ST 4224 (Sun 13 May) – Peaky

Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 6:18

Oh dear, another Sunday shocker I’m afraid. I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure 20dn has incorrect wordplay, while 10ac, 23ac and 28ac are all questionable. Clarifications or corrections welcome.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
6 BE(HE’S)T
9 HERB – ‘simple’ can mean ‘a medicinal plant’, which I didn’t know.
10 RAILWAYMAN – if this is just a cryptic definition it seems to lack a subject. Was the clue (“Maybe tapping lines and checking on some points?”) supposed to read “Maybe one tapping…”?
14 B + RICK + FIELD
18 EDDO; E + rev. of ODD – I originally had EDAM (E + rev. of MAD) here, thinking that a block of Edam might look like an elephant’s ear. In hindsight, this was a somewhat curious thought.
19 [v]IDEO LOG IS T[hought] – well hidden.
21 AP(PEAS)ES
23 MAR + SHY – but the clue requires a noun or verb as the answer (“Waterlogged ground can spoil the throw”).
25 MEGALOSAUR; (SUMO A LARGE)* – this chappy. Good clue.
28 ASYLUM; (SOULS MAY – SO)* – it’s so easy to write in ‘ashram’ for ‘asylum’ or vice versa. Luckily I seemed to have learnt that lesson.
29 EX + HI(BI)TS – ‘British Isles’ for BI? I can’t find that given anywhere (though the online version of Collins seems to be broken, so perhaps it’s in there?).
Down
2 CHEQUERED; (QUEER HE)* in CD
5 D + RIBBLE – the Ribble is a river in Yorkshire, possibly best known for the Ribblehead Viaduct, a famous landmark on the Three Peaks route in Yorkshire, which I think I’m looking forward to racing round in July…
8 SWARD; rev. of DRAWS
15 CLOSE CALL – nice pun on ‘far cry’.
20 ENSLAVE – I think this is supposed to be (N + SLAV) in EVE, but unfortunately that doesn’t work (“Subjugate Pole and eastern European, previous night’s catch”). More cynical solvers might question whether this puzzle actually has an editor.
24 RH (= ‘right hand’) + O (= ‘of first’) + MB
26 OHM; short for On Her Majesty’s [Service]

One comment on “ST 4224 (Sun 13 May) – Peaky”

  1. Sunday shocker? Really?

    Don’t get your knickers in a twist – our esteemed founder will soon be editing the Sunday Times Cryptic!

    Quite a few “easies” omitted from the blog of this one that I quite enjoyed – having achieved the correct answer at 20dn AND having noted the small mistake in the wordplay.

    1a Denounced ringleader’s captured and is doomed (8)
    ACCU R SED. A bit of a typo in the clue that has “ringleader,s” – another lack of editing shocker?

    11a Hint about container being for a vegetable (6)
    T URN IP

    12a Gang turning on poets attacks with vigour (8)
    BOM BARDS. Backward MOB next to BARD’S.

    16a Getting some paID LEave though no longer employed? (4)
    IDLE

    27a No prohibition here in Scotland? (4)
    0 BAN

    3d City that’s civilised out East (5)
    URBAN (E)

    4d Medication concocted (for fussy pig)* (5,2,4)
    SYRUP OF FIGS

    6d Piece of weaponry at front of vessel (3)
    BOW. Not harpoon – too many letters.

    7d Obtaining fodder for (gymkhana I)* organised (9)
    HAYMAKING

    12d Book a date in early spring (11)
    MIDDLEMARCH

    17d Mislay a card and get discouraged?(4,5)
    LOSE HEART

    22d Strips off and upsets repose! (5)
    PEELS. Sleep upside down. Thats an explanation, not a suggestion.

Comments are closed.