Times 27,575: Criss Cross’ll Make You Jump

51 comments on “Times 27,575: Criss Cross’ll Make You Jump”

1. I woulda been quicker if I hadn’t put in LETTE for 23 down bugger oh well

   Cross reference clues are much better when the clue number reads as part of the surface, rather than the way they usually do it

   1. I thought about LETTE – but what *is* a lette when it’s at home?
      1. A Latvian woman?
      2. The Queen’s morning coffee?
2. I went offline at maybe 31′ with FARADAY, CHARIOTEER, RATIO, WOODENLY, & DODGEM left, and suddenly got the first four in about a minute. But I was getting nowhere with 5ac–I’d tried several times already–and finally thought of DO=function. I don’t care for cross-referencing clues, but these didn’t bother me. The spoonerism did. On edit: Forgot to mention that I hadn’t a clue as to how 10ac worked, so ta to Verlaine for that; but I can’t say I care much for WET ROUSERS.

   Edited at 2020-01-31 03:36 am (UTC)

   1. I must say I like Spoonerism clues – though it is certainly to be regretted that there’s still no better way to telegraph them than by reference to a 19th century clergyman!
      1. You’re wrong there, but it’s very rare. I remember doing a blog several years ago where I applauded the setter for a novel treatment of it, but a long Google only found this more recent example from puzzle 26676 (March 2017):

         Recording capital exchanges, party fudges ledgers (9)

         1. Of course I will concede that there are clever ways to de-reverend a Spoonerism, but obviously it’s not much like containment or anagrams or whatever where the options are plentiful…
3. A MER at 11ac as the GIANT PANDA is no longer an endangered species even though it is the logo for the WWF. It is now officially – a vulnerable species. There was one on the balcony last night, eating ‘er indoors” ornamental bamboo. It’s highly vulnerable.

   What a horrible Spoonerism!? Right on Kev!

   FOI 2dn SPA what was that doing there!?

   LOI 18dn SEAPORT I don’t like cross referencing

   COD 20dn FARADAY – born at Newington Butts – Archer’s territory

   WOD 14dn BAMBOOZLED – have you ever been in a bamboo forest? Most discombobulating!

   One hour and five minutes, with glorious sunshine

   I you like a larf check out the ‘Corona Virus song’ on You Tube

   Edited at 2020-01-31 04:07 am (UTC)

4. …despite the helpful chestnuts like phaetons/stanhope, and I saw ‘goes it alone’ and ‘overcapitalised’ at once. However, some that should have been obvious were not – I was most annoyed to find Smetana, as I have had Ma Vlast in the CD player all week, to fill in between or after records as required.
5. Shoot, I forgot to parse 10 too… I was distracted thinking about how the US version of the saying is “Wear the pants” and “pants” means undies in the UK so that wording wouldn’t have the same sense at all. I should have gotten RIOTOUS sooner but didn’t quite believe it because I’d already worked CHARIOTEER. Guessed SMETANA but didn’t write him in until I’d seen how the clue worked. Happy to get OVERCAPITALISED with only the S crosser. Only when it was nearly finished did I realize that this is a Friday puzzle.

   I got 11 from 14 too, like Verlaine.

   Edited at 2020-01-31 05:58 am (UTC)

6. Several answers went straight in at various points around the grid but I was a long time getting properly under way and took forever to finish.

   Never heard of TESTEE before and don’t think I would like to be referred to as such. “Testees may begin now”!

   Several things not to like here including the cross references and a Spoonerism clue, another of my pet hates.

7. 22:46. No grumbles from me – I enjoyed this, but I thought I made a bit heavy weather of it taking a while to get going and spending half my time on a first pass of the clues. Like others I got the panda from the bamboo in 14d. I liked RUBS OFF best. Thanks V and setter.
8. I got off to a bad start with this, my first one being a confident TUB where I should have had SPA. BUT would seem to fit the clue perfectly so if the setter knew that then hats off to him/her.

   It was fairly slow going from there onwards, but that did mean I had time to enjoy the scenery. I liked FARADAY and STANHOPE (if it’s a chestnut I don’t remember it) but COD to SUN. I like the fact there seems to be a lot going on in such a concise clue – as Verlaine says it could be a double def or a cryptic def. Perhaps it’s both? Anyhow, I enjoyed it.

9. Blind creature…
   35 mins with yoghurt, granola, etc.
   Struggled to parse 10ac and didn’t know Acre the port. But all doable.
   Thanks setter and V.
10. 26 minutes. LOI PREDATOR. I was on the setter’s wavelength. I’m a guy with both Blackpool and Southport connections. In the former we called them bumper cars, the latter DODGEMS. That says it all about the two places. I call them bumper cars. I guess COD to OVERCAPITALISED, but I did like 17a for memories of the toasted TEACAKEs available in the more refined cafes of the north. And FARADAY also had a lovely surface. Nice puzzle. Thank you V and setter.

    Edited at 2020-01-31 08:54 am (UTC)

    1. John, I was just noting my emails on Yahoo when a small ad for Viking Cruises popped-up! We are being watched!!

       Rich Bimbo Sought – let’s see what happens?

       Edited at 2020-01-31 10:04 am (UTC)

11. Struggled to the finish in just over the hour only to find that my assumption that AE was Scottish for always/ever was wrong, yielding a pink square for ACHE and a DNF. On reflection, I must also have mentally reversed the last two words of the clue to ram this square peg into the round hole. More care required in future, though having let go of several completely unparsed entries already I was highly shruggable by that stage.

    A toughie and no mistake. Thanks V for explaining all, and setter for a real workout.

    Edited at 2020-01-31 08:54 am (UTC)

12. I was extra-glad of the cross-reference as I’d bunged ON ONE’S HEELS in at 12d so I’d eliminated the GIANT PANDA from my enquiries until 14d BAMBOOZLED made it worth a second look. All in all, this took me 50 minutes, with a lot of them spent staring at 28a WOODENLY, where I only came up with the right god after I’d finally seen the answer…
    1. I also had ON ONES HEELS, very loosely obtaining ON ONES from “Pays for”, as in “this ones one me”. That had me looking for an animal called a GHOST something. Same experience with WOODENLY as well.
13. 20:02

    Very enjoyable – an excellent workout. Cross-references don’t bother me, although I was looking out for something marking B****t Day…

14. Liked this, well up to standard .. some nice surfaces, and good to see Michael F, one of the great scientists.
    I am not over the moon about Spoonerisms, just because I tend to find them hard .. but they are part & parcel of crosswording so have to put up with them .. cross-references I quite like, in moderation.
    Giant pandas defecate up to 40 times a day. Just thought you’d like to know ..

    Edited at 2020-01-31 10:28 am (UTC)

    1. Something to bear in mind when people recommend a high-fibre diet.
15. Not too much trouble with this one, 30 minutes, worked steadily through while watching the tennis (Thiem v Zverev.) I like cross reference clues, as long as i can get them started! Thanks horryd for the info on pandas, we have a giant stuffed WWF Giant Panda called Parkinson, obtained from a Hartleys Jam offer in 1971 approx.
    I think I liked my LOI best, as I didn’t see at first it was a homophone clue, then I heard the coin drop.
16. How about 7d?

    I enjoyed the crossword taking 24 minutes with SEAPORT last in.
    I was musing that it has to be ‘endangered’ as the adjective must begin with a vowel to justify the ‘an’.

17. Are called bumper cars in the US which may be why Kevin didn’t see 5a for a while. The Guardian often has cross-referenced clues so I don’t mind them unless they go in for current UK political stuff in which case I’m completely BAMBOOZLED. I had a vague idea of ACRE from the crusades and RichardI – is it pronounced the same as ACRE in 24d? A closely fought 21.56
    1. I think they pronounce it Acca or Acco, not quite the same as a land acre.
       1. Depends on who ‘they’ are, the Hebrew and Arabic pronunciations differing a bit. But–what’s relevant here–we pronounce it the same as the land acre, or else ‘ahker’.
    2. Indeed, I didn’t know DODGEM, but I also couldn’t remember ‘bumper car’, so thank you for reminding me; it has, after all, been some time since I’ve driven one.
18. Good puzzle, steady solve – no time as did it in bits. Thanks v.
19. Not on the wavelength and gave up only 80% into my target time after failing to get DISTRUST. Cross-referenced clues are my bete noir, I fell into the “tub” trap, couldn’t see past “widower” which I couldn’t justify anyway, approached PREDATOR from totally the wrong angle, and biffed three answers correctly.

    COD WILL

20. I’m in the camp which doesn’t love Spoonerisms, but can usually live with them. On the other hand, I rather enjoy linked clues, if only because it increases the possibility of a satisfying penny-drop moment, as happened today. Nice enough puzzle, even if I wasn’t on the right wavelength.
21. Found this tricky but not beastly. FOI was TUB at 2d which of course had to be revisited when WEAR THE TROUSERS surfaced. I had to scoot about all over the grid to get going and then fill in the gaps. Heavy going, but eventually saw BAMBOOZLED which led to GIANT PANDA and helped fill in the NW, until I was left with DISTRUST, having seen which, I sighed with relief and submitted to a sea of green. 39:17. Thanks setter and V.
22. 23:48. Tricky one. Like our first correspondent I had LETTE in at 23 for a while, my justification being that, for all I knew, it could be an alternative spelling of the “let or hindrance” word.
23. This came in fits and starts. I feared I was on a completely different wavelength, but just about kept things going. Really cross that I didn’t notice the gimmick in 25ac, which was LOI as a result.
    1. That gimmick was the only way i got to the answer, as far as i am aware, in business, to be overcapitalised is to have excess capital. Not necessarily a linkage to ratings either.
24. I love Spoonerisms, but they can be time consuming. WEAR THE TROUSERS FOI, then parsed, like verlaine. Ditto 14/11.

    RUBS OFF raised a smile. I play DODGEMs every time I drive during the school run.

    16′ thanks verlaine and setter.

25. Ten minutes on the LOI!!!! Seaport. Well done for a total flummox. You know when your brain is stuck and you keep churning over the same ridiculous possibilities and fail to see the obvious. . That was me.
26. 9:50 for me so I was definitely on the right wavelength this morning (and I biffed a lot of it). Never did bother to go back and parse WEAR THE TROUSERS, so thanks for explaining that one V. No issues with linked clues, but I’m not a fan of some Guardian puzzles where the links form a long chain.

27. Not too bad for Friday methinks, didn’t understand RATIO because I had the wrong literal, and LOI WOODENLY, where the only word I could think of was GOLDENLY with OLD in the middle, again I had the order of the parsing all wrong.
    COD DISTRUST just liked the homophone
28. Hard graft today. 46.27 for a less than stellar performance.

29. No time as I did this off and on all day. I got 2d straightaway but it took ages for the next few clues to fall, and I thought I’d barely start, let alone finish! But, oh happy day, I got there in the end, although not everything went in fully parsed (1a, 10a, 3d) and Seaport took ages, even though when I filled in 24d, I actually remembered a discussion a while back when Acre (the port) caused some trouble, possibly in the quickie. But it still didn’t jump out at me this time – I could see Seaport but not why – aagh!

    I’m another one who sees the Rev Spooner and cross-clues and heaves a deep sigh. Having said that, I must admit to enjoying the panda and the bamboo when the penny dropped. I also liked Sun, Woodenly and At one’s heels.

    FOI Spa
    LOI Rotational – I had it pencilled in for ages but couldn’t see what was going on and biffed in the end
    COD Overcapitalised
    Time Who knows, not me
    Earworm The Man Who Sold the World (all of a sudden!)

30. I’m another fan of spoonerisms. Think of how many names you can make from Holly Willoughby.

    Wally Hillaby. Willy Holloby. Hilly Wallaby. You may not look at her the same way ever again…

    GIANT PANDA first in – saw it straight off.

    Didn’t bother parsing WEAR THE TROUSERS.

    Got halfway and then sped up, only pausing a while on SEAPORT as I too was looking for a measure of land or a type of house.

    Edited at 2020-01-31 06:39 pm (UTC)

31. 18:07. I got completely stuck with four or five unsolved in the SE corner this morning, and had to stop when my train got to Vauxhall. I didn’t get a chance to look at it again until this evening (9 consecutive hours on the phone, yay!) at which point everything fell reasonably quickly.
    I don’t have strong views on either Spoonerisms or linked clues to offer I’m afraid.
32. Tough, that. I’m another On Ones Heels (from ‘it’s on me’) holding up Giant Panda, and I spent far too long figuring pit that the god wasn’t Odin.

    I’m not fond of cross references but I usually find the ones ed lets through to be interesting, as today’s were. Just I’m afraid to say that in case it encourages them.

    meantime, I’ve added carriages to antelopes and primates as categories with too many members for their own good. Stanhope indeed.

    1. Jackkt helpfully posted a link to a list of carriages here
33. DNF. Never did manage to work out what was going on at 1ac the homophone was too well disguised for me.
34. Same experience re starting with on ones heels before getting the GIANT PANDA, which itself led to BAMBOOZLED. And also didn’t/couldn’t parse WEAR THE…. But I failed altogether with DODGEM, which I looked up. As said by others above, we call them bumper cars over here. I think the DODGEM came up before, but as usual I didn’t remember it, and won’t until it’s repeated a few times. Better luck next week, I hope. Regards.
35. 43 minutes, so not one of my better efforts. I did enjoy it, though. I got STANHOPE only with the aid of all the checkers, and am delighted that one type of carriage is an anagram of the plural of another. SMETANA I have only encountered here, but Wikipedia tells me he had a pretty rough ride through life, so I’ll forgive him his unlikely-looking name.

    I finished with WOODENLY, fearing that I’d need some thing more obscure; luckily, it turns out that one Teutonic god will always get you by.

36. 46 minutes, but very enjoyable (especially the homophone in DISTRUST). I know nothing about the nomenclature for carriages, so I’m glad to have gotten STANHOPE anyway, after the checkers helped me find the right anagram. I must have seen it before, or one simply develops a sense for what combination of letters is likely to be an English word. SMETANA, by the way, is indeed European, but there was no need to actually mention that in the clue. And I also had ON ONES HEELS at first, but after biffing BAMBOOZLED it was clear that 11ac would be a PANDA and then an O at the top of 12 wasn’t very helpful.
37. Fell asleep last night solving and finished it this morning. LOI was DODGEM that took far too long to see. I was another person who got the PANDA from the BAMBOO, as sometimes happens with these cross-references.

Comments are closed.