Sunday Times 4560 (20 Oct 2013) by Dean Mayer – One for the thrill-seekers!

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: I can’t really give a solving time for this one as I did it in bits and pieces while doing other things. I did find it one of Dean’s trickier ones, though, and I had to revisit it several times.

There were a few clues I wasn’t keen on, but on the whole I found it very enjoyable.

I though 5a was very neat for a cryptic def, and 4d made me chuckle even if the wordplay is a little suspect. I have to give my COD to 27a though, for it’s devious definition. I’ve seen Dean use this trick once before, quite a long time ago, but it stuck in my memory.

I completely missed it until ulaca pointed it out below, but there is a theme running through many of the answers, summed up by 8d: ALTON TOWERS. Nine different thrill rides at that particular theme park, past and present, are name checked within the grid – Rita, Queen of Speed (10a), Oblivion (15a), The Smiler (19a), The Black Hole (20a), Th13teen (27a), Corkscrew (3d), Nemesis (4d), Alton Beast (5d) and Air (26d).
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this

Across
1 GARCON = G + ARC ON (keep bowing) – ‘I’ll wait’ is the definition, as in a French waiter
5 BACKCHAT – neat cd
9 SCRIMMAGE = S + CRIME about MAG (glossy) – ‘handbags’ is the definition, as in a light scuffle, although it seems a little loose to me.
10 RITA = RA (Academician, member of the Royal Academy) about IT – A reference to the Willy Russell play Educating Rita.
11 MARS – dd
13 SITUATION = NO + I + IS about TAUT all rev (lying about)
14 HEARTS = HEAR (pick up) + TrouserS
15 OBLIVION = OBLIGATION (commitment) with the GAT (shooter) replaced by V (against)
17 KIM WILDE = KIWI about M + LaDiEs – She was a singer from the 1980s, whom I seem to remember having a bit of a crush on as a teenager.
19 SMILER = pRELIMS rev
20 BLACK HOLE = BOLE (trunk, of a tree) about (CHALK)* – The Black Hole of Calcutta was an infamous 18th century military prison.
23 EASY = YE (you) rev about AS (when)
24 MOO + G = a subject close to the setter’s heart!
25 BATHSHEBA = BATHS (cleans) + HE (the man) + BA (soul) – I hadn’t come across BA as an ancient Egyptian word for the human soul before, and at first I had BATHSHEMA thinking it was literally tHE MAn, but it just looked wrong. I didn’t know Bathsheba was David’s wife, but I knew she in the Bible somewhere.
27 THIRTEEN = T (tense) + (IN THERE)* – ‘Where situation is’ is the definition and a reference to 13a which is SITUATION. I confess I got this one first, realised what the definition must mean, and then wrote 13a straight in.
28 RO (run out, a cricket abbreviation) + R (run) in SAY
Down
2 pASS
3 CORK’S CREW
4 NEMESIS = SEMEN rev + I’S – It made me laugh, and I could see what Dean was getting at, but I’m not sure it’s technically correct. The humours the four bodily fluids that were said to determine a person’s temperament – blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile. I’m not aware that the term can be extended to any bodily fluid at all. No doubt someone will find a dictionary somewhere that proves me wrong – they usually do. I did enjoy the clue though.
5 BEAST = BREAST with the trotteR removed
6 CUE BALL = “CUBE” + ALL – I read dice here in its cookery sense which equates to cube fine. If you take its gaming definition then, as vallaw pointed out in the forum, it doesn’t work as dice is plural and would have to be CUBES. It took me ages to get this one, which is particularly annoying as I was actually playing pool at the same time.
7 CORGI = OR (soldiers) in CGI
8 ALTON TOWERS = ON TOW (possible roped) in ALTERS (changes)
12 AMELIA BOOTH = A + (MOBILE TO A)* + H – A reference to Henry Fielding’s Amelia – I worked out the only likely solution from the anagram, as I didn’t know the book or the character. With the ‘Henry’ being part of the wordplay, I was expecting a Bridget Jones reference.
15 ONE = “WON” – although it seems an odd way to indicate a homophone. Am I missing something?
16 VOICELESS = (SOLVES)* about ICE
18 LIKABLE = (I’LL BAKE)*
19 SPENSER = PEN (author) inside dRESS rev
21 ANGER = RANGE with the R moved to the end. I didn’t like this one as there’s no indication that the R is being moved rather than just added.
22 OP + TIN
26 AI + Radio

39 comments on “Sunday Times 4560 (20 Oct 2013) by Dean Mayer – One for the thrill-seekers!”

  1. Got there eventually, over the hour but without resort to aids. Didn’t fully understand BATHSHEBA, but knew she was David’s wife so she went straight in. Didn’t understand THIRTEEN. The ‘Educating Rita’ idea has come up before.

    Edited at 2013-10-27 11:31 am (UTC)

  2. Hi Dave. 15dn is interesting.. the second half of the clue may just be an attempt to placate the homophone critics around here, and/or it may be a reference to the fact that some say one does this or that, and others say we/I do this or that..
    Re 21dn I don’t at all see why the letter move needs to be spelt out. Not doing so hardly makes the clue unsolvable, does it? Whereas doing so might make it rather too easy.
    Re 4dn, indeed most dictionaries do say something like (Collins): “any of various fluids in the body, esp the aqueous humour and vitreous humour” – the two specified being part of the eye.” Humoral theory is a different meaning of the word, a refinement of the more general meaning
  4. Terrific crossword this. With a mini-theme to boot – two of the rides at Alton Towers are called Nemesis and Oblivion. 75 minutes.
    1. I’d completely missed that ulaca. You’re more right than you know – All the major rides at Alton Towers are here – Nemesis & Oblivion as you point out, but also Air, Thirteen, Rita & The Smiler
  5. 52 minutes of notional solving time but in reality about 20 hours. I should know better than to start a DM puzzle very late on a Saturday night.

    I don’t think I was on great form in either session as I must confess I never worked out the definition for THIRTEEN (thanks, Dave). I also spent an inordinate amount of time post-solve looking for the theme, which someone had referenced here. As it turns out, I could have looked for it until the cows come home. If you ever see me at Alton Towers, shoot me.

      1. Never been to Alton Towers (or similar), and never will.. but still, I can’t help being impressed by the depth and breadth of this remarkable crossword. Compare with some other ST cryptics..
    2. Same here Sotira. The search for the mini-theme took almost as long as the original solving before I gave up and like you, I have never been to Alton Towers. Seems that the mini-theme is in fact more extensive than ulaca thought. A very good crossword so well done setter.
  6. I did Dean wrong. Much more than a mini-theme: in addition to the two already mentioned we have (current rides) Th13teen, Air, Beast and Rita, and (defunct) black Hole and Corkscrew. Maybe more…
  7. Very enjoyable, even though a DNF. Didn’t know ba (thank you, Dave – here’s betting we see that again), Kim Wilde, backchat, and neither of Corgi nor CGI, so spent ages trying to parse toy maker elves crossing with curriculum vita; more ages trying to turn shoat into roast. Some of that stopped me, some I got through. Rather liked the surface on 14a.
  8. I like to do the Sunday puzzle on the morning the solution is printed. So did this in bed today with my morning cuppa. I always enjoy puzzles by this setter and this one was no exception. I was left finally with 27a and bunged in THIRTEEN as the only word fitting the checkers. The penny dropped a good while later. 53 minutes. Ann
  9. Usual fun solve from Anax with plenty to get ones teeth into. I had no idea about the theme so that was completely lost on me.

    I’ve also seen the THIRTEEN/SITUATION device before but had forgotten if it was in an Anax puzzle. Like many I suspect I solved from cryptic + checkers and then saw the device. Liked “handbags”

  10. Enjoyed this very much, even if I didn’t understand the handbags! Stumbled on the theme post-solve and almost by accident. I’d heard of Alton Towers and wondered where it was. Got it up on Google Maps and saw OBLIVION marked there as a “place”. A bit more searching brought the other 8 to light. Good job we were spared the “Sonic Spinball” and, thankfully, “Runaway Mine Train” has 16 letters.

    My suspicion is that Dean was punning on THEME park??

  11. 19:07 for me. Despite being pretty exhausted after the exertions of the previous day, I enjoyed this very much. I was pleased to parse and solve 27ac correctly before I’d solved 13ac, allowing me to bung in the answer to the latter without more ado.

    I was very happy with the wording of 15dn, since although I pronounce “one” and “won” in the same way, I’m aware that not everyone does. (For that reason I wasn’t keen on “One’s made to pluck hot stuff from one’s mouth (4)” in Times crossword No. 25,614 this week, since I don’t pronounce “lute” and “loot” in the same way.)

    There were some depressingly negative comments about this puzzle in the Times Crossword Club’s forum, so it’s good to come here and find a much more positive response.

    1. As I said on the forum, horses for courses, Tony. I really didn’t like this one, and I’m not sure that spotting the theme would have made much difference, clever though it may be. Sometimes the style just grates, and I’m not sure I can see why mentioning the fact should be depressing. It’s just a personal point of view, and I’m normally relentlessly cheerful.
  12. Like Dave, solving 27 gave me 13. which I’d not got from the clue. I’m also with Tony on 15, as I’ve heard people say ‘wan’ for ‘won’.
    The ‘theme park’ escaped me entirely – I now recall that there’d been TV ads which referred to some of the rides, taken as a break for a cuppa.
  13. Coming to this a bit late, but I thought this was slightly trickier than average for Dean – good puzzle, though.

    As an 80s music addict, I will add that Kim Wilde is still writing and gigging though, as tends to be the case with performers from that era who are still soldiering on, her popularity is much higher in mainland Europe than in the UK.

  31. Pity the above anonymous comments can’t be deleted!

    Doing this in our current Weekend newspaper , usually they reprint them only a few weeks late. This one got caught in a time warp.
    We always enjoy this setter, and this was no exception. Recognised ‘corkscrew’ as an Alton towers ride, but missed the others, so thanks for enlightening us. Couldn’t parse 27a either, so thanks again. We haven’t seen that device before. Took 57mins , which is twice personal snitch.

    1. Hi corymbia … good to see another Aussie doing these puzzles and still posting so late. They usually only drag out an old one when the Sunday Times runs an odd one – usually a jumbo sized crossword which wouldn’t fit into the Puzzle Page of the Australian. They do it annually with the Christmas puzzle but not sure why they did it for this one.
      Anyway stay safe in these crazy days and hopefully I’ll still see your posts this time in 2021 when we are on the other side of this Covid devil !!!
  32. Thanks Dean and dave
    Great puzzle although would never have picked up the ghost theme as have never heard of the park.
    Started off with the two three-letter clues and then enjoyed the tussle for just under the hour and a half. Lots of tricky word plays going on and the requisite of some general knowledge. Missed the parsing of CORGI, getting fixated that GI must be the soldiers.
    Sad to say that having got THIRTEEN, the obvious answer to 13a didn’t immediately go in.
    Finished with the intersecting RITA and CORGI before getting the tricky SMILER.

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