Saturday Times 26454 (2nd July)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time 14:19, so a bit tougher than recent Saturdays for me (or I was a bit groggier, whatever). Quite a few oblique definitions made this a fun solve though (eg 4 and 30ac; 1, 2, 7 and 21 dn). I can’t remember now which corner I struggled with, but it’s normally a mainly blank corner for me rather than an odd one or two.

Across
1 In America, check casualty’s heart (6)
TICKER – TICK (or check in the USA) + ER (Emergency Room, US version of Casualty – TV series or actual hospital ward, take your pick).
4 Marks one put in lattice distorted the map (8)
GRIMACED – M(arks) + ACE (one), inside GRID (lattice). Map is slang for face, although I can’t say I’ve ever used it.
10 Old college article extremely naive, lightweight material (9)
POLYTHENE – POLY (old college) + THE (article) + N(aiv)E.
11 Wordplay compilers recalled for first light (5)
SUNUP – PUN (wordplay) + US (compilers), all reversed.
12 Mischievous Greek princess enters home of mathematician (11)
ARCHIMEDEAN – ARCH (mischievous) + MEDEA (Greek princess) inside IN (home).
14 Father disowning son in rage (3)
IRE – SIRE (father) without the S(on).
15 Little craft beer keeps cold? At first, I don’t believe it! (7)
CORACLE – ALE (beer) around C(old), after COR (I don’t believe it!)
17 Time went quickly touring what capital? (6)
TEHRAN -T(ime) RAN (went quickly), around EH (what).
19 Many beginning to steal hearts (6)
SCORES – S(teal) + CORES (hearts).
21 Issue over intelligence collected by spy (7)
PROGENY – O(ver) + GEN (intelligence), inside PRY (spy).
23 Physicist almost given royal assignment (3)
OHM – OHMS (On Her Majesty’s Service) is the royal assignment. Georg Ohm is the German physicist demoted to a mere electrician by Chambers!
24 Officers flee after a day of assassination (5-2-4)
AIDES-DE-CAMP – DECAMP (flee) after A + IDES (day of assassination).
26 Organs joining flute, riffing (5)
UTERI – hidden in flute riffing.
27 Earth-saving eccentric is not the first in Milton Keynes? (9)
ECONOMIST – ECO (Earth-saving) + (is not, M)*. John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is our economist.
29 Greek character spotted pulling back trigger (8)
DETONATE – ETA (Greek character) + NOTED (spotted), all reversed.
30 Small freshwater fish that might be smelt (6)
STENCH – S(mall) + TENCH (freshwater fish). Good clue, as a smelt is also a type of fish.

Down
1 Two boys, the first climbing church steps, making a noise (3,5)
TAP DANCE – PAT and DAN (two boys, one reversed) + CE (church).
2 Firm losing a thousand in defeat is trouble for corporation (5)
COLIC – CO (firm) + LICK (defeat), minus the K for thousand.
3 Initiators of extortion and theft put away (3)
EAT – first leters of Extortion And Theft.
5 Some film: shocking treatment making return again (2-5)
RE-ELECT – REEL (some film) + ECT (electrocardiotherapy, shocking treatment).
6 Mixed metaphors in Timon of Athens? (11)
MISANTHROPE – (metaphors in)*. In the Shakespeare play, Timon becomes a misanthrope after giving away his fortune to false friends and hangers-on.
7 He’ll stand days in prison, I see (9)
CANDIDATE – D(ays) inside CAN (prison) + I + DATE (see).
8 Study revolves around very soft spruce (6)
DAPPER – READ (study) reversed around PP (very soft).
9 Dangerous British river changing direction by 90° at the end? (6)
SEVERE – SEVERN (British river) with the N(orth) moving 90° to point E(ast)
13 Epitome of current motor race (11)
INCARNATION – IN (current) + CAR (motor) + NATION (race).
16 City’s involved in strange, dishonest lying (9)
RECUMBENT – EC (city) inside RUM (strange) + BENT (dishonest).
18 Dressing of each type when out to lunch (3,5)
EYE PATCH – (each type)*.
20 Singular art including more blue than others (7)
SADDEST – S(ingular) + ADDEST (art including).
21 Seemingly good, a great deal’s offered up for one getting fired (6)
PISTOL – PI (seemingly good) + LOTS (a great deal) reversed.
22 Bar stocking much beer and stout (6)
ROTUND – ROD (bar) around TUN (much beer, 216 gallons in fact).
25 Immigrant needs a legal right (5)
ALIEN – A + LIEN (legal right).
28 Plump, round peasant’s clothing (3)
OPT – O (round) + P(easan)T.

7 comments on “Saturday Times 26454 (2nd July)”

  1. I did quite well for a Saturday (better than I’m doing today, that’s for sure!) and got the whole lot done in around an hour. Sadly, though, I biffed 27 and didn’t go back to it to make sure it made sense, which ECOLOGIST didn’t, of course. Ah well, that balance of speed-biffing and making sure you’re actually right is a hard one to strike, it seems.

    Thanks for putting me out of my misery on my other couple of unparseds. I still can’t really see SADDEST, though, especially the ADDEST bit. Any hints?

    Edited at 2016-07-09 08:11 am (UTC)

    1. I believe it goes like this:

      (I) am including = (I) ADD
      so
      (Thou) art including = (thou) ADDEST

      I didn’t think much of it as the answer was so biffable once the checkers were in place that the convoluted wordplay didn’t seem worth all the effort it must have taken to think it up.

      Edited at 2016-07-09 09:38 am (UTC)

  2. I was going to give up on this as too difficult but vinyl1’s helpful hint (for which thanks) to give it a try spurred me on.
    In the end I put letters in every square without always understanding why. This blog has enlightened me so thanks as ever to blogger.
    I could not parse 4a, 6d, 20d and 27a. But I got them all correct apart from 27a where I put Ecologist.
    Overall I am very pleased and enjoyed returning to the crossword each day for a few minutes. David
  3. Greetings, I’m afraid I’m not familiar with “biff” as in “biffable” or “speed-biffing”. Could someone enlighten me? Thanks
    1. Hi,

      It’s a back-formation from an invented acronym BIFD (bunged in from definition). So it means to put in an answer even though you haven’t worked out the wordplay, which helps with solving times but occasionally at the expense of accuracy.

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