Times 27247 – “…and you’ve been caught!”

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Time: 27 minutes
Music: The Royal Ballet, Gala Performances, Ansermet

I don’t like to be too critical, but this was a rather unsatisfactory puzzle.   Some of the clues were a bit on the forced side, and while it was not particulary hard, a solver won’t have the confidence that the answer is right that would characterize a really good cryptic.  Instead, you’re left pondering whether there’s something wrong with the clue, or you just don’t get it.  In the blog, I’m going to have to speak frankly and point out the clues that just don’t work.

Tonight’s music is one of the most famous audiophile recordings of all time, a masterpiece from the Decca recording team.   Clean originals sell for thousands of dollars, but I am playing the 180-gram reissue that anyone can buy.

Across
1 Singer to sing endlessly, entertaining you and me (6)
CARUSO – CAR(US)O[l].   I very nearly biffed ‘thrush’, which does have ‘us’ in it but is otherwise impossible.
4 Large number with time to get therapeutic treatment (7)
MASSAGE – MASS + AGE, I see we’re keeping it clean here…
9 Animal gripped by hunger ate lots (5)
RATEL –  hidden in [hunge]R ATE L[ots], an animal whose native habitat is US crosswords.
10 Member of guild, fellow suffering a hangover? (9)
LIVERYMAN – LIVER-Y MAN, geddit?
11 A monarch heard one making accusation (9)
ARRAIGNER – sounds like A REIGNER, a rather forced word.
12 Group with holy books, including cardinal (5)
NONET – N(ONE)T, where the cardinal is a cardinal number, and probably the firsr one you think of.
13 Sort to get words on to paper? (4)
TYPE – double definition, neither particularly cryptic.
14 Contracted publicity person being engaged impressed again? (10)
REPRODUCED – RE(PRO)DUCED.  If this is the correct parsing, a problematic clue.   A ‘publicity person’ brings to mind a PR man, but apparently ‘pro’ is required.   Or is this a PR O – in which case how is O a person? Yes, a P.R.O. is a Public Relations Officer – I once knew this, but evidently I have forgotten is again.  The literal evidently alludes to the reprinting of a book, but even the first printing involves reproduction.
18 The old man, deserter, is within month wanting secession (10)
SEPARATIST – SE(PA RAT IS)T.   Well, that’s the best I could do.   The month should probably be SEPT, but the ‘P’ is already taken.   As far as I know, SET is not a valid abbvreviation for September or any other month.
20 Female attached to Henry — one of six better ones for him? (4)
HALF – HAL + F.   The literal is highly allusive, and evidently refers to ‘six of one, half a dozen of the other’, but how so is not quite evident.
23 Very brief unnamed communications — MPs will have got them (5)
VOTES – V + [n] OTES.
24 One may need skill to interrupt excessive drinking session (9)
BARTENDER – B(ART)ENDER, an &lit, and a really top-quality clue.
25 Feature of many a wedding vehicle followed by people (9)
CARNATION –  CAR + NATION, a cleverly disguised chestnut.
26 Times man, one who could produce lyrical lines (5)
BYRON – BY + RON, our man of the day.
27 During breaks office assistant’s provided meals (7)
REPASTS – RE(PA)STS, where, unforunately PA is the abbreviation for Personal Assistant, part of which appears in the clue.
28 Deny access to Tyneside region? (6)
NEGATE – N.E. GATE, which should let you into the Northeast, if you wish to go there.
Down
1 Foreign author’s verse can’t, if translated (9)
CERVANTES – Anagram of VERSE CAN’T.
2 Some black liquid knocked over — one’s foot may get stuck in it (3-4)
RAT-TRAP – PART TAR upside down.
3 Plant needs fluid, one sinking slightly (6)
SALVIA – SALIVA with the I moved down.
4 Leader of meeting regarding someone who brings forward proposal (5)
MOVER – M[eeting] + OVER
5 Piece of music composed enthrals a daughter (8)
SERENADE – SEREN(A D)E.
6 Gangster and idiot — one’s not kept a diary (7)
ALMANAC – AL + MAN[i]AC, where an idiot is a maniac and an almanac is a diary only in very loose senses.
7 Artist presenting birds, first of them diving to the bottom (5)
ERNST – TERNS, with the T falling to the end.
8 Noisy fellow supporting scheme (8)
PLANGENT – PLAN + GENT, simple enough, but a word I knew without knowing its meaning.
15 Maybe like a fresh racket sounded after others (8)
RESTRUNG – REST + RUNG.
16 Respect source of information — Democrat not right (9)
DEFERENCE – (+D -r)EFERNCE.
17 Sin of fool turning up in something hairy (8)
TRESPASS –  TRES(SAP upside-down)S.
19 Support for underground workers (7)
PITPROP – A cryptic definition, not very cryptic.
21 A new winding road bridging river in country (7)
ANDORRA – A + N + anagram of ROAD around R.
22 Weak insect caught by mischievous child jumping up (6)
FEEBLE – EL(BEE)F, all upside down.  I must say, the surface is far from smooth.
23 Minister in charge involved in endless change (5)
VICAR – V(IC)AR[y].
24 Bishop pays attention — how many commandments omitted “Paradise”? (5)
BLISS – B + LIS(ten)S, another rather far-fetched surface.

48 comments on “Times 27247 – “…and you’ve been caught!””

  1. Good grief. I zipped through most of this, ending up with 17d, which I stared and stared at. I was fixated on the fool being an ass, which clearly was not helpful. Embarrassing DNF on what should have been an easy one.
  2. By some miracle, Ernst came to me immediately. Struggled with Salvia which I had to look up but otherwise OK.
  3. 40:40. I had most of this done comfortably within 30 mins but I was looking for an ass not a sap in 17dn and could not remember the ‘forgive us our trespasses’ bit from the Lord’s prayer. I solved this in the newspaper print edition which reproduced the error at 18ac so that was annoying but the answer was pretty clear. Salvia rang a bell as featuring in newspaper reports from a couple of years ago about legal highs which it seemed kept evolving to stay ahead of the Misuse of Drugs Act, every time one substance was banned another, not yet illegal popped up in its place, until I think a blanket ban came in (well those blankets can be very dangerous).
  4. No problems with Salvia as I have plenty of Sage growing in my garden. I did however biff it and came to the blog for an explanation. DNK PITPROP but guessed it from the checkers and I’m another who is not keen on the clue. SEPARATIST cluing was correct online so no hold ups there. I think 8d PLANGENT was my final guess and LOI.
  6. Thank God you explained the sap in trespass. There’s another — schoolboy offensive — word that also works inside the clue, and I couldn’t believe that was the actual explanation! LOI Salvia
  7. First post on a Times crossword – it arrives about a month later down here in our Australian newspaper. It’s good to be able to see a blogged solution to the puzzle. Interesting to see the focus on time to solve on this thread – I’m obviously a bit slower than the average here at around the 43 minute mark – maybe that’s just getting into the swing of things – usually do the Financial Times puzzle. Had the same issue with 18a as the rest – you’d have thought that they could have at least produce the edited version down here a month later ! Didn’t properly parse REPRODUCED (didn’t know the PRO term), HALF (although I recognised King Henry’s 6 wives) and RAT TRAP (just through oversight). First in was MOVER with PITPROP (which I didn’t much like either) as the last one in.

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