 25891 (13th Sep)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Very easy puzzle for a Saturday, solved on Monday between Waterloo and Clapham Junction with a massive hangover (it took me half an hour to do Rufus in the Guardian that day). So, practically every clue would have been a write-in if I’d been on form. 28ac had some neat wordplay, but the enumeration gave it away before I’d finished reading the clue. Still, I felt much better after finishing it…

Across
1 Successfully tackle abuse of power? Stoic might (4,2,5,4)
COME TO GRIPS WITH – (power Stoic might)*.
9 Learner I told off is not kept in detention (9)
LIBERATED – L(earner) + I + BERATED (told off).
10 A talent spotter’s non-U tie (5)
ASCOT – A SCOUT (talent-spotter), without the U.
11 Researcher free to abandon first part of investigation (6)
DELVER – DELIVER (free) minus the I.
12 Foul king oddly displaced by cunning ruler (8)
OLIGARCH – even letters of “fOuL kInG” + ARCH (cunning).
13 Child turning away from house with missing person (2-4)
NO-SHOW – SON (child) reversed + HO(use) + W(ith).
15 Inertia in group when leader’s gone (8)
INACTION – IN + FACTION (group), minus the first letter.
18 Tripe – cold portion friend rejected (8)
CLAPTRAP – C(old) + [PART (portion) + PAL (friend), all reversed].
19 Meal organised by bishop at church (6)
BRUNCH – B(ishop) + RUN (organised) + CH(urch).
21 Teacher not disposed to talk a lot (6,2)
RABBIT ON – RABBI (teacher) + (not)*.
23 Unearths a place to stay at university (4,2)
DIGS UP – DIGS (a place to stay) + UP (at university).
26 Bill’s not home, say (5)
VOICE – INVOICE (bill), without IN (not home).
27 Mixed emotions about Conservative finance expert (9)
ECONOMIST – (emotions)* around C(onservative).
28 Lamp and a strongbox: two articles right easy to transport (5,2,1,7)
LIGHT AS A FEATHER – LIGHT (lamp) + A SAFE (strongbox) + A, THE (two articles) + R(ight).

Down
1 Tips from caddie going to young man on green (7)
CELADON – C(addi)E + LAD (young man) + ON.
2 Woman created exterior of memorial in which Lincoln’s enshrined (5)
MABEL – M(emoria)L around ABE (Lincoln).
3 Untutored gathering expelled (6,3)
TURNED OUT – (untutored)*.
4 Unmarried couple going after good holiday accommodation (4)
GITE – ITEM (couple) without the M (i.e. unMarried), after G(ood).
5 Suffering 15 during party some time before Easter (8)
INDOLENT – IN (during) + DO (party) + LENT (some time before Easter). Not sure if “suffering” is the right verb here!
6 Form of expression in various languages (5)
SLANG – hidden in “various languages”.
7 Dogs kept by servant, after lead is taken off, attack (9)
INCURSION – CURS (dogs) inside (m)INION (servant, minus the first letter).
8 Thumbin’ a lift somewhere in Hertfordshire (7)
HITCHIN – or HITCHIN’. It’s a town in Hertfordshire, obviously!
14 Moving along awkwardly, sporting fake jewellery (9)
SHAMBLING – SHAM (fake) + BLING (jewellery).
16 Beastly order making soldiers take part in endless parade (9)
CARNIVORA – OR (other ranks, soldiers) inside CARNIVA(l) (endless parade).
17 Drivers of carriages lost in battles (8)
WAGONERS – GONE (lost) inside WARS (battles).
18 About to go on journey, heading off for ship (7)
CARAVEL – CA (about) + (t)RAVEL (go on journey, minus the first letter).
20 Trendy joints close to central area of Amsterdam (7)
HIPSTER – HIPS (joints) + AmsTERdam.
22 Popular record that’s No 1, betraying dearth of talent (5)
INEPT – IN (popular) + EP (record) + T(hat).
24 Area around Victoria, quiet and fashionable (5)
SWISH – SW1 (London postcode which presumably includes Victoria) + SH (quiet).
25 Bread and veg? (4)
LOAF – double definition, the second as a verb.

13 comments on “Saturday Times 25891 (13th Sep)”

  1. Certainly the easiest Saturday I’ve ever done; it’s seldom that I get in under the half-hour. GITE’s not in my vocabulary, but I somehow remembered it from a cryptic. I had to assume that there is a Hitchin in Hertfordshire and that Victoria is in SW1, but they seemed like safe assumptions. Pretty bland stuff, but every now and then it’s nice not to be challenged. Especially when I’m stuck on the Jumbo with a half-dozen clues eluding anything even approaching a solve.
  2. Most impressive Andy – I’d have needed a massive signal failure at Vauxhall (hour or so) to have got close to that! However, even for us novices this was quite achievable.

    Thought GITE was clever (i.e. I was chuffed with myself when the penny dropped), and HITCHIN was amusing.

    Marked contrast to today’s offering, which has been a marathon arm wrestle and I’m still missing four of the blighters…

    Edited at 2014-09-20 08:28 am (UTC)

  4. 12 mins. This was about as straightforward as a prize puzzle can be, IMHO. I finished in the SW with the INEPT/VOICE crossers after CARAVEL.
  5. Yep, straightforward: 9m. In marked contrast to today’s, which is a cracker. This puzzle shows how the difficulty of clues doesn’t bear a direct relation to the familiarity of the words: I didn’t know CELADON or CARAVEL but they went straight in.

    Edited at 2014-09-20 10:23 am (UTC)

  6. I didn’t know celadon or caravel but sadly never got them. Otherwise it would have been a rare fully solved puzzle.
  8. This must have been an easy one because it’s only the second one I’ve ever managed to finish (in about 2 hours though).

    On a separate matter I’m thinking of getting a new concise dictionary and was wondering if the Times (& Guardian/Observer) use a set reference point like Oxford, Collins or Chambers for it’s crosswords?

    2. If you are going to buy a Chambers see if you can get a copy of the 12th edition as the new 13th edition has ‘bits missing’ – the 12th has lots of newish words highlighted but these were accidently removed from the new version.
      1. My bad. I remembered seeing Chambers recommended for the Listener crossword and assumed that the main cryptic was the same.
    3. Things may have changed under new editorship but the last I heard was that the Times Cryptic principally uses Collins and the Concise Oxford.

      Edited at 2014-09-20 08:19 pm (UTC)

  9. What is ‘sporting’ doing in 14dn [Moving along awkwardly, sporting fake jewellery]? It seems to be completely superfluous to the wordplay and the surface indicates that something is inside something else, which it isn’t.

    If you’re going to do Azed, he has said that the 13th edition of Chambers will soon be used, which seems to me to be a pity. The 12th edition might be inadequate.

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