ST 4337 (Sun 12 July) – Parabollocks

Author   talbinhoPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: void (see 8dn)

jerrywh commented in last week’s blog about the incorrect enumeration at 8dn (and the mistake at 14ac, PARABOLA), but I completely forgot when solving and had to work it out for myself, which took ages. Ironically, from an editorial point of view, the answer was HANG UP ONE’S HAT…

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
1 A + POST + LE + SCREED
10 ARRAIGNED; A + R + “REIGNED”
11 DOVER, from DROVE
12 GUILT; “GILT” – I couldn’t get this until I’d solved 8dn and had the ‘G’.
13 W + IS + CON + SIN – the ‘ex-president’ being George ‘W’ Bush.
14 PARABOLA; (BOAR)* in PAL, + A – the word ‘a’ was omitted from this clue, not the first time this has happened in the Sunday Times crossword.
16 SAD, + D,H,U (initial letters) – a Hindu holy man.
19 NO + SING
20 ACE + TONIC – the volatile liquid is ‘acetone’, so I guess the definition includes the apostrophe-‘s’.
22 SOFT-PEDAL; (DOPE’S FAULT – U) – ‘U’ being an old term for ‘socially acceptable’ or ‘upper-class’.
24 BO(S)OM
25 ASTER[n]
26 [l]IMITATION
27 CHEESE ON TOAST; (ONE SCOT HE EATS)*

Down
2 PARTI PRIS; (TRIP)* in PARIS
3 S + AIN’T
4 LONE WOLF; (NO FELLOW)* – good clue, but not original. Well, I suppose it was once, or if you haven’t seen it before
5 SA(DIS)M
6 RADIO MAST; (I + IN A STORM)*
7 ELVES (hidden)
8 HANG UP ONE’S HAT – a pun on ’tile’ = ‘hat’. This was incorrectly given as (4,2,3,4) which held me up for ages, and made the answer look amusing in the grid with the bars in the wrong place.
9 PRONOUN + CEMENT – very good.
15 BONAPARTE; B + (APART in ONE)
17 DY + NASTIES – Benin used to be known as ‘Dahomey’, hence its vehicle registration symbol DY.
18 S(CULL + I)ON – I dithered between this and ‘scallion’ for a while, which is indeed a word but means a leek or onion.
21 A + D + MIRE
23 F + ETCH
24 BRA + V + O – a hired assassin.

3 comments on “ST 4337 (Sun 12 July) – Parabollocks”

  1. I took longer on this than any other ST puzzle since I started noting solving times. As the hour approached and with only about 70% completed I decided enough was enough and used a solver to fill in the gaps. The error in the clue at 8dn accounted for it being my last in. I never heard of PARTI PRIS nor of Benin = DY. I’m in the midst of a crisis of confidence re solving times at the moment and this one didn’t help.
  2. Seriously flawed puzzle, with no standout clues. The errors in 8 and 14 are inexcusable, and 20 is dubious at best.
  3. Not one of the ST’s better efforts. The variability of this crossword in degree of difficulty, and quality of setting, and quality of editing never ceases to amaze me.
    no obvious errors in yesterday’s..

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