Times 27159 – more Double Definitions than a topless beach …

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
A jolly romp of a puzzle with lots of DDs and anagrams to get your teeth into. All but a couple were done in 20 minutes, then the correct guess for 13a across had to be checked, and 19a took a bit of an effort to find an obscure kind of farm worker.

Across
1 Record suspicion about the man that’s ruined city (7)
EPHESUS – EP = record, HE = the man, SUS = suspicion.
5 Leave without right coat (7)
VARNISH – VANISH = leave, insert R for right.
9 Army rations needing certain self-control (9)
COMPOSURE – COMPO were / are army rations, SURE = certain.
10 Musician needing support to carry piano (5)
PIPER – PIER = support, insert P for piano.
11 Present is the concern of those who are very small? (2-2-3-6)
UP-TO-THE–MINUTE – Double definition, one relying on a different pronunciation of MINUTE.
13 Urge page to wind turban (8)
PUGGAREE – (URGE PAGE)*. If you don’t know the word, you can probably guess how the anagram letters fit. A Sikh’s turban, or a wound hat band.
15 Finish something designed to provoke (4-2)
WIND-UP – Another double definition relying on differing pronunciations. As in wind = gale, and wind = turn.
17 Science of drinks dispensers (6)
OPTICS – Yet another DD, very neat, like I like my malts dispensed.
19 Farm worker currently present for time in season (8)
WINNOWER – Took a while to see this one. WINTER = season, has its T replaced by NOW = currently. Do farm workers winnow nowadays?
22 How Cotswolds are claimed by farmers is long-standing (4-2-3-4)
DYED-IN-THE-WOOL – Presumably if a Cotswold sheep is dyed at some point in its wool, you can tell it from someone else’s sheep. The origins of the phrase – 16C – relate to colours applied to the wool before it was spun being more colour-fast hence resistant to change.
25 Perfect sound from space (5)
WHOLE – Sounds like HOLE, I suppose, a hole is a space.
26 Change of opinion on boat race (5-4)
ABOUT-FACE – ON = about, BOAT RACE being CRS for face.
27 Abruptly soon (7)
SHORTLY – Yet another neat DD.
28 Chap keeping a jolly item of clothing (7)
GARMENT – A Jolly is slang for a Royal Marine or RM, insert him into GENT = chap.

Down
1 Topless bathing area for every single (4)
EACH – BEACH, a bathing area, loses its top B.
2 Hat Mr Bough’s seen out in? (7)
HOMBURG – (MR BOUGH)*.
3 Beer this thirst finally quenched (5)
STOUT – S T = final letters of this thirst, OUT = quenched.
4 Illegal resident is comparatively thick (8)
SQUATTER – Another DD.
5 Spectator we found absorbed by a German quartet (6)
VIEWER – WE goes inside VIER = German for four.
6 Monitor, perhaps, triplane I rebuilt (9)
REPTILIAN – (TRIPLANE I)*. Monitor as in a type of lizard.
7 Appropriate admission by poet? (7)
IMPOUND – The poet says: “I’M (EZRA) POUND”.
8 Western shire perhaps taking over for each area (5,5)
HORSE OPERA – A shire perhaps = HORSE, O = over, PER = for each, A = area. A horse opera is a formulaic Western movie or TV series, akin to a soap opera but with cowboys, who sometimes were seen singing to their horses. Not my cup of.
12 Race course owns mopeds for scrambling (5,5)
EPSOM DOWNS – (OWNS MOPEDS)*.
14 Skill securing constant success with City planner (9)
ARCHITECT – ART = skill, then insert C = constant, HIT = success, EC – City (of London).
16 Long-standing criminal gatecrashing free party (8)
LIFELONG – FELON = criminal, to be incarcerated in LIG. To LIG is to take advantage of freebies, as one used to do; the supply seems to have dried up. An odd clue where LONG is in the clue and the answer.
18 Vibrating noise in shaky Metro line that’s old (7)
TREMOLO – (METRO)*, L(ine), O(ld). Remember Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (why spelt differently? Tremelo is a place in Belgium) ; I recall having one on my pocket-money-depleting £12 guitar in the days of our Shadows-inspired shambles of a band, or ‘group’ as it was then. Before your time, V, I was there being Jet Harris.
20 Benefit of warning about magical being (7)
WELFARE – WARE = warning, as in beware; ELF is the magical being inserted.
21 Like a sauna group found in outskirts of Shrewsbury (6)
STEAMY – TEAM inside S Y which are the ‘outskirts’ of Shrewsbury.
23 Power tool’s not starting outside (5)
OUTER – A ROUTER is a power tool, it makes grooves and such, it loses its R. Another one with same part word in clue and answer.
24 Amphibian’s leg removed by famous scientist (4)
NEWT – Sir Isaac NEWTON loses his leg or ON side in cricket.

78 comments on “Times 27159 – more Double Definitions than a topless beach …”

    1. Well spotted: just goes to show we all skip the first bit of the headline in our enthusiasm for the witty tagline. Today’s I thought was excellent, if a little Carry On Blogging – well played, Pip
  2. 9:11, and whilst I somehow managed to get the letters of the turban in the right order I have sympathy for anyone who didn’t.
  3. 9:11, and whilst I somehow managed to get the letters of the turban in the right order I have sympathy for anyone who didn’t.
    1. Optics are used to dispense spirits etc in pubs and Optics is also a subject in physics, ie the properties of light, lenses etc.
      1. oh ok I get -thanks for that

        I didn’t notice the dictionary definition of Optics with a capital which wasa above optics with a small o.

        Optics are apparently the valve thing on upturned spirit bottles to dispense measures

        thank you

  5. Invented the word TIMELONG for a while, but didn’t parse so eventually got it. Couldn’t have been OUTER could it?
  6. Looking back, I’m surprised it took me as long as it did – work etc – 60+ mins – Grr.

    I also thought STOW-IN-THE-WOLD but quickly found that it could not be, EPSOM DOWNS dispelling that thought.

    PUGGAREE and WINNOWER required aids. Liked the idea of a HORSE OPERA – singing horses? LOI SQUATTER for no other reason than I kept on thinking SCUTTLER even though I knew it could not be.

  7. 8:46, but another over-hasty LIVELONG. I just looked up the turban. What a ridiculous clue.
    Look forward to seeing some of you later. As Olivia says I hope it’s less eventful than my last visit!
  8. I don’t often attempt the 15squared but i had over an hour to wait in a Car Servicing Waiting Area. Just finished it before my iPad battery expired. I had to biff a few (successfully as it turned out) so the blog was very helpful. Some thought-provoking clues (that is a nice term for what I felt at the time). Never heard of Puggaree but it was all I could fit around the checkers. I know my time is light years slower than the regulars but I was left with a certain satisfaction. John M.
  9. 28:49 as with others held up by wondering if outer could really be the answer at 23dn. Knew ligger so lig wasn’t far behind in 16dn. Puggaree looked like the best arrangement of the anagrist at 13ac for some Indian sounding headgear but entered with fingers crossed. Nothing too strenuous.
  10. Stop putting the same word in the answer as featured in the clue. Twice today!!!!!
  11. Lots of unknowns, but being tired helped (because it made me stop worrying too much about all my more or less educated guesses and biffs, and they all turned out to be correct). PUGGAREE was the most educated guess, I suppose, but I thought any language that had dungaree was likely to have this particular anagram of URGE PAGE.
  13. More than an hour first time through on paper, 34 months ago.

    Much better this time online!

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