Sunday Times 4608 (21 Sep 2014) by Dean Mayer

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: about 55 mins

Another excellent puzzle from Dean. I wasn’t keen on 11, and Spoonerisms do nothing for me, but these were minor blips amongst a host of brilliant offerings.

As ever with Dean, there were some wonderfully disguised definitions on offer – 7, 18 & 25 stick in my mind, but there were plenty of others. I can’t choose between 7 & 25 for COD, so I’ll offer both jointly, especially as the latter references the former.

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

Across
7 EGOMANIAC = CAGE (Nicholas, actor) rev about OMANI – I did like ‘number one fan’ as an excellent definition.
9 XYLEM = X (by) + Y (yard) + LEMon (LEMON drops ON)
11 IRISH = (RISHI)* – RISHI meaning ‘wise one’, and an Irish setter being a breed of dog. I’m not keen on this one as it requires a double-step of logic, which seems a little unfair.
12 PRIMIPARA = PRIM + PARA all about I
13 APPROPRIATE – dd, or is that a triple def? Is ‘in’ a definition in its own right?
15 EA + T
16 EASy + TEND
17 SEE + KIN + G
19 W + OnE (without name, ONE)
20 LEAD NITRATE = (criminaL TREATED IN A)*
22 BONAPARTE = BE about (ON + APART)
23 MOTET = MET (opera company) about OT
24 ANKLE = NotebooK in ALE
25 COME AGAIN = (EGOMANIAC)* – ‘What?’ is the deftly hidden definition
Down
1 HESITATE = IS + EH (what?) all rev + TATE
2 BORIS PASTERNAK = (RISKS + BONAPARTE)*
3 WAS + H
4 SIMPERED = RED after M in (PIES)* – I’m not sure ‘made with mince’ is a great definition. I get the idea though. Maybe it needed a question mark at the end.
5 EXCITEMENT = EX + CEMENT about IT
6 IMP ACT
8 CH(IN)A – semi-&lit
10 LEAVES IT AT THAT = LEAVE (Holiday) + SIT (to take, e.g. a test) + A + T + THAT (which) – ‘drops’ is the definition
14 OVERLAPPED = (PEOPLe + RAVED)*
17 SUNBEAMS = BUN SEAMS with initials switched a la Rev. Spooner – personally, I’m not a big fan of Spoonerisms, but that’s just me. They seem to crop up in Dean’s puzzles quite often.
18 GREETING = (INTEGER)* after G (grand, 1000). ‘High’ is the anagrind, and ‘How is one’ is the definition.
19 WEBCAM – initials of With Extra Battery Cable Adapter Mains
21 AURIC = “AWE RICK” – Goldfinger’s first name in the eponymous Bond film
23 MEAL – hidden

7 comments on “Sunday Times 4608 (21 Sep 2014) by Dean Mayer”

  1. Good puzzle, though would agree that 4D is more than a stretch. I interpreted 11A in the same way as keriothe. One wrong with seeming at 17A, for reasons that are awfully flaky on reflection.

    (Small amendment – puzzle number is 4608)

    Edited at 2014-09-28 09:30 am (UTC)

  2. Yes it was okay and it delayed me a little over an hour. I didn’t know the wood, nor understand what was going on at 11ac other than the breed of dog. I think there may be some sort of cheap innuendo going on at 4dn which, if I’m right, I don’t much care for and it’s far too loose a definition anyway, but maybe I’ve misunderstood something.
  3. No idea of the time as the stopwatch didn’t work but about 10 – 15 mins. Not only am I not a great fan of Spoonerisms, I wrote ‘dire’ on the piece of paper by this one.

    Thanks to the two Ds.

  4. 20:39. A very enjoyable solve but I was also puzzled by 11ac and 4dn.
    At 11ac I thought that indirect anagrams were a no-no, and wondered if ‘recycled’ was somehow instructing us to ‘cycle’ the letters so that the I goes to the beginning. In any event it seems generally clear what’s going on, which is the most important thing.
    At 4dn I suppose ‘made with’ is being used in the sense ‘started doing’, but I don’t see how ‘simper’ is synonymous with ‘mince’.
    I also assumed ‘Goldfinger’ must somehow mean the same as AURIC: the Bond reference passed me by completely!
  5. I also think 11ac is not an anagram, but RISHI with the I recycled to the front.. and I like the clue.
    Mind you I have nothing against indirect anagrams either, if the clue remains solvable. Ximenes did a few, in his time..
  6. Great blog as ever, Dave – thank you.
    Looks like IRISH has been settled; yes, the recycling idea meant starting the alternative word from a different spot – no anagram involved.
    And for SIMPERED, I went for the Americanisation ‘made with’ as noted by keriothe. Chambers Thesaurus (at least) has ‘mince’ and ‘simper’ as neighbours.

    Edited at 2014-09-28 07:41 pm (UTC)

  7. Took a long time, as usual, but enjoyable time, as also usual. 12ac was my LOI; I only know the word from a previous cryptic, and I always, but always, forget ‘para’ when ‘soldier’ appears in a clue. I did have a ? by IRISH, but I’m glad to see that my reading was what Anax intended. I see from my marginal notes that I parsed 10d correctly, but didn’t know what to do with ‘sit’; although I’ve come to use the term under the influence of British colleagues, ‘sit an exam’ is not in US English, and it just didn’t come to me here.
    COD to 9ac.

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