Times 27177 – let’s give everyone an extra name, why not?

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Another enjoyable mid range puzzle with one obscure (or for me, unknown) word (which wasn’t a foreign word clued as an anagram). Some nice word play and definitions, e.g. 28a, 30a, 19d. I thought the only weak clue was 4d – does anyone use those for holding up trousers? In the 20 minute range, ending in the SW with 26a, 29a and 27d, with a bit longer to parse 27d (I hope).

Across
1 Bad cough interrupts routine filming stage (5-3)
ROUGH-CUT – Routine = RUT, insert (COUGH)* = bad cough. I remember in my days of making TV commercials, the client always thought the rough-cut looked better than the finished article. Or the chairman’s wife thought the ad was rubbish, but you found out too late.
6 Understand fine party hasn’t finished (6)
FATHOM – F = fine, AT HOM(E) = party that hasn’t finished.
9 First of two encyclopedia volumes, perhaps, is a tiny thing (4)
ATOM – A to M would be followed by N to Z.
10 Like a repaired bike, not to be junked? (10)
RECYCLABLE – Cryptic DD, one implying your repaired bike could be used again for cycling.
11 Letter is as translated, framed by punctuation (10)
COLOSSIANS – COLONS are puctuation, isert (AS IS)*. St Paul, or possibly Timothy, wrote this epistle to the good folk of Colossae, a small city 100 miles from Ephesus.
13 Delicacy of Japanese in not completing Bach piece (4)
FUGU – Bach wrote FUGUES so one incomplete = FUGU, the Japanese puffer fish which contains the very poisonous tetrodotoxin; I like sashimi but I’ll pass on that one.
14 Short service to put on for old beast (8)
MASTODON – MAS(S) = short service; TO DON = to put on. A mastodon is an extinct distant relative of the elephant.
16 One picked on numbers of Romans around mouth of Tiber (6)
VICTIM – V, I, C, I, M all Roman numerals, around T for mouth of Tiber.
18 Beetle an irritant — in saucepan once? (6)
CHAFER – A sort of triple definition, I think; a CHAFER is a kind of beetle, or something that chafes and makes you sore in a delicate place,or a CHAFING DISH is like a water bath used for keeping food warm.
20 Right to stab second mate, so badly wounded? (8)
MORTALLY – MO = second, ALLY = mate, stabbed by RT = right.
22 Jacob’s wife spends hour going after fine jumper (4)
FLEA – F = fine, LEAH was Jacob’s wife, loses her H. Her younger sister RACHEL was also his wife at the same time, which could have been a blast or a nightmare, probably the latter.
24 Exploit chap I turned out of bed past time (10)
MANIPULATE – MAN = chap, I, PU =  UP reversed (turned “out of bed”), LATE = past time.
26 Owt in old magazine? (4,6)
BACK NUMBER – TWO reversed is OWT, so a ‘back number’. I did have to consult Mrs K to find out if OWT was the opposite of NOWT, before the penny dropped.
28 Lifesaver talking of one with knowledge (4)
NOAH – The ark-builder hence life-saver, sounds like KNOWER.
29 Make fuss about hotel, whatever it is (6)
DOODAH – DO – make, ODA = ADO = fuss, about, H = hotel. Doodah as in thingumajig.
30 Unclear boundaries in this old people’s home? (4,4)
GREY AREA – Witty cryptic.

Down
2 Physician taking top off toothpaste to spread (9)
OSTEOPATH – ( OOTHPASTE)*, the T being removed.
3 Ladies’ fingers up to making footwear (7)
GUMBOOT – GUMBO is another word for okra or ‘ladies’ fingers’, then TO is reversed = up to.
4 Trousers, and how to hold them up? (5)
CORDS – Short for corduroys, and not the best clue of the bunch IMO.
5 Minor physical problem: temperature very low? (3)
TIC – If the temperature was very low it (T) might be 1 degree C.
6 Braves having to maintain graceful withdrawal (4-5)
FACE-SAVER – FACES = braves, AVER = maintain.
7 Trade is sort of light (7)
TRAFFIC – Double definition. I did toy with an anagram of TRADE IS but only until I got a green light.
8 Camp belonging to prisoner? (5)
OFLAG – OF LAG = belonging to prisoner.
12 Extra name in article about garden feature (7)
AGNOMEN – I wrote this in hopefully, my classical knowledge being insufficient, then checked at the end. GNOME a garden feature goes into AN = article. Apparently an extra (fourth) name granted to Romans as a distinction.
15 College town having taken up jazz, tricky to hum (9)
DARTMOUTH – TRAD = jazz, reversed = DART, (TO HUM)*. Ivy League university in USA, or home of naval college in Devon, UK.
17 With misgivings, I seal newly dead within (3,2,4)
ILL AT EASE –  Insert LATE = dead, into (I SEAL)*.
19 Forced liquid into female put on stretcher (7)
FRACKED – F = female. RACKED = put on stretcher. It took me longer than It ought to have, as fracking is a topic Mrs K and I disagree on every time it crops up.
21 Strongman almost crushes worker in Olympic venue (7)
ATLANTA – ATLA(S) = strong man almost, insert ANT for worker. Venue for Summer 1996, I had the tee shirt.
23 Personal life somewhat on the up, it’s plain (5)
LLANO – Hidden reversed inside PERS(ONAL L)IFE. Spanish word meaning a plain, used more internationally for a grassy plain as in S. America.
25 Contract for sporting prize (5)
PURSE – double definition, as in purse one’s lips, boxing match purse.
27 Sizeable British force on the ground (3)
BIG – I thought about this for a while although it had to be BIG. I think it is B = British, 1 G = force of gravity at ground level.

51 comments on “Times 27177 – let’s give everyone an extra name, why not?”

  1. I was dealing for the longest time with an “Owl” instead of an “Owt”!
    Saw GUMBOOT but didn’t know GUMBO had anything to do with “ladies’ fingers” (checked that later).
    I shrugged at BIG and didn’t think long enough about it to fully get the “gravity” of the clue, so thanks for that, Pip.
    Not sure about the “once” in the clue for CHAFER…

    Edited at 2018-10-24 06:09 am (UTC)

  2. I wrote in ATOM right away but hit a wall immediately after that, reading each of the other clues several times over before another answer came to me.

    I was on the verge of giving up for the night at that point but then decded to biff some answers that appeared to fit although I couldn’t see the wordplay, and very gradually things started to come together. I finished in 54 minutes. My unknowns were FUGU, AGNOMEN and the saucepan definition of CHAFER. I never did parse 27dn but realise now that B 1G follows the same pattern as T 1C at 5dn and I should have spotted that.

    Edited at 2018-10-24 05:23 am (UTC)

  3. Another wavelength day for me, happily remembering LLANO, gumbo/okra/ladies’ fingers, OFLAG and a few others from earlier puzzles. I think I vaguely remembered AGNOMEN from looking up “cognomen” when it came up in 2016.

    Anyway. 42 minutes, FOI 1a ROUGH CUT, LOI 6a FATHOM, not knowing an “at-home” as a party. Enjoyed 26a BACK NUMBER, 27d BIG (and I’m certain you’re right on the parsing, Pip) and the topical 19d FRACKED.

    Edited at 2018-10-24 06:50 am (UTC)

  4. I biffed 26ac, never seeing the OWT bit. 29ac had to be DOODAH (doodad in the US), but if given the word I wouldn’t have been able to come up with the definition. Speaking of which, I had thought that gumbo was a stew made from okra, not realizing it can be okra itself; something I stay away from in any case. I wasted time taking (letter is as) for anagrist; ditto with (I seal dead). I knew there were a couple of NOMENs, including COG, and AGNOMEN looked reasonable. The parallel structure of TIC and BIG struck me as odd at the time, but I don’t now see why it should.
  5. 45 mins of of quirky fun with yoghurt, blueberry compote, etc.
    I was pleased to finish this as I felt quite clever to have got some of these (a sign of a good crossword IMO). e.g. Agnomen, Colossians. And I have learnt things: a puffer fish and that Gumbo usually has okra.
    I thought Pip would enjoy ‘Owl in old magazine’ until I squinted a bit more.
    Thanks original setter and Pip.

    1. I was starting to think of what kind of quirky fun one could have with yogurt and blueberry compote, and decided not to.
  6. Yes, liked this one although I had to take a couple of things on trust, not having heard of fugu, though I know they eat puffer fish in Japan. I thought Colossians was more of an address than a letter, but I have seen it referred to in biblical terms, eg II Colossians 2 sort of thing.
    Re 4dn Pip, out here in the country cord is/was regularly used for holding up yokels’ trousers, usually baler twine.. though maybe nowadays, not so much
    1. Your yokels wear corduroy trousers? That’s posh Kent for you. Here the farmers all wear blue overalls or chasse camo.
      1. No, but they don’t have to .. camo held up by baler twine would meet that half of the dd
  7. 41 minutes with LOI DOODAH, after LLANO twigged. Sometimes almost total ignorance is a blessing. The only Bach pece i could think of was his fugue, so I biffed FUGU early on the basis that I’d not find another answer. I don’t think I knew AGNOMEN but the cryptic was generous. Sitting close to the epicentre of the UK fracking industry this week, I’m ambivalent. Replacing Russian gas with British stuff seems like a good idea, but not if it ends up knocking Blackpool Tower and Poulton’s St Chad’s Church down. The church was in the Domesday Book and I was christened there shortly thereafter. Three very minor earthquakes have been detected since they restarted the tests. I’ve no idea if that’s to be expected. In this PR dominated world, no public engineering discussion seems to be allowed. Sorry, I digress. Thank you Pip for the blog and setter for a decent puzzle.
  8. Just under 40 mins for me, so a good workout and a steady solve. Thanks, Pip, for the passing of BIG.

    BTW, I think the crossword number in your blog title is wrong, which is why the SNITCH site did not automatically pick up the link.

    1. Sorted thanks. Damn form-filling Google memory text. SNITCH is now saying 96.

      Edited at 2018-10-24 07:37 am (UTC)

      1. Thanks very much. And thanks again for the blog – you guys do a great job helping the rest of us 🙂
  9. Another very pleasant if straightforward solve. Didn’t recall FUGU but it couldn’t be anything else.

    As I look out the window Pip I can see young Jethro scything the meadow with his trousers held up, as Jerry has noted, by bailer twine. A long rural tradition.

  10. ….DOODAH, DOODAH, but never doodat, even though it’s an American song.

    FOI ATOM

    I’m (as usual) grateful to Pip for parsing GUMBOOT (I was fixated on “okra”), FACE-SAVER, and BIG, all of which were happily entered on trust as they met the definition. Also for the “saucepan” meaning of CHAFER – subsequent reference to Chambers shows it as “obsolete”, so the “once” is correct.

    LOI FATHOM
    WOD FRACKED
    COD FLEA

    I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, and 10:22 saw me safely home.

    1. They may be obsolete as saucepans but are still going strong as “chafing dishes” with sterno fuel under them at catered events around here.

      Edited at 2018-10-24 12:49 pm (UTC)

      1. I’m surprised Trump hasn’t decreed that they must all be converted back to coal !
  11. 26:31, with my sketchy biblical knowledge costing me several minutes at the end over COLOSSIANS. Having already got Noah and worked out that Leah must have been Jacob’s wife I felt I had done enough RE homework for one day.
  12. Did this in a hurry as I was time limited, and managed a slightly fluky 15 minutes. BIG couldn’t be anything (much) else and everything else I was OK with.
    We’ve probably had it before, but I see we must add random Roman numerals to directions and musical notes. If the setter was being medieval, T could have been included in the list as it’s 160, but there would be (more) letters.
    Like others, the owl needed to be dismissed with a squint: nowt wrong with that.
    FUGU is an excellent way of getting rid of excess Us in Scrabble and such. The downside is that you don’t need to know what it is, but I do now.
    Decent workout, decent informative blog, thanks Pip.
  13. Again, I was hopelessly slow on the uptake in this one: 52 mins. I also spent ages fiddling with ‘letter as is’ as anagrist for something related to punctuation, and — fixated on anagrams — couldn’t get MORTALLY for a long time because I was convinced (S + R + MATE + SO)* would give me the solution. NOAH was a lovely clue and I liked the matched clueing of BIG and TIC. CHAFER beetle was no problem, but DNK the old saucepan: I guess it’s an anglicization of ‘chauffeur’ from the Norman French? FUGU new to me, too.
    A jolly good puzzle, IMO. And thanks to Pip for a jolly good blog.
  14. Straightforward enough (though wondered about hoohah). Probably about 25 min. Liked the bike.
  16. After the first run-through, I feared today was going to be another wade through treacle, but the pennies started to drop a bit more quickly once I got going. Lots of unusual devices, which was nice. As myrtilus suggests, the sort of puzzle where you feel you’ve learned something, and without being made to feel stupid for not knowing it in the first place.
  17. I think it must be the naval college in Devon – the college town for the Ivy League Dartmouth is Hanover NH. I felt sluggish this morning and took longer than I should over several clues and never did twig the “owt” thing (and yes another “owl” here). Thanks for that Pip. 20.03
  18. My successful run has come to an end. Never heard of AGNOMEN and COLOSSIANS but they were fairly clued.

    COD to BACK NUMBER. Epidural loaded, perhaps?

  19. Like Tim, I thought I was going to be in for a slog, when nothing yielded until VICTIM. However, I was then able to build on that to conquer the SE quadrant, before returning to the NW and spotting ROUGH CUT. That allowed me to get 2d and 3d, the Os from which hinted at COLON for the punctuation. COLOSSIANS followed easily and I was off. I never did work out the parsing for OWT, BIG and ATOM, so thanks to Pip for those. I did eventually see how TIC worked. I’d flirted with TOK for a while, but that was absolutely wrong! Getting back on the bike finally allowed me to sort out the NE where my LOI was FATHOM. FUGU and AGNOMEN were constructed from wordplay. An enjoyable puzzle. 28:02. Thanks setter and Pip.
  20. If someone could help me out please – I biffed Fathom and can see the final letter removal in the clue – but can’t seem to work out why “party” and “at home” are interchangeable?

    I am sure it is obvious

    As always, thanks to the bloggers, I am on here nearly every day (despite not often messaging) and this blog has helped me immeasurably

    1. An “At Home” is a party where people are invited to join the Host(ess) at their home, thus an At Home.
    2. Victorian ladies would leave calling cards saying, eg “Mrs. John Smith, at home Wednesdays”, which would inform the recipient that Mrs. S would be, well, at home on Wednesdays, and thus visitable (one didn’t phone ahead back then, of course, one just showed up).
    3. I can’t find a proper attribution, so it’s almost certainly apocryphal, but I have heard the story of GB Shaw being invited to a party by some notoriously boring hosts. The invitation read “Lord and Lady Deadly-Dull will be At Home on December 5th” to which he replied “So will Mr. George Bernard Shaw”.
    4. SOED has:

      at-home
      A reception of visitors within certain stated hours, during which the host or hostess or both have announced that they will be at home.

    5. Glad to be of help. As said below, an AT HOME invitation means come for drinks and nibbles at a certain hour, like APEROS are in France. We used to get them quite often when living in Ireland but the fashion seems be be less formal these days.
  21. I only know two garden features, not counting the dreaded plants and shrubs, and I liked having Gnomes today better than I like getting Haha when it appears. Like Kevin, thought for a minute about Doodah / Doodad and about the Gumbo for only part of the stew. In parts of Louisiana they warn you: don’t eat the gumbo if you don’t be seeing it made.
    1. Only two garden features? Hang on, it seems we’ve had a complaint about your comment from a Mrs Trellis of North Wales…
    1. Oh yes, except I think they were more usually referred to as ‘bottoms’ rather than ‘trousers’.

      Edited at 2018-10-24 12:58 pm (UTC)

  23. I don’t time my solve for the 15×15 as I pick it up and put it down frequently. I can only offer my observations as a novice. I solved most of the grid quite quickly but got bogged down in the SW corner. I had to reveal 26a BACK NUMBER and could have kicked myself when I fathomed out the wordplay but this did give me the checker K for FRACKED and then I was able to solve DOODAH and LLANO which was very well hidden. My only other reveal was 18a CHAFER a DNK. I also biffed correctly FUGU and AGNOMEN. Thanks for the blog Pip.
    1. Your novice status now surpassed, methinks. This wasn’t that easy, although the SNITCH is below 100. I had to look up AGNOMEN although in a closed competition I’d have guessed it and been right.
      Remind me again about the avatar?

      Edited at 2018-10-24 04:23 pm (UTC)

  24. Apart from a long ten minutes halfway when little went in, this was fairly comfortable. Wasn’t sure about AGNOMEN but couldn’t see what else it would be. LOI FUGU after FATHOM and then OFLAG. I liked BACK NUMBER which was an early write-in.
  25. Around 20 minutes, and biffed a few without going back to try parsing. Such as BIG, and TIC, where I admit to missing both the 1 (degree/gravity) tricks. LOI was DOODAH, since it’s a construction we don’t use over here, but the checkers were already staring at me, and the wordplay matched, I thought. COD today to FRACKED. Clever. Regards.
  26. 43:51. Wondering how gulag worked delayed me briefly at 8dn but oflag didn’t take too long to surface. I took ages over LOI 20ac because I had face-saves rather than face-saver at 6dn and was very slow to spot the mistake and correct it. 20ac went straight in once I had made the correction. Big was unparsed, I knew two thirds of the chafer definitions but not the saucepan, Colossians dredged up from somewhere eventually after discarding the prospective “letter is as” anagrist. I liked owt, Noah and grey area.
  27. I suppose it depends where you live whether 1c counts as ‘very low’. I would call that almost sunbathing weather. And it would have been useful to have a ‘maybe’ or a ‘perhaps’ in 26a, otherwise there’s nowt in the clue that tells us to reverse ‘owt’. Mr Grumpy
    1. Mr G, if you are having to consider sunbathing in temperatures of 1 degree C no wonder you are grumpy. Are we in Iceland? Svalbard? Fair point about the geography but this is a UK publication even if internationally circulated, so clues are legitimately UK focused. Keep your fleece on don’t risk it.
      As far as OWT is concerned, I think ‘perhaps’ or ‘maybe’ doesn’t do it, it’s not a DBE, and a reversal indicator makes it too obvious. I thought it was a great clue as it stood.

  29. 20mins pre-sleep, leaving 9 clues for morning perusal. Finished these in another 15 mins. …pleased with that. DNK AGNOMEN and OFLAG but parsed successfully.

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