Times 24689 – All you need are wings and a Nagra

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 34 minutes

Music: The Owl Service, A Garland of Song

I thought this one would be another Monday trot as I filled in half of it in ten minutes, but the remainder proved tougher. Words like ‘axolotl’, ‘retrovert’, and ‘obsecrate’ do not exactly trip off the tongue, although my last in was actually ‘triangle’. I would call this a puzzle at the low end of medium on the difficulty scale, one that requires close attention to both the cryptics and the literals for a good result.

Beginners are reminded that obvious clues are not blogged. Please ask if baffled.

Tonight’s music is, er, a CD. My phono stage had to take a trip to St Louis for some repairs, so no classical for two weeks. Steve Collins’ music is most interesting, but I am starting to long for some Chopin and Mahler.

Across
1 LYCHEE, LYC(H)EE, my first in, rather obvious once you discard ‘ecole’.
4 WINNIPEG, W(INN)I + P + EG. Presumably the postal code for Mayfair was W1, otherwise I am at a loss to explain the second ‘i’.
10 RETROVERT, RE + T(ROVER)T. That’s right, the old Tourist Trophy from the Isle of Man is back. I had at first supposed that ‘back soldiers’ indicated ‘ro’, so didn’t see this until late in the game. Working in ‘Rover’ for ‘dog’ is a nice touch.
11 Omitted, a chestnut with three out five of crossing letters.
12 Omitted, a chestnut with two out of three crossing letters.
13 EXONERATION, EX + ONE + RATION. I thought of this at once, only I couldn’t remember the word. As usually happens, it popped into my mind unbidden five minutes later.
14 RAGGED, double definition, strangely elusive for me.
16 AXOLOTL, sounds like ‘AXE A LOT’LL’. Or does it? Confess, how often do you use this word in conversation? I thought so…..
19 UNKNOWN, what you might call a chestnut in reverse, where the word normally used in the clue is the answer.
20 Omitted, you have three out of six letters, and it isn’t hard.
22 BREATHALYSE, anagram of HER TABLE, SAY. I was expecting a scientific term, but soon caught on.
25 COZ, C[am] + OZ. I admit, I never got this clue at all, just put in an ‘o’ after getting a ‘c’ and a ‘z’.
26 RONDO, hidden in [litte]R ON DO[orstep]. Another one I nearly didn’t see; I almost put in ‘roneo’.
27 GUARD RAIL, GUARD + LIAR backwards. The commonest bit of cockney rhyming slang, for you beginners in the audience.
28 TRIANGLE, T(RI)ANGLE. Another one that was tough for me, but probably not for others. I knew it was probably Rhode Island, but thought the answer ended in a consonant.
29 GENERA, GENERA[l].
 
Down
1 LARYNX, L(AR)YNX. Another popular state for puzzles.
2 CUTTY SARK, CUT + T[idewa]Y + SARK, which is a minor Channel Island. Of course, in the Burns poem that supplied the name for the ship, the ‘cutty sark’ referred to the short chemise worn by the witch.
3 Omitted, you’ve got three out of five crossing letters.
5 IN THE FAMILY WAY, double definition, one a jocular cross-reference.
6 NECTAROUS, NE + anagram of OUR CATS.
7 PUTTI, PUT + IT backwards, naked cherubs that were probably more popular in the Baroque than the Renaissance.
8 GREENFLY, FL inside anagram of ENERGY. An abbreviation that has not been much used lately.
9 RECORDING ANGEL, double definition, one with the show-business meaning of ‘angel’.
15 GHOST TOWN, double definition. I was aided by memories of The Specials 1981 single, which touches on this very subject.
17 OBSECRATE, OBS + EC + RATE, where old boys and an old post code help make up a word that is probably not on everyone’s lips these days.
18 Omitted, you’ve got four out of eight crossing letters.
21 AZALEA, A + Z + ALE + A. The ‘z’ and the ‘shrub’ should give it to you quickly.
23 ENNUI, INNE[r] backwards around U. A rather laboured cryptic, it’s much easier to go with the literal.
24 ENDUE, EN + DUE. I didn’t think this was very satisfactory, but what else could it be? Alternate explanations of the cryptic are welcome.

50 comments on “Times 24689 – All you need are wings and a Nagra”

  1. A resounding DNF with four to go. AXOLOTL I can forgive myself, but also missed GENERA and therefore what would have been an easy guess for the unknown ENDUE (I think “due” as “directly” is fair enough – as in due north etc. – rather than in the sense of owing or imminent). Failed to get TRIANGLE which was simple enough with the benefit of blog-sight, even though Rhode Island doesn’t spring readily to mind as a US state. The days of romping through Monday’s offering with hardly a pause seem a distant memory.
  3. Failed miserably on GREENFLY (putting ‘greenery’ and not able to change it even when I came back to it), which made AXOLOTL harder than it already was. 73 hard minutes.
  4. Congrats on the music, Vinyl. “View from a Hill” next?
    Not a lot of trouble with this — AXOLOTL’s pretty much OK when you have all the crossers. Thought the clue for CUTTY SARK was quite good, if straightforward. So 14 minutes.
  5. I had to grind my way through this, particularly the last half dozen or so. RECORDING ANGEL was awkward – the expression was new to me, and I had AGENT in mind for the second word for a long time.

    TRIANGLE was last in. I despair when I see ‘state’ in clues, given that it could indicate any of 50 two-letter combinations. It really doesn’t give you much hope of solving the clue from the wordplay.

    1. Then you’d have enjoyed 34ac in last week’s Mephisto – see Jimbo’s blog below.
  6. 35 minutes but I agree some of this was not easy. Apart from the unfamiliar words already mentioned in the intro I would add NECTAROUS, ENDUE and COZ to the list. Whenever I’ve heard ‘cousin’ abbreviated I’ve not thought of it being spelt like this.
  7. 28 minutes. A satisfactory puzzle. Held up ridiculously – but also satisfactorily – by Rondo. But Obsecrate, though not too hard, is a very borderline word (the noun’s better). Yes, it may be in the dictionary – so when do we have Oe meaning a Scottish uncle?
    1. obsecrate is in Collins (and its near relative obsecration is in the Concise Oxford). The Scots uncle is in neither, so in the Times, the answer is “never”.
  8. Assuming the answer to be OUTBURST, “not acceptable” gives OUT but how does “barge” give BURST?
    Mike O
    1. In their violent movement/intrude sense: ‘burst into a room’ and ‘barge into a conversation’.
  9. Why is EC an old postcode? It was still very much in use when I last looked. Rather slippery today with nectarous, lychee and axolotl.
    1. EC is older than W1 because it predates the division of London postal districts into numbered areas. Which in turn precedes their subdivision into smaller lettered areas like W1A, as in W1A 4WW for the BBC.
  10. Fast finish for me but no less than 7 from wordplay. Suppose I should be happy with that but not somehow. Clearly I don’t know how to pronounce AXOLOTL but that seemed familiar as opposed to AXALOTL. I knew COZ but didn’t understand the “old”, but Chambers confirms archaic.
    Unsatisfying relative to say Saturday’s fare which I was pleased to submit but again aghast to see some clues explained on the forum.
  11. 7:51 – this felt like a puzzle that should have gone faster, but held up by things like failing to spot(!) the right dog at 10, and assuming 6D was a “sandwich”, so ending up with the unlikely-looking NUCTAROSE, until the right answer 20ed on being written in at 20.

    The first O in AXOLOTL is a schwa, as is the a in “axe a lot’ll”.

  12. About half an hour (not sure exactly how long as I managed to graunch the timer), mostly on the last half-dozen which needed both aids and checkers to finish. I agree about the difficulty of two-letter US states, although there were two London postal districts in there as well to compensate! 27 ac took ages as I kept thinking it would be some sort of GIRL (=escort).

    Vinyl, have you tried Spotify?

  13. About 20 minutes for this. I thought I might be on for a very fast time when five of the first six went in on first look, but the pace soon slowed.
    I’m puzzled by “not a CD”. In what sense is a CD not a recording? Or have I just misunderstood the clue?
    A bit like Peter (the quality of my mistakes must be improving!) I put in NUCRATOSE at first, and it’s lucky 20ac was so easy or the error might have held me up for a lot longer.
    Unlike a couple of others Rhode Island is THE first state I think of when it looks like a two-letter abbreviation is needed!
  14. 23 minutes. Always enjoy clues such as 9 and 15, but spent too long trying to fit in “hatter” as the retailer of pork pies in 27.
  15. A less than inspired 19 min. Helped by the less common words being solidly clued. No complaints, but no particular COD either.
  16. No undue difficulties with this, 20mins which makes it at the harder end of medium.. I would not object to the inclusion of obscure words like endue, obsecrate or nectarous, it is just that in a daily cryptic I am not so much on the lookout for them as it were.
  17. Golf rained off so potentially in a prickly mood when tackling this. Had a 18D over 16A – use of a poor homophone to clue an obscure word – and don’t understand why “recording” is “not a CD”. Most of it quite easy but the other obscurities added a twist of difficulty. 20 minutes to solve.
    1. I immediately thought of “record” (the round black object) as “not a CD” so I was very happy with the answer that far, and with angel – but instead had no idea where the ING came from.
  18. I read this clue as not a “CD-funder”, i.e. not someone who provides money for recordings, as an angel in the theatre might fund productions.
    1. Surely a “recording angel” WOULD be someone who provides money for CDs (or other recordings)?
      Incidentally the term “angel” isn’t restricted to the theatre, although that’s no doubt where it originated.
      1. But the Recording Angel who logs our thoughts and deeds does not. He just “has us taped”.
        1. I think I see where you’re coming from. So the wordplay (CD funder) is sort of embedded in a cryptic definition? I still think it’s a bit odd.
          1. Darned if I do – still makes no sense to me. Of course CD can also mean civil defence; contagious disease; controlled drug; and Corps Diplomatique. The mind boggles at what this mythical messenger might well not be funding.
        2. I think it is correct that CD-funder should be hyphenated. The clue isn’t a cryptic + definition in the usual way just an extended jokey definition: “Not the sort of recording angel who funds records, but the type that has us bang to rights.”
  19. Triangle did for me. Was determined to find an anagram of “eternal” so came up with unlikely trienale!
  20. A shade under 20 minutes today, slowing down in the southern reaches. Add me to those underwhelmed by barge=burst, direct=due, though I take the comments on the subject here. I thought the ANGEL clue was a bit clumsy, or possibly too clever for its own good. I’m not convinced (even with evidence from the authorities) that OBSECRATE is a real word – it looks like a portmanteau of some description. No stand our CoD today.
  21. Most of it fairly quick and straight forward but took a long time for the penny to drop for 5 down. Finally got Putti from wordplay, not something I was familiar with. Mistakenly put in Greenery which made Winnipeg the obvious answer for 4 across. Had to resort to this blog for 16 across, which I would not have got even if I had greenfly in for 8 down.
  22. 46:36 – But, yet again, half of my time was spent on the last handful of clues. Today it was 9/16/24/27 that took forever to crack. Got them in the end but, looking back, was quite pleased to finish unaided and all correct, even if the time could have been a lot faster.
    Lots of unknown/unfamiliar words – OBSECRATE, PUTTI, RETROVERT, NECTAROUS & RECORDING ANGEL. Thanks to my 9 year old son for introducing me to the Axolotl – it’s one of his favourite words!
  23. A slow 45 minutes. Couldn’t get either of the long downs; 9, because I’d never heard of such a thing (another black mark on my slate, no doubt) and 5 because I’d fancifully invented BARNYPEG as something or other in Mayfair at 4ac and then proceded to believe it was actually the answer. TRIANGLE was my last in too, so snap.
  24. Made slow but steady progress with this, until I ran into a brick wall with 1ac / 1d blank in one corner, and 16ac / 17d in another. The former wasn’t helped by my misapprehension that the abbreviation for the state was AK, and that the school must be ECOLE. Had to cheat in the end for all but 1ac, which was obvious once the L was in place.
  25. 5:48 to complete although, as with others I am not totally satisfied with several of the clues. Solutions were written in as “it fits the checking letters, just about fits the clue, so what else can it be?”.
  26. 7:15, last in RONDO (26ac) and AXOLOTL (16ac).  Unfamiliar: ENDUE (24dn), IN THE FAMILY WAY (5dn).

    Those unacquainted with the axolotl may find amusement here.

  27. This isn’t the first time the axolotl has appeared in a cryptic; I’m sure I posted this last year (or so).
    And ‘coz’ should be familiar to any Shakespeare fan; his characters are constantly addressing each other as ‘coz’.

    The Axolotl
    McCord, David (1897-)

    The axolotl
    Looks a littl
    Like the ozelotl,
    Itl

    “Drink a greatl
    More than whatl
    Fill the fatl
    Whiskey bottl.

    “The food it eatsl
    Be no morsl:
    Only meatsl
    Drive its dorsl.

    “Such an awfl
    Fish to kettl!”
    “You said a mawfl
    Pop’epetl!”

  28. Didn’t get to do this until lunch “break” today, so didn’t get an uninterrupted time. WINNIPEG, TRIANGLE and RECORDING ANGEL from definition, OBSECRATE and PUTTI from wordplay, so a little tricky.
  29. Not so easy, taking about 35 minutes, ending with the AXOLOTL/OBSECRATE intersection. I agree there were a bunch of unfamiliar words here, as others have already said. Pleased to finish. Regards.
  31. Aargh! Looking back over my solution, I’ve just realised I’ve made my third error of the year: WINNEPEG for WINNIPEG – pure carelessness as I’d spotted W1 for Mayfair, and my mother lived in Winnipeg for a while when she was very young (in fact I think she may even have been born there).

    Otherwise, a slow 9:00 for me, with RONDO (which I spotted quickly, but didn’t twig that “piece” was doing double duty) and OUTBURST (where I was worried by BURST = “barge”) the last to go in.

  32. Perhaps not too difficult, but it still took forever. I generally solve for an hour and if I’m not done I come back later, but the last in was this morning, ENDUE and GUARD WALL (unfortunately — I know that pork pie is some kind of a fiddle, but I can never remember which, and I had visions of WALL’s sausages on sale in supermarkets, but I couldn’t recall if they were British or American). So DNF. Hopefully better luck on today’s puzzle, which I am about to start.

    By the way, what does INNER have to do with ring?

  33. I’d forgotten why I stopped coming to this site – the stupid arrogance of “20 Omitted, you have three out of six letters, and it isn’t hard”

    Well I am very but ‘axolotl’, ‘retrovert’, and ‘obsecrate’ were pretty straightforward clues as far as I was concerned – as were ‘triangle’ and ‘coz’ (I do at least read my Shakespeare).

    One man’s easy is another man’s stumbling block and it was actually 20 that prompted me to seek an explanation. Oh well, thank goodness for AnswerBank and its lack of intellectual snobbery.

    1. Harsh words. Yes, there’s a bit of snobbery and arrogance – we all have our foibles. Abuse is most unlikely to bring about any change. Healthy discussion might be more rewarding?

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