Times 27277 – Perverse and foolish once I strayed

Author   ulacaPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Most unusually I snuck under 18 minutes for this one, which furriners might find a bit tricky with a fairly recondite Scotch county popping up. There’s also a fairly obscure word for genie, which might bother those who do not waste fantastic amounts of time, as I do, playing Scrabble. I think my last in was probably 1 down, as it is a word I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of. Well, that isn’t quite true, as I have heard of it (of which more below), but have never seen this orthographic varietal. I’m not sure if the Chinese tea will catch anyone out – it’s certainly not one of the commoner ones, of which my favourite, in case any of you will shout me yum cha one day, is bo lei (pu’er in Mandarin).

ACROSS

1 Prevent Chopin initially plugging one of his compositions? (8)
PRECLUDE – C in PRELUDE. Here’s one that was so nice that Mangy Benditoy nicked it.
5 Fluid movement popular woman talked of (6)
INFLOW – IN FLO. Who, but who, is called Flo these days, pray?
10 Terribly sad, to marry and scorn an old county (4,3,8)
ROSS AND CROMARTY – anagram* of SAD TO MARRY SCORN. Terrific name for a region that has had more identities than Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets.
11 Former writer’s ultimately excessive outlay (7)
EXPENSE – EX PENS E
12 Accountant keeping a set of books at work (7)
CANTATA – A NT AT in CA. Here’s a nice one from Johann Sibelius Bach.
13 Convenient-sounding cover for the Grand National for example (8)
HANDICAP – sounds like HANDY CAP
15 Source of light say backing sort of shelf (5)
LEDGE – LED EG reversed
18 Verse from sacred song mostly used in school class (5)
RHYME – HYM[n] in RE (Religious Education, bless it). Did you know that John Steinbeck always spelled this ‘ryme’? I know this and many other useless facts about the man those who knew how to criticise but didn’t know how to write something people wanted to read hated, and fully intend to spend a holiday in Salinas and the surrounding area boring the pants off fellow Steinbeck aficionadi, as we argue about all manner of things, not least whether aficionadi is a real word resulting from a genius for coinage (the Master was very keen on this) or just a silly affectation by those with more enthusiasm than learning.
20 Character by river absorbing current source of nourishment (8)
NUTRIENT – NU I in TRENT (river somewhere in the centre of England)
23 Learner kept by Aussie mate, one getting down to work at last? (7)
COBBLER – I liked this. L in COBBER. G’day to all the Bruces and Sheilahs out there! Oh, yes, in case you were wondering a shoemaker (Schumann was his name) works at a last.
25 Get boat refurbished in part of workshop (7)
BOTTEGA – GET BOAT*
26 Do what’s required, as distributors should (7,3,5)
DELIVER THE GOODS – Boom! Boom!
27 Spirit served by club employee in part of UK (6)
DJINNI – DJ IN NI (Nr’n Ir’n – capital Belfast)
28 Fish is available outside entrance to regimental HQ (8)
GARRISON – R in GAR IS ON

DOWN

1 Stitch finally made runner fall (6)
PURLER – PURL (knitting thingie) [mad]E R. I’ve heard of come a cropper, but not come (or make) a purler. Maybe it’s a northern thing. Talking of which, here’s Giggsie scoring an absolute pearler. And what a rug!
2 Docile pet initially not minding a walk in the park (4-5)
EASY-PEASY – EASY (as in ‘easy to control’) P EASY (as in ‘I’m easy’)
3 Erudite king with study facing north (7)
LEARNED – LEAR DEN reversed
4 Daughter feeding magistrate’s duck (5)
DODGE – D in DOGE (the head honcho in Venice)
6 Trivial old bird in northern lake (7)
NOMINAL – O MINA in N L
7 Female councilLOR NAttering in the centre (5)
LORNA – hidden in the chirpy councillor
8 Foot-traveller means to get on river (8)
WAYFARER – WAY FARE (‘how did you fare, my doge?’) R
9 Eccentric person’s first-class pool (8)
CRACKPOT – CRACK POT (as in a lottery)
14 Perverse artist in land without university (8)
CONTRARY – RA in CO[u]NTRY. ‘Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me; and on his shoulder gently laid, and home, rejoicing, brought me.’ Now there’s poetry!
16 Day a surgeon flapped, posing risk (9)
DANGEROUS – D + A SURGEON*
17 Richly woven cloak originally worn by Catholic press chief (8)
BROCADED – C in BROAD ED
19 Wake up in French quarter — outside as it happens (7)
ENLIVEN – LIVE in EN (‘in’ in French) N (quarter)
21 Number in which vocalist misses start, holding note (7)
INTEGER – TE in [s]INGER
22 Strong man’s woman, possibly, and male issue (6)
SAMSON – SAM (as in the great Sam[antha] Stosur) SON
24 Spicy dish from US port? No more (5)
BALTI – BALTI[more]. I got to series 3 of The Wire before giving up. Not sure the prog did a lot of good for Maryland tourism.
25 Sound sort of tie a chap assumed at first for tea (5)
BOHEA – sounds like BOW HE (a chap) A[ssumed]

76 comments on “Times 27277 – Perverse and foolish once I strayed”

  1. 33.23 but one error as I had BOHIA -in my defence I had only just about heard of it and thought that the HE bit was a sounds-like too. As a scrabble player myself I knew DJINNI but thought it was the plural of DJINN so was a bit confused. DJINNE also allowed in Scrabble, but fortunately Northern Ireland came to my rescue.
    When I was but a lad, we visited Woburn, where there were signs saying ‘These animals are dangerous’. I then asked my Mum “What are dangerou’s?”
    2. Which reminds me, what’s the difference between a kangaroo and a kangaroot?

      One’s an Australian marsupial and the other is a Geordie stuck in a lift.

  2. Pleased to finish in just under 50 mins so beginning to crack the hour barrier. Then noticed I’d put HANDYCAP. BOHEA, BOTTEGA and DJINNI were unknown. Actually, I’ve taught two Flos. I think there’s something of a return of old-fashioned names.
    1. My granddaughter is Florence, but that usually becomes Flossie (or sometimes “That *??!!* girl” .. Flo is Andy Capp’s wife
  3. I found the NHO “PURLER” very hard to locate as my LOI. On the other hand, it’s exactly the kind of word I want to see more of in Times Crossword Puzzles, so it gets my firm seal of approval.
  4. 31:32 felt myself increasingly out on a limb as I kept encountering increasingly unlikely bits of vocab, purler unfamiliar as a fall (heard it before in its other sense of something outstandingly good to describe a goal), bottega (though I knew bodega), djinni (though I knew djinn) and bohea (I’ll leave it to others to go into bohea-mian rhapsodies over the tea, I’m more of a coffee man). In the end I just trusted the instructions given and managed to derive everything correctly if not entirely confidently. A good workout with the bottom half harder than the top.
  5. 19:32. I didn’t actually find this particularly hard, but I tackled it after a long day of skiing, a number of drinks and a large meal, so I feel justified in taking it at a leisurely pace. Particularly if you consider that the last time I skied it was as a guest of Lehman Brothers.
    I’m not sure I’ve come across BOTTEGA as a word before, but I recognise it from the posh Italian brand, and it’s similar to bottaga, so.
    Your Steinbeck gathering sounds fascinating, U. I think I share your view of him as a writer, although it’s been a long time since I read all the books. I only know of Salinas because it features in Me and Bobby McGee, a song written by an alumnus of our common almer mata.

    Edited at 2019-02-18 09:18 pm (UTC)

    1. I’d forgotten that KK is an alumnus of my old college. You did well well to pick the word ‘Salinas’ up from listening to the song. I just listened to it for the first time and it nearly went right past me even though I was listening out for it. I note, however, that Janis Joplin recorded her version just before she died, so enunciation was probably not at its best then.

      My Steinbeck gathering is a phantasma (I would avoid such thing like the plague). KK is very much in the Steinbeck mould – excoriated by the critics but typically embraced by those who know best, the punters. Heaven’s Gate is one of my favourite films.

      Edited at 2019-02-19 03:02 am (UTC)

      1. I didn’t actually think you were going to Salinas, U. Irony can be hard to communicate online, in both directions perhaps.
        I learned the words to that song. It requires a very limited range so is in my small repertoire of songs to embarrass the kids with. Waltzing Matilda is another, so I’m well up on billies, jumbucks, squatters in the same way.
  6. Thanks setter and ulaca
    Happily did this one over brekkie on the weekend and was able to get it finished in 38 min – unfortunately with an error with my DJINNY (and North Yorkshire) rather than DJINNI (and Northern Ireland). Not sure why I wouldn’t have picked that up in my last sweep before coming here.
    Obviously had no issues with the COBBLER (as one of the Bruces!) and it was an early entry. Did like BALTI and BROCADED (when I figured out the lower case ‘catholic’). PURLER was the only new learning – had heard of the former Scottish county, although I had to look it up again here.
    Finished in the NE corner with INFLOW and NOMINAL the last couple in.
  7. Thanks setter, blogger and TFTT contributors. Reading your comments is as good as doing the crossword. The biggest market for Fosters is the UK where it is brewed in Manchester. It is relatively unpopular here in Oz. We’ve been trying Wilson’s from a brewery in Albany, but not with the coffee and granola for brekkie.
    27 mins this morning. Off to build a flying-fox!

    Edited at 2019-11-30 01:55 am (UTC)

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