Times 24,104 – For the benefit of Messrs Hayden and Katich

Author   topicaltimPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I tackled this after returning from a pre-Christmas gathering with some old friends for curry and beer, the intention being to leave it till the morning if it proved too taxing; it didn’t (22 minutes), so I shall write up before going to bed and will make any corrections tomorrow morning should they be necessary (blame to be placed at the door of an excess of Christmas spirit, please). Not the easiest Tuesday puzzle, but not as much pause for thought required as there was yesterday. Q1(for the combined effect of a few separate little niggles)-E7-D7

Across
1 CAPRI – CAP(ital) = R(iver) + 1; didn’t think that CAPITAL was the best clue possible for CAP in the circumstances.
9 TESTAMENT – as in Last Will and Testament; after AT + TEST yesterday we have TEST MEN T(hink) incorporating A(ustralia). While England haven’t managed to win a Test recently, this was some consolation ahead of the Ashes…
11 TROUPE (TOUR)* + PE.
12 BROUHAHA – BRO +U(p) + HAHA causes a sensation.
17 CROSS CURRENT – CROSS + CUR + RENT.
20 SCHNAPPS – (SCH)ool + “NAPS”.
21 MARINA – MAR(ch) IN A.
23 BUGLE – BUG + L(ettuc)E = this plant, which, as usual with plants, I didn’t know, but worked out.
24 ORANGEADE – O(ld) + RANGE + AD(vert) + E(nglish).
26 EVERY – EVE + (calenda)R Y(ear) = “each”.
 
Down
1 CITATION – C(hannel) I(slands) + (s)TATION.
2 PUSHOVER – (SUP)rev + HOVER, the def being ‘picnic’; not sure I entirely understand this – why does it need to be a “late” diner?
3 INAPPROPRIATELY – (A+PP+PRIORITYLANE)*.
5 AFTERSHOCK – AFTERS + HOCK, small gripe but I don’t like the fact that ‘after’ is in the clue as well.
6 BERMUDA TRIANGLE – (BEURGENTADMIRAL)* – nice surface.
7 RELOAD – RED round LOA(f), not too keen on “red” = wine, I have to say.
8 YES MAN – (ASEN(e)EMY)*.
13 PERSEPHONE – PER SE + PHONE gives the consort of Hades in Greek mythology.
18 ISOBAR – I SOB on A R(un).
19 SHOGUN – SHO(t) GUN.
22 TAME – TALE with M replacing L.

And with that, I offer season’s greetings to one and all…

27 comments on “Times 24,104 – For the benefit of Messrs Hayden and Katich”

  1. 2dn I could only think that a late diner eats SUPper rather than dinner.

    Pedantic rant alert!

    I may well have missed something at 10ac (when I go on a rant I usually have!) but I don’t like “governments” as a definition of “rules”. The words can be synonymous in the general sense (eg “India was under British rule” = British government) but the plural implies the particular, and while “a government” is OK in that sense, “a rule” is not.

    1. Ah, I think I was seeing it as just SUP=synonym for dine, in which case the “late” is superfluous, rather than the more technical difference between supper and dinner, in which case I take the point, though we are entering a minefield. (I can’t remember if we’ve had a discussion here about what is meant in different households by “lunch”, “dinner”, “tea”, “supper” etc.: which is the main meal of the day, when in the day they’re eaten, and so on).
      1. I’m not trying to justify anything, just speculating as to what may have been in the setter’s mind. “Sup” has 2 definitions in the COED: (1) to eat or drink; and (2) to eat supper. I suspect that regardless of when one eats one’s main meal or what one calls it (yes, we have had that discussion!), supper is the latest meal of the day (in COED it is specifically an evening meal). That, taken together with “sup (2)” seems to justify the “late”.

        (It does of course raise the problem that a “diner” is ” person who dines”, and “to dine” is “to eat dinner”, so a “diner” cannot “sup” (in sense(2)), but let’s not go there!)

  2. Nice to see a clue featuring “underworld boss” that doesn’t require DIS as part of the answer! Not convinced there is an anagram indicator in 6d…and Tim, there are a few Aussie-residents who attempt this puzzle (though a lot of them are expats like me)
    1. 6dn I think “encountering disaster” is doing double duty.

      13dn, oddly, it did occur to me that “underworld” would have been better than “underground”.

      Maybe we should ask how the English cricket team is doing in India then?

      (Also an expat Aussie resident.)

      1. Ah, no, you see, that doesn’t count because the captain’s South African, which means that technically SA lost the first test against India even while winning the first test against Australia. England are currently resting.
          1. Heh, I fear you might have it exactly. Perhaps someone could nail a few of our batsmen to the crease.
  3. Didn’t time myself, for which I am glad, since I managed to tie myself in knots through lack of care. After a quick start entering “yesmen” and “Runnymead” pretty much scuppered my cause. Doubly embarrassing as I lived within spitting distance of Runnymede for 20 years.
  4. 18:05 .. I’m enjoying the current run of slightly trickier puzzles. I agree about ‘cap’ for ‘capital’ feeling weak, but it’s okay.

    Yet another HAHA. We see it often enough, but I still struggled over 12a, my last in.

    In 2dn, I guess it’s just the verb SUP coming up. And a late diner does indeed sup.

    COD .. 26a EVERY, which I think is very elegant.

  5. Hello all. About 25 minutes or so, with the last 3 being ORANGEADE, BROUHAHA and PUSHOVER. I agree the late diner ‘sups’, so I think it’s OK, and it’s also a well hidden and well constructed clue. I quibble with ‘brouhaha’, where the definition seems to be ‘sensation’; am I missing something? Brouhaha usually means something negative over here, synonymous with hubbub, donnybrook, etc., like a public altercation. I realize that something causing a lot of positive public outcry could be a ‘sensation’, in the Elvis or Beatles sense, and cause a brouhaha. Perhaps that’s what meant here(?). In any event, regards all. And, Season’s Greetings to you as well, topicaltim.
    1. I wasn’t quite sure about “brouhaha” = “sensation” either but it’s the third definition in my OED, so nothing wrong with that.
  7. Apropos of absolutely nothing, What are the chances of a white Christmas in Blighty? Never happened in my 20 years in the Thames Valley.
  8. as a part time resident of Upper Basildon i would say close to zero! (but not below zero!)
  9. I was interrupted whilst doing this so took about 35 minutes in two sessions. I struggled a bit at times particularly with the NE corner where the 3 quibbles already mentioned concerning 10A, 12A and 6D slowed my understanding. I liked 4A with “ran-b” substituted for “h” in “cherry”. I think red=wine is fairly common, Tim, both in crossword land and in everyday speech “I’ll have a glass of red”.

    It hasn’t snowed and settled in my part of Dorset since the end of the 1970s

  10. I found this easier than yesterday. 25 minutes initially, but I checked the wordplay to 2 and 4, realised PASSOVER must be wrong for 2 and then saw PUSHOVER, so this added another minute. The answer to 6 didn’t come until had a few letters in place; I knew it to be an anagram, but thought the answer might be some inglorious naval battle.
  12. 13.48 – Last to go in was 2 after considering passover for no good reason other than it also fitted in. A few festive tipples today , cranberry or orangeade for the designated drivers and aftershocks, schnapps or some ‘red’ for the rest ,you could even try some runny mead if you prefer!
    In Carnoustie on the North Sea coast of Scotland we are unlikely to see any snow , very mild today, but the hills of the Angus glens have a dusting of white on top. Merry Xmas to you where ever you are
    JohnPMarshall
  13. No silly mistakes today, for which i am thankful. In Houston, Texas for the holiday season, and I saw a great sign on a nightclub yesterday.

    Ladies night
    $7.99
    All-u-can-eat catfish.

    And to all a good night (and a full stomach of catfish)

  14. 8:55 – steady progress throughout. Wondered abo0ut seasonal elements with 4A and the clue to 26.

Comments are closed.