Sunday Times 4503 (16 Sep 2012) by Dean Mayer

Solving time: 1:02:33

I struggled with this one. There’s a lot of very clever stuff in here, and I needed to be at my sharpest to get through it in a half-decent time, but alas I wasn’t. Instead I tackled it on a rainy afternoon when I was feeling quite tired and sluggish.

This is probably one of those puzzles where everybody has a different COD, as there are so many that stand out for a variety of reasons. I liked 26 a lot, but I think 2d just takes it for me.

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

Across
1 EXPRESS + TRAIN
9 CLE(A)VER
10 SPAR + ROW – Capt. Jack Sparrow is the anti-hero of all the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
11 RARE – dd
12 STORM CLOUD – cd
14 TRI(U + MPH)AL
16 eRODINg
17 FEMUR = FE + RUM rev
18 SANITISED = (IS INSTEAD)*
20 ANTISOCIAL = (ITALIANS)* about OC (Officer Commanding)
22 KEEN – dd
24 GROG + RAM – I thought grog was a generic term for booze, but it’s technically watered-down rum, hence the ‘not the hardest stuff’ in the clue. The drink, in fact, derives from the fabric, as it was Admiral Vernon (1684-1757) who first ordered the rum to be diluted before being served out to his sailors, and he was nicknamed Old Grog because of his grogram cloak.
25 ISRAELI = (AIRLInES)*
26 SOFTLY-SOFTLY – ‘patient’ is the definition. The ‘guts’ of CRIPPLED would be PP, and P to a musician means softly (from the Italian piano). Very clever, but it took me a while to work out the wordplay.
Down
1 EXCE(R)PT
2 POETRY IN MOTION – One of those ‘wordplay in answer’ clues. ‘To prey’ = (POETRY)* and IN MOTION is acting as an anagrind.
3 ENVoY
4 STRETCHES – I pondered the wordplay here for a while. I think it’s just a cd, because cats like to stretch a lot. I considered ST for ‘way’ for quite a while which would leave RETCHES for cats. I know cats do a lot of retching due to their proclivity for hairballs, but I caouldn’t really find a justification for this, so I resorted to a plain cd. I may well be missing something, and I’m sure if I am, someone will point it out.
5 RISER – hidden
6 INACCURATE = (CAN I) rev + CURATE
7 ARRONDISSEMENT = (SANS METRO + DINER)* – I spotted the anagrind quite quickly, but I needed most of the checkers in place before the answer would come. It’s a subdivision of a French department and not a word I knew.
8 SWEDEN – a Cornish garden being a S.W. Eden
13 IMPRESARIO = I’M + (PRAISE OR)*
15 LINEARITY = (I + NEAR + IT) in LobbY
17 FLAN + GlasswarE
19 DEN(SIT)Y – I’m not entirely convinced about the definition ‘Boozer’s body’. Presumably density can be used to refer to the a.b.v. of a drink, but I’ve not come across this particular usage.
21 COME + Tame – One of Santa’s reindeer, usually paired with Cupid
23 tORSO

14 comments on “Sunday Times 4503 (16 Sep 2012) by Dean Mayer”

  1. Indeed “cat” can be a verb meaning “vomit”. My favourite clue that made me laugh having lived with cats most of my life.

    Collins defines “body” as “the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin”.

    A great puzzle that I completed in 55 minutes but with a little bit of a cheat on 7dn where I didn’t know the word and wasn’t quite sure what constituted the anagrist.

    Edited at 2012-09-23 12:15 am (UTC)

  2. I just clicked ‘more options’ by mistake, and lost my message. No great loss, mind you. Anyway DNF, 26ac being my downfall.DNK SPARROW, RETCHES, although it occurred to me later that the Depp character might be named Sparrow; in either case, there wasn’t any other option. I share Dave’s opinion about ‘boozer’s body’, although if one accepts it, the clue is a lovely surface. I put in ARRONDISSEMENT instinctively; knew the term in relation to Paris, didn’t know it applied to all départements. COD to 18ac.
  3. I liked this one a lot, especially both the clues Dave singles out, 2dn and 26ac. The phrase in 2dn always reminds me of lorries I used to see on the M1, carrying chickens and stating on the side “Poultry in Motion.”

    The crossword website claimed I got one wrong however; and today, it singles out the I in the middle of 7dn. I suppose it must have been a typo but I couldn’t see it at the time, and now there is no way of checking..

    1. If you go to p. 3 of ‘Recent Crosswords’, find the puzzle and click on ‘Play’, you should be able to find out!
      1. I’m afraid not Ulaca. What that tells you is the letter(s) the website thinks you got wrong. It doesn’t show you what you wrote, because as soon as the solution becomes available it overwrites it.
        The website apparently thinks I can’t spell arrondissement, as I stated above.. I beg to differ. I did a post on the club forum about it.
        probably just a typo I suppose
        1. I think if you go to “play” and then click on “print progress” you can see what you put in.
          1. So you can, by golly! I never knew that. It is saying E instead of I and it’s probably right, if my past typo record is anything to go by
  4. This took me 60 minutes and I had to google GROGRAM – I was convinced it had to be GINGHAM. I put 26 in from definition alone when I had all the checking letters. It’s a beautiful clue – I only wish I’d seen it for myself. I always enjoy the puzzles from this setter, even though they take me an age to complete. Thanks, Dave, for the blog. It must be a thankless task when there is so little response to your efforts. I, for one, greatly appreciate them. Ann
  5. Cracking review as ever Dave – many thanks!

    Yes, for blogger and setter prize puzzles can be less than rewarding in terms of response, but I’m grateful to all who add their comments.

  6. Like yesterday’s (4504) by TM, this was a terrific puzzle, which I was pleased to complete in 100 minutes, even if the parsing of the two long crackers, as well as GROGRAM, passed me by. Particularly enjoyed the non-chestnutty anagrams at 18 and 25.
  7. Another very fine Anax puzzle I thought. 2dn, 4dn and and 26ac in particular are marvellous.
    I wondered about “boozer’s body” for “density”, but decided it was close enough for the intention to be clear, and the surface is excellent.
  8. Weeks later in Toronto………..

    Great crossword.

    Should it not be “booze’s body”? Boozer is either the consumer or the place it’s consumed in.

    1. Day’s later in Perth (the real one in Australia)…

      Boozer’s works for me, thinking of a boozer talking of the body of his drink.
      A similar device is often seen in the weekly Times puzzle to clue French words like ‘en’ or ‘de’; say “Napoleon’s one…” cluing ‘un’.

      And great puzzle!

      Rob

      1. Of course. I’m starting to slow down (well that;s my excuse and I’m sticking to it)

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