Times 25,356 – The Flying Dutchman

34 comments on “Times 25,356 – The Flying Dutchman”

1. …so had to solve online, resulting in a ridiculously slow 59:57. All correct, at least – I had my doubts about ‘caesium’, a variant spelling. I wasn’t too sure about ‘gyp’ = ‘pain’, either.

   COD to the witty ‘translate’.

2. Did all the Xmas puzzles except the vintage/retro numbers yesterday. But LJ was blocking log-ins while I was briefly at a computer. So apologies to all bloggers for the absence of comments. The parsing of WEAPON on Boxing Day (25355) was a pain for me too and I had to spend an age to construe it, Jerry.

   So to today.

   1ac is a double def. “What may turn up” is one; then the second is facetious: ref to having to share a plough.

   9ac is also a dd: “Withdraw from” is the first.

   11ac is a diabolical liberty. You have to make the apostrophe-S into C (for the homophone) then: ’S easy? Um?

   26dn: UY, you’re missing a P.

   As for chained libraries (20ac), this is the standard ref:
   http://www.amazon.com/Book-Bookshelf-Henry-Petroski/dp/0375706399

   Edited at 2012-12-27 07:09 am (UTC)

3. A few problems LH took me past my 30-minute target by 12 minutes. Never heard of “chained library”, nor has any of the usual sources, and onelook.com lists it only as appearing in Wikipedia where I had already found it once I had resorted to looking on-line. DJINN also required checking although I have a vague recollection of meeting it previously. I thought the CAESIUM clue was great fun, but then I’m a big fan of Cole Porter’s “S’wonderful”.

   As always I appreciate your blog, Uncle Yap, but I really hope you revert to your own delightful style of presentation next time.

   Edited at 2012-12-27 06:41 am (UTC)

   1. Jack, there’s an excellent chained library in The Minster at Wimborne, Dorset. Well worth a visit if ever you’re in the vicinity.
4. 17 minutes, with CAESIUM going in on the shrug because I’ve always pronounced it (wrongly, I see) as cease-ium, not seize-ium, so the homophone had no chance.
   Odd that age should be clued twice by time in the NE. I’m not sure whether seeing the same thing twice was a help or a hindrance.
   I have learned today that djinn is the plural,not djinni. I prefer mine with tonic.
   CoD to PLOUGHSHARE, the pick of several clues written principally for amusement.
5. Not really my cup of tea. 11A is awful. Not keen on the substitution of IS for ONE’S in anagram fodder. 25 minutes but labouring a bit throughout.

   UY I found the blog difficult to read and did not feel that the presentation added anything over and above your usual style. Must have taken you ages and whilst one could contemplate something on these lines for a weekly puzzle I don’t really think it’s practical for a daily one.

   1. Glad I’m not alone. I don’t see the benefit of having the clues in the blog and on this occasion they actually hampered my attempt to follow what Uncle Yap had to say this week. Perhaps if they were hidden, but that’s additional work which I for one would not be willing to undertake.

      I’ve always favoured the informal, individual presentation styles of TfTT bloggers as compared with other on-line crossword blogs which generally I find rather boring by comparison.

      I tend to think that readers should be expected to do a little work for themselves rather than have everything handed out on a plate which is why I seldom indicate or explain the definition part of a clue unless it’s something a bit unusual.

      1. With you 100% Jack. Very few of the definitions in this puzzle need further explanation and individual style is to be very much encouraged in my book.

         It would be good to hear from some contributors who don’t actually write the blogs but I suspect the numbers visiting the site will be low again today.

         1. From syzygy -for those of us who struggle to get under the hour ( I imagine the majority of those reading but not commenting on the blog) I found having the clue explained & there to see without having to go back to the puzzle was a great help. Thank you UY.
6. Found this a little tricky; 43 minutes. I quite like the cheek of 11 ac. but such liberties should be rare. Uncle Yap, the new style is somewhat painful to read, for the unlovely blue (black-and-white’s just fine), the large font, the clue reiteration…what you have normally done is a model of clarity and readability. If it aint broke…
7. Easy and relaxing crossword today after the Historical Olympic Slog yesterday (still somewhat incomplete)

   Good work on the blog UY but sadly I have to agree with the others that adding the clues doesn’t help and your normal style is far better.
   For the dailies I don’t think clues are needed. For weekly and monthly crosswords they may be helpful however. Andy gave me a version of the spreadsheet I use which added the clues in the same way his own blog does, but I haven’t been able to get it to work right. I may try again with the next club monthly but to be honest I think we bloggers probably spend enough time on this anyway, without the bells, whistles etc etc.. I need to get out more as it is!

8. I took ages on this, over an hour, with 1,2,4, 11a, 14 and 20 being the main obstacles. I agree with mctext’s objections to the clue to 11a and the one to 4 dn is pretty awful I didn’t like the particularised ‘using dollar bills’ for IN CASH, especially as the Americans concerned were South Americans.

   However, let’s end on a positive note – I did like the clue to SNAIL MAIL and the definition for 11 dn.

9. Slow steady solve today finishing in the NW corner.
   One mistake – the best I could guess from S?O? Match was Spot Match. I was thinking of “up” meaning “promotion” (from say the Championship to the Premier League) not “explosion”.

   Re 11 ac Caesium. The element’s chemical symbol is Cs which you’d pronounce “sees”.

   Uncle Yap. I began my day with a run too (5 miles round the block)! Thanks for explaining Chained – I didn’t know about those libraries.

   I don’t particularly like today’s blog style and much prefer your usual one with your frequent and interesting asides to expand on the solutions (potted bios of famous people, dates from history, etc).

   Daniel

10. Hello Uncle Yap. I very much appreciate your attempt to improve the bog and can see why it might be better to have the clue printed for ease of reference and to have the definition underlined. There’s really no excuse,though, for me not having the clue to hand when I come here for an explanation and if I can’t see precisely where the definition in the clue lies I can always ask. I can also see that using this format might take up more time and am very conscious of the fact that you and the other bloggers give up your valuable time to asssist people like me. Have always found your blogs ( and those of your fellow bloggers )to be instructive and entertaining anyway and look forward to seeing the different and individual styles that appear here.
    Would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the bloggers for their time and efforts and to say in advance I hope everyone who contributes to Times for the Times and all who come here have a good new year.
    Cheers
    Alastair
11. One other thought that occurs on publication of clues in the blog. I rather like the idea that currently there is a de facto requirement for participants in the discussions either to have bought the newspaper or subscribed on-line in order to take part in any meaningful sense, and presumably they have at least attempted to solve the puzzle. This is effectively done away with if every last detail is published here.
12. Didn’t time it but didn’t finish the coffee before it was all done. Had to cross fingers for seeking and salad, my last two in.
    While its been done on fifteensquare for a while I still feel there’s got to be some intellectual property issues with putting the entire clue in the blog. Don’t expect it from me next week!
13. I did this in bed as usual with my morning cuppa. I fell asleep again while solving. I’m not sure whether this is a reflection of the puzzle or of me. Anyway, including dozing time, it took 31 minutes by my bedside alarm. There were no real problems but my brain felt sluggish and morning-afterish. I can imagine that having the clues repeated could be useful for online solvers and save constant looking back for forgotten clues. But I always work from a print-out so have the puzzle sitting on my desk as I read the blog. Like many others I found the new formal slightly confusing but can appreciate the extra effort made by the blogger. I forgot to wish all the bloggers Merry Xmas, so do so belatedly now. Thank you for all your contributions which add so much to the pleasure of doing this crossword. Cheers. Ann
14. I’ve never had a steak salad that had ‘nothing cooked’, but I know what the setter means. Could someone, however, please explain what Cleopatra or her days has to do with ‘salad’.

    I understand ‘class’ = ‘stylish’ and parsed ‘action’ as ‘performance’ = ‘act’ + ‘one’ = ‘i’ + ‘working’ = ‘on, but how does “the case for a lot of people” = “class action”.

    Large blue type might not be the best bit of typography, but those who think that giving the clue, plus underlining the definition, not worth while ALL fall into the category of those that need not bother to read the blog: “Very slow time today, held for ages and ages by 46d, and only maneged to finish in 4 min and 29.5 seconds”. You know who you are!

    Thanks for the blog UY – the extra work was well worth while for us sloggers.

    1. “My salad days, when I was green in judgment” Anthony and Cleopatra, Act 1, Sc 5.
    2. It’s a reference to a quotation from Shakespeare’s “Antony & Cleopatra”:

       My salad days,
       When I was green in judgement, cold in blood,
       To say as I said then!

       CLASS ACTION is a lawsuit filed re a group of people.

       If anyone doesn’t understand something they are always welcome to ask and they will receive a speedy response. To my mind it’s good if having read the blog one still has questions to ask. It creates dialogue and a sense of community.

       P.S. Whilst I was typing this I see others have got in first re Cleo. I meant to add that some of my generation will be more familiar with the phrase from the title of the 1950s musical by Julian Slade

       Edited at 2012-12-27 06:57 pm (UTC)

15. Line in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra spoken by Cleopatra
    Barry J
16. Sorry a typo. Should be salad days (or perhaps salad datum !)
    Barry J
17. Hello everyone. Sorry to have been missing over the holiday. I found this a bit on the difficult side, taking about 45 minutes, ending with PLOUGHSHARES and SLOW MATCH, and not understanding the latter particularly. Had no idea of what was meant by CHAINED libraries, but it couldn’t be anything else, and I thought CAESIUM was spelled as ‘cesium’. SEEKING (Sea King) was a likely looking guess. Uncle Yap, please blog in any fashion that’s most enjoyable to you, and same to the other bloggers. I echo the comment above about us being grateful and appreciative of those who give their time to do this, which to me gives you license to do it any way you want. Best regards to all.
18. This is the first time I looked at this site having made a sort-of resolution to attempt the main Times crossword – I’ve not gone beyond the Times2 crossword until now!

    Mike Jones

    1. Welcome, Mike. Hope you feel inspired to continue with the cryptic now that you have tried it and you will join in the daily discussions here.
    2. Welcome, Mike.

       Beginners have reported dramatic improvements in short times by attempting the puzzle every day and then reading the blog and the discussions. This is the best way to learn all the cliches, and get to know your TA, ER, OR, and CH, not to mention those fine fellows, the REME.

19. 11:58 for me, after a slow start. Absolutely no complaints about this enjoyable puzzle.

    As an old stick-in-the-mud I prefer your previous blogging style, but you should blog in whatever way you like.

20. Thanks for the blog, yfyap (or should I say uncle yap). My preference is for the conservative style of presentation. I find the fifteensquared style obscures the essence of what I’m looking for in the blog (i.e. answers, explanations + gloss if helpful). In fact on those relatively rare occasions when I tackle the Guardian crossword nowadays I much prefer to go to its own website for any missing solutions.
21. Call me dumb, but I don’t get the CAESIUM clue. What exactly is it homophonic of?
    1. CAESI = It’s easy.(simple) With the pronounciation “‘s easy”. Geddit. One for homophone haters to get incandescent about! Cheers Ann
22. I feel that we must stick to publishing only solutions with annotations.

    Any visitor to this website must be assumed to have solved the puzzle before coming here.

    And if the annotation is not readily comprehensible, they may go back to the crossword.

    Why should everything be given on a platter?

    Finally, one blogger introducing a post in a different style with use of bigger fonts, colour and such other special effects makes it appear as if others were less arduous in the work that they have taken upon themselves.

23. I have been using the site for some time now and I find it immensely useful. Still haven’t reached my target of solving the puzzle every day but my progress has been vastly aided by this blog for which I would like to record my thanks to all the bloggers and contributors.

    As for the new format, I’m with the majority and much prefer the previous style. I too much appreciate the anecdotes and web links that are often interspersed with the explanations.

    Brett Robinson

24. Anyone care to explain why GAP is not just as good as GYP? (SinGAPore)
25. Never mind. Another obscure Britishism defeats me. As if it’s not bad enough having to think of Easter being in spring…

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