Times 27955 – The gum-chewing dogs, say??

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Time: 29 minutes
Music: Bizet, L’Arlesienne Suites, Morel, Royal Opera House Orchestra

Well, I admit, I’m not usually expecting a challenging puzzle on Monday.   But this one had some elusive answers, and perhaps some over-clever wordplay, so I suspect some solvers may struggle.   Unfortunately, the SNITCH is out of operation right at the moment, so I can’t check – I’m sure Starstruck will take care of this shortly.

I was off to a good start by writing in the long answers at both the top and the bottom, which usually gets you going on this grid pattern.   But then I was thoroughly stuck, not being able to use any of the starting letters across the top.   Instead, I had to go chestnut-hunting around the grid, only to come up with a mighty small harvest.   There are some really off-the-wall wordplay tricks here, things that you might expect in Mephisto.

Across
1 Plastic they only peel off (12)
POLYETHYLENE – Anagram of THEY ONLY PEEL, my FOI.
8 Charge for tablet (7)
LOZENGE – I just biffed this while solving, but now I understand – it’s a heraldic charge, a device on a shield.
9 Seek dull job with hospital doing longest possible shift in fabrication (7)
UNTRUTH – HUNT RUT, with H (Hospital) moved the maximum possible distance.
11 Like sandstone doubly covered in basilicas’ bricks (7)
SILICIC – [ba]SILIC[as br]IC[ks], another very tricky cryptic.
12 Going down without right piloting (7)
DRIVING – D(R)IVING, where without might be either an enclosure indicator, or a deletion indicator.
13 Always in poetry that is strange (5)
EERIE – E’ER + I.E., the only simple clue in the puzzle.
14 Cooks fruit in packet, perhaps (9)
STEAMSHIP – STEAMS HIP.
16 Supporters mostly run restaurant (9)
BRASSERIE – BRAS + SERIE[s], not quite a chestnut.
19 Poorer fretted outside society (5)
WORSE – WOR(S)E.
21 Drifting, your setter’s in a bar (7)
AIMLESS – A(I’M)LESS.   Less is the equivalent of bar in the sense of without, except for.
23 Newspapers got round belonging to state (7)
PROFESS – PR(OF)ESS.
24 What canines have lair and can dine without noise? (7)
DENTINE – DEN + TIN + [din}E, with the Mephisto-like letter-removal indicator.
25 Having powerful weapons, some Israel cunningly concealed in turn (7)
NUCLEAR – Backward hidden in [Is]RAEL CUN[ningly].
26 Script producer has to check court document with Her Majesty (12)
SCREENWRITER – SCREEN + WRIT + E.R.
Down
1 Parking car heavy on petrol — gallons gone for you (7)
PUZZLER – P + [g]UZZLER, which for many of us might be puzzled!
2 Oxford college relocated in Clare (7)
LINACRE – Anagram of IN CLARE, simple if you know the college, which is not one of the more famous ones.
3 What could make one sexier? Rec fitness equipment (9)
EXERCISER – Anagram of SEXIER + REC.
4 Harry’s husband, plump, no Romeo (5)
HOUND – H + [r]OUND.
5 Element burning with smell when current is put into it (7)
LITHIUM – LIT + H(I)UM.
6 Promote foreign drama about novelist (7)
NOURISH – NO(URIS)H.   Leon Uris was a big bestseller 60 or 70 years ago, but is probably forgotten today.
7 Bolt rear pads around material applied to walls (12)
PLASTERBOARD – Anagram of BOLT REAR PADS.
10 Drunken bully is very stressing (4-8)
HIGH-PRESSURE –  HIGH + PRESSURE, where bully should be treated as a verb.
15 Something illuminating lid? (3-6)
EYE-OPENER – Double definition.
17 Calendar girl initially nude and clothed (7)
ALMANAC – ALMA + N[ude] A[nd] C[lothed].
18 Unproductive anger after ship’s back without navy (7)
STERILE – STE[rn] + RILE.   I was looking for ire for a long time, and then rage, but rile it is.
19 Picture of timber (7)
WOODCUT – A very terse cryptic definition.
20 Wild animals came by ’orse, reportedly (3,4)
ROE DEER – Sounds like RODE ‘ERE.
22 Mug in set gets smashed (5)
STEIN – Anagram of IN SET.

45 comments on “Times 27955 – The gum-chewing dogs, say??”

  1. Needed help with three or four of the possibly more straightforward ones at the end — Untruth, Nourish and Woodcut. Reasonable progress up until that point, including Steamship from just the initial S and a parsed Silicic and Dentine, so still a good feeling overall. Invariant
  2. Biffed “process” at 23A. I can’t remember my last correct completion. At least it wasn’t anything I could blame the setter for this time. COD ROE DEER, which made me chuckle.
  3. 48.28. I struggled to get into this one. The NE corner was like pulling teeth. I just couldn’t see anything at all. Delayed putting in nourish for a long time because I’d NHO Uris.
  4. For once I shared the setter’s wavelength and worked steadily through this, pausing to giggle at 20 across’s ROEDEER on the way. Satisfying to complete this in approx 45 minutes.
  5. FOI 12ac DRIVING

    LOI 23ac PROCESS (Doh!) as per Jordan!
    COD 1dn PUZZLE

    WOD 8as LOZENGE my heraldry is good

    Time 35mins but now I find out it was a DNF

  6. Just wanted to add to feed, just signed up and very new to the big cryptic, I’ve been doing the quick cryptic most days for a year or so and don’t always finish but now braving the “big one” and found today’s really tricky as always but thoroughly enjoyed the setters cunning. I got over half way with no referencing and not as challenging vocabulary wise as normal. My goal is just to complete a 16 x 16 one day. I love all of your comments and the general support you give us newbies!!

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