Times 24400 – Double Trouble

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
As expected I found this the most difficult one of the week. It took me 55 minutes which doesn’t seem too bad now, considering I read every clue and most of them more than once before finally solving one, having remembered Don Juan as a work by Byron. I wonder if the setter was influenced by the number of this puzzle to put in as many double letters as possible. I counted 11. It’s also a pangram which I thought for a while might turn out to be a double but it wasn’t to be.

Across
1 S.A.S.’S – I think this means boldness in the sense of impudence or cheek. SAS = Special Air Service.
3 GO,O,D,Y-GO,O,D,Y – To clarify: “Try” = GO, “circle” = O, “diameter” = D, “y” = Y (feeble) then double it. The definition is”pi” meaning “pious”. Solving this was not helped by my printer running short of ink and putting “v” for “y”. For a while I thought the whole thing was a complicated mathematical riddle devised specially to appease Jimbo, but it wasn’t too difficult a clue once broken down into its components.
9 NO,(ZZ),LES(s) – I can’t find Z-bend in the usual sources but it’s in the SOED and Chambers.
11 DON J(U)AN – A narrative poem by Lord Byron
12 QUICK-TEMPERED – “Intelligent” = QUICK + (PEER MET)* + D(uke)
14 Deliberately omitted. Please ask if puzzled.
15 BE(GET)TING – (BIG TEN)* around GET = “reach”. “Bananas” indicating an anagram is becoming a chestnut.
17 O,FF,LOADED – Knowledge of two slang expressions is needed here, “loaded” and “rolling” both meaning extremely rich. “Pins” signals enclosure of the two females.
19 Deliberately omitted. Please ask if puzzled.
21 IN KEEPING, WIT,H – Sounds like “inn-keeping”. “Wit” here takes its less usual meaning “aware of” “being aware of”.
24 B,A(ZOO)KA. – AKA = Also known as
25 EXPLOIT – Double meaning
26 STEAKHOUSE (Has to see UK)*
27 ITEM – “This couple” are the ITEM that would need the M earlier to make “mite”, the child.
Down
1 SINE, QUA, N,ON – Something that is essential, so a “must”. We’re all used to SINE as a function by now, I think, but QUA for “as” may not be so well known. N for “new” then ON is the “switch position”
2 S’1,ZE(1)ST – 1’s is reversed then 1 again inside ZEST. I like the definition “having a go at jumbos”.
4 OYSTER-BED – (DESTROY)* around BE = “live”. “Bats” another old chestnut indicates the anagram
5 DID UP – Double meaning
6 GENERATION GAP – Cryptic definition
7 OP,US DEI – More Latin. OP + (IS DUE)* . “Doctor” indicates the anagram here.
8 Deliberately omitted. Please ask if puzzled.
10 LIKE, CLOCK,WORK
13 I (GO)T, RHYTHM – Nearly my last in, and what a joy to find a reference to a favourite Gershwin song from their musical Girl Crazy. Thoughts of Ethel Merman belting it out really woke me up!
16 GOD(LINES)S – “Borders on the hygienic” is a reference to the saying “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. Some may not know “the gods” is another name for the gallery in a theatre.
18 FRIZZLE – Double meaning
20 ED,I,T OUT- ha-ha!
22 Deliberately omitted. Please ask if puzzled.
23 I,BIS(hop) – “Bishop” being a “see boss” . Ho-ho! An ibis is a wading bird.

50 comments on “Times 24400 – Double Trouble”

  1. Can any blogger advise me how to set a default to display as above when editing the entry in Live Journal? It always has done in the past but today it comes up with html codings and I then have to click the rich text button. Thanks.
    1. Also I’m not getting the usual e-mail notifications when people respond to my blog. What can have changed since two weeks ago?
      1. Your first problem sounded like an accidental swap from the “Rich Text” tab to the HTML one. For the second, I guess it’s worth checking Profile > Edit > Manage Accounts > Notifications, or it’s just possible that an annual sub has expired (I can’t remember whether you have to pay to get e-mail notifications).
        1. Thanks, Peter. It seems the e-mails are just coming in rather slower than usual.

          I have now found the tab to access display defaults but the Editor Entry was already set to “Rich text”. I tried changing it to “HTML” and then back again to “Rich Text” but I still get HTML when I go to edit. It’s not a major problem of course because I can click the button but I wondered why it should have changed after two years of blogging.

          1. Don’t know – I haven’t noticed a difference but I mostly edit in notepad using an HTML template, so only use the LJ editing page (in HTML view) to fix any problems I spot after using the Preview button.
  2. A bit more difficult again today, definitely towards the harder end, though I thought one or two of the clue definitions were perhaps stretching the boundaries just slightly.

    On the basis that there is a close connection between a good clue and a bad pun however, this had some of the best!

  3. Thought this was Jack’s worst nightmare (apart from the Gershwin) when only seeing STEAKHOUSE on first run-through. Gave up after 3 hours (things to do) with 2 unsolved, SIZEIST (my COD after Jack’s explanation) and NOZZLES. Some wicked and brilliant stuff here, though hard work for relative beginners. ITEM and GOODY GOODY made me grin. I don’t mind if they are difficult as long as they amuse.
    Respects to setter and blogger.
    1. Keep at it. i read this through and couldnt do one at 130 in the morning, returned a little bit fresher at 0600 and finished it all unaided at 0700. very pleased with myself too!
      1. Thanks for the encouragement.
        No way I won’t “keep at it” as completely hooked. Have just issued my Christmas present wish list which includes Tim Moorey’s book and COED 11th Ed.
          1. Here it is on Amazon UK. If you want to improve your solving, it’s worth getting unless you’re already completing most of the puzzles and understanding how the clues work. But reading any “how to solve” book is only part of the job – regular practice is just as important.
        2. Blackwell’s has the 11th ed of COED on special at ₤15 if your Christmas present suppliers are interested. That sounds pretty cheap to me, from this distance. I just paid AUD60 for it and that was at 20% off. Books are classed as a luxury item in Australia and we have to pay a lot for them so that we can continue to have a local publishing industry and Australian authors, apparently. It’s our patriotic duty.
          1. Just ordered from Amazon for £14.04 to be delivered to a sister for giving back to me at Christmas. My annual socks prevention regime.
            1. I hope your sister doesn’t decide to keep it for herself and give you socks instead. No doubt you have an elaborate fail safe mechanism in place.
  4. A cracking good puzzle that both taxed and amused. It took me nearly 40 minutes but I was always absorbed in it and had a real feeling of satisfaction when I finished.

    I also nearly got carried away by 3A but quite quickly saw “circle with diameter Y” as “ody” and then twigged “goody”. I laughed at I GOT RHYTHM cropping up for Jack. I thought IN KEEPING WITH was very good amongst a collection of excellent clues.

    Jack, I find the blogging e-mails come through sporadically. Sorry can’t help with defaults.

    1. Thank’s, Jimbo. Yes I’ve had emails re jerry and barry now but in the past they always seem to come through as soon as new messages were posted.
  5. I thought that this was a great puzzle. difficult but clever clever. I liked sass…and Item and I got rhythm. all the clues are very logical!

    best wishes to the setter

  6. 12:06 – better than yesterday but maybe that’s down to solving at the normal time of day rather than late afternoon. Slightly delayed by frazzle rather than frizzle at 18, but corrected when 21 just wouldn’t work. Also had an early punt on “G ROOM” at the end of 21, from the husband/hotel combo, but gave up on it fairly soon.

    I think 21’s wit is “understanding” as a noun – so “awareness” rather than “aware of”.

    1. Yes, in my notes I had “being aware of” which I think amounts to the same thing. I have now corrected this omission.
      1. I’m sure we’re both thinking of the same thing really, but I like to see the same part of speech in the “clue word” (understanding), the explanation that bridges the gap (your “being aware of”, my “awareness”), and the word that appears in the answer (wit).
  7. Let’s have more like this. Like jackkt there was a lot of reading before any writing. Slow work till 12, 26 & 27 got the bottom half moving. Last in 18 & 24, felt v. stupid as once it got moving the end came fast, glad to be in slow company with 45 m. Enjoyed the jokiness and all the zeds.
  8. i think this is the most difficult puzzle that i have successfully completed without aids, done in two sittings and certainly an hour plus. 13d and 27ac my last two in with 13d a real “yes” moment and my cod.
  9. A mixture of clues, some of which I got quickly and others that took a while. Overall I found it on the tough side and was delayed in the NW corner because I entered SHARP-TEMPERED initially. I didn’t understand the clue to IBIS. Thanks for the explanation, jackkt. A lot of unusual and clever clues, such as 3, 10 (with ‘record’ for CLOCK), 16, etc. I think I’d pick 17 as the best of a very good bunch.
  10. Marvellous puzzle, 35 mins, seeing the emerging pangram helped. COD GOODY-GOODY also esp liked OFFLOADED, EXPLOIT, ITEM, SINE QUA NON, SIZEIST, GENERATION GAP, GODLINESS, EDIT OUT. Great manipulation of the English language to give misleading definitions, with the answer seen as the penny dropped eventually.
  11. 18 mins, which felt like a good time for a tricky but very enjoyable crossword. 10D as COD. I’m not so keen on ‘sound’ as homophind in 21A, however.

    Tom B.

    1. Just on an hour, although it felt like three. An engaging struggle and a fine example of the setter’s art. I have ticks against many clues, most already mentioned. COD to GOODY GOODY and SINE QUA NON for their well hidden definitions; switch position = on is also worth remembering.
  12. This was very entertaining and just the right level of difficulty for me, with the pangram structure gave lots of unusual letter combinations.

    Initially I too had frazzle. It does mean overcook whereas frizzle just means to fry. This made In Keeping With quite a difficult one to sort out. I ended with the imaginatively clued sass and sizeist,

  13. Started last night while watching the cricket, but didn’t finish until the morning. Enjoyed it a lot, but did myself no favors by putting in FRAZZLE and not thinking about the song, I GET AROUND. Got there in the end though, loved the clue for GOODY GOODY
  14. Two z’s and a q as checking letters in the same puzzle. I don’t recall the like.

    Nick

    1. Yes, I noticed that too. Also 3 checked Ks in ‘like clockwork’, my COD. Clever stuff!

      Tom B.

  15. 11.30 On another day this might have taken me twice as long but a lot of entries went in without really knowing exactly why. They just had to be right. The final hurdle were the 4 Z entries. Eventually FRIZZLE went in again with no understanding but this, illogically, gave me the pointer to NOZZLES which was similarly not understood.
    Now on reflection I can see how they all work except for FRIZZLE where I could not have worked the double meaning. COD was 13. Excellent!
  16. I have been too busy work-wise for regular non-stop timed solving recently, so haven’t been commenting much. I don’t know how long this one took, because I didn’t do it at one go, but I do want to say that I found it very enjoyable — tough at first, before I tuned in to the way the setter’s mind was working.
  17. Absolutely wonderful puzzle, difficult and devious but very entertaining. I laughed out loud several times ( I GOT RHYTHM, OFFLOADED, GOODY-GOODY, SIZEIST). Took over an hour, but worth the time spent. I also saw only STEAKHOUSE on my first read through all the clues, so it was a tough start that really paid off. Thanks to the setter, for one of the best efforts in some time. Regards to everyone else.
  18. Just over 35 minutes for a really enjoyable puzzle. I didn’t spot the pangram, but I don’t think it would have helped as my last two were I GOT RHYTHM and ITEM and I already had a least one example of all the unchecked letters by then.

    Started with BAZOOKA and STEAKHOUSE and proceeded steadily for 10 minutes before a long pause and then a fairly steady finish.

    Some good misdirection in the clues.

  19. Cracker of a puzzle, as all have said. Completed in instalments over the day. So many excellent clues that it’s difficult to single out any for special mention. IN KEEPING WITH and I GOT RHYTHM were among the most ingenious, and also my last two entries. Like one or two others, I created unnecessary difficulties for myself in the NW corner by initially entering SHARP-TEMPERED, which fitted the wordplay as well as the correct answer, at 12ac, only spotting the error rather late on. The SAS is onviously a daring regiment. Does it not also have the motto “Who Dares Wins”, or something of the sort? But perhaps that’s too well known to be worth mentioning.
    1. “Who dares wins” is exactly right – fairly well-known but well worth noting as a good reason for “daring” rather than other choices.
  20. Got 8 down and 11 across in seconds then failed with any others. I think I’m actually getting worse.
  21. Andrew Kitching

    Way too difficult for me. I got 3, 11, 24, 26, 8, 16, 23. Is 22 ERATO (Goddess?), and how does it work?

    I have just completed 12 months of doing cryptics. Started with ‘Everyman’, taking nearly the whole week(!), and then a retired colleague urged me to move on to AZED, and dabble with the Times.

    I have to say, that I have had more success with AZED than the Times so far (this week I managed AZED with ‘Chambers’ and ‘Bradford’ by 8-30pm on Sunday evening). I feel I am slowly imporoving on ‘The Times’, but still not completing many puzzles- I managed Monday’s. Work keeps getting in the way!

    A great blog. Keep up the good work. I will plough on as time allows!

    1. 22 is ERATO, but she was a muse (hence “She inspired”). “all but closed” is TO (as applied to doors) and “a time” (which TO is after) is ERA.

      In having more early success with Azed than the Times, you’re following a well-trodden path – if you don’t look stuff up for the Times, it needs more knowledge. But keep trying – eventually the benefit of six goes a week rather than one will pay off and you’ll finish the Times both regularly and quicker than Azed.

  22. I hit on I GOT RHYTHM when all I had was the G, and for the life of me I can’t think why; didn’t dare enter it until I got a T and the H, and I only worked it out afterwards.
    I was a bit surprised that no one commented on 11ac (or did they, and I missed it again?): If this had been a non-cryptic puzzle, “Byron work (3,4)” would have been a garden variety clue, and an awfully easy one at that.
    1. I’m not sure I get the point, Kevin. It’s only an awfully easy answer if you happen to know that Byron wrote a poem Don Juan. Not every one would, so there’s an alternative cryptic route. Standard practice I would have thought. Also, for all I know Byron might have written a dozen other works that fit the 3,4 pattern.
      1. Yet another example of one man’s meat, etc. I sweat and strain over cricket terms, British slang, and heaven knows what else, but ‘Don Juan’ immediately came to mind, since all I know about Byron (except his reputation) is that he wrote it and ‘Childe Harold’, which wouldn’t fit. I hasten to add I’ve never read a word of either. It may have stuck in my mind because of my surprise at learning ages ago that it’s pronounced ‘don jooen’ (cf. don kwixit; as Mark Twain said, “They spell it da Vinci and pronounce it da Veenchy; foreigners always spell better than they pronounce.”)
  23. … living in Hong Kong and getting the crossword in what passes for our newspaper, but have enjoyed checking my answers here for some weeks.

    58 mins with 5 not done (1ac, 2, 9, 13, 27) – COD “Edit Out” – even when I knew the answer, it took me another 2/3 minutes to painfully work out why.

    Was signing the praises of Don Juan to the wife yesterday. Currently reading Marchand’s bio of Byron, which is gloriously prudish after the American manner, but perfect for a man who had 200 women in two years in Venice alone, and a number of fellahs to boot.

    I’m sure I’m writing this for an audience consisting only of myself – but it’s been fun, anyway.

    Ulaca

    1. Hi, Ulaca,

      And welcome. As I created the blog for this particular puzzle I was notified that you had added a comment. I think Peter B who owns Times for the Times would be notified too but otherwise few will probably see it.

      It’s good that you are enjoying the site looking up two month old puzzles but have you considered subscribing to the Times Crossword Club and joining us in the dialy blog? A year’s subscription is very good value and I’m sure you would not regret it.

      Regards

      jackt

      1. I think I’d still be two months behind, no? unless the crossword is posted online. Could you explain a bit more?

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