Times 26895 – TCC heat 2 puzzle 1. Planting an idea or two.

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I had fun with this one, IMO the easiest yet of the four Heats puzzles so far published. I’d have finished it in well under the par of 20 minutes were it not for the NE corner where 5a and 5d held me for a while, solving and parsing.

As usual, definitions are underlined. Not much more to say. Well, nothing.

Across
1 Said goodbye, embarrassed about fishy preparation (7)
CHOWDER – ‘said goodbye’ = CHOW, sounds like CIAO, DER = red / embarrassed, reversed.
5 Hunter, swift steed, second to front (7)
SCOURER – My swift steed is a COURSER, I move the S to the front for the answer. Eventually I decided that one could SCOUR EBay or HUNT on it for a bargain, so in that sense they are synonyms.
9 Makes more impressive clothes more expensive (7,2)
DRESSES UP – If dresses go up, in price, they’re more expensive.
10 Stopped losing head, and relaxed (5)
EASED – CEASED = stopped, loses its C.
11 Dash just across line (5)
FLAIR – FAIR = just, insert L.
12 Article is worked on (9)
REALISTIC – (ARTICLE IS)*
14 Getting on train for Eton, say (8,6)
BOARDING SCHOOL – Cryptic DBE. Getting on = boarding, train = school.
17 Regular carrier beginning at Badminton? (7,7)
SHUTTLE SERVICE – Cryptic double definition.
21 Sick Asian nursing a broken leg brings relief (9)
ANALGESIA – (ASIAN A LEG)*
23 Fleece supplier a shopping centre rejected (5)
LLAMA –  A MALL reversed.
24 Beef not cooked in rind of bacon (5)
BRAWN – Insert RAW = not cooked, into B N = rind of bacon.
25 Start to hold forth about one spirit (9)
ORIGINATE – Insert I GIN (one spirit) into ORATE = hold forth.
26 Pull swimmer back downwind (7)
LEEWARD – DRAW EEL = pull swimmer, all reversed.
27 Refusal from Berlin to host bike races, golf and fishing (7)
NETTING – NEIN = German for NO, insert TT as in Isle of Man TT, add G for golf.

Down
1 Arrange overdraft provided in county’s banks (6)
CODIFY – CY = county’s banks. Insert OD = overdraft, IF = provided.
2 Plant publication about European duck (7)
OREGANO – An ORGAN is the publication, around E, followed by O for duck. Mrs K being the resident botanical expert, at the stage where I had the checkers A and O only I asked her to think of plants fitting that pattern. It makes her feel involved in my life. When I soon saw the other checkers and told her it was OREGANO she was not impressed. “That’s rubbish. I was thnking of plants, not herbs. Stupid crossword.”. I see her point, but if the clue had specified a herbal answer it would have been even easier to biff.
3 Abandon reduced price for foreign jumper (6,3)
DESERT RAT – Abandon = DESERT, RAT = RATE reduced by E. Wiki says there are three separate types of rodents all known as desert rats; gerbils, kangaroo rats, and Natal multimammate mice. Presumably some or all of them jump.
4 Checks on small coaches (11)
RESTRAINERS – RE = on, S = small, TRAINERS = coaches.
5 Drop one in without issue (3)
SIP – Sine prole is a legal term meaning childless, without issue, often abbreviated to SP. Insert I = one.
6 Old book marks popping up in Vile Bodies (5)
OBELI – Hidden reversed in V(ILE BO)DIES. The dagger sign (†) used in printing.
7 Teacher brought up possible German course (7)
RISOTTO – SIR = teacher, reversed, OTTO could be a German chap.
8 Taunt English after understandable Irish Rising (8)
RIDICULE – Reverse LUCID IR = understandable Irish, add E.
13 A good church attendance, not to do Mass (11)
AGGREGATION – A, G = good, (CON)GREGATION = church attendance with the CON = ‘DO’ removed.
15 Polite tip that’s given to royals (5,4)
CIVIL LIST – CIVIL = POLITE, LIST = TIP, tilt; taxpayer’s money passed over to keep the Royals in luxury.
16 One sultan resolved to capture British port (8)
ISTANBUL – (I SULTAN B)*
18 Erect a pale in river in the dark (7)
UNAWARE – A WAN = a pale, reversed into the River Ure.
19 Bread and some butter included in tea (7)
CHAPATI – Put a PAT of butter into your CHAI = tea.
20 Good-for-nothing ordered goods (3,3)
BAD EGG – BADE = ordered, GG = goods.
22 Sail east then north into former colony (5)
GENOA – Insert N and E into GOA, former Portuguese colony. Don’t biff GHANA or GABON.
25 Queen upset losing island rum (3)
ODD – DIDO is the Queen, she’s upset and loses her I.

62 comments on “Times 26895 – TCC heat 2 puzzle 1. Planting an idea or two.”

    1. That was yet another crossword clue where having watched Blackadder was educationally advantageous: the first episode of the third series revolves around a plot to strike Prince George off the civil list…
  2. 55 minutes that would have been 45 minutes if I hadn’t clumsily entered ANALGESIC at 21a and left myself baffled by 13d. Still, at least I realised my error in the end. Note to self: next time you start thinking you might have got some of the crossers wrong, check them all more carefully as soon as you do!

    Glad a lot of these were actually easier than I thought they were going to be: I’d assumed 17a (my COD) was going to be some obscurity about horse trials, and that 19d was going to be yet another currency I’d never heard of, for example…

    FOI 11a FLAIR, LOI technically 21a ANALGESIA. Thanks to setter for a fair workout and blogger for the education, not just about GOA having been a Portuguese colony, but also for how actually to spell Portuguese!

  3. I had the same problem with 5a and 5d. I decided 5d was NIP (with the NP being “no problem” which I’ve heard people say — I didn’t know the SP abbreviation). Eventually I got suspcious it was wrong, since I couldn’t see anything for 5a (because nothing actually fits, I checked after). But the first time I’ve done a championship puzzle in under 30 mins. It would have been under 20 if not for those 5s.
  4. I imagine it would have been more like thirty under contest conditions. But it was easy. DNK GENOA or SP, nor did I get the Dido ref.
  6. This was straightforward with no real nasties. Slightly disappointing, unless you were there on the day.

    5dn SIP DNK sine prole but 5ac was in early so NP.

    FOI 14ac BOARDING SCHOOL but my old gripe that ETON is a College and not a school, comes into play.

    LOI 13dn AGGREGATION as I had 21ac ANALGESIC earlier.

    COD 22dn GENOA

    WOD SHUTTLE SERVICE

    I guess the next ones will be stinkers.

    Edited at 2017-11-29 09:14 am (UTC)

  7. 6 minutes for this makes me think I’d have done better in the second prelims (though a couple of stinkers on the next two Wednesdays may prove otherwise). For now though – Magoo got off easy!
  8. 40 mins with croissant (hoorah) and ‘Gin and Lime’ marmalade from the excellent Lewis and Cooper. Absolutely delicious – and so was the crossword – with some very neat clues and surfaces.
    DNK SP or Obeli (although they ring very faint bells). I must swot up on such stuff.
    The plant was not one to blench at and I don’t remember any random, uninvited personages.
    Mostly I liked: Chowder, ‘On’ as the definition in 12ac, Shuttle Service, Codify, Civil List, Bad Egg and Aggregation (COD).
    Thanks brilliant setter and Pip.

    PS – I forgot the German personage, Otto. Sorry, Otto.

    Edited at 2017-11-29 08:15 am (UTC)

  9. Another wih plain sailing all the way until only the 5s were left. I didn’t know SP and SIP as a synonym for “drop” never occcurred to me, although I suppose one can have a sip of water which amounts to a drop of said liquid. I went for SOP which can mean to dip in liquid and ‘dip’ and ‘drop’ aren’t that far apart in meaning. On the other hand ‘one in’ couldn’t have been much more explicit as wordplay, so it was a bit careless of me to get it wrong.
  10. I’m ashamed to say, as I finished this in 13.21, that it was only as I reached the last few that I thought “haven’t some of these clues turned up recently?”. On the day I did it in a very little more time, and thought I might be in with a shot as finishing all three. False dawn, as I think is shortly to be demonstrated. But an interesting exercise in the (im)persistence of memory
  12. 9:35. That’s faster than I completed any of the puzzles in the first prelim. Different conditions, of course, but I don’t think the heightened nerves of competition conditions slow me down significantly, if at all.
    OREGANO is a herb (and hence something I know) but it is also undoubtedly a plant.
    Slightly surprised to see SP: very Mephistoish as Jimbo points out.
          1. What a chump that keriothe is, I thought to myself, as I went to make sure I hadn’t also commented on today’s unknown sine prole the last time it appeared…and discovered that I wrote the blog that day, and discussed the term at some length.

            On the plus side, after re-reading it, I now stand a better chance of remembering TREEN as long as it comes up in the next day or two.

  13. As often, the shortest clue took the longest time and ended in a toss-up. To SAP could mean to drop, I suppose. A could be one. On the other hand…
    1. I’m pretty sure that one of the editors once wrote that ‘A’ for ‘one’ isn’t allowed in a Times crossword but I’m also pretty sure that it occurred in a puzzle quite recently.
  14. In my jet-lagged state on the day I thought this was really tricky. Now of course I can’t see what the problem was. I do remember having all the bits for 27a – NEIN,TT,G and not being able to assemble them into a word for ‘fishing’ for a very long time. It wasn’t my finest hour.

    Some neat clues, though, especially Myrtilus’ breakfast nightmare — a BAD EGG

  15. Just snuck in under 30mins with, as others, the two 5s at the end. SP will have been forgotten the next time it comes up however hard I try, I’m sure, but I’ll hope to recall the ‘other’ meaning of scourer a bit quicker.

    *following ulaca’s link above shows that I didn’t know SP las time either. I’m not sure I’ll ever ‘know’ it…

    Edited at 2017-11-29 09:10 am (UTC)

  16. No problems today but this would have taken me considerably longer on the day I am sure. COD to 12a REALISTIC.
  17. Oh dear. I was feeling quite smug having finished this in 17 minutes, until I read all the comments pointing out how easy it was. Ah well.
  18. Finished one satisfactorily! 17′, with two or three of those on 5ac and 5d, like others. COD to 6d for its suggesting M for ‘marks’.The obelus, incidentally, is the origin of the division symbol in mathematics. Thanks pip and setter.
  19. 15.17 so definitely the easiest so far for me. I am another in the finish with the 5s club and they cost me a couple of minutes at the end. It is probably a sad reflection of my misspent youth that I only know SP as the abbreviation for Starting Price.
  20. 27 mins so on the slow side compared with the above posters. Spent at least 5 mins on the 5’s, and, after I’d fathomed out SCOURER, I googled ‘sp without children’ which gave me nothing except http://www.smartparenting, so I was none the wiser.It turns out that if I’d googled ‘sp without issue’ it would have been there on the first line. Fun puzzle – liked SHUTTLE SERVICE and BAD EGG.
  21. so add me to the club which rated this as easier than anything in the first session, and a perfectly pleasant solve outside competition conditions. As mentioned above, SP clearly went in one ear and out the other when I encountered it a couple of years ago, but in the circumstances, I felt pretty confident choosing SIP over SAP or SUP.
  22. The first championship puzzle I’ve finished in under an hour, so it must have been easy!

    I was also held up by the 5s. DNK SP, but I guessed it was going to be a Latin abbreviation so s for sine seemed most likely. SCOURER went in more in hope than expectation, but on checking, Collins has “scour – to range over (territory), as in making a search” so that seems to fit.

    17a and 27a were both good but my COD goes to 13d with two misleading references to religious practices.

    Thanks for the blog Pip.

  23. Like rinteff I only knew SP as Starting Price but, having both the checkers and an instruction to insert an I, was happy enough to bung it in. I hit the ground running with CODIFY and brought up the rear with at least 5 minutes of my 27:08 spent with furrowed brow cogitating on 4d, eventually resorting to writing it out and inserting likely looking letters here and there until it sprang out at me. As 3d went in I idly wondered if any Desert Rats used parachutes, but as they were an armoured division it seemed unlikely. I remembered OBELI, and the rest of the clues yielded quite easily. Thanks setter and Pip.
  24. 10.05 SIP was FOI thanks to an interest in genealogy rather than barred crosswords. Very gentle but with some elegant clues. I have no doubt that there will be sterner tests to come on the next two Wednesdays.
  25. If I had noticed that it was in the heats I might have been more scared of it, but I finished in 22 minutes. Loi SIP, and I parsed it wrong. I thought SP was Starting Price (‘one in’ for a bet), but got it right. Just as well we don’t have to show our working 😉

    Stuart

  26. 23 minutes – 5dn LOI as was pondering whether SAP could be ‘to drop’, but luckily chose SIP as ‘a drop’ was better (no problem in remembering S.P., though!)

    Edited at 2017-11-29 12:37 pm (UTC)

  27. It would be interesting to know what sort of time one should expect to post for these preliminary puzzles in order to qualify for the Final.
    fourlegger
    1. I’m going to guess that 3 in 30 minutes would leave you pretty safe, 3 in 40 minutes would put you somewhere on the edge, and 3 in 50 minutes would stand you a very strong chance of making the top 25 (and thus free entry for the following year)?
      1. I took 52 minutes which would have placed me 21st had I been all correct. Tim & Keriothe can probably give a guide to the sort of time that’s comfortably top 20 but not quite enough to get into the final.

        Edited at 2017-11-29 01:58 pm (UTC)

        1. I believe I took almost on the dot of 30 mins in my prelims, which would have been 4th, had I, myself, been all correct.
        3. And around 45m got me 17th.
          Clearly there were lots of finishers between verlaine at 30m and Tim at 40m so in that prelim at least that was the qualification zone. But an all-correct finish within the hour would probably have got you a free entry next year.

          Edited at 2017-11-29 04:15 pm (UTC)

          1. I seem to recall that one of our number qualified in 25th place in our prelim with one wrong. I see that I’m not the only one to find this easier than the 3 we had, although, like others, I didn’t understand the “SP” bit in 8d so just biffed it. 14:26
  28. Unusually I did this all in one go on the day, in about 11 minutes. A confidence booster or a false-security-sense luller?
  29. Thanks for the pointer, V. If all puzzles were like today’s I might just be in with a shout.
    fourlegger
  30. Just under the 20 minute mark so sort of on track. SIP put in on a stab so thanks for the explanation. Where was I when this last came up? Stuck in CHOWDER without seeing the CIAO so thanks Pip (and setter)
  31. Around 20m but unsure as there were several interruptions, some irritating but one most welcome, being the delivery of the Festive tipples from the Scottish Malt Whisky Society, courtesy of its Black Friday offering! I found this puzzle much easier than any of the 3 in the first prelim but then I wasn’t nervous about embarrassing myself at home, I suppose. I look forward to next week’s offering with interest. I was held up a bit by a lazy ANALGESIC but that was eventually corrected, thanks to AGGREGATION and like others LOI was SIP though I didn’t hesitate too long over that really. Excellent puzzle and blog, thanks to both setter and blogger today.
    1. A quick check on Wiki reveals….
      Masala chai, a blend of black tea and herbs and spices, originating in India; Chai, a word for tea in numerous …
    2. Chambers 12th edition has Chai:
      noun
      1. A strong black tea infused with milk, sugar and spices
      2. A general name for tea used esp in India
      ORIGIN: Hindi, tea; cf cha
  33. About 30 minutes of distracted solving. Nice puzzle, and clearly my times don’t make a trip to the UK advisable. DNK the SP meaning but went with SIP as a drop of something. LOI here, though, was CHAPATI where I thought the bit of butter would be a tab until I finally realized what was afoot. Regards.
  34. The standard dictionary for the daily is Collins, which does have chai. Now I check, it is in the 12th edition of Chambers – maybe you have an older one?
  35. 7:30 for this one, and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who got CIVIL LIST from Blackadder.
  36. 20 min 25 secs. Like others I got stuck for a few mins on 5 across and 5 down and I didn’t know SP.
  37. Could even be a PB for me. Sometimes things just flow along when you’re solving without distractions or competition pressure.
  38. 44 minutes, but that’s OK, with SIP my LOI. Assumed (as it turned out correctly) that SP might be a Latin abbreviation for “childless”, since SIP was the only possibility that fit the drop. I don’t have enough Indian restaurants nearby here in Germany, so for the longest time I tried to fit something like CIABATTA into 19 dn, but fortunately that didn’t work very well so I changed the bread’s nationality. Everything else quite straightforward.
  39. 20 mins for me all done and dusted on the morning commute. Mostly a satisfyingly fun romp but held up for a couple of minutes at the end by 5dn where I ended up putting “sip” on the basis of checkers and “drop” with no idea how “sp” might mean “without issue”. The uncertainty has been nagging at me all day, could “sap” or “sop” have fitted wordplay or definition better? Glad that through no fault of my own I managed to arrive at the correct answer. I don’t think I knew Genoa as a sail but the wordplay was rock solid.
    1. Consider the following question. “Are we on for a date?” It could be phrased as “Is a date with you realistic?” ie “is it on?”
  41. Oh dear, I guessed that Oz must have a DESERT ROO–much likelier than a RAT; to mislead us, I suppose. And hence had 17 across as SOMEONE SERVING, forgetting (age does these things)what was used in badminton. Which left some problems–I invented an Indian tea for 19 dn, NAAN-A-G(H)I, some butter, and was left defeated on 18 dn by M-A-A-E, after toying with LATE for in the dark.
  42. Quite an easy one, although there was some resistance from the SE corner. BAD-EGG was LOI+COD – tough surface to crack, and very satisfying. NETTING is a fine clue too. Vaguely remembered GENOA, SP & OBELI fortunately. I wonder if CIABATTA (which blocked my mind) and CHAPATI have the same roots, and BUTTY too, but I’m not curious enough to bother looking it up. Thanks to setter, blogger and commenters.

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