Saturday Times 26532 (1st Oct)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
I woke up this morning to no internet connection, so as I have no intention of typing it in on my phone, it’ll have to wait till tonight when I’ll try again.

Sunday morning: still no Internet, but I remembered I can use my phone’s 4G connection as a Wi-fi hub, so here it is. A really tough puzzle anyway, solved in 21:51 but with one silly mistake at 23D. To those on the Forum who complained that it was ambiguous, it isn’t at all. I still managed to foul it up due to bad typing but the answer was obvious.

Across
1 Boy back in hospital, brought with feet strapped? (9)
SANDALLED – LAD (boy) reversed inside SAN (hospital), LED (brought).
6 Influential body monarchy legitimately incorporates (5)
HYLEG – hidden in “monarchy legitimately”. The ruling planet at the hour of birth (origin obscure). One of the words missing from the latest edition of Chambers, but luckily I have the PDF.
9 Master is biased, bypassing Head (7)
ARTISAN – PARTISAN (biased), minus the first letter.
10 Wildly fancy idea behind nuclear armament? (4,3)
LIKE MAD – LIKE (fancy) + M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction, the idea behind nuclear armament).
11 Job of linesman to secure team compound (5)
OXIDE – ODE (job of “linesman”, ie poet) around XI (team).
13 Writer may whinge if disturbed (9)
HEMINGWAY – (may whinge)*.
14 Shell from grenade-launcher behaves like burning ammunition (9)
GRAPESHOT – G(renade-launche)R + APES (behaves like) + HOT (burning).
16 Foremost of surfing paradises on Caribbean strand (4)
WISP – S(urfing) P(aradises), next to WI (West Indies, Caribbean).
18 Blow / a draught (4)
SLUG – double definition
19 Strip down from girl’s coat (9)
DISMANTLE – DI’S (girl’s) + MANTLE (coat).
22 Bearer of one note combined with gift (9)
INCUMBENT – I (one) + N(ote) + CUM (combined with) + BENT (gift).
24 House having turnover of staff quite regularly (5)
TUDOR – ROD (staff) + (q)U(i)T(e), all reversed
25 Sail through before green and black craft (4,3)
JUMP JET – JUMP (sail through before green, i.e. traffic lights) + JET (black).
26 Hateful how satellite cable may be connected! (7)
TOADISH – TO A DISH (how satellite cable may be connected).
28 Overheard plea to be bombed less (5)
MINUS – sounds like “mine us” (plea to be bombed).
29 Throw a wobbly bucket down, incurring instant fine (5,4)
RAISE CAIN – RAIN (bucket down) around SEC (instant), A1 (fine).

Down
1 Old US scientist bags ore for breaking down (7)
SEABORG – (bags ore)*. Glenn Seaborg, US chemist and Nobel prizewinner.
2 Fool’s purse picked up (3)
NIT – sounds like “knit” (purse).
3 Points in wonderment, wine being served (8)
ANSWERED – N,S (points) inside AWE (wonderment) + RED (wine).
4 One supposedly never free to start releasing article (5)
LUNCH – LAUNCH (start), minus the A(rticle).
5 Nothing within poor melodist’s range (9)
DOLOMITES – O (nothing) inside (melodist)*.
6 Raising family in school, mostly (6)
HIKING – KIN (family) inside HIG(h) (school, mostly).
7 Wanting a hand up, being so ineffectual? (4-7)
LIMP-WRISTED – cryptic definition.
8 Hurry, as guy did, playing piano (5-2)
GIDDY-UP – (guy did)* + P(iano).
12 From prayer leader embracing wife, an expression of scorn? (2,1,8)
I’M A DUTCHMAN – IMAM (prayer leader) around DUTCH (wife) + AN.
15 Conned punter ought to (3,6)
HAD BETTER – HAD (conned) + BETTER (punter).
17 Section of motorway tunnel originally cutting through nuclear base (4,4)
FAST LANE – T(unnel) inside FASLANE (nuclear base)
18 Beanpole, muddy, mostly working out, by the sound of it (4,3)
SLIM JIM – SLIM(y) (muddy mostly) + JIM (sounds like “gym”, working out).
20 Upon which a little corn comes before clay (7)
EARTHEN – EAR (a little corn) comes before THEN (upon which).
21 Images upsetting I judge, in part (6)
EMOJIS – I + J(udge) inside SOME (part), all reversed.
23 All players having succeeded for the third time in African race (5)
TUTSI – TUTTI (all players) with S(ucceeded) replacing the third T(ime). Oh the perils of solving online – I thought TUTSI but typed in TUTTI without realising. Took a while to spot the error even after I’d seen I got one wrong.
27 Lyricist whose change of name was provisional? (3)
IRA – cryptic definition? Ira Gershwin was born Israel Gershowitz, but changed his name to that of an Irish terrorist organization!

12 comments on “Saturday Times 26532 (1st Oct)”

  1. 28m. Tricky this, but most enjoyable. I didn’t know SEABORG or HYLEG. Fortunately there isn’t anywhere else to put the scientist’s letters and the unlikely-looking astrology thing was a hidden. I still couldn’t quite believe it until I had all the checkers.
    Can’t see any ambiguity in 23dn.
  2. This was hard. I forget my time. I was on a plane half dozing, half doing the crossword.

    I don’t think I’ve heard the phrase I’M A DUTCHMAN but the cryptic was clear. Ditto for HYLEG although a hidden answer has to be the fairest clue for something really obscure (so obscure that Chambers has dropped it). Beats an anagram for sure.

    Couldn’t see how JUMBO JET worked but was confident it couldn’t be anything else.

    I can’t see why anyone would think 23D was ambiguous. You could argue that it is not clear if you alter “all players” or “african race” but “succeeded for the third time” only allows one of those alternatives to work.

    I liked TOADISH once I got it. I was on the right wavelength but at the wrong end of the cable. TO A BOX? TO A TV? TO AN STB? TO…

  3. My print says 35 minutes, not a problem, knew Mr Seaborg, but had to look up HYLEG afterwards to see what it was.
  4. Ran out of time (and steam) on this one leaving the NW corner somewhat vacant (no idea why I did not spot 1ac or 3d – both relatively straightforward in the context of this somewhat tricky puzzle) and I don’t generally think of an artisan as a master – more as a competent craftsman (although I should have got it from the wordplay). Ah well…

    Thanks for the explanations Andy.

    1. I agree with your comment, Nick, about ‘artisan’ — not really a master. And in 22ac I think a ‘bent’ for some activity is more of a desire, or a tendency, to do it than a talent or ‘gift’ for it.

      Yes, quite a slog to finish this one.

  5. No time recorded but it was probably off the scale, yet I remember thoroughly enjoying this even allowing for the three unknowns already mentioned above and a couple of other answers like EMOJIS with which I was less than familiar. I ended with everything parsed and confidant that it was all correct even before I checked the unknowns. The sign of a well-set puzzle in my view.
  6. Many thanks for this blog.
    I spent a lot of time on this through the week but could not quite crack it.
    I put letters in every square but I now see not all were correct. I had Artiste for 3a and this led to Leech for 4d; and I could not get 18a putting in Stun just for something to write.
    But overall I was very happy to have got so far. Unknowns were Hyleg and Seaborg but guessed from the clues.
    This was hard. By comparison I finished the 8 October Daily Telegraph crossword in one shortish sitting. David
  7. SW Corner did for me and surrendered after an hour

    12dn DUTCHMAN not CHINAMAN!

    28ac MINUS – surely no such plea!

    COD 13ac HEMINGWAY WOD EMOJIS

    horryd Shanghai

  8. Enjoyed this varied challenge – mainly memorable though for being surprised to discover that HYLEG was actually a word! Ah now I also remember that SLIM JIM and HAD BETTER both held me up for far too long.

    Anyone remember GIDDY UP being one of Kramer’s verbalisms?

  9. Not all that pleased with this clue. SCUD works just as well, with the same checkers; DRUG is as good a match for the definitions, and WIND is probably even better.

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