Times 25733 – bet the easy crossword is going to look dead easy today!

Solving time : 26:45 – which has to rank as one of my slowest solves ever, and I was on the verge of going and leaving this, but I have limited computer batter life and of course left my charger at home. Grumble grumble. Now this is a tour de force of a crossword – there’s some exceptionally well-hidden definitions and outstanding surface. Ye who hope to rely on definitions for some of the last few are going to be in for a shock here.

Wow… just checked and nearly an hour after it came out, I’m the only one on the crossword club leaderboard (though I’m sure a lot are solving on the new site – I prefer the old one, can’t quite get the knack of only typing in letters I haven’t entered yet), but at least I’m all-correct, phew.

We appear to be close to a pangram, I can’t seem to find a V.

Away we go…

Across
1 JUMP SHIP: or JUMPS HIP
5 PICK UP: three definitions in three words for a two word answer
8 EID: DIE(something cast) reversed
9 JET(raven)-SETTING(becoming hard)
10 URETHANE: (UNEARTH)*,E – most commonly encountered in its polymerized form
11 EILEEN: hidden reversed in nomiNEE LIEs
12 LOTS: double definition (with the question mark I was thinking cryptic definition originally, and didn’t see the easier option)
14 KICK(thrill),BOX IN(corner),G: I had the BOXING part well before the KICK part
17 CHIMNEY POT: YEN reversed in CHIMP, then OT for the bible bit
20 DAZE: sounds like DAYS
23 QUARTO: ART(drawing) in status QUO
24 SKIP(refuse container),JACK(small ball): this clue rang a bell, though there’s probably not that many ways to clue this word
25 TOWER(drag performer) BLOCK(bar): for the tall residential building
26 SKI: double definition, referencing that many Polish names end in SKI. I can say the one Pole I know well, is a Wolinski
27 IN DEEP: INDEED (for sure) with one of the D’s changed to P’s (partial decimalisation)
28 INUNDATE: U (middle of janUary) in an INN DATE
 
Down
1 JOE PUBLIC: anagram of COUPLE and JIB(e)
2 MIDWEST: M for motorway, then W(width) in ID EST
3 ST JOHN: ST and then JOIN(couple) with H for I
4 INTENSIFY: definition is “fan” – IN(at home) then an anagram of (FIESTY+N)
5 POTHERB: OTHER in Pb(lead)
6 C(lot)H,ILL,AXED: oh dear – it’s not in Chambers (yet), but it is in Collins – slang to rest
7 UNGREEN: the middle parts of hUNGRy tEENs
13 SAM BROWNE: SANE(all there) around M(minute),BROW(top)
15 KNOCK(slate),DOWN(blue)
16 GREEK FIRE: REEK in (GRIEF)* – a new term for me, but fortunately clear wordplay
18 HOUSTON: HOT ON surrounding US – my brother lives there
19 E,GOT,R.I.P.
21 ARAL SEA: very tricky wordplay – L in AS in AREA
22 SPOKEN: OPS reversed then KEN

60 comments on “Times 25733 – bet the easy crossword is going to look dead easy today!”

  1. A great deal simply not understood. Thanks to George for parsing ARAL SEA (which was one of them). All the trouble though with CHILLAXED (DNK); though it precisely describes what I wasn’t at the time. COD to the triple def at 5ac. Very neat!
  2. I raced through about half of this including all the NW quarter but ground to a halt and then managed to plod through the rest of it finishing with it all parsed in 52 minutes.

    SAM BROWNE was unfamiliar but I have probably met and forgotten it. ARAL SEA took a bit of working out from wordplay. I was pleased to remember EID, a source of trouble in the past, and I have come across CHILLAX somewhere very recently, if not here then elsewhere. The SKI clue amused me.

    Pleased to see the Quickie is available, if a little late after midnight, but the multi-word enumeration has gone wrong again.

  3. 99 minutes, but with two wrong (‘Great fire’ – careless – leading me to a guess at ‘skippart’), which is a pity, as I had done the hard miles. Given the state into which the Aral Sea has got since the Russians implemented all their irrigation schemes, I thought that was a superb clue. Didn’t ‘get’ SKI, which is also top notch, while I didn’t know SAM BROWNE – and obviously GREK FIRE – and EID and URETHANE were only vaguely familiar.

    Edited at 2014-03-13 02:20 am (UTC)

  4. After about 90 mins or so I threw in the towel with two blanks (SAM BROWNE (never heard of ‘im, or indeed it) and QUARTO (which I should have got…what is it you experienced solvers always say about looking for a Q before a U…?).

    Didn’t (completely) understand IN DEEP, SKI or POTHERB, didn’t get the 3 meanings of PICK UP, didn’t know GREEK FIRE (yep, I too had great fire for quite a while), but they all went in with a shrug.

    Oh, and I had arab sea at 21dn. I’ve never heard of the Arab Sea, but then again, I’ve never heard of the Aral Sea either…

    Lots of candidates for COD, but I’m going for SPOKEN for the ‘released from trap’ definition.

    Many thanks to both setter and blogger for a great work out

  5. About 30 minutes but also with ARAB SEA and a very ill considered JUMP SUIT.

    I was held up considerably by having GREAT FIRE and wondering why SKIPJACK didn’t fit until I realised the former was wrong and amended to GREEK FIRE (which I’ve not heard of).

    A very enjoyable crossword with some excellent surfaces. I particularly liked ‘released from trap’ for SPOKEN.

  6. . . . and as George says, this resolves the question of whether to do the quick cryptic before the main one. I am so fired up now that the quick one will hopefully be a piece of cake (me and my big mouth). Fine puzzle, setter.
  7. Do you know, I did this in 17 minutes (talk about being on the wavelength!) and enjoyed every moment.
    I was at a Russian holiday camp on the ARAL SEA*, all wonky fittings and back-filled latrines, in 1989 (before things changed, and another planet from Sochi). Entering the answer was therefore not tricky, but justifying it was.
    Laughs out loud at SKI (indignant Polish wife notwithstanding) and QUARTO (companion of status, indeed) and huge approval for the devices for POTHERB and IN DEEP. An urgh! for UNGREEN: that’s surely just made up.
    Kudos to a setter who can produce both CHILLAXED and SAM BROWNE from his store, and a (sixties? seventies? JET SETTER to boot. Favourite of the year so far.
    *Dam’ (on edit) that was the Sea of Azov. How I do these things with marbles leaving the brain in hordes is (obviously) beyond me.

    Edited at 2014-03-13 09:28 am (UTC)

  8. Thanks glheard. That was a solid puzzle and perfect example of the type that demoralise me. Even with the solution I would have not understood the wordplay on many of them so your blog has been really helpful. SPOKEN, ‘released from trap’. I only just got it.

    Edited at 2014-03-13 09:10 am (UTC)

  9. Brilliant puzzle, one of the best for some time. Hard work all the way through but very rewarding when the solution appears. 25 enjoyable minutes.

    Some of this is very amusing – the Pole ending and “release from trap” for example. Not sure if the military still wear a SAM BROWNE but a common enough sight in my youth.

    Well done George and thank you setter

  10. A,very good puzzle indeed. Ten minutes pondering the SW took me just over my 30 minute deadline. On a good day would have spotted chimp from the initial C and Sam Browne from the S but got the wrong end of the stick, and indeed the clue, by seeing “minute top” as an item of female clothing. That’ll learn me, as we used to say.
  11. I’m trying to post the Quick blog but it keeps saying ‘no password sent’.

    What am I doing wrong?

    Update: Seems to be sorted and I have posted the blog!

    Edited at 2014-03-13 10:03 am (UTC)

  12. Excellent puzzle. I was another who was led astray by GREAT FIRE before recalling my advice to myself from earlier in the week about answers you can’t justify probably being wrong (I never got close to convincing myself that “reat” might well be an obscure middle English word meaning “smell”). Pretty much every clue requiring proper thought, and several satisfying drops of the penny (pre- or post-decimal).
  13. 18 mins. I started off slowly but picked up pace considerably towards the end because there were plenty of helpful checkers. I agree that some of the definitions were both cunningly disguised and very amusing, my favourite combination. Having said that, I didn’t bother to parse ST JOHN or ARAL SEA because once a few checkers were in place those answers became obvious, and I also couldn’t parse SKI but I really should have done. I didn’t know URETHANE but it was the most likely answer from the anagram fodder. EILEEN was my LOI.
    1. You consistently post very good Times Andy. Will you be going in for the championships this year?
      1. My times have certainly been improving for the most part, although I am still prone to the occasional clunker or stupid error. I’m not sure about entering the championships, the 400-mile round trip being one of the reasons. I don’t think I have much room for improvement and I’m certainly not in the same class as the real speed merchants like Magoo and Jason. The championships themselves would feel like an exam environment and I’ve never been comfortable in that kind of setting. Having said that, it would be good to meet a few of you face to face, so I may give it some more thought when the qualifying puzzles are published later in the year.
  14. 36m. This is one of the best crosswords I’ve ever done. Perhaps the best. Absolutely superb from start to finish.
    There are too many brilliant clues in here to mention but 21dn is a little miracle.
    Bravissimo!
  15. Well that was fun! I DNF but have enjoyed working through the parsings – pretty tricky stuff (companion of status, big build up, released from trap). Enjoyed Chillaxed which was easy knowing someone involved in freestyle 26across-ing.
    Could I have a quick ask about 21ac? I get that the def =has contracted (and it’s a lake) with parsing of Lake =L divides AS so =ALS and that expanse =AREA but there isn’t an indication that AREA is around ALS. Is this OK as the clue is get-able enough? Some times this blog site seems to pick up on inconsistencies in parsing – so I’m interested to learn why this one is OK.
    1. It’s an &lit. “Has contracted” is the indication to put the AREA around ALS. The definition is the whole thing.
      I had never heard of it, so I had to get this from the wordplay. When I solved it I thought “if the Aral Sea turns out to be a lake that has divided as its expanse has contracted, this might just be the best clue I’ve ever seen”.
      1. Thankyou. These types of clues cause me most trouble but give the most enjoyment when seen. I agree with your little miracle comment above.
  16. Did the top half in about 40 mins then got stuck completely, limped home in just over an hour and a half. Didn’t parse several of them, like Ski, Sam Browne and Aral Sea, so thank you for the blog.

    Great crossword, really enjoyed the challenge.

    On a different matter, Dr. Thud’s really hilarious blogs make mention of six foot/Norfolk. Can someone tell me what this is please? Thanks.

    Nairobi Wallah

    1. I believe it’s a reference to the effects of the inbreeding that the locals (yokels) are alleged to be partial to. Norfolk thus stands to England as Tasmania to Australia. All good fun…
      1. My sister Rose did a Dip.Ed in the 1960s at Homerton College in Cambridge, and she did her teacher training at a small primary school, out in the fens.. she said she stood there in front of her class, on her first morning, and surveyed 40 children who all looked exactly the same, like identical twins… it turned out not a single one of them had ever been out of Norfolk.

        I suspect those days have gone now

        1. Don’t be too sure Jerry

          About 5 years ago I had to talk with some residents of the villages around Bridport on the Jurasic Coast. I met two women who had never been further than Dorchester and who regarded London as the fount of all evil!

  17. 34 min, far too much spent on 27ac, where in a senior moment I got the idea that the enumeration was (4,2), so eventually submitted ANTE UP as only thing to fit checkers. It was only on coming here that I saw where I’d gone wrong. 🙁
    21d COD – I remember that the ARAL SEA was in our school geography book as the world’s largest body of fresh water.
    I recalled GREEK FIRE from a documentary about unsolved ancient mysteries – I think the conclusion was that it was probably something like napalm, but its production remains an undiscovered secret.
  18. I raced through this in well under half an hour, a very quick time for me. Must have been on the right wavelength for once. Still no sign of the quickie in the Irish printed paper, and no reply from the Times in answer to my enquiry. Damn.
  19. 20½ minutes of sheer bliss. A lot of the Js and Ks became helpful checking letters. Yesterday I complained at the lack of cleverly-disguised definitions… this one had some great examples, like smoking pipe and particularly released from trap.

    I panicked at bit at 23 as my mind went blank on book sizes, but I’d (unusually for me) spotted the possibility of a pangram and evoked the law Janie quotes above about considering Q before a U. As it turned out the wordplay was most helpful anyway.

    The only answers I couldn’t parse fully were St. John (I think I was thrown by the Yoda-esque “for one hour”) and tower blick, where I took drag to cover tow which left ER as a performer, and whilst I’ve seen her Maj in her box at the Royal variety Performance, I’ve never seen her on stage juggling or owt. I also hadn’t come acroos yen as a verb (17a).

    Thanks George for the blog, and especially to the setter (and new editor) for a superb puzzle. More like this please. Very hard to choose a favourite clue from such a good bunch, but I’ll go for 28 for “inn date”.

  20. Indeed this was a fine crossword, at the same time a delight for the old hands, and a point in favour of the new Quickie for the more recent converts
    1. Aha. So here you are. And here am I welcoming you with a glass of bubbly.
      1. Wish yo…. , sorry I was younger , Olivia . Thanks for the welcome , and Martin below. The one with the hair is Rosie.

        Edited at 2014-03-13 10:40 pm (UTC)

    2. And welcome from me, too, Barracuda! Nice to put a face to the name! What is the doggy’s name! Oh, the picture of me WAS a painting by Memsahib in the style of Modigliani! I updated my photo in my profile and I see LJ has updated this post as well!

      Edited at 2014-03-13 09:29 pm (UTC)

  21. 40m DNF with the fiendish ARAL SEA seeing me off. Hats off to setter – barely a question mark in sight and some very devious wordplay. And many thanks for the blog – I am sure that a couple of years ago before finding this wonderful site I would have got less than half of this. My COD to 26a for the inventive definitions.
  22. 19:22 here, but I was going fine until I hit a blank in the bottom left hand quarter – probably spent about 7 minutes sorting out the last 4 or 5 clues down there for some reason. Great puzzle though – I agree with all the positive comments above.
  23. Nothing to add but just in case the setter takes a victory lap here. Encore!
  24. One of the best Times puzzles for a while.

    Bravo!

    Edited at 2014-03-13 04:11 pm (UTC)

  25. I would like to know what a “drag performer” is . As Penfold pointed out it’s unlikely to be HRH!
    1. I’m not sure which sense you’re asking in, but it is:
      > In the surface reading: a synonym of drag artist, drag queen
      > In the wordplay: the performer of a drag, a dragger, a tower
        1. Why? I thought it was rather neat.
          Edit: rereading my comment it appears rather abrupt. Apologies, this was not my intention. I’m genuinely curious.
          Welcome, by the way. I gather from comments above that you are the barracuda I recognise from the forum (where I am an occasional lurker and very occasional poster).

          Edited at 2014-03-13 10:47 pm (UTC)

  26. An outstanding crossword – thank you setter. Kudos to anyone who solved this without recourse to aids.

    Glad I wasn’t the only one to find this tough. Had four missing: Eileen, Tower Block, Sam Browne (had not heard of it so looked it up on Google Images – recognise it now) and Spoken.

    Put Gate initially at 12ac which held up getting Joe Public.

  27. Time out of mind but delighted to have negotiated a deliciously tricky route. It reminds me of an epic drive to work I once made through snowy roads in the back of beyond. Got there by the skin of my teeth. If David Cameron does these darned things, which I somehow doubt, he’ll be pleased to see 6 down, a word he’s virtually made his own. I keep looking for the v – can’t believe it isn’t a pangram. An exquisite set of clues.
  28. but had to get chillaxed from word play and a groan for ungreen. 21 minutes of good fun. COD SPOKEN for the amusing def.
  29. First-rate today, with lots of clever, tricky clues. About 40 minutes, spread over four tube rides. Never heard of CHILLAXED and, checking at home now, neither has my dictionary, but it could have been nothing else from the wordplay. Online OD says early 21st century!

    Haven’t seen a SAM BROWNE in the crossword for years – it use to turn up quite often back in the day. Liked SKIPJACK, my penultimate solution: sometimes the words “refuse” “container” just mean a refuse container! Misdirection by not misdirecting! My COD. And IN DEEP another excellent and very tricksy clue. Enjoyed ARAL SEA, GREEK FIRE, HOUSTON and TOWER BLOCK. UNGREEN a tad desperate, but then perfection is not to be found in this world.

    Would have given my LOI, SPOKEN, my COD nomination if not slightly bemused by the vulgarity of the clue. No doubt the censorious Yorkshire neighbours of my childhood would have told the setter to wash his mouth out with soap.

    That said, the best for some time. Thank You, Setter. More please.

    1. This crossword was mental cruelty at its most pleasurable. Not knowing sam browne made that clue very tricky- but didn’t detract from my enjoyment.
    2. CHILLAX is in the Oxford Dictionary of English (the one used on Countdown) but not in the usual sources, at least in my latest editions of them.
  30. About 35 minutes for a very enjoyable puzzle. That said, I failed to parse SKI, ARAL SEA and IN DEEP beyond the definitions, so thanks George for those, and SKI is hilarious. LOI was TOWER BLOCK. PICK UP and SPOKEN are nifty. CHILLAXED also raised a smile just by making its unlikely appearance. Thanks for the blog, which I needed today, and thanks to the setter. Regards.
  31. Pressure of work has put crosswords on the back burner for a while. Pleasantly surprised to complete last Thursday’s offering unaided (‘easy’ said the experts), and all but 4 clues unaided today. I failed to get ‘INUNDATE’, ‘QUARTO’, ‘DAZE’ and ‘SPOKEN’
    Regards
    Andrew K
  32. No accurate timee today as I had a couple of clues revealed to me before I had a chance to start solving, but all complete and parsed without recourse to aids. Certainly wouldn’t have been a stellar time, but enjoyed the challenge.
  33. Everything has been said already. A brilliant puzzle. Took a while but got there in the end. 53 minutes. Ann
  34. Well, I didn’t think this one was especially tough, although it took a couple of drinks before my brain un-knotted enough to spot the retrospectively obvious “TOWER BLOCK” and “SPOKEN”, my NTLOI and LOI respectively.

    Full marks to the setter – nothing underhand and nothing sloppy. I failed to parse “SKI”, and didn’t stop to pick apart “ARAL SEA”. I’d be hard pressed to pick a COD in this one – all were good, though no one clue leapt out at me.

    Re. our blogger’s comment that he’d left his charger at home – I cannot get out of my head the image of a fully armoured knight turning up to battle on foot with the same problem.

    URETHANE (at least in its foamed poly form) would have been topical a couple of weekends ago. It is very hard to believe that evolution has really been worth all the trouble, when faced with a teenager who has squirted builder’s insulating foam up his nose for a bet. If you are ever tempted to try this at home, bear in mind that (a) the foam is designed to expand about 20-fold (b) the nasal areal is (or at least was, in his case) chock full of lots of wafer-thin bones.

    Today’s customers, by contrast, were a dull and predictable lot. However, the fog is closing in so I’m optimistic for the later part of tonight’s shift.

    1. I’m constantly amazed by the things people do to themselves. How much was the bet? Whoever challenged this poor soul (obviously none too bright) should be prosecuted. I’ll bet that was one scenario they didn’t teach you at medical school! As if you didn’t have enough to do . . .
      1. No, it wasn’t part of the syllabus. Oddly, though, there are previous cases of polyurethane foam being used, ah, imaginatively!
  35. DNF, but enjoyed this very much. Got lucky in getting crossers which stimulated some good guesses early on. I never remember skipjack. Thanks setter, and real thanks for a nice blog.
  36. 14:18 for me. I was simply too tired to do this yesterday, so wisely left it until today when I felt I’d enjoy it more. And I did (despite a few hang-ups as usual): a most interesting and enjoyable puzzle.

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