Times 28,145: Engineers, Artillery, Academicians – The Royal Family

Author   VerlainePosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
I am feeling under the weather and this was not a super-quick solve, so the setter’s Friday duties can be said to have been discharged; but this is not my favourite type of puzzle I must say, with lots of very colourless vocabulary, and much requirement to stick together small and fiddly cryptic particles.

I did like 6dn once fully parsed (I cannot tell a lie, though, I biffed it immediately upon spotting that the second word was HAND). WOD may be 25dn as I never knew that underwriters could also OVERWRITE.

Thank you to the setter, and now, time to eat something and then back to bed with me!

Definitions underlined, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 Locums, accepting pressure, give a lot back (8)
STOPGAPS – reversed SAG POTS [give | a lot], “accepting” P(ressure)
5 In the future, share whatever part remains (6)
OFFCUT – OFF [in the future, as in “a few days off”] + CUT [share]
10 Again tried to pass weapon back (5)
RESAT – reversed TASER
11 Sauce lost when cooking stew (9)
CASSOULET – (SAUCE LOST*), FOI
12 Leader of strategists in Carthage prepared to invade (4-5)
GATE-CRASH – S{trategists} in (CARTHAGE*)
13 Scavenger in middle of Sahara repressing thirst (5)
HYENA – {sa}HA{ra} “repressing” YEN [thirst]
14 Sucker repeatedly hit target (7)
LAMPREY – LAM PREY [repeatedly hit | target]
16 Clear out drain (3,3)
RUN OFF – double def
18 Gunners support non-firing weapon (6)
RAPIER – R(oyal) A(rtillery) PIER [gunners | support]
20 Trouper‘s safe, heading off aboard wagon (7)
VETERAN – {p}ETER “aboard” VAN
22 Term for online currency, such as pony? (5)
EQUID – or an E-QUID
23 Standard mass for cardinal (9)
PARAMOUNT – PAR AMOUNT [standard | mass]
25 Take on extra risk with service, chasing succession of balls (9)
OVERWRITE – W(ith) RITE, chasing a cricket OVER
26 Nameless dead artist’s intensely dark shade (5)
UMBRA – {n}UMB R(oyal) A(cademician)
27 Dad and I voiced early cartoon character (6)
POPEYE – POP and homophone of I
28 Canny guards somewhat short of rupees, like dad (8)
FATHERLY – FLY “guards” {r}ATHER
Down
1 Ulster ground hosting grand golf contest (8)
STRUGGLE – (ULSTER*) “hosting” G(rand) G(olf). LOI, appropriately
2 Start running group (5)
ONSET – ON SET [running | group]
3 Goes OTT, as sit-down protester often does? (4,7,4)
GETS CARRIED AWAY – colourful double def with the image of a sit-down protest being hauled off physically by police
4 Porcine mammal upended mushroom with a piercing yell (7)
PECCARY – reversed CEP with A “piercing” CRY
6 In poverty since employee (male) exposed husband (4,4,2,5)
FROM HAND TO MOUTH – FROM HAND TOM OUT H
7 Named driver’s caution delivered verbally, being required (6,3)
CALLED FOR – CALLED [named] plus homophone of FORE!
8 Striking red songbird in another’s nest to start with (6)
TITIAN – TIT + I{n} A{nother’s} N{est}
9 For contracting, chooses the right book (6)
ESTHER – hidden in {choos}ES THE R{ight}
15 Allotment raised to meet specifications (7,2)
MEASURE UP – MEASURE [allotment] + UP [raised]
17 Irregular stay, with nude dancing (8)
UNSTEADY – (STAY + NUDE*)
19 Discharged agent gets help (6)
REPAID – REP gets AID
20 Initially viewing mountain peak in time to see flower (7)
VERBENA – V{iewing} + BEN in ERA
21 Enforced change of leadership after troops get back (6)
RECOUP – COUP [enforced regime change] after R(oyal) E(ngineers)
24 Open University finally given added distinction (5)
UNBAR – U(niversity) {give}N + BAR [added distinction, in heraldry?]

64 comments on “Times 28,145: Engineers, Artillery, Academicians – The Royal Family”

  1. The wheel of crossword fortune turns, and after a zippy solve yesterday, I found myself wading through a swamp of tentative (and wrong) answers – OFFSET, LIVE HAND TO MOUTH, SPOKEN FOR etc. I have eaten plenty of CASSOULET but that apparently didn’t help me to see it as an answer; though once I did, it unlocked that corner. Pretty sure any slowness was down to me, not the setter, anyway.

    Frank Zappa took up one side of an album with a song called Greggery Peccary. It’s not up there with his really freaky stuff, but you’re unlikely to hear it played on the Radio 2 breakfast show.

  2. 39:04 so a good time for me after a slow cautious start, thinking we were due a stinker today. I still had to STRUGGLE with quite a few at the end. I knew PECCARY and liked the intriguing crossing with CASSOULET. Would that work? LOIs OFFCUT and TITIAN in the NE corner. I liked RESAT and RAPIER
  4. Cassoulet peccari would work rather nicely – with a drop of valpolicella!

    Edited at 2021-11-26 01:56 pm (UTC)

    1. These things are a regular occurrence, Denise. When they appear on my blogs I just delete them and I’ve no doubt someone will in due course.
  5. 9:52. Unlike the last couple of puzzles this was a steady solve for me, answers going in at a moderate but consistent pace. I’m not sure if I’ve come across PECCARY before but I’m pretty sure that in my reasonably extensive forays into the insurance sector over the years I’ve never seen the word OVERWRITE.
  6. Somehow managed to finish this in 39 mins, good for a Friday. Had to check PECCARY after entering as definitely a NHO. I liked CASSOULET and POPEYE. I thought EQUID could have done with a”maybe” or “say” as there is surely no such thing as an E-quid?

    Anyway enjoyed this one and thanks our sickly blogger (get well soon) and setter.

  7. I learned my lesson today – do not biff an anagram! I had CASSEROLE instead of CASSOULET so managed to bugger up the entire NE corner. The first DNF for many months… Ann
  8. 23.25 so a decent Friday time for me though the challenge was not in the arcane class we sometimes endure. LOI overwrite. Pretty steady progress with a couple of useful biffables, from hand to etc being a good case in point.

    Nearly came a cropper with umbra having encountered umber only this week in a previous puzzle.
    Ths setter and get well soon blogger.

    I’ve got a heavy cold but have found Lemsip with added fresh lemon juice, a teaspoon of honey and a good jigger of brandy/ whisky/ rum ( according to preference) works wonders! Repeat as necessary.

  9. An alternative limerick!
    While Titian was mixing rose madder
    His model reclined nude up a ladder
    Her position, to Titian
    Suggested coition
    So be nipped up the ladder and ‘ad ‘er!

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