Saturday Times 26340 (20th Feb)

14:40, so about average difficulty for me. Rather more people than usual in the wordplay, and a couple in the grid, so some of it had a TLS-y feel. Nice to see “Our ‘Enery” make an appearance – I didn’t even know he was dead!

Across
1 Food cook carries is hot and cold (4,4)
FISH CAKE – FAKE (cook, e.g. the books) around IS + H(ot) + C(old).
6 Wish expressed for peace is false — look into it (6)
SHALOM – SHAM (false) around LO (look).
9 Great drink containing solvent (8)
ACETONIC – ACE (great) + TONIC (drink).
10 Business group in vehicle reached by phone (6)
CARTEL – CAR (vehicle) + TEL (phone).
12 Time to invade Indian island (5)
CRETE – T(ime) inside CREE (Indian).
13 Maybe maiden at home is sticking pig — a common household task! (9)
HOOVERING – OVER (maybe maiden) + IN (at home), inside HOG (pig).
14 Terribly mean blokes do go on for many years (4,3,5)
MAKE OLD BONES – (mean blokes do)*.
18 For each favourite, make allowance for bad act? (12)
PERPETRATION – PER (for each) + PET (favourite) + RATION (make allowance for).
21 By battle site, disregard short priest (9)
MONSIGNOR – MONS (battle site) + IGNOR(e) (disregard short).
23 Reproduced document shows Australia needing help after setback (5)
DIAZO – OZ (Australia) + AID (help), all reversed. An old chemical photocopying method.
24 A yen to go on after ailments? Quite so! (3,3)
I’LL SAY – A + Y(en), after ILLS (ailments).
25 Transient affair involves love ultimately out of this world (8)
FLEETING – FLING (affair) around (lov)E + ET (extraterrestrial, out of this world).
26 French writer performing for old judge (6)
GIDEON – GIDE (André Gide, French writer) + ON (performing). Biblical judge.
27 Gracious — regretful Miss has to hide extra-large plant! (8)
MYOSOTIS – MY (gracious) + OTIS (regretful Miss, ref. Miss Otis Regrets, Cole Porter song), around OS (extra-large). The forget-me-not genus. Annoyed with this one, as I knew it and had it right on my paper copy, then typed in MYOSITIS when submitting online.

Down
1 Loud competition enthralling any number in the country (6)
FRANCE – F (loud) + RACE (competition) around N (any number).
2 Without hesitation children get angry (3,3)
SEE RED – SEED (children) around ER (hesitation).
3 Famous boxer had to work hand in glove (9)
COOPERATE – COOPER (Henry Cooper, famous boxer) + ATE (had).
4 Adventurous wanderer in dark, English bishop bumping into German philosopher (6,6)
KNIGHT ERRANT – NIGHT (dark) + E(nglish) + RR (Right Reverend, bishop), all inside KANT (Immanuel Kant, German philosopher).
6 Gasp when the ideal situation falls short (5)
HEAVE – HEAVEN (ideal situation) “falls short”.
7 Europeans move slowly north carrying a box (8)
LATVIANS – SNAIL (move slowly) reversed, around A TV (a box).
8 African galas may go wild (8)
MALAGASY – (galas may)*. Someone from Madagascar.
11 Army officer, subsequently fellow-fighter going side by side (12)
COLLATERALLY – COL (army officer) + LATER (subsequently) + ALLY (fellow-fighter).
15 One won’t 2 (SEE RED), when this / unemotional? (9)
BLOODLESS – double definition.
16 Cheap food of a former Chinese period sending a bad message? (8)
SPAMMING – SPAM (cheap food) + MING (former Chinese period).
17 After sound suggesting grumble, was first to be happy (8)
GRUNTLED – GRUNT (sound suggesting grumble) + LED (was first). Facetious back-formation from disgruntled, but it’s in the dictionary.
19 Deviant reveals deplorable inclination, getting left out (6)
SADIST – SAD (deplorable) + (l)IST (inclination, minus the L for left).
20 Tedious folk gathered round good short-story teller (6)
BORGES – BORES (tedious folk) around G(ood). Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine master of the short story.
22 This person’s a success — a potential queen bee maybe? (5)
IMAGO – “I’M A GO”.

27 comments on “Saturday Times 26340 (20th Feb)”

  1. I had three DKs but got all those answers from wordplay, so no complaints here: BORGES, ACETONIC, DIAZO. Also SNAIL as a verb.

  2. 18:43 .. some tricky vocab and spellings. Dithered over DIAZO and MYOSOTIS, among others. But my longest delay was with my loi SADIST. As you say, linxit, quite TLS-y.

    I do like to be reminded of expressions like MAKE OLD BONES, which seem to be on the wane, more’s the pity.

    btw, Andy, I nominated yesterday’s puzzle for inclusion in the Memories’ ‘Good Puzzles’ section. Any chance?

    Edited at 2016-02-27 11:17 am (UTC)

    1. Absolutely – best puzzle this year easily! I only got around to it on the way home yesterday, which turned out to be ideal crossword-solving conditions – a broken-down train at Watford, a trespasser at Milton Keynes, then a potential suicide on the tracks up at Wolverhampton meant the journey took 90 minutes longer than usual. I finished that, then a couple of Jumbos from the pile and three or four Guardians too (I’ve been slacking lately).

      1. Great. Thanks, Andy.

        You’re probably the only passenger on that train to have used the word ‘ideal’!

        1. Yep, I don’t mind the train being delayed – on the way in I get to be late for work with a cast-iron excuse, solve more puzzles, and get a refund for the journey. On the way home ditto – with a takeaway rather than Sue’s cooking!
          1. “On the way home ditto – with a takeaway rather than Sue’s cooking!”

            Sue doesn’t read the blog, then.

            Edited at 2016-02-27 11:54 am (UTC)

            1. Andy is clearly long buried under the patio. Long suffering Sue has successfully taken over the blog for months but blew it with the “ideal” train journey exaggeration. Personally, I am locking my doors and changing my name to Sotira.
  3. Despite having equally propitious solving conditions -a long train journey- I found this puzzle largely beyond me.I see from the blog I got four clues correct.On the other hand I had Italians for 7d which led me to try Desire at 5a; this is what happens when desperation sets in.
    The good news is that I was on the right lines with Masagaly for the unknown African and Aidzo for the unknown copy.
    And the train was on the right lines too -on time! David
    1. Well you did better than me -only got 24a and 19d. Not for lack of trying -gave it 70 mins before throwing in the pen.Never heard of the expression “make old bones”, did not know diazo, who Gideon was, the word malagasym,myosotis or Miss Otis, and imago.
      1. “Make old bones” is normally only ever heard in the negative, e.g. “You’ll never make old bones if you carry on driving like that” (she said to her boy racer grandson).

        As for the other words, well, you know ’em now! Next time they appear they’ll be easy write-ins.

        Edited at 2016-02-27 05:48 pm (UTC)

  4. When I first knew him my husband couldn’t stop laughing when I used this term for cleaning the rugs. Like Sue Linxit evidently, he doesn’t visit this website….. Never mind that the machines were invented in the US by the Hoover company, over here the activity is known as “vacuuming”. I haven’t got any Hoovers but I have got 2 Electroluxes and an almost new Dyson that my extravagant NYC neighbour threw out and I rescued, knowing exactly how expensive they are. I soon knew why she got rid of it.

    As someone pointed out on the club forum, MYOSOTIS was pretty difficult if you didn’t know the song.

    Oh yes, yesterday’s puzzle was a keeper. And the TLS was very hard too (and good). 17.37

  5. Our ‘enry had (has?) a twin brother, also a boxer. Until I got used to it, it was disturbing to go into the shops in my nearby village of Farningham and find myself effectively standing next to the great man. Agree with Olivia, a great puzzle but not a touch on yesterday’s.

    Edited at 2016-02-27 02:52 pm (UTC)

    1. Was the twin brother called George? George Cooper, Henry’s brother, used to run the local greengrocer’s when I lived in Wembley in the late 60s. Looked like Henry. Nice man who used to give my little boy fruit to nibble. I was delighted to see Henry featured in our crossword.
      1. Looked just like ‘enry, almost as beaten up. Yes name was George, Can’t think what he was doing in the butchers at Farningham but there he was. On edit perhaps he was buying meat.

        Edited at 2016-02-27 07:55 pm (UTC)

  6. 24:33. I made heavy weather of this puzzle, but I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t know DIAZO or MYOSOTIS but both were gettable from wordplay. Mind you as Olivia says the latter is a real toughie if you don’t know the song.
    I was surprised and pleased to see GRUNTLED: if it’s good enough for Bertie Wooster it’s good enough for me.
    14ac is an expression I have only ever heard with reference to wine: ‘it’s delicious now but I don’t think it will MAKE OLD BONES.’

    Edited at 2016-02-27 05:50 pm (UTC)

  7. When my father-in-law was machine-gunned during the war, an army medic said to him “you won’t make old bones”. He is now 97 and still going strong.
  8. I didn’t know DIAZO but it was easy to work out. Apart from that there was no major problem. I enjoyed the reference to the lady who was unable to lunch today, Madam. A slowish but steady solve. 34 minutes. Ann
  9. This wasn’t such a poor crossword despite its mistaking Americans for Indians and labelling your friendly neighbourhood sadist ‘deviant’. Pleasant memories of ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer and a young Mr Clay didn’t really make up for those shortcomings. A bit snarky perhaps, probably in reaction to the overblown praise for yesterday’s clever but bloodless offering.
  10. I remember the ammoniacal smell of these prints from my time in the aircraft industry – the process had superseded the use of blueprints, and it gave a positive image. They were still referred to as ‘prints’ though.

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