ST 4367 (Sun 7 Feb) – Spanner in the works

Author   talbinhoPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 4:24 (solved online)

A solid puzzle without too much difficulty, although I wasted time on 18ac. There are one or two unusual constructions, e.g. 19dn, as well as a hatful of double definitions and two instances of surnames’ capitals being disguised by being the first word of a clue (Bell and Tree).

As an aside, I have been tipped off by mctext that today’s puzzle (#4368) may be garbled online – the enumerations for the clues are all wrong. On first glance, it looks as though it might be ok as long as you ignore these (the clue numbering seems to match the grid). As it’s a prize puzzle, perhaps best that we don’t say too much about it; the powers that be will probably repair it at some point in the week.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
1 SEA HORSE; S,E (= ‘points’) + A + HORSE (= heroin = ‘banned drug’) – Chambers has this as one word but online sources seem to suggest that the two-word version is also acceptable.
5 BEAT IT; BE A TIT – this amused me.
9 PRISTINE; (SPRITE IN)* – because the answer to 21 is SPRITE.
12 RE + SORT
13 GARDEN + I + A
15 BOUNCY CASTLE (cryptic definition)
18 LONDON BRIDGE; (BENDING OLD OR)* – a ‘spanner’ in the sense of ‘something that spans’. This is old hat in crosswordese but still passed me by until I saw ‘London’ from the checking letters – I even tried to justify ‘monkey wrench’.
23 THESPIAN; (HE PAINTS)* – Herbert Tree was an actor a hundred years ago. Perhaps it’s about time he was retired from crosswords?
24 HAMPER (2 defs)
26 LITTER (2 defs)
27 MORPHINE; MORPH (= ‘Change’) + IN (= ‘at home’) + E (= ‘little Eastern’)
28 A CROSS – because there are 14 across clues.
29 CLUELESS (2 defs) – the online clue for this may have been slightly garbled (there was no initial capital) but the answer was clear enough.

Down
1 SUPERB; PER in SUB
2 ARIOSO; AS around RIO, + O[ld] – ‘Brazilian port’ doesn’t require too much thought.
3 ONTARIO; ON (= ‘Game’), + TRIO (= ‘group of musicians’) around A – I suppose ‘game’ = ‘on’ in the sense of ‘Are you game for this?’, although it doesn’t feel quite right.
4 SAND (2 defs) – Chopin’s lover was Amantine Dupin, who wrote under the pseudonym George Sand.
6 ECHIDNA; HID (= ‘concealed’) in (CANE)*
7 TAKE NOTE (2 defs)
8 THREATEN; THEN (= ‘after that’) around (TEAR)*
11 BABYSIT (cryptic definition) – ‘issue’ as in ‘children’.
14 ANTBEAR, from [c]AN’T BEAR – this doesn’t quite work because ‘can’t bear’ is equivalent to ‘is/are unable to bear’, not just ‘unable to bear’.
16 FLOTILLA; (I’LL FLOAT)* – nice anagram.
17 INVENTOR[y] – Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, or at least is credited with having done so.
19 ORPHEUS; compound anagram of PROMETHEUS/(MET ORPHEUS)* – very unusual to see a clue like this in the Sunday Times. The cryptic reading is: ‘PROMETHEUS [is equivalent to] MET + ORPHEUS [anagrammed]’, where ‘this Underworld character’ = ORPHEUS and ‘possibly’ is the anagram indicator.
20 G,R + APPLE
21 SP(R)ITE
22 GREENS (2 defs) – referring to the ecologically-minded.
25 CO + AL

12 comments on “ST 4367 (Sun 7 Feb) – Spanner in the works”

  1. Unfortunately, you can’t just ignore the enumerations. For example, the clue to 4 down resolves perfectly to the (3,2) supplied but the space in the grid requires an 11 letter answer.
    Mike O, Skiathos
  2. Yes, ST4368 has scored a double whammy, a first in my experience. Not only does the grid not fit the clues but the Across clues don’t fit with the Downs as printed! I managed to solve each clue individually but it took a while and then I found out how to piece it all together. Tip: 28 and 29 across are actually 1 and 2 down. But you’ll have to make up your own grid.
  4. 35 minutes for 4367. I groaned at Tree turning up again but 5ac BEAT IT and BOUNCY CASTLE made up for it. I don’t recall seeing a clue like 19 before in a Times or ST puzzle.
  5. You can find bouncy castles here.
    Now I have to say that I quite enjoyed this puzzle for a ST. The anagram at 18 was nicely disguised and I didn’t really mind the (un)deletion clue for ORPHEUS too much. As for 29ac, has anyone ever seen this clued simply as a blank?
    1. Many (25ish) years ago I read an article on great Times crossword clues. This mentioned a puzzle where a clue was missed out entirely. The answer was CLUELESS. And I have a feeling it was in a special puzzle, perhaps a competion or prize puzzle. The same article also mentioned my all time favourite:

      Hitler woman? (6,2,3)

  6. 6:40 for me, too much of it spent trying to shoehorn OCTET into 3D. I think ON = “game” is quite legitimate, and was annoyed that I don’t spot it more quickly.

    I liked 19D (ORPHEUS) very much, but would be surprised if that construction hadn’t been used in an ST or daily Times puzzle before.

    Altogether a very pleasant crossword, significantly better than the usual ST offering.

  7. Just got a message from the Times re this Sunday’s puzzle.
    It reads:
    Dear Times Online User,
    Thank you for your email and for bringing this error to our attention. Our technical team are currently working to rectify this matter as soon as possible.
    We do apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.
    Kind Regards
    Suzie Slatter
    Customer Liaison Executive

    Fingers crossed.

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