Sunday Times Cryptic No 4927 by David McLean — Trick or tweet

Author   Guy du SablePosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
This one was worked the night of Halloween,
Quite the most eerie I have ever seen.
For months we’d gone about our daily tasks
With tout le monde already wearing masks.
There was no jubilant parade this year,
As make-believe was trumped by honest fear.

I should add that there was much jubilation in New York City streets today…!

I indicate (a ram snag)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clues.

ACROSS
 1 Soldiers in offensive operation finally access canopy (8)
TREETOPS — T(RE)ET, your Royal Engineers in the notorious Vietnam War action + OP(eration) + [-acces]S
 5 Not all fillet halibut with devastating ability (6)
LETHAL — Hidden
 9 Oboe part enthralling performer delivered (8)
RETURNED — RE(TURN)ED For TURN, Lexico has: “A performer giving one of a number of short performances. ‘She simply agonises over how to describe what she does when a camera is pointed at her, saying that she feels more like a performer or a circus turn than an actress.’”
10 Assault by sea or land (6)
DOMAIN — DO, “assault” (British slang—I found it in Collins!) + MAIN, “sea”
11 Religious type radiating good humour on Radio Manchester (5)
SUNNI — Sounds like “sunny” in that neck of the woods, I assume
12 British government? Pure rubbish ultimately to a man! (9)
WHITEHALL — As an American, I shall refrain from comment… WHITE, “pure” + [-rubbis]H + ALL, “to a man”
14 Squeaky as a mountaineer’s tent might be? (4-7)
HIGH-PITCHED — CD, ha ha The definition didn’t quite do it for me, but dictionaries say it’s all that’s necessary. Certainly there are high-pitched sounds (tweets?) that you would not describe with this word. Today’s Superfluous Fun Fact (#1): The reason higher frequencies sound thinner, and lower sounds fatter (or phatter, ha) to us humans is, of course, only because of the ceiling on our sense of hearing; if our range went higher, we could hear more of the overtones of those higher sounds.
18 Crossover chart hit named “Raving” (4,7)
VENN DIAGRAM — (named “Raving”)* Wonderful clue: creative anagrind, and I want to hear that song. COD
21 Mafioso with a command to get old body-building Italian (9)
DONATELLO — DON, “Mafioso” + A + TELL, “command” + O(ld) MER at “building,” as the first definition of build (in Lexico/Oxford) is “Construct (something) by putting parts or material together,” and that’s not the kind of sculptor Donatello was; he worked by carving and chiseling: subtraction. In the view of some, such as my sculptor friend David Stoltz, he is the absolute greatest sculptor of all time, and I am disappointed to learn that perhaps his most famous piece, the nude David, is (and the clothed version too) in a gallery I didn’t know about (Donatello nobody!) when I made my only trip (so far…) to Firenze: the Bargello. (David didn’t tell me!)
23 Away from home, City charge to the left and mark area (5)
PARMA — RAP<=“to the left” + M(ark) + A(rea) The first part of the clue threw me for a lonnng time. It’s part of the definition, another way of saying “Foreign” to qualify “city,” which wouldn’t have been necessary, actually, and hardly helps here! But it’s totally legal.
24 English dons raced back to get Times locally (6)
NEARBY — RAN<=“back” puts on E(nglish) and acquires BY, “times”
25 Spooner’s alert and pretty lady’s a tart of sorts (8)
BAKEWELL — “Woke belle” (It’s about time!) One of my last in, not being familiar with the brand, though it must have come up here before.
26 Number of flat opened by large key (6)
ELEVEN — E(L)(E)VEN
27 Tales of the French getting dope, being off the booze (8)
LEGENDRY — LE, “the[,] French” + GEN, “dope” (see 16) + DRY, “off the booze.”

DOWN
 1 One tweeting hard-hearted retweet about American hotel (6)
THRUSH — R(H)T<=“about” + US, “American” + H(otel)
 2 Volume of old wine (6)
EXTENT — EX, “old” + TENT, “wine”
 3 The drains must get sorted being befouled (9)
TARNISHED — (The drains)* Wordy anagrind, which you might guess is such if you wonder in what context “drains” might need “sort[ing].”
 4 I tag wild ape shakily, being known to flap (4,7)
PIED WAGTAIL — (I tag wild ape)* Never heard of the bird (our second one here… along with TREETOPS), so this was one of my last in. Rather a goofy surface, but I love the (cryptic) definition.
 6 E-book written about play with great passion? (5)
EMOTE — E + TOME<=“written about”
 7 Something that can stop one having sex is a problem (8)
HEADACHE — DD—or just one CD? “A problem that could stop one having sex” is a single thought.
 8 Woman who’ll let son into light infantry in the end (8)
LANDLADY — LAND, “light” + LAD, “son” + [-infantr]Y
13 Possibly represent one individual detained in China (11)
IMPERSONATE — I, 1 or “one” + M(PERSON)ATE
15 Where one might see the enemy marching forward? (9)
TIMEPIECE — CD Seems that several words could fit the definition, though only one the enumeration and crossers as well. That “the enemy” is time is an old trope that I learned only from doing these things, but, as I am the blogger today, I am duty-bound to give some semblance of a derivation (even if ultimately for entertainment purposes only. Ha). According to the website Word Histories (https://wordhistories.net/2017/01/13/how-goes-the-enemy/), the phrase “How goes the enemy?” was once a way of asking the time (illustrated by a 1942 cartoon showing a soldier in the midst of combat looking at his watch… It’s an interesting link).
16 New vice cops study ecstasy and hard dope in a case (8)
EVIDENCE — (vice)* collaring DEN, “study,” and followed by E, the drug “ecstasy”; “dope” in the sense of information
17 I go out with woman with a habit in Bury (8)
INUNDATE — I(NUN)DATE
19 Foul spirit infused with drop of Ribena or a Bud? (6)
FRIEND — F (R[-ibena]) IEND “Ribena” is a soft drink, which I didn’t know, and which you don’t have to know to work this.
20 Boat showroom overlooking river (6)
GALLEY — GALLE[-r]Y
22 Climbing club left stuck on European plateau (5)
TABLE — BAT<=“climbing” + L(eft) + E(uropean)

31 comments on “Sunday Times Cryptic No 4927 by David McLean — Trick or tweet”

  1. Took forever, but I finally made it, with GALLEY of all things being my LOI; just couldn’t come up with the appropriate meaning of ‘overlooking’. DNK BAKEWELL, so getting the spoonerism took time. I suspect that in Manchester they pronounce ‘sunny’ like ‘Sunni’, rather than the reverse. Liked ‘being known to flap’.
    1. Right. So if you said “Sunni,” they might hear (the word spelled as) “sunny.”
    2. I’m disappointed in you. BAKEWELL appeared recently in my “Weekend Quickie” via johninterred’s blog on this site !
      1. I’m afraid this may disappoint you a bit more, but I haven’t looked at any of your (you & John’s) puzzles, and probably won’t. More power to the both of you, but.
  2. I know they pronounce U as OO, oop north, but I hadn’t twigged till now that was what “Radio Manchester” was about! Thanks, Guy.
    1. It might have worked as Radio Lancashire, but people in Manchester speak completely differently to those in, say, Preston !
  3. I had trouble with many of the cryptic definitions this week, leading to a DNF – I guess my concentration was on vote counting – so chalk up a W to David M.
    “Tet” used to show up in US crosswords (though usually clued as holiday or festival); I will be interested to hear how many non-US solvers associate it with the beginning of the end in Viet Nam.
    And, I knew of Donatello, but thanks Guy, for encouraging me to look him and his work up. ,
    1. As a non-US solver, I know TET for ‘offensive’ from many UK crosswords, but even more from remembering when it happened. I still find it surprising that Vietnam, which was the biggest issue where and when I was growing up in the late 60’s and 70’s, is now more closely associated with food and as a holiday destination (pre-COVID anyway) by younger generations. It would be nice to think that the same thing will happen to current day world trouble spots in 40-50 years, but I fear not.
      1. You never know: we’ll be far less reliant on fossil fuels by then which will have profound geopolitical consequences in the Middle East.
  4. I didn’t know what ‘Away from home’ was doing for Parma, wondering if it may be something to do with their football team, but apparently not. Thanks for the “How goes the enemy?” link. Interesting to see that the phrase was in use even before railway timetables made people in Britain more aware of the importance of a uniform time across the British rail network. Maybe an obvious one, but WHITEHALL was my favourite.

    I associate BAKEWELL to some extent with a ‘tart’ but even more with another foodstuff, a ‘crumpet’. I really can’t think why.

    Thanks to setter and to Guy

    1. Joan BAKEWELL used to be referred to as “the thinking man’s crumpet” back in the day.
      1. Thanks for replying. Yes I actually did remember and wondered if anyone else did. I heard Joan Bakewell being asked about it, many years ago now but still a long time after Frank Muir made the comment, and was glad to hear that she took it in good humour.
  5. That was too difficult for me so I ended up using aids for numerous clues.
    My queried clues were PARMA and THRUSH. I can now just about ‘see’ PARMA but “R(H)T <= “about”” defeats me.
    No COD as it was all too difficult.
    Incidentally, there appears to be a glitch on the Club site. My submission is shown as “100%” but with no score and therefore no indication of any errors.

    Edited at 2020-11-08 06:03 am (UTC)

    1. I’m not sure if you are still wondering about this, but to be more explicit:
      RT is text-talk for “retweet,” and it is going backward with H(ard) inside it.
      1. Thanks, Guy. You have just confirmed to me I know nothing about modern communications! I have never been on Twitter or Instagram and put my Facebook account into long-term hibernation 2 years ago.
  6. …that’s the starter and pudding sorted. This took me damn near the hour with LOI LEGENDRY. Spell check still doesn’t like it. The circles weren’t intersecting for a long time in my head on the brilliant COD VENN DIAGRAM. Of course, as fas as I am concerned, along with most of the other residents of the North, the reference to Radio Manchester for SUNNI was unnecessary, but I guess it set the possible away Champions League clash between City and Parma into context. A tough puzzle, but enjoyable. Thank you Guy and David.
  7. Enjoyed this, on the harder side of average I thought. Though not keen on the redundant phrase in 23ac, or on 16dn.
    Nice to see a mention of the one in the purple mask (see our glossary under “Ninja turtling”)
  8. I was defeated by a number of clues in this puzzle. For 15d I had TIMEPIECE but then thought TIMEFRAME was better. For 23a I thought the definition was probably Away from Home. Spooner’s always a problem for me without helpful checkers.
    I had LEGEN … at 27a but could not see the rest and would not have known that Tales = Legendry. And no FRIEND or GALLEY.
    My FOI was HIGH PITCHED; I liked that clue.
    David
    1. It’s just that ‘sunny’ and ‘Sunni’ sound the same in Manchester, whereas they don’t in the home of the Times of London. There’s no more to it than that.
  10. ….and it seems to be the unwritten rule that, as soon as I choose that option, the puzzle will be of above average difficulty. I eventually resorted to aids on the third sitting, and it fell after 36 minutes. COD VENN DIAGRAM.
  11. 9:17. I must have been on the wavelength for this: I had no problems with it.
    11ac suggests that the Times ‘standard’ for homophones is (quite logically) the dialect local to the newspaper. So sunny/Sunni has to be qualified whereas sort/sought and one/won don’t.
    1. Correct on the accent, but the real reason is that both our main reference dictionaries reflect that accent, now audibly in their online versions.
  12. If we’re talking local dialects then up here in sunni Derbyshire it’s a most definitely a Bakewell pudding, not a tart 🙂
  13. I found this harder than usual, but got there eventually. I was also thrown by the Away from home bit of 23a, which was my LOI after VENN DIAGRAM and TIMEPIECE. 47:18. Thanks Harry and Guy.
  14. 39:40. A tricky offering. For some reason friend took me ages I was also hesitant at legendry which I am more used to seeing spelt legendary. Enjoyed the high-pitched tent and the Venn diagram. Good stuff.
    1. is a different word, an adjective, and still in much more common use than the noun LEGENDRY.
  15. It is good to see Guy update his avatar – I do wish others would attend to their visual offerings more often. (fyi a pair of chirpy bul-buls on my balcony celebrating the New Biden Era)

    FOI 14ac HIGH PITCHED

    LOI 23ac PARMA daft clue

    COD 25ac BAKEWELL

    WOD VENN DIAGRAM who played full back for Wimbledon in the glory days!

    Edited at 2020-11-08 04:57 pm (UTC)

  16. Thanks David and guy
    This took three increasingly-longer sessions to get through – most enjoyable though. The only parsing that I couldn’t do was with the first part of THRUSH, just had no idea of RT as an official abbreviation of ‘retweet’.
    Thought that the VENN DIAGRAM clue was the pick of a good bunch.
    Finished up with that clunkily-defined PARMA and GALLERY, which took much longer than it should have to see.

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