Times 26535 – putting the wind up US?

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I struggled to finish this one, a touch harder than usual I felt, with a couple of words (I confess) I had to go and check out having deduced, or guessed, from the wordplay. The RHS went in easily enough but the SW corner gave me grief for a while; overall around 40 minutes to finish and parse it all.
On reflection, there’s nothing too difficult here except some obscure vocab befitting a Mephisto, and one or two clues – 1a for example – could be candidates for the Hall of Fame.

Across
1 PALEST – Well, least affected by the sun would be the palest. I had this beginning with a S at first, although I didn’t believe it could be SUNNIS, but once the P appeared and the penny dropped, I nodded with appreciation. PALEST(INIANS), half of Middle Easterners.
4 BEFITTED – If you don’t buy off the peg, you go bespoke, and have ‘fittings’; I should know, my Dad was a proper tailor. So you’d BE FITTED. D ‘suited’.
10 STONECHAT – D bird, one most common in crosswords. Once I had the answer biffed I decoded it: STOAT = animal, with CH(eck) after NE(st) all inserted, the (st) being ‘no way’.
11 DONNE – DON = academic, N(otabl)E; D writer. John Donne.
12 AMILDAR – I started with LIMA as a four letter SA capital, and (t)RAD(e) for limitless trade. Reversing both bits in one of several possible ways gave me AMILDAR, which fitted the checkers, and Wiki told me later it was an Indian factory manager or official.
13 RESCUER – RE = on, (CRUSE)* anagram of cruise with the I removed; D one saves. My FOI.
14 LORRE – Flynn perhaps = ERROL, swashbuckling actor, reversed gives you Peter LORRE, a pre-war thespian.
15 OGRESSES – OG = go, over; RESSES = Dresses without D(aughter); D outsize women.
18 INFLATUS – I knew the word FLATUS, perhaps it’s the opposite of this word, but groaned out loud at the construction here. IN FLAT US would be among the Great Plains… D inspiration, breathing in.
20 LUCAN – Not the vanishing Lord, but an ancient Roman poet from the Hispanic end of Nero’s empire; LUC(K) = endless fortune, + AN.
23 INVITER – No VIN involved, it’s our old friend IT = wine, inside INVER(T) for ‘turn up, shortly’; D party organiser, say. Didn’t much like this clue.
25 NEWGATE – NEGATE = deny, insert W(omen), D prison.
26 DYLAN – ‘Primarily’ = first letters of, Do You Like Alternative Names; D a Welsh one (name), as in D Thomas.
27 SOLDIER ON – don’t stop. The parsing here I think is OLDIE the magazine, perhaps a bit of an obscure publication for overseas solvers, inside SR for senior and ON meaning ‘taking regularly’ as in ‘I’m on statins’.
28 ROADSTER – Insert AD (bill) into ROSTER (list); D car.
29 STODGE – S = starchy starter, (DO GET)*: D &lit.

Down
1 PASSABLE – PA’S = secretary’s, SABLE = fur, D likely to win approval.
2 LOOPIER – LOO = toilet, PIER = supporting structure, D not so stable. Potty, perhaps.
3 SPEEDWELL – Today’s plant is made from SPEED = drug, WELL = source. Economicaly clued!
5 ENTERPRISINGLY – ENTER = go in, PLY = work, insert RISING = rebellion; D with a show of resourcefulness.
6 INDUS – Hidden word in W(IND US)USALLY, D flower, river.
7 TONSURE – TON = not, sticking up, SURE = of course; D hair.
8 DREARY – Insert R (builder finally) into (READY)*; D flat.
9 CHARLOTTE RUSSE – HARLOT is your tart, inserted into (CRUST SEE)*; D dessert, one of those with soggy biscuits in lots of creamy calories.
16 SOLO WHIST – SO LOW = very depressed, HIS = fellow’s, T = little time; D card game.
17 INTERNEE – IN, TERN (bird), EE (empty EdificE); D person held.
19 NOVELLA – NO VILLA would be a lack of holiday accommodation, amend the I in villa to an E (dirE, replaces one); D little work.
21 CHARRED – D burnt, sounds like chard, the vegetable.
22 BINDER – RED (embarrassed-looking), NIB (writer), all reversed; D folder.
24 TONUS – TO NUS = interpreted by students; D tension. Not a word I knew but it’s common medical parlance for muscle tone.

62 comments on “Times 26535 – putting the wind up US?”

  2. 11：22 for me, helped by knowing all the vocabulary.

    I can’t say I enjoyed it all that much (not much humour). However, as Casablanca is probably my favourite film of all time, I did like the LORRE clue, which I don’t recall coming across before).

  3. A very DNF today – not enough time or energy. Managed SE corner and not much else. Thanks for/to the blog though I was able to spend a few minutes appreciating some fine cluing and one or two very obscure words. 🙂

    Edited at 2016-10-05 11:07 pm (UTC)

  4. Will someone please put me out of my misery. Why is “the Great Plains” “flat” (in the singular too!)? (It’s good to be able to say “Why is the Great Plains”!)
    1. It’s a very clunky clue for the required definition of INSPIRATION. The whole phrase “Among the great plains?” is interpreted as “In flat us?” ie we are in the flat, we are among the great plains. I couldn’t see it until Pip pointed it out in the blog.

      Edited at 2016-10-06 09:03 am (UTC)

      1. I understand the explanation but don’t get the mechanics of the clue. “Inspiration among plains” I can just about see (but don’t like), but not “among the Great Plains”. I was surprised there wasn’t more discussion of this in the blog.
        1. I parsed it slightly differently, with US capitalised. My understanding is that the Great Plains (proper noun) is an area of USA, basically all the bits between the Mississippi and the Rockies. So you’re in flat US when you’re in the Great Plains.
          Very hard, and failed on the last TONUS.
          Rob
          1. Aha – yes I see now. Thanks. (Didn’t know anyone looked at the blog after all this time!)
  5. PS can someone tell me why “Interstate” is appearing as the subject of every post I make – I put Inflatus in the “Subject” box. Thanks
  7. The amildar was under a lot of tonus at being unable to complete the crossword but then inflatus -and relief- arrived with the application of a cold compress infused with essence of speedwell.

    Edited at 2016-10-06 11:05 am (UTC)

  8. DNF today, outfoxed by the SW corner – INVITER, ROADSTER, BINDER and TONUS. On reflection, BINDER was the only one I was cross not get. Too many obscure words today – AMILDAR, INFLATUS, TONUS and one rather weird one INVITER (well, I ask you …)

    I expect to reach for Chambers when doing the Spectator, but not The Times, which I always insist (to myself) should be within the reach of reasonably well-rounded person, without resource to aids or even subsequent dictionary look-ups.

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