Sunday Times 4531 (31 Mar 2013) by Tim Moorey – Ecclesiastical incumbents

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: About 30 minutes offline.

For the most part, I found this one pretty easy. Probably three-quarters went in in about 15 minutes, but then I came unstuck over half a dozen or so which took the same amount of time again, particularly 6a & 16a.

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

Across
1 CLEMATIS = (CLIMATE’S)*
6 RE(E)FER – My LOI as I’ve not heard of a Reefer (a colloquial term for a refrigerated ship), and I wasn’t overly keen on REFER for ‘advert’.
9 IN(O)N
10 REIN + FORCES
11 JUST IN + Wisdom + EL(B)Y – a topical &lit about the recently appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
14 AMNESIAC = (MANIC idEAS)*
15 SWATHE = SW + (HEAT)*
16 TEE-OFF – Change A START to A STAR by taking a T OFF. A kind of semi-&lit where the definition does double-duty as part of the wordplay.
18 IN CAMERA – dd
20 STALACTITES = STALAg + (ETC + IT’S)*
22 MARASCHINO = (NO CHARISMA)*
24 ODOR = RODeO rev
25 HAVERS – dd – Nigel Havers is an English film & TV actor, well-known for playing upper-class roles. He recently completed a stint in Coronation Street.
26 LAY + ‘A’ SIDE
Down
2 LONG JUMPER – dd – A bit obvious but it made me smile nonetheless
3 MINISTER OF STATE = (The TORIES MANIFEST)* – Another semi-&lit.
4 TERMINI = MINI (car) after T’ (the Northern) + ER (queen)
5 SRI – rev hidden – I hadn’t heard the word before (at least not without Lanka), but the hidden word was somewhat telegraphed so it went straight in.
6 RAFFLES – dd – another one that went straight in
7 EARLY DAY MOTIONS – I took this as a reference to a motion being another term for a bowel movement, hence the ‘regular … business’ of the clue. Whereas in the political sense, they are quite rare occurrences.
8 EWER = FEWER with the Ford removed
12 W + I + CHIT + A – It’s thanks to Glen Campbell’s Lineman that I’ve heard of this
13 SHORTSWORD = SHORTS (small bags, bags being a term for trousers) + WORD (command)
17 FRANk + Change Institutional Secrecy – Another recent religious investiture, Pope Francis this time.
19 Clue + OTT + ONlY
21 TAT + A
23 pILL

8 comments on “Sunday Times 4531 (31 Mar 2013) by Tim Moorey – Ecclesiastical incumbents”

  1. I don’t have a solving time as I fell asleep once I became completely stuck on the last three or four. But I got there eventually with one wrong, as I now discover, having SET OFF at 16ac instead of TEE-OFF. I was unable to explain it, or what the hyphen would have been doing in my answer so I really should have given it some more thought. I’m not sure I like that clue much but that’s probably just sour grapes.

    I echo your comment on 6ac.

    At 14ac, in what sense does AMNESIAC = ‘forget’? I can’t think of a context in which they might be interchangeable. I note that the previous Sunday (ST 4530) we had AMNESIC at 14ac.

    Edited at 2013-04-07 06:05 am (UTC)

    1. Yes, I agree about 14a. I nearly went back and edited in a comment about it after I reread it, but in the end I didn’t bother. The parts of speech seem completely different.
      1. Glad I’m not alone, but on re-reading it I think perhaps ‘I’d’ is doing double duty as letters to exclude and as subject to the verb ‘forget’, so becoming part of the definition. I don’t like it but it’s all I can come up with.

        Edited at 2013-04-07 05:15 pm (UTC)

        1. I agree the definition in 14a has to be “I’d forget”, though the parsing of the clue is unclear.
  3. 19 minutes and then I hit the wall at 6a. Even with your explanation it seems a bit feeble. I suppose with all the checkers in place it would be easy for solvers who have heard of the vehicle. Nothing much exciting about this puzzle. Workmanlike but uninspiring.
  4. No problem with ‘advert'(verb)=REFER: it’s there in Chambers. I think the vehicle is mainly known to US railfans, and have never come across the ship.
  5. A generally easy solve but with a sting in the tail – hadn’t heard of REEFER (except in the context of marijuana) nor that meaning of advert. Also spent a bit of time wondering if there was an actor called Wavers.

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