Times 27652 – don’t 6, 7, take it 20 at a time

Author   glhPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 15:32. It has been rather an odd week, since I breezed through yesterdays while many found it difficult, and I found this one tricky, but there were already three much better times than mine at the time I finished, about 45 minutes after the puzzle became available.

I know we are primarily crossword people around here, but I must say I have been enjoying the extra pages of puzzles that have been published Monday-Thursday, in particular the samurai soduko. My mother does not like crossword puzzles, but she does like sudoku and we have been solving them together from Melbourne and Asheville as we are both sheltering in place alone.

Hope everyone is staying safe and sane!

Away we go…

Across
1 Intricate feline parts fell in (11)
COMPLICATED – CAT(feline) inside COMPLIED(fell in)
7 Back to be dealt with by churl (3)
OAF – FAO(for the attention of, to be dealt with) reversed
9 Triumph, confining prisoners on island state (9)
WISCONSIN –  WIN(triumph) containing CONS(prisoners) on  IS(Island) Sorry for missing the S in the wordplay initially.
10 Fine rank (5)
SHEER – double definition
11 Delay, hoping to gain from peak hours when son’s away (3,4)
BUY TIME – peak hours are BUSY TIME, remove S(son)
12 Resilient European to remain in charge (7)
ELASTIC – E(European) next to LAST(remain), IC(in charge)
13 Influenced by articles in Le Monde and Die Welt (5)
UNDER – UN and DER, articles in French and German
15 Ructions as king intercepts saboteur unexpectedly (9)
OUTBREAKS – K(king) inside an anagram of SABOTEUR
17 Beefy type turned up in underwear that often snapped (3,6)
BOX CAMERA – fun clue! OX(beefy type) CAME(turned up) inside BRA(underwear)
19 Peak in Ionian Islands seen from east (5)
SINAI – hidden reversed in ionIAN ISlands
20 Dance record by Rolling Stone (3-4)
ONE-STEP – EP(record) next to an anagram of STONE
22 Log-keeper dismissed, log not started (7)
FIREDOG – FIRED(dismissed), then LOG missing the first letter. Needed the wordplay for this one, another term for an andiron.
24 Doctor damaging practice (5)
DRILL – DR(doctor), ILL(damaging)
25 Take vital supply yielding plenty of gas (9)
TALKATIVE –  anagram of TAKE,VITAL
27 Like deserts, several lacking sun (3)
DRY – SUNDRY(several), missing SUN
28 Liberal MP enters, yet her children have all gone (5-6)
EMPTY-NESTER – anagram of MP,ENTERS,YET
Down
1 Cry of bird — motherless one? (3)
CAW – the bird is a MACAW, remove MA(mother)
2 Sentimental character from Olympus retiring (5)
MUSHY – MU(Greek character), SHY(retiring)
3 Less sensible place to go: area in Wigan booked (7)
LOOPIER – LOO(place to go), and then a reference to the Orwell work The Road to Wigan PIER
4 Hot refreshment in mug during church function (9)
CASSEROLE – ASS(mug) inside CE(church), ROLE – this was my last in
5 Shade, metallic grey, oddly (5)
TINGE – TIN(metallic) then alternating letters in GrEy
6 Anguish of the Gascon duo (7)
DESPAIR – DES(“of the” in French), PAIR(duo)
7 Exercise too much in public, then shower? (9)
OVERTRAIN – OVERT(in public), RAIN(shower)
8 Prediction of upcoming changes in theatre assignments? (11)
FORECASTING – reverse OF, then RE-CASTING(changes in theatre assignments)
11 Noble player in Varsity match initiated (4-7)
BLUE-BLOODED – BLUE(player in Varsity match), BLOODED(initiated)
14 Tried yet failed to acquire by skill (9)
DEXTERITY – anagram of TRIED,YET containing X(by)
16 Don’t hold back with the rent, maybe, sobbing (9)
TEARFULLY – if you don’t hold back with the rent you would TEAR FULLY
18 A way into field blocked by black spiky plant (7)
ASTILBE –  A, STILE(way into field) containing B(black)
19 Handle of identical large pot’s broken (7)
SURNAME – SAME(identical) containing URN(large pot)
21 Erected, taken down and mounted (3,2)
PUT UP – reference to it being a palindrome
23 Stray dog’s lead split (5)
DRIFT – first letter in Dog, then RIFT(split)
26 Sport losing wife’s attention (3)
EAR – WEAR(sport) minus W(wife)

50 comments on “Times 27652 – don’t 6, 7, take it 20 at a time”

  1. I found it tricky, too. A little misdirection ( hands up everyone who tried to fit Boxers into 17a when the box popped up), and quite a few clear but not-at-the-front-of-my-mind parts (FOA, Wigan Pier, Blooded). I liked Under and Tinge, and crossed my fingers for Astilbe. Thx setter for a fair workout, and GH for a better than fair discourse.

    Edited at 2020-04-30 01:04 am (UTC)

  3. 42 minutes here, though I am feeling a bit distracted at the moment and might’ve done better on a calmer day. Lots of penny-drops, such as when I realised I wasn’t looking for a Greek god at 2d, or that “way into field” was rather simpler than I was making it.

    I didn’t spot that 19a was a reverse hidden, and in fact made it up from IAN (potentially an Ionian) followed by IS. Well, it sort of makes sense…

    FOI 1d CAW, LOI 11 BUY TIME, COD 21d PUT UP which took me an age to parse.

  4. In searching for Miss NINA I came across DESPAIR SURNAME at 6dn/18dn – and was reminded of DELIA DESPAIR – who wrote a book entitled, ‘The Grown-Ups Wouldn’t Like It’ – notes from her diaries – ‘Adventures in many countries and many languages.’ It is a timeless meander through Surbiton, Nigeria, Hove, Jamaica, Ireland, Brighton, Zermatt, Cyprus and Manchester Airport! At Cape Clear in Jamaica she refers to the loathsome Major Vaughn – the last of the Empire Loyalists – Noel Coward lovingly referred to him and his wife as ‘pigs’. Her book is an early post-war delight and comes recommended.

    FOI 13ac UNDER

    LOI 18dn ASTILBE with their horryd psychodelic spikey plumes (florabunda petrolstationites americanus)

    COD 17ac BOX CAMERA

    WOD 9ac WISCONSIN

    Thought 7ac was a waste of time, which was 34 minutes.

    Edited at 2020-04-30 06:29 am (UTC)

  5. Middle of the road fairly standard Times offering that required thought without ever being over taxing. No issues.
  6. 28 minutes with the last three of them spent on deciphering the unknown (and rather unlikely-looking) ASTILBE from wordplay. Otherwise quite easy.

    It occurs to me that CASSEROLE sounds more like a sit-down meal than ‘refreshment’, a word usually taken to mean a light snack or drink.

    Edited at 2020-04-30 05:52 am (UTC)

  7. 49 minutes on this tricky but fair puzzle, with LOI MUSHY. COD to OAF for its simplicity. The only unknown was FIREDOG but the cryptic was clear with a couple of crossers. No doubt ‘liberal’ has been used as an anagram indicator before, but I still took a long time to see it in our empty self-isolating nest. Thank you George and setter.
  8. That took longer than it should have done. Bottom half OK (fingers crossed for ASTILBE), wasn’t on the wavelength for top half.

    NHO ASTILBE and it doesn’t even look like a word.
    COD BOX CAMERA for lolz.

    Yesterday’s answer: Cain killed a quarter of the then world’s population, as guessed. Perhaps there’s a more misleading way of phrasing it.

    Today’s question: from 1583 to 1832, how many universities were there in (a) England and (b) Scotland?

  9. 25 mins with banana, yoghurt, granola, etc.
    I liked ‘of upcoming’ in Forecasting and the stray dog Drift.
    A bit of a MER at Ructions defining Outbreaks.
    Thanks setter and G.
  10. But ASTILBE was generously clued, as were some others. Delayed for a minute or two by originally having SUPER for 10a, which is just as fine an answer.
  11. Not too hard but enjoable, neat clueing. Nho astilbe but with checkers, had to be .. firedog came up the other day
    George I think 9ac is IS + CONS in WIN
  12. 14:02. On the wavelength for this with no real hold ups apart from having to undo LOT for 27A (= deserts, with LOTS – the S anyone?). FOI ELASTIC LOI SHEER. I liked BOX CAMERA best. Thanks George and setter.
  13. 24.08 . A few biffs saw me home- complicated and oaf -and a slow start. FOI under and LOI astible- another new word on me. Otherwise made reasonable progress but never threatened the stopwatch.

    Faves for today would be mushy, dexterity ( not that I showed much) and surname. I’ve enjoyed the week so far, trusting Friday won’t nip me in the posterior.

  14. For me, a bit stiffer taking 21.20. My last in was CASSEROLE (George and I have something in common, if not lightning speed). A decent surface with lots of possible diversions.
    ASTILBE is one of those words I know, possibly from word games or just because it’s an oddity, but I would have guessed it was some kind of surveying device. Well, it could be planted in a field using spikes.
    As Horryd notes, the down clue pairs have a certain attraction. Mushy dexterity pretty well describes my crossword skills.
  15. Nho ASTILBE, my wife has now given me the correct pronunciation (ah-still-be).

    Liked the reference to Wigan.

    25″, thanks george and setter.

  16. This one appealed to me (although I needed to concentrate throughout). Some clever devices. Liked the camera, firedog, one step and surname.
    Thanks setter.
  17. I also seemed to be on the wavelength for this one. DESPAIR was my FOI, but I didn’t. ELASTIC followed and I was off at a trot. BLUE BLOODED and MUSHY allowed me to BUY TIME. FIREDOG didn’t become obvious until FORECASTING gave me the G. Never did parse OAF. So simple once it was pointed out. LOI was the, as usual, unknown plant, which was helpfully clued. 22:01. Thanks setter and George.
  18. Thank you George for the NE corner particularly. I had problems with 1ac, 1d, 2d and 4d.
    I was working on BOX BROWNIE until I realised BROWNIE had too many letters.
  19. 12:17 so not difficult. ASTILBE didn’t look like a real word but plant names seldom do, and the wordplay was clear enough.
  20. LOI MUSHY tried to make it MISTY, but didn’t succeed. Liked BUY TIME, and the misdirection for BOX CAMERA, which held up TEARFULLY for ages.
  21. Opposite of yesterday’s for me, no questions (MER at casserole for refreshment) 19 minutes no long pauses. ASTILBE relying on wordplay. Liked the LOO on Wigan PIER.
  22. 43 mins.
    You don’t feel refreshed after one of my casseroles – you’re stuffed. Only just got room for a bowl of my bread and butter pudding with custard and ice cream.
    Astilbe from wp with fingers crossed.
    Thanks George.
  23. Zippy solve with a couple of delays – firstly wondering if it was just me who thought a beef stew was a bit on the hearty side to be described simply as refreshment; secondly, discovering a new plant, which I thought was going to be ASTIBLE, which is no less unlikely looking than the real answer; and finally filling in S_E_R correctly after dismissing a lot of other possibilities (this was after first entering STEEP without conviction until it became apparent from the crosser that I was right not to be convinced).
  24. 14:13. Trickyish, I thought. A very enjoyable puzzle that required brain-engagement throughout.
    ASTILBE is familiar to me from these puzzles, so I’m surprised so few people recognised it. Admittedly it’s appeared mostly in Mephisto but it’s also turned up a couple of times in Jumbos. The same is true of FIREDOG come to think of it.
    MER at ‘refreshment’ for CASSEROLE, as per jacckt.
    As anon above notes George you are missing an S in your parsing of WISCONSIN. It’s W(IS, CONS)IN. The rule about how to apply ‘on’ in across clues no doubt applies here but I can never remember what it is.
        1. Indeed. You’d usually hear from me if it didn’t but I must admit I hadn’t checked this one until you raised the matter.

          If you’re sufficiently interested (and I wouldn’t blame you for a moment if you weren’t) there’s a long discussion on the subject available on my own LJ page with input from Peter B and Richard R. It’s the second item down under Positional indicator protocol: https://jackkt.livejournal.com/

          1. Thanks, jack. I remember the Tenderfoot clue, and remember wondering at the time if, because of the A on B rule it had to be read “working on bottom” = a definition of “foot”. That parsing didn’t exactly work, either, so it is helpful to see Peter and Roger’s thinking.
          2. Thanks. Now I’ve read that perhaps I’ll remember the rule! I always struggle to because it seems arbitrary to me. I agree completely with Peter B’s views on the matter.
            I used to struggle in the same way with the capitalising common nouns/uncapitalising proper nouns until verlaine explained the logic to me.
  25. ….”I love my FIREDOG”, nor was his later album was “Teaser and the FIREDOG”. Nice to be reminded though.

    A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle. I can’t remember the last time I pencilled in six different COD candidates, but the winner made me laugh at the image it conjured.

    I also share my LOI with George and Zabadak, and I want to go to Harmonic Row’s house for dinner !

    I knew ASTILBE from Mephisto/AZED. I wasted time trying to read “Olympus” backwards as all three crossing letters were present. OAF and BUY TIME were parsed afterwards.

    FOI WISCONSIN
    LOI CASSEROLE
    COD BOX CAMERA
    TIME 12:16

  26. A challenging but enjoyable solve. COMPLICATED took me ages to see and longer to parse, and even with all the checkers for MUSHY it took me a while to get past the nice misdirection of “retiring”. BOX CAMERA was ingeniously misleading too in more ways than one, and SINAI ended up being simpler than I thought it was. Spent far too long trying to think of hot drinks for 4d before realising it could be food and seeing CASSEROLE. Didn’t parse DESPAIR, and like others had never heard of ASTILBE but figured it out from the wordplay. OAF also took me a while, though happily it was a brief alphabet trawl! Thanks to setter and blogger.

    FOI Ear
    LOI Mushy
    COD Box camera

  27. Mrs davest knew the plant, fortunately, otherwise I would have been stumped.

    Steady solve in around 35 minutes.

    Thank you to setter and blogger.

    Dave.

  28. Whizzed through this even though there were familial distractions for the first ten mins.

    Didn’t know ASTILBE (rubbish with plants), and fortunately remembered FIREDOG from a previous grid.

  29. My first one in was HOT – HO(S)T, with several being the small multitude and deserts being just like that. This made uphill work out of two of the down clues when I got to them.

    Edited at 2020-04-30 01:50 pm (UTC)

    1. Very plausible. In physics s = sun according to Chambers. I’d like to call this a WASP (wrong answer superbly parsed) also dcrooks 10ac = super is a pretty good alternative that’s hard to dismiss once landed (wasp geddit!!) , but probably everyone has moved onto the next puzzle so another good idea bites the dust…….

      As a new solver to daily times puzzles I’m good for an hour on this puzzle but messed up mushy (misty) probably because I had not parsed two others and so resigned to it.

  31. I had ‘Clear’ for 10ac: A fine/clear day and a rank/clear outsider. Fits with 7 and 8 down but ruined 6dn for me.
    I’m always interested in those rare occasions when an alternative answer appears equally valid (as I feel Clear is).
    1. Hi anon. I agree with you that CLEAR is a perfectly good answer. ‘Sheer’ and ‘rank’ are closer neighbours when attached to the word ‘hypocrisy’, but only then. And in the phrase ‘rank outsider’, ‘clear’ is, um, clearly a synonym for ‘rank’.
      So the clue is ambiguous, and some would say that makes it defective. Personally I don’t agree with that, because the grid is part of the puzzle and so I think it’s fine when checking letters are required to resolve ambiguity.
      Still, bad luck!
      1. I think it’s OK too when checking letters are required, but I do feel that such clues lack Grade A cryptic excellence, in possession of which a clue can stand proudly on its own.
        1. We are almost in 100% agreement. The best clues stand alone. But I like it when the grid is required. It’s all in the game, yo.
  32. 18:25. I settled into a comfortable groove on this one pretty quickly and had no holdups. COD to loopier for the doubly cryptic ‘place to go’ and ‘area in Wigan booked’.
  33. For a scrabble player this 18d is a fairly straightforward word, and so very useful. It has 7 further anagrams, some unusual words definitely, and combines with 15 letters of the alphabet to make a possible 32 x 8 letter words. Best of luck finding them !

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