Times 29301 – not so sticky now

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Another pleasant but gentle Wednesday, which seems to be the new Monday of late. It took me less than 15 minutes and was easy to parse, I spent more time reading up the origin of gunk.

Definitions underlined in bold, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, anagrinds in italics, DD = double definition, [deleted letters in square brackets].

Across
1 Poignancy, though in former times, mostly (6)
PATHOS – THO’ inside PAS[t].
5 Count rat in a way to be this? (8)
TURNCOAT – (COUNT RAT)*.
9 Renegade with an attitude about tattoo (8)
APOSTATE – A POSE about TAT[too].
10 Claim everything for instance European (6)
ALLEGE – ALL, E.G., E[uropean].
11 Is any train running in an unclean state? (10)
INSANITARY – (IS ANY TRAIN)*.
13 Essential part of analysing unknown sticky substance (4)
GUNK – hidden as above. I looked up the origin of the word, to find several options; An American sticky soap brand in the 1930s, the Irish gunc for snot, the Welsh cawnc for filth, Scottish gunk for slop; take your pick. It’s now a brand of engine de-greaser solvent sold on Amazon.
14 Weak eddying causing water turbulence (4)
WAKE – (WEAK)*. A weak clue?
15 Wonderful friend guarding female round soldiers (10)
PHENOMENAL – PAL has HEN, O, MEN (female, round, soldiers) inserted.
18 With some chance of restoration theatre being OK to broadcast (10)
REPAIRABLE – REP (theatre), AIRABLE (OK to broadcast).
20 Son in company of soldiers is intimate and relaxed (4)
COSY – COY (abbr. for company) with S inserted.
21 Let It Be and Time included in sequence of songs (4)
STET – T inside SET, a sequence of songs.
23 Trainee’s job in winter stripped navy vessel (10)
INTERNSHIP – [w]INTE[r], RN (navy), SHIP (vessel).
25 Brand horse queen’s breaking in (6)
MARQUE – MARE with QU inserted.
26 Mistake in recording tailless reptile (8)
TERRAPIN – ERR inside TAPIN[g]. Another chance for me to ask when TAPING will be ‘archaic’ for recording!
28 Developer of fashionable IOW resort, name forgotten (8)
INVENTOR –  IN (fashionable) VENTNOR (in Isle of Wight, I’ve been there and I shan’t be returning), lose the N for name.
29 Called to enter grand English country house (6)
GRANGE – RANG inside G[rand] E[nglish].
Down
2 Write note in a single sheet attachment (9)
APPENDAGE – PEN, D (a note), inside A PAGE.
3 Captive deer trapped in weed (7)
HOSTAGE – STAG inside HOE = weed.
4 What’s leading summer each year? Spring (3)
SPA – S[ummer], P.A. = each year, per annum.
5 Character in Iliad who volunteered to serve (5)
THETA – THE T.A. were volunteers.
6 Answer lies in handy loom needing no fittings (5-2-4)
READY-TO-WEAR – READY = handy, TOWER = loom, insert A for answer. Tower as in “to tower over something” I think.
7 Blimp perhaps endlessly circling good German city (7)
COLOGNE – G inside COLONE[l], as in Colonel Blimp.
8 This is noble, the third exiled from ancient Spanish kingdom (5)
ARGON – ARAGON loses its third letter to give a noble gas.
12 Cheeky rascal reconfigured internet (11)
IMPERTINENT – IMP = rascal, (INTERNET)*.
16 Go out — be coming back holding key? (3)
EBB – BE reversed with the key of B inserted.
17 Muscles suffering, reportedly letting oneself down (9)
ABSEILING – sounds like “ABS AILING”.
19 Quite a hit introducing new museum piece (7)
ANTIQUE – N inserted into (QUITE A)*.
20 Starch fool’s put in sparkling wine (7)
CASSAVA – ASS inside CAVA. A starchy root vegetable.
22 Author with a popular following beginning to tire (5)
TWAIN – T[ire], W[ith], A, IN = popular.
24 Teacher’s to show disapproval over unclothed form (5)
TUTOR – TUT ! = show disapproval, [f]OR[m].
27 Capital not all needed for equipment (3)
RIG – RIG[a], as in Latvia.

 

71 comments on “Times 29301 – not so sticky now”

  1. 18 minutes fully parsed must be one of my fastest times.

    The only answer I hesitated over writing in when I first thought of it was COSY as I didn’t know COY as an abbreviation of ‘company’. The dictionaries advise that this is commonly used by the military.

  2. Can I be the first, but I suspect not the last, to admit to a careless UN, not IN, SANITARY at 11ac? So a DNF WOE. It took me about half an hour so I found it tougher than others, especially in the top left. APOSTATE came very late and once again I was fooled by the ‘character’ device for THETA, my LOI. Thanks piquet.

    From She Belongs To Me:
    She wears an Egyptian ring, that sparkles before she speaks
    She wears an Egyptian ring, that sparkles before she speaks
    She is a hypnotist collector, you are a walking ANTIQUE

  3. 16:12 one of those I double checked it wasn’t the quick as the NW was completed in a few minutes.

    It could have been a PB but, for the LOI I had not heard of the IoW resort and didn’t want to put in INVENTOR because it contained an N. Two minutes considering INVESTOR/INJECTOR amongst others before just going with what best matched the definition. About 2 minutes wasted on that. Thanks blogger for the travel tip because I already hate the place based on this.

    COD Appendage

    Thanks blogger and setter

  4. 9:44. I had the same experience as Jack, all going in pretty quickly but with doubts over COSY. I left it until last in case a better answer presented itself but when it didn’t I went with COSY and was thankfully proved right. I have the feeling that COY for company has appeared before so I will endeavour to remember it.

  5. Very fun today, 20′ I think. Needed your explanations of TERRAPIN and COLOGNE – and certainly COSY, with COY completely new to me.

    What really held me up was, irritatingly, the German city. Here was I thinking Cottbus, Coblenz (archaic spelling I think), Chemnitz, and I totally missed the bleedin’ obvious! Small excuse that I would think first of ‘Köln’, but doesn’t really wash.

  6. Cruised through this and found it most enjoyable. I was concerned I would have an error somewhere after reading the comments in the quickie blog but happy to be all correct. Didn’t know the IOW resort so just biffed INVENTOR. took me a while to see the parsing of READY-TO-WEAR before seeing loom/ tower. Took a while also to see Colonel Blimp. COD to STET.
    Thanks Piquet and setter.

  7. 20:25

    Didn’t find this especially quick, but then I was probably slower to know poignancy = PATHOS, and renegade = APOSTATE off the top of my head. As for others, COSY seemed a bit out of place, as no-one knows COY as an abbrev. for company.

    Thanks P and setter

    1. I did know COY and we have had it before eg in September 2024 (29019) with COYNESS from “company head”. Other examples exist but are much earlier

  8. COY for “company” was new to me too, and I seemed to guess (though I may once have heard) that there is a place on the IOW called Ventnor.
    Very interesting about the origin(s) of GUNK!
    For REPAIRABLE, I would more readily say “reparable”; I am surprised to find that neither is given as an alternative for the other in Collins, REPAIRABLE (as in Dictionary.com) being a sub-entry under “repair” and “reparable” having an entry all to itself. Chambers draws a distinction, saying that “reparable” means “Capable of being made good or (rare) being mended”—with only the “rare” definition matching REPAIRABLE.

    1. Yes, reparable goes with reparation so more the sense of compensation than mending. Interestingly the negative forms are irreparable but (I think) unrepairable.

  9. 17:25. This felt harder at first than it was. I took a while to realise it was going in quickly. I liked ABSEILING, COLOGNE and READY-TO-WEAR. A speedy solve that enters my top ten at number three

  10. Around 15 mins WOE

    A rather careless GUNG – think I was thinking of gunge and forgot to look at the letters.

    No precise time, as got called away and forgot to pause. On the Quickie blog this was called out as very easy which is normally the death knell for me, panicking if I don’t answer everything straight off, when at least some did need some thought (APOSTATE).

    No problem with COY. It’s definitely come up before. My memory is okay – eyesight (see above) is another matter!

  11. One error in just under 14 mins. WAVE for WAKE. I wavered between the two but opted for the word I knew over the one I didn’t. My error brought this to mind.

    Not Waving but Drowning

    Nobody heard him, the dead man,
    But still he lay moaning:
    I was much further out than you thought
    And not waving but drowning.

    Poor chap, he always loved larking
    And now he’s dead
    It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
    They said.

    Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
    (Still the dead one lay moaning)
    I was much too far out all my life
    And not waving but drowning.

      1. Did you see ever the 1978 film of the play Stevie in which she was played by Glenda Jackson?

        1. I’m afraid not but I admire her poetry and think she’s due greater recognition.

          1. I don’t think it’s ever had a DVD release. It is available on YouTube but in 11 segments. If you search on ‘Stevie Glenda Jackson’ they should all come up. Bit of a faff though.

  12. 12:54
    No problems and this did feel very Mondayish, or how Mondays used to feel. Nothing too obscure and a good one for anyone making the jump from the quick crossword.

    Thanks to both.

  13. At last a successful completion, in about 25 minutes and no typos. The paltry Snitch rating took the shine off that gingerbread somewhat.
    Held up only by ARGON as I had erroneously convinced myself that Aragon was solely to be found in LOR. Otherwise nothing of note.
    Thanks to a very benign setter and piquet.

  14. A straightforward sub-10, spoiled by failing to finish R-G, too relaxed!

    Liked THETA, clever. I have been through Ventnor several times. It is tiny, and ‘resort’ doesn’t seem quite right, cf Sandown or Shanklin.

    Thanks pip and setter.

  16. About 20 minutes

    – Like others, didn’t know / had forgotten ‘Coy’ as an abbreviation for company, but COSY had to be
    – Didn’t parse READY-TO-WEAR as I missed what ‘loom’ was doing
    – Trusted the wordplay for CASSAVA

    Thanks piquet and setter.

    FOI Spa
    LOI Cosy
    COD Theta

  17. 18:32. Yes it was a big QC but a welcome first win of the week. I assume all the 1 errors are from misspelling ABSEILING.
    I did lose time trying to get from Balloon to Bologna = city (I know it’s not German) and on the Count Rat anagram.
    Thanks piquet and to setter for the confidence boost.

  18. Reasonably quick, but not a Monday.
    No problems with coy, standard militaryspeak. Like batt. and plat.
    The OED has no truck with anything but the US corporate origin of gunk. Earliest quote is from 1932. My father used an engine degreaser called Gunk, back in the old days when we used to degrease our engines..

    1. Very strange that several solvers put UNSANITARY, when it’s obviously an anagram as there’s no ‘U’ in it!

      1. Not strange at all. So you see it’s an anagram, stick in the word you know, and assume all the letters are there. and move on to the next clue. Careless, maybe, but rather normal!

        1. That’s why I always write the anagrist down separately and tick the letters off in turn. I been caught too many times!

  20. 12 mins, very fast for me. All very easy, though the parsing of INVENTOR eluded me (NHO of the IOW town). A relief to get one finished correctly after a run of DNFs. Was beginning to worry about early onset dementia.

  21. 18 minutes with COSY LOI. COD to STET. No problems today to discuss. Thank you Pip and setter.

  22. Pleasant solve, with a doubt over APOSTATE, where I thought the attitude was state (of mind) and couldn’t parse the “po” bit so thanks to the blogger for sorting that out, and the blimp part of the city. This took me a bit longer than yesterday so very surprised to see the snitch score! Thanks to setter and blogger.

  23. Thanks to those on the quick cryptic site for signalling this as very approachable. I did, indeed, find it so and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to setter and bloggers

  24. Fail for me. Have only encountered APOSTATE once or twice before but sure it comes up regularly here. And didn’t know what to do with TATTOO – eventually deciding it must want ART which only fitted at the end. Could see A POSE but then deliberated about what to do with “about” in the clue – reverse something? Stick in c=circa?

    Couldn’t get THETA either until I’d revealed APOSTATE. Thought it had something to do with Territorial Army but no idea about the Iliad.

    Question – is THETA an actual character in The Iliad or is it a pointer to the Greek alphabet? (Or both).

    2. In Greek mythology there was Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and Themis, a goddess of justice, but Theta would just be the letter of the alphabet.

  25. 27:56, but one pink square for UNSANITARY.

    Had to think about Bathos at 1a, a word that is close to pathos, and which I never quite know how to use.

    LOI COSY, where the y remained unaccounted for.
    Guessed that “coy”is military abbreviation for company, because CO is taken for Commanding Officer.

  26. DNF again

    UNSANITARY was another example of what seems to be a theme of recent days: gritty little spelling tests buried within already tricky grids. Hoping for a more eagle-eyed performance tomorrow!

  27. Quickest for some time at just under 20′. I thought yesterday was Monday but seemingly it’s today. Thankfully I had a double take at “ABSaILING” and corrected it. I don’t really think of renegade as TURNCOAT, more as a rebel. I had family in IOW (Ventnor and Shanklin) and spent many holidays there in the sixties in my pre-teens; been back recently and its hardly changed much, and its not necessarily a good thing… Thanks Piquet and setter.

  28. My thanks to piquet and setter. A pretty easy one except in my case 5a.
    5a LOI COD PDM Turncoat, didn’t see the anagram at first, and thought when I did that rat was the def, but not quite so I let the setter off.
    5d Theta, clever but no COD.
    6d Ready to wear biffed as I didn’t translate ready to handy, and the tower seemed to be a bit broken up (it isn’t.)
    20d Cassava. I thought this was going to be casein but that is too short, only one s, and anyway is a protein not starch.

  30. I was delayed in the NE by reading the clue as “Court rat” and needed the down crossers before realising. Took a while to see Colonel Blimp, but he cleared the way to TURNCOAT. ARGON was LOI. SPA started the proceedings. Like Dvynys, when I see that the puzzle has been classified as easy, it seems to induce a sense of panic if I don’t see everything straight away, and I was very slow getting started. I was down to the SE before I got into my stride. No problem with COY for company. Smiled when the penny dropped for THETA. Double checked the anagrist for the lesser spotted INSANITARY. 18:20. Thanks setter and Pip.

  31. I avoided the pitfalls and completed in two straight passes.

    I holidayed just outside Ventnor twice in the 1970’s. Lovely part of the world, and the local brewery, Burt’s, was still active. They only seemed to produce mild, but it was a very enjoyable pint, and remarkably cheap.

    FOI APOSTATE
    LOI ABSEILING
    COD INSANITARY
    TIME 5:57

    1. But don’t you find that everything in the seventies was cheap? I holdayed twice in Cornwall in the early seventies and at the local pub the bitter was 1s 10d a pint. Marvellous ale too! The other day, I paid £8.00 for a pint in Clarksons new pub. Eek. Great pub though.

  32. The TURNCOAT anagram eluded me for a while and I agonised over Ventnor because it doesn’t have just a single name in it, but two. Pedantically I always feel that the setter should indicate that it’s only one of the Ns that is dropped, with something like ‘… without a name’. 22 minutes, all went in pretty easily. A nice crossword, where the setter hasn’t compromised on quality just because it was easy.

  34. 13:10 – nothing to add to the pleasant and gentle verdict, except some surprise that Coy. as a military abbreviation for company caused any difficulty to my fellow Tfters

  35. I didn’t find this as easy as has been indicated, and the usual panic set in when it was signalled as so. Held up by biffing AUTOCRAT in 5a, only noticing belatedly that the letters were wrong. APOSTATE was last one in, but a DNF anyway because of a careless WAVE. NHO COY for company. Once again, felt not on the wavelength for this. Thanks for the blog, Piquet.

  36. 10:43 but with a stupid typo INTERMSHIP.
    I would have been very sad if that had been my first sub 10 minute solve! For a while it was on the cards, but I slowed down at the end, as so often. One of the things that slowed me down was not knowing COY as an abbreviation for company.
    Thanks setter and blogger

  37. A fairly nippy 26.20 although I’m left with the feeling I could have been quicker. I would have been under 25 minutes if I hadn’t read Kevin’s comment in the QC warning of a possible pitfall. I decided it had to be COSY as I didn’t like the unheard of COY abbreviation for company. As I couldn’t come up with an alternative in it went and the clock was stopped. Frustratingly Kevin hasn’t posted on the 15×15 so we’ll never know. I assume it was WAVE for WAKE, as at first glance it seems quite plausible.

  38. I had most of this done in 30 minutes without any heavy breathing, but was inexplicably held up for another 10 minutes trying to unravel 25ac and 19dn. No excuse really, though I do not recall seeing ‘hit’ as an anagram indicator before. No problem with COY for company which I do recall seeing many years ago. A pleasant exercise, as it was clear that the answers were correct, which is not always the case.
    FOI – INSANITARY
    LOI – MARQUE
    COD – COLOGNE
    Thanks to piquet and other contributors.

  39. Advised on the QC blog that this was very approachable and duly gave it a go. And was rewarded with a 15:28 finish, faster than several of my QC efforts recently. Mostly all parsed too, though READY TO WEAR was a biff (it could not be anything else but I did not see TOWER for Loom) and I also missed tattoo = TAT A standard abbreviation or a somewhat dismissive comment on the art of tattooing?

    Many thanks Piquet for the blog.

  40. Another careless unsanitary here but otherwise seemed fairly straightforward. Didn’t know coy for company so couldn’t parse COSY and took a while to spot the hidden GUNK. Many thanks piquet and setter.

  41. Had a go, prompted by the comments on the QC and managed to finish in about 45 minutes. Obviously one of the easier Cryptics as I normally struggle to do more than a few clues!

  43. An annoying DNF today, held up by THETA (which I smiled at after seeing it, at least), COSY and MARQUE. Also biffed INVENTOR like many others, never having been to the resort – and I’m not sure what it says about my current cultural identity that my immediate thought of ‘author’ from TWAIN was Shania rather than Mark…

  44. 32 mins, so not too testing. Last two APOSTATE & THETA held me up for a bit. I don’t know why. LOI COSY, I’m another who didn’t know/remember coy.

    Some fun anagrams and I liked PHENOMINAL & INVENTOR.

    Thanks pip and setter.

  45. When I was young my parents took me on holiday once to Ventnor. Knew it would come in handy one day.
    FOI ALLEGE
    LOI ARGON
    COD ABSEILING

  46. 26.05 Harder than expected from the QC blog billing, but still pretty quick for me. APOSTATE was LOI. I started counting the vowels in anagrams after someone here suggested it, though my first thought was INSANITARY anyway. Thanks piquet.

  47. 30 minutes (or 28 plus proofreading, which saved me from entering INVENTER) and although THETA and APOSTATE were slow to go in as my last entries, the only one which gave me any concerns was ABSEILING. That’s because if your local language is German one part of the clue doesn’t work. Fortunately I assumed, correctly, that the English spelling would be OK but the pronunciation maybe not (the EIL part in the German original is pronounced like “aisle”, not like “ail”. AB means downwards, SEIL is a rope and of course the word means descending using a rope). Otherwise one of the easiest Times cryptics I ever encountered.

  48. 23:40. Biffed COSY, not familiar with COY as abbreviation for company.
    Nearly misspelled ABSEILING with an A for the E, but spotted my error just before submitting.

    Thanks piquet and setter

  49. Found this at last! (I’d thought I was sunk without any recourse to the blog and comments- I’m a lurker from Australia- and duly panicked!). 😱

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