Saturday Times 26286 (19th Dec) – better late than never!

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Merry Christmas everybody. Unfortunately my Christmas plans mean I don’t have time today to complete a blog, so this will appear either later tonight or tomorrow morning. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do too, as I haven’t had a chance to look at a puzzle since the 23rd. So, here it is (finally). Tricky puzzle, which I was interrupted while solving so don’t have an accurate time, but would guess at just under 20 minutes. Slight change in format today, as I think this looks a bit better with definitions in bold italics rather than underlined (actually copied from a format Gaufrid uses over at Fifteensquared).

Across
1 Cracks appearing around mug containing wife’s gardening equipment (8)
GROWBAGS – GAGS (cracks) around [ROB (mug) around W(ife)].
5 Conviction to fail to justify with force (6)
BELIEF – BELIE (fail to justify) + F(orce).
9 Shower of cards ends in dealer beside himself (3)
REF – last letters of dealer beside himself.
10 Sea-going villain joining Fleet following unpredictable course (11)
QUICKSILVER – SILVER (sea-going villain, ref. Treasure Island) next to QUICK (fleet). No idea why fleet is capitalised in the clue, as it doesn’t need to be for the surface reading.
12 Plant old cross: spot next to one’s bathed in light (2-3,5)
OX-EYE DAISY – O(ld) + X (cross) + EYE (spot) + [IS (one’s) inside DAY (light)].
13 Total for one is about fifty (4)
SLAY – SAY (for one) around L (fifty). I thought the definition was a bit iffy, but Chambers says it’s ok, although chiefly N. Am. slang. Obviously I don’t watch enough cop shows.
15 Set out a fourth condition? (6)
STATED – STATE D would come after states A, B and C.
16 Working / with purpose (2,5)
IN ORDER – double definition.
18 To here GP’s repaired, abandoning hospital ward (7)
PROTEGE – (to here GP)*, without the H (abandoning hospital).
20 Footwear, see, having split at the edges (6)
GALOSH – LO (see) inside GASH (split).
23 Be up and about collecting papers (4)
RIDE – RE (about) around ID (papers).
24 Checks cover note concealed in lots of writing paper (10)
PROOFREADS – ROOF (cover) + RE (note) inside PADS (lots of writing paper).
26 Hasty toast one’s drunk to wit (4,2,2,3)
THAT IS TO SAY – (hasty toast I)*.
27 Racket / string (3)
ROW – double definition.
28 Racket / string (6)
FIDDLE – ditto!
29 Bear someone putting a stop to this language? (8)
ENGENDER – ENG(lish) ENDER.

Down
1 Good men meeting with approval from below in general (6)
GORDON – G(ood) + OR (men) + NOD (approval) reversed. General Charles Gordon, most famous for the Siege of Khartoum (or at least from the film starring Charlton Heston as Gordon).
2 Unusual that inferior copper might be taken? (7)
OFFBEAT – an inferior copper might be taken OFF the BEAT.
3 Plot to conceal that French article by the Left (10)
BEQUEATHED – BED (plot) around [QUE (that French) + A (article) + THE].
4 Be tolerant of eg brain drain developing over time (4,3,4,2)
GRIN AND BEAR IT – (eg brain drain)* + T(ime).
6 Series of 5 items help in criminal investigation (1-3)
E-FIT – hidden inside 5ac:BELIEF items”. Bit of a novelty, but easy to see what’s going on. However, judging from a few comments on the Forum, a lot of people were flummoxed by it.
7 Popular gangster film briefly is without sound? No (7)
INVALID – IN (popular) + [AL (gangster) inside VID (film briefly)].
8 Departs after host in remote rural setting (8)
FARMYARD – D(eparts) after ARMY (host) inside FAR (remote).
11 One relatively low in the pecking order? (7,6)
KISSING COUSIN – cryptic definition, one that I don’t entirely understand. Why “low”?
14 Superior type of cello Rory’s playing (5-5)
ROLLS-ROYCE – (cello Rory’s)*.
17 Drink from well brought up by a fairy (8)
APERITIF – FIT (well) reversed, next to A PERI (fairy).
19 One experienced something Mimi was felt to have initially overlooked (3,4)
OLD HAND – in the opera La Bohème by Puccini, Rodolfo feels Mimi’s COLD HAND (Che gelida manina), which is “initially overlooked” in the answer.
21 Had performing rodents jumping over cherry? (7)
STARRED – RATS (rodents) reversed + RED (cherry).
22 Initially pacifist, sometimes you will actually rarely mind fighting? (6)
PSYWAR – initial letters of “pacifist, sometimes you will actually rarely”. A contraction of psychological warfare.
25 Medicine in time removed from sack (4)
PILL – PILLAGE (sack) with AGE (time) removed.

10 comments on “Saturday Times 26286 (19th Dec) – better late than never!”

  1. By ‘eck, this isn’t a puzzle to leave displayed on the iPad on Boxing Day. My aged mother caught sight of 1 across in passing and nearly had a coronary. Her eyes aren’t what they were.

    15 dopey post-festive minutes for this. I really liked the clue for IDLE, which was probably a bit wasted, given the biffability of the word.

  2. That’s today’s puzzle Sotira – Andy (when he can catch his breath) will be covering last week’s because of the prize puzzle time lag. But yes, I must say 1a today does cause a bit of a double-take, although perhaps it’s a case of “honi soit qui mal y pense”.
    1. Oops, so it is. And this is Saturday. Christmas always does this to me. I had no idea it was the weekend and failed to notice the clue in either the puzzle or blog title.
  3. Well, amazing what one stumbles upon!! I came here to thank linxit for explaining solutions such as E-FIT and OX-EYE DAISY only to find that I have travelled forward in time! I must have lead a sheltered life as the double-take in 1ac never occurred to me!
    1. What concerns me is that until my mother’s double-take it didn’t occur to me either. I’m seeing my mum in a whole new light.
  4. I don’t see how FIDDLE = string. If it’s a reference to musical instruments I think it’s only used in the plural i.e. strings. But perhaps there’s another sense that hasn’t occurred to me?
  5. I supposed that compared to parents, children, siblings, one’s less likely to kiss a cousin. Or something.
  6. This went easily; liked the shower of cards, and was pleased to link Mimi and the cold hand on first reading. Meantime, I’d not heard that use of slay – the only slang I can bring to mind is regarding a well-turned acting performance. But I didn’t have trouble with the first violin or cello being a string.

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