Saturday Times 26622 (14th Jan)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solved in 14:00 exactly on the clock, so pretty standard fare for a Saturday. I have a quibble about 5ac, but really enjoyed 26ac and 20dn – extra marks for originality.

Across
1 Vehicle getting parked outside, one’s learned (6)
SAVANT – VAN (vehicle) inside SAT (parked).
5 Area where papers returned, complete (8)
DISTRICT – ID (papers) reversed + STRICT (complete I suppose, although I don’t see the two words as synonyms, and neither do Chambers or Collins). [ OK, after jackkt‘s comment I had another look and it is in Collins, but I still don’t like it! ]
9 Outfit in dress, highway robbery (10)
BRIGANDAGE – RIG (outfit) inside BANDAGE (dress).
10 Racket sport’s ultimate force (4)
DINT – DIN (racket) + (spor)T. An archaic word on its own, but survives in the phrase “by dint of”.
11 Damned batting! (8)
BLINKING – double definition.
12 Spur is sharp (6)
PROMPT – and another.
13 Queen fled with yours truly (4)
RANI – RAN (fled) + I (yours truly).
15 Last of meat, dog eating it – that’s grand! (8)
THOUSAND – (mea)T + HOUND (dog) around SA (it).
18 Further demand to drink extra bubbly (8)
SUPERTAX – SUP (drink) + (extra)*.
19 King dressed in silver once, light colour (4)
ECRU – R (rex, king) inside ECU (silver once). The ECU (European Currency Unit) was replaced by the euro in 1999, but was never a real currency with notes and coins. However, the clue probably refers to the French écu, which existed as both gold and silver coins from the 13th century until they got rid of it during the French Revolution.
21 Cool tune (6)
TEMPER – double definition, both valid but neither would be the first to come to mind!
23 Slash the time taken to tie your shoes? (8)
LACERATE – if you’re slow at tying knots you need to improve your LACE RATE.
25 Shop steward’s back before priest (4)
DELI – (stewar)D + ELI (the only priest in the Bible, as far as crossword setters are concerned!)
26 Real v Atletico Madrid, say, about to go wrong? That’s juicy! (10)
ELDERBERRY – EL DERBY (Real v Atletico Madrid, say) around ERR (go wrong). I was surprised to find that El Derby exists and they’ve borrowed our word for it (with a slightly different spelling – El Derbi madrileño is what they call it in Spain).
27 Spray moister with a spray can (8)
ATOMISER – (moister, a)*
28 Shelter on ground that’s wet (6)
SODDEN – DEN (shelter) next to SOD (ground).

Down
2 Part of spring roll, chilli powder, syrup and semolina last of all served up (5)
APRIL – last letters of roll, chilli powder, syrup and semolina, reversed.
3 National data to preserve, measure taken to conceal it (9)
ARGENTINE – GEN (data) + TIN (preserve), inside ARE (measure).
4 Raised bar in a number of games – of this? (6)
TENNIS – INN (bar) inside SET (a number of games of the answer).
5 Man, old crossword setter eating last of pud – that fills a gap? (7,8)
DRAUGHT EXCLUDER – DRAUGHT (man) + EX-CLUER (old crossword setter) around (pu)D.
6 Triallist is female with record on track (8)
SHEEPDOG – SHE (female) + EP (record) + DOG (track).
7 Career’s ending with brief farewell for broadcaster (5)
RADIO – (caree)R + ADIO(s) (brief farewell).
8 Frenchman turned over after gendarme confiscates an appliance (3-6)
CAN-OPENER – RENÉ (Frenchman) reversed, after COP (gendarme) around AN.
14 Diversion in the early hours sent me off round Ukrainian capital (9)
AMUSEMENT – AM (in the early hours) + (sent me)* around U(krainian).
16 Lead – or sharpened flint? (9)
SPEARHEAD – double definition.
17 Those looking to grab knickers primarily – when this? (8)
STARKERS – STARERS (those looking) around K(nickers).
20 Tenor’s possible autobiography incomplete, a victim of hubris (6)
ICARUS – Enrico might have called his autobiography “I, CARUSO”, but apparently he never finished it.
22 In particular, a king of old (5)
PRIAM – A inside PRIM (particular). King of Troy in Greek mythology – father of Paris, whose abduction of Helen started the Trojan War.
24 Short letters from Peter Sellers (5)
TERSE – hidden in Peter Sellers.

8 comments on “Saturday Times 26622 (14th Jan)”

  1. My Collins has “strict = complete” (prenominal) with “in strict secrecy” as an example.

    Quite a chewy puzzle, I thought, but entertaining. I lost time with FLIPPING at 11ac before checkers came to my rescue.

    Edited at 2017-01-21 12:02 am (UTC)

    1. So it does – I missed that when I looked it up earlier. Still a bit dubious to me, but fair game as it is in the dictionary after all!
  2. would be a complete preference (mathematically), would it not?

    Otherwise fairly straightforward with COD 5dn DRAUGHT EXCLUDER FOI 25qac DELI. LOI 19ac ECRU. WOD STARKERS

  3. I found this a real struggle despite getting the long 5d early on. I had most success in the bottom half and Ecru came up recently, perhaps in a QC. In the end the NW defeated me: 1a,1d, 3d, 4d, 9a and 11a. Could not parse 5a but put District (many other words fitted). Liked Elderberry very much. David
  4. Like Jack I had “flipping” for quite a while. And ELDERBERRY was very entertaining – when I finally saw it. It reminded me of a case in matrimonial law eons ago (Parojcic v. Parojcic) where the wife took exception to her husband’s habit of joking around in Spanglish with one of his mates. “See you at el crackio el dawnio” they’d say as the wife ground her teeth. 20.01
  5. I hesitated over DISTRICT until I had all the checkers – couldn’t see the synonym. I had a good laugh over EL DERBY and loved the clue for ICARUS. An enjoyable 35 minutes with this morning’s cuppa. Ann

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