Times 26377 – Though I Dream in Vain

Author   ulacaPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Some bridge, some baseball, some golf, but not a cricketing clue in sight. Thank the Lord for small mercies, then, after watching England just a Brathwaite away from Twenty20 glory. Sometimes I wonder why I still put myself through the torture of watching the national side. What next? Out on penalties at Euro 2016?

Some old favourites here, in what will turn out for many I suspect to be a Jimboesque 24 in the park. 29 minutes.

ACROSS

1. BALLPLAYER – BALL + PLAYER; one for our trans-Atlantic cousins.
6. ARCH – [m]ARCH; see ‘knowing’, think FLY or ARCH.
8. THANK YOU – HANKY in TOU (OUT with the T brought forward); the literal is ‘gift’, which seemed a little odd while solving and seems so still after scanning the dictionaries and applying the little grey cells. Chambers has – under ‘thankyou’ – ‘an instance of thanking someone, or anything that expresses thanks or gratitude, especially a gift’, but I can’t think of anything that quite fits the bill. Others, I am confident, may…
9. FRUGAL – RUG in FAL.
10. EASY – [qu]EASY. When our love was new and each kiss an inspiration?
11. LIE IN STATE – ‘wait for dispatch’; I don’t think this is quite as good as it might be, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. Anyway, it’s LIE IN (‘lazy morning’, as in ‘I had a lie-in on Sunday’ – is that part of the problem, that we need a hyphen?) + STATE (‘official’, as in ‘state business’).
12. CONTUSION – ‘activity of bruisers’ (Chambers again to the rescue definition-wise, having ‘the act of bruising or the state of being bruised’); anagram* of COST UNION.
14. MOURN – MO(U)RN. Now my consolation is in the stardust of a song.
17. PSEUD – P + DUES reversed.
19. IMPRUDENT – IMP(R)UDENT.
22. PUSH-BUTTON – ‘one might ring time?’; PUB NOT SHUT*. Another quirky definition, I reckon, so quirky in fact that I can’t see it. A telephone – that rings – might have push buttons, but I don’t see where the time comes in, unless you have pre-set the button for the speaking clock.
23. AGAR – A + GAR.
24. STROLL – hidden. You wander down the lane and far away…
25. EXCUSE-ME – EXCUSE + ME[n].
26. CRUD – CRUD[e]; crud means nonsense as well as gunge.
27. PRESENT-DAY – double definition. And now the purple dusk of twilight time…

DOWN

1. BUTTERCUP – BUTTER UP around C[alyx]; found in the meadows of my heart?
2. LIAISON – AIL reversed + I + SON.
3. LOYALIST – TO A SILLY*.
4. YOU’VE GOT ME THERE – or [drum roll] YOU’VE GOT [the] MET[ropolitan Opera] HERE.
5. REFUND – RED around FUN.
6. ADULTHOOD – a sort of double definition, which doesn’t quite work for me, as both parts of the definition rely on the same sense of ADULT. Would the clue not work better as a simple cryptic definition, ‘What young gangster grows to?’
7. CHATTER – C + HATTER. Paul the Genius on my quiz team is constantly reminding everyone who will listen (which considerably narrows the field) that Carroll’s creation was called the Hatter, not the Mad Hatter.
13. TOUCHWOOD – ‘kindling’; TOUCH (‘brush’) + W (‘with’) + O (‘old’) + DO (‘trick’) reversed.
15. NOTORIETY – “NO TORIE[s]!” + T[on]Y. A nice even-handed swipe at those who devote their energies to climbing the greasy political pole.
16. GRENACHE – ‘grape variety’ (a write-in for one Sunday blogger, but my last in); RANGE* + CHE. Growing beside a garden wall?
18. SPUTTER – S + PUTTER. Go on, hands up who had ‘scatter’ first?
20. EGGHEAD – HEED + GAG*. Another Agar Man.
21. PULL-UP – a palindromic jerk?

And here’s Nat King Cole with the great Carmichael/Parish number.

Or perhaps you prefer the Velvet Fog?

55 comments on “Times 26377 – Though I Dream in Vain”

  1. An extremely rare sub-10 for me, felt like Carlos Brathwaite just lining them up and smashing them out of the park.

    Agree with the esteemed blogger’s question marks over one or two of the clues, but I’m not complaining as I didn’t stop to ponder them at the time of solving.

    Turning out to be a delightful Monday. Thanks setter (can I call you Ben?) and Ulaca.

    1. Hmmm, just looked up my only previous weekday sub-10. First Monday in April last year, blogged by Ulaca.

      Cue the Twilight Zone music.

      1. Clearly I am the Stokes length ball to your Brathwaite full swing of the bat.
  2. … than I expected. Thought the MET clue was very good (4dn). But the “think of something this could be” (no matter how obscure) device was taken a bit far. E.g., the Labour slogan (15dn) and the lazy morning official (11ac). So one of those puzzles where you get it or you don’t. Took quite a while and needed crossing letters to finish with 18dn and 26ac. (Tried to justify STUTTER for the former — well, it fits the def.)

    Ulaca: at 20dn you need “heed” in the fodder; and a slight change of answer at 26ac. Must say I enjoyed the very silly cricket match last night.

  3. I flung in ‘granache’ without a second thought, and indeed it wasn’t until I came here that I realized what was wrong. Oh, well. No problem with THANK YOU; ‘This is just a little ‘thank you’ for your help last week’ or whatever–not that I’d say that, but still. CRUD (not CRUDE, Ulaca) was my LOI, after one of my typically sloppy alphabet runs; the ‘nonsense’ meaning was a very long time coming. 4d suddenly came to me from a couple of checkers, I don’t know why; my COD.
  4. 30 minutes but seemed longer so I was pleased to discover I had hit my target.

    I also looked twice at THANK YOU for “gift” but I had no problem with 22ac as it’s not unknown for pubs to have a doorbell-type electric bell-push or buzzer to ring at closing time. The enumeration at 11ac is correct for “wait for despatch” which I took to be the main definition, and the absence of a hyphen that might be needed in the subsidiary wordplay seems fair enough as one can’t have both. I liked 4d

    Edited at 2016-04-04 05:26 am (UTC)

  5. Kevin’s mention of 16dn reminds me I intended to have my usual moan about unfamiliar foreign words being clued as anagrams. I got GRENACHE correct but it was still a 50/50 guess.
    1. I was wondering as I wrote it in what the definition had to do with chocolate…
    2. It may or may not be familiar, but GRENACHE is the English word for this grape. It’s borrowed from French of course but pretty much all of our names for grape varieties come from either French or German.
  6. 20 minutes, so a sort of opposite experience to Galspray, Brathwaite playing and missing at everything the imperious Stokes threw down in an alternate universe where England won. PULL-UP puzzled me because I didn’t see the palindrome. My first stab at SPUTTER was spirted, though how the wordplay worked I’ve no idea. “Having come out” suggested a past tense. I knew 4 had to have MET in it somewhere, but not when convinced it started “you’re not…”. Everything else missing the point by enough to slow progress to nothing much. Just being dense, I suppose.
  7. Straight through in 22 this morning, had to listen to the cricket on the radio. Similar thoughts re THANK YOU and LIE IN STATE. Maybe we can start referring to a gift ball as a ‘thank you’?
    1. Stokes he bowl dem gif balls
      Taank you, taank you.

      Brathwaite he love bif dem balls
      Taank you, taank you…

  8. … and that One Error was SPUTTER, where I had scutter: S (spades) + C (clubs) + UTTER (come out, speak); def: to move hurriedly with small steps in bursts! Oops.
  9. Crud’s never meant nonsense in my life, and a ballplayer has always been a tricky inside-forward. That’s my excuse for a Monday 35 minutes, plus all the daydreaming wondering what would have happened if Morgan had tossed the ball to Root for that last over. I liked you’ve got me there and notoriety.
  10. About 12 minutes, no quibbles, and a groan for 4d, once the penny dropped. As a member of the LC society I applauded Ulaca’s comment on the (not mad) Hatter.
    Am in SAD mode after Southampton losing, Stokes screwing up (let’s face it, he did), and Stenson losing in Houston to an unknown journeyman.
  11. 13:26 … vaguely discombobulated by a few of these and I clicked submit with fingers crossed. Enjoyed the ‘adult hood’ gag, though I think we’ve seen it before.

    Nice time, Galspray. This grumpy old test match purist did relent for once and watch yesterday’s T20. Astonishing hitting, but why they don’t just stop pretending and use Flintstones-style clubs? Brathwaite’s leading edge for six over long off rather summed it up. I was going to describe it as “baseball on steroids” until I remembered that professional baseball usually is on steroids.

  12. About 7 minutes here, even on the wrong laptop, so I guess that qualifies as a stroll. I would agree that there was a lot in this puzzle – even if I wouldn’t go so far as to say of any of it “it doesn’t work” – to generate a sense of vague unease.

    19ac seems to have entered the realms of the hackneyed (aka E8, I guess) as a clue, certainly I felt a great sense of deja vu about it… our esteemed blogger couldn’t find anything interesting to say of it, I note!

    Edited at 2016-04-04 09:50 am (UTC)

  13. About 35 minutes for me with the SW corner being the last part to fall. Unusually for me the plant at 1d was the FOI (usually I see anything floral in the clue and I move on). I liked PSEUD (unusual word)and like z8 above, slowed myself down by working on ‘you’re not my something’ at 4d. Also had PUSH UP initially, until I looked for the palindrome.
  14. I was wondering if that was the one that tripped people up because it nearly got me. The chocolate thingy is “ganache” and the only reason I know it at all is that one Christmas I got ambitious and made truffles for Santa to put in the stockings – and I was sure it had an R in it. 10.30
    1. Just to confuse things further if you buy a Spanish wine made from this grape it will be called GARNACHA.
  15. At least Stokes did not bowl underarm although why he thought that full-tosses were a good idea is a complete unknown.
    My time for this 18:58 was exactly double my time for the Fiendish Sudoku 9.29. Cue more Twilight Zone music.
    I do not see PUSH-BUTTON at all.
  16. Last night saw both T20s (BRATHWAITE 24 STOKES 0) – Leicester demolish Sarfampton – United trounce the Toffees 1-0 and the F1 where Vettel failed to show up.

    Around 40 minutes due to all that and my print button failing and having to do it on screen (well that’s my excuse!). I much prefer pen on paper.Wouldn’t dream of using a pencil which I note is even available on line!

    4dn YOU’VE GOT ME THERE! Dear me! – silly clue LOI.

    COD 21dn PULL-UP silly but kinda fun.

    horryd Shanghai

  17. Oh the fun a cricket loving compiler could have had here. An antelope clue for “steenboks” perhaps running from the lions. Or “some llamas run” for a not out batsman. 18d missed a wonderful opportunity of something like “record under spades for fielder’s outburst” (no doubt the pros here can come up with a better clue for sledger). All done in about 30 minutes delayed in SW where I couldn’t get “arse” (as part of “coarse”) out of my mind. Must have been thinking of either Ben Stokes or Marlon Samuels too much. Well done Windies for taking the cup from the normals and having some passion.
  18. Well, bless my very. Zipped through this one in a very fast (for me) 20 minutes.

    Enjoyable puzzle. Nothing leapt out at me as a COD, though I enjoyed 4d. Like some others, I puzzled over THANK YOU, but eventually decided that you could give someone a thank-you, so that was alright. My only regret is that I now have nothing to occupy me for the rest of the day, unless you count my job.

  19. 23 minutes.Very straightforward, though I caused myself some problems in the SW corner by reversing the E and U of PSEUD. I liked 11a, but thought 27a little weak, and 6d doesn’t really work for me at all since the cryptic seems pretty meaningless. I’m with the blogger on that one.
    1. Can you explain the definition? No-one else seems to object to it so I feel like I must be missing something obvious.
      1. I think it’s just that someone lying in state is doing so pending their burial/cremation, ie ‘dispatch’.
      2. I took it to be ‘wait for despatch’ to the final resting place (burial, cremation, whatever).
        1. Thanks. It still seems weird to me, since ‘dispatch’ (or ‘despatch’) means to kill, or death, and it doesn’t mean ‘burial’ in any conventional sense.
  20. 9:34. Similar experience to galspray, in that most of the slightly odd stuff didn’t bother me while solving because I didn’t really notice it. The exception was LIE IN STATE, which held me up for a couple of minutes at the end trying to come up with something different. The wordplay seemed perfectly clear but I couldn’t (and still can’t) match the answer with the definition. Surely if you’re lying in state you’ve been dispatched already?

    Edited at 2016-04-04 11:15 am (UTC)

  22. Even though I wasn’t in work today I still managed to take the knock mid-solve. I found this on the easyish side and would like to think I’d have taken around the 10 min mark if I hadn’t been drifting off, but as it was I took 19. I agree with those who think the puzzle had an element of quirkiness, and I finished in the SW with CRUD after SPUTTER.
  23. A quick 20 minutes(PB territory for me) after returning from Coll in the Hebrides(which has occasionally turned up in the puzzle) to my first Times crossword for a week. I thought this was on the easy side although I agree that some definitions were a bit qwirky. FOI EASY followed by BUTTERCUP and LOI EXCUSE ME. Took me a while to justify LIE IN STATE, but I don’t have an issue with it.
  25. Quick solve, around 12 minutes (quick for me, that is). I agree some of the definitions were weird, but they apparently didn’t hinder the solving. CRUD can mean anything bad, I suppose, so ‘nonsense’ fits right in, though it’s not one of the first 10 or 20 words I’d think of for the definition. Anyway, regards.
  26. This time really an easy puzzle with a good time for me of 36 minutes, but DNF, since after catching my error in STUTTER and changing it to SPUTTER, and after wondering whether FAL really is a river (in FRUGAL) I didn’t catch my misspelling in NOTARIETY (despite being puzzled by the wordplay — NOTORIETY does make much better sense for both functions in the clue). Oh well, there’s always a tomorrow.

    Edited at 2016-04-04 07:18 pm (UTC)

    1. Hello, blithespirit and welcome.

      ARCH
      The definition is “knowing” as explained in ulaca’s blog.

      The wordplay is “parade” = MARCH, and “millions must be lost” tells us to remove the M.

      Don’t apologise for asking. That’s what we’re here for!

      Edited at 2016-04-04 07:41 pm (UTC)

  27. A clean sweep in 6:58 for me, so not a bad start to the week.

    Despite my ignorance of foodie (and drinkie) matters, I bunged in GRENACHE without a care, but then had a ghastly moment after I’d clicked on “Submit” wondering if the word was actually GRANECHE. (I suspect I was more influenced by the Indian god rather than the confectionery, but “Phew!” in any case.)

    I share keriothe’s doubts about LIE IN STATE. As far as I can establish, “dispatch” always refers to killing rather than burial (or other means of disposal).

  28. I don’t want to get a baseball:cricket battle started here because they are both excellent games. 2of the 5 most excellent games in the Universe. But I think we have to give baseball a pass today, as yesterday and today are Opening Days. (Golf, Association Football, and Men’s Lacrosse)
    1. I certainly wasn’t trying to start a war! I’m starting to see all the major professional sports in a similar, somewhat jaundiced light now. They’re great entertainment, but a lot less admirable than they once were. Neverending sacks of gold will, I guess, do that.
      1. On the contrary, apologies here, Sotira, as I didn’t mean to suggest anything untoward about your comments – which are sadly correct. (For the record, I’m with you on Test vs 20-20, too).

        I did want to get in a plug for Opening Day. Right up ther with the Queen’s Birthday as an emotionally excellent but otherwise meaningless calendar event. (And I didn’t want to open the floodgate of Rounders, “World” Championship, and similar snide comments).

        Edited at 2016-04-05 01:53 pm (UTC)

        1. Never fear: my um was definitely not bridged.

          In fact I was worried that I had been unnecessarily mean about baseball, and to learn that I had done so on Opening Day? Unforgivable!!

          I am mostly ignorant of baseball but once in a while tune in to a commentary (radio), just for the lovely rhythms of it. Test cricket and baseball have that common: they’re better on the wireless.

  29. Quick solve here, too. Agree with all the comments regarding the mix. – some very nice; one or two a bit too stretched.
  30. The primary sense is ‘send off’, so I think the definition part of the clue is fine.
    1. If the idea is just that someone lying in state is ‘waiting to be sent off’ somewhere else then I think it’s poor. To call it loose would be generous.

      Edited at 2016-04-05 09:26 am (UTC)

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