Times 25856 – Features of clerical cut!

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 60 minutes, with pauses

Music: Beethoven, Symphony #2, Monteux/LSO

I made a fine mess of this puzzle, with complicated theories that turned out to be totally wrong. If only I could be sure Monday was supposed to be easy, things would be a lot simpler. Only by erasing all the theories and guessing the answers from the literals was I finally able to finish. So, in the end, it was simple.

Across
1 CLAMP, CLA(M)P, as in a thunderclap.
4 ARROGANCE, anagram of ORANGE CAR.
9 RAP ARTIST, hidden in [ope]RA PART IS T[errible], and not, as I had supposed, an anagram of OPERA PART.
10 EDUCE, reversing the first two letters of DEUCE.
11 UNISON, U.N. IS ON, perhaps a bit of sly political commentary?
12 RAINFALL, anagram of A FAIR around N plus L,L.
14 ADULTERATION, ADUL([mos]T [stat]E [powe]R)ATION. A clever cryptic, but probably not used by 90% of solvers.
17 KEEP GOOD TIME, reverse-cryptic-style expansion of KEEP G&T.
20 ECONOMIC, E + CO(NO)MIC.
21 AENEAS, [c]A[r]E [i]N [r]E[l]A[p]S[e].
23 SCOUR, SC(OU[t])R, the Senior Common Room.
24 CROCKFORD, CROCK + FOR D. I saw this at once from the literal when I erased the wrong letters – thanks to Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers.
25 PLACEMENT, PLACEMEN + T[reasury]. Placemen bring to mind the machinations of Robert Walpole and the Duke of Newcastle.
28 RISKY, [f]RISKY. I admit, I had the momble ‘luffy’, but quickly erased it.
 
Down
1 CAROUSAL, C + AROUSAL.
2 APPLIQUE, A P(PL)IQUE.
3 PAR FOR THE COURSE, PAR[r] FOR THE COURSE, not clever enough to fool most solvers.
4 AKIN, [m]AKIN[g]. I wrote ‘akon’ for reasons unknown, leading to great difficulties before the error was detected.
5 RETRACTION, anagram of INERT ACTOR.
6 GREEN WOODPECKER, GREEN + WOO(D + PECK)ER. The evident answer, but I cannot trace ‘flapper’ as a literal for ‘woodpecker’.
7 NOUGAT, TAG U[sed] ON reversed.
8 EVENLY E(VEN)LY. Archdeacon = ‘Ven’ is an important bit of knowledge for beginners.
13 CROP CIRCLE, C(R)OP + CIRC(L)E. My attempt to use ‘crone’, and my theory that a “policeman’s run” was a cricket allusion, came a cropper.
15 VIPEROUS, VIP(EROU)S, where ‘erou’ is an anagram of Euro. I was not helped by penciling in the enumeration from 16.
16 FEAST DAY, F(E)AST DAY.
18 MESS UP, M[ous]E + PUSS upside down.
19 JOJOBA, J(O JOB)A. I couldn’t remember this, and had to construct it from the cryptic..
22 SOFT, S + OFT, a beginner clue.

51 comments on “Times 25856 – Features of clerical cut!”

  1. Started, like Vinyl, thinking (opera part)*–RAP ARTIST strikes me as an oxymoron. Had no idea what CROCKFORD was, but the wordplay was pretty unambiguous. I also just barely remembered, or thought I did, SCR. I assume that ‘flapper’ simply means that the woodpecker flaps its wings.
  2. Never heard of CROCKFORD or PLACEMEN. The latter was easily got though. The former a bit harder.
    I assume the WOODPECKER is a flapper because it flaps its wings. Makes a change from “singer”, “high flyer”, etc., but stretches the idea a bit far perhaps?
    Also noted an interesting symmetry between the first and last columns of unches.
    1. But what does it all mean? Is “CCL landmark” code for crop circles? Is the setter trying to communicate with us?
            1. Nice spot! Given the occasional overlap between setters and clergymen, maybe we should SCOUR CROCKFORD’s to discover who’s involved?
  3. …finishing with ECONOMIC, and not really getting the G&T clue – or the woody woodpecker one, for that matter.
  4. Was feeling positively Sever-esque as I managed to get all the downs bar one (CROP CIRCLE) on my first pass through, but normal service resumed with the unknown CROCKFORD and long delays on KEEP GOOD TIME, SCOUR and AENEAS (yeah, I know).

    I was scuppered anyway by entering CLASP for 1ac, which was rushed in without parsing because at that point I was still entertaining delusions of adequacy.

  5. Completed most of the top half easily (14ac being the exception, and only had the first word of 6dn) but then got stuck and nodded off. On resumption struggled very slowly through the bottom half.

    Knew CROCKFORD and SCR but not JOJOBA. Was unable to parse ADULTERATION (should have spotted that) and PLACEMENT (because I didn’t know ‘placemen’ and it’s not in the dictionary I consulted at the time, but found it elsewhere now).

    For all that, this was a lively and inventive puzzle that had something of a different feel about it so I wonder if it’s by a setter we have not had too often before.

    Edited at 2014-08-04 05:22 am (UTC)

  6. SCR = Senior Common Room – !

    Surely if they are Dons they would, would they not, gather in an
    SUR = Senior Uncommon Room?
    What is/might be the collective noun for Dons?

    An intelligence?

    horryd

    1. Dons are ten-a-penny these days. A good collective noun would be “plethora.”

      I assume you are aware they are called common rooms because people meet there in common, regardless of how exalted they may be..

  7. Quite liked this one over 17.17, especially 17 (once the penny dropped) both for definition and creative wordplay.
    Can’t see JOJOBA without thinking Billy Connoly;
    “Jojoba? what the f*** is jojoba?!?!?! It’s a Mexican bean. Since when did we start washing our hair with Mexican beans? Who needs jumpin’ hair? Jojoba…back where I come from that was the month before Novemba!!”
    I SO wanted 1d to be CHUGGING, but I suppose my hugging is not sufficiently exciting.
    Not sure I’ve seen “flapper” to indicate abird before, but it’s surely no different from some of the other indicators we get: singer, flier and so on.
    Congratulations to NINA spotters and to the setter for a thereby presumed achievement.

    Edited at 2014-08-04 07:41 am (UTC)

    1. I’m obviously being thick, because I don’t know what the definition in 17ac is. I put it in eventually based on ‘hold G&T’, but it took me 15 of my 35 minutes solving not to come up with something better. Please put me out of my misery!
      I’d query the definition in 13dn: there’s nothing mysterious about crop circles.
        1. Yep, I was just being thick. Thanks. I was fixated on music. I spent the first ten minutes contemplating the clue convinced that ‘always have’ was KEEP. Is it possible to get the wrong end of the stick twice without being right?
  8. 19:41 … As jackkt says, this felt unusual but that probably has something to do with the nina. The more I look at the puzzle the more I admire it.

    I’ve a feeling ‘flapper’ for a bird has prompted cries of foul in the past, but all’s fair in a land where a river can be a flower.

    Loved KEEP GOOD TIME — a clanging penny-drop moment for me.

    Some great surfaces in this one, too, but “Most state power ends in toadying and corruption” really stands out. That’s a humdinger of a clue. Bravo the setter, and thank you vinyl for unscrambling some unusual clues.

  9. In my place of education, SCR stands for Senior Combination Room but it is still the place where Fellows hang out.

    An enjoyable start to the week and congratulations to setter for his achievement, as well as to vinyl for the blog.

  10. 30 mins. I had all but three done in about 16 mins but then ground to a complete halt with the JOJOBA/SCOUR crossers and finally CROCKFORD. There was some fine cluing in this puzzle though, so no complaints.
  11. Zipped through this one in a very cheerful manner, so whoever the setter is, I wish them 250 more puzzles. Like Z, I can’t see the word JOJOBA without hearing it in the voice of Billy Connolly. I’m doing it again now.
  12. Some really good surfaces in this one, though I didn’t know CROCKFORD or PLACEMEN. Vinyl was no doubt thinking of Akon the RAP ARTIST, when he mis-entered 4D.
  13. 12.20 but without 10ac which I discovered I had left as E-U-E when I came here and read the blog. I guess that means disqualification rather than penalty minutes.
  14. Congratulations to the setter for a fine puzzle, if indeed it is his / her 250th. Did all but 3 clues in 15 minutes before time to go out for coffee at the Monday market, then finished the last few (the woodpecker, Crockford, crop circle), more or less instantly when I returned; but the grey cells were probably ticking away subconsciously in the meantime. Parsed all except 14 ac which was not worth the effort.
  15. An enjoyable 9:50 for me although I am sad to report I didn’t spot the landmark Nina. Congratulations to the setter, whoever you are.
  16. All but CROCKFORD which I didn’t know.

    Thanks for the blog vynil1. It explained a couple that I couldn’t parse even though I got the answers.

  17. After struggling through this for almost 2 hours I was left with 24a and still don’t understand the clue or the answer. If some knid soul could enlighten me I would be much obliged.
    1. Crockford has published a list of clergymen for many years: from FOR + D on CROCK (pot).
  18. Would anyone care to enlighten me about the references to unches and NINA and how these might lead to the conclusion about 250 puzzles? This is my debut comment, but I have enjoyed following the blog for some months. Found this puzzle quite enjoyable but, apart from the parsing of adulteration not too difficult. Just on 20 minutes.
    1. Unches = unchecked letters, i.e those which don’t intersect with another answer.

      Nina = a hidden theme of some sort, all is explained here, along with some excellent examples. They are, however, very rarely found in daily Times puzzles, and only on special occasions, such as the retirement of an editor, or, obviously, when a setter reaches a particular landmark.

      Today’s Nina is found by reading the unchecked letters down columns 2 and 15, which read LAND CCL and CCL MARK, so I’d say the guess that this is crossword #250 from the setter is right. He or she might even confirm the suspicion at some point (several of them read the blog, and occasionally offer an anonymous comment).

    2. Unches are unchecked letters; a nina is a word hidden in the unches. Here we have in column 2 LAND CCL and in column 14 CCL MARK. So it’s possible that this is a 250th (CCL) LANDMARK puzzle.
        1. Normally I’m the one who spends so long composing a reply that I find 3 people have answered the question by the time I post 🙂
  19. 31.30. Congratulations setter on the landmark and a neat line in surfaces. (Apart from 12 & 13, to be picky.) Surface is all, as Edgar might have said in the face of his father’s gloom. I suddenly see a number of Shakespearian characters involved with the Times puzzle at critical moments. Polonius could have been using the time well behind the screen. An inability to achieve sub-Severian times could be the hitherto undetected clue to Hamlet’s madness. Etc. I see Falstaff and Iago as the real aces.

    Edited at 2014-08-04 03:36 pm (UTC)

  20. At last I have managed to set up an account and log in to it. Did everything except 14a in about an hour, largely thanks to the two long down clues which fell instantly to mind, so was very pleased. The full parsing of 14a remains a mystery to me even after having read the blog. Thanks for the explanations of UNCH and NINA which saved me some Googling. I really liked EVENLY for some reason.
    1. Hi, suecaro. Welcome to the team.

      The parsing of 14a is

      – Most state power ends, ie the end letters of these words TER

      – in toadying ADULATION

      to give corruption ADULTERATION

      1. You beat me to it. Must learn a) how to type faster (unlikely) and b) key in fewer words. I feel a visit to Laconia coming on, if I can afford it. If.
    2. Yup, it’s one of those clues where the surface is brilliant enough to hide how it actually works. It looks very much like an historian’s famous quote: “All power corrupts” – that sort of thing. As a clue, it works like this: the definition is just the last word, “corruption”. You can ignore the “and”, it’s just filler.
      You then have the ends of the three words mosT statE poweR, placed inside ADULATION, which is a neat synonym for “toadying”. It’s pretty clever stuff, but as Vinyl says “probably not used by 90% of solvers”
      Most people probably got the wordplay through “reverse engineering” – guessing/getting the answer through checking letters then working back through to see how the wordplay works. Whether that makes it a good clue or not is an open question, but for a surface reading like that I would be very forgiving.
  22. Nice puzzle, and a heroic job by vinyl in explaining several of these that certainly eluded me, i.e. SCOUR and CROCKFORD, since I dnk the SCR or the unknown clergy groupie at all. Apparently also a heroic job by Penfold to complete this despite the WA. And, if we are all correct in our surmise, congrats to the setter on the milestone celebrated here, which naturally went right over my head until comments here revealed it. All very neatly done. Regards to all. Oh yeah, about 40 minutes with some difficulty in the bottom half.
  23. Thanks for the careful explanation of 14 across. Although I have been able to work out this type of clue before this one was too complicated for me. Although I finally got the answer from the definition it was ADULATION that I just could not see. Hey ho, I am getting better thanks to this site.
  24. 17:40 (WA)*

    Like others I didn’t know Crockford and Placemen but they seemed plausible enough. Thanks for the explanation for crop circle which I couldn’t parse.

    Nice puzzle, congrats to the setter on the probable setting landmark.

    * Finally I get to use the abbreviation for a wasp attack. I say attack, it more sort of decided it wanted to try my drink so I had to tease it out of there then shoo it away without making it cross.

  25. This was a very fine crossword, one of the best I have solved in recent months. I’m sure this is someones 250th, and a worthy effort it is too for such an auspicious milestone. I wonder how many hours toil it represents?
  26. Found this tough but enjoyable – got most of it out, but could not crack 14ac, 13dn, 24ac or 15dn.

    Favourite was KEEP GOOD TIME – managed to latch on to the logic of this one fairly quickly. Also liked the GREEN WOODPECKER – I’m sure I’ve encountered flapper as an indicator of a feathered friend several times elsewhere, although I cannot cite chapter and verse: most likely in the Sydney Morning Herald cryptic where I have been undergoing my apprenticeship for the last few years…

    Edited at 2014-08-04 09:58 pm (UTC)

  27. 12:04 for me, held up at the end by 16dn (FEAST DAY) and 17ac (KEEP GOOD TIME).

    A most enjoyable puzzle – my compliments and congratulations to the setter. If I had to guess who it is, I’d plump for Don Manley, because of a) the high quality of the clueing, and b) the inclusion of CROCKFORD. Is the mention of “dons” (as in Duck, Pasquale, Quixote, …) in 23ac also a hint?

  28. Just caught up with this after a too busy day yesterday. Thanks for the insight into ninas – I had no idea this crossword went in for this kind of thing. The crossword is obviously a good one which may give me a chance to learn a detail – 25ac – I can’t see why the clue says daughters are rather than daughter is as only one D is required.
    1. Chambers, Online Oxford, and Collins all have d = daughter in genealogies. They also all have m = metre(s), which kind of suggests that if d = daughters plural was correct then they would have had d = daughter(s).

      However I’m then confused by the Online Oxford example (Henry m. Georgina 1957, 1s 2d). Not knowing anything about genealogies, I don’t know if this is saying that Henry and Georgina had 1 son and 2 daughters or first a son and then a daughter – if the former then this muddies the waters, if the latter then maybe using d = daughters is indeed wrong.

  29. Yes, indeed, my 250th Times daily puzzle. If anyone’s still reading this thread, thank you all for your comments.
    But the Don Manley guess wins no prizes!

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