Times 27789 – my postilion has blown it!

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
A pleasant and not too tricky Wednesday this week, which has a good mix of easy clues, and some interesting words. Well, interesting in the sense that, with time to fill, one can potter off into Wiki or Google to investigate more; e.g. any of 1a, 10a, 21a, 22a, 1d, 7d, 20d, if one was not familiar with their origins or details.

Across
1 Instrument that accompanied mail, deployed on short trip ultimately (4,4)
POST HORN – (ON SHORT P)*, the P being trip ultimately. A valveless horn like a bugle but rounded, used by postilions on mail coaches. Before seeing the anagram, I was off looking for a sort of HARP.
5 Woman with capacity to be realistic (6)
VIABLE – VI (woman) ABLE (with capacity).
8 In college, Heather meets posh boy speaking only one tongue (10)
UNILINGUAL – UNI (college) LING (heather the plant) U (posh) AL (a boy).
9 One of two giants swigging first of rum — a diluted type (4)
GROG – GOG as in Gog and Magog, giants in various Biblical and folklore tales; insert R (first of rum) to get grog which was watered-down rum issued daily to sailors.
10 Financial crash involving dome by Hants resort? (5,3,6)
SOUTH SEA BUBBLE – DD, the second whimsical definition being based on Southsea near Portsmouth having a dome. I only recently read a book about the Georgian monarchs and the saga of this scandalous affair. Perhaps BJ can persuade a new Chinese version of the South Sea Company to take over the growing National Debt, much as this one did in 1720.
11 Greek character circles ship, beginning to survey frame (7)
CHASSIS – CHI (Greek letter) around A SS (a ship) S (beginning to survey). I think this should read ‘circles a ship’ but the editor seems to have missed it.
13 Again decline drinks, with smoke briefly put round (7)
RELAPSE – LAPS (drinks) inside REE(k). Reek can mean to smoke or give off fumes, as well as meaning to smell nasty. Edinburgh was known as “Auld Reekie” apparently for both of these reasons.
15 Solvent one takes to Tyneside (7)
ACETONE – ACE (one) TO NE (North East). Acetone, or more scientifically propanone, is the simplest ketone.
18 Crazy about Kelly? Completely bowled over! (7)
STUNNED – NUTS ‘about’ is STUN, add NED (Kelly the Australian outlaw). At first I thought this was about the White House CoS General John Kelly who was recently quoted as “stunned” to hear about a female Republican Congress member publicising a private DJT phone call to a military widow for propaganda purposes. American politics today, you couldn’t make it up.
21 US church member sat in yard casually with coffee (6-3,5)
LATTER-DAY SAINT – LATTE (coffee) (SAT IN YARD)*. You can be a LDS or Mormon anywhere worldwide, not just USA, there’s even a LDS temple in the Isle of Man, I know a nice family who belong.
22 Type size some myopic academics required (4)
PICA – hidden word in MYO(PIC A)CADEMICS. A measure of type size, details of which vary from UK to USA, like gallons do.
23 Eg pianist’s assistant gripping book? (4-6)
PAGE-TURNER – double definition.
24 Additional drink council leader knocks back on returning (6)
CHASER – C (council leader) HAS (knocks back, drinks) ER (RE, on, reversed).
25 Policeman demanding dope from Parisian carrying weapon (8)
GENDARME – GEN (dope) DE (from, French) has ARM (weapon) inserted.

Down
1 Sort of acid acceptable around most of vast country (7)
PRUSSIC – PC (acceptable, to snowflakes at least) has RUSSI(A) inserted. Prussic acid is a old name for hydrogen cyanide, which in pure form is a liquid boiling at 25.6⁰C, and not to be trifled with unless you’re a professional poisoner.
2 Fan replacing marks with pence to lay down? (9)
STIPULATE – STIMULATE (fan, as in fan the flames perhaps) has its M replaced by a P.
3 Pinnacles reached by hospital rowing crews (7)
HEIGHTS – H (hospital) EIGHTS (rowing crews).
4 Move backwards, using right exit (7)
REGRESS – R(ight), EGRESS = exit.
5 Broadcasting on TV, value a dish (3-2-4)
VOL-AU-VENT – (ON TV VALUE)*.
6 Lab rage impaired academic study (7)
ALGEBRA – (LAB RAGE)*. I liked algebra, but never did get the hang of matrices.
7 One with pride in Sir Tristram’s birthplace, we hear? (7)
LIONESS – homophone reference to Sir Tristram de Lyones, who features in the Morte d’Arthur legend.
12 Fashionable ring worn by northern publican (9)
INNKEEPER – IN (fashionable) N (northern) KEEPER (ring).
14 Senior citizen’s boarding-house on European river (9)
PENSIONER – PENSION (boarding-house) E(uropean) R(iver). As long as I get paid, or get a discount for being one, you may call me either.
16 Pass over part of meal — it’s not very warm (7)
COLDISH – COL(pass) DISH (part of meal).
17 Giants inspiring current paintings (7)
TITIANS – TITANS has I inserted.
18 Sort of cat, one housed in identical quarters (7)
SIAMESE – SAME (identical) insert I (one) E,S,E (quarters).
19 A Continental waterway lacking security (7)
UNSOUND – UN (French for ‘a’) SOUND (waterway).
20 Put off, finally having dye to wash away (7)
DETERGE – DETER (put off) G E (last letters of havinG dyE). Not a verb much used, but a detergent deterges dirt.

​

57 comments on “Times 27789 – my postilion has blown it!”

  1. Well, that was an easy one. A couple of unknowns–SOUTHSEA and KEEPER–that didn’t really get in the way. I thought of MONOLINGUAL, saw that it was too long, and gave it up until later; never come across UNILINGUAL. Biffed PRUSSIC, parsed post-submission; biffed SOUTH SEA BUBBLE from the H, B, never bothered to parse; biffed LATTER-DAY S from the enumeration, ditto. I never noticed the missing A in CHASSIS.
  2. It was nice to have an easy one today to put an end to my recent slump in form. Before I had VOL AU VENT in I was wondering what phrase ended in Hamble, this being a Hampshire village. Despite being a Hampshire resident myself I didn’t think of Southsea until after I’d got SOUTH SEA BUBBLE.
  3. I don’t do the 15×15, but read the blog after completing the QC. 10a had me searching for domes in Southsea. Apparently there’s a glass one at a pub, The Deco, in Elm Grove, about 9 minutes walk away. Cruciverbal duty calls a bit later!
  4. I see that “Lyonesse” is an alternative to Lyones, which might be closer to homophonic? I’m just glad “one with pride” was obvious enough with the given crossers for that one.

    31 minutes—same as yesterday—with a difficult start, where I thought of 1a POST HORN but couldn’t justify it at the time, then couldn’t see the first bit of 8a UNILINGUAL, but finally got started with the easier 3d HEIGHTS. After that I picked up speed, finishing with 18 SIAMESE.

    I got held up at various points along the way: I’ve been to Southsea, but I’d forgotten it was in Hants, or indeed how far south Hants extends, and if you give a clue involving two giants with a G and and R to a Bristolian, they may well get Goram and Vincent stuck in their heads before Gog and Magog come along…

    Edited at 2020-10-07 06:14 am (UTC)

    1. Thank you for this reference Matt. I’ve lived or studied in Bristol for most of the last 35 years but I hadn’t previously been aware of this legend. Or perhaps I’m just getting old …
      1. I think I first heard of them during a folklore evening in the Scout Hut on the harbourside, but there’s also a web design agency named after them, which keeps the names on my particular radar!
  5. I forgot to note my finishing time but if I missed my target 30 minutes it wasn’t by much.

    I biffed LIONESS but had no idea what the soundalike was supposed to be. Even if I’d recognised Sir Tristram as someone from Arthurian legend I wouldn’t have known ‘de Lyones’ and suspect it doesn’t sound much like “lioness” anyway.

    Also didn’t parse the smoke connection at 13ac.

    I’m rather partial to a POST HORN Galop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCtVMzPRy14

    1. I’ve only ever seen Lyonesse, and assumed it was pronounced more or less à la française. Never knew it was Tristram’s place.
    2. Sir Tristram came from Lyonesse ..
      Itself the title of a rather good book by Jack Vance
  6. Slept well and got up at a reasonable time after yesterday’s fuzzy brain, flew through this. Only thought of Lyonesse; parsed RELAPSE (long may your lum reek); nho DETERGE as a verb; agree there’s an error in the clue for CHASSIS; put POST HORN in without parsing.

    Good fun.

    11′ 32″ thanks pip and setter.

  7. …and the North Sea, Boris’s latest wheeze. 22 minutes with LIONESS semi-biffed. LOI CHASER on what was mainly a top to bottom solve. COD to PAGE-TURNER, but as I say to my critics, you are meant to read them before you turn them. Pleasant puzzle. Thank you Pip and setter.
  8. 27:49
    Yep, that clue at 11ac is wrong. Agreeable puzzle. NHO South Sea Bubble, but wordplay was generous. Thanks pip.
  9. No difficulty, can’t work out why I wasn’t quicker. My time recalls Beatles’ first and last One After 909, sort of.

    Edited at 2020-10-07 07:59 am (UTC)

  10. Solved this under time constraints in 11.34, so I’m grateful to Pip for supplying all the wordplay details I completely missed. I did vaguely wonder in passing whether Prussia was really a vast country, which may give you an idea of my attention to detail.
  12. …My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
    For the ends of being and ideal grace.

    How lovely. 30 mins post-brekker of yoghurt, banana, etc.
    MERs at ‘ship’=’a SS’ and the very dodgy homophone.
    I quite liked the Ned Kelly one.
    Thanks setter and Pip.

  13. Easy one for a Wednesday. Definitely an a missing from CHASSIS clue.

    COD: PICA, almost &lit but the type is actually fairly small.

    Yesterday’s answer: a yellow flag means Q in the flag alphabet – not a coincidence, it stands for quarantine.

    Today’s question: which US state’s residents are approximately 62% latter-day saints?

      1. can’t give more than one LOL, but this caused me to snort in a most unseemly manner! Thanks!
  14. PB improving on my previous best by more than three minutes.

    Got a tiny bit stuck on VIABLE, and also the ACETONE/COLDISH/CHASER threesome but otherwise all was plain sailing.

  15. 07:54 with a bit of biffing to get there so quick – POST HORN, LATTER-DAY SAINT and LIONESS all entered unparsed. But then I DNK Sir Tristram. LOI DETERGE. I’ve only been under 8 minutes 4 times before.
  16. I was beginning to write that this was a bit clunky but I probably think that it is just a bit pedestrian. I cannot really award a COD.
  17. 14:54. I made a right pig’s ear of this. Having considered and rejected MONOLINGUAL, I followed the wordplay to construct COLLINGUAL without pausing to consider whether it could plausibly be a word. That and a conviction that the second word in 1ac must be HARP held me up for ages, and when I finally sorted it out I managed to type in STIMULATE in spite of knowing perfectly well that the answer was STIPULATE.
    Tomorrow is another day.
  18. . .surely a better clue would have been

    ” group of self isolating sixth formers at a Hampshire college”

  19. What a strange day – this took just a couple of minutes more than the quickie for one of my best times ever.

    Yes, it was easy but I really enjoyed a lot of the cluing – there are ticks all over the place. In fact, if I had just biffed a few, I think I might have got a quicker time, but like Jack, I always aim to parse as I go along (unless I can’t!). Although I was sure 1a was POST HORN, I didn’t see the anagram straightaway, so got 3d before confirming the answer. I didn’t know Sir Tristram’s birthplace but the cluing was generous, and although I initially thought of Gog and Magog on first reading 9a, they then went straight out of my mind when I came back to the clue a few minutes later. Just 19 days till I become a 14d – I wonder if that’s having an effect?

    FOI Heights
    LOI Deterge
    COD Algebra
    Time 21 minutes

    Thanks setter for enjoyable puzzle and Pip for the entertaining blog. Now what am I going to do with the rest of my morning?

  20. this harebell height of calm,
    where intuitions swarm
    like nesting gulls, and knowledge
    is free as the winds that blow….

    (C.Day Lewis). Slow to get going here but then all fell into place. A light and pleasant puzzle with the possible exception of the somewhat jagged answer to the final clue. 16’03.

  21. Most of this went in quickly, but I got bogged down in the NE corner until I finally saw RELAPSE, after which ALGEBRA(slaps forehead in disgust at not seeing it earlier) opened up the whole corner. Didn’t know the Giants, but postulated GOG’s existence. FOI HEIGHTS, LOI LIONESS. 26:46, which puts me at 101 on the Leaderboard, so obviously an easier puzzle. Thanks setter and Pip.
  22. 19 minutes, with LOI South Sea Bubble. I spent far too long thing of ‘rough and tumble’, spending ages wondering why my (correct) crossers wouldn’t fit. Toyed with ‘stumped’ for stunned and also worked on harp at 1 ac for a while. COD stipulate.
  23. Had the same thought process as the blogger for POST HORN, which ended up being my LOI. Didn’t know Sir Tristram’s birthplace either, but it couldn’t have been anything else. Took me just under 30 minutes in the end.

    FOI Vol-au-vent
    LOI Post horn
    COD Pensioner

  24. I sometimes do a few 15×15 clues before the QC, so was surprised to make steady progress today ending up in a rare finish.

    Thanks for the blog, some of these clues are really great: SOUTH SEA BUBBLE and LATTER DAY SAINT. And some are impossible like the reference to Sir Tristram, whom I’d never heard of.

    Is it just me or does this grid have more crossers than usual? Lots of eight letter words with 4 checkers. Maybe I am just used to the QC grids.

  25. In a rush to try and get a decent time, I put in POST HARP even though I couldn’t explain it. Silly.

    I had thought that maybe CHAI was an alternative spelling of CHI, but no.

  26. Nice relaxed solve today before the PAGE TURNER clue held me up no end because I was trying to read too much into it.
    Liked the well hidden anagram at 1a.
  28. A rare sub-20 for me, but then spoiled by a Y in 7dn,, biffing Sir Tristram’ territory with a MER at variant spelling.
  29. Another distracted morning but at least no typos. At first glance I thought 11a was going to be Onassis. It’s been that sort of week. 15.23
  30. ….POST HORN gallop that I finished in a time 68 seconds quicker than that which I spent over Don Manley’s tricky QC ! I didn’t notice the spurious ‘a’ at 11A.

    FOI POST HORN
    LOI STIPULATE
    COD SOUTH SEA BUBBLE
    TIME 6:22

  31. a proper fish and chip shop (The Camden Lock) at the far end of Ju Lu Lu (Big Deer Lane).
    Proper chips, haddock, pickled onions with mushy peas that were a tad too sweet and mushy. But A+ for Shanghai.

    FOI 21ac LATTER DAY SAINT (Sir Alex)

    LOI 18ac STUNNED as I thought at first it was STUMPED.

    COD 10ac SOUTH SEA BUBBLE – I used to holiday at South Sea.

    WOD 5ac VOL-AU-VENT which I first encpountered when I was twelve in Belisha.

    OBS 12ac RELAPSE! – Long mazy yer lum reek!

    1. A little known play by Sir Noel Coward. Quite amusing but definitely not for snowflakes.
      1. It goes hand in hand with Volcano and Pomp and Circumstance. It’s all about ‘Bunny’ Fleming and his various relationships, which have been sub-rosa for too many years.
        It might interest you to know that Lindsay Anderson’s film ‘IF…’ is nothing to do with Kipling, but all to do with Ian Fleming.

        Edited at 2020-10-07 02:05 pm (UTC)

  32. 18.02. I think I was a little off the pace given the Snitch rating for this one. I spent too long trying to shoe horn a harp into 1ac when I had the h and the r checkers. I was hesitant over LOI deterge, an unfamiliar (and ugly) bit of vocab. I’m also glad the definition for the dodgy homophone was clear otherwise I might have struggled there. Nice puzzle all in all.
  33. I really enjoyed this one and finished within 20 minutes.
    RELAPSE, STUNNED, STIPULATE and LIONESS all went in unparsed so thanks to Pip for the helpful explanations.
    I enjoyed PAGE-TURNER, GENDARME and VOL-AU-VENT and I think SOUTH SEA BUBBLE is worthy of COD status for reminding me, like Horryd, of holidays spent there.
    Thanks to the setter for the confidence boost.
    1. We used to stay in Alverstoke and come rain or shine there was so much to do and see, from Portsmouth down to Blackgang and Osborne House in the IOW.
      1. I love that whole area. I used to have an aunt in Southsea and we also had many family holidays on the IOW. My husband and I also spent our honeymoon there – happy days!
        We get over to Portsmouth on Brittany Ferries as often as we can – or rather, used to, before the dreaded virus struck!
  34. Good for me so obviously not too difficult. Agree with most of the previous comments . NHO PICA, but obvious enough, and did not parse CHASSIS, so didn’t notice the extraneous A. COD GENDARME, well I would, wouldn’t I! Thanks Pip for the blog.
  35. a rare sub 15min, so a welcome change from yesterday. All parsed before entering, including DETERGE which went in without really believing in it as a word, expecting a pink blot in the grid. Couldn’t parse my first thought POST HARP, but had better luck with POST HORN as last one in.
    13:26
  36. That’s got to count as on the easier side. Biff-fest for me. I barely stopped to check the cryptic side of several clues, which is generally a bad policy but worked today.
  38. 15:56 for me, which is good, if not lightning. LIONESS went in with a shrug, assuming Tristram was an Arthurian kernigget, who came from somewhere that sounded a bit like LIONESS, unless it’s one of those EYE RHYMES that were popular in the puzzles a couple of weeks ago..
  39. Under an hour with LOI COLDISH after ACETONE; chemistry a bit of a closed book for me. I have read a lot about financial crashes so once The Hamble was dismissed (too much knowledge about Hants) South Sea Bubble was easy.
    I know nothing about Sir Tristram, but the answer was clear enough. I think I was too often looking for a more obscure solution.
    Enjoyed this.
    David
  40. … as after a pretty torrid solve on the QC in a not very impressive time I turn to the 15×15 and complete it in 21’42, only 3 minutes more than the morning’s struggle and a PB by really quite a way!

    LOI Deterge, not a word I have ever come across but with 4 checkers in the answer was clear.

    And now to dinner and a celebratory glass of wine.

    Thank you Pip for the blog
    Cedric

  41. Isn’t 10a a straight cryptic of bubble=dome +Southsea? I had ree as short for reef. But then that would be my misspent youth. Mr Grumpy
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