Times 24,464 – First Cut Is The Deepest

42 comments on “Times 24,464 – First Cut Is The Deepest”

1. ….my time was about an hour, but that is not what I mean. It is all the general knowledge that some are not likely to have: ‘gallipot’, ‘sostenuto’, ‘Dowding’, ‘mariposa’. Since I have read ‘Trent’s Last Case’, I put it in right away, but how many solvers will know that?

   In 6 down, I thought ‘neb’ actually meant ‘neb’, that is a nose. But could that really be a peak?

   The definition for ‘eke out’ is not very accurate. To ‘eke out’ is to add to, as when we say that a man has a cottage and a potato patch, and ekes out his living by fishing. ‘Eke’ is from the same root as Latin ‘augeo’, which gives us ‘augment’, and is also found in ‘a nickname’, which is actually ‘an ekename’, that is, an additional name.

2. I’m with vinyl1. Found the puzzle difficult and at times infuriating.Had never heard of the same 5 words he referred to.(All found to be correct after completion).Would have given up half way through not so long ago,so could turn the not so experienced away from TC if occuring too frequently. COD:NEWSROOM for its ingeniousness.Also liked EKE OUT(which seems to me to be thoroughly acceptable)and RIPON.Average time 28 minutes.This puzzle 83 minutes. That doesn’t sound like an easy puzzle to me. Chris Marr.
3. Hello Uncle Yap. Nicely blogged as always. I did not get the 1A anagram right off, thinking ‘end’ might be the definition, so harder for me, around 40 minutes. I agree that ‘neb’ seems to be missing something, unless it’s a variant of ‘nib’ or ‘nub’, which could mean ‘peak’. I thought of ‘Ben’=peak also. Don’t know where the truth lies here. Also, a lot of UK-centric stuff today that I had to work around: TRENTS LAST CASE, WEA, RIPON. DOWDING probably should be on that list, but I knew of him. GALLIPOT and SOSTENUTO were new words to me as well. I’m of Irish background, but COD is nevertheless THIRST, well put together and funny. Regards.
4. Easy? Erm, I don’t think so. Like Uncle Yap I got DETHRONEMENT quite early, but unlike him I didn’t breeze anywhere after that. There were long periods when I was hopelessly becalmed.

   The whole thing took me 80 minutes, nearly twice as long as yesterday. The left hand side was a particular struggle, and it didn’t help that so many of the obscure words crossed with each other. Elsewhere, I wasn’t overjoyed about deriving IMAGE from ‘personality’.

   Eventually got there when 2dn became clear (I’ve read a lot of detective fiction, but Bentley and Trent are new to me). Earlier on, before it became a struggle, I liked NEWSROOM and NEBRASKAN.

5. Didn’t time this; done during a very boring two-hour lecture. “Neb” can be the brim of a cap; so also possibly a peak? I looked at this for ages before the penny dropped: which is odd as I once published a book with Nebraska UP. My COD is 26ac for brevity and neatness.
   1. My (Aussie) dictionaries both indicate that NEB can mean a tip or a point. By the way Alec, doing the Times crossword while giving a lecture is a pretty impressive feat of multitasking.
      1. I was, unfortunately, “auditing” the lecture by a “colleague”.
6. Too tough for me, even though I motored (by my standards) though more than half of the puzzle – mainly the left side. I was really chuffed with myself for guessing TRENTS LAST CASE from the penultimate letters in the second and third words, but my hubris was soon punished as I ground to a halt.

   I sympathise with vinyl on EKE OUT – though I can’t entirely be with him, it being the case I think that the ‘supplement’ meaning of the phrasal verb is merely more frequent than the ‘make last’ meaning.

   Does anyone else get to feel of this blog as I would of the confessional, if I were a Roman Catholic? Yesterday, I was hopelessly stumped, managing to complete less than half of the thing in a couple of lengthy sessions when I should have been working on the anuual report, and I was going to pretend I never tried it. But I simply must confess … and to a bunch of strangers. Still, cheaper than therapy!

7. I didn’t find this at all easy, in fact I took 2 minutes longer than yesterday (and carelessly wrote SUSTENUTO for 24A). Last in was 16D SWEAT OUT which I didn’t parse correctly, assuming that AT OU was ‘where workers learn’.

   Tom B.

   1. Interesting your reading of AT OU as there’s a long-standing partnership between the WEA and the OU. The history of cultural studies [yes, it has one!] is significantly entwined with these two institutions.
8. I found this difficult too, solving only 15 clues in half an hour with most of my successes in the bottom half and right-hand side. Used OneLook/Google to complete the grid in a further 15 minutes. I hadn’t heard of DOWDING, MARIPOSA, SOSTENUTO, TRENT’S LAST CASE or the “WEA” either.

   COD to RIPON which was new to me and raised a smile.

   There’s a High Neb in the Peak District near Stanage, but it’s a gritstone edge not a peak.

9. The LH went in quite easily but I had a long wait to get going properly on the RH. I finished all but one, MARIPOSA, in 40 minutes and then gave up because I knew I didn’t know the word and I was unable to spot the wordplay. It didn’t help that I didn’t undesrstand WEA in 16dn so wasn’t 100% of the first checking letter.
10. Two decent challenges in a row. Nice puzzle this. Last case, swansong, RIP, desist, dethronement from his workbench, adieu, not I am sure under duress – best wishes to the setter and thanks for all the past delight he has probably given me. I expect others will find more to say. Clue I liked specially, 3d.
11. funny that happen to read it last week after coming across a copy having been prompted by a mention in a Morse episode. Even mentioned the fact in the rtc3 blog.
12. On reflection, I think NEB (a beak or bill; the mouth; the nose; a nib; the sharp point of anything) was properly clued by peak and BEN, reversed or otherwise, was never intended.

    1. ‘on reflection’: nice choice of words!
13. Didn’t know there was a cure for a cold but no doubt Uncle Yap could find one in between breezing through easy cryptics. (Never heard of WEA which speaks volumes for the state of the nation).
    Found this every bit as hard as yesterday, indeed needed more help than yesterday to finish. Knew I was in trouble after unravelling TRENTS LAST CASE. (Could have guessed setter was an octogenarian from this clue alone).
14. I wouldn’t describe this as easy either. Much about the same time as yesterday, 35 minutes, but the obscurities alone made it hard work at times. Yesterday’s was fun, this is more one of those puzzles where one has to take a number of educated guesses and gradually wear the thing down. Some of it is very good (INSINCERE for example)but is “wins” in 19D perhaps a little padding to help the surface reading?

    I wish the setter a comfortable and peaceful retirement.

15. Sorry if I said “easy” in the wrong way. But, as a blogger, I am supposed to write what I actually felt and this morning, I felt good. After 1A, I was very lucky to cotton on to so many devices that I completed the puzzle well within 30 minute (my personal definition for ‘easy’)

    Barry, you are a very astute person. I think I have it with good authority that the anonymous compiler may well be a person who was the first winner of the Times Crossword Championship and who is celebrating his 83rd birthday today.

    Roy Dean (former diplomat, writer and broadcaster), if you tuning in, “Happy Birthday” and thank you for all the pleasure and challenges that you have anonymously given Times solver over the years

    1. No crtiticism intended Uncle Yap. I agree – say what you felt and experienced. I’ll be surprised if you get many really fast time today so well done you.
    2. Not so astute, I saw Peter’s announcement before seeing your blog. As a commenter I too must speak as I feel which today was “inadequate”. And no need to apologise, I really am genuinely in awe.
       Oh! And happy birthday and retirement Mr Dean. Hope someone refreshes your library by way of presents.
16. This was a slow solve for me too but at least I finished it without errors, unlike the last two days. As Barry suggests, when Trent’s Last Case is one of the easier answers you know you are in for a slog.

    There were a few trips down memory lane to eke out the difficulties. I have seen the Ripon and Swansong clues before and Statesman is a popular distractor for a man from a state. Still, all this is perfectly acceptable for the setter’s own swansong.

    I finished with whelp and Dowding, kicking myself that I had not seen the anagram. Mariposa was a wild guess because it seemed to be an unlikely-looking word.

17. a tough one with much unusual fare for me anyway. i too guessed at Trent’s Last case. mariposa was somwhere in my briancells but very well hidden…we havent seen Swanson for a long time!

    A toughie from my perspective

    well blogged!

18. I enjoyed this one very much – I would rate it medium difficult, a steady solve.

    Odd that we have had TENUTO twice recently, and now SOSTENUTO. The reference to “vintage Bentley” at 2dn made my first thought TWENTY FOUR HOUR (Le Mans) but that didn’t last long! ECB incidentally was the inventor of the clerihew.

    I join in wishing Mr Dean a happy retirement and many thanks.

    1. Mr Roy Dean
       Must say what he mean
       But in his own way
       Don’t need to mean what he say

19. Furthermore, a wiki search reveals E C Bentley’s full name to be Edmund Clerihew Bentley, only slightly less preposterous than Hugh Caswall Tremenhere Dowding.
    This country has so much to live down.
20. Unlike yesterday, I was unable to complete this one. I guessed TRENTS LAST CASE from the anagram and a couple of checkers although I had never heard of it. I gave up after about 90 minutes having completed about half and resorted to aids to finish. Incidentally, one definition of EKE OUT in Collins is ‘to make last’ and ‘neb’ can mean a peak, especially in N. England. My COD was RIPON.
21. i found this very difficult, but scrupulously fair if a little arcane. i finished only after substantial use of aids but enjoyed it nevertheless.
    happy birthday mr dean, i think you went out on a high. cod 1d for a very well disguised anagram.
22. 20:33 here. I found it a little easier than yesterday’s, but only by a couple of minutes. I had to guess MARIPOSA from the wordplay, and a vague idea that such a word existed, but I was OK with everything else.
23. I didn’t find this terribly difficult, completing it in 30 minutes, which is about average for me. However, there were some guesses en route. GALLIPOT was vaguely familiar, so I was reasonably confident about that, but less so about INTONERS until checked letters confirmed it, and MARIPOSA was a very tentative entry from the wordplay and I fully expected it to be wrong. DOWDING was also unfamiliar, but the clue gave a clear indication of it.

    25 was an excellent clue, and I also liked 26 (possibly an old chestnut) and 22. I was a bit dubious about ‘war’ as a definition for Mars, since the latter is the God of war, but perhaps it can be taken on a figurative level (war personified?).
    2 was an easy solve for me, but it’s based on a very dated text. Has anyone under 40 heard of it?

    1. I haven’t.
24. 31:54 .. so, harder for me than yesterday’s.

    If this is the estimable Mr Dean’s ‘swansong’, then he did a good job of inserting a number of valedictions and melancholy allusions to departure into the grid. Adieu, indeed, sir.

25. I’m another in the quite difficult camp. Only half done in 30 minutes, but then I had a good 10 minutes where I got another seven, with the final seven falling in another 15 minutes. Last in was RASHER. I prefer the challenging crosswords to the ones that fall to easily as I really have to think through the wordplay to build up the answer.

    The only phrase I hadn’t come across was TRENTS LAST CASE, but I got it from the remainder of the anagram after I had enough other crossing letters. I have only come across SOSTENUTO and MARTIPOSA in crosswords.

    I hope I can still do the Times crossword when I am 83. Happy retirement to Mr Dean.

26. 20 minutes or so today with a long time getting 7,14, 23 and 24 then just a guess with MARIPOSA. I wasn’t convinced by this but couldn’t get anything else to fit. Fortunately I had heard of TRENT’S LAST CASE although couldn’t have told you anything about it/him. A lovely and appropriate clue though.
    ADIEU to the retiring setter. A quality SWANSONG to go out on.
27. I found this very hard, and couldn’t finish in the time I allow myself before the news. I knew that ‘mariposa’ means ‘butterfly’ in Spanish – that suggested it might be the name of a lily.

    My dad stopped doing the crossword at about 80, so I find this one quite remarkable.

28. A very neat farewell puzzle. Roy has set puzzles for me at the Church Times for many years, and I sahll miss his contributions. Time maybe for another poacher to turn gamekeeper? DFM
29. 5:32 so must have been well in tune with Roy’s thoughts. Haven’t heard of Trent’s case either (at age 49). Happy to recall MARIPOSA promptly. Best wishes to Roy for a restful retirement, from another poacher.
    1. Trent’s Last Case was filmed three times. The most recent version (1952) is a minor classic of British cinema directed by Herbert Wilcox, starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Wilding and Orson Welles.
30. Did this last night while watching the Olympics but haven’t had a chance to check in until now. I found it tricky but fair – TRENT’S LAST CASE from the wordplay (LAST CASE first), similarly DOWDING, GALLIPOT. ANTHROPOLOGIST from the definition.
31. Sorry for being late on this one, but I only solved it just before going to sleep! On reading the blog this morning I was surprised that there was no comment on 4D. I thought it was fairly ambiguous as to whether it was “Innovator” is clued by B replacing S in “office”, or “Innovator” has B replaced by S to give “office” but having thought about it I went firmly for the former since I thought it scanned far better. “In” meaning to give was iffy to me, plus “‘s” suggesting has or something similar. The only reason for everybody elses way must be that new broom is two words and hence would be clued 3,5 but for me this still leaves the clue not quite parsing.
    1. I think you’re correct. The clue can be read either way. However as you say the one word answer indicator (8) doesn’t really allow NEW, BROOM to be the answer.
32. I completed this puzzle within reasonable time, though I wouldn’t rate it as “easy”.
    Decades ago I had read TRENT’S LAST CASE, so the answer went in with a tinge of nostalgia for the times when I used to gobble up detective/crime/horror stories by the dozen.
    Some of us might also have recalled that its author E.C. Bentley was the inventor of the clerihew.

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