Times 26727 – Fat chance to win £1,000, but nice enough puzzle.

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
As the second qualifier for this year’s TCC, I expected this to be a moderately easy challenge, and it was. The long ones top and bottom were write-ins and the rest followed in quick time; only 10a caused me to query my logic and as I can’t check for Orl Korrect at the time of writing this, I hope it and the rest are OK. No doubt I’ll soon find out.
On the entry form, which I won’t be submitting as I’m nowhere near Murdoch Towers for the big day, (and wouldn’t come close to the £1,000 anyway),it says “time taken”; I’m sure poeple lie, but it took me an honest 15 minutes.

Across
1 Head in new school term organised rarely seen tourist attraction (4,4,7)
LOCH NESS MONSTER – Insert NESS = head into (N SCHOOL TERM)*, or just write in the answer.
9 Tough line by hospital department (9)
STRINGENT – STRING = line, ENT = hospital dept.
10 English county’s superficial attraction (5)
GLOSS – I thought the abbreviation for Gloucestershire was Gloucs., but if you use Glos, and add ‘s for the possessive, it works. I see there’s now a “University of Gloucestershire” with a domain name glos.ac.uk so I’ll stop mithering on about it.
11 Passionate answer: fine, then unconvincing (6)
AFLAME – A = answer, F = fine, LAME = unconvincing.
12 Vicar a fool to probe church’s deep split (8)
CREVASSE – Insert REV and ASS into CE for Church.
13 State request in the manner of hosts (6)
ALASKA – ASK = request, inside A LA = in the manner of.
15 Alarming fractures on the outside (8)
MARGINAL – (ALARMING)*.
18 Bags packed prepared for this short time off work? (3,5)
TEA BREAK – Cryptic; tea bags are packed to make tea for a tea break, innit.
19 Record stores miss out — being this? (6)
CLOSED – CD for record, insert LOSE for miss out. I could say &lit. but I’m always being told off for saying that when it isn’t.
21 Spooner’s rubbish job making Sunday lunch? (3,5)
POT ROAST – Dr Spooner would say ROT, POST for rubbish, job. Fortunately Dr Spooner was a don at New College so I can disown him.
23 Girl with mini, short and dark (6)
DISMAL – The girl is DI, add SMAL(L).
26 Hand out lots now and again, but not for children (5)
ADULT – Alternate letters of h A n D o U t L o T s.
27 The welcome you can see on grandfather’s face? (4,2,3)
TIME OF DAY – If you give someone the time of day you’re being welcoming; you’d see it on the face of a grandfather clock.
28 Enjoy meal for setters, perhaps, all dressed up (4,1,4,6)
LIKE A DOG’S DINNER – Cryptic def. I looked up the origin of this phrase, and found it along with two others – dog’s breakfast and the dog’s b*ll*cks. Odd that the breakfast is a mess and the dinner is immaculate. The other you know.

Down
1 What’s arranged finale for Maria Callas? (2,5)
LA SCALA – Anagram of A and CALLAS, the A being the finale of MariA.
2 Roughly cut what actor has to sing (5)
CAROL – CA = circa, roughly; ROL(E) = what actor has, cut.
3 On monks unexpectedly meeting queen, one’s dispensed with his habit? (3-6)
NON-SMOKER – (ON MONKS)*, ER = Queen.
4 Drop pipe down on chief journalist (4)
SHED – SH ! = pipe down, ED = journalist.
5 Road to cut across hill, indeed (8)
MOTORWAY – Insert TOR = hill into MOW = cut, add AY! = indeed.
6 Barren territory some have gently sent up (5)
NEGEV – Hidden reversed in HA(VE GEN)TLY. Desert area in Israel.
7 Large numbers, all the same, on posh beach (9)
THOUSANDS – THO = short for though = all the same; U = posh, SANDS = beach.
8 Philosopher to take stock, it’s reported (7)
RUSSELL – Sounds like ‘RUSTLE’ = to take stock, i.e. cattle etc.
14 Easy profit The Deer Hunter might struggle to net? (1,4,4)
A FAST BUCK – Double def, one cryptic.
16 Upset, I behold endless plundering in WWI battle site (9)
GALLIPOLI – All reversed; I, LO = behold, PILLAG(E) = endless plundering.
17 Boy in loud quarrel raised voice (8)
FALSETTO – AL is the boy, inside F (loud) SET TO (quarrel).
18 Part from ship, as pilot ordered (7)
TOPSAIL – (AS PILOT)*.
20 One holding back of French hen? (7)
DELAYER – DE = of in French, LAYER = hen.
22 Old street, one area in ancient Italian port (5)
OSTIA – O(ld), ST(reet), I = one, A(rea).
24 Fielding position, note, to assume (3-2)
MID-ON – MI = note, DON = assume. Well the day wouldn’t be complete without a cricket clue, would it?
25 Army doctor opening a small book (4)
AMOS – MO = medical officer, inside A S(mall).

20 comments on “Times 26727 – Fat chance to win £1,000, but nice enough puzzle.”

  1. Would have been faster online, partly for the reasons given by Jack. Consequently not much to say.

    Is this really a suitable way to screen entrants for the Championships?

    1. My experience has led me to think it’s a way to lure contestants by giving them a false sense of security.
    2. I suspect the thinking behind using ‘standard Times easy’ puzzles is that they’re less prone to wavelength issues than trickier ones. It works well enough. If you can solve this one within the Championship par score of 20 minutes, you’ll probably make a decent enough fist of your heat on the day to be glad you took part.

      The “Your chance to win ….” headline is another matter. I’m sure most of us smiled rueful smiles at that one. See Pip’s blog title!

      A smidge under 10 minutes here.

      1. …and a sub-Verlaine for today’s puzzle!

        My money’s on you for the Champs S.

  2. 20 minutes is about as fast as things ever get for me on the main puzzle, but I’d like to think I’d have finished this one sooner if I hadn’t been squinting at the clues in tiny font. Why, when there’s a whole sheet of A4 to fill, do we have to have the top third of the page taken up by THE TIMES masthead followed by an inch-and-a-half of blank space?

    Edited at 2017-05-25 08:34 am (UTC)

  3. Still a long way from the championships here, but happy enough to finish in 33 minutes. Give me another few years..!
  4. Yes, but didn’t submit as could not bear the stress if I did qualify. I did the Sudoku championships a couple of times and was a total wreck.
  5. This took me an honest 6 minutes, so as long as they believe me I feel reasonably optimistic about qualifying. Today’s was another matter entirely.
    Does anyone know what the date is this year?

    Edited at 2017-05-25 08:09 am (UTC)

  6. I’ve already qualified through puzzle 1 (with a much slower time than I posted for this) so my 8:10 for this one might reflect a degree of “no pressure”.
  7. A shade over 10 mins – so for the time I actually submitted an entry.

    Suspect still not fast enough though….

    1. I think it probably will be. I’m not convinced they get the full 50 submissions for each qualifier. Good luck.
  8. Fortunately not a Russian poet in sight, so I submitted with a time of 8m 9s, if I remember rightly. I’ve no idea how fast you need to be to get in – the only other time I’ve applied I was at 6m something, and that was good enough – but I’m hopeful.
  9. 15 minutes so as easy as they get for me. Good luck to everyone who qualifies. I might be able to call in the George on the day to congratulate/commiserate.
  10. I managed this one in 22:27, so I agree with the consensus that it was quite easy. A pleasant confidence booster, but I wasn’t even tempted to submit it. Miles off that level yet! I’ve found the white space above the grid useful for working out anagrams in the weeks since the puzzle:-)Thanks setter and Pip.
  11. 18 minutes, so must have been on the easy side. It would take a lot more than this to tempt me into entering. Thanks setter and Pip
  12. I raced through this in 8 mins so definitely at the easier end of the spectrum.
  13. Easy but a fun solve. Most done in 18 mins on the train followed by 8 mins at lunchtime to tidy up a few stragglers. COD to 28ac, very apposite appearing the day after the setter’s lunch. The Champs is a step too far for me I fear but good luck to everyone who’s entered.

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