Saturday Times 26568 (12th Nov)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
I forgot to note down my solving time for this, but it was probably around 14-15 mins. The setter must be a bit of a film buff, as we can see two Schwarzenegger films (True Lies and Total Recall) as well as Jaws in the clues, plus actors Mario Lanza and Lou Costello. Trickiest wordplay goes to 11ac, with a few people on the Forum stumped even after others gave very broad hints that should probably have been zapped.

Across
1 Bad to eat loose giblets packed by non-mainstream company (12)
INDIGESTIBLE – (giblets)* inside INDIE (non-mainstream company).
9 Mad cow disease caught by popular dramatist (5)
IBSEN – BSE (bovine spongiform encephalitis, mad cow disease) inside IN (popular).
10 Come back together, never once to disperse (9)
RECONVENE – (never once)*.
11 Cheap and stringy, if I must be frank (8)
TWOPENNY – TWINY (stringy), with the I replaced by OPEN (frank). Took a while to see how that worked!
12 Bigoted traitor repressing one hundred lives (6)
RACIST – RAT (traitor) around C (one hundred), IS (lives).
13 Who’ll give a better hand / with worse inflamed throat? (8)
CROUPIER – double definition. CROUP is a children’s disease of the throat, and the adjective CROUPY is in Chambers so the second definition is fine without the question mark.
15 Physique, cool in tight-fitting garment (6)
BODICE – BOD (physique) + ICE (cool).
17 Commoner with title disposes of core part of London (6)
BARNET – BARONET (commoner with title) minus the middle letter.
18 Light shows mass in space almost fades away (8)
COMEDIES – COME(t) (mass in space almost) + DIES (fades away).
20 Club for Greens applying pressure to state (6)
PUTTER – P(ressure) + UTTER (state).
21 Posh couples across street on a higher plane? (8)
UPSTAIRS – U (posh) + PAIRS (couples) around ST(reet).
24 Type of radio broadcast with a little flutter? (5-4)
SHORT-WAVE – a SHORT WAVE might be described as a little flutter I suppose.
25 Unpleasant person mostly depressed by employment (5)
LOUSE – LO(w) (mostly depressed) + USE (employment).
26 Publicity to obliterate lead of honest chap who’s in power? (6,6)
PRINCE REGENT – PR (publicity) replacing the first letter of SINCERE (honest) + GENT (chap).

Down
1 “Nuts” as a linguistic expression gets mother put out (7)
IDIOTIC – IDIOMATIC (as a linguistic expression) minus MA (mother put out).
2 1970s music and eg Costello share variation of blues etc (14)
DISCOLOURATION – DISCO (1970s music) + LOU (eg Costello) + RATION (share).
3 Type bound by Schengen regulations (5)
GENRE – hidden in “Schengen regulations”.
4 Flushed with water, say, stupidly spilling contents in a circle (8)
SYRINGED – S(tupidl)Y + RINGED (in a circle).
5 Edge held by companion (4)
INCH – IN (held by) + CH (Companion of Honour).
6 Canaries include this singer learning by repetition (9)
LANZAROTE – LANZA (Mario, singer) + ROTE (learning by repetition).
7 One in True Lies vid I’m playing gives impression of truth (14)
VERISIMILITUDE – I (one) inside (True Lies vid I’m)*.
8 View an article and be livid (6)
SEETHE – SEE (view) + THE (an article).
14 More here, perhaps, for host (9)
PRESENTER – If you’re present you’re here, so if you’re ungrammatically more here you’re PRESENTER!
16 Total Recall finally enters to be a contender (8)
COMPLETE – L (last letter of recall) inside COMPETE (to be a contender).
17 In male voice there’s variable power to go around (6)
BYPASS – BASS (male voice) around Y (variable), P(ower).
19 Dodgy American pastor’s top in cult (7)
SUSPECT – US (American) + P(astor), inside SECT (cult).
22 Wavy mark covered by slabs with raised finish (5)
TILDE – TILED (covered in slabs) with the last letter moved up.
23 Boat’s deviation north to open Jaws (4)
YAWN – YAW (boat’s deviation) + N(orth).

8 comments on “Saturday Times 26568 (12th Nov)”

  1. I did not not parse 11ac TWOPENNY but didn’t give a tuppenny- damn at the time. Neither did I note my time which must have been no more than 45 mins, as I was out shoppin’ at the crack of sparrers, last Saturday mornin’ at TAKASHIMIYA.

    However, one wrong! 17ac BARNES – as I dismissed BARNET for being in Outer London and BARNES better placed in Inner London. Barnes too has a well-known Common but alas…. it parseth not!

    COD 6dn LANZAROTE WOD VERISIMILITUDE

  3. 23m. Quite tricky, very enjoyable. It took me a while to see how 11ac worked but I thought it was rather good.
  4. My sole note is “Not sure about TWOPENNY”, so it looks like I’m in good company! One hour and six minutes, and I seem to remember enjoying it.

    (Certainly I did better than with today’s, but that’s surely more owing to the paralysing hangover than the crossword…)

  5. Very enjoyablle. I took a long time getting into this – at least 5 minutes staring at the NW corner. After it all fel in place I still had to biff TWOPENNY. I’m glad I wasn’t alone in not seeing the cryptic. 40 minutes. Ann
  6. I can’t remember how long I spent on this one, but it wasn’t a PB. I guess around the 40 minute mark. My LOI was TWOPENNY, but I did manage to parse it. When I was a bairn, I used to think Marie O’Lanza was Irish, so no difficulty with that one. Makes the name stick in your mind 🙂

    Edited at 2016-11-19 07:22 pm (UTC)

  8. A bit late reporting as I spent yesterday travelling to Preston to watch what was billed as football; a turgid game with a chance for North End to win with the last kick, but blazed over the bar.
    As to this crossword I got started easily and made good progress with only two remaining for further study 11a and 4d. I thought of Syringed eventually but it means extracting liquid etc (so I thought). However there was nothing better.
    Again I could see that Twopenny fitted (and nothing else) so that went in on Thursday. So I got it all correct in the end. A good test which I enjoyed.
    One benefit of yesterday’s train journey was the chance to do the 19/11 puzzle with plenty of time. And I managed to finish that one by Warrington on the return journey.
    Onwards and upwards. David

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