Sunday Times 4642 by Tim Moorey

9 comments on “Sunday Times 4642 by Tim Moorey”

1. One wrong, but a DNF anyway, since like Keriothe I had to Google English racetracks to find Towcester, and didn’t know the DJ meaning as well; two bits of ignorance that I don’t much mind. I put in ‘the locals’ at 27ac, which fits the definition nicely but otherwise doesn’t have much to say for itself; totally missed the anagrind. And I put–perhaps even bunged–FILS in from definition alone. I’ll join Ulaca in giving the COD to TEENS. It occurred to me at the time that calling Aesop a ‘writer’ is stretching things a bit: it’s not at all clear that he existed, for one thing, and written versions of the fables all postdate him. Still, ‘Fabulist returning…’ lacks a certain je sais quoi.

   Edited at 2015-05-24 06:03 am (UTC)

2. Re 29a, more likely to be the Chinese I’d have thought. More manpower, more resources, more focus.

   PI also thought TEENS was the pick of the crop, even though I failed to get it. Loved TOASTER, because it’s just a fabulous name for a place. Right up there with Sandy, Beds.

3. A DNF for me, as I’d never heard of BATTLEDORE and still could not work it out with more than half the letters, and (to my shame!) missed APACE which I really should have got.

   TOASTER went straight in as I was lucky enough (depending on how you look at it) to have both required bits of information floating around in my over-cluttered mind.

   TEENS was excellent, I thought. Thanks for the crystal clear blog Keriothe.

4. I found this light and entertaining, a good start to a pleasant Sunday morning. No trouble with the reggae/racecourse thing at 19ac. Liked BATTLEDORE and SKEIN but have to agree TEENS is COD.
5. Like others I was completely baffled by the DJ reference at 19 but fortunately I knew Towcester because it’s not that far from where I live and it’s the only racecourse I have ever attended in my life (just the once).

   Not over-keen on 11ac where ‘invalid’ seems to be serving double duty as source of the letter to be removed from the anagrist, and as anagram indicator. ‘Aid’ also doing double duty seems to fit the role of definition quite satisfactorily on its own and I can’t see that the remainder of the clue adds anything that makes much sense if it’s supposed to be &lit.

   BATTLEDORE remembered from somewhere though I didn’t know what it was. The Iraqi money was unknown to me.

   Edited at 2015-05-24 07:40 am (UTC)

   1. I take your point on ‘invalid’. It is a bit odd. I also agree with you on ‘aid’: the clue has to be &Lit precisely because if not ‘aid’ is doing double duty!
      1. Yes, I suppose so, in which case ‘invalid’ is doing triple duty as part of the definition. Even more odd!
6. Enjoyable puzzle in general, with another COD vote from here for TEENS. Also raised an eyebrow at 11A. I knew the DJ definition of TOASTER but had always imagined (based on no evidence whatsoever) that the first three letters of the racecourse were pronounced the same as those in “towel”. Hence this is yet another word whose correct pronunciation has been revealed to me through crosswords after years of mispronunciation – see also gnu, reveille, tapir, and others.
7. This took me ages, too – eventually decided that DJ was a reference to the attire of the toastmaster at a formal dinner (an event I’d never consider attending). I’d never come across the reggae sense – not in my edition of Chambers.

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