Sunday Times 4581 (16 Mar 2014) by Dean Mayer

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving Time: 54:51

A typical Dean puzzle. Quite tough, with plenty of inventive wordplay and excellent surface readings. Too many good ones to pick a COD.

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

Across
1 BOD(IC)E
4 PSYCH OUT = PompouS + (TOUCHY)*
10 TALON = LO (look, see) in (parts) TAN (to flog, as in tan one’s hide) – in the terminology of card games, the talon is the stock of cards left over after the deal, so ‘stock left after deal’ in the definition. I didn’t know it in this context, but the checkers and wordplay led me to the answer.
11 AHA MOMENT = A + T (short time) after HAM (clumsy) + OMEN (warning)
12 EMBRYOLOGIST = (BIOLOGY TERMS)* – a neat anagram and semi-&lit
15 SERENADED = R (Romeo, International Radio Code) in SEEN (spotted outside) + (DEAD)*
17 VILLAin
18 M(OT)ET
19 YGGDRASIL = (GAY GIRL’S)* about D – The tree of life in Norse Mythology. I know a bit about Norse myths and legends, so this was a write-in for me.
20 SIX OF THE BEST = (BEFITS THOSE)* about X (variable quantity) – semi-&lit
24 NAUGHTIER = NAUGHT (FA, as in sweet FA) + bIER (support won’t start)
25 S + WIPE
26 PRIS(TIN)E
27 PLAN + ET
Down
1 BOTHERSOME = THERe in BOSOM + Exhale
2 DE-LIBERATE – dd – If to liberate is to set free, then to de-liberate must be to imprison or jail, yes?
3 CANDY – The couple finishing off ‘FANCY’ is C AND Y
5 SHAGGY DOG STORY – dd
6 C(ROSS)OVER
7 OWED = “ODE”
8 TAT + I
9 EARLY DAY MOTION = (AIMED ONLY AT tORY)* – This phrase cropped up exactly 50 STs ago in a Tim Moorey puzzle. I hadn’t heard of it then, but I remembered it this time. Tim used a dd involving bowel movements if I recall. I prefer this one.
13 GLASWEGIAN = G + (LAW EASING)*
14 WALL STREET = STREw in WALLET
16 NO TWIT + HIT
21 EASE + L
22 SNAP – dd
23 SUFI = IF + US all rev

8 comments on “Sunday Times 4581 (16 Mar 2014) by Dean Mayer”

  1. Lost track of the time, as is usually the case with Dean’s puzzles; LOIs were 3d and 10ac. DNK TALON, but the C and Y should have been more obvious to me. 9d my COD, at least in the anagram division. I didn’t remember where the term showed up before (definitely a Tim Mooreyesque clue), but it had stuck in my memory, or I would never have solved. Loved 24ac–speaking of Tim Moorey.
  2. 64 minutes. I knew the tree but couldn’t have spelt it without checkers and anagrist to work with. I have met the required meaning of TALON before and dredged it up from somewhere. I reviewed all the wordplay this morning before coming here and was pleased immediately to understand 24ac this time round; it had left me baffled last Sunday.

    A good puzzle, somewhat easier than this week’s offering and far more enjoyable.

    Edited at 2014-03-23 07:46 am (UTC)

  3. Very enjoyable puzzle, 30 minutes, with TALON guessed but not parsed. CoD 12 ac, nice long anagram with matching surface.
  4. I think talon appeared in the last year. Re 5d, not a complaint, but an observation: Scooby Doo is a Great Dane, and Danes are smooth-haired, not shaggy. And, shaggy dog stories are definitely not funny. Definitely. Otherwise a very nice puzzle.
  5. Nope, got this one wrong. Vacillated between ODES and ONER for 7D and never even thought of OWED. On the other hand, I know TALON.
  6. One wrong..how does one misspell YGGDRASIL. (spell check doesn’t like this one)
    I must have gone over the puzzle 10 times before submitting. Found out today I’d
    written YYGDRASIL and hadn’t picked up on it. Double rats!!
  7. Thanks for a typically triffic blog Dave, and to all for your comments.
    The intended ‘support’ in 24a was PIER but BIER seems to work as well!
    10a TALON: Didn’t particularly enjoy opting for the more osbcure def, but it fitted the wordplay’s story.
    19a YGGDRASIL: Horrible word, isn’t it? In other environments I’d never use it, but for me it’s always been one of those frequent visitors to the ‘only in a crossword’ lexicon.
    7d OWED: Quite a few people seemed to struggle with this one, which was unexpected.

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