Sunday Times 4429 (17 Apr 2011) – Toilet humour

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: Just over half an hour. I finished it during my son’s swimming lesson, but I think it was a couple of minutes late finishing. I didn’t think I was going to make it, but several came in a rush at the end. I may have been slowed down a little having to explain them to my other son (he’s 9) as I went along.

No unknown words, and no wordplay I didn’t get as I went through, so a pretty straightforward solve. There was one definition that seemed a little dubious to me (‘Forget’ at 23a), but otherwise fine.

cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this

Across
1 R + E(FOR + M)ER – You need to separate the Luther from the King. This is Martin Luther who initiated the Protestant Reformation.
6 NOTICE = NOVICE with Time for Verse – it took me a long time to realise that ‘See’ was the definition and not ‘verse’
9 AQUA = QUestion in AmericA
10 S(MATTER)ING
11 VI + RILE
12 OR(I + GIN)AL
14 DIAGNOSTIC = (CODING AS IT)* – Easy one for me – I’ve written many of these in my years as a programmer.
16 A + LASt
18 WE(R)E – ‘what everyone passes’ = WEE – Stop tittering at the back!
19 TARANTELLA = (AREN’T AT ALL)* – All those repeated letters mean it’s not easy to jumble them without it still looking a bit like TARANTELLA afterwards.
21 The first of three hidden words today
23 IGNORE = (REGION)* – Are forget & ignore really synonymous? I would have said that you have to be aware of something to be able to ignore it.
25 PA + PER(CHAS)E – Two terms for a children’s game which involves leaving a trail of shredded paper for others to follow.
27 G + RID
28 N + EARLY
29 SATURATE = (USA)* about Terrorists + RATE
Down
2 EX + QU(IS)ITE
3 OMANI = IN A MO rev
4 MISBEGOTTEN = (SOME BETTING)* – my last in. I got it from the definition in the end, having failed to see ‘races’ as an anagrind until afterwards.
5 READ + OPT
6 Another hidden word, but reversed this time.
7 TERMINATE – not really a dd, since both these definitions mean the same thing!
8 CONGA = A (one) for O (love) in CONGO – I’m not keen on A = one, but it passes the substitution test, so it’s just me being picky.
13 IN CONTINENT = ‘Unable to function properly with pot’ – well-disguised definition.
15 GREAT BEAR = BEAR after “GRATE”
17 ALLER + GIST – Aller is the French for ‘to go’
20 The third hidden word
22 I + MAGE – I saw some quibbling on the discussion board about the use of ‘s here. It’s fine as an abbreviation for has, as in ‘one has wizard’. While I agree that the clue would work perfectly well without it, I don’t think that means it detracts from the clue, so I believe it’s fine.
24 NIGER = REGINa rev
26 COpY

8 comments on “Sunday Times 4429 (17 Apr 2011) – Toilet humour”

  1. 38′, with nothing that I recall as particularly time-consuming. I’d never heard ‘hack off’=rile, but it couldn’t be otherwise, so that was no problem. If I recall, it was a Sunday puzzle that had farts in a clue, and now wee, and incontinent; Whither ST? My quarrel, if that’s the word, with INCONTINENT was that it’s the (unwanted) ability to function in the absence of the pot that’s the problem, not the inability to function in its presence. I also had the same doubt as Dave about ignore/forget. But a pretty good ST, with some nice surfaces like 6ac and 9ac
  2. 30 minutes. I had a query in the margin against ‘ignore’ = ‘forget’ but on reflection I think it’s okay and would cite ‘forget it’ / ‘ignore it’ in the substitution test.
  3. IGNORE=FORGET: One of those matches that didn’t bother me when solving but was a mild concern when mentioned here, until I looked at Collins and ODE and saw that both have definitions to justify it.

    7D TERMINATE: I’m not in the right place today to check all my books of wisdom on clue-writing, but as far as I can tell both Ximenes and Don Manley have nothing to say on the “two defs meaning the same thing” issue. The guidelines for Listener setters do mention this issue, and give an example, “Cut chop” which can lead to “DICE, FELL, HACK, etc”. My view is that what the setter and editor need to consider is whether the clue leads to multiple reasonable answers, as in the Listener guide’s example. In this case, I can’t find a 9-letter alternative to TERMINATE so there is no practical problem.

    Peter Biddlecombe, Sunday Times Puzzles Editor

  4. The same way as the others, I think. The toilet humour/smut clues I can recall this year are about 1% of the 450-odd clues.
    1. My ‘Whither ST?’ was intended with about the same seriousness as Monty Python’s ‘Whither Canada?’; I do hope I didn’t cause a misunderstanding.
  7. VdUPja Muchos Gracias for your blog.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.

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