Sunday Times 4600 (27 Jul 2014) by Tim Moorey

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving Time: 20:30

I nearly got this one within 20 minutes. If it hadn’t been for the unknown YAWS at 30a, I would have done.

Most of these I found I could write straight in. A got slowed down a little towards the bottom, but a good time for me nonetheless.

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

Across
1 LAWN – rev hidden – I didn’t know the type of linen, but it was the only plausible four letters
3 BRIDGE + PORT – Again, I didn’t know the city in Connecticut, but with a couple of checkers in place, it couldn’t really be anything else.
10 SCINTILLA = CILLA (Black singer – the surname, not the ethnicity) about IN + T all after S
11 FATSO = (AFT)* + Sugar Often
12 MIDGE = EG + DIM all rev
13 O + LEANDER
15 NEMESIS = (MEISSEN)*
17 SULTANA – dd
19 TIRADES = (DreARIEST)* – ‘spouting on’ indicating that the ‘on’ (RE) is removed
21 PROJECT – dd
22 DOG’S LIFE = (FIDO’S LEG)*
24 S(W)ELL
27 AL(ON)E
28 MRS BEETON = (NORMS)* about BEET
29 SHOWER CAPS = (A + CREW) rev in SHOPS
30 YAWS = “YOURS” – My LOI as I didn’t know the word, and it took me a while to hit on the only plausible solution.
Down
1 LAST-MINUTE – dd
2 WEIR + D
4 ROLL(ON)S
5 DRAWERS – dd
6 ELFIN – hidden
7 ON THE MAKE = (KEN AT HOME)*
8 TROY = TORY with the central two letters reversed
9 STRESSED = DESSERTS rev – Is this the only reversible eight-letter word? Even if it isn’t, it’s well-known enough for most solvers to write straight in, I would have thought.
14 PARTY LINES = PARTY (bash) + (aLIENS)*
16 MAR + CO + POLO
18 LIONS DEN – dd
20 SEISMIC = (nICE MISS)*
21 PRESS + UP
23 SUEDE = “SWAYED”
25 EXTRAct
26 SANS – dd

13 comments on “Sunday Times 4600 (27 Jul 2014) by Tim Moorey”

  1. Easier than the usual fare, 15 minutes or so, did know YAWS and the CT city and of course Mrs K knows her ‘lawn’ fabric. Now to today’s and then to stare blankly at the Mephisto.
    Dave is correct, DESSERTS does seem to be the only 8 letter reversible word in English, according to any lists I can find, although there are several 9 letter palindromes.
      1. Thanks for the pointer, Jim. I have never got so far so quickly with a Mephisto. Lets see whether I can finish.
    2. Bradford’s Lists has REDRAWER<->REWARDER, but the former seems dubious

      Edited at 2014-08-04 09:21 am (UTC)

  2. Nice puzzle – in particular I liked FATSO, DOG’S LIFE, and MRS BEETON.

    The web suggests DIORAMAS/SAMAROID and REDRAWER/REWARDER as other 8 letter reversibles, though SAMAROID isn’t in any of the usual sources and both REDRAWER/REWARDER seem to belong to that dodgy category where simply bunging -ER on the end of a verb creates an associated noun.

  3. A modest sense of triumph, as this was my first ever fully correct Tim Moorey after several near misses in recent weeks (the time taken was, however, substantial!)

    Did not know YAWS but managed to guess it from the homophone indicator, and failed to fully parse TIRADES (missed the RE. / ON connection – silly oversight). Other than that, all tickety boo.

    Good to see the redoubtable Mrs. Beeton getting a run out – will Delia achieve a similar level of immortality in cryptics 150 years hence, I wonder? Favourite was SCINTILLA with the wrong-footing “black singer” device. All most enjoyable.

  4. Dredged YAWS up from somewhere, and did the Sherlock Holmes for the linen – if nothing else works… Otherwise enjoyed both Tim’s setting and Andy’s explication.
  5. An excellent and very enjoyable puzzle that took me 30 minutes with the same unknowns as the blogger. I was delayed in parsing 12ac correctly by the conviction it was MIDGEt with its T removed, but on the third or fourth revisit I spotted the correct reasoning. I particularly liked the &lit definition at 11ac and the non-PC answer which conjured up memories of Greyfriars School.

    Edited at 2014-08-03 07:41 pm (UTC)

  7. Like Jack, I thought 12ac was MIDGET minus the T, but I never did get the parsing until I came here (and I’ve never come across MIDGE in this sense before). Luckily I knew YAWS, as yaws/yours are far from homophonic in my dialect. DNK Cilla, but had the checkers. It hadn’t occurred to me to equate stocking and selling.

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