Times 24431 – Send in your top 10!

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 45 minutes

Music: No music today, watching golf on TV

I thought this was going to be a really easy one as I whipped through the top and right side in a few minutes, but then I got seriously stuck for a while. While three of the long clues were easy and opened up large sections of the puzzle, the left-hand side proved a bit tough. There are several there that I either don’t get or don’t agree with.

Of course, I was watching TV at the same time, so maybe if I had concentrated harder I would have gotten better results. Probably the usual crew of fast solvers will post some sub-10-minute times.

Two reminders to our faithful readers. Easy answers are not blogged, so if you don’t see it here you will have to ask. If, on the other hand, you found the whole puzzle ridiculously easy, and you are a member of the online Crossword Club, the January club special is now ready. I have been plugging away at it for a week or so, and still have four unsolved. Good luck!

Across
1 ENTER THE LISTS, anagram of SENT THIS LETTER.
9 HOUND, double definition. I did not like this because a hound is not a despicable creature in my view – in fact, ‘hound’ is the standard Germanic word for ‘dog’, a mysterious word that ended up displacing it only in English.
10 VICTIMISED, VIC + TIM + I’S E[nglish]. Vic is a boy who is seldom seen in these puzzles.
11 LIBIDINOUS, LIB + I’D + I + NOUS, not difficult for hardened solvers who automatically substitute ‘nous’ for ‘mind’ or ‘intelligence’.
12 STET, S + TET A bit of GK needed here. Simple for those who remember the downfall of LBJ.
16 REPULSE, RE + PULSE. Secondary definitions abound, making it hard to get a handle on this one without checking letters.
19 LINEAGE, LINE + AGE. Shouldn’t be hard, although ‘stock’ is a bit ambiguous.
20 NORM. Open to discussion. NO R.M.? I am at least pretty sure I have the right answer.
21 SUPPLEMENT, SUPPLE MEN + T.
24 LATTER-DAY, anagram of TARDY? LATE?
25 SIGMA, AM[erican] GIS backwards. There are no non-American GIs, so this is a bit pleonastic.
26 DISTRICT NURSE, anagram of SIR INSTRUCTED. Not a good clue, I think, because of the ‘as’ that had to be added to make a smooth surface, which unfortunately intervenes between the anagram indicator and the anagrind.
 
Down
1 EXHILARATINGLY, EX + HIL(A RATING)LY. I don’t entirely like ‘without’ = ‘ex’. Note that ‘area Jack’ = ‘a rating’, so the rest of the clue is very well-crafted.
3 RED ADMIRAL, anagram of LAD MARRIED. Knowledge of butterfly nomenclature is needed here. Forget about Swift, and don’t bother with Mrs. Bell.
4 HAVE-NOT, HAVEN + O.T.
5 LACQUER, sounds like LACKER. Smooth surface, and the literal is hard to find.
7 SCINTILLA, sounds like SIN TILLER in some postcodes….but in my country, we have Zip Codes.
8 LET THEM EAT CAKE, anagram of TACKLE TEA THEME. ‘Ridiculous’ may or may not do double duty here.
13 OPEN SEASON, OPEN SEA’S ON. ‘Further’ to clue ‘on’ is a bit loose, but allowable.
15 ASPIRATED, ASP I RATED. Those having only an ‘A’ might be tempted to put in ‘alligator’ without analysing the clue – don’t do it!
18 LAUNDER, sounds like LAWN + RED backwards. Automatic for those for whom ‘lawn’ is a poetic synonym for the upper clergy, as it is in Pope and Swift.
19 LIP SYNC, first letters of L[etting] I[n] P[ea] S[oup] – Y[our] N[ew] C[uisine]. I must confess, I never saw the cryptic, just banged it in from the crossing letters.
22 EAGER, REGA[L]E backwards. This one I did get fromt he cryptic, but I suspect many solvers will get it from the literal.

57 comments on “Times 24431 – Send in your top 10!”

  1. The first question of the catechism is: What is the chief end of man? Hence: N or M !! Back later when I have a mo.
    1. Hadn’t seen mctext’s comment before writing below. If correct – which I doubt not- it’s beyond my ability to remember such details of the Catechism, and I was a RC altar boy.
    2. The Book of Common Prayer asks, “What is your Christian name? Answer N. or M.” M. is an alternative for N.N. in other words, name or names.
        1. I don’t doubt your source, mct, but the Catechism in The Book of Common Prayer has to be the intended reference here. I remembered it vaguely from my attempts to learn it many years ago and just needed to check it to be absolutely sure.
        1. But is this strictly catechistic? If it is, the coincidence with the Westminster version is remarkable! Wonder which the setter wanted us to find?
          1. In as much as anything “revised” can be strict. Here’s the link I mention below. This suggests the answer could be “My Christian name is ……..”. I think I prefer your version.
              1. OK, I’m convinced. I shall put my Scottish Presbyterian tail between my legs and slink off into oblivion! (Or at least, play a few riffs on my new bass — see avatar.) But boy is the Anglican version boring by comparison? Sounds like a police interrogation.
  2. Hi there Vinyl. About 25 minutes here, and I’m with you on NORM, insofar as I am sure it’s NORM, but not why. Also held up on the left by the unusual EXHILARATINGLY; I was trying various forms of the word before finally lighting on the adverb/gerund form that fit. Other than that, 1st entry was HAVE NOT, last LACQUER, which latter is probably the COD. Regards, and stay warm, as it has been a chilly week here in NY.
  3. 18 mins, largely because of the four long anagrams. Agree that the left was the harder side. My main downfall was HOUND. Attenborough’s doco about (real) badgers was on TV last night and I couldn’t shift from that. I should have because I’ve just been reading James Ellroy where there are various kinds of hound mentioned from time to time — though they’re mostly too connected with 11ac-types to mention here.
    Haven’t got a problem with “without” = EX. The Mac (US) OED has as its second def:
    “without; excluding : the discount and market price are ex dividend“.
    Commutation test passed? COD to 8dn for Alice-type distractions on the surface.

  4. About 35 minutes, mostly on autopilot, but then got stuck on the right hand side. Question marks against RED ADMIRAL, REPULSE & NORM. The OED agrees that pulse can be seeds, plural, but the ODE says it is definitely singular. How are you supposed to settle an argument if different sides of the same corridor can’t agree?

    I googled the C of E catechism and the first question of the revised version I looked at was “What is your Christian name?”. I thought it was just a clever way of clueing “chap”, although it would only work for some, much like a homophone. COD to LIP SYNC, because it completely folled me; I thought it was an anagram of PEA plus YR inside LC – how could the latter = mouth opens and who eats LAP-EYRC?

  5. 40 minutes, the last 5 of which were spent considering options at 6dn. In the end I plumped for SKIP but with not much certainty. I note it doesn’t even merit an explanation in the blog so I’m probably missing something that should be obvious.

    HOUND as “a despicable person” is in Collins so allowable, as is EX meaning “without”, specifically in the world of finance and commerce it says, quoting several examples that I’ve never heard of.

    1. Jack, I had SLIP at 6dn being “fail to engage” and “shift” (item of clothing). Not sure where the “gear” belongs though.

      K

    2. I forgot to mention that gave me trouble too. I put SLIP, thinking “slip it into third” might work. I didn’t much fancy it though.
      1. Not much wrong here. My usual source includes, for “slip”:
        release (the clutch of a motor vehicle) slightly or for a moment.
        (Give me an automatic any time!)
  6. For once my experience rather different from others. Raced through this – without understanding NORM, and still don’t despite above debate – until I got to NE corner where I spent as much time as the rest of the puzzle put together. Entered SLIP for 6d ie. shift as garment, but with little confidence.
    Were it not for the NE corner I would have said this was the perfect beginners puzzle with lots of explicit (crude?) indicators.
    Got caught in the Alice trap so COD to 8d.
  7. 5:38 but with one silly mistake – the speedster’s nightmare where your rapid selection of alternate letters goes wrong to make something like EXHILARITGNGLY and my own double whammy where your over-confidence in your abilities means you fail to see this while supposedly checking your answers. I also gave myself a bit of trouble by confusing the high and open versions of both seas and seasons in my first go at 12.

    Another vote for “n. or m.” as the catechism explanation – I’d never heard the bit about “n. n.” before, just the jocular “name or moniker” explanation.

    1. N M
      The Brewer’s entry is interesting. It confirms that in the Catechism it was originally printed as “N or NN” but the double initial came to be taken as an “M” and that’s what it eventually became. But the Marriage ceremony and Banns use “M or N” where the “M” stands for “maritus”, “bridegroom”, and the “N” is for “nupta”, “wife”.
  8. My first post of 2010, so Happy New Year everyone!

    It took me a couple of moments to get started with this one and I’d looked at five clues before solving one (THUMB). After that it was a steady solve – about half an hour – helped by all the anagrams being clearly indicated and defined. Lots of smooth surface readings and simple constructs (eg VICTIMISE, TOPSAIL, LINEAGE, SUPPLEMENT). My last three answers were EXHILARATINGLY, ENTER THE LISTS and SLIP. Got STET from definition and RED ADMIRAL from wordplay.

    Daniel

  9. Seagoon: All right then, what’s your name?
    Eccles: Oh, the hard ones first, eh?

    This was quite a quick solve with only Norm entered on faith. All this Anglican exegesis passed over my head. Like Kevin, I too was a Catholic altar boy and the first question and answer in the catechism is “Who made you? God made me”.

    My quibble with 6D is that it is the clutch that is slipped not the gear, but I know less about cars than I do about Anglicanism.

    1. I agree on 6dn. Gears, being cogs, do not slip. The clutch may be slipped by being only partially engaged so that the two plates rotate at different speeds, but that does not affect the engagement of the gears. It did occur to me very tentatively that “gear” could be a pointer to the “clothing” sense of the second definition, but I haven’t convinced myself.

      K

  10. 13:18 here, but a slow start. I looked at the long entries first, but couldn’t get 1 across or down straight away. No problems with 8D and 26A though, so I then worked up from the bottom, finishing in the NW corner.
  11. Very easy puzzle, even faster than last Saturday’s doddle. Just over 10 minutes to solve.

    I didn’t understand NORM but couldn’t see what else “standard” in N?O? could be. Don’t like these quirky references to obscure religious works.

    I second the reminder about the Club Monthly puzzle which Jerry will blog at the end of the month. Also Sunday’s Mephisto was a good puzzle if you’re looking for a decent challenge.

    1. Sorry, but the Book of Common Prayer is hardly an “obscure religious work” – in the not too distant past it was handed out for standard services and ones like funerals which were attended by people who didn’t habitually go to church. Its cultural influence means it has 17 pages in my fairly recent copy of ODQ. The strange-looking “n. or m.” is in the printed order for various services even if you don’t know the catechism, which is now used about as often as other dusty corners like the “churching of women”.

      1. N or M also turns up occasionally in Private Eye in their “Alternative Services” feature.
        1. Let’s have a new rule of thumb. If something is familiar enough for Private Eye to parody it, it can’t be counted as “obscure”. This year’s Eye annual, found in my Christmas stocking, shows that the Prayer Book and Bible pass this test.
      2. I’m with Jimbo. I have never clapped eyes on a Book of Common Prayer to my knowlege. Perhaps my heathen Scots background coming through.
        1. Well said Ross. Your ancestors were doubtless well acquainted with it some version or other of course because its contents and the formats of the associated services and church trappings led directly to the deaths of thousands upon thousands of them.
    2. Glad to see your comment on yesterday’s Mephisto Jimbo. I’ve decided to have a bash at it this year and finished yesterday’s (albeit with liberal use of Chambers and Bradford’s) and was worried that you were going to say it was an easy one.
      1. Good news Penfold. Why not try to persuade that Penguin mate of yours to join in the fun.
    3. Thanks for the Mephisto tip, Jimbo. I have just started it.

      By the way, have we seen the blog for Mephisto 2575 yet?

      JamesM

      1. Mephisto 2575’s blog should be up within 24 hrs – just checked with the blogger.
  12. As a lapsed Methodist, I didn’t stand much chance of understanding NORM, but like others I found the answer easy to guess. 9 mins.
  13. As a relative newcomer to the world of cryptic crosswords, I’d be very grateful if explanations were offered for all clues, however easy they are perceived to be – 6d, for example.
    1. My turn I guess….

      You are very welcome, but please read the link “About this blog” at the top of the page.

      If you have particular questions, just ask and the oracle will be worked.

      Kurihan

    2. As you mention 6D and it’s been the subject of some discussion above, it seems to be a double definition – “fail to engage gear” and “shift” being the two defs. I think [shift = SLIP] is intended to be by way of the similar undergarments – though ODE has a shift as a full-length one and a slip as a shorter one. It could be from “movement” nouns or verbs too.

      “fail to engage gear” is the def causing most debate though – with some arguing that clutches are slipped but gears aren’t. I’m no motor mechanic but the combination of two meanings in ODE satisfies me that it’s OK – “fail to grip or make proper contact with a surface”, and (noun) “a reduction in movement of a pulley or other mechanism due to slipping of the belt, rope, etc.” – my italics – I think gears would fit into the “etc.” here

      I don’t believe “gear” also meaning clothing is significant – “gear shift” for “the item of clothing called ‘shift’ ” seems too much of a leap even for the setters who like to use poetic language. Likewise, “gear” can’t be a third def because it means clothing in general rather than a single item thereof.

      Edited at 2010-01-11 11:56 am (UTC)

      1. “a reduction in movement of a pulley or other mechanism due to slipping of the belt, rope, etc.” – my italics – I think gears would fit into the “etc.” here.

        I don’t really think that definition could include “gears” as we normally think of them. As has been pointed out gears cannot slip, whereas a rope can obviously slip on a pulley. Gears have toothed gearwheels which are either engaged or not engaged.
        However, there have been systems of gearing consisting of a flat belt on a cone, so the gear changes as the belt changes position on the cone (there was a scooter so fitted many years ago). The belt could certainly slip, but it wouldn’t have failed to engage.

        However, I didn’t worry about the clue too much when I entered my answer.

        1. I can only refer you to the evidence available on Google, where there are plenty of people talking about gears slipping – e.g. here.

          Edited at 2010-01-11 02:14 pm (UTC)

          1. I wouldn’t rely too much on an an internet forum such as that. What those people are discussing is a chain jumping (or missing) a tooth on a cog, caused by a worn cog or a loose chain. They are using the word ‘slip’ rather loosely.
  14. This setter (not today’s setter) is sad to hear the Book of Common Prayer referred to as an obscure religious work by one of our illustrious bloggers. How sad to hear a key work of our English cultural heritage so described! In fact I used this clue for NORM myself a few decades ago when I was cutting my teeth as a setter!
    1. I think the point is that knowledge of the BCP is not a matter of education or learning but of religion. I am sure that for church-going Anglicans it is very familiar. But for the majority of the population, however learned, it is as obscure as the dark side of the moon.

      K

  15. A pleasant 15 minutes. Another her who didn’t understand NORM when writing it in, though it could hardly be anything else, and it came back to me as soon as I saw the comments.

    Nothing to do with Cheers, then (an American situation comedy, m’lud, featuring a prominent character called Norm). On reading the explanations above I was also put in mind of the scene in the film Animal House, at which the assembled students pledge their allegiance to the freternity, and in response to the prompt “I, state your name”, chant en masse “I, state your name”.

  16. 23 minutes. Last in, unsurprisingly, was norm, based on the standard part.

    Enter the lists was unfamiliar so that and the tricky letter combinations in 1d and 5d meant were other sticking points.

  17. This took longer than I expected, 35 minutes to be precise. Very few answers jumped out at me on first reading (exceptions being 11, 13, 14 and 15). 1d held me up for a while and I foolishly entered PATRONISE for 10. I wasn’t convinced by it but it fitted the wordplay so well that I though there be might a definition I wasn’t aware of, so 4, 5 and 6 were my last entries after re-considering 10.
  18. Raced through this (for me)…until the NE corner where I came completely unstuck. I think this was because of an earlier mistake – I put high seas and not open seas. I thought something wasn’t working but was convinced high was correct. (Have been reading the met office’s site a lot recently. Next time I’ll listen to my instincts.

    Totally off-message but the met have a windows gadget and sidebar(vista and 7). It is brilliant.

  19. If the blogger means Greek by GK in his explanation of 12ac, surely that should be Latin from sto, stare – to stand, therefore ‘let it stand’
  20. A very enjoyable 60 minutes to the completion deadline today although I reckon in my naivete that 6d could be SLIP, SKIP or SKID – as this was the last to go in I wasn’t bothered either way. Always sigh when I have to find a couple of boys names from the endless list. Would never classify PULSE as a seed. Enjoyed LIP SYNC – difficult for me to spot.
    1. PULSE as a seed seems perfectly fine – every dictionary I can find has “seed of” and “plant” in a def for it, though what kind varies a bit – Collins’s “papilionaceous” is a bit more precise than “leguminous” (Oxford & Chambers). The tricky part is that some dictionaries (e.g. Collins) treat it as a mass noun – hence {seeds = PULSE}. (ODE just gives “seed”, singular, which is how I’d use it in real life.)
  21. 16 minutes, NORM was the last one in, and I only got it from the definition (I had pencilled in PARA before seeing what 1 down was). RED ADMIRAL from wordplay, liked the clues for SIGMA and LIP SYNC
  22. 9.25 Slight delay in looking for a place in Northumberland for 2.As my boyhood partially consisted of Church of Scotland and Boy’s Brigade the catechism was not the norm for me , but I have no problem with this clue. (I also though of PARA at first). Like Vinyl I also got LIP SYNC form the helpful crossing letters and didn’t work it out.
  23. 21:32 Finally got under the half hour for the first time this year.

    A fairly steady solve from start to finish. Got NORM on the basis of the definition once PARA obviously didn’t fit.

    Last in was EXHILARATINGLY but only worked out the wordplay after I stopped the clock

    Liked TOPSAIL as I was thinking of LID and TENT as components for some time. Also liked SIGMA.

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