Times 24327 – hmmm, haven’t seen that before…

Author   glhPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time : 28 minutes (but with one horrible horrible mistake!!!!) – if I wasn’t writing the blog I would have gone for the aids. There’s a lot of depth in here – some general knowledge, vicious wordplay, and a J and an X away from a pangram. I wonder if I’m the only one struggling with this one? I don’t recall seeing wordplay like that in 6 across in the Times before, nor a lot of clues that need some real unravelling to see the wordplay, such as 20 down. There’s not a lot I can leave out of the blog this time around, so here goes nothing.

Across
1 GIRL(=miss), CRAZY: the second part is AZ (extreme characters) in CRY. I remember it from the Judy Garland film – here’s the best known song from the Gershwin score.
6 SABOT: Add “AGED” and you get SABOTAGED. Haven’t seen this trick before – a French peasant’s clog
9 UVULA: In the back of the throat – UV + nUcLeAr
10 TAMARILLO: A,R in TAMIL, then LO… more tricky wordplay
11 SAT,CH,MO(=tick, as in a second): Louis Armstrong
12 INFIDEL: this might be a giveaway to fans of chess, but I had to go to Chambers to see the wordplay – it’s FIDE in 1,N,L
13 MAN BOOKER PRIZE: BOOKER (one reserving) in MAN, sounds like PRIES. Knew this because I read a winner not that long ago (Peter Carey’s book about Ned Kelly – highly recommended)
21 UNI,FORM: Oxford is the University east of FORM(found)
23 ALBERTA: B in ALERT, A
26 OUTRO: U (upmarket) TR (Irish politician, think we’ve had this before) in OO (spectacles) Take that, smartypants – as early commenters commented, it’s OUTDO – U,TD in OO
27 TESLA: (LEAST)*, measurement of magnetic flux. Hey, Jimbo – science!
28 CHEEK,B,ONE
 
Down
1 GRUESOME: replace the N in GNOME with RUES
2 (P)ROUST: needed all three checking letters to get this
3 COACH TOUR: (OCCUR AT HO)* – the anagram fodder was obvious, but this took a while
4 ARTWORK: more intricate workplay – A,R, then R in TWO K(a couple of thousand)
5 YUMMIER: Y,(REMIUM)*
6 SERIF: FIRES reversed – the little feet on letters
7 BULL,DOZER: BULL=center of the archery target
8 TOOTLE: T inside TO,OLE – didn’t see that for a while
14 NEEDINESS: DINE,S inside SEEN reversed, and the definition is just “want”
15 ROADBLOCK: (BOARD)*,LOCK
16 SYCAMORE: sounds like SICK, AMORE
19 T,W,ADDLE: “Cock” is the definition
20 QUAI(l),N.T.: NT is back as our books, and above (covering) them is QUAIL briefly
22 OMEGA: definition is “last thing”, then thE eveninG in O,MA
24 RETRO: appropriately my last in – (p)ORTER reversed

39 comments on “Times 24327 – hmmm, haven’t seen that before…”

  1. I struggled too. About an hour.

    Surely 26 across is OUTDO (=cap) T.D. is the Irish politician (member of the dail in gaelic or something like that).

    RETRO was my last too (preceded by QUAINT that took ages for some reason).

  2. Just finished this when the blog came up — so over the hour. Ergo: hard. Yep, it’s OUTDO. COD to the anagram in 17ac (not blogged but).
  3. Eventually went to the aids for a couple in order to finish (39 min). Was all primed up to be grumpy as hell about another religious reference at 17 ac, but was quickly subdued by the arrival of the TERRACOTTA ARMY. But not my COD. This has to go to SABOT which I was sure was right, but could not justify until the DOH! Toughest of the week. What will tomorrow bring?

    PS. Anyone else have trouble with their Crossword Club sub? I received an e-mail to say that I had been automatically debited, but then had to re-enter my details in order to sign on. I was subsequently debited a second time!

  4. OUTDO = cap. First in was ROUST which I liked as it means to get someone out forcibly of bed, something Proust could have done with. My last was SERIF.
  5. Tough, I agree, about 45 minutes. First in SATCHMO, last QUAINT. Didn’t get SABOT wordplay at all until seeing George’s explanation. Some very tricky and clever stuff here. Overall, a great puzzle, my hat’s off to the setter. Among those that had me in wonder were CHEEKBONE, TESLA, GRUESOME, UNIFORM, INFIDEL, YUMMIER, COACH TOUR, and more The USA F.I.D.E. chessmen had been, may still be, headquartered in New Windsor, NY, about 15 miles south of me on the other side of the Hudson River. Well blogged, George, no easy task. I can’t pick a COD, too many to mention. A puzzle to appreciate; it seems easier to list the clues that were ordinary. The rest are very, very well made. Thanks, setter.
  6. Little time to do so straight to aids which meant that I avoided much of the torture.
    Got SABOT immediately so from George’s comment it looks like for once innocence is an advantage.
    Very much enjoyed some of the subtleties in the wordplay eg “baked” in Terracotta Army, and from distant memory I think that Bull, as well as being a target for archers, is also the name of the pub in the radio soap.
    1. I thought of the radio pub initially too, though it must be the archery bull this time.
  7. 24:07 – took ages to complete the SW corner in the order 27, 22, 21, 20. Part of the trouble was trying to make ANTICO=olde-worlde (Italian) fit at 20. So if Jimbo can see 27A’s science anagram quickly, I’m in trouble. Didn’t think of FIDE so had to rely on the def for 12 – not the only wordplay I missed.
  8. I didn’t find this particularly hard, but it felt as if it should have been, so I think it flattered which was nice. That’s what happens when you get on the setter’s wavelength. Some really nice wordplay and answers.
    Just one query – in 19dn shouldn’t “confused” be “confuse” (= addle) or am I missing something obvious?
    1. COED says “addle” can be used as an adjective meaning “confused” – e.g. in “addle-brained”.
  9. Well done, George! Some of this must have been a beast to blog. I’m glad it wasn’t my day and I hope today’s level of difficulty will not be repeated tomorrow when it’s my turn.

    I may have enjoyed this more if I had been at home and able to give it my full attention but unfortunately I was on the move again. Actually the top half went in reasonably smoothly in about 20 minutes though several clues remained unexplained. I had been encouraged by getting 1ac straight away. I am a big fan of Gershwin – well of any songwriter of that era really.

    But disaster struck in the lower half where I couldn’t get started and spent nearly 15 minutes looking at rows of blank grid. I eventually found a foothold in the SE with ROADBLOCK and completed all of that quarter apart from TWADDLE, a clue I don’t care for and I’m not quite sure I understand how “confused” = “addle” anyway. Completely out of time when I should have been working I used a solver to polish off 22dn and 27ac.

    My COD is 7dn for the bonus of references to The Archers and their village pub in addition to the actual wordplay.

    1. Two of my points arrived on the board whilst I was writing, so sorry if I appear to be restating what has already been said.
  11. top half went in ok, but even as a chessplayer missed fide. needed aids for bottom half, but cod has to be 17ac, i even missed the baked subtlety til coming here. this was difficult but fair, the sort of xword i would love to finish clean – aspirational.
  12. 20.40 One of these puzzles where there were no ‘gimmes’. TAMARILLO was new to me and it was clear that 27 was an anagram but I needed the checking letters to work out what it was. SE corner was last to come and the Z’s in top half had me wrongly thinking of a pangram which pointed me to the Q of QUAINT and the rest fell into place. No complaints about today’s Oxford clue as I am happy to recognise the pre-eminence of its University (as opposed to its High Street!) despite my (facetious) comments of the other day. Good puzzle
  13. Excellent tough puzzle, as all (or nearly all) have said. Pleased to finish in just short of an hour with all answers correct and no resort to aids, though not fully understanding INFIDEL or SABOT until coming here. QUAINT the last to go in. The wordplay for QUAINT, SABOT and GRUESOME was topnotch – really inventive stuff, generating “eureka!” moments when the pennies finally dropped. And I’m glad to see that someone else has singled out TERRACOTTA ARMY for mention – a top-class anagram with great surface reading. I was momentarily inclined to grumble about being expected to have heard of FIDE at 12ac, but on reflection I guess it was no more unreasonable than expecting people to be familiar with the rules/arcana of cricket, golf, rugby, bridge and other specialist activities that may or not be one’s bag.
  14. This has to be my favourite puzzle this year. There have been many harder but none so ingenious or enjoyable. It was one of those where you stop putting ticks by favourite clues because there are too many.

    Quaint and Infidel were the only two I had to enter without fully understanding the wordplay (thanks George). Tesla I just about got after rejecting Tasel and Tesal. With four to go in the SE I had to go and lie down in a darkened room. On my return I got them all in seconds. I had to convince myself that addle was an adjective by thinking of addle-pated. Then I got Alberta instead of the unlikely-sounding province of Awbakea. This gave me Retro and thence I was able to recall the abbreviation for the Irish politician to finish with Outdo.

    Thanks to the setter.

  15. 29 very enjoyable minutes, with 20D QUAINT last in. I’d give COD to 28A CHEEKBONE for the cunning def. ‘face constituent’, but I’m spoilt for choice today as there are so many excellent clues. 6A is, as George writes, very interesting; next stop composite anagrams?

    Tom B.

  16. “awake” now… glad I checked in before going to bed to see my OUTRO blunder, or else I would have been coming in to 30+ “isn’t it OUTDO”.

    Thanks for the comments on the blog – the only things I had to go look up with FIDE and I wanted to check SABOT (should have checked for TD too… that’s OK, there’s a small loyal following for me messing up crosswords elsewhere).

    I agree this is a really good crossword and a fine challenge. None of the words are outrageous, and the army of clay warriors (which I remember being dragged to see as a kid) only missed the cut because something had to, and with the checking letters it’s not that difficult an anagram.

  17. An experience very similar to jackkt’s. A reasonably quick top half followed by nothing, except the occasional scratch of pen on paper every 10 minutes or so. I didn’t get the FIDE reference, nor that to the Archers, though. Some things are wasted on the likes of me. Last in the inpenetrable OUTDO, RETRO, ALBERTA triplet. Like lennyco I had to restrain myself from penning Awbakea. I too thought TERRACOTTA ARMY was a cracking clue, amidst some very inventive stuff, from SATCHMO to TOOTLE.
  18. As has been said a terrific puzzle all round. 31 minutes (ergo a tough puzzle) with omega, fittingly, the “last thing in”.

    Struggled with 16 down for a while wanting it to end in love.

    Q-0, E-9, D-8.5, COD a toss-up between bulldozer and terracotta army.

  19. I really liked this stinker of a puzzle and thought there were some sublime clues. Terracotta army is just brilliant i think -a complex anagram and a very subtle definition requiring an obscure or relatively obscure use of the word host. just great

    also really liked Tesla…the beauty of the clue is just great!

  20. Call it a Cheltenham time draw Peter. I don’t use a stopwatch like you need to but rely on the time printed on my printout and my computer clock when I finish but then today needed a few extra minutes to fathom some of this out. Very tricky puzzle indeed and hats off to George for the blog.

    Got TESLA very quickly but I only understood SABOT, INFIDEL, COMEDIC, QUAINT and RETRO after finishing the grid. SABOT was my last Doh! moment. I’m also head scratching over seeing that type of construction in the Times daily before (we’ve both seen it in bar crosswords I think George)

    A superb collection of excellent clue, thank you setter.

  21. 14:08 here, solved at work just a minute ago so probably slower than if my full attention was on it (had to keep looking around in case the boss snuck up on me). Was it really as hard as all that? I didn’t understand the wordplay for SABOT until coming here, but got the rest OK as I was solving. SE corner was last to fall, but no real problems there – I more or less solved it top left to bottom right in order. I agree that there was some terrific wordplay throughout, but that just helped me to confirm my guesses from the definitions. CO-MEDIC made me smile (as I suppose it should!), and QUAINT was a brilliant construction, but COD goes to TERRACOTTA ARMY for “The host baked…” Great stuff.
  22. Surprised that no-one baulked at COMEDIC. A fine construction except that comedic does not mean amusing (comical), it means “relating to comedy”, or so I understand. My dear old Chambers does’t list the word, so I am guessing it is a neologism to allow comedy to be discussed seriously!
  23. Managed to complete in about 30 minutes, which seems quite respectable and I am amazed. I usual struggle to come in under the hour even when the puzzles are apparently easy. Every now and then, I finish in an acceptable time and my hopes that I am improving fire up for another 24 hours.

    I loved SABOT and GRUESOME – both very satisfying.

  24. Your Chambers must be quite old Ros, it’s in my 2003 edition (under comedy): comedic – “of or relating to comedy,” so I guess the complaint has some merit though the ? at the end probably saves it from being actually incorrect, do you think?

    I must say this was an absolute belter of a crossword, top class effort in every way. Loads of good clues, I would die happy if I had clued 17ac.. and nice to see Tesla turn up, a little bone thrown to us science & engineering buffs so we won’t harp on about all the gluttonous arts/music feasts.

    1. 1977 IS getting a bit long in the tooth. And yes, I did wonder if the comma was sufficient to excuse the mis-use, but concluded otherwise. After all, if some literary pedant had gone to some lengths to take the fun out of comedy, who are we to negate his efforts.
  25. This is definitely my favourite setter – I wonder who he/she is. Lovely clues, a joy to solve. Got stuck on QUAIL though.
    1. P.S. Isn’t ‘baked’ part of the definition rather than the wordplay for TERRACOTTA ARMY?

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