Times 27508 – an igi-bidgi crossword

Author   glhPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 11:43.

Greetings from the Altanta Hartsfield Airport, where I am waiting for a plane to somewhere warm and dry (I’m taking part in this illustrious tournament). I was very worried when I submitted this because there are four entries that went in with crossed fingers, and now I have to try to come up with some explanation. My 11:43 is a scratch slower than my normal time, and with the puzzle out for two hours, my time is sitting second on the board, so this is definitely a head-scratcher. Please check comments, as I will be getting on a plane shortly after submitting this and am unlikely to make any changes until mid-moring UK time.

Away we go…

Across
1 Energetic person wants motor racing to update for new image (9)
FIREBRAND – Motor racing is F1, then REBRAND(update for new image)
6 Put under joint ownership? A rejected suggestion (5)
SHRED – put under joint ownership is SHARED – remove A
9 Adult taking short journey into America or European country (7)
AUSTRIA – A(adult) then TRIP(journey) missing the last letter inside USA(a part of America)
10 Obvious gain for Tory PM (7)
BALDWIN – BALD(obvious), WIN(gain)
11 Maiden goes off, retreating in rage (5)
STORM – M(maiden) and ROTS(goes off) all reversed
12 Got rid of money and identity before getting caught (9)
CASHIERED – CASH(money) and ID(identity) containing ERE(before)
14 One using ultrasound for detecting speed (3)
BAT – double definition, though I don’t think I have ever used BAT = speed, it is in the dictionaries
15 Maybe they have shaken north’s pride (5,6)
THIRD PERSON – anagram of NORTH’S PRIDE
17 Orders yours truly’s presented to workers without love (11)
IMPERATIVES – I’M(yours truly’s), then OPERATIVES(workers) missing O(love)
19 Vehicle has problem with no engineers available (3)
BUS – This was one of my question marks – the first definition is obvious. I think the wordplay is REBUS(puzzle, problem) missing RE(Royal Engineers)
20 Is prayer held by theologian to be badly out of favour? (9)
DISGRACED – IS, GRACE(prayer) inside DD(theologian)
22 Silver currently making comeback, making dosh (5)
WONGA – AG(silver) and NOW(currently) all reversed
24 “Yes, I am competent” is answer to this? That’s pleasing (7)
AMIABLE – “Yes, I am competent”  could be a reply to AM I ABLE?
26 Performance involving Roman couple in which female is greatly exalted (7)
DEIFIED – DEED(performance) containing I,I(roman couple of ones), containing F(female)
27 Bird in sorrow hiding head (5)
EGRET – REGRET(sorrow) missing the first letter
28 Boxer you observed during air journey cuddling wife (9)
FLYWEIGHT – another double container – YE(you) inside FLIGHT(air journey) with W(wife) inside

Down
1 Notes accommodation units — area likely to be flooded? (5)
FLATS – triple definition
2 Roar after game and escape quickly (4,3)
RUSH OUT – SHOUT(roar) after RU(game)
3 Cockney in smashing deal? It shows the pressure one’s under (9)
BAROMETER – ‘OME(Cockney in) inside BARTER(deal)
4 Irish can act riotously, wanting no form of government (11)
ANARCHISTIC – anagram of IRISH,CAN,ACT
5 Pal to arise, becoming knight (3)
DUB – BUD(pal) reversed… I DUB thee…
6 Maestro in GB possibly (5)
SOLTI – this was my next question mark, but I think I have it… the definition is obvious, Georg SOLTI. Bear with me – the C major scale in tonic sol-fa would have the notes C(do), D(re), E(mi), F(fa), G(SOL), A(lah), B(TI) and then back to C(do).  So the G and B spell SOLTI.
7 Socialists admitting fighting to get payments deserved? (7)
REWARDS – REDS(socialists) containing WAR(fighting)
8 Fights — what can stop them for a while? (4-5)
DING-DONGS – the wordplay is because a bell would sound to end and start a round of a fight
13 March beginning to provide opportunity for celebration (2,6,3)
ST DAVID’S DAY – this was the third of the question marks, but now I look it up, ST DAVID’S DAY is on March 1st so it is the beginning of March. I only pieced this together with all the checking letters, it was my last in
14 After short moment of hesitation two daughters had opportunity for romance (5,4)
BLIND DATE – BLINK(moment of hesitation) missing the last letter, then D, D (two daughters), ATE(had)
16 Former Welsh rite given a new twist (9)
ERSTWHILE – anagram of WELSH,RITE
18 Runner bumping into rival — what could be more annoying? (7)
PESKIER – SKI(runner) inside PEER(rival)
19 Baby with absent father flags maybe (7)
BUNTING – the first part of the clue is a reference to “bye baby BUNTING, daddy’s gone a-hunting”
21 Cheat needing form of therapy — one is devoid of feelings (5)
ROBOT – ROB(cheat) then OT(occupational therapy)
23 Look at account that’s initially given after a 1965 crisis (5)
AUDIT – I’ve sorted out three of the four, and this was the last one. Took a little googlemachining, but I think I have it. Another one where the definition is obvious. The rest is the first letter of That, following A, UDI(Universal Declaration of Independence, a crisis that led to Rhodesia breaking from the UK in 1965). Phew…
25 Trouble-maker turning up in row I avoided (3)
ELF – reversal of FILE(row) missing I

47 comments on “Times 27508 – an igi-bidgi crossword”

  1. After a slow start–FOI 2d–I proceeded slowly, but finished very slowly. I biffed 13d, mainly based on the enumeration and the V, and assumed–I had no idea–that St. D’s Day was at the beginning of March. I was stuck on 23d because I stuck with AC=account until just about the end; finally thought of AUDIT and then saw the UDI. Biffed 14d, parsed post-submission. I also took (re)BUS to be the explanation of 19ac, having having decided on BUS because of BUNTING, although I didn’t know the rhyme beyond the 1st line. Biffed 3d, forgot to go back and try to parse it. NHO BAT. No idea about SOLTI, other than G for Georg? Georg B. Solti? and it’s a good thing I didn’t try too hard to figure it out. All in all, I’m surprised I got in under the half-hour, or indeed at all.

    Edited at 2019-11-14 03:12 am (UTC)

  2. 36 minutes, which I rate as not bad at all for such a quirky puzzle.

    I had no problem with SOLTI, nor the parsing as we’ve had at least one similar clue in the past relying on the ‘fixed-do’ system of solfège or tonic-sol-fa which is based on the scale of C major. Not as used by Julie Andrews though, who taught the Von Trapp children the ‘movable-do’ system in which (in her example) the first three notes were A-B-C rather than C-D-E as is necessary for the clue to work.

    I took BAT as barely cryptic and moved straight on.

    Edited at 2019-11-14 04:09 am (UTC)

    1. I think Julie Andrews said that when we read we begin with A-B-C, when we sing we begin with Doh-Re-Mi. C major is just one of 24 possible keys, so technically the clue is doubtful.

      Let’s see if we can make it easier 🙂

      1. Yes, Rob, you’re right about ‘ABC / reading’ in the lyric, and I had misremembered it. My point about ‘fixed-do’ and ‘movable-do’ is okay though as in the ‘fixed-do’ system the scale does always start on C as required by the clue. But it’s also true that ‘movable-do’ is the system far more widely used and probably the standard one these days so I can see that the clue might be confusing.
      2. The system on the continent has C as doh, etc. (Bagpipe music, from memory, does the same.)
      3. [to robrolfe] Yes, but the clue includes “possibly” — so that’s fine, I think.

        Edited at 2019-11-14 09:36 am (UTC)

  3. Immensely enjoyable example of the art of the Times crossword. 18 mins. Thanks to G for SOLTI.

    Good (or should that be bad?) luck with the golf.

    Edited at 2019-11-14 05:06 am (UTC)

  4. Got everything except for solti, which I wouldn’t have got in another hour.
    Cilla makes another indirect appearance.

    COD amiable or flats.

  6. One wrong. I had 14ac as BIT (computer speeds methought).

    And did not throw a double-six! SHRED! – SOLTI! Whatever next!? I blame IKEA’s kitchen department. SHRED is a stainless steel cheese grater and SOLTI is one of their cruets!

    FOI 13dn ST DAVIDS DAY as I am one!

    LOI (1dn FLATS)

    COD 22ac WONGA! (George Cole!)

    WOD 8dn DING-DONGS! (And Ding Dong! Leslie Phillips.)

    I thought the setter was trying a little too hard and wasted 40 minutes of my life.

    Mood Meldrewvian

    Edited at 2019-11-14 08:36 am (UTC)

  7. 17:50. I spent ages at the end puzzling about how SOLTI could be the answer to 6D before I eventually saw SHRED and decided it had to be. I didn’t know the 1965 crisis, but I think I got everything else. I was pleased to resist putting in SAND DUNES for 8D (DING DONGS is my COD)and got stuck on BLIND DATE having barred it as (4,5) on my paper copy. Nice crossword. Thanks George and setter… and good look with the golf, George.

    Edited at 2019-11-14 07:49 am (UTC)

  8. I thought I’d heard of a composer called SOLTI but couldn’t see how that could be parsed so I instead went for SELSI thinking perhaps it was something to do with isles being reversed. Glad I didn’t spend too much longer on the parsing – I don’t think I’d ever have seen it.
    1. Never heard of Solti, no idea how it might parse. Guessed SOLDI, as a political statement: You’ve sold the island of Great Britain to Putin and the Oligarchs, or something.
  9. I just went over my usual self-imposed limit because it was a tough but interesting crossword. All parsed except SOLTI so thanks for explaining it. I’ll make it my COD.
  11. A DNF for me. I eventually gave up on the trio of BUNTING / AUDIT / DEIFIED. I ‘got’ the first two without understanding them at all, but couldn’t for the life of me see a word to fit D.I.I.D, which made me doubt the other two. An odd corner.

    Thanks, George, for explicking the inexplicable. Good luck in the mediocre golf … what a wonderful idea. I’m so tired of ‘elite’ sports.

  12. 33 minutes, with LOI a biffed SOLTI, when SHRED and DING-DONGS fell into place. I knew it must be Georg once I’d been CASHIERED but I didn’t think to get the Sol-fa scale out to parse it. I did remember Ian Smith and UDI, if only after AUDIT had been solved. I thought the big crisis of 1965 actually happened at the Newport Folk Festival. Good puzzle. COD to DING-DONGS. Thank you George and setter.
  13. BAT, BUS, SOLTI and BUNTING all entered hesitantly, unparsed, so thanks blogger.

    SOLTI a clever clue, but technically doubtful, see my reply above.

    17’54”, thanks to gl and setter.

    Edited at 2019-11-14 09:06 am (UTC)

  14. Hmm, fun crossword but some quite tricky bits. I did put Solti in .. I mean, S_L_I, and a maestro .. but utterly failed to parse it.
  15. I found this one thoroughly enjoyable. I always like the grammar solutions so THIRD PERSON and IMPERATIVES pleased me. Like most people, I biffed SOLTI but certainly couldn’t parse it. I liked BAT and BUS. And the CD of the Welsh day of celebration was clever in its misdirection, I thought. 26 mins.
    Thanks for explaining GB for me, George. Nice blog.
    Thanks to setter also.
  16. Another day, another DNF. This time the completely unknown SOLTI was my downfall. Never got anywhere near what was going on with the “GB” bit.
  18. Glad to see I’ve got company – very slow start. I did more or less get SOLTI in the end but the SHRED/DINGDONGS corner took forever (Shrek, shrew, strop, WHAT?). Completely failed to parse AUDIT – I couldn’t get past Suez even though I knew perfectly well it was the wrong decade. As for BAT I thought “bat out of hell” and let it go at that. 20.52
  19. Similarly to Lady Olivia of Rhinebeck above, I had it all done and enjoyed except the NE in 15 minutes, then took an age to see 6d, 6a and 8d. Bunged in SOLTI as being a maestro, thanks George for explaining. A few weak clues like 13d and 14a but some fun too.

    George, good luck with the Mediocre Golf. I see you are off 18 and should probably be wearing a mask. And the MGA “World Championship” is a bit like the World Series, 98% are USA Chapters.

  20. ….and gave up at 15 minutes without SHRED. I’d biffed SOLTI, but it must be the worst clue I’ve seen in over 40 years of these puzzles.

    I liked FLATS, but very little else.

  21. I had this done in just over 30 minutes, but spent another 5 trying and failing to parse SOLTI before submitting. A bit of an obscure ruse IMHO. I wouldn’t have come up with that if I’d stared at it all week! I quite liked the rest of the puzzle. I didn’t remember the rhyme, so biffed BUNTING. I assumed St D’s Day was 1st March. Missed the UDI reference although I remember the crisis well now. I knew I was in for a tussle when WONGA was one of my first few in. 36:12. Thanks setter and George. Good luck with the golf!

    Edited at 2019-11-14 12:14 pm (UTC)

  22. Some parts took a lot of teasing out – I arrived at the identity of the 1965 crisis which was too late to be Suez or Profumo, and presumed that SOLTI (couldn’t really be anyone else, or anyone that I knew, at least) must be some musical reference I lack the technical knowledge to explain. I also suspected I had to be missing something in BAT, as it surely couldn’t be such a one-dimensional clue, and picked the right vowel without exactly knowing why. Liked the F1 REBRAND.

    I also like your golf championship, George. I am in favour of more competitions for those of us who enjoy certain activities without ever expecting to master them (e.g. my entire cricket career).

  24. 19:20. Tricky this, but at least I managed to solve and parse SOLTI, so obviously I think it’s a fine and perfectly fair clue.
    I thought ‘moment of hesitation’ for ‘blink’ was a bit iffy, but one of the definitions of ‘blink’ in ODO is ‘moment of hesitation’, so that’s me told.
    I know this meaning of UDI from doing crosswords, but I’ve only encountered it irl as an abbreviation for ‘unidentified drinking injury.’
  25. Another day, another finish, but without a shred of confidence. In fact, I pencilled in shred, as I simply couldn’t parse it, so it should probably be classified as a (technical) DNF. Frustrating really, because in retrospect, it’s not a hard clue, but brain freeze had taken hold by then!

    I entered Solti, as he was the only maestro I could think of who fitted the gaps, and I saw the sol / ti music references, but couldn’t understand what was going on further than that, so thank you, George, for unravelling that one.

    Otherwise, not too bad. Certainly one to make you think, which I enjoy (even if I don’t always finish). There were some entertaining clues – I liked amiable and bunting. Like johninterred, I had to force myself not to enter sand dunes unparsed! Flats is rather apposite at the moment. It’s pretty grim round here with the River Soar more like one gigantic lake and many roads closed, but not as bad as Derbyshire and South Yorks. I guess we could all do with some sand dunes if they help keep the water at bay 🤨

    FOI Austria
    LOI Shred with a shrug
    COD Ding dongs – a classic PDM
    Time About 50 minutes

  26. For me, definitely the Best Cryptic this year. 32 well-crafted clues. Nothing too obscure. A great pot-pourri. 3 anagrams, 3 whimsical DD’s, 3 reversed items, a triple definition, a real mixture of charades, AM I ABLE, and COD SOLTI, 5 letters succinctly crafted from a clue of 4 words. Thank you, setter. You have made my day.
    Peter P
  27. Unlike most I found this very easy, and with 5 clues to go was well ahead of my time. But there again it’s always the last few that get me. FLATS was too easy it turned out, was trying too hard, then when I’d finally got CASHIERED and SHRED, I was left with SOLTI. Well, I play the guitar, but I don’t read music ( nor did the Beatles I believe) so that had to be a simple biff, or non-cryptic clue if you only read the maestro bit.
  28. I’m another one who failed to parse SOLTI. I did flirt briefly with musical note-names, but the relationship did not bear fruit. Just as well there were more checkers than not. BAROMETER also went in parselessly, though I ought to have got that one. Nor did I fully understand BAT.

    Parsing aside, this was done in 25 minutes.

  29. NE corner held out longest SOLTI thrown in with a shrug, only just preceded by SHRED.

    Never heard of the 1965 issue – not something particularly well-known I imagine

  30. 51:38, taking ages to dare to put in SOLTI. But I couldn’t think of another maestro to fit and convinced myself that perhaps GB were his initials. Never heard of WONGA, UDI in AUDIT did ring a bell but I couldn’t remember which country was involved, and otherwise found the puzzle a bit lackluster (which does not mean it was easy, but not hard in a brilliant way either).
  32. 24:27. Nice crossword. Some knotty bits to puzzle out. Didn’t think I was ever going to get started, FOI was eventually wonga, but built steadily from there. Bat for speed was forgotten if ever known. I guessed Solti was something to do with the tonic sol-fa scale but didn’t fully parse it. Had no idea about the bye bye baby bunting song so that went in from flags and checkers. I think I’ve seen UDI in a previous puzzle but certainly didn’t remember it when solving 23ac.
  33. the U in UDI stands for UNILATERAL (not Universal). I recall PM Harold Wilson did lots of to-ing & fro-ing in an ultimately vain attempt to reach an amicable settlement with Mr Smith and the delinquent South Rhodesia colonial government. Days of Empire, eh? Mugabe eventually took control and the rest is history.
  34. Did anyone else spend ages looking for a C and R in 23 down for the ’empty chair crisis’ of 1965?
  35. 30 minutes, of which the second 15 were spent failing to parse Solti and shred. Wonga eh? Probably even more erstwhile than rhino.

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