Times 27675 – what the doctor ordered.

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I thought this was a pleasant middle of the road puzzle, not quite as ‘vanilla’ as last Wednesday’s (which some of you thought was more Neapolitan than vanilla). There are some unusual words – a dog, a couple of plants, an insect, a dance, an old fashioned word for a shoemaker – none of them too obscure but all fair play in crosswordland. I hope you enjoyed it and that below I can explain any parsing that might have passed you by.

Across
1 Free Latin book a Greek character returned (8)
LIBERATE – LIBER is Latin for book, (and free!) and ETA a Greek letter is reversed.
5 Popular retired doctor initially under such a cloud? (6)
NIMBUS – IN (popular) reversed, MB (doctor), U S (initial letters of under such).
9 Mother’s ruin? It’s a trap (3)
GIN – double definition.
10 Problem supporter in east restrained by immobilising device (5-6)
BRAIN-TEASER – BRA (supporter – that familiar one), TASER has E for east inserted.
12 Amount of liquid woman, about 51, took regularly at first (10)
MILLILITRE – MILLIE (a woman) has LI (51) then TR (initial letters of took regularly) inserted.
13 Shoemaker, one who behaves condescendingly (4)
SNOB – double definition. See Wiki etymology.
15 Bacon, for example, sent back in restaurants I traduced (6)
ARTIST – Francis Bacon is hidden reversed in RESTAURAN(TS I TRA)DUCED.
16 Joy Orwell originally found in European language (7)
ELATION – E, LATIN, insert O for Orwell.
18 Enclosure outside old abstainer’s rural dwelling (7)
COTTAGE – CAGE outside O and TT.
20 Unknown East Ender’s assistant, one emitting shrill cries (6)
YELPER – Y (unknown) (H)ELPER droppng its H as East Enders are reputed to do.
23 Tyneside area containing popular square (4)
NINE – three squared; the NE has IN (popular) inserted.
24 Extremely low in tree-trunk, harmful beetle (4,6)
BOLL WEEVIL – BOLE (tree trunk) has L W (extremely low) inserted, then EVIL = harmful.
26 Domestic employee’s husband taking ring across river (11)
HOUSEKEEPER – H (husband) KEEPER (ring) has the river OUSE inserted. A keeper ring is e.g. an engagement ting.
27 Deserter? Not in the desert once! (3)
RAT – The second part refers to the Desert Rats being the British 7th Army in North Africa in WW II.
28 Raunchy crew in outskirts of Salisbury (6)
STEAMY – Crew = TEAM inserted into S Y the outside letters of Salisbury.
29 Alienate new sergeant (8)
ESTRANGE – (SERGEANT)*.

Down
1 Pulse member finally ate with hesitation (6)
LEGUME – LEG (member) E (finally ate) insert UM (hesitation).
2 Inept type, one playing outside entrance to nightclub (7)
BUNGLER – BUGLER (one playing the bugle) has N (first letter of nightclub) inserted.
3 Like some religious leaders, babble endlessly in upset state? (10)
RABBINICAL – RABBI(T) = babble, endlessly; IN reversed; CAL a state.
4 Dine at hotel abroad, eating most of hot baked food (4-2-3-4)
TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE – (DINE IN HOTEL)* then insert HO(T).
6 Shrub identified by the Italian divorcee (4)
ILEX – IL (Italian for ‘the’) EX (divorcee). Ilex is holly.
7 Graduate nurse in the past, one keeping judge’s dog (7)
BASENJI – BA (graduate) SEN (State Enrolled Nurse qualification) J (judge) I (one). A hunting dog breed originating in Africa.
8 Dance with girl born first (8)
SARABAND – AND (with) has SARA (a girl) and B (born) in front.
11 Shaky persons, surely, skiing here? (7,6)
NURSERY SLOPES – (PERSONS SURELY)*.
14 Mourner possibly, one putting up with oppressive atmosphere? (10)
PALLBEARER – Someone putting up with a PALL an oppressive atmosphere, for the second part of the clue.
17 Shrub head of arboretum is able so to provide (8)
ACANTHUS – A (head of Arboretum) CAN (is able) THUS (so).
19 Characteristic of monk to start to swim in northern river (7)
TONSURE – TO; N URE = northern river; insert S = start to swim.
21 Surround new visitor initially received by English club (7)
ENVIRON – E (English) IRON (golf club) nsert N V (new visitor initially).
22 Heading for ball, supple and cheerful (6)
BLITHE – B(all), LITHE (supple).
25 Smile broadly, seeing supporting member (4)
BEAM – Double definition.

​

58 comments on “Times 27675 – what the doctor ordered.”

  1. This was mainly 11 Down. Even the plants—CAN there be any easier plant clues? I was glad to finally run into a few that required a few seconds deliberation—like TOAD IN THE HOLE, which sounds disgusting. I liked ENVIRON, even though I’m not a golfer, and SARABAND is delightfully sinuous.

    Edited at 2020-05-27 05:32 am (UTC)

    1. TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE may sound disgusting, but can actually be a guilty pleasure if you don’t stint on the quality of the sausages, and serve it with a good rich gravy (preferably in a separate jug).
      1. Yeah, I was only referring to the name. I rather like sausage.
        And bacon.
        And ham.
        And ribs.
        And pork chops…
        Lisa Simpson: “Dad, those things all come from the same animal!”
        Homer: “Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.”
    2. It may hard to believe but toad in the hole is definitely not disgusting, not if it’s well made! Not a guilty pleasure either – in my book, there should be no such thing. If you like something, no need to make excuses, and what’s not to like about Yorkshire pudding and nice sausages! 😋
  2. I see the SNITCH rates this one as very easy and indeed it’s a while since I’ve been under 10 minutes. I expect there could be some PBs today.

    My only pause for thought was with my last two SNOB and SARABAND, neither of which I knew. I was torn between getting a quick time and trying to avoid getting egg on my face by putting in answers that seemed stupid with hindsight, which I’m prone to do. Fortunately I went the right way this time.

    1. I also finished with SNOB and SARABAND. The latter seems to be more commonly found as SARABANDE by Google.
  3. Biff City, with 5 clues only parsed post-submission. I assumed SNOB=shoemaker somewhere somewhen, but I certainly had never heard of it; pretty obscure for me, anyway.
    1. SNOB (or its Scots alternative “snab”) as a word for a shoemaker (or more usually a cobbler) is a real golden oldie that used to occur regularly in my early days of solving. However, I don’t recall seeing it in the 21st.Century !
  4. That’s what snobs are! (13ac)

    This was my fastest time for over a yonk. 12 minutes dead – Mr. Greyhound.
    I was intentionally mislead at 21dn and had EVERTON for a short while. (N/A to our American guests.)

    FOI 1dn LEGUME

    LOI 8dn SARABAND

    COD 11dn TOAD IN THE HOLE Yorkshire Pud with sausages – Guy, it is quite delicious with the right gravy!

    WOD 17dn ACANTHUS ‘Church Windows’ and the inspiration behind much classical columnal architecture.

    I bet I’ll do the QC slower! So is life.

    Edited at 2020-05-27 06:28 am (UTC)

  5. Same as Horryd, 12 minutes. LOI BASENJI, which I did vaguely know, but which had to be constructed. An easy puzzle, but with some very enjoyable clues. TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE is always a favourite with me. I see that the garden centres are open again in Crosswordland after lockdown. Thank you Pip and setter

    Edited at 2020-05-27 06:43 am (UTC)

  6. Under 10mins for the first time. Even the botanical clues, which are usually tackled with extreme foreboding, were gettable, though I’d have trouble distinguishing an ilex from an acanthus unless they were clearly labelled. 9’54”
  7. Dead easy at 18 minutes and in fact I completed both this and the QC within the half-hour I aim for the main puzzle alone.

    I was fully aware of SNOB as a shoemaker long before I came to crossword puzzles. The dog sometimes catches me out but the wordplay today was crystal clear.

    Edited at 2020-05-27 06:27 am (UTC)

  8. Hesitated over the unknown SNOB, was fixated in my head with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, knew there was a mechanical named SN**, couldn’t remember it, lucky I didn’t.

    Straightforward today after a nightmare yesterday. LOsI SNOB/SARABAND like others. Used to like TOAD IN THE HOLE when I ate meat.

    Millie Small died recently, one-hit wonder at seventeen.

    Thanks Pip and setter.

    Edited at 2020-05-27 07:27 am (UTC)

  9. One of the easiest crosswotds of the year .. no problem writing all of the outside clues in and then filling in the middle, top to bottom.
    Just once in a while, nice to pretend you are Verlaine or Magoo .. except I see V did it in 3:38
  10. Decidedly lop-sided experience, with the condescending cobbler and the delightfully sinuous dance, both unknown to me, occupying as long as the rest of the puzzle.
  11. 25 mins pre-brekker, never really enjoying it.
    I gradually got irritated by the string of letter indicators: initially, at first, originally, finally, entrance to, head of, start to, initially (again) and heading for.
    NHO Ring=Keeper.
    Thanks setter and Pip.
  12. Not sure if that was a PB but it must be close, despite confidently putting ENVELOP instead of ENVIRON at first. And I usually struggle with Wednesdays. WITCH of 75 at the moment so beat par by some way.

    COD NURSERY SLOPES, great anagram!

    If you want a BRAIN TEASER I am doing a fifth quiz with hidden puzzles on 7 June at 7pm, email awlockdownquiz@gmail.com with a team name to enter.

    Yesterday’s answer: the other unisex Olympic sport is sailing.

    Today’s question: can you find all five five-letter words composed only of Roman numeral letters?

    1. I can’t be polite about this as it’s made me very angry. I had to go for a drive in my Honda and listen to Mike Yarwood until I figured out the fifth one because I’m not very bright.

      Edited at 2020-05-27 12:20 pm (UTC)

  13. 5:58 and a PB by some distance. LOI PALLBEARER. And that’s QC and 15×15 completed in less than 10 minutes. I need more crosswords to do today.
  16. Easy, but no PB, another held up at the end by saraband and snob. Coincidence of the day: Post solve looked up snob in my Australian dictionary to find a cross-reference to cobbler (definition 6) which is: an intractable sheep, usually left to last to shear. Hmmm… looked up the Scottish dictionary and found the real answer.
  17. 15m for this early solve. No hold ups, only doubts, as had never heard of the dog. Nearly BIFD SNUG of joinery fame and toyed with FRANCIS for the Bacon, though luckily it didn’t fit! Thanks to the blogger and setter.
  18. Straight out of the trap with GIN and kept going. Hadn’t heard of the cobbler, but knew the dance, so confidently entered SNOB. Knew the ACANTHUS but not the ILEX, so relied on the wordplay. Was on 10 minutes with 25d and 28a to do, but hit a wall and eventually finished in 13:29. Thanks setter and Pip.
  19. Well, yes, Wednesday is the new Quick Cryptic Transition Day, good for the ego and for posting those personal best times – it’s been a while since I’ve been under 10 (by all of 46 seconds!).
    TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE of course I threw in unparsed, though only after I had most of the crossers. I see it’s more or less an anagram.
    LIBER in 1ac seems to have escaped the wrath of those disliking foreign languages. Perhaps we are all Latin scholars now.

    Edited at 2020-05-27 10:27 am (UTC)

  20. Everything was a write-in and I could see no difference with the QC. I am with Myrtilus that this was a bit too mechanical as well as being basic.
  23. Very easy apart from trying to put SLEAZY in at the bottom. Maybe it’s just my nature…
  24. ….both here and in the QC – and the QC clue is the better one ! In truth, this was a QC on a bigger grid, and I shared Johninterred’s feat of completing both inside 10 minutes.

    The BASENJI is the one dog whose bite is definitely worse than its bark.

    FOI NIMBUS
    LOI BUNGLER
    COD NURSERY SLOPES
    TIME 5:05

  25. 13’17, thought it might be faster. No hold-ups as such. I hope at some point such clues as 20 ac. will be deemed out-of-date – it’s high time really.
  26. Must have been fairly easy as I rarely come in under 20 minutes.

    All correct in 19.21.

    Thank you to setter and blogger.

    Dave.

  27. I didn’t know Bole or Boll and went with Bowl Weevil. Which I knew from The Mills Brothers Glow-worm song. But not how to spell it.

    10:56.

  28. Thought I might be heading for an under-tenner, but got held up pondering the spellings of basenji and boll-weevil. Pretty straightforward stuff today. Must be quite low on the snitch. But fun, so thanks.
  29. about 21 minutes, with rabbinical LOI.
    Of course they are only relatively easy with practice, now I was able to remember SEN!
    DNK Liber, but it was helpful to have latin mentioned in one clue to nudge me towards elation.
    Thanks blogger and setter
  30. Well, yes, it was easy – even for the likes of me. But there was lots of interesting vocab – it’s just that everything was very clearly flagged up. As Pip says, it’s good for the ego, and it’s very encouraging to complete one like this when you’re just starting out, but nowadays, I would rather take a bit longer for a bit more of a challenge. Of course, a few years ago, I would have been very cross with myself for saying such a thing!

    I knew SARABAND(E) but that missing E caused me a little trouble. SNOB as a cobbler was unknown but couldn’t be anything else. TONSURE was really very convoluted. I liked NIMBUS and BUNGLER. PALLBEARER and RABBINICAL were last to fall – but for the extra seconds mulling over those two, I would have come in at under 18 minutes. Even so, this only took me a few minutes longer than the quickie. Expect a few visitors from there today 😉

    FOI Gin
    LOI Rabbinical – we seem to have had quite a bit of rabbiting recently. Reminds me of the old Chas and Dave song!
    COD Nursery slopes – just a great surface and anagram
    WOD Blithe
    Time 19mins GoT

    Thanks setter and Pip

    Back to the bank holiday Jumbo – I’m not finding that one so easy …

    1. Ah yes. That one is mine to blog. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I think I got it worked out eventually. It is worth persevering with.
  31. 8:53. I certainly didn’t find this difficult but I seem to have been relatively off the wavelength. There are quite a lot of rather crosswordy words in here – LIBER, SNOB, BOLE, BOLL WEEVIL, LEGUME, ILEX, BASENJI, SARABAND – so it’s interesting that everyone found it easy.
    My last in was BOLL WEEVIL, which is a bit of a double-obscurity. I did actually know both the insect and word for treetrunk, but it took a while to call them to mind and then convince myself that I wasn’t misremembering one or both of them.
    1. The boll weevil might have come to you sooner if you were a Murcan; it was (is?) a well-known cotton pest in the South (as Tom Lehrer put it, the land of the boll weevil/ where the laws are medieval).
        1. The Boll Weevil song is an old folk song going way back to Lead Belly in the 1930s and beyond. It has been recorded by just about every traditional folk/blues singer and many others more mainstream over the years. It has charted a number of times – the 1961 version by Brook Benton perhaps being the most famous. [Edit: I see someone else has posted about this whilst I was writing it]

          Edited at 2020-05-27 05:39 pm (UTC)

      2. Ever heard the Boll Weevil Song?

        “Well, the boll weevil is a little black bug
        Come from Mexico they say
        Well he come all the way to Texas
        He was lookin for a place to stay
        Just lookin’ for a home,
        He was lookin’ for a home…”

  32. But the blasted BOLL WEEVIL (I had the WEEVIL bit already) and unknown SARABAND took me up to just under 14 mins.
  33. 17:56. I thought I was cantering through this one at a decent lick but am conscious of the fact that I wasted time parsing a number which really didn’t need to be parsed. As a result my time isn’t good enough to get me onto the top 100 on the leaderboard which is a bit deflating for a sub-20 minute solve. Boll weevil from wp, snob entered from checkers and faint familiarity. A bit mechanical in places as others have said.
  34. It’s a funny thing, cryptics. Yesterday’s puzzle was ostensibly much harder than this one, but I found them more or similar in terms of difficulty. In fact, I perhaps found this one harder in that I really felt I had to search for definitions rather than work methodically through the wordplay.

    To be fair, I did need one hint to complete yesterday’s puzzle (I was stuck in the upper-left), but I was stuck for awhile today on two crosses, one in the upper left, one in the upper right.

    A strange thing indeed. (The caveat being that I’m a slow solver from the US.)

  35. Bifftastic.

    Only pausing for thought around SNOB and SARABAND – vaguely familiar though if you had asked ‘What is a saraband?’, I would’ve struggled to tell you

  36. More Biff than my box-set of Back to the Future films, but in the interests of balance, there must be days like this to leaven the more chewy material we get most of the time.
  37. My best effort for a good while. 9.32. As has been noted by others before, some days you just seem to be on the right wavelength. FOI legume, LOI saraband. Took a punt with snob but it seemed a reasonable one. I thought rat was a bit weak as a clue/ answer but no grumbles otherwise.

    Took a day off yesterday, maybe I should do that more often!

  38. Not quite a PB but close at 15 minutes, of which the last 2 or 3 on the SNOB and SARABAND for the same reasons as everyone else. LEGUME was my FOI and LIBERATE leapt out at me…but I had forgotten the Latin for book so I had to wait for more checkers. Also held up wondering if the dog was BASANJI since I’m not such an expert on extinct names for nurses to be sure that SAN wasn’t one too.
  39. Zipped through this apart from the NE corner where, like others, I struggled a bit with the dog/dance/shoemaker – probably one of my faster times overall.
  40. An ususual foray from 13×13 to 15×15 for me and a PB at just under 40mins. Of no relevance to the whizz kids but it gave me some satisfaction. Perhaps a glass of Argentinian Criolla was the catalyst for me? John M.
  41. I am another who tiptoed across from the QC and was v happy to complete the “Big Crossword” – encouragement to try again. Sorry for those of you who had to miss out on your exercise in the process!
    Plymouthian

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