Times 25893 – Memories of Stackton Tressel

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I took 40 minutes to complete this very lively puzzle. I think 17ac may cause some trouble in some quarters but I got the reference straight away and I’m a fan of the act in question so I enjoyed it.  I’ve not explained every last detail, so if there are any questions I shall be pleased to deal with them later if somebody else doesn’t get in first.

Curly brackets indicate deletions

Across
1 BABY-BOOMER – BABY (address for beloved), BOOMER (skipper – i.e. kangaroo)
6 CAST – AS (when) inside CT (court)
8 ABATTOIR – Anagram of BOAR AT IT
9 GRANNY – Apart from being an old(er) lady, granny is a type of knot, which sounds like “not” when spoken or “related”
10 GALA – GALA{had} (knight – one of King Arthur’s)
11 STIRRUP CUP – Cryptic definition. This is drunk at the “meet” when hounds and people gather prior to a hunt.
12 SCRUMMAGE – SC (scene), RUMMAGE (rifle)
14 AGENT – GEN (information) inside AT (engaged in)
17 EVADE – EVAD{n}E. I expect some of our overseas solvers (and possibly some of the native ones) will be mystified by this. Dr Evadne Hinge is the fictional persona of George Logan, one half of the performing duo Hinge & Bracket, a drag act who delighted audiences for some three decades from 1972 onwards with their fine music and catty repartee. Patrick Fyffe aka Dame Hilda Bracket died in 2002 but George is still around, so this borders on the inclusion of a living person.
19 PIROUETTE – ROUÉ (debauchee) + TT (on the wagon – teetotal) inside PIE (maybe shepherd’s)
22 OVERCOOKED – 0 (duck), VER{y} then OK (approved) inside COED (school)
23 OBOE – OB (Russian river – one I’d not heard of), O{n}E
24 ALCOVE – CO (business) + V (against) inside ALE (beer)
25 ESPRESSO – E (English) then PRESS (papers) inside SO{ft}
26 DIET – DIE (long), {parliamen}T
27 DISAPPROVE – Anagram of SAID, PP (very quietly), anagram of OVER

Down
1 BEAU GESTE – {h}UGE inside BEAST (animal), E (energy). This can be defined as a gracious but usually meaningless gesture.
2 BRAWLER – W (with) inside anagram of BARREL
3 OPOSSUMS – OP (work), OS (very big), SUMS (quantities)
4 MORNING SICKNESS – Anagram of CONGRESS IN MINSK
5 REGARD – RAGE reversed inside RD (road)
6 CHAMPAGNE – Sounds like “sham” (false), “pain” (bore)
7 SUNBURN – UN (A in French) + BURNS (poet) with the S moved to the front
13 UNDERFOOT – Cryptic definition. The Labour Party was led by Michael Foot from 1980-1983
15 THEREFORE – {h}EREFOR{d} (cattle) inside THE (article)
16 SOLD A PUP – S (small), OLD (antique), A, P (penny), UP (dearer)
18 VIVALDI – VI (six #1), then A (area) L{or}D inside VI (six #2)
20 TABASCO – A inside TAB’S (bill’s), CO (commanding officer)
21 DOG-END – DO (cook), G (good), END (part)

47 comments on “Times 25893 – Memories of Stackton Tressel”

  1. Much to chew over this morning. GRANNY and EVADE, I agree, were hard to get until the checking letters were in. So 5dn and 9ac were last in. Thanks for the very clear set of solutions Jack.

    On edit: though there is a V missing from 24ac: against.

    Edited at 2014-09-16 06:35 am (UTC)

  2. I have to say I’m not fond of the Guardianesque Hinge and Bracket clue – almost as unfond of it as I was of them. Some good stuff elsewhere, including MORNING SICKNESS (well hidden anagram), UNDERFOOT (where I had ‘underdogs’ for a while) and GRANNY.
  3. But with some interruptions, so probably more like 43:59.

    GRANNY unparsed, so thanks Jack. Never heard of a STIRRUP CUP, but the checkers didn’t leave much of a choice.

    And I’ll be the first to ‘fess up that I only knew TABASCO as the sauce, not the state.

  4. The Groan Prize puzzle (26,364) is worth the price of admission — free! NB: the date of the puzzle when downloading.
  5. Around an hour for a pretty tricky one where a lot went in with fingers crossed. Many thanks to Jackkt for explaining everything so lucidly.
    What does it say about me that EVADE was my first one in?
    Was anyone else temporarily confused by 24 having the wrong number of letters cited (in both paper and on-line versions)?
    Knew about Beau Geste from the film, but not as an expression for a futile act.
    1. For me too. The puzzle was hardly off the printer!

      I’m afraid I didn’t even notice the incorrect enumeration. This is becoming far too common an event these days.

      Edited at 2014-09-16 08:44 am (UTC)

  6. Thought this was a fun puzzle with the highlight the anagram at 4D, though I see from the web that it has appeared before in the Indy and also the Daily Mail. Can’t recall seeing OB (river) and SC (scene) in puzzles before. The only thing I can remember about Hinge and Bracket is their stage names, though “Give slip to” with E???? was always likely to be EVADE or elude.
  7. 15.39, might have been quicker on paper when I tend not to put the first letter in the second space. I had VVIVALI for too long before I spotted it.
    You certainly needed a touch of nostalgia (and the means to be infected by it) to do this with understanding. Mind you, I find I have a completely false memory of the dear ladies from my early childhood – they weren’t around until 1972.
    My son was born precisely in the age of Thatcher, and wondered aloud whether the Prime Minister always had to be a woman, so I pondered longer over UNDERFOOT than I should have done. Foot “donkey jacket” and all, somehow feels more recent than that.
    Add me to the list of those who didn’t realise TABASCO sauce had to be named after somewhere, probably because I’ve never felt the need to ask the question before. I note from research that the state and the sauce appear to have absolutely no other connection.
    4d for Cod, a well presented anagram which, however briefly, had me racking my brains fro the outcome of the Congress of Minsk. Almost incredibly, there have been several: the one in 1898 founded the Russian Social Democratic Party. We do the research so you don’t have to.

  8. Again I cheered when 1ac went straight in, but again I couldn’t manage to finish this one: an hour for all but GALA (should have persevered with that one) and BEAU GESTE (more tricky since I’d not heard of the futile gesture bit), and one wrong: top END at 21dn.

    Unknown gk: Evadne the entertainer, Tabasco the state, and Ob the river.

    cod: GRANNY for the ‘not related’ bit.

  9. Well blogged Jack – a tricky little number. I would have found it impossible to resist making some references to the Scttish situation – and there are some good opportunities here – so just as well it was you and not me!

    I’m thinking that “burn” at 22A is a DBE because OVERCOOKED does not cover simply burning. I liked 4D (even though not original) and 16D. Didn’t remember the River Ob and had not a clue who Dr Hinge is/was but EV.D. didn’t leave much room for doubt

      1. Thanks Mike – taken at a tea dance we organised for a 90 year old guy who still loves to tango!!
      2. Agree, re spiffy hat. I’m jealous. Violet, pictured, is also jealous.

        Edited at 2014-09-17 02:59 am (UTC)

  10. An OK puzzle but completely spoiled for me by the sudden switch in the iPad app to the dreaded Sunday Times keyboard. Then throw in the fact that it will not let you type in the V of ALCOVE and my day has started grumpily.
  11. 15 mins. EVADE was also my FOI. GRANNY was my LOI with a shrug although in retrospect I’m quite embarrassed that I didn’t see the “not related” homophone indicator. I had trouble in the NW where it took me a while to see GALA, SCRUMMAGE and BEAU GESTE.

    I’ve been waiting for ages for the Ob to turn up in a puzzle. I’ve always been of the opinion that it seems such a shame to give the seventh longest river in the world so dull a name.

    1. Have to disagree – a dead cool name. Anyone else learn the mnemonic “A Volga, Irtysh (Y)ob swimming in the Yenisei”?
        1. Some of the major rivers in the old USSR (as it was when I learned it) going from west to east.

          The other mnemonic I remember gives the Duke of Marlborough’s victories in the War of the Spanish Succession in order (I’ve only seen Blenheim in a crossword but who knows?): BROM (Blenheim. Ramillies, Ouidenarde and Malplaquet).

  12. 34.14 with a few of those on the last two, beau geste and gala. I wonder how many remember the first from the book not the film. Don’t think much of having to know Hinge’s first name (though Endeavour for Morse may have been used and may or may not just cut it. Two great names anyway). I hope Kate doesn’t do the Times crossword. If only…
  13. Thanks for giving explanations for the numerous clues which foxed me. However, I think a better explanation of 15D might be the definition in the tail of the clue, “as a result”. The parsing offered doesn’t appear to have the right number of letters.
    2. Thank you for your comment which would be better received if you identified yourself in some way – a made-up name would do nicely but you could create a Live Journal account free of charge, and that would allow you to edit erroneous statements such as the one about the incorrect number of letters.

      The parsing offered doesn’t actually specify a definition as, unlike with the Quick Cryptic puzzle where beginners are catered for, this blog doesn’t set out to provide exhaustive explanations of every detail of clues. A certain amount of expertise is taken for granted although bloggers and regular contributors are always happy to provide further explanations upon request. I even emphasised this point in my intro today.

      But as you have correctly identified, the definition in this clue is “as a result”.

      Edited at 2014-09-16 09:32 am (UTC)

  14. Just under half an hour for this witty and enjoyable puzzle. Thought 4 dn very clever. Include me among those who didn’t spot the significance of “related” in 9 ac, so thanks for explaining that, Jack. Had also forgotten (or never knew) that a boomer was a kangaroo; thought that, after the appearance of 1970s character Dr Evadne Hinge, this might have been a reference to Lieutenant Boomer of Battlestar Galactica from the same period. (Clutching at straws really, I don’t think he was ever skipper; but it did set me looking for a 1970s nina. Unfortunately, the closest I got to ABBA was abattoir!)
    1. I would refer to you to the Aussie Christmas song Six White Boomers but, well, you see, there are some artists best not mentioned these days.
  15. Good and challenging puzzle. MORNING SICKNESS was a cleverly disguised anagram (I’d not met if before). I wasted some time searching dictionaries to try and justify RUSSIAN SICKNESS as an obscure medical condition caused by the sort of congress meant here! I too failed to make the Hinge and Bracket connection, but EVADE was the only possible answer when the E and D were in place. VIVALDI was nice.
  16. 40 minutes for me, the last 10 or so spent on GALA and BEAU GESTE.

    I thought 17A might have something to do with Hinge and Bracket but I would never have got to the parsing.

  17. 35 minutes for a very enjoyable puzzle. Although there were several bits not fully understood I wasn’t held up anywhere. I didn’t know 1dn (LOI) as anything other than a character in the French Foreign Legion, nor did I know the Russian river; I also missed the ‘not related’ in 9, but if I’m sure of an answer I don’t usually waste much time pondering the clue. Very clever. I’m one of those for whom 17 was a giveaway.
  18. 40 minutes, was never a fan of H & B but knew the answer; knew Tabasco was in Mexico (and as pointed out, nothing to do with the sauce); happy about all of it except the annoying 21 dn – toyed between TOE END, TOP END, DOG END, didn’t like any of them much; why is end = part? It’s a long time since I handled a joint but I thought the nasty last bit was called a ‘roach’ not a ‘dog end’. This little clue spoilt for me what was otherwise a fine puzzle.

    Not sure about the hat, Jimbo – is that an Official Tango-ing Hat?

  19. 19 minutes, though had question marks next to EVADE, GRANNY, STIRRUP CUP and OBOE each of which went in from definition (and in the case of STIRRUP CUP that it looked like the onlt thing that would fit). Mix of the very good with the bizarrely obscure.
  20. I couldn’t get 1dn. Speaking French turned out to be no advantage: I wonder if this is one of those ‘French’ expressions that only exists in English, like ‘déjà vu’ or ‘c’est la vie’.
    I had no idea whatsoever about the hinge reference.
    Other than that I found this a bit of a grind, although like bigtone the dreadful Sunday Times interface on the iPad app put me in a grump. I do hope this isn’t a taste of things to come, but on past form it probably is. Why keep something that works reasonably well when you can replace it with something absolutely dreadful?
  22. Hi guys, I have a q. on the clue on GRANNY. Is it kosher? It looks like an indirect homophone for me – a homophone of a synonym of the word to be clued instead of the actual word itself.
    1. Also in the clue for MORNING SICKNESS, is ‘of congress’ on double duty? Or should the clue be interpreted as an &-lit?
      1. The Minsk clue is definitely an &lit: the whole of the clue is the definition, and also the wordplay. For what it’s worth, I think the granny clue passes muster. You could unwrap it as “another word for old lady is (an example of) something that sounds like ‘not'”, though the clever use of “related” throws you off the scent of a soundalike.
  23. I have come up through the ranks of the quick cryptic and almost completed the main today. I was so happy and have to say I half expected to check the blog and find it was the easiest ever but not so. I could never have got to this stage without all the help received from all of you. Enjoying the banter too.

    1. Good going, Edna. It took Mark Goodliffe (the reigning Times Crossword Champion, and currently the fastest of the genuine solvers on the Times Crossword Club leaderboard for this puzzle) more than eight minutes – pretty slow by his standards – so he seems to have found it quite tough. (That’s always assuming he didn’t have to answer a couple of phone calls in the middle of it.)
      1. Thank you for kind words. 14.38 for me. That’s hours and it was just ‘almost’ completed. Mark can rest easy. Off to try today’s.
  24. 10:29 here for a most enjoyable puzzle. My only quibble is with “futile act” as a definition of BEAU GESTE, since I don’t think it conveys the essence of the meaning.
  25. I also enjoyed this puzzle, and did not recognise the style of the setter.
    I’m another who failed to see the significance of ‘related’ in 9a, so got the answer but failed the parsing.
    ‘Evade’ was a shoo in for me, having seen Hinge and Bracket live on two or three occasions. I think that they were an act that was much easier to appreciate in the theatre, rather than on television, radio or record.
    1. Fortunately recordings of some of their Gala evenings survive and are available on DVD. I think this is H&B at their best. Also excellent are their five “At Home With H&B” radio shows which have a high music content.

      I wonder if you saw their “Importance of Being Earnest” around 1980? Sacrilege of course, but wonderfully entertaining. I was reminded of this at the weekend when reading a review of the revival currently in the West End and about to go on tour, also done as a play within a play, also sacrilege, but unlike H&B’s version, not remotely funny according to the critic I read.

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