Sunday Times 4527 (3 Mar 2013) by Dean Mayer

I thought I might be under 30 minutes again, but there were three stubborn ones at the end that took a few extra minutes. 16, 25 & 26 were the culprits. Dean mentioned on his blog a week or two ago that he’d come up with a ‘perfect’ clue and that it was scheduled for publication shortly. He hinted that it was three words and was essentially a name. He confirmed that it was in this puzzle on facebook on the morning of publication, so, of course, as soon as I opened the grid I immediately looked for it and found it at 25a. It took me until nearly the end to finally get it, and it was indeed very clever. But the puzzle is of such a high standard that it just fits right in with all the others.

I didn’t find it all that difficult, but hugely entertaining, and extremely clever. There are many contenders for COD – 25 (of course), 8 & 12 all stood out, but the 11/14 combination was my personal favourite.

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

Across
1 DOWAGER = DOER (one doesn’t think) about WAG (footballer’s wife)
5 ON + A + SS + IS
9 PRIMO = I’M in PRO (for) – ‘top player’ is the definition. I thought at first that PRO was the top player, and it was an &lit that didn’t quite work until I realised my mistake.
10 CUTTHROAT = COAT (spread) about (TRUTH)* – I wasn’t sure what the ‘lies’ was doing at the time, but I think it’s just part of the containment indicator, i.e. ‘lies about’
11/14 THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD – one of those ‘wordplay in solution’ type clues, so the reason for DAUGHTER is the changing of (THE GUARD)* – ‘morning ritual’ is the definition
15 GONER = GR (King George) about ONE (only) – ‘toast’ is the wonderfully slangy definition.
17 CUT UP – dd – ‘Happy? No’ and ‘dice’
18 ARROGANT = ARRANT about GO rev
20 CAPITAL LETTER – This one seems to work on several levels. The first letters of London and Edinburgh are clearly capital letters in the sense that they are upper case, but also because they are letters of capital cities. Then the second part is the wordplay – CAPITAL (A1) + LETTER (sign)
22 BLOWN OVER = B + LOVER about (W + NO)
24 STAFF – dd – the members of the orchestra look at the staves on their sheet music
25 SPRAYER – ‘Mister’ is the definition, as in something that produces a mist = S (Bob, or shilling) + PRAYER (Hope) – brilliant in its simplicity
26 THERETO = HERE in TT + O – ‘to it’ is the definition, and another really good surface
Down
1 DOPE – hidden
2 WHISTLE-STOP TOUR – cd
3 GLOVE PUPPET – cd
4 ROCK-HARD = ROCK (pitch) + HAD about R (runs)
5 OS + TEND
6 AS + H
7 SHOTGUN MARRIAGE – cd
8 SETS FIRE TO = (IF SO + STREET)*
12 IN GOOD TASTE = (AGED ISN’T TOO)* – It’s for the surface reading that is both natural and misleading that this gets my COD
13 STOCK CUBES – cd – probably the weakest of the four. (Days later) ‘A little’ is a hidden word indicator, and the word is OXO in ‘box of’ which is, of course, the most common brand of stock cube in the UK. I knew there had to be more to this than first met the eye. Thanks to Keith Doyle for pointing it out.
16 TRUE GRIT = (UTTER)* about GiRlIe – one of John Wayne’s finest, remade a couple of years ago rather successfullyCheerfu
19 CheerfuL + EVER
21 IF SO = (IS OFf)*
23 NAY = uNeAsY

18 comments on “Sunday Times 4527 (3 Mar 2013) by Dean Mayer”

  1. One of the best puzzles ever IMO, and well blogged, 25 ac the one which made me smile most but many other gems.
  2. As usual for Anax an excellent offering although not as difficult as some have been. I didn’t know about this “perfect clue” which enabled me to solve it with relatively little trouble as bob=S is knee-jerk and hope=prayer nearly as automatic. Lift and separate and ignore the punctuation folks!
  3. Another excellent puzzle from Mr Mayer. LOI was ARROGANT, as I didn’t realise cavalier had that meaning. 17 and 25 were great examples of concise cluing.
  4. 42 minutes, so fairly straightforward for me. I don’t quite get 2dn and 13dn and am not convinced that either is wholly satisfactory, but there was a lot else to like here.

    Nobody has mentioned that PRIMO is the upper part in a piano duet, so I thought I would.

    Edited at 2013-03-10 01:17 pm (UTC)

  5. Thanks for a great blog Dave, to all for your comments.

    Jim is right to question how ‘perfect’ 25a is, so I should clarify what I meant. It won’t go down in history as one of crosswordland’s perfect clues, but from a setting point of view it was. There were three pleasing elements; crafty but apposite definition, conciseness and a plausible surface. However, it was ‘perfect’ because of how quickly the idea jumped out given the fact that the answer was one that forced its way into the grid. S – R – – – R was OK but the 3-letter answer starting with N greatly reduced the possibilities. I usually seek the luxury of jotting down a couple of clue ideas before committing an answer but that wasn’t really an option here. It was only when I looked at SPRAYER after putting it in the grid that the very obvious – but hugely enjoyable – construction popped out.
    Most truly great clues are ones where the setter has slaved over them, painstakingly honing everything into clues that work on all levels. This one was just a 30-second gift of a clue which did everything I wanted but, most importantly, allowed me to very quickly move on to the next.
    From a setter’s point of view, that sort of clue is perfect.

  6. 68′, so not straightforward for me, although I can’t now recall what in particular slowed me down the most. 16d, 18ac, & 22ac were my LOIs, solved in the last minute. I had doubts about 2d and 13d, so I’m glad to see they were shared. I put in 11ac fairly early on, merely from instinct and a couple of checkers; understanding came a good deal later. Ditto with 25ac, where for some reason it took me the longest time to remember bob=S. Lots of fun in any case. I think my particular favorite of a slew of lovely clues was GONER.
  7. An enjoyable exercise for me, and I felt particularly clever when I got GONER. But can someone help parse 26a RACES = TT ?
    Still struggling with the lingo,
    Paul
    1. It’s short for Tourist Trophy, a name given to various races (perhaps the most famous one being a motorbike race on the Isle of Man).

      Edited at 2013-03-10 04:16 pm (UTC)

  8. Oh my, Anax has a way of getting inside one’s head. For the daughter’s morning ritual I got fixated on teenage orthodontics. My American daughters inherited perfect straight teeth (but not from their British mother) and I was transported back to the time when most of their less fortunate friends underwent dental torture while I never had to master the lingo or undergo the expense. I should have been thinking of Christopher Robin.
  9. Yes, a superb puzzle, so thanks Dean. Many wonderful clues, but I confess I’m still completely baffled by 13dn. Am I just being thick?
  10. Just completed this. Such a satisfying puzzle. I didn’t manage to parse the Christopher Robin clues until coming here! About 50 minutes – forgot to time it. Ann
    1. Yes it is! I knew there had to be something else I was missing in that one. It’s taken until Tuesday for it to be pointed out, mind you, so it’s clearly not just me. Thanks, Keith, it’s a good job someone’s on the ball!
  11. ………..We loved it but we prolong the pleasure, it took us four days….on and off with aids.

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