What a relief to have an accessible puzzle after last Friday’s Monster! I thought there was a lot of nice stuff going on here and enjoyed myself a lot, finishing in 20:46.
11 across caused me a lot of head-scratching, though. So much so that I had to ‘phone a friend.’ Actually, having had it explained to me, it was a Hit rather than a Miss in my book. An innovative clue type, where such things are at a premium. Of course, most people would just biff it anyway…
| Across | |
| 1 | Economical type — watch — in pursuit of pub profit (7-6) |
| BARGAIN-HUNTER – HUNTER (watch) after BAR (pub) GAIN (profit) | |
| 8 | Cut out large manœuvre by figure skater (4) |
| AXEL – AXE L | |
| 9 | Historic swindle involving Young Conservative baker (10) |
| PASTRYCOOK – Y (young) C (conservative) in PAST (historic) ROOK (swindle); one thinks of Alun Armstrong’s innkeeper ‘rooking the guests and cooking the books’ in Les Mis | |
| 10 | Consequences surrounding item of legislation for way of working (8) |
| PRACTICE – ACT (item of legislation) in PRICE (consequences; cunning!) | |
| 11 | Cloak that’s for chop? (6) |
| PONCHO – okay, this was the clue I couldn’t make head nor tails of. Thanks to V, who unravelled it for me: CHOP may be rendered as ‘P after CHO’ or ‘P on CHO’ > PONCHO! | |
| 13 | Who’s quiet, working to pilfer? (10) |
| SHOPLIFTER – a nice semi (I think) all-in-one; the whole clue gives you the solution, while every part of the clue (apart from ‘Who’s’) is used in the wordplay, as follows: SH (quiet) anagram* of TO PILFER | |
| 16 | Methodically search quantity of data stored on firm (4) |
| COMB – CO (firm) MB (quantity of data) | |
| 17 | Chamber group tour finishing early? Over (4) |
| TRIO – TRI |
|
| 18 | Secure northern European cosmetic treatment (4,6) |
| NAIL POLISH – NAIL (secure) POLISH (European) | |
| 20 | That woman’s following key Dutch artist (6) |
| ESCHER – ESC (computer key) HER (that woman’s); never herd of the fellow, but he sounded more likely than ALTHER, DELHER, ENDHER or TABHER | |
| 22 | Craftspeople showing outraged reaction about accepting shortened time (8) |
| KNITTERS – cunning wordplay again: a STINK is an outraged reaction; the clue ‘shows’ STINK reversed around (it ‘accepts’) TER |
|
| 24 | Each swirl of nostalgia overlooking old Saxon kingdom (4,6) |
| EAST ANGLIA – EA (each) NOSTALGIA* (minus the O); the five original kingdoms of England are typically deemed to be: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and East Anglia. If you are interested, a very readable account of this period is given by Marc Morris in his 2021 book, The Anglo-Saxons | |
| 26 | Number eight in cricket team in Somerset venue? (4) |
| BATH – if you go in at number eight, an impish scorer might refer to you as Bat H | |
| 27 | Daughter, having reserve and humour, had worked with the risk intensely (4,4,5) |
| DICE WITH DEATH – D ICE (reserve) WIT (humour) [HAD THE*] | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Dog drinks and pants (5,6) |
| BOXER SHORTS – BOXER SHORTS | |
| 2 | Reignited, temperature turned to carbon old item (5) |
| RELIC – RELI |
|
| 3 | Irish, excluding middle third, supporting current measure relating to frogs? (9) |
| AMPHIBIAN – AMP (current measure) followed by HIB |
|
| 4 | Rise of an aroma just beginning (7) |
| NASCENT – AN reversed SCENT (aroma) | |
| 5 | Skill rising when probing revolting part of plumbing (1-4) |
| U-TRAP – ART (skill) reversed (rising) in UP (revolting, as in ‘the natives are revolting’, i.e. in a state of insurrection) | |
| 6 | Possibly chance it over line of mechanical products? (9) |
| TECHNICAL – CHANCE IT* followed by L (line); I’ll leave it to sciency types to get their rubber gloves off and discuss the niceties of the words involved here | |
| 7 | Animal that jumps requiring a lot of space (3) |
| ROO – ROO |
|
| 12 | Final section of NY prison sentence after being out of prison? (4,7) |
| HOME STRETCH – ‘of NY’ here stands for what we normally find as ‘in Manhattan’ or ‘in Idaho’, i.e. it refers to a usage in the USA. What we in Britain call the home straight in the sport of kings is called the home stretch stateside. The wordplay (slightly cunning once more) is therefore HOME (being out of prison) followed by STRETCH (prison sentence) | |
| 14 | Observing the future, support first Conservative leaving in a rush (9) |
| PROPHETIC – PROP (support) HE |
|
| 15 | Criticise demure article being presented in bright colour? (9) |
| REPRIMAND – PRIM (demure) AN (article) in RED; I suppose it’s usually bright or brightish, but the attribution seems a bit arbitrary to me | |
| 19 | Evidence of poor penmanship: I especially note a good deal around end of book (7) |
| INKBLOT – |
|
| 21 | Give new life to King meeting bridge opponents and bridge partners (5) |
| RENEW – R (king) EN (East and North – opponents in contract bridge) EW (partners in the same game) | |
| 23 | Somewhat upset about iodine in bone (5) |
| TIBIA – I (iodine) in A BIT (somewhat) reversed [upset] | |
| 25 | Support anyone in difficulties at the outset (3) |
| AID – initial letters of Anyone In Difficulties | |
22 minutes, so easy enough to solve, but I missed the parsing of PONCHO and KNITTERS which both seem obscure and I’m not sure I would have understood either even applying the extra effort needed when I meet a tricky clue on blogging duty.
I was also not entirely happy the parsing of HOME STRETCH because I couldn’t account for NY. If there was ever a transatlantic divide between ‘home stretch’ and ‘home straight’ I’m sure it disappeared long ago on this side of the pond.
I suspect our blogger would probably recognise some of Escher’s work even if he doesn’t know the name of the artist. He’s the one who specialised in puzzle pictures – optical illusions – many involving cascading water, never-ending staircases or skeins of geese flying over patchwork meadows. I have a set of 10 framed prints on the walls of my own staircase.
I actually linked “NY” to sentence, as I thought “stretch” for a prison sentence was an Americanism, whereas I didn’t for a moment think “Home stretch” wasn’t English.
In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam
Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
(Inversnaid, GM Hopkins)
20 mins pre-brekker. Then left wondering how Poncho works (I know, you put it on over your head) and why Up=revolting.
Ta setter and U
As a fan of horse racing, I would say ‘home stretch’ is very foreign to my British ears, at any rate. The words conjure up images of Secretariat, Willie Schumacher, a bizarre preference for racing on dirt rather than grass and of course the call to post: https://youtu.be/YWq-W6FXDr8?si=RU6tIP-wBCYAkP_h
Just under 15 minutes. A really nice xword with well balanced clues of even difficulty although I did not manage to parse PONCHO… many thanks oh great setter.
8.13
No real hold-ups, although didn’t understand PONCHO, and guessed it was a name for an apron a butcher might wear!
Thanks both.
Like it…
9:16. Much the same as others I didn’t parse PONCHO or KNITTERS and I didn’t get the NY bit of HOME STRETCH. Chambers has home stretch and home straight together with no indication that the former is American usage.
The lexicographers have never been to a race course, or watched it on the telly.
Both terms are widely used outside horse racing and HOME STRETCH is pretty common on this side of the pond in my experience.
There is always that, but I’m standing with the setter!
Collins says ‘another name (esp in the US) for home straight’ so I think there’s a good case for either including the Americanism-indicator or not, as the setter prefers.
I’d bet I’d be stretched to find a stretch mentioned in the form comments of a British race in the Racing Post, even these days.
Lovely crossword, enjoyed every bit. Had PONCHO but the wordplay eluded me. COD to KNITTERS.
Ulaca, I think the ‘overlooking OLD’ in East Anglia is saying remove the ‘O’ from (swirl) NOSTALGIA for the anagrist after ea.
Thanks.U and setter
Thanks a lot. In my enthusiasm for the book, I forgot to give any parsing at all!
21:09. Agree it’s lovely not having Friday’s level and something more approachable for a Monday. I biffed U-BEND initially which caused a minor hold-up. Nothing else really caused a difficulty other than PONCHO which I didn’t parse (but I couldn’t see anything else that would fit and most of the letters were there in CHOP anyway).
thank you U and setter!
8’30”, no issues. PONCHO LOI, unparsed.
I love ESCHER too, although perpetually climbing or descending stairs is the stuff of nightmares.
Thanks ulaca and setter.
25 mins so pretty simple, and clearly no trap for U today. Tee hee! Enjoyable though as our blogger says. Another who did not parse PONCHO. Quite clever really. I did get myself stuck in the NE though as I carelessly bunged in U-BEND. Finally I saw PASTRYCOOK and all was well.
I liked the two long clues and BOXER SHORTS.
Thanks U and setter.
11.40
Also no idea how 11ac worked, so I was glad the crossers made it fairly obvious. I once threw the pseudo-Welsh comedian Mark Watson an emergency PONCHO to cover his embarrassment when he was criticised by a section of the audience for his poor dress sense.
LOI PONCHO
COD SHOPLIFTER
Around 35 minutes which is very fast for me. Enjoyed it immensely. No holdups No idea of parsing of PONCHO and KNITTERS. Americans love “stretch” for “straight” so the NY reference was clear. The back straight is the backstretch.
Thanks U.
My return to the fray after a fortnight gaining a bit of ballast on a cruise. I biffed KNITTERS, unable to follow the pattern. I did see one in the INKBLOT though. COD to the PASTRYCOOK, the person responsible for much of the damage. 35 weighty minutes. Thank you U and setter.
Sounds like you need to do a bit of stretching, a jog round the pitch then a leap with a hefty barge into the keeper!
Sounds like a lot of dog walking is required!
Apologies for asking a technical question of this forum but perhaps someone else has or had the same issue as I do.
I have the Classic Times App for iPad. Previously, if I moved onto a different page mid solve, my answers were saved. Now, if I return to the crossword, all my answers have disappeared and I have to start again. The same applies to the QC too. I appreciate that the speedy solvers may never need to take a break and come back and take a fresh look but I certainly find that helps for the trickier ones.
Does anyone have a suggestion on what to do here?
You’re using Safari on an iPad and accessing the crossword on The Times website, right?
No. I have The Times “classic” app for iPad and access the crossword via that…
I installed the app for iPhone just now and signed in. Opened a cryptic and filled a couple of answers and then closed the crossword, logged out and closed the app and opened it again, logged in and the answers were still there. I doubt there would be any difference between the iPad and iPhone versions.
Others have reported similar behaviour with the NYT app and recommended making sure you have the latest version of the app, logging out and logging in again. HTH
Thanks. Will give it a go.
Try uploading the “live” app. That’s what I use on my iPad.
About 20 minutes.
– No idea how PONCHO worked
– Didn’t parse KNITTERS beyond the ‘stink’ bit
– Like one or two others, wasn’t sure about the NY bit in the clue for HOME STRETCH
– U-TRAP felt a little unsatisfying with ‘part’ in the clue
Thanks ulaca and setter.
FOI Roo
LOI Home stretch
COD Boxer shorts
8:46. No major hold-ups once I had spotted and corrected my erroneous U-BEND.
A small point but I think it’s YC = Young Conservative: Collins has this as an abbreviation but not Y=young on its own.
Interesting
I was on the slow side taking 19:12 due to one stupid hasty mistake, RELIT for RELIC, and one typo, PASTTY COOK. Those kind of things can really hold you up! I did get how P-on-cho worked however.
Thanks setter and blogger
Craftspeople rarely do crafts in Crosswordland, they are almost always in boats. Hence with some of the crossers 22a was surely going to be KAYAKERS. . Until it wasn’t. I finally got my KNITTERS out of a twist.
21:48
😄
26:17
Biffed U-BEND (the sink has a trap, the loo has a u-bend, I’ve never heard either callled U-TRAP) but the need to fit in the PASTRYCOOK forced me to revisit and correctly parse.
LOI PONCHO, unparsed. Thanks Ulaca for the explanation of how this clue works.
I strongly agree with the recommendation of Marc Morris’s book. An extremely readable account of the Anglo Saxons.
A gentle 12.54, with fingers crossed for PONCHO though Magic Chambers (post solve) says it’s either that or PUNCHY, and I didn’t think of that anyway. Likewise missed (but thought I had) the wordplay for INKBLOT, and the significance of New York, which appears to confirm that the Times still prefers Collins over Chambers for the ordinary cryptics. I’m equally happy with both stretch and straight, possibly because there are other last sections of a race which don’t involve horses. For a swimmer doing an 800 metre event, home straight is ridiculous!
Inevitably I was a BENDer rather than a TRAPper initially, after ruling out BOATer with a glance at the actual clue.
1hr 10 which includes breakfast.
COD Bath.
19 minutes. I couldn’t get the crossword to load this morning so I did it in the newspaper in a very nice quick time. Same trouble as others with U-TRAP (and wondered if it was another Americanism). Did not parse PONCHO, so thanks u and v for sorting it out. And I wanted to DANCE WITH DEATH for much too long: DICE just wouldn’t come. A very enjoyable Monday puzzle
18:55
Good fun. No real problems though PONCHO and KNITTERS (KETCHERS?) took a while. Had U-BEND at first, not having hear of a U-TRAP. COD SHOPLIFTER.
Thanks to ulaca and the setter.
17.01. but hands up to a lot of biffing in the interest of time saving. A bit disrespectful of the setter who put a lot of effort into composing the clues, for which I apologise.
17.01 with some hesitation over knitters and Bath and a half thought out poncho. The Mondays don’t seem to be the breeze they once were. Enjoyed this one .
11a Poncho parsed only as I was reading the intro to the blog.
22a Knitters bifd. Thanks ulaca for that.
20a Escher, looked him up. Oh, him!
5d U-trap. Not in Wiktionary, sounds like green paint to me. U-bend and return bend are in Wikt.
25d Aid. Didn’t notice it, so DNF, drat!
Where was the shibboleth?
U-TRAP is in Chambers.
OK, thanks jackkt, I let the setter off then.
I don’t let the setter off. It’s not in real dictionaries, and not in use in the real world, it’s just something that the editors of Chambers have chosen to invent.
Bah, humbug 😉
On what basis is Chambers not a ‘real’ dictionary?
Well it does seem that half of the references are Scottish, useful only for completing the Mephisto?
Wow!
Someone who agrees with me for once. Far too much store set by the eccentricities of the dictionary, the last refuge of the scoundrel.
The whole business is a racket whereby compilers desperately invent words and definitions to set themselves apart from the myriad other publications, without reference to things like provenance.
Even more annoying is The Times’ pandering to the practice.
A straightforward solve finishing in 22.15, although like quite a few before me failed on the parsing of PONCHO and KNITTERS. LOI was KNITTERS for that reason.
18.56, with a few leaps of faith that were helpfully explained by Ulaca. F AXEL, L TRIO, no idea about PONCHO or KNITTERS. Enjoyable puzzle.
From Ain’t Talkin’:
It’s bright in the heavens and the wheels are flying
Fame and honour never seem to fade
The fire’s gone out but the light is never dying
Who says I can’t get heavenly AID?
Incidentally, I went to see the man in Wolverhampton last weekend. I am glad I went.
36 minutes that really should have been a bit lower because there were no problems and I made steady but rather slow progress. Couldn’t understand the NY thing, and I biffed PONCHO, knowing that it was the answer and would be explained here. Quite simple, really. Stupidly slow to see the BOXER SHORTS and the only skater’s manoeuvre that I could remember was a lutz, but resisted the temptation to look up AXEL.
12:10
PB. Read on the QC blog that this was easy so went for it: untidy writing, no crossing out numbers, parsing schmarsing. Parsing in retrospect, with Ulaca’s help, there’s some lovely stuff here. P on CHO, BAT H and HIBernIAN in particular.
Thanks all.
Congratulations on the PB 🔥
Started with ROO and RELIC. AXEL then led to BOXER SHORTS, which provided BARGAIN HUNTER, so I had a load of letters to build on very quickly. I saw the TRA bit of 5d straight away but needed HUNTER to spot the revolting bit. PONCHO went in with a furrowed brow and crossed fingers, although I did parse KNITTERS, which was LOI. 13:24. Thanks setter and U.
OAn enjoyable steady solve, interrupted by the letting agency inspection and a trip to the vet.
I didn’t understand KNITTERS, but the PONCHO type of clue occasionally turns up in the AZED puzzle- my old crossword mentor used to call them ‘self referential clues’.
Thank you to blogger and setter for a great start to the solving week.
21 mins, but (probably because I never wear them) the BOXER SHORTS and thereby AXEL were slow in coming. As others, much biffing so tx for the explanations.
Under 30′ but not by much. Biffed U-Bend, but couldn’t parse it (obviously) so revised and corrected which freed up the neat PASTRYCOOK. Needless to say PONCHO and KNITTERS also unparsed (like Corymbia “kayakers” was an early option). Didn’t get too fussed on HOME STRETCH assuming “stretch” was the Americanism for a time in prison; I’m wrong of course! Also didn’t initially take to TECHNICAL as “of mechanical products” but I suppose it works. Thanks Ulaca and setter.
15:10 – no problems apart from the universally mystifying PONCHO, correct but unparsed. Perhaps it would have been fairer to insert “cryptically” or a similar indicator.
Don’t much like TECHNICAL as a synonym for ‘mechanical’; nor using ‘give new life’ as the definition for RENEW. I always thought this kind of word-repetition between clue and answer was supposed to be anathema. Perhaps these beefs are why I didn’t find completing this grid satisfying.
I gave up concerning myself about American and English terms for the same thing once school proms and trick-or-treating came over to stay. Fifteen mins for me mostly going round the U-bend. NHO u-trap.
14.42
Liked shoplifter.
Well done on the blog for those tricky parsings
5.45. No quibbles.
41.22 which I will gladly take as I wasn’t on same wavelength as setter at all and for a while had DNF writ large. Failed to parse a few so it was with some relief to see no pink squares on submission.
LOI PROPHETIC
COD SHOPLIFTER
Solved in bits, parsing as I went. Of course the one I neglected to parse was U-BEND, leading to the hold-up in the NE. Heard of a trap, not a U-TRAP, but it made sense and enabled 9a and 11a. Eventually parsed KNITTERS, leaving me with the unparsed HOME STRETCH. Less enjoyable than usual, but not overly difficult.
22:30. I made much harder work of this than most of you did. U-BEND didn’t help and PASTRYCOOK eluded me for quite a while. But all very fair.
COD: PASTRYCOOK
22:23
Stymied slightly by cat on keyboard, so completed on ‘phone. Perhaps also a shade off the wavelength as my last three relied on thinking up a dog beginning with B to go with the assumed SHORTS – took far longer than it should! As with others, KNITTERS and PONCHO were a mystery, failing to see how either worked.
Thanks U and setter
14 minutes – I think my fastest ever.
Many congratulations!
Loved this easy one, but have no cricket knowledge, guessed BATH! 30 mins- delightful!
Found this enjoyable, not too chewy Monday fare, thank you setter and, also, many thanks for the blog, ulaca.
I got excited by the mention of the Marc Morris book in the blog, it sounded just the ticket for a Christmas present for Mr SR. Unfortunately, he was very quick to agree with your opinion of it so obviously has it stashed somewhere. Men are difficult to buy for, ime.
Between us we managed PONCHO (Mr SR) and KNITTERS (me).
(Brought back memories of once knitting a poncho for my Barbie doll – happy days)
28’50”
2:30 Belmont Park: Going well coming down the HOME STRETCH, but in this class couldn’t win, place or show…
… but all parsed and no INKBLOTs from the trusty Waterman broad nib. I did also spot the workings of P-ON-CHO; a garment that could save jockeys a BATH after riding in the slop at Sarratoga !
A calf-length poncho and long rubber riding boots cut down my laundry no end when I was mucking out the gee-gees.
This EAST ANGLIAn racegoer enjoyed this a LOT (not A BIT); many thanks setter and Ulaca.
Didn’t have problem with Home Stretch. Home is out of prison and stretch is American for prison sentence.
That’s how I saw it.
And me
But is it? Collins has ‘term of imprisonment’ for stretch in British English. From the days when I lived in England, I remember the word being used all the time too.
Agreed, U. For example in 1960 Peter Sellers starred in a British prison comedy called Two Way Stretch.
Finished it in no idea what time. Just completing is a record for me! I am also in the U Bend club (NHO u trap) and PONCHO was a bung-in without knowing why. Thanks to the setter for a puzzle within my ability and to Ulaca for the blog.
Congratulations! First of many, I’m sure.
I needed two sessions for this ; but it was enjoyable.
LOI KNITTERS.
Had to correct INKSPOT and U BEND.
Hard to pick a COD; lots of candidates.
David