Saturday Times 26418 (21st May)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
12:55 for this, solved from the paper for a change whilst sat inside hoping for the rain to stop (it didn’t). Only unknown was GALLIARD, but it was very easy to derive from wordplay, so a pretty straightforward solve. Three &lits too – one good, one indifferent, one semi. Nice puzzle overall.

Across
1 Step on board cool craft for a long journey (9)
SPACESHIP – PACE (step) inside SS (i.e. “on board”) + HIP (cool).
6 Avoids / dear / trousers of strong cotton (5)
DUCKS – triple definition.
9 One chasing accounting officer around university (7)
PURSUER – PURSER (accounting officer) around U(niversity).
10 Artist turned into downright wool-gatherer (7)
SHEARER – RA (artist) reversed inside SHEER (downright).
11 What’s attractive about Conservative money? (5)
LUCRE – LURE (what’s attractive) around C(onservative).
12 How baleen is put in another way? (9)
WHALEBONE – (how baleen)*, &lit.
13 Dance with girl — one covered in fat (8)
GALLIARD – GAL (girl) + I (one) inside LARD (fat), “a lively dance for two, in triple time, popular in the 16c and 17c”. I don’t suppose it’ll be making a comeback on Strictly then!
14 Insulted when the sailor’s gone and cast off (4)
USED – ABUSED (insulted) without AB (sailor).
17 Plant attached to a wall endlessly knocked about (4)
ARUM – MURAL (attached to a wall), minus the last letter and reversed.
18 One starting to solicit money inside (8)
BEGINNER – BEG (to solicit money) + INNER (inside).
21 Examine a military alliance one’s come across in Middle East (9)
ANATOMISE – A + NATO (military alliance) + [IS (one’s) inside ME (Middle East)].
22 First of inebriates getting dry in party — “same again” (5)
DITTO – I(nebriates) + TT (teetotal, dry) inside DO (party).
24 Free energy in high explosive weapon (7)
TRIDENT – RID (free) + E(nergy) inside TNT (high explosive).
25 Key sin involving all rapacity, primarily (7)
AVARICE – A (key) + VICE (sin) around A(ll), R(apacity). An &lit., but it seems a bit forced to me.
26 Privileged classes devoid of good record (5)
ENTRY – GENTRY (privileged classes) without the G for good.
27 Many balls finish without pressure to go beyond budget (9)
OVERSPEND – OVERS (many balls – cricket) + END (finish), around P(ressure). Mrs. Linxit’s favourite pastime!

Down
1 Cover for bud, an elite US Navy man seizing power (5)
SEPAL – SEAL (elite US Navy man) around P(ower).
2 Air cut sugar till processed for farmer (15)
AGRICULTURALIST – (air cut sugar till)*.
3 Colour of European poet I loved at the outset (3,2,3)
EAU DE NIL – E(uropean) + AUDEN (poet) + I + L(oved). A pale green, like Nile water allegedly. Colour and (3,2,3) were enough, as it comes up fairly often.
4 Military equipment needs right warhead fitting (8)
HARDWARE – (R, warhead)*.
5 Upset resin under power-assisted steering unit (6)
PASCAL – LAC (resin) reversed underneath PAS (Power-Assisted Steering, which isn’t in Chambers as a recognised abbreviation). An SI unit of pressure, equivalent to one newton per square metre.
6 Go further down river meeting swan laying eggs (6)
DEEPEN – DEE (river) + PEN (swan laying eggs).
7 My lecturer’s a fool to expose English as a block to communications (6,9)
CORDON SANITAIRE – COR (my) + DONS (lecturer’s) + A NIT (a fool) + AIR (expose) + E(nglish).
8 Yield is less uncertain either side of break (9)
SURRENDER – SURER (less uncertain) around REND (break).
13 Argue crazily about bet security (9)
GUARANTEE – (argue)* around ANTE (bet).
15 Purchase a lot of beer, always filling (8)
LEVERAGE – LAGE(r) (a lot of beer) around EVER (always).
16 What’s used to haul weight on rocky islands (8)
WINDLASS – W(eight) + (islands)*.
19 Urgently taking son round to bank (6)
SORELY – S(on) + O (round) + RELY (bank).
20 Some grub is troughed here (6)
BISTRO – hidden in “grub is troughed”, semi-&lit.
23 One living at their peak in old book (5)
OREAD – O(ld) + READ (book). A mountain nymph in mythology.

11 comments on “Saturday Times 26418 (21st May)”

  1. 24 minutes but I needed to look up “baleen” before I could solve 12ac. Worked out OREAD and and CORDON SANITAIRE eventually but both have come up before and caught me out so it’s discouraging the answers didn’t leap out at me on this occasion.
  2. I don’t time my solving at the weekends; I was just pleased to finish this one on the same day I started it (unlike Sunday’s!) Especially happy to pull a few unknowns or near-unknowns out of nowhere, like SEPAL, EAU DE NIL, OREAD and GALLIARD.

    I got WHALEBONE from the crossers, and coincidentally heard “baleen” deployed in conversation on a podcast this morning, by a man who’s read a lot of American literature. On a hunch I did a little search and it’s mentioned eleven times, including being defined, in Moby-Dick, a book still on my “to-read” shelf, sadly.

    COD to 1ac. All aboard the SS Hip!

    1. Moby Dick is one of the great novels of the world. I loved it, though it is not to everyone’s taste. A great source of vocab. for solving crosswords, incidentally. ..
  3. thanks, andy. I had trouble with the upper right. Nice to learn eau de nil and oread.
  4. I obviously knew all the ‘unknowns’ as I apparently took 10 mins to solve this nice crossword.
  6. I think the British reviewers were spot on about Moby-Dick 165 years ago. I read galliard just the day before doing this puzzle in Walter Scott’s Marmion. The critics had a field day with that too, but the public knew better.

    Edited at 2016-05-28 04:58 pm (UTC)

  7. I spent a long time on this over the weekend and managed to get all of it except the plant.
    I had Arum (vaguely known as a word)listed as a possible but couldn’t parse it. Then I thought of Abused = Knocked about and went with Abus as a guess. But on checking in Chambers it was arum.
    Anyway I did much better than most weeks and enjoyed the puzzle. I was very pleased to derive Galliard and Cordon Sanitaire. David
    1. I had “abus” for quite a while. Took me *ages* to see the “mural” connection.
  8. A gentle one for a Saturday; like Crypticsue, I knew the DNKs. Galliard I associate with Dowland, but in any case, I’ve heard bunches of them over the years. 3d biffed from enumeration, 15d biffed then parsed post hoc. Nothing outstanding, but an enjoyable puzzle.

    Edited at 2016-05-29 02:37 am (UTC)

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