Saturday Times 26298 (2nd Jan)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
First Saturday puzzle of the new year, and it still has a couple of seasonal answers, as if it didn’t quite make the cut for Christmas week itself! A fine puzzle nevertheless. 14:44 here, with my COD going to 11ac (as a daily commuter the surface reading resonated with me, but it was a brilliant piece of “misdirection”).

Across
1 Beginning to sail across the Atlantic or Channel (5)
SINUS – S(ail) + IN US (across the Atlantic).
4 The present day has its charms, possibly (9)
CHRISTMAS – (its charms)*. A nice seasonal cryptic definition too.
9 Maybe framed paintings returned before degree course in design (9)
ENTRAPPED – ART (paintings) reversed + PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, a degree course), all inside END (design).
10 Days off a depressing experience for landlord (5)
OWNER – DOWNER (a depressing experience) minus the D for days.
11 Transport dilemma: trains run the wrong way (13)
MALADMINISTER – (dilemma trains)*.
14 Try hard to get attention (4)
HEAR – H(ard) + EAR (attention).
15 Cops in novel with risque plot (10)
CONSPIRACY – (cops in)* + RACY (risque).
18 Sally’s last in school in hard-working class (10)
PLEASANTRY – L (last in school) inside PEASANTRY (hard-working class).
19 Audible expressions of frustration in mass (4)
SIZE – sounds like “sighs”.
21 Carol‘s maturity and right clothing entrance a fellow (4,2,1,6)
AWAY IN A MANGER – AGE (maturity) + R(ight), around WAY IN (entrance) + A + MAN (fellow).
24 Notice vast round island is so long (5)
ADIOS – AD (notice) + OS (outsize, vast) around I(sland).
25 Cross from wing going behind Italian footballers (9)
INTERSECT – SECT (wing) behind INTER (i.e. Inter Milan, Italian football team).
27 Thus Mike welcomes working using biotechnology (9)
ERGONOMIC – ERGO (thus) + MIC (Mike, microphone), around ON (working).
28 Early shot in film (5)
LAYER – (early)*.

Down
1 Group quiet during drinks? They’ll want a port (10)
STEAMSHIPS – TEAM (group) + SH (quiet), inside SIPS (drinks).
2 Head / teachers (3)
NUT – double definition. NUT = National Union of Teachers.
3 Alcohol ingested by British and yobs (6)
SHANDY – hidden in British and yobs.
4 Sign of problem for walker south of island (9)
CAPRICORN – CORN (problem for walker) underneath CAPRI (island).
5 Bones from arm and tibia with odd parts dislodged (5)
RADII – alternate letters of arm and tibia.
6 Sweet talker from Soho with time for frolicking (8)
SMOOTHIE – (Soho, time)*.
7 Fear getting taken in by boring magician’s trick (4-7)
MIND-READING – DREAD (fear) inside MINING (boring).
8 Tender love directed heavenwards (4)
SORE – EROS (love) reversed.
12 Departure of a doctor involved in disclosing secrets (5-6)
LEAVE-TAKING – A VET (a doctor) inside LEAKING (disclosing secrets).
13 Printer from ancient port mostly keeping seat in church ceremony (10)
TYPEWRITER – TYR(e) (ancient port mostly) around PEW (seat in church) + RITE (ceremony).
16 Mocking actors wearing dress and cape (9)
SARCASTIC – CAST (actors) inside SARI (dress) + C(ape).
17 Pair of dopes heading for insolvency name liquidator (8)
ASSASSIN – ASS,ASS (pair of dopes) + I(nsolvency) + N(ame).
20 Party admitting blunder after raising VAT? (6)
BARREL – LAB (party) around ERR (blunder), all reversed.
22 Imbecile’s docked marks, in a manner of speaking (5)
IDIOM – IDIO(t) (imbecile “docked”) + M(arks).
23 Curse what an anti-drug law may do (4)
BANE – an anti-drug law may BAN E.
26 City bank dismissing its leader (3)
ELY – RELY (bank) minus the first letter.

13 comments on “Saturday Times 26298 (2nd Jan)”

  1. All straightforward, done happily in 20 m or so, except 11a, which even with all the checkers I failed to see; had to resort to a word finder and even then it needed a second one. Once you see the misdirection (maldirection?) it’s a fine clue. Thanks Andy.
  3. Sorry to bother you with the same q but I can’t find the J from 25/12. As I see that the Boxing Day’s blog is already out….
    Thanks in advance.
    1. Sorry about that. I wasn’t prepared for one on Xmas Day so didn’t arrange for a blogger. As it was an extra puzzle outside the numerical sequence I couldn’t expect one of the regulars to do it.

      However, if you need help with parsing some of the clues then please ask away, I’m sure we can help.

      1. Many thanks. In the end, just three clues. Since one of my forenames is Noel, I am embarrassed to admit that another clue was 45 d – I just checked the solution. My excuse – I’ve never even met another Noel let alone a Noele!

        6 d Fairy up here, unusually in a pickle? (7) GUMTREE
        If you’re up a gumtree, you’re in a pickle but the fairy…?

        41 ac Film, not the most popular feature of Christmas Day TV? (6,6) QUEEN’S SPEECH
        I assume it’s a ref to the film The King’s Speech; as we have a Queen, I suppose it’s a sort of cryptic definition?

        18 d Sponge associated with messenger carrying glad tidings? (5,4) ANGEL CAKE
        Angel cake is a sponge (I got that far) and an angel is a messenger….? And the rest?

        It’s probably no coincidence that each of these clues has a question mark at the end!

        Again many thanks for your patience.

        Happy New Year to All.

        1. 45D – the only one I’ve ever heard of was Noele Gordon, who was a soap star in the 1970s. But she was very well-known back then.

          6D – got it from “in a pickle” = “up a gumtree”, thought it might also be the name of a fairy in some book? Can’t find a reference though. There is a fairy called Cobweb in MND, but that would be really loose!

          41A – that’s how I saw it too.

          18D – you got it – a sponge associated with a messenger of good tidings might be an …?

          Happy New Year to you too, Adrian. Hopefully someone can explain 6D satisfactorily!

          1. I thought the idea with 6dn was that a fairy up a GUMTREE would be in a pickle, but that this would be unusual in that a fairy is normally up a Christmas tree.
            I still don’t understand 41ac at all.
            1. And if a gumtree is a type of fir tree, i.e. a Christmas tree, that would complement your explanation.
              1. A gum tree is (usually) a eucalyptus, but I’m not sure it really matters for the clue to make sense… to the extent it does make sense!
  4. 16m, no real holdups. I think 11ac was my last in: a very fine clue. 13dn reminded me of a very silly gag I heard recently: ‘welcome to laser noises club, please take a pew’.

    Edited at 2016-01-09 06:59 pm (UTC)

  5. A gentle start to the year for me, too. A long 45 minutes. Maladminister took a while, as did the well disguised (at least to me) hear. I’m wondering if we’ve ever seen Ely referred to as just a city rather than it’s usual See.
    Thanks Andy.
    1. I wondered that myself, but then I looked up biotechnology in Chambers. It’s North American usage apparently.

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