Sunday Times 4458 (6 Nov 2011)

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: 32:03 – a time I was quite pleased with, as there are a few tricky clues here.

An enjoyable crossword with some inventive and well-crafted clues. A couple of words I didn’t know – VEDA & ORTS, although ORFE & HOROWITZ were only vaguely familiar. Some of the wordplay had to be worked out post-solve – 10a, 16a, 21a & 8d.

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

Across
1 MISS + PEAK – I had forgotten the news article from 2008 when Hilary Clinton claimed first to have landed in Bosnia on a visit ‘under sniper-fire’, but then had to admit later that she ‘misspoke’ when the video tape revealed the claim to be rubbish.
6 SADIST – hidden in boastS A DISTurbed
9 S + NATCH – ‘Natch’ being a rather Shakespearean way of saying ‘of course’
10 P(ORTS)AID – I didn’t know ‘ORTS’ being scraps of food left over after a meal, but Egyptian City (4,4) was enough for me, having been there once myself.
11 BASTINADO – cd – I struggled to remember whether it was this or strappado that involved whipping the soles of the feet, but now I’ve looked it up, strappado sounds much worse.
13 O + R + FertilE – another name for the Ide, another crossword favourite
14 VEDA = ED in V&A – A sacred Hindu scripture. Not a word I knew.
15 COMMA + ND + ANT – Sneaky usage of the punctuation mark as part of the wordplay.
17 MUSCLE TONE = (CULT SO MEN)* + achievE – semi-&lit
19 NEED = kNEE + worlD – A well put together clue with a lift & separate required for Miss / World, and an entertaining surface.
21 ASIA – a reversal of ‘A IS A’
22 N(ARROW)EST
24 CAM + BRIAN – A reference to the (very much alive) booming-voiced actor
25 HERBAL – hidden in weatHER BALloon
27 RE + DRAG
28 HOROWITZ = R in (ZOO WITH)* – Vladimir (1903-1989) was the renowned pianist
Down
2 IGNOBLE = I + (BELONG)*
3 ShOrTs
4 ETHNIC CLEANSING = (IN ENGLISH ACCENT)* – a very neat anagram
5 KAPPA – the tenth greek letter, and the last letter of ‘GREEK’ when written in greek. Although, if you wrote ‘Greek’ in greek you would get something like ελληνικό (depending on the noun it was describing), the last letter of which clearly isn’t κ. But maybe I’m being overly pedantic.
6 SURROGATE MOTHER – cd – my first one in.
7 DISCO(R)DANCE
8 STIFFEN – I had to work out the wordplay afterwards. To trap someone is to ‘fit them up’ according to all the American cop shows I’ve watched. So ‘traps’ = FITS up = STIF, plus FEN = marshland.
12 STARCH + AMBER
16 MOOd – I’ve seen low = moo so often, it tends to be my first thought even before ‘not high’
18 UPSTAGE = (PUTS)* + AGE
20 EXTRA + CT
23 Rail Against New Council Housing
26 RAW = W after RA

6 comments on “Sunday Times 4458 (6 Nov 2011)”

  1. An 80 minute marathon for me, I’m afraid and I still didn’t understand 8dn before coming here, nor the exact reference to Mrs Clinton at 1ac. Much easier fare this week though.
  2. 23:33. I enjoyed this a lot.
    I spent ages trying to fit BILL into 1ac before remembering Hillary revealing a flexibility with words to rival his.
    I also had trouble with CAMBRIAN because I didn’t know the term and my “no living people” reflex got in the way.
    I agree that this week’s was easier but it took me nearly as long, with nearly 10 minutes on two clues.
  3. I found this a bit of a struggle, partly because I was late seeing 1a. I eventually got it from the cryptic – I couldn’t remember the Croatian incident. I’m very grateful to Dave for explaining STIFFEN. I had S…FEN so the answer was obvious but I wish I’d seen the “fit up” part for myself. My COD. I’ve been offline for over a week with broadband problems so this puzzle is one of a backlog. Completed this am in 41 minutes.
  4. 28 minutes, fairly quick for me (I’ve already spent twice as long on yesterday’s, and I’m not done). I wondered about 27 and 21, and 5d; thanks as always to Dave. When did ‘misspeak’ come into the vocabulary of American politicians (or do the Brits misspeak also?)? ‘Lied’ is so much simpler. CODs to 12d and 18d.

Comments are closed.