Times 28108 – mood

Author   glhPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Time taken: 8:42. There’s a few faster times than mine, but it seems of the early crew, most found it a little more difficult than usual.

I was mostly held up by two incorrect stabs at the currency hiding at 25 across which did not ring a bell to me. It appeared in a Mephisto 10 years ago and may be making its debut in the daily puzzle.

Postscript: looks like the Albanian currency unit was the biggest headache, but (as with all the clues in this puzzle), the wordplay is crystal clear, which is exactly what is needed for an unfamiliat term. Top marks, setter!

Away we go…

Across
1 Raved after traveller returned bearing bouquet (8)
PERFUMED – FUMED(raved) after REP(traveller) reversed
9 First course almost 60 per cent of lunch — dig in! (8)
ENTRENCH – The first course is the ENTREE – remove the last letter and add three of the five letters of luNCH
10 As some might say: despicable local fiddle (6)
VIOLIN – sounds like VILE(despicable) and INN(local)
11 With rampaging lion about, maiden’s in perilous position (3,2,1,4)
OUT ON A LIMB – anagram of LION,ABOUT and M(maiden)
12 Affliction I found aboard vessel (4)
PAIN –  I inside PAN(vessel)
13 How demand changes by end of season for used kit (4-2-4)
HAND-ME-DOWN – anagram of HOW,DEMAND, then the last letter in seasoN
16 Failed to meet old love after street party (5,2)
STOOD UP – O(old) and O(love) after ST(street), then DUP (Democatic Unionist Party)
17 Pleas person expresses on catching fish (7)
PRAYERS – PERSON minus ON containing RAY(fish)
20 Society leaders refuse to penetrate heart of legation (10)
GLITTERATI – LITTER(refuse) inside the middle letters of leGATIon
22 Fine avoided by prosperous drunkard (4)
LUSH – remove F(fine) from FLUSH(prosperous)
23 Retiring commie director, heading off to get pasta (10)
TORTELLINI – reversal of TROT(commie) then the director Federico FELLINI missing the first letter
25 Foreign bread from Quebec popular with sailor (6)
QINTAR – Q(Quebec), IN(popular) and TAR(sailor).  I had a few incorrect stabs at this such as QUINAB and QUINOS
26 Informer picked up illegal bit of tack (8)
NOSEBAND – NOSE(infomer) and sounds like BANNED(illegal)
27 Eccentric president managed to divide Right (8)
ABERRANT – the president is ABE Lincoln, then RAN inside RT(right)
Down
2 Arab ruler retaining good worker, one about to leave? (8)
EMIGRANT – EMIR(arab ruler) containing G(good), then a worker ANT
3 Line up, like soldiers with foot problem quarrelling (7,3)
FALLING OUT – FALL IN(line up like soldiers) then GOUT(foot problem)
4 Dictator’s way to put up country seat (5,5)
MANOR HOUSE – sounds like MANNER(way) then HOUSE(put up)
5 Journalist raised small (very small) fortune (7)
DESTINY – ED(journalist) reversed, then S(small), and TINY(very small)
6 Bludgeon zealots in revolution (4)
STUN – NUTS(zealots) reversed
7 Dye-producing plant doing badly, I admitted (6)
INDIGO – anagram of DOING containing I
8 Rising complaint from new leader of distinction in ancient city (3,5)
THE BENDS – N(new) and the first letter of Distinction inside THEBES(ancient city)
14 Island in France that’s south of Bird Island (10)
MARTINIQUE – QUE(that, in French) underneath MARTIN(bird) and I(island)
15 Teetotal Tyneside dons exonerate high street trader (3,7)
DRY CLEANER – DRY(teetotal) then NE(Tyneside) inside CLEAR(exonerate)
16 Discerning head of trade should stop moaning (8)
SIGHTING – first letter of Trade inside SIGHING(moaning)
18 Limit relaxation, taking shower? (8)
RESTRAIN – REST(relaxation) and RAIN(shower)
19 Lady, still unclothed, grabbed by first male turning up (7)
MATILDA – the middle letters in sTILl inside ADAM(first male) reversed
21 Flood ruins exotic hotel (6)
INRUSH – anagram of RUINS, then H(hotel)
24 Lie back on odd occasions, finding unexpected release (4)
LEAK – alternating letters in LiE bAcK

69 comments on “Times 28108 – mood”

  1. Delighted to get an easier puzzle than yesterday’s to get back on track. As others, NHO qintar and liked The Bends.
    Was delayed by missing several (fairly obvious) anagram indicators: badly, exotic, changes; plus a homophone indicator: dictator’s; and deletion instruction: expresses. Hopefully all logged for future reference.
    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  2. FOI: INDIGO
    LOI: LEAK

    Slow but steady – and all looked so much easier upon review, as so often seems to be the case. But no pink squares. I’m sure I’ve seen MANOR as a homophone recently. QINTAR came from word play alone and my initial MADONNA gave way to MATILDA when the correct pasta was identified.

    Thanks to glheard and the setter.

  3. *with a stupid typo. Would have been close a personal best, otherwise. Sigh…

    Breezed through fairly smoothly. Only knew QINTAR as a Scrabble word so nice to give it some context. Biffed one or two but mainly with the confidence of seeing most of what was going on. Good stuff.

  4. …cheated with the unknown QINTAR. Added to my long list of three words beginning with Q followed by something other than U.

    Otherwise, pretty plain sailing.

  5. 15.16. I struggled to find my first entry but eventually got FOI hand-me-down and from there made inroads into the RHS. The LHS was more resistant and had to be slowly picked off ending with LOI noseband, I was pretty confident about the banned / band homophone, less confident about nose meaning informer but noseband as part of a horse’s tack seemed a reasonable punt.
  6. POI QUINTAR, LOI NOSEBAND, two previously unknown. It’s been a good week for adding to my vocabulary. Had to finish this morning, as I waited too long to start…
  7. Liked this one, some elegant clueing. I particularly liked 17ac, which I thought very neat.
    Also liked the noseband.. if it were not for the sheepskin nosebands, I would never have a clue which horse to bet on ..
  8. I thought this was a really entertaining puzzle, with lots of chuckles on the way, (The chuckle would be a good name for a currency- 100 smirks in a chuckle – will suggest it to MS Sturgeon for when independence comes), Normally solutions ending in “I” make me nervous, but the two here were gems.

    HAND-ME-DOWN FOI, LEAK LOI, THE BENDS COD.

    Thanks to G and the setter.

  9. Where did George (postscript) come up with Algeria!? It is hard to have a pop at Joe Bloggs these days – yesterday it was I who was unceremoniously heaved off the QC for simply asking Jeremy a simple question!? As Jerry notes re Call My Bluff, the cancel culture is with us.
    This was another goody which detained me for 12:11 minutes.
    COD was undoubtedly The Bends. Haven’t Sketchley’s always been in the High Street? I learn there is a ‘rates’ discount for the premises either side and the apartment above.

  10. 13:55 this afternoon but with a couple of interruptions. Normally I hole up in a Trappist monastery before starting these puzzles but today the real world got in the way a tad.
    Whatever, I still keep an accurate record of the seconds ticking away. I didn’t really settle down to this puzzle and was not surprised to see others’ fast times. Bit of a missed opportunity?
    Some fine clues I have to say, with my COD 9 ac “entrench”
    As with almost everyone else, NHO LOI 25 ac “Qintar” but eventually convinced myself from the wordplay. The nearest I’ve been to Albania was, as a student in 1971, from the NW Coast of Corfu, standing on a harbour wall peering through binoculars at a pillbox across the water and getting peered at in return. Lived to tell the tale I guess.
    Thanks to glh for the blog and to setter.
  13. 31 mins so about normal for me. A number of tricky clues which needed to be worked on and gave pleasure. MARTINIQUE, THE BENDS, TORTELLINI and HAND ME DOWN to name a few.

    Late today as I finished this early this am and then had to dash off to a golf competition in aid of a South African (Cape Town) school which helps underprivileged youngsters. Played miserably unfortunately but it was the taking part that counted!

    NHO QINTAR but as mentioned, follow the wordplay to the letter and you’re home.

    Thanks Mr Heard and setter.

  14. My initial trawl this morning yielded only 4 answers, so I left it and we went for a walk along the Thames near Sonning. Late this afternoon, I picked it up again, and had all but SW corner in 30 minutes. Initially had biffed MADONNA like others, which held me up. Needed THesaurus to get an informer synonym, so technical DNF.
    I loved THE BENDS and VIOLIN clues. My wavelength puzzle. Thanks tonGeorge for the blog and to the setter for an entertaining puzzle.
  15. At 44:05 a very fast solve for me.

    Found QINTAR not too bad, I’ve come across the LEK before in these things. Originally had ILLUMINATI then TWITTERATI before settling on GLITTERATI. Likewise I had a few pastas that fitted, CANNELLONI being one. Fortunately INRUSH put an end to the silliness.

    I’m not an expert in these parts, but “vile inn” sounds like a chestnut.

    Could not parse MANOR HOUSE, was trying to make Dictator=MAO work.

    COD THE BENDS : Not UR!

  16. Hard work, being on hols. Nice Scrabbly QINTAR, wonder if they’d ever use QANAT, QADI, QAID or QAWWALI?
  17. Same as everyone else – loved The bends and took a punt on Qintar (though I think I’d heard of it). I thought it must be of Arabic origin via Ottoman Turkish but wiki says it’s from the Albanian for a hundred.

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