Times 26344 – one for the birds

Author   glhPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time : 11:53, but the club timer told me I had an incorrect entry. I went back through the grid and didn’t see any typos, so I looked up the one answer I guessed through wordplay. Sure enough, the wordplay guess was close, but no cigar!

A few unusual words today, and one where there are a few alternative spellings that would fit the checking letters, so I have a feeling I won’t be the only one with one incorrect entry.

Away we go…

Across
1 CAMBRIAN: CAM(eccentric), BRIAN(chap). Got this from the definition, had to look up CAM later to verrify irregular/eccentric
6 GALLOP: G(oing),A(way) then POLL reversed
9 DAIL: DAILY missing the last letter, Irish legislature. Apologies for omitting this initially
10 BONDI BEACH: BOND(agent), 1, B(oosting), EACH
11 CHANGEABLE: CHANGE, then B in ALE
13 BYRD: or BY RD
14 REVENGER: V in (GREENER)*
16 ENDIVE: I’VE after END
18 A,TRIAL
20 TREE FERN: REEFER in T(his), N
22 ER,GO
24 CHANDELIER: HANDEL,I in CE, then R
26 MINISERIES: MISERIES(people who moan) around IN
28 AFRO: A(dhered) and then FRO(opposite of TO)
29 SOUGHT: sounds like SORT(type)
30 PROTEGEE: PE,(nurs)E containing ROT,EG
 
Down
2 ABASHMENT: A(bou)T containing BASH,MEN
3 BALANCE: double definition
4 IMBUE: I.E. surrounding M.B., U
5 NAN: N(name), A, N. Can be spelled with one or two A’s, feel free to squeeze two into the middle cell
6 GUINEVERE: EVER in GUINE(a) – potential trap for those not watching the wordplay
7 LIE-ABED: LIED surrounding A, B and E which could be musical keys
8 OSCAR: OS(large), CAR(estate). A touch of definition by example, indicated by the question mark but obvious from the definition
12 BIRETTA: (RAT,BITE)*
15 GOLDCREST: This was my downfall, thinking it was two different words for breather separated by C, I entered GILLCREST. There is a breather (REST) under C(cape), but it’s GOLD(or) above
17 VERTEBRAE: VERT,BRAE containing the third letter of PREHISTORIC
19 IRONING: I, RING(group) containing ON
21 FOLIAGE: F(eeling), O(verwhelmed) then E, GAIL reversed
23 RHINO: RHO containing IN
25 DISCO: hidden in leaD IS COnservative
27 IMP: I then PM(leader) reversed

52 comments on “Times 26344 – one for the birds”

  1. Although I felt I was on the setter’s wavelength today, I could see all those Es and Is building up in the answer to 26ac and so approached it (as my final unsolved clue) with extreme trepidation, particularly as I’d blown a half-decent time yesterday. But to my amazement I spotted MINISERIES comparatively quickly and so finished in a respectable 7:22 (admittedly a lot slower than Magoo, but at least faster than that verlaine :-).

    I have happy memories of singing Byrd motets in my college’s chapel choir, so no problem with 13ac.

  2. I’m a regular quick cryptic solver as I have found the main puzzle in the past to be very challenging indeed – often lucky to solve any clues at all. But today I had a late night go at this one and, working slowly and steadily, found it a very straightforward solve in 50 minutes! I can’t quite believe it. All this QC work must be paying off!
    1. Congratulations, pearlygait! We have all fought our way through the foothills before getting nearer to the summit.
  3. Actually BYRD turned up in 26330 (9 February) clued that time as ‘sacred musician’ on account of all the church music he wrote. Regards.
  4. A goldcrest is not phylogenetically a warbler according to wiki, so I was put off initially entering this answer until I came to realise that the definition was not specific.
  5. I’m a few weeks behind in my solving and wanted to check the explanations for 1181 on Saturday December 12th. Did the solution get published? I can’t find it in the archives.
    Thanks,
    DB
  6. But it is a homophone. Maybe not for Americans, but you speak a different language to that which the crossword is written in.

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