Times 27751 – Not too woolly….

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Time: 24 minutes
Music: Mozart, Oboe Concerto, Hollinger/de Waart

This was a typical Monday puzzle, except for one clue which may cause trouble.   A number of bloggers and commenters have said they fnd this objectionable, but it is difficult for the setters to know what we might find obscure.    Georgia has not been in the news much lately, so perhaps the correct answer will be obscure to some solvers, and completely unknown to a few.   I certainly had to put on my thinking cap.     Everything else was pretty standard.

Just a reminder: if you are commenting, do not discuss the answers to the clues in other current puzzles.   We had to delete a few comments this week because of this, although nobody wants their elegrantly-worded thoughts summarily removed.   Verbum sap, as they used to say.

Across
1 Engineer chap getting work (9)
MANOEUVRE –  MAN + OEUVRE, and not an R.E. this time.
6 Emperor‘s hearing complaint tavern ignored (5)
TITUS – T[inn]ITUS, very clever.
9 Hot wind from Morocco is back for the moment (7)
SIROCCO – (-mo.+IS backwards)ROCCO, another very inventive clue.
10 Sketch feature of Rugby, swapping parts (7)
OUTLINE – LINE OUT reversed, which presumably is something in rugby.
11 Play character in first book, missing third (3)
NOH – NO[a]H.
12 Person regularly needing rope to control alien mob (11)
PROLETARIAT – P[e]R[s]O[n] + L(E.T)ARIAT.
14 Visit work briefly (4,2)
CALL IN – Double definition, where calling in is presumably not very strenuous. 
15 Healthy, inspiring new boxer’s one who may win (8)
FINALIST – FI(N ALI’S)T
17 Lacking bottle now, perhaps, like some capsules (8)
UNMANNED – Double definition.
19 A few occupying Irish compound (6)
ISOMER – I(SOME)R.
22 Bent over London wife’s nonsense (6,5)
DOUBLE DUTCH – DOUBLE + DUTCH, in various senses.
23 Ruin nearly all the planet (3)
MAR – MAR[s]
25 Agree with head office quarry’s been identified (5-2)
TALLY-HO –  TALLY + H.O.
27 Tablets not working by the sound of it — get less (4,3)
EASE OFF – Sounds like E’s OFF – don’t look at me, I’m just the blogger.
28 Retired musical group’s section of joint (5)
TENON – NONET backwards, the other section being a mortise.
29 Instantly fancy a go (4,1,4)
LIKE A SHOT –  LIKE + A SHOT, in an entirely different sense.
Down
1 One sculpting “Mother and Child” (5)
MASON – MA + SON, a chestnut.
2 Arctic swimmer raced north with Prince Harry (7)
NARWHAL – RAN backwards + W/HAL.
3 Save Hebridean island lake that’s remarkable (11)
EXCEPTIONAL – EXCEPT + IONA + L.
4 500 idle, maybe, for spell in Caribbean (6)
VOODOO – V + 00 + DO O.   An outrageous cryptic, perhaps, but a write-in answer.
5 Obscure English drunkard at Morecambe? (8)
ESOTERIC – E SOT + ERIC.
6 Add up as well as down (3)
TOT – Just a palindromic definition.
7 Capital consumption is breaking bailiff’s heart (7)
TBILISI – T.B + [ba]IL(IS)I[ff]. 
8 Turn chopped fungi over for observer (9)
SPECTATOR –  ROTAT[e] + CEPS, all upside-down.
13 Number Ten has ruined European continent’s housing (11)
ANAESTHESIA – A(anagram of TEN HAS)(E[uropean])SIA.
14 Revolt due to pact being broken (4,5)
COUP DETAT – Anagram of DUE TO PACT, and not an easy one.
16 Exploit voting procedure, producing one-sided document (4,4)
DEED POLL – DEED + POLL.   It is a one-sided document because there is only one party to this type of contract.
18 Sentimental woman gets nothing in return (7)
MAUDLIN – MAUD + NIL upside-down.
20 Huge insect covers a small distance (7)
MAMMOTH –  M(A MM)OTH.
21 Mark runs animal food stores (6)
STREAK – ST(R)EAK, food from an animal, not for an animal, that is.
24 Row about bringing in first of frigates for overhaul (5)
REFIT –  TIER backwards around F[rigates].
26 That’s the end of holiday working (3)
YON – [holida]Y + ON.

74 comments on “Times 27751 – Not too woolly….”

  1. I remember getting this wrong last time it appeared,
    but it was no problem this morning.

    FOI 1ac MASON

    LOI 16dn DEED POLL (Exploit as a noun!)

    COD 4dn VOODOO (IKEA HAITI)

    WOD 18dn MAUDLIN (Remember poor Reggie!?)

    Time 23.30 so a decent start to the week.

    Edited at 2020-08-24 12:19 am (UTC)

  2. LOI TBILISI, of course, although it would have come sooner if I’d been able to recall what consumption was the other name for. Like Vinyl, I assumed that ‘lineout’ was a term from rugby. I realized as I typed in DEED POLL that I didn’t know what it meant, so the ‘one-sided’ was no help. A somewhat grudging COD to VOODOO, which I biffed.
  3. I think “work” is CALLIN{g}, briefly.

    PS. I hated VOODOO, BTW.

    Edited at 2020-08-24 12:33 am (UTC)

  4. Surely NOAH is missing a quarter not a third to get to NOH? No problem with TBILISI. I’ve not been there but I have been nearby in Armenia. Plus the wordplay is very clear. I knew DEED POLL as the way someone can change their name, but I didn’t know if it had other meanings.
  5. I finished this without too much trouble, but didn’t bother to parse VOODOO or SIROCCO too closely. Nice inventive clueing.

    I also got a chuckle from EASE OFF – it shouldn’t be controversial, as E = TABLET is commonplace in crosswords.

  6. When I read “one clue that might cause trouble”, I was sure you meant VOODOO!

    It seems veeeeery libertarian to convert 500 to V 0 0 … you can’t just smush together discrete words in a clue, why should number be any different? Needless to say, I did really like this outrageous taking of liberties, when the penny finally dropped.

    1. Yeah, that seems very questionable. I couldn’t quite believe it.

      Edited at 2020-08-24 04:43 am (UTC)

  7. The PROLETARIAT is the masses.
    That doesn’t mean we’re a mob.
    For cryin’ out loud…
  8. Nothing too taxing this morning, though I did hesitate over my LOI, UNMANNED. I’m still not sure why it is “Lacking bottle now”. Would someone care to enlighten me please?

    Edited at 2020-08-24 06:50 am (UTC)

  9. Once I’d got Tripoli out of my mind I didn’t have too many problems, and I know a bit more about DEED POLLs now. 33 minutes, with a biffed PROLETARIAT to finish. Seems quite appropriate right now…
    1. For me it was Tallinn – for the same reason I bet – right letter count and the A L I
  10. Quite a lot to dislike here and in fact I’d lost patience with it by the end as I had a number of question marks where after parsing I still wasn’t sure the answer was correct. Or perhaps my parsing was wrong as for CALL IN which I now understand following Bruce’s comment.

    UNMANNED was another one as I think both definitions are somewhat loose. And STREAK with ‘steak’ clued as animal food – really?

    I also have misgivings about ‘bent over’ = DOUBLE as surely that’s DOUBLED?

    1ac and 4dn were the ones I finally lost patience and gave up on. I had at least been confident that the first letter of 4dn was D and had gone so far as to write it in, and that proved to be my undoing. But then the wordplay at 4dn is taking the proverbial.

    Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln…

    Edited at 2020-08-24 05:58 am (UTC)

    1. I think it is hovering around bent over double and doubled over, it does not quite work for me. Mostly fun, thanks Blogger and Setter.
  11. Several biffs requiring Jack’s explanations, including the outre VOODOO of course – but not TBILISI, which I have visited twice. A pretty, hilly city straddling a river gorge with the most terrifying drivers I have ever encountered. Georgia was the luxury holiday destination of choice for the Soviet elite, and still supplies most of the sparkling water to Russia, whose tanks remained a short drive north of the city when I was there. Many Georgians pine for the good old days back in the USSR.

    Thanks Vinyl and whimsical setter. Fun was had.

    Edited at 2020-08-24 07:00 am (UTC)

    1. “Many Georgians pine for the good old days back in the USSR. “

      No they certainly don’t.
      Have you ever tried speaking Russian to a Georgian?

      1. Not sure who you are but the people I spoke to in Georgia were clear about this. We were speaking English, Georgian (and Russian) being Greek to me. I’m sure there are many who hate the Soviets too. Always two sides to a story.
  12. I was off LIKE A SHOT. TALLY-HO. 16 minutes with LOI UNMANNED, the first definition feeling somewhat dodgy. I also had a slight hesitation at STREAK. VOODOO is so bad that it’s brilliant and has to be COD. Monday morning, so good to me. Thank you V and setter.
  13. Can’t believe the setter had PROLETARIAT = mob.

    This was my LOI, despite me being a radical. VOODOO biffed, liked TBILISI.

    < 17′, thanks vinyl and setter.

  14. 20 mins pre-brekker – five of which were spent trying to shoehorn Tripoli in.
    Not keen on ‘control’ as a containment indicator.
    Thanks setter and Vinyl.
  16. Stretched to 22.09 over this, with STREAK and EASE OFF causing most trouble. I was so flummoxed by expecting the animal food stores to end in S I tried alternatives to LIKE A SHOT which surely can’t exist.

    Marx would not be pleased with the noble PROLETARIAT being called a mob, and TITUS would look at VOO askance, but what the heck.

    I nearly went on a advisory trip to TBILISI once, but that doesn’t mean I can readily spell it when TRIPOLI looks more likely.

    Slightly tricky to find which clue caused most offence. My PC radar’s on the blink.

  17. Slow for a Monday, numbed by anaesthesia. I wanted the T-I capital to be Tripoli.
  18. Good start to the week with a couple of ‘interesting’ clues. vinyl1, I think 14 across is not a double definition but CALLING = work, shortly, i.e. -G.

    COD: ANAESTHETIC – nice disguise of Number Ten.

    Friday’s answer: the second largest freshwater body by volume after Loch Ness is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. As a Scot I wouldn’t have lock as a homophone for Lough (or Loch)…

    Today’s question: what unusual weapon did Darryn Jones use to defend himself from the 2019 London Bridge attacker?

      2. Sir:
        With that you have lost the right to join any moaning about dodgy homophones for a one-week period.
        A second violation will incur further penalties.
      1. I came up with exactly the same wordplay but couldn’t figure out how to get a definition in!
  19. 17:22. A bit of a stuttering solve. Failed to get the “idle” bit of VOODOO, which was thus delayed to LOI, but otherwise everything came in the end. Took a while to see to “Number” was the definition at 13D. COD to YON for the topical surface.
  20. No problem with TBILISI but I find it difficult to see how one can deduce that one has to deduct MO from Morocco. The solution was obvious enough but, for me, not how to get there.
  21. Thoroughly enjoyable and just right for a Monday. 14m for me. I have absolutely no issue with any of the clues and thought ‘voodoo’ admirable!
    Thank you setter and Vinyl. Tbilisi was a write-in (once I had remembered where all the i’s went!)
  22. 10:11, taken over 10 minutes by being wary of biffing a couple of seemingly obvious answers that took a bit of working out (VOODOO, DEED POLL).
    When I came to the blog and read that there was an obscurity people were objecting to I honestly had no idea which clue was meant.
    VOODOO is absolutely outrageous and definitely clue of the day. Generally this was quirky but I liked it.

    Edited at 2020-08-24 08:06 am (UTC)

  23. Certainly an oversight at 22a. Couldn’t believe VOODOO. And ‘mob’ for ‘proletariat’ is bordering on offensive.
  24. This felt a bit uneven, almost like a collaborative effort along the lines of the TfTT Turkey.

    That said I didn’t find it difficult. Tbilisi familiar enough and I actually rather like the VOODOO clue.

  25. 13.50. Found this a bit tricky in the end. FOI mason LOI deed poll. COD probably proletariat with exceptional my runner up. Voodoo was cleverly clued but fortunately doable without recognising the Do nothing bit.
    Entertaining start to the week.
  26. I enjoyed this – mainly because I found it fairly easy. I should have broken the Ten Minute Barrier but was too leisurely in solving and then checked for pink squares.

    COD: VOODOO of course.

  27. Biffers beware! Needing a capital to go in T?I???I I biffed TRIPOLI, and also chucked in ANAESTHETIC for number. When I realised the former was wrong I also biffed TBILISI, not too obscure in my book.

    6m 12s with UNMANNED the LOI, nothing wrong with that either in my view.

    However… VOODOO. That was also a biff, and now I read it here I can’t really believe it got past the editors. 500 simply does not mean V00. Poor show.

    Otherwise, a nice and not terribly demanding puzzle. Bottom half generally easier than the top half.

    Edited at 2020-08-24 10:19 am (UTC)

  28. TBILISI no problem except that I biffed TRIPOLI for a while. There was a travel doc on the Georgian capital quite recently. My main difficulty was digging out PROLETARIAT LOI from the letters given, as the rope was very slow in coming to me.
    Some of the controversy above passed my by especially VOODOO which I biffed and moved on.
  29. I manoeuvred myself into a quick start and was off like a hare. VOODOO raised an eyebrow and I only bothered to parse the VOO part of it. TBILISI wasn’t a problem. ANAESTHETIC was my first thought until LIKE A SHOT put it out. DEED POLL required some thought. Needed to come here for the explanation of SIROCCO. DOUBLE DUTCH and STREAK were my last 2 in. I also thought bent should be doubled. 13:32. One of my better efforts. Thanks setter and Vinyl.
  30. But still put it in. Agree with a number of previous comments. VOODOO? Liked MANŒUVRE and SIROCCO, which occasionally renders my blue car a yellow sandy red colour. I still have a problem with this apostrophe thingy when it’s not included in the enumeration. Some discussion last week. I spent ages on COUP D’ETAT (as I did with MAÎTRE D’HOTEL), both phrases that I am not exactly unfamiliar with. 40 mins. Thank you vinyl1 and setter.
  31. But MER at 13d, anaesthesia doesn’t numb, it is the practice of numbing, and the anaesthetic is the number.
    Andyf
  32. Can’t quite accept V-00. And the ‘now’ in 17 is a touch, well, touched – I suppose indicating a present lack of the giver of Dutch courage? Others OK. Was going well but an interruption blew the time, probably about 13 minutes. Liked the unexpected manoeuvre. joekobi
  33. Do do that VOODOO that you do so well. Put me in the “like” column. I also liked TALLY-HO, E’s OFF. 16.43 with a pause here and there to make sure of the spellings.

  34. Spent a while trying to shoehorn TIBLISI into 7d until I realised……..

    MER at VOODOO but once the V was in it couldn’t really be anything else.

    All done in 23.57.

    Thank you to setter and blogger.

    Dave.

  35. appears to be much like Marmite. One loves it or loathes it! Olivia, I did not realise that Vic & Bob kinda-nicked ‘Do-you-do voodoo?’ from Cole Porter.

    Edited at 2020-08-24 12:48 pm (UTC)

  36. I liked this puzzle and finished in a par time for me of 34 mins. LOI Tbilisi. Thanks setter.

    My understanding is that traditionally a deed poll physically had a straight side in contrast to an indenture (a two party document) which was cut in two with a wavy line so that the two parts could be matched exactly (thereby reducing the risk of claims based on fraudulently created documents). You often see historic examples in old buildings such as pubs in the UK.

  37. Oh no!! Yet again, I have missed an opportunity to be upset and offended..
    So instead, 20 enjoyable minutes with a nice glass of Languedoc rose. Chilled, people 😉
    Not sure I liked the deed poll clue though, will that do?
  38. A few went in unparsed today – NOH, TENON and TBILISI – but there were many clever clues such as TITUS, FINALIST and LIKE A SHOT.
    I smiled at EASE OFF, VOODOO and ESOTERIC but my COD has to be ANAESTHESIA if only for testing my ability to spell it correctly!
    One of my slowest times at just over 45 minutes but I enjoyed the journey.
    Thanks to the setter and to Vinyl for the very helpful blog.
  39. I’m new to The Times Cryptic, having done the DT for twenty years… found today’s challenging, but got there, kinda… your analysis provided some helpful guidance and bits I’d missed (but nonetheless filled in), so thanks. Question though: do apostrophes get ignored? I thought it should be “COUP D’ETAT”… Is this normal?
    2. The Times treats apostrophes as non-existent which is a trap even experienced solvers fall into over and over again – at least I do. We had MAITRE D’HOTEL on Friday enumerated as 6,6.
    3. Yes. Because The Times has now descended into illiteracy, one can ignore apostrophes.
      And I predict that pretty soon you’ll also have cause to raise the issue of capitalisation/non-capitalisation in clues. I think the rule is ignore that as well?

      And don’t be put off by clunkers such as ‘voodoo’. Every now and then the setters take leave of their senses.

      Oh, and I forgot homophones that are only homophones in some sort of mangled dialect that only the setter speaks. It’s a tradition whereby they have to outrage us all occasionally-just in case we get complacent.

      Apart from that, it’s all good. Mr Grumpy

  40. MER at 21d STREAK, and spent a while checking that VOODOO parsed the way it did; remembering the rule ” if it don’t parse, it ain’t right “. But it was, even if it didn’t.
    23:15
  41. ….and can’t remember when I last had so much ink in the margin on a Monday. Thanks to Vinyl for parsing SIROCCO, and to Bruce for clearing up CALL IN. I didn’t like VOODOO, and STREAK ran it a close second (at least it wasn’t that old chestnut ‘run out of clothes’). I had to write out and eliminate the anagrist for both PROLETARIAT (of course Tripoli loused that up) and ANAESTHESIA (where I’d confidently written “Asia” at the end). Not my favourite puzzle.

    FOI OUTLINE
    LOI TBILISI
    COD UNMANNED
    TIME 11:53

  42. Luckily I thought of Tbilisi before I though of Tripoli – but I spent a long time wondering if there might have been some famous uprising at Cape Dutot.
    Also had Manhandle instead of Manoeuvre for a while, thinking that 4d began with a D.
    All fell into place after roughly 1 hour.
  43. No probs with TBILISI even though LOI. Dynamo Tbilisi is a team that has featured regularly in European football.

    Didn’t fully parse SIROCCO and didn’t know that meaning of DEED POLL.

  44. A doddle. I was working my way down the page so only had the T for the capital and it went in as Tallinn for me. I liked Voodoo, but I wouldn’t want to meet it every day
    Thx vinyl

    Edited at 2020-08-24 09:49 pm (UTC)

Comments are closed.