Sunday Times 4432 (8 May 2011)

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: 33 minutes.

Some nicely disguised definitions today. I liked tiddly (27), content (28) and I do feel a heel (1d). I put in a few without full understanding at the time – ON CUE, ROE DEER & ISLE.

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

Across
1 POOL = LOOP rev
3 FREEBOOTER = BEER rev in FOOTER – I can’t say I’ve ever heard ‘footer’ used as ann informal term for football. Footie, certainly, but not footer.
10 DUNGAREES = (RAGE)* in DUNES
11 CHA + IN
12 ALPHAbet – pretty weak cd
13 EYE-LEVEL = “HIGH LEVEL” as spoken with an East London accent
15 R + I + SKIER
17 NASTIER = (RETINAS)* – I’ve made this comment before, but I’ll make it again. This is a combination of letters well-known to Scrabble players for having the most 7-letter anagrams – 9 of them. If you’re interested they are: ANESTRI, ANTSIER, NASTIER, RATINES, RETAINS, RETINAS, RETSINA, STAINER & STEARIN. Replace the S with a blank tile on your Scrabble rack and the number of anagrams goes up to a whopping 53.
19 ScOTTISH – a sot is a drunkard, so I assume sottish means drunk
21 OCEANIA = (A CANOE)* about I
22 SPARE RIB = SPAR + (BRIE)*
24 PASTillE
27 Sherry + M + ALL – a well-disguised definition, I thought, in ‘tiddly’ = SMALL
28 SATISFIED = (SIFT AIDES)*
29 ESPECIALLY = (PIECES)* + ALLY
30 L + YON
Down
1 PODIATRIST = (SPIRIT TODAy)*
2 grOWN UP
4 ROE DEER = “ROAD ‘ERE” – I originally had RED DEER = “READIER” as in more readily available, which held me up for a bit on 10
5 EPSTEIN = (STEP)* + EIN (a German)
6 ON CUE = ONCE about “YOU”
7 TRAGEDIAN = (I GENT + RADA)* – &lit
8 RUN + G – The first ladder is the type you find in your stockings
9 PAGAN + IN + Ideology
14 ARM + AGED + DON
16 SET UP + CA(M)P
18 SHEEr + PISH
20 HARISSA = (SARAH IS)*
21 OR(BIT)AL – ‘young woman’ = BIT which seems somewhat derogatory to me. Is that as in ‘a bit on the side’?
23 RE(LI)C
25 SH(IN)Y
26 aISLE – as in the Florida Keys

7 comments on “Sunday Times 4432 (8 May 2011)”

  1. Pretty easy this one, only a one-cup, but none the worse for that. No howlers.. oh for the old days, when discussing the incorrect clues would keep us entertained for hours 🙂
    I have heard of footer, though I wouldn’t use it myself. Bunter, perhaps, and his public school pals?
    1. Bunter sounds roughly the right territory – a long time ago, the -er suffix was a sign of (Oxford) varsity slang – Jaggers for Jesus college, cuppers for college sports contests and so on.
  2. 35 minutes. Wondered about REC for ‘recording’ but Chambers has REC = ‘record’ so I suppose it’s okay. There are quite a few postings on the subject of BIT = ‘young girl’ in the Club forum.
  3. 20′, which suggests it was quite easy. I was slowed down by not knowing where Stepney was, but getting the 2 E’s of EYE pretty much settled it. And I hesitated with ALPHA, because I thought alpha precedes beta, while bet is preceded by aleph. A wretched clue in any case. I liked 6d and 16d, though.
  4. I was astonished to see young girl clued as “bit”. Some loose editing there I think. I was also somewhat surprised to see rubbish clued as “pish”, which when I lived in Scotland was considered rude enough to get a belt round the ear from my parents.
  6. I’ll retype that one.

    I thought it came from: in line = in rows = “rowed” + “ere”

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