Times 28255 – Print users gobsmacked!

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Music: Shostakovich, Symphony 10, Karajan/BPO
Time: 40 minutes

Perhaps my time was not great, but I have a pretty good excuse.   I was about ten minutes into my solve when I noticed my printout had no clues for 20 and 23 down.    I suspected some sort of local error, and bought up the print page again – yes, two clues missing.   Fortunately, the interactive version had them, but I must have wasted a good 10 minutes right in the middle of my solve.   Not that there weren’t a couple of hard ones – sect and poniard kept me guessing for a while.     But without tracking down the missing clues, I could not have finished at all, even though I strongly suspected what the answer to 23 down must be.

Blog update: There will definitely be a new Times for the Times.   We are currently working on configuring the new site, testing, and fixing problems.   The team is also looking at ways to load the archive from Live Journal into the new site.   When we are ready to cut over, everyone will be notified.   Thanks for your patience!

Across
1 Order wretched individual to leave home (4)
SECT – [in]SECT – definitely a tricky one.
3 Slithery creature alarms dean horribly (10)
SALAMANDER – Anagram of ALARMS DEAN.
9 Nothing disturbing primate’s idleness (7)
LANGUOR – LANGU(O)R.   If you thought it was spelt LANGOUR, you’re wrong!
11 Chosen to embrace ultimate in cool, as the Gherkin might be? (7)
PICKLED – PICK([coo]L)ED.
12 Airbus director, perhaps one introduced to transport conspiracy (9)
AUTOPILOT – AUTO P(I)LOT.
13 Intends to find a way (5)
MEANS –  Double definition, my FOI.
14 Fear of being caught? (12)
APPREHENSION – Double definition.
18 Doctor entering dark place where young play (12)
KINDERGARTEN – Anagram of ENTERING DARK, very well-disguised as most solvers will suppose entering is an insertion indicator.
21 Criticise sleeping place after change of heart (5)
ROAST – RO(-o,+A)ST.
22 Fatigue of current head on display (9)
WEARINESS – WEAR + I + NESS.
24 A bet involving millions? It makes you shudder (7)
TREMBLE –  TRE(M)BLE
25 Pull back a little, protecting excellent new weapon (7)
PONIARD – DR(AI,N)OP, all backwards.
26 Examine a good book on Tory rival? (10)
CONTESTANT – CON + TEST + A NT.
27 Went to get some grass (4)
WEED –  Double definition.
Down
1 Sweet little things linked to eastern potentate? (8)
SULTANAS – Definition with a cryptic hint, a chestnut I always miss.
2 Memorial’s not cheap, unfortunately (8)
CENOTAPH – Anagram of NOT CHEAP.
4 Reporter’s test of hearing (5)
AURAL – Sounds like ORAL, in some dialects.
5 Titbit is gobbled up by a page boy (9)
APPETISER – A P PET(IS)ER.
6 Hotel providing this arrangement? (13)
ACCOMMODATION – Double definition.
7 Pole holding everyone up for cash (6)
DOLLAR – R(ALL)OD upside-down.
8 Copper covered in spots — something he ate? (6)
RADISH – RA(D.I.)SH.
10 Abrupt decline strangely random (13)
UNPREDICTABLE – Anagram of ABRUPT DECLINE.
15 Stop couple turning up to grab staff award (9)
ENDOWMENT – END + TWO upside-down around MEN, which is not upside-down.
16 Always camping in field, the cheapest way to go (8)
STEERAGE – ST(EER)AGE.   MER at field = stage.
17 Unbalanced United team finally defeated (3-5)
ONE-SIDED – ONE + SIDE + D.
19 Amorous Cockney lead having a brief moment (6)
EROTIC – ‘ERO + TIC.
20 Surrender of California vessel (4-2)
CAVE-IN – CA VEIN.
23 Mid-season, writer comes to ski resort (5)
ASPEN –  [se]AS[on] + PEN.

50 comments on “Times 28255 – Print users gobsmacked!”

  1. 6:17 – I’ve been tripped up enough times by LANGUOR so it went in straight away and I think the rest of it was really on my wavelength.
  2. ….and lost a little time at the end justifying my LOI. Otherwise this was straightforward.

    FOI SALAMANDER
    LOI SECT
    COD WEED
    TIME 7:14

  3. 16.22. Solid start to the week. Hold up in the bottom SW but realising I’d spelt languor wrong opened it up ,LOI cave in after giving up trying to convince myself shin could be a vessel- doh.
  4. Didn’t notice the missing clues last night, as I worked only the top half then; they were there this morning.

    CONTESTANT was obviously the answer, but I still can’t parse the clue. CON is “examine”; is TEST “a good book”? Or can “CONTEST” mean “examine” here? If “Tory” is T, what accounts for AN? No one else has said anything, must just be me…!
    …Oh, wait. Think I got it. CON(servative) is the damn “Tory,” TEST “examine” and A NT, a New Testament, the supposedly “good book.”

    Edited at 2022-04-04 03:07 pm (UTC)

    1. Yes, Guy, you have the correct parsing now. My query would be that ‘The Good Book’ surely refers to The Bible as a whole, not just the New Testament.
      1. But the clue says “a good book” so the indefinite article might make it loose enough to refer to any virtuous book – e.g. the NT.
        1. Thanks, but ‘a’ is needed for the wordplay so is not part of the definition. I admit my point was a bit picky, but something that occurred to me so I thought I’d mention it.
          1. Yes, I think I see it now. A + good book in clue gives a + nt in answer.Therefore “good book” is seen as equivalent to New Testament which, as you said ,is questionable since that term refers to the whole Bible not just part. Thanks for furthering my education!
  5. I’m another that would have spelled it “Langour” if it had fitted.
    Not my favourite puzzle but agree with Vinyl that “Kindergarten” was cleverly disguised and I quite liked “Fear of being caught” = “Apprehension”.
    Good to hear about the work on the new Times for the Times — sounds really good.
  6. Something made me put in languor correctly. I’m sure if I’d thought about it, I’d have got it wrong. Last few minutes spent on the sect-sultanas crossover. Many thanks.

  7. Another who has been caught out before by LANGUOR, so got it right today. CENOTAPH was FOI. SULTANA and SECT held me up considerably at the end. Never did see the anagram for KINDERGARTEN, just shoved it in from the checkers. A biffed POYNARD was then corrected by reading the wordplay carefully. 24:48. Thanks setter and Vinyl.
  8. 14.15. A pleasingly quick time for a solve that felt a little on the slow side with a delay wondering whether an urch(in) might be an order, a struggle to break down poniard and to find appetiser, to say nothing of the amorous cockney or the cave-in.

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