Times 27,419: Time To Shag Ass

60 comments on “Times 27,419: Time To Shag Ass”

1. A relief after yesterday’s. I got REHEEL right off, but hesitated to put it in until, after an embarrassingly long time, the ‘last’ penny dropped. Also hesitated on SHAGGY, as I DNK SHAG=cormorant. And I wondered about TARSUS, 1) thinking ‘bones’ should be TARSI, and 2) not coming up with MISSUS, but only SPOUSE, and thinking surely they can’t delete separate letters. But fortunately (this time) I disregarded my doubts.
   V, I realize this is a British puzzle, but to this Murcan your title is awfully near the knuckle! I wouldn’t say it in public, which is saying a good deal.
   1. Anyone who’s come across this by Christopher Isherwood won’t forget this equivalence:

      The Common Cormorant or shag
      Lays eggs inside a paper bag.
      The reason you will see no doubt
      It is to keep the lightning out.
      But what these unobservant birds
      Have never noticed is that herds
      Of wandering bears may come with buns
      And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

      1. Tut tut, Mr Isherwood, rhyming buns and crumbs!
      2. Greetings, I’ve just elected myself as the smart ass to point out the b*****ing obvious.
         Cormorant and shag are two similar looking closely related and frequently confused bird species. They are both black, reptilian-like, fish eating water birds that swim low on the water with their heads up tilted towards the sky.
   2. The British sense of SHAG is a lot naughtier than the relevant American one here, which is merely “to move or lope along” (M-W)—as in “haul ass.”
      1. I didn’t know that meaning; the only one I knew (aside from baseball practice) is the British one. Combine that with the American meanings of ‘ass’, and dot dot dot.
         1. I’m reminded of the the American golf coach Jimmy Ballard. I have a video of him using the shag bag to illustrate a connected golf swing.
            You can still buy one: FORB DELUXE GOLF SHAG BAG
            32 inch x 6 inch ultra-durable nylon golf shag bag. Lightweight aluminium collection tube with locking device to stop golf balls falling out. Golf ball collector stores 85 golf balls.
   3. Brits and Yanks have a bit of a history when it comes to the nether regions: https://youtu.be/eIVGX-IkVy8

      Edited at 2019-08-02 11:04 am (UTC)

   4. I remember the first time I saw the phrase “let’s shag ass!” written somewhere. I went bright pink! But I suppose the naughtier meaning of “shag” has been popularised in America now by Austin Powers. It mustn’t have had much currency at the time though or presumably they’d never have gotten away with the subtitle “The Spy Who Shagged Me”…

      Edited at 2019-08-02 05:06 pm (UTC)

2. 17A really made my day … thank you setter for dreaming up this superb definition. Thank you, verlaine for the timely blog
3. ….and tossed it aside. Yes, I came back eventually and finished, but I thought there were too many obscurities and strange usages. I’m sure it can all be justified by the dictionary, but it lacked wit and the joy of discovery.
4. Shag is a very popular word back in Blighty. Maybe we are not quite as stiff-necked as ‘Brother Jonathan’. ‘Lighting up a fag’ (ciggy), usually brings out the smelling salts.

   Anyway, less of cormorants, here was a DNF at 22dn TARSES got the idea but for some reason, beyond my ken, went for Misses when of course it is Missus. Must agree with Lord Vinyl especially in the South Western quarter.

   FOI 1ac ATTACK which soon had to change to ASSAIL – I blame Friday.

   LOI 22dn as above

   COD 17ac REHEEL

   WOD 20dn HIS NIBS

   I believe STIFF-NECKED comes from a time when gentlemen’s collars were higher and starched.

   This failure took over an hour. But not as bad as the cricket 122-8!!

   Edited at 2019-08-02 03:25 am (UTC)

   1. I suppose if the Israelites were wearing starchy high collars as they worshipped the golden calf you might be right. Exodus 32?
      1. To be fair, horryd is more into goats than oxen.
         1. OK, that’s enough. Let’s play nice here.
            1. I think you’ve missed the Biblical reference, V. I can’t imagine horryd will be too miffed.
               1. This figure of speech was used in The Scriptures to express the stubborn, untractable spirit of a people not responsive to the guiding of their God. Exodus 32:9; 33:3; Deuteronomy 9:6; 2 Chronicles 36:13; Jeremiah 17:23, etc.. I further note the New Testament where sklerotrachelos, is so translated, Acts 7:51, “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit.”.
5. My LOI in was ESTATE, as my thinking for too long was the same as Verlaine’s at first, but POI was SHAVE (“Kiss,” eh?). The only obscurity remaining post-solve was what SHAGGY had to do with the bird, so I looked it up.

   I didn’t finish yesterday’s till this afternoon (caught up on the previous two days’ QCs, too, in the same session), having been interrupted by the Democratic debates and then having to copy-edit stories about them after midnight, as well as finishing a charming little book about the history and usages of the semicolon that came into the office yesterday. For the record, I was an “Aye” on that puzzle, and I also found this one entertaining enough.

   Edited at 2019-08-02 04:13 am (UTC)

6. 12:38. No real problems with this, but found it a bit odd perhaps in the same way as vinyl. I don’t think I’ve ever come across the expression STIFF-NECKED before.
   1. Blame it on that Darlington Hallesque education: https://biblehub.com/topical/s/stiff-necked.htm
7. Under an hour, but only just.

   Most of my problems solving this have already been mentioned by others so I would only add that I merred at ‘trendy/natty’ at 15ac because I think ‘natty has more to do with neatness than trendiness. However as is my wont I scoured the usual sources after completing the grid and found that ODO alone has ‘natty / fashionable’ which I suppose covers it.

   Having had a moan yesterday about my sub to the Times having just increased by 100% (+ 1p) I am not pleased today to find that the newspaper site is still displaying yesterday’s paper on all my devices. Fortunately the Club is okay.

   Edited at 2019-08-02 06:06 am (UTC)

   1. Collins has ‘dapper’ as one of the definitions of ‘natty’, which to me is a closer equivalent than either ‘neat’ or ‘trendy’.
8. Stopped after 20′, without ESTATE. Also subsequently found INGENIOUS was wrong.

   A SHAG is much smaller than a cormorant, they are different birds, but I liked the clue.

   Thanks verlaine and setter.

   1. Wikipedia disagrees.. it says “The European shag or common shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant.” The Great cormorant is larger .. but even that is called a shag in some parts of the world, it seems
      1. As we have now been informed, size is obviously important.
9. 29 minutes, helped along by a few coincidences, like having eaten an apricot fool just last night, and Bristol’s chief nick being the New BRIDEWELL Police Station, which at least put the right association in my brain for the unknown prison. (EDIT: I see on further research that the nick started off as an actual BRIDEWELL, so it’s not so much of a coincidence after all!)

   I wasn’t helped by not knowing TROUSSEAU and, like Kevin, being fairly sure that “tarsi” was the plural of TARSUS, which of course it is, but not remembering that it is in itself a collection of bones… Those and the CLAMPDOWN/IMP crossers held me up the longest, I think. Not sure why those last two seemed so hard.

   FOI 1a ASSAIL LOI 20d HIS NIBS, COD 25d CLOWN. You can see on my sheet where I’ve corrected INGENIOUS to INGENUOUS, so it was a pretty close call!

   Edited at 2019-08-02 07:44 am (UTC)

10. …That till I loved, I never lived enoofah.
    45 mins with yoghurt, granola, banana, etc.
    I liked it, but found it chewy in places.
    Mostly I liked: Stoned and His Nibs.
    Is that Speakers’s in 5dn a typo?
    Thanks setter and V.
    1. Good spot M .. passed me by completely
11. …who got caught red-handed, STONED on a date. I only eat the pitted Medjool ones. And apparently it wasn’t SHAGGY either. 32 minutes with LOI SHAVE, which I’m only now seeing why. I was a long time putting in TARSUS, thinking they were singular, so SOUNDEST took its time, while I struggled to remember the Sartre titles I’ve read. Existential angst indeed. COD to TROUSSEAU, probably because I like the idea of a noble savage walking up the aisle. That needs a bit more work. The RHS was easier than the left, but not a Friday stinker. Thank you V and setter.
12. Just shy of 22 minutes, which I think is my average. It probably pays to be a bit of an innocent with this puzzle, as there’s quite a bit of oo-er missus lying around as V has ably demonstrated. Who hasn’t had to endure a guff in a sauna (always someone else’s)? Plus I rather resent the suggestion any date of mine would have to be stoned to put up with the idea.
    With trepidation, I confess I rather liked SHAGGY and the smooth round bottoms
13. 13:59 … with a fair chunk of that tidying up loose ends. I didn’t know, or had forgotten, that TARSUS is not a single bone, so I tried rethinking that in all kinds of ways. SHAVE and IMP also required extra thought to justify.

    I did admire some of the surfaces in here, especially the Athenian jobseeker and the animate luggage of China. Enjoyed HIS NIBS and ’Satre’s is”, too.

    But I’ll give COD to the smooth round bottoms.

14. This was a welcome return to normality after yesterday’s disaster which I submitted off leaderboard after having to use aids for 3 of the clues as I approached the 90 minute mark. Great picture of the feline speed merchant Z btw. IMP was my FOI and, joining the crowd, ESTATE was my last. Liked REHEEL and also had reservations over TARSUS, but shrugged and moved on. Was happier when SLEEK and SOUNDEST appeared. 26:25. Thanks setter and V.
15. The old ‘last’ chestnut fooled me yet again and REHEELED was my er… last in. All parsed except a missed ‘missus’. Am I the only one who needed the crossers for 28d, ie ‘tun’ vs NUT?

    As well as 17a I liked DEERSTALKER. Finished in 47 minutes.

    Thank you to setter and blogger.

16. Somewhat delayed by 19a, where I saw ‘Sponge pudding’ as a phrase, and having got the F in the middle, was trying to make words with DUFF.
17. One lovely word which will never make it into The Times daily crossword (but may be included in the Jumbo) is ultracrepidarian, referring to the Athenian sandal repairer Crepidus who never missed an opportunity to wax lyrical about anything from the comfort of his last. Perhaps this is where the English get their “talking a load of cobblers”.
    1. That would certainly be much more high-minded than what I believe is the origin of the phrase – CRS talking a load of cobblers’ awls. Sorry to lower the tone again 😊
18. 33 minutes, but had tried ENTITY at 8dn from writer = pen, capital suggesting (c)ity – but where’s definition. Also a typo elsewhere, so my worst submission in a while – off to cricket now, hoping for better news.
19. Similar problem re estate so put it in with a shrug – I rather liked the clue when I understood it! Finished though, so that’s ok, although a couple went in unparsed. Done and dusted in under an hour.

    Overall, I liked this one – Wednesday was fun for me, although I can see that it would have been too easy for many of you (the whizzbangers as I refer to you when feeling particularly dim) and yesterday’s was too hard for me (as predicted). But today was just right – humorous / cheeky, a few easy ones to get started and than a few chewy ones! I also liked sleek and his nibs.

    FOI deerstalker – a close shave for COD for its surface
    LOI estate (of course)
    COD reheel

    Today’s earworm – the Wallace and Gromit theme!

    ps What’s POI?

    1. Penultimate One In.
       Has the penny dropped?
       Something new for the Glossary?
       1. 😊 It has now! And, yes, I think it’s one for the glossary – I did go and have a look before I asked. Cheers Penny
       2. Can we have AOI (Antepenultimate One In)? I guess pre-antepenultimate would be one too far.
          1. I was wondering how far back (and indeed forward too) we might go with this!
20. Not as difficult as many Friday puzzles; the main delay was with that bone (or bones, to be accurate – glad to see that I wasn’t alone in my misapprehension about one tarsus, several tarsi). Otherwise, nothing too tricky, but a few places where I paused to make the connection for the required meaning of a word which has more than one…kiss, sound etc.
21. I think stiff necked is used a time or two in the bible
22. A nice puzzle after yesterday’s oddity, but not very Fridayish – I was done in 7m 37s, with fingers crossed a bit for TARSUS. Like our blogger, I finished on ESTATE having gone through the same thought process.

    My only grumble is 14a, where ‘Have lunch’ is a definition by example. Otherwise, a lovely set of clues.

23. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt to this one, too. That’s two in a row. Here’s to a classic Times crossword on Monday.
24. 13:22. My FOI, LOI and COD were the same as Verlaines’s (sic). Indeed, ESTATE must have taken close to two minutes at the end to get.

    I was convinced we’d had the TARSI/TARSUS discussion on here fairly recently but the comments above seem to suggest not. Maybe someone with the time and inclination can do a search? Regardless, I was confident that it was a plural.

25. There a lesson for you here. If you read my “excellent” Jumbo blogs you’d have encountered TARSUS at 9 across here, this May: Jumbo 1371 May2019
    1. I knew I had seen it somewhere very recently and retained the necessary GK to take it in my stride today.
    2. I only resumed solving Jumbos and reading your excellent blogs in June and I therefore wasted precious minutes worrying about bones—> tarsus.

       Lesson totally learned

26. Surely, 22 down if they are bones plural, they it should be “tarsi” ?
    1. You haven’t read the comments have you? Or looked up tarsus in a dictionary.
27. Because it is meat and right so ta do (5)

    Edited at 2019-08-02 03:28 pm (UTC)

    1. ….a dinner. Far too filling for lunch, but we’ll grant the setter a lot of licence today. Gooseberry FOOL is a favourite of mine, but it’s a dessert. Spotted Dick is a pudding (no “shag” jokes please !)

       The TROUSSEAU usually includes a honeymoon outfit, and sometimes bedding, so I’d class it as “marriage” rather than “wedding”.

       You’ll gather that, for the third time this week, I found the puzzle less than satisfying. Thanks to Verlaine for parsing TARSUS.

       FOI AMICABLE
       LOI ESTATE
       COD REHEEL
       TIME 12:29

       Edited at 2019-08-02 04:00 pm (UTC)

28. For 26ac I found SPEED which is reverse of DEEPS (sea bottoms) and SMOOTHs things on their way. But this resulted in 13dn as STIFF-HEADED which didn’t seem quite right.
    Also why does the meat in 14ac have to be ROAST?

    from Jeepyjay

29. Not much to say here, as the SHAG discussion has already covered everything worth saying. LOI was ESTIMATE when I figured out what was going on. I entered STONED without parsing the ‘date’ aspect at all. Regards.
30. Hurray. No pinks.

    SW took the longest, LOI being HIS NIBS, closely preceded by LOOFAH and SOUNDEST.

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