Times 24242

Author   petebiddlecombePosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 10:41

Harder than the last couple of days, but not the stinker I was fearing – the knowledge side is pretty straightforward. Last answers in were 13 and 19. 1A, 17, 21, 24, 26, 3, 8 and 15 went in without full wordplay understanding. A well-worked puzzle in the modern Times style where difficulty comes from clever wordplay rather than putting the solver into the Mastermind chair.

Across
1 N(OGRE)AT.,SHAKES=”sheikhs”
9 PAT,E.R. – pater (Latin and comically posh Brit. colloq.)= father = “pop” (less posh Brit. colloq.)
10 AD=commercial,MONITOR = TV (the screen). This answer was an unfamiliar word but seeable from admonitory or admonition
11 LION’S SHARE = “principal part” – (Hair no less)*, the surface referring to the 1960s musical
12 (woun)D,RAG – bind (n.) = bore = drag
14 OFF ROAD = (food RAF)* – “not by the way (=road)” is the def
16 CHE(M,I=1)ST – a nice “semi &lit” where both the whole clue and “drugs supplied by me” can serve as the def.
17 (fore)IGN(OR)ER – same comment about the def. as for 10A, with “ignore” this time
19 SURGE=swelling,ON=”in an advanced state”
20 W=women’s,EAR=attention
21 H,U (first letters), MO(RE)SQUE
24 ROT,TE(RD.)AM
25 O.S.,i.e.,R – the OS “map reference” (ho ho) returns after a few days off
26 C(HEAP)AN.,D(y)NASTY – precise indication of the removal of one Y only.
 
Down
1 NAPOLEONIC WARS = (N. Salonica power), with N from northern in an old Times xwd trick to disguise the fodder
2 GET TO = (OTT, e.g.) rev.
3 EA(RL,SCOUR)T – I suspect some will quibble about the “with” at the beginning of the clue. Earl’s Court is a part of London where you go for exhibitions and Aussie bars – sometimes still “Kangaroo Valley” (my memory) or “Kangaroo Alley” (wiki). Next tube stop is Barons Court, with a perverse punctuation difference
4 TRA(SHE)D(e)
5 HOME,R,I/C. – this time, R = Regina = queen, not ER = queen
6 K,ENO = one – a bingo-style gambling game used in various state lotteries
7 SAT.=”match day” (football, e.g.),UR,NINE = eleven (team, football e.g. again) less two.
8 BRI(GHT AND E)ARLY – an unusual anag./container combo – (gent had)* in (library)*
13 G(E,O.R.,GET)OWN – “formally attired” = wearing gown. O.R.=Other Ranks. Georgetown is capital of Guyana – home of the only test cricket ground on the S. American mainland
15 FAN(T.A.),STIC=”stick” as opposed to carrot
18 ROUND=drinks bought,UP=at university
22 QU(o)ITS
23 METE=”meat”

27 comments on “Times 24242”

  2. 19 mins, held up by the KENO/ADMONITOR cross. An entertaining crossword with some intricate wordplay; my COD is 8D BRIGHT AND EARLY.

    Tom B.

  3. Another 30 minuter today and so far this week I have almost achieved my personal target of maximum 30 minutes. 35 on Monday let me down slightly.

    13dn was my last in. 6dn was solved from wordplay as I didn’t know the game itself. ADMONITOR was new to me too.

    I put a query against 14 because to my mind OFF ROAD might well be “by the way”, but possibly there is a specialist meaning I haven’t thought of.

    1. I guess I wasn’t clear enough. “by the way” here surely just means “by using a road”. So the def. is “Not by the way” = (by some other route), which is the same thing as OFF-ROAD meaning “across rough terrain”.
      1. That interpretation certainly makes sense and I hadn’t thought of it like that. But “by” can also mean “beside”, hence my confusion earlier.
  4. I rather liked this – as Peter says, wordplay rather than knowledge. I thought 10ac was nice.

    As to 7ac, I wonder if you could get away with any number other than 11 as a team? As 11 applies to soccer, cricket and hockey, I suspect anything else would be considered too arbitrary.

    Odd to have 3 clues in a row (16,17,19) using the “I” or “me” type of definition. I’ve always associated that with non-cryptic crosswords, and three in a row is curious.

    1. You might have seven in a side rather than a team – as netball and rugby 7’s
    2. 15 or rather XV (Rugby Union) is the only other one I think they’d use – it’s the only other case I can find where the number word in COED has a “team of N” definition (I tried seven (netball), nine (baseball) and thirteen (Rugby League) as other numbers that could conceivably have a similar def). Eight and four (rowing) would presumably be “crews” rather than “teams”.

      I suspect use of the I/me idea depends on the setter – there are some cryptic setters who quite like to use it, and there may be some who never do. I’ve never minded it as it matches other word puzzles and also quiz questions. Three in a row is a bit odd – maybe a setter who writes clues as inspiration strikes for answer words, rather than in the printed order.

  5. For me this puzzle drives home the point as to how dull yesterday’s puzzle was. This is entertaining and clever without ever being particularly difficult – in fact about par standard I would guess. 25 minutes to solve.

    I liked most of these clues but particularly NO GREAT SHAKES, IGNORER, NAPOLEON, GET TO, KENO and ROUND UP. I turned my blind eye on the “with” padding on the District Line.

  6. 9:21 for me today, another rare victory over PB 🙂

    I put a lot in from the definition without really checking the wordplay, but luckily managed to avoid any mistakes. Slowed down a bit in the top right corner, but last in was METE, where I had to run through the alphabet to get it.

  7. 11:17, with the last two or three minutes spent on 22dn (QUITS), 21ac (HUMORESQUE) and finally 13dn (GEORGETOWN).  It would have helped if I’d known HUMORESQUE or had GEORGETOWN at my fingertips – my younger cricket-loving self would be ashamed.  I didn’t know KENO (6dn) either.  Quite a few went in without the wordplay, but I refrained from writing in NO GREAT SHAKES (1ac) until I’d kicked myself.

    I’m used to thinking of a MONITOR (10ac) as a VDU, and didn’t realize the word had a different use in television studios.  “Imposing” is an odd definition of HOMERIC (5dn); not for the first time, Collins comes to the rescue.

    I had the same thought as Jack about OFF-ROAD (14ac), but liked the cunning use of “by the way” once I’d twigged.  Unfortunately, the only surface reading I can see is a bit strained: “Not[,] by the way[,] food [that the] RAF distributed”.

    Clues of the Day: 19ac (SURGEON), 1dn (NAPOLEONIC WARS).  And a consolation prize for 8dn (BRIGHT AND EARLY), where “popped” feels dubious to me as an anagram indicator.

  8. I made life difficult for myself today by not getting any of the 14-letter answers until fairly late on, considering, for example Peninsular Wars for 1 although, apparently, there was only one Peninsular War. As far as I can see, the Napoleonic wars left Salonica unscathed so the clue misses out on being a clever &Lit.

    Likewise with 26, I was convinced that I had to remove one of the ans from Canadian so I could not justify Cheap and Nasty for a long time. In fact I did this puzzle backwards getting all the tricky 4 and 5 letter answers before cracking the longer ones.

    The hidden word was next to last in, followed by Surgeon which, for me, is a not very convincing semi &Lit.

    I was also delayed by the description of Humoresque as lively music. Chambers is probably closer with “a musical caprice” but the clue fits the COED definition so I can’t complain (although I just did).

    Dvorak’s humoresque always brings to mind:
    Passengers will please refrain
    From using toilets while the train
    Is standing at the station for a while…
    Anyone interested can Google the rest.

    1. Another for the collection … I’ll swap you the big tune from the finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony: “Hit him on the head with a saucepan”.
  9. After a lighting start down the left wing I was thwarted in the midfield and limped home in 40 mins, at least five of which were spent staring at the blank spaces in GEORGETOWN & SURGEON. Otherwise great fun was had by all. Good surfaces and no small amount of wit. Liked the well hidden SHOWMAN, IGNORER for its fore & GEORGETOWN when I finally got it, but COD CHEAP AND NASTY for its D(y)NASTY. “Popped” as anagrind is growing on me.
  10. Like Peter, I expected a hard puzzle, but found this a light stroll (albeit a bit harder than the previous two days).KENO and ADMONITOR were unfamiliar, but obvious from wordplay. 3, 7 and 8 all went in without my fully understanding the wordplay. A number of good clues, but I liked 17 especially.
  11. At about 28 minutes, a little harder than the past couple of days, but not by much. I didn’t fully understand 9ac / 26ac / 2d / 3d / 22d, but all clear now! Lots of anagrams along the way, which are always a big help in these quarters. COD 16ac.
  12. 25:03 .. Found this tricky throughout, but satisfying. NAPOLEONIC WARS was especially challenging for those of us who spent history lessons staring out of the window toward faraway, dream-filled landscapes. If history always repeats itself, I thought, I’ll just catch the re-run. Ah, the flawless logic of youth.

    COD 1a NO GREAT SHAKES, for making me laugh.

  13. 13 minutes, nice wordplay, some generous definitions where the wordplay wasn’t really needed. ADMONITOR from wordplay, took a while to see HUMORESQUE, thanks for the checking Q, setter!

    Is the stinker coming tomorrow?

  14. I reluctantly resorted to an alphabetic scan for my final clue (23d) and seized on CEDE = Allot? and sounds like Seed = food? OK, I suppose its pushing it a bit but at least I cut the wretched scan short.

  15. An average-ish 22 minutes with keno and osier unfamiliar and got from wordplay. Some very tricksy constructions dotted about which made this an interesting challenge. No ticks though so no one clue stood out.
  16. 12.40 with one mistake – put KINO for 6 (no excuse or reason – just like a duck house claimed on expenses I thought is was ok at the time but on reflection I can see it was an error) Quick start with the two long 1’s going in straight off, then slowed up as I moved to the SE corner with 13 and 21 the last to go in – and these only after I finally twigged on QUITS – a Q never springs to mind unless I see a U (and even then it’s not automatic) 21 was difficult to spot and 3 would also have been but for the checking letters
    1. “it was an error” – perfectly done, John. You should stand for parliament. Like all good MPs, you’ve managed to spell ‘confession’ without an ‘I’! (though I believe the preferred form is “an error was made”). Regards to you and the ducks.
  17. Similar experience for me, harder than the previous couple of days. Finished in about 35 minutes, including some interruptions, ending at the crossing pair at 13/21. I sussed out GEORGETOWN’s wordplay, which when entered made me understand that the ‘on’ to be inserted in 21 was not literally ‘on’, as I had been convinced, but ‘re’. Overall, a lot of fun. ADMONITOR is new to me. COD: SHOWMAN I am becoming partial to well hidden hiddens. Regards.
  18. I was quite happy with the ‘with’ in the clue for Earl’s Court: it seems to me that “With both hands clean’ is short for ‘With both hands you will find ‘clean”, in other words ‘R L scour”

    The trouble with Keno, of which I’d never heard, was that it wasn’t (as suggested above) possible from the wordplay alone, since Kano is also OK: K A (on)rev., since on = over.

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