Sunday Times 4545 (7 Jul 2013) by Dean Mayer

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: About 45 minutes.

It took me an age to see the long anagram at 10/12, plus I put COALSACK at 4a (although I was never entirely happy with it) which stopped me getting 5d. 13d had confused for a while and the devious 27a. These were my last ones in, and I had to have a break after about 30 minutes, then come back and get them later.

Lots of good clues here. 4, 16 & 27 being my picks from the acrosses, 1, 2 & 13 from the downs. I think the last of these, 13d, gets my COD for its excellent surface and confusing (but perfectly fair) wordplay.

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

Across
1 LA(R)D + ON
4 BALLPARK – dd – where you’d find baseball diamonds, and ‘rough’ as in approximate, as in a ‘ballpark estimate’.
9 CUBISM = B in (MUSIC)*
10/12 SPACE THE FINAL FRONTIER = (FIRST LINE HENCE A PART OF)* – The opening line of each episode of the original Star Trek series
15 pRog rOck cOnfirms iTs eSoteric
16 HARMONICA = (ON + CA) about I after HARM – ‘harp’ being a colloquial term for a harmonica
18 A + D + DRESSES
19 F + RAIL
20 EX (dead) + TENSION (butterflies) + LEAD (conduct)
23 ALLEGORY = (REALLY)* about GO
25 LITCHI – hidden – this word has various spellings, although I’m more familiar with LYCHEE
26 RAW STEAK = “ROAR” + “STAKE”
27 SEXPOT = SEX (VI, Latin for six) + P + wOT – I’ve come across VI = SEX before (probably from Dean), but hiding it inside something else is sneaky indeed!
Down
1 LUCIFERIAN = (CLUE IN + FAIR)* – although I got 22 from this one, rather than the other way around
2 ROBIN GOODFELLOW = (OLD FLOWER)* about (O + BINGO) – A character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, also known as Puck.
3 OBSOLESCENT = SOLE + SCENT after OB
5 A + SPENd – I expected ‘up’ to be a reversal indicator, so it was a while before I saw ‘stump up’ = SPEND.
6 LAC – hidden
7 A STORM IN A TEACUP – cd – tea-leaves, that is.
8 KEEN – dd
11 BRAsH + MS
13 INOFFENSIVE = IN-OFF (a foul in snooker) + (IS EVEN)*
14 MAILED FIST = FAILED (folded) + MIST (film) with the initial letters switched
17 RUSSIA = “RUSHER”
21 NORMAl
22 FAIR – dd
24 GUT = TUG rev

9 comments on “Sunday Times 4545 (7 Jul 2013) by Dean Mayer”

  1. I thought this a little harder than the average Anax, but as you say Dave, some excellent clues. I couldn’t parse 27ac properly, until now! 13dn also took time to unravel, even though I could see what was meant. So did 2dn.
    Top class stuff..
  2. Like Jerry I found this easier to solve than to parse, particularly 27A, 2D and 13D. I’d seen all these devices before, VI for SEX, BINGO for house, and IN OFF for foul but still they gave me trouble.

    Overall a cracking puzzle, thanks Anax

  3. 41:11 … this felt a little different from Dean M and I struggled with it. The Star Trek catchphrase was one of my last in, which is pretty rare for a multi-word answer. A proper Sunday challenge, for sure.
  4. Just under the hour for me. I know nothing about STAR TREK so I struggled with that one. Never did parse 5d or understand the 22 reference at 1dn; I expect I would have made more of an effort if I had been blogging. 14 & 27 were my last in. Really liked 24dn for some reason.

    Edited at 2013-07-14 12:38 pm (UTC)

  5. I enjoyed this, which is good because I was at it for quite a while. Quite a while. I’m betting that the mix of Britishisms (in-off, bingo, which kept me from ever parsing 2 and 13 , and what I assume is an extension cord at 20), and Americanisms (ballpark, and Star Trek, which were write-ins here) raised the difficulty level. And added to the fun.
  6. Struggled through 36 minutes on this one – more magoos than I’d care to mention – partly because I wanted to know what was going on in SEXPOT to be sure it was SEXPOT. It also felt like clues which should have been easy like Spock’s fine old front ear took forever.
    Thing I didn’t know: a harp is a HARMONICA. Really? How odd to give one instrument another’s name. Harp is also apparently a term of abuse for an Irish American Catholic, which I must remember should I find one playing a mouth organ in Boston.
    1. This is commonplace to me. Just goes to show, although I’m not sure what.
      It’s also known as a harpoon, when taken from a dirty red bandana and played soft while Bobby sings the blues.
  8. No idea of my time, as 14d, 26ac, and 27ac took forever. With 14, I got ‘failed'(=folded) into my head and couldn’t get it out. 27 is Anax to the max; my COD. 26, on the other hand; I can deal with rusher/Russia homophones–indeed, must–but RAW/roar is a bit much. And is ‘raw steak’ a phrase with a meaning other than ‘raw steak’? Or does the ST allow this sort of thing?

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