Times 27,347: The (Good Kind Of) Agony In The Garden

Author   VerlainePosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Well I thought this was a thoroughly marvellous puzzle, with virtually every clue having something something exceptional or interesting about it. The only clue I marginally didn’t care for, was 17ac, because I was worried that I might not have found the right synonym for “punch” in the first half, but even there the great surface made it all worthwhile. I guess the barely cryptic and cross-referential 27ac may irk some purists, but personally I loved it. I was tempted to give clue of the day to 6dn because a “triple homophone” feels like some kind of setting achievement, but 16dn edges it for me, with a brilliantly groanworthy misleading definition slotting perfectly into a superbly crafted surface. Chapeau, setter, chapeau!

12 entirely enjoyable minutes on the clock for me, and as I write the second midnight solver appears to have just staggered across the line in almost 40, so I have the feeling this might prove to be a tester. Let me know how you all enjoyed the experience…

ACROSS
1 Objective of criminal carrying weapon (8)
BALANCED – BAD [criminal] “carrying” LANCE [weapon]. That’s objective as an adjective, not a noun.

9 Opera, one performed without me love! (8)
IDOMENEO – I [one] + DONE [performed] “without” ME + O [love]

10 Letting go right before audience, person who flourishes (6)
WAIVER – homophone of WAVER [person who flourishes]. Thank goodness only one of these words fits, or else I’m sure I wouldn’t have known which to enter.

11 Sort of track something boring, if listened to (3-7)
ALL-WEATHER – homophone of AWL WHETHER [boring | if]

12 It may stand in the way, note (4)
STET – in ST [the way], TE [note]

13 He met Agnes sneakily in the garden (10)
GETHSEMANE – (HE MET AGNES*) [“sneakily”]. My, and I expect keriothe‘s, FOI.

16 Act to help penurious soldier, 20, to catch Irish girl (4, 3)
POOR LAW – P.O.W. [soldier, imprisoned (the answer to 20ac)] to “catch” ORLA [Irish girl]

17 Punch back of leg and hide (3,4)
BOX CALF – BOX [punch] + CALF [back of leg]

20 Given time, one’s inclined to accept one’s daughter (10)
IMPRISONED – I’M PRONE [one’s | inclined] to “accept” I’S [one] + D [daughter]

22 He passed on watch in return for old coin (4)
OBOL – OB. [he passed on] + reversed LO [watch]

23 Alias agent used in part of this country (4,6)
EAST ANGLIA – (ALIAS AGENT*) [“used”]

25 What the righteous have initially got going, gradually (6)
NOSING – the righteous have NO SIN, + G{ot}

26 Cold War leader’s fall within a month … (8)
ANDROPOV – DROP [fall] within A NOV [a | month]

27 … a lift to his opposite number? (8)
ELEVATOR – simply enough what Andropov’s opposite number during the Cold War, or any other American, might call a lift.

DOWN
2 After a hellish experience, refusing to drink old liqueur
AMARETTO – after A MARE [a | hellish experience], TT O [refusing to drink | old]

3 Daredevil coming up, briefly, to perform again (10)
ADVENTURER – ADVENT [coming] + reversed RERU{n} [to perform again]

4 Something to blow about, primate’s handling large fine (3,7)
COR ANGLAIS – C ORANG’S [about | primate’s] “handling” L A1 [large | fine]

5 These linguists are keen gardeners? (7)
DIGLOTS – if you DIG LOTS, you’re probably a keen gardener. Probably.

6 Came by bike? Or by boat? Or motorway, if picked up?
RODE – not sure if I’ve ever seen a triple homophone before! Of, in this case, ROWED [came by boat] and ROAD [motorway].

7 Girl is deaf, missing tips (6)
ANTHEA – {c}AN’T HEA{r}

8 The solver emphatically in good form? (8)
YOURSELF – if you are feeling YOURSELF, you are feeling in good form.

14 Potentially dangerous steps end with cowards running (5,5)
SWORD DANCE – (END + COWARDS*) [“running”]

15 Old bags one put in train, turning up somewhere in Pacific (10)
MICRONESIA – CRONES I [old bags | one] “put in” reversed AIM [train]. I’ve fallen into the Micronesia/Macronesia trap before now so had to parse this one very carefully, I can tell you!

16 Damage shower, adjusting cold tap: endless grief (5,3)
PRICE TAG – (C TAP GRIE{f}*) [“adjusting…”]. Damage shower as in, something that shows you “the damage”, as in to your wallet!

18 Give impression of being keen on probe (4,4)
LOOK INTO – if you LOOK like you’re INTO something, you’re giving the impression of being keen on it

19 Rarely seen clasps can bind? (7)
ENSLAVE – (SEEN*) [“rarely”] “clasps” LAV [can]

21 Latin local glad as opponent’s showing up (6)
POSADA – hidden reversed in {gl}AD AS OP{ponent}. This is a Spanish-speaking, not a Roman, inn.

24 Shots that some doctors give, bending over (4)
NIPS – some “doctors” provide SPIN, which you will need to reverse here.

57 comments on “Times 27,347: The (Good Kind Of) Agony In The Garden”

  1. 1 hour 47, with one mistake, STET, never heard of. Pleased enough, given the comments from experienced solvers here.
  2. So I am the only one who thinks 8D is referring to the form YOUR GOOD SELF?
    1. Possibly? I just opened up my Collins app and it gives one of the definitions of “yourself” as “in good form”, so I still think it’s just a double definition to be honest.
  3. 39:34. A late, late solve but I seem to have been on the wavelength for this tricky offering and whilst I could sense that it had a bit of an edge, I didn’t really notice it being particularly difficult when solving. The box of box calf required an alphabet trawl but fortunately I did the trawl in alphabetical order so box wasn’t too far along. Knew the opera. Well heard of it at least. Missed the cross referential nature of 27ac entirely and just biffed elevator from ‘lift’. I mentioned a similar clue to 16dn on here quite recently so that one went straight in from damage shower. FOI Gethsemane. LOI adventurer. Lots of excellent stuff in between.
  4. Still 9 left after 90 mins. From the blog, NHO OBOL or DIGLOTS nor the opera. Oh well
  5. There was a lot I didn’t like about the clues in this crossword.
    17ac first part could be almost anything, not adequately indicated.
    19dn I had ENCLAVE from ENVE(lope) CLA(sps).
    16dn PRICE WAR could be cause of endless grief (ICE RAP is cold tap).
    2dn MARE is not “a hellish experience” just a female horse.
    10ac LEAVER lets go, each (EA) person (I or one) who flourishes (LIVER)

    from Jeepyjay

    1. Enough people seemed to have had a mare solving this puzzle, colloquially speaking.

      Edited at 2019-05-11 04:04 pm (UTC)

    2. Collins: a very unpleasant or frustrating experience
      ODO: A very unpleasant or frustrating experience
      Chambers: a calamitous experience
  6. Strewth. An hour and sixteen minutes, but failing on PRICE TAG, where I opted for “price war”.
  7. We feel compelled to add our thanks for this delightful offering, even though doing it 2 months after everyone else. Eventually got there in 78mins, which is more than double our usual time. 9a idomeneo went in on a wing and a prayer, but it parsed well enough to be despairingly entered. The alphabet trawl for 17a _o_ calf failed on the first letter run through , bop occurring but not box until the final moments of the second letter trial.
  8. Thanks setter and verlaine

    Would have to be one of the hardest puzzles that I’ve done this year so far – a combination of unusual words – GETSEMANE (yep, some of us live in partial biblical ignorance), BOX CALF, ANDROPOV (and in Russian political history), AMARETTO, DIGLOTS and POSADA – and very tricky parsing, although OBOL was the only one that was unparsed in coming here. Required a lot of referential aids and over 2 hours of solving across several days to get it sorted.
    Interestingly, I was aware of the IDOMENEO opera and it was the second or third in and had no issues with MICRONESIA not all that long after.
    Did enjoy working my way through many of the convoluted charades with COR ANGLAIS one of the favourites.
    Finished in the SW corner with POOR LAW (and the previously unknown Irish name), the very clever PRICE TAG and the tricky, but very funny DIGLOTS the last few in.

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