Saturday Times 26394 (23rd April)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
11:25 for this one, solved online on the Sunday morning as I didn’t get a chance to do anything crossword-related last Saturday. This seemed to have a lot of GK in it – nearly half the clues seemed to have at least an element of something that might be found in a quiz question. Not that I had a problem with that, but it was noticeable. There was quite a bit of whingeing on the Forum about obscure words, with 1D and 26A getting most of the flak. I remember 1D from history in junior school, and he makes regular appearances in cryptics. 26A I probably learned from earlier puzzles, as it also crops up regularly.

Across
1 Second child of criminal, unfriendly sort (4,4)
COLD FISH – (S child of)*.
5 Keep mum / locked in (4,2)
SHUT UP – double definition.
10 One critical of rubbish transported from the east (9)
DETRACTOR – ROT CARTED (rubbish transported), reversed.
11 Completely finished supper, not leaving odd portions (5)
SPENT – alternate letters of SuPpEr, NoT.
12 One in the dark, being without lighting for a start (4)
UNIT – UNLIT (in the dark), minus the L for Lighting.
13 English officer certainly getting left inside compound (9)
ENCLOSURE – E(nglish) + NCO (officer) + SURE (certainly), with L(eft) inside.
15 Very good group’s making comeback with trendy hit (6-4)
PISTOL-WHIP – PI (very good) + LOTS (group’s) reversed + W(ith) + HIP (trendy).
17 Judge saw moving film (4)
JAWS – J(udge) + (saw)*. 1975 film (was it really that long ago? I was 12) which was the biggest box-office hit ever at the time.
19 Fur I snatched from wild animal (4)
COAT – remove the I from a COATI (a South American raccoon-like mammal).
20 Lots of water tears through low area (7,3)
BARENTS SEA – RENTS (tears) inside BASE (low), A(rea). Part of the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Norway and Russia.
22 Rock singer’s last to interrupt sound of fiddle? (9)
CORNSTONE – (singe)R inside CON’S TONE (sound of fiddle). “A silicious limestone, favourable to cereal growing” according to Chambers. I’d never come across it before, but guessed it from the wordplay without any difficulty.
24 Spoil vote for left-winger (4)
MARX – MAR (spoil) + X (vote).
26 Wild dog died in front of den (5)
DHOLE – D(ied) + HOLE (den). An Asian wild dog a lot commoner in cryptics than in everyday conversation.
27 Popular school missing top grade: so essential (9)
INTRINSIC – IN (popular) + TRAIN (school) minus the A (missing top grade) + SIC (so).
28 Temporary shelter accommodating a new resident (6)
TENANT – TENT (temporary shelter) around A N(ew).
29 I note speaker’s felt full of anger (8)
INCENSED – I + N(ote) + CENSED (sounds like SENSED – felt).

Down
1 Revolting sort captured by 14 (4)
CADE – hidden in the answer to 14D. Jack CADE was the leader of a rebellion against the government of Henry VI in 1450. He lost.
2 Public school heads in row, unusually supporting Liberal party (3,4,4,4)
LET ONE’S HAIR DOWN – ETON (public school) + (heads in row)*, all underneath L(iberal).
3 A bit frantic, desperate to embrace love (8)
FRACTION – (frantic)* around O (love).
4 Scorer in match against South Africa (5)
SATIE – an SA TIE might be a match against South Africa. Erik Satie was a French composer (or scorer as a crossword euphemism).
6 US actor: he is given entertainment award shortly (6)
HESTON – HE’S (he is) + TON(y) (entertainment award shortly). He got an Oscar for Ben-Hur, but never won a Tony as far as I know.
7 Book speculates about rise of informal language, mostly American (3,3,4,5)
THE SUN ALSO RISES – THEORISES (speculates) around [SLAN(g) (informal language, mostly) + US (American), all reversed]. 1926 novel by Ernest Hemingway.
8 Herts town / where snooker player drinks? (7,3)
POTTERS BAR – pretty obvious second cryptic definition, as long as you know the place exists!
9 Number in favour of school punishment one received (8)
PROCAINE – PRO (in favour of) + CANE (school punishment) around I (one).
14 Fellow in drainpipes? One beats up a rather eccentric type (5,5)
SPACE CADET – TED (fellow in drainpipes – 60s fashion, before my time) + ACE (one) + CAPS (beats), all reversed. Definitely my COD, took ages to see how it worked.
16 Without suit, without headgear? How is that significant? (4,2,2)
WHAT OF IT – WO (without) + FIT (suit), around HAT (headgear). One that almost has to be biffed and the wordplay figured out later!
18 Cat in agony, beginning to eat poisonous stuff (8)
PTOMAINE – TOM (cat) inside PAIN (agony) + E(at). The word-of-the-week it seems, spotted in a couple of other puzzles since (e.g. yesterday, but I think it cropped up in the Guardian during the week too).
21 A small seabird seen here? (6)
ASTERN – A + S(mall) + TERN (seabird). A semi-&lit.
23 Consumed all but head of battered … (5)
EATEN – BEATEN (battered), minus the first letter.
25 … fish served cold, absolutely delicious for starters (4)
SCAD – initial letters of Server Cold Absolutely Delicious.

11 comments on “Saturday Times 26394 (23rd April)”

  1. The only unknown for me was 14dn .. there are plenty of dholes here in Kent, at Howletts & Port Lympe. And Cade styled himself “Captain of Kent,” for no good democratic reason. Anyway both clues entirely gettable without knowing the words.

    Another interesting thing about Cade is that he had the rare distinction of being tried in person (and found guilty) despite being dead at the time.

  2. LOI SATIE, must file ‘scorer” away. Dredged up DHOLE, possibly from wildlife park visits. 27’.
  3. 13:18. As Jerry says, all the unusual words in this are perfectly gettable from wordplay. If you haven’t heard of CADE the wordplay could hardly be easier. DHOLE is a bit more tricky because it’s a funny-looking word, but what else can put in when you’ve got ‘lair’ and _O_E?
    By the time PTOMAINE appeared yesterday I had completely forgotten its appearance here, which is a bit dispiriting.
  4. Got home in under an hour just, with DHOLE and SCAD unknown but worked out from wordplay. Didn’t really know SPACE CADET either except that I have heard the expression without knowing what it means. CADE was remembered from previous encounters but

    Footnote:
    DHOLE I met in 2011 and didn’t know it then either. SCAD was in a Quickie last September and also failed to stick in my brain.

  5. Managed to work out most of the unknowns, SCAD, CORNSTONE and CADE, but failed on DHOLE. Didn’t even consider hole as a den. Can’t remember how long it took me but I enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks to Andy for the blog. I hadn’t worked out the wordplay for CORNSTONE so biffed it.
  6. I, too, was struck by the amount of complaining in the forum. CADE especially I would have thought a Brit solver would have known; and DHOLE and CORNSTONE, as Andy says, are eminently gettable. My problem was 8d, as I know neither Herts nor snooker, and Putters was tempting. When PTOMAINE last appeared, there was some discussion here.

    Edited at 2016-05-01 04:48 am (UTC)

  8. 35 minutes, with procaine, dhole and cor stone unknown but very gettable, as noted. Coat last to fall.
  9. Managed about half of this down the RHS.
    Struggled to understand what was needed at times and on seeing the answers there were several unknowns: 1d, 9d, 22a, 26a and the animal in 19a. David

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