Times 26947 – They want to lose?

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Time: 43 minutes
Music: Beethoven, Symphony #6, Reiner/Chicago Symphony

Well, my time was not that good, and I fumbled over simple clues.   There were some difficult ones, but those were handled with aplomb.  I think I may have been a little tired, as I rather unwisely worked out in the gym for an hour and a half, and then played nine holes of golf.   However, I was not ‘off putting’, as we don’t use the greens during the winter here. 

There was some rather erudite material scattered in this puzzle, and solvers who are not steeped in Western culture may have to biff a bit, or put the letters in a hat and give them a good shake – very often, that does the trick. 

Across

1 Sit dejectedly, losing pounds in depression (4)
SUMP – S[l]UMP, most often associated with a sump pump nowadays.
3 Not inviting to be away at the golf course (3-7)
OFF-PUTTING – Double definition, where the surface glances at the unhappy situation of the player furthest from the hole.
10 Canvasser’s terms of reference: to place an indelible mark for one (9)
REMBRANDT – REM(-i,+BRAND)T, a rather farfetched substitution cryptic.
11 Pick up article in valley (5)
GLEAN – GLE(A)N, and not a homophone at all.
12 For a sort of bet, have echo start to reverberate out of vaulted passage (4,3)
EACH WAY – E + A[r]CHWAY, where ‘echo’ is from the NATO alphabet.
13 One part of carnival procession on the water (6)
AFLOAT – A FLOAT, perfectly simple, and my last one in!
15 Explain your intention as high bet waited for settlement (5,3,3,4)
WHATS THE BIG IDEA – anagram of AS HIGH BET WAITED.
18 International committee pledge advice may be listened to (8,7)
SECURITY COUNCIL – SECURITY + sounds like COUNSEL.
21 English bachelor turning on charm, providing cough sweet (6)
JUJUBE – JUJU + E[nglish[ B[achelor] backwards
23 Completely fill up brief diary account of weekend meal? (7)
SATIATE – SAT: I ATE….very clever.
26 Unfortunately knocked back, taking oxygen for cold — am I up a gum tree? (5)
KOALA – ALA(-c,+O)K backwards, as in ‘alas and alack’. 
27 What’s needed for repair? I will leave that, getting into quarrel (5,4)
SPARE PART – SPA(REPA[i]R)T, a curiously self-referential clue that most solvers will just biff.
28 In poll be tied, strangely, being visibly out in front (3-7)
POT-BELLIED – anagram of POLL BE TIED.
29 Turner’s short expression of excitement (4)
WHEE – WHEE[l].

Down
1 Cynical in respect of Downing, for one (10)
STREETWISE – STREET WISE, as in the street on which No 10 is located.  None of the people named ‘Downing’ are of any use here.
2 Parrot’s two-note call? That’s not all (5)
MIMIC – MI + MI + C[all].
4 Cyclist’s last to don elaborate headgear; whatever next? (5,4)
FANCY THAT – FANCY ([cyclis]T) HAT
5 Good article about dry bread (5)
PITTA – PI (TT) A, an alternate spelling.
6 Follow uninvited, dropping northern language … (7)
TAGALOG – TAG ALO[n]G, a bit of a chestnut.
7 … remarkable indelicacy almost in another (9)
ICELANDIC – Anagram of INDELICAC[y].   The language is basically spoken Old Norse, without any changes since 1000 AD.
8 Weapons bar lifted (4)
GUNS – SNUG upside-down. 
9 Fights brother with sharp tools (6)
BRAWLS – BR + AWLS, one from the Quickie
14 Al suggesting this department for customer service? (4,6)
CALL CENTRE – AL, the centre of CALL, a reverse cryptic.
16 Well up with extra emotion finally in a university quadrangle (2,7)
AU COURANT – A U COUR ([extr]A [emotio]N)T – very difficult to parse, but fortunately not too hard to biff.
17 Key part of Cambridge walk (9)
BACKSPACE – BACKS + PACE.  A bit of local knowledge about the Cambridge area is required here, but the answer is quite evident even for those who don’t have it.
19 About to introduce a loud, discordant musical turn (7)
ROULADE – R(anagram of A LOUD)E.   A musical term that might be obscure to some.
20 Removes restraint of classical drama rules — first one going (6)
UNTIES – UN[i]TIES.   It is helpful if you know what Aristotle said about playwriting, and how this was interpreted by the French dramatists of the 17th century.   But everybody knows that, right?
22 At which one may stand, at middle of atelier? (5)
EASEL – EASE + [ate]L[ier], a very clever &lit. 
24 Flooded, get wife into a tree (5)
AWASH – A(W)ASH, another Quickie clue.
25 You sleep soundly — we wanted to be out (4)
UKIP – sounds like ‘you kip’.

63 comments on “Times 26947 – They want to lose?”

  1. DNF. Bah! Top half went in relatively smoothly. Nothing smooth in the bottom half apart from ukip, koala and pot-bellied. All the others were a struggle to get and my efforts finally ran aground on the roulade and jujube crossing. I didn’t know the Backs as a part of Cambridge. A quick Google brings up some very picturesque images.
  2. What’s the advice? If you can’t parse it it’s probably wrong.
    The Cambridge is a theatre, ain’t it, and people importantly walk backstage don’t they?
    Botheration.
    Better luck tomorrow, and memo to self – remember ‘key can relate to keyboard’ you’ve met it loads of times before.
  3. I really love it when the last pound or so of pennies drop after taking a longish break before being able to complete the puzzle. Today’s late-dropping pennies were REMBRANDT, EACH WAY, STREETWISE (I was saying to myself, well, there’s a Downing Street, of course, but who was Downing?), ICELANDIC, GLEAN, AFLOAT, ROULADE and JUJUBE. My parents had a so-called stationery store (what they mostly sold were newspapers and cigarettes) until 1964 and that is the last place I can remember seeing jujubes as sweets (or rather candy, as the store was on Long Island, NY). Surprised I even came up with the word. And of course I technically DNF, because of the Times’s very artificial intelligence.

  4. Took me several goes, but got there in the end. I had DEAL instead of IDEA for a long time, which held me back. I also had that well known classical drama NOH in my head, even after I knew it couldn’t fit.
    Didn’t know in these senses ROULADE or UNITIES, but the kind setter made these both biffable.
    COD: 22D a beautiful & lit, extremely atmospheric and satisfying.
    Thanks all

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