Sunday Times 4570 (29 Dec 2013) by Tim Moorey

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: About 25 minutes to solve, but much longer to parse.

I finished this fairly quickly for me, because I quickly decided not to spend too much time attempting to explain all the clues until afterwards. I’m glad I took this approach as many of the clues I couldn’t parse without recourse to various online dictionaries and encyclopaedia.

I’m afraid I have a particular dislike for crosswords that are essentially simple, but then made more difficult by an over-reliance on obscure references and unusual words, and I felt this one falls firmly into that category. I thought the novel in 1a was quite obscure, the cricketing knowledge required for 25a was very specific. I felt 3d was overly convoluted, the sitcom reference in 6d was also very specific and it was a very weak cryptic def anyway. I didn’t have a problem with 7d, but I saw in the forum that many others did.

There were plenty of actual words (or at least the meanings used) that I didn’t know as well – TAI, NAPPED, GATE-LEG & Mandarin but that may just be my lack of knowledge. So, no, sorry, I didn’t like this one at all.

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

Across
1 EASY-GOING – I was confused by the EASY = ‘Midshipman’ reference, but I think it’s an allusion to the 1836 novel by Frederick Marryat called Mr. Midshipman Easy which was made into a couple of early black & white films.
6 MARE = MALE with L changed to R
8 TAI = “TIE” – I didn’t know it could be spelt without the H.
9 NET EARNINGS – cd
11 POKER – dd
12 KID + NAPPED – I’ve not come across ‘to nap’ which is apparently a horse-racing term for naming a horse as a likely winner.
13 pRATTLES
14 RAIMENT = (MINARET)* – I guess ‘worn in’ is the anagrind
16 GATE-LEG = (GET GALE)* – Another term I didn’t know.
18 F + LOGGED
19 pARTICULAR
21 ARABS = (Basra)*
23 TERMINATING = (GRANT IN TIME)*
24 I DO – I knew Ido was a language but I didn’t realise it was an artificially constructed one in the same manner as Esperanto
25 ANdersON – This one seemed a little harsh to me, and was one of several that I couldn’t parse until later.
26 HINDSIGHT – cd
Down
1 bEST pOP – a legal term, hence ‘in bar’
2 STICK AT IT = A TIT after STICK (criticism) – I was surprised to find this definition for TIT in the dictionary. In my experience it’s generally used to mean a fool.
3 GENERAL ELECTION = (TREE IN fALL + EG + ONCE)* – ‘fine leaves’ indicates the removal of the F, and ‘lost’ is the anagrind.
4 IN TAKES
5 GLADDER = ADDER (summer) after G + L (50, half-century)
6 MANDARIN ORANGES – cd – Sir Humphrey Appleby in the TV sitcom Yes, Minister was a senior civil servant, and such men can apparently be known as Mandarins. Very weak.
7 RUN-UP = RUNg UP (called, without the G for Grand) – There has been much discussion on the forum about how RANg UP could have been a possible answer as well. Surely the definition here is ‘rise’ which is clearly present tense, so I’m somewhat puzzled as to where the confusion comes from. There were many clues in this puzzle that I wasn’t happy with, but this one wasn’t one of them!
10 SEDATED = SEATED about lanD
13 pREGNANT
15 ENG + RAVING
17 GOLIATH = GOTH about AIL rev
18 FOREIGN = (FOrefINGER)*
20 TUR(I)N
22 S(H)ORT

11 comments on “Sunday Times 4570 (29 Dec 2013) by Tim Moorey”

  1. Most of the comments in the blog apply to me too. I had no idea about the cricketing reference, thought 6dn was feeble in the extreme, but I happened to know GATE-LEG at 16ac as many years ago as a student I had a part-time job selling furniture. At least the joint reference at 19 was valid unlike in today’s offering. Never did manage to parse 3d; life’s too short when the answer’s obvious from reading the first word in the clue.

    Edited at 2014-01-05 06:47 am (UTC)

  2. 14:17. I agree with your assessment, Dave, although it didn’t annoy me as much purely because I happened to have all the requisite knowledge for a change.
    I saw, and was baffled by, the negative comments about 7dn in the forum. It seems entirely unambiguous to me. The definition is “significant rise”, incidentally.

    Edited at 2014-01-05 02:05 pm (UTC)

  3. DNF. I’m still about a foot deep in the reams of holiday puzzles, jumbos, and extras. Had to look through several piles to find this one.

    Really appreciated the parsing, as I had the above mentioned difficulty with some if the less usual usages in both the definitions and in the wordplays. Learnt ‘in the club”. In common US usage, a tit can also be a hindrance or a drag or someone who’s not game. (“Another beer? ” “I don’t think so” “Come on. Don’t be a tit”) Not silly, but also not despicable. A useful word with a wide range of meanings.

    Edited at 2014-01-05 03:10 pm (UTC)

  4. This went in pretty straightforwardly. Midshipman always means Easy in crosswordland and I knew about gate-leg tables and estoppel so no issues with me.

    Agree with Jack about today’s joint.

    Edited at 2014-01-05 04:26 pm (UTC)

    1. I don’t want to break any rules about prize crosswords, but I have no problem with this Sunday’s joint.

      Edited at 2014-01-06 03:04 am (UTC)

      1. Can we keep the discussion to the appropriate puzzle, please? I haven’t done this week’s puzzle yet, and I imagine I’m not the only one!
  5. “Midshipman Easy” might qualify as one of the older literary references still used in newspaper crosswords, but I’m mildly surprised if this is the first time you’ve seen it. I’m afraid I’d count gate-leg and nap as pretty ordinary language, and if we can’t use a cricketer in the current England test team during an Ashes series, which sports people can we use?

    Edited at 2014-01-06 10:23 am (UTC)

  6. Late to the party because the Australian carries these crosswords a week later than everywhere else, but for completeness’ sake: “Tai” is not another way of spelling “Thai”. Rather, Thai is one of several Tai languages. To avoid confusion, “Siamese” is still favoured in some circles to refer to the Thai language.
  7. EASY :
    (of the run of a hull) having gently curved surfaces leading from the middle body to the stern; not abrupt.
    Mid-ship.

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