Times 25721 – if I had a million 22s

Solving time : 20:32 on the club timer with more than half of it unraveling that bottom left hand side, mostly held up by the honking great cryptic definition of a word I’d never heard of at 22 across. At the finish I had to go check and it is in both Collins and Chambers, but to me it’s a word too obscure to clue using a cryptic definition.

I was also caught out by one of the older tricks in the book at 15 down and was kicking myself there. At the end of things I was second on the leaderboard, so I suspect I am not going to be the only one pulled in to the tricks of the setter.

Away we go…

Across
1 REPAST: PA in REST
4 WREATHES: (WEATHERS)*
10 AMARYLLIS: A MARY, then SILL reversed
11 TON(fashion),ER(head lady, the Queen)
12 LOO(ked): or possibly LOO(med)
13 ON THE SQUARE: double definition, which reminded me of “Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life”
14 TIPCAT: 1,PC in T(h)AT. Apparently this doesn’t involve upending an actual mouser
16 TEACH-IN: EACH in TIN
19 ALMANAC: MAN(chap) in AL(gangster),AC(bill)
20 BUYOUT: YOU in BUT
22 PETRODOLLAR: cryptic definition
25 E,GO: GO was very popular amongst students at Melbourne Uni in the late 80s
26 GENOA: double definition (it’s also a type of salami)
27 (w)INTE(r),GRAND – mathematical function
28 ROAD TEST: (TREATS,DO)*
29 INFEST: sounds like INN, then FEAST without the A(vailable)
 
Down
1 REALLY: E in RALLY – as an expression of sarcasm
2 PLATONISM: TO in PLAN, then IS, M(etaphysics)
3 SAY-SO: hidden
5 RESPECT,ABILITY
6 ANTIQUARY: A,(QUAINT)*,RY
7 HENNA: HEN(layer, of eggs), over N(atural),A(ttractiveness)
8 SERGE,ANT
9 PLATE TECTONICS: 1 in (LATEST,CONCEPT)*
15 CONSONANT: since I is not a consonant, it’s a vowel
17 HOUSEMATE: (MOUSE)* in HATE
18 RAMPAGER: RAGER grabbing A,MP
21 HOLD IT: OLD in HIT
23 TANKA: sounds like TANKER
24 REGAN: take the A out of REAGAN for Lear’s daughter

41 comments on “Times 25721 – if I had a million 22s”

  1. Equally unfond of today’s cryptic def; though I knew the word. Also surprised that only one letter needed to be moved in the anagram at 4ac. and I took the TON part of 11ac to be the “fashion set” (fashionable society).

    LOI: INFEST.

    Edited at 2014-02-27 03:04 am (UTC)

  2. I had all but six solved and parsed within 30 minutes but then ran aground in the SW with 20ac also outstanding. I nearly got there in the end but as 45 minutes approached I decided I’d had enough and used aids to polish off BUYOUT and TIPCAT – I’m not sure I ever heard of the latter.

    Another unknown was INTEGRAND and also PLATE TECTONICS, though I had heard of tectonic plates so it was no big deal to shuffle the words a bit. PETRODOLLAR was no problem for me.

    I can’t say that ON THE SQUARE sounded particularly familiar (I’d tend to say “on the level”) but it’s in the books so I’ve no complaint. Interestingly in Brewer’s, the first place I checked it, its only meaning is a reference to being a Freemason.

    Edited at 2014-02-27 06:00 am (UTC)

  3. I was on the verge of logging off in despair, with 14ac, 18d, and 26ac left, but suddenly–after 7-8 minutes–I saw RAMPAGER, which gave me GENOA. Then I finally saw the possibility of TIPCAT, a game–nay, a word–I’d never heard of. I didn’t help myself at 27ac by typing in INTER instead of INTE and not noticing my error for a while. Couldn’t remember what ‘dosh’ means, but 22 went in on ‘crude’ and checkers–I’m surprised that George found the word obscure. In retrospect, this took longer than it should have.
  4. Plod, doze, plod, doze, plod, then screwed 29A by not parsing properly, and going for invest as swamping with superior number of troops – DOH.

    Couldn’t help but wonder if the setter had originally also had FORESAIL as a clue for 26A, but decided not to inflame the argument between the landlubbers/lexicographers and those that actually go out in sailing boats (or have retired from doing so).

    1. I got the same feeling – almanac, genoa, tanker. Unfortunately l didn’t get my sea legs on this one and shared Sotira’s grumpiness at Tipcat which meant a DNF after over an hour struggling with the SW.
    2. The merchant skipper got back to me today and he agrees with the retired naval captain (and us). I would say that lexicographers need to get out more but that would be a bit rich coming from a cruciverbalist!
  5. 20 minutes plus, several of them palpably stretching into eternity while GENOA and RAMPAGER remained unsolved. I confess freely to checking that TANKA was right just in case GENOA was JAFFA, which would work (it’s NOT a biscuit) but have intolerable consequences on the surroundings.
    TIPCAT from the generous enough wordplay, but sparking one of those distracting trains of thought which chuntered on in the background calling to mind an antique occupation which turned out to be Tipstaff.
    Things I learned today.
    TONER is a cosmetic used by women (and surely quite a few men?) though I would have thought it would leave black smudges,
    EURODOLLAR doesn’t have enough letters
    How to spell AMARYLLIS (cheers setter)
    INTEGRAND is another acceptable mathematical gerundive.
    You should always make a copy of your entry if LJ looks like it’s playing up.

    CoD to CONSONANT please Rachel – excellent surface
    ON THE SQUARE called to mind the Kipling short turned into an epic and rather wonderful film in The Man Who Would Be King, so definitely masonic.

    Edited at 2014-02-27 09:39 am (UTC)

  6. One missing today (Tipcat) and one wrong (guessed Tenda (‘tender’) for the Japanese poetry). Knew Petrodollars from Economist and Times. FOI Loo.
    Unknowns Teach-in and On The Square from wordplay.
    The egg laying hen made me smile.
  7. A steady solve, just under the half-hour. Had a vague recollection of INTEGRAND (from school maths) and an even vaguer recollection of TIPCAT (from a previous crossword). Wanted GENOA to be JAFFA, but that would have made TANKA and RAMPAGER impossible. Liked “officer” becoming a PC and “policeman” becoming an MP. And I never thought that singing in “Adieu Sweet Amaryllis” at school would ever become useful. Roll on Arbutus! ANTIQUARY nicely disguised – I’d have been tempted to allude to MR James in the clueing. REGAN, TANKA, PLATONISM and PLATE TECTONICS reasonable GK, I thought, but some might not.

    FOI WREATHES, LOI the wretched TIPCAT, COD CONSONANT.

    1. Ditto “Adieu Sweet Amaryllis” – the only context where I’ve heard the name (apart from Ian Fleming’s sister, the famous cellist). Like you,still waiting for “My Love’s an Arbutus”. Ann
  8. Gentle 20 minute jog with the excellent anagram at 9D my favourite clue – in contrast to 4A which must be one of the weakest

    I knew PETRODOLLAR (must be a generation thing – time was folk in the City talked of little else – pity about the silly clue. Guessed TIPCAT from cryptic

    Must agree with Jack. “perfectly fair” is “on the level”. ON THE SQUARE means membership of a Masonic Lodge

    1. I agree with the Masonic interpretation (see above) but Chambers also carries the wider sense of openly, honestly. I’m not sure we’re supposed to know the Masonic stuff, unless of course it’s for the sake of the Widow’s Son
      1. I think this is another of those dictionary v actual modern usage questions

        I don’t think ON THE SQUARE is used today in any sense other the Masonic one. “on the level” or “square deal” or “square and above board” all mean equitable.

        The Masonic connection is I think well known enough to not rank it as obscure

        1. Quite. But what does the Times have to do with “actual modern usage”? I haven’t knowingly used RATHE ever except to fill in 24D on Monday last, and I haven’t “rushed my fences” in years. Our’s is primarily a dictionary game: if it’s in, it’s OK. I’m off for a couple of rubbers of tipcap.

          Edited at 2014-02-27 02:25 pm (UTC)

          1. Have to agree here: “if it’s in, it’s OK”. Especially when the Oxfords have the other as the primary meaning:

            on the square 1: (informal) honest; straightforward.

        2. Oh, and my point on the Masonic stuff is not its obscurity, but in its imagined secrecy. My brother-in-law earned many fine lunches by appearing to know, when among Masons, stuff he wasn’t supposed to know because it was confined to the Lodge.
          I looked up petrodollar on Wiki, to discover there’s now a petroeuro. Now there’s a word that had better never turn up in one of these!
  9. 33min : TIPCAT was LOI – I had heard of the game, but never played it – spent some minutes trying to make PIQUET work, but then realised what 15d was (COD!) and saw how to parse it.

    Edited at 2014-02-27 10:47 am (UTC)

  10. 25 mins with at least the last 5 of them trying to make sense of 14ac. I was fooled by the setter into trying to think of a word spelled ??T that meant “soft” or “easy”, so a “tip of the hat” for that, rather than a TIPCAT. I didn’t know the game but still felt a little dumb when the penny finally dropped.

    I agree that the SW was indeed quite tricky. Like z8 I was also considering Jaffa for 26ac but I didn’t think that 18dn was going to end J?R. I didn’t like the clue for PETRODOLLAR although I didn’t think the word itself was that obscure. It was only after I got it that I thought of TANKA for 23dn, which in turn led to GENOA and RAMPAGER.

    I only solved INTEGRAND from the wordplay.

  11. Not a particularly enjoyable puzzle. I have never heard of TIPCAT and to me 13A has only the meaning suggested by jack and jimbo.

    The outgoing editor no doubt left behind a good stock of puzzles. I wonder whether we will notice when the stock runs out and new management takes over.

  12. Explained to my English doctor wife how in my childhood here in Kenya I spent hours with friends playing tipcat. She wasn’t impressed.

    Not a bad crossword, enjoyable outing.

    Nairobi Wallah

  13. 18 mins with most of that spent staring in vain at the SW corner before the pennies started to drop. Not the most enjoyable of today’s cryptic offerings but not the worst.
  14. 28:25 .. the setter wasn’t on my wavelength at all.

    TIPCAT and TANKA not encountered since the last time they popped up in crosswords. Mostly this puzzle made me grumpy, so I’ll say no more.

  15. Like others, I probably spent as much time on the SW as the rest of the puzzle put together. Not keen on 22a, but as a composite word it was deducible. I was vaguely aware of 14, but didn’t know 23.
  16. 45m DNF with most of SW blank – too many unknowns and obscurities – and not helped by pencilling in PORNODOLLARS! This led to RIGGA for the Japanese verse and then …. On it went from there. I did get 15d easily enough – my COD! Oh well try again tomorrow and thanks for the blog. Most necessary today!
  17. Some nice tricks in this crossword and liked 15d in particular. Nice to see more balance in the GK with finance, geography and maths terms making a change from the usual arts bias. But there was too much GK again in my book and I agree petrodollar’s not very fair. Whoever supplies the grids is too erudite for my liking!
  18. The Masonic stuff is completely above my head. Just took it to be the trooping the colour drill, but thank you George for the Python reminder – priceless.

    It took a bit of thought but not too long to make the jump from “one-a-cat” which I knew to “tipcat” which I didn’t (same game I believe). I think it must be a precursor of baseball, no matter what may have been claimed for Abner Doubleday.

    24.17 after my attention wandered in the TANKA/GENOA axis.

  19. 16m. No huge problems with this: I happened to know the obscurities. It was a bit GK-heavy though.
    I’ve never come across ON THE SQUARE meaning anything, so I was spared any Masonic concerns. I did remember TIPCAT from a past puzzle, and PETRODOLLAR was no problem for me in spite of being born in 1972. Working in the city helped there no doubt.
    I put in JAFFA (it had to be!), which slowed me down, but thankfully the J looked unlikely in 18dn so I reconsidered.
    TANKA rang a vague bell.
  20. Gave up without rampager and Genoa, annoying as there were some tricky numbers there I thought that managed to drift in. ‘On the square’ perfectly fair as far as I’m concerned. Rather like ‘go on’.

  21. No prizes for guessing which corner I had blank (despite the helpful tips yesterday) … but I did manage to work out TIPCAT and INTEGRAND (both unknowns), so I suspected the last ones were going to be more obscurities and gave up after an hour or so …

    Looking forward to seeing REGAN et al on 1 May when NT Live are screening the National’s Sam Mendes/Simon Russell Beale version. My fave Shakespeare, having studied it many moons ago for A-level.

  22. Not on the wavelength today. Needed an hour, at least, and looked up TANKA and TIPCAT at the end. No problem with PETRODOLLAR though. A bit of a slog, although CONSONANT raised a wan smile and the long anagram was well put together, I thought. Regards.
  23. Our friend the non-biscuit cake went straight in – hence my enormous trouble in the SW. I’ve no idea on the connection but I also heard the term come up in Only Fools and Horses in relation to Boycie’s problems in becoming a father.
  24. There are times when I give up then once I see the answers I wish I’d persevered and there are other times when I see the answers and wish I’d given up earlier.

    Today was one of the latter. Although with hindsight Petrodollar rings a bell there was no way I would have dragged it from memory. In its absence the SW corner was never going to be finished. Roll on tomorrow!

    1. Don’t be discouraged, pootle73 (or indeed nick or thud below). This is the sort of puzzle I’d have found impossible five years ago. There’s lots of obscurity in it and I think you need a fair bit of experience to get things like TIPCAT from the cryptic.

      The clue to solving these things consistently is aquiring the ability to figure out stuff you don’t know from other bits of the clue, and this is just a question of practice. In my experience, if you take a little bit of time every day to engage with this forum you can improve very quickly.

  25. Found this a “wading through a lake of porridge” experience (a phrase frequently used by my old history teacher when providing constructive feedback on my essays). Fully echo pootle73’s sentiment – slogged on hopelessly when I could have been out playing Tipcat.

    It is somehow entirely appropriate that the only constructive observation I can make is to assist chrisw91 a propos the erroneous JAFFA, and the Only Fools and Horses reference. “Seedless, innit?”

  26. Well, I was as stumped as a double amputee by this one. TIPCAT – never heard of it, don’t believe it. Well, OK, Wikipedia says it exists, but that proves nothing as far as I’m concerned. I wonder how dull life has to be to make one consider it a recreation to hit a pointy piece of wood with a stick.

    The policeman being military in 18d threw me as well, and I’d never have got TANKA in a million years.

    I’d always assumed
    All Eastern verse was “haiku”.
    Apparently not.

    (Wikipedia
    informs me that a Tanka
    is like a Haiku,
    but with two additional
    lines bolted on at the end.)

    On the other hand, I appreciated PLATE TECTONICS (which was controversial when I did geology O-level back in the Cretaceous), and was quite comfortable with PETRODOLLARS – surely not such an uncommon word?

    Anyway, with today’s miserable performance I have no right being here, but I have nowhere else to go at present. For reasons that have never been made clear to me, the new management frown upon ones being on duty for more than 18 hours at a stretch, at least once you have a bit of alphabet after your name. It’s this kind of attitude that’s ruining the NHS.

  27. 10:11 for me, so not a disaster – but as usual I made heavy weather of some easy clues.

    z8b8d8k is quite right about ON THE SQUARE: the Times crossword has never been solely about “actual modern English usage”, though it’s good that it includes that as well.

    Another nice puzzle.

  28. A bit sluggish, especially in dealing with the SW corner, but enjoyable nonetheless.
    Tipcat, or ‘tippycat’ was popular in my childhood days in Tottenham, when it was possible for crowds of children to play street games. Watch out for ‘kingy’ which was a Tottenham specialty. By the way, a scratchy win for the White Hart Lane team tonight, but we’ll take it, especially after last weekend’s miserable performanve.
  29. I was also held up for ages in the SW so took well over an hour. I hate clues like 26 across which need you to pluck a word from thin air that means both a cake and a port, considering there are many of each, with no other way to get it. The down clues would have helped but I couldn’t solve those either.

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