Sunday Times 4483 (29 Apr 2012) by Tim Moorey

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: DNF

I forgot to solve this at the time, then forgot that I forgot, only remembering when I came to post it this morning. Unfortunately, I was out last night, and am now feeling a little the worse for wear! Not the best conditions to be attempting one of Tim’s puzzles.

I struggled away at it for an hour and ten minutes before the site crashed and I lost all my progress. I’m afraid I couldn’t face starting all over again, so I jumped straight to the solution. I think I still had about four left to do, mostly in the SW corner.

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

Across
1 FLAMBOYANT = AM in (NOTABLY + F)* – semi-&lit – nice surface, but the wordplay seemed a touch contrived.
7 PHIZ = “FIZZ” – phiz and mug both being sland terms for face.
9 INNOCENT – dd – there have been thirteen Pope Innocents in total.
10 OAf + RING
11 C + OAT(I)S – A couti is a sort of Brazilian raccoon.
13 DILUENTS = (UNLISTED)* – A new word to me.
14 STRIP OF PAPER = (PROFITS)* + PER about PA, if I read it correctly, although the definition ‘Sunday Times piece’ was quite cryptic.
17 TRAINS + POTTER
20 TEN(E + MEN)T
21 P(I)RATE
22 DA(KO)TA – slightly dubious definition – Dakota is two states, North and South.
23 BARITONE = (celEBRATION)*
25 H + E(W)N – EN for enrolled nurse gave me pause. I’d come across SEN before, but not EN on its own.
26 EVEN-HANDED = (HAVE + END/END)*
Down
2 LINE-OUTS = (LIONS TrUE)*
3 MAO = sMeAr On – The Chairman with the little red book.
4 OVER + Store – in cricket, an over consists of six deliveries.
5 A + C(TED)UP – in golf, the cup is an alternative term for the hole.
6 T(OODLEs + P)IP
7 PERPETRATOR = (REPORTER APT)*
8 lIGNITE
12 THISTLEDOWN – my LOI before I lost my progress, and it took me a while to spot the wordplay post-solve. LED (were first) in THIS TOWN (the City here)
15 O(N + A)VER AGE
16 SENTENCE – dd – I liked this, so I’ll give it my COD.
18 NOT ABLE
19 BE + WARE
21 PERCH = (CHiPs)* about ER
24 TUN – hidden in aT UNiversity

14 comments on “Sunday Times 4483 (29 Apr 2012) by Tim Moorey”

  1. That’s happened to me a couple of time – even on the Jumbo once – well, worse actually as it was the blog entry I lost when LiveJournal crashed on me just before I was about to submit and I had to retype everything – and yes, I was typing it in as I wrote it rather than have one prepared in advance like most sensible people!
  2. In 14ac PAPER is PA+PER rather than PER about PA.

    40 minutes for this very enjoyable puzzle. Nothing too taxing here although I had to check DILUENTS after completing the grid and EN for Enrolled Nurse was not familiar.

    I had no problems with DAKOTA as a state whether officially correct or not; it’s where the Black Hills are that Doris Day used to sing about.

    Well done on the blog, Dave, in difficult circumstances.

    Edited at 2012-05-06 12:41 pm (UTC)

  3. Easyish puzzle with no particular talking points. Also knew DAKOTA from Doris Day in Calamity Jane.

    Well recovered Dave

  4. Sorry to hear of your problems Dave, but I don’t understand.. wasn’t it you that gave me that beautiful spreadsheet, for submitting html?
    Personally I wouldn’t trust Livejournal to do anything at all. I do all mine offline and just paste them in.
    1. Sorry, it wasn’t LiveJournal that crashed. It was the Times site, so I had to reenter the clues I’d solved up to that point, and I’d forgotten what half of them were. Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but I really wasn’t in the mood, so I jumped straight to the solution so I could start writing the blog.
  5. I sympathise Dave. I was also the worse for wear solving this last week and I found it very hard: 39m to solve. I can’t see why in retrospect but 14ac caused trouble because it never occurred to me that STRIP OF PAPER might be regarded as a phrase (any more than, say, “piece of cardboard”), and I had immense trouble with THISTLEDOWN. It was a complete guess in the end because I’ve never heard of it and didn’t even parse the wordplay. So thanks for explaining it.
    This week’s was much easier for me, I suspect only partly because of the absence of a hangover!
  6. 36′, but 25ac wrong: I started with ‘sawn’, thinking ‘san’ around ‘wife’, then corrected it to ‘sewn’ after getting BEWARE; but forgot about the S. Live and learn, or in my case, just live. And I can’t agree with jackkt about DAKOTA; there is no such state.
    1. For those without access to the Club site, here’s the ST editor’s comment on this clue:

      “I was happy with Dakota=state in 22A, based on terms like “The Carolinas”.

      It doesn’t close the argument of course and actually I was more inclined to go along with the clue before I read it!

      1. I hadn’t seen Peter’s comment–someone, another American, had objected to the clue–but to me, it’s almost a reductio; in fact, I was going to say ‘there is no such state, any more than there is a state called Carolina.’ I have no problem with ‘the Dakotas’ or ‘the Carolinas’; the terms refer to sets of (2) states (each).
          1. There you go with your false homophones again! In any case, just try to find a voter whose constituency’s Dakota.
            1. Just thought of another one:

              The moon was shining bright in Carolina
              the night we said goodbye so tenderly
              and now that I’m away from Carolina
              won’t somebody tell the moon for me:

              Oh, Carolina Moon keep shining
              shining on the one who waits for me
              Carolina Moon, I’m pining,
              pining for the place I long to be

              How I’m hopin’ tonight you’ll go
              go to the right window
              scatter your light
              say I’m all right please do!

              Tell her that I’m blue an’ lonely
              dreamy Carolina Moon!

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