Times Crossword 24346

Author   sabine_tkPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 28.20.

I had hoped that the crossword gods would give me a break after Samuel Johnson two weeks ago, but no such luck – I found this very hard indeed. The top half remained dismayingly empty until I solved 1 across, which didn’t happen for a long time. There’s lots to admire here, and an unprecedented number of wordplays I was unable to work out until later – 10A, 20A, 22A, 24A, 3D, 7D.) I’m not really sure whether this is a particularly fiendish puzzle or if I was on very bad form tonight.

Across
1
   NORFOLK BROADS, a very smoothly reading anagram that defeated for me a long time because it didn’t occur to me to look for it, a bad mistake. I suspect I’d have knocked at least 10 minutes off my time if I’d seen this at once.
8
   STUN, a reversal of NUTS (Crank’s). It took me so long to solve either of the crossing clues that I seriously began to wonder if NUTS was actually the right answer.
9
   EAR(L SCOUR)T. Flipping heck. SCOUR=comb, and EART is “‘eart”, the Cockney rendition of “heart” and therefore “middle, in East London”. All that immediately came to mind was Brent Cross, but I was reasonably confident of solving this backwards once I got a crossing letter or two, and as it turned out the initial E was enough.
10
   LYNCH(P)IN, P=power, inside LYNCHIN(g).
11
   THALIA, hidden. Maybe it was because I solved the neighbouring ISLA relatively quickly, but I just wasn’t looking for another girl’s name here.
16
   ISLA, alternate letters of “at last is”, reversed. The desperate solver can usually rely on “regularly” to dig them out of a hole, though in the case of this puzzle the hole was of such trenchlike dimensions it made little difference.
17
   STAT, the first letters of “skater trying axel turns”. “Turns heads” had me fooled for ages, trying unhelpful reversals.
18
   HARD,DON,EB,Y – HARD=demanding, DON=follow, EB=be, turned over, and Y=authority ultimately.
20
   EYELET, which sounds the same as ISLET (a minor key, since one meaning of key is an island).
22
   V(ESTI)ARY – a vestry or robing room, and therefore “Where habits are”. The wordplay indicates that ESTI (SET I, rearranged) goes inside VARY (change). With the clock ticking ominously toward the half hour I took a punt at this and figured out the wordplay later.
24
   BAR,B,I,ROLL,I -BAR=counter, B=British, ROLL=revolution, and the 2 I’s are the Isles. I had heard of John Barbirolli, but hesitated a while over the second vowel, the wordplay eluding me because I was fixated on British being BR.
26
   PU(L)P. This was the last clue I solved. I had worked out what kind of litter was required, but was, completely wrongly, looking at it as the definition, some obscure farming term, with “recycle” being some kind of anagram or reversal device.
27
   INSTANT,REP,LAY. INSTANT=flash, SET=lay (as in “set down”) and REP is a travelling sales representative.
 
Down
1
   NITTY-GRITTY – until 1 across went in I got nowhere with this, none of the fundamentalish things I could think of (brass tacks, grass roots) even fitting. NITTY=LOUSY is excellent, and for this alone I forgive the compiler most of the torture I endured solving this puzzle.
2
   RU(NI)C = “of character” is the definition, NI (Northern Ireland) is the province (always try this when you see “province”) and the RUC, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, (renamed the PSNI in 2001) are the old force. It can only be a matter of time before a setter spots that PSNI is the start of INSPECTOR, reversed. Probably they already have.
3
   OVER,P,ITCH – I only just this minute saw the elegance of this & lit type clue, having at a quick glance thought “oh, PAST=over, and, well, erm … you do indeed find the pitch at the bottom of a stump…” In fact OVER=deliveries, LONG=itch (desire) and the bottom of “stump” is P. Hoping this is not an ill omen for the game against Australia. (Again.)
4
   KO,RAN,IC – KO=OK upwards, and therefore “allowed, to rise”.
5
   RE,SET – RE=Religious Education.
6
   ADO, RATION, – your ado ration being, of course, your share of troubles, and the rest of the clue is the definition.
7
   S,IR – S=”seriously initially” heading IR (Inland Revenue, duty in the sense of tax.)
14
   BATTLEBUS, a straightforward anagram that was one of my few early triumphs.
15
   SIDES,WIPE – a criticism made in passing, and therefore “passing stick”.
19
   RIV,U,L,ET – “student with driving ambition”, while an unusually precise description of a learner driver, actually baffled me far more than the more usual “student”. RIVET here is a verb.
21
   T,ARK,A – TA here being “thank you”, ie “I’m obliged”. This was the first clue I solved; perhaps luckily, I do not know any other otters by name.
23
   I(MP)EL – “Make” is the definition, and IEL = ELI, the crossworder’s favourite priest, with the I (one) risen to the top.
25
   A,NI – simply IN A (area) reversed. An ani is a black cuckoo, which I did not know.

39 comments on “Times Crossword 24346”

  1. About 40 mins for me. Some wonderfully misleading stuff that gives a sense of achievement when you finally see through it. I loved “student with driving ambition” and “who took duty” and several others.
  2. I thought this was a delightful end to the week! It was quickly apparent that there was going to be some deceptive wordplay, and having become alert to that and got onto the setter’s wavelength I found it all went quite smoothly. I didn’t get many answers from the definition alone, which was satisfying. Thanks to the setter.
  3. Another fine blog, sabine, well done. I finished in just under the hour. Some extremely devious subterfuge here. I was held up a bit by UK place names (even seeing 1ac was an anagram immediately didn’t help), but in the end only BATTLEBUS and ANI were unfamiliar to me, and I had to google Thalia’s inspirational qualities as one of the muses. Some great clues here as has been mentioned; I liked LYNCHPIN, VESTIARY, TARKA and BARBIROLLI but COD to my last in ADORATION. Echo well done to setter.

    At 3d I thought stump=electioneer=pitch could work, as in past=over (with a) bottom of stump=pitch, but your explanantion is far superior and makes for a good &lit.

    Having researched otter names for this week’s DIY COW as recently as yesterday, I can tell you that Mij (or Mijbil) was the favourite in Ring of Bright Water.

    And speaking of uncanny coincidences, the final row of across unches spell NUKE PEL. For Australian audiences Archbishop George Pell is a well known figure. Whether the message is a reference to his preferred “green” energy source or something else is not for me to say. For those unfamiliar with the reverend gentleman, scroll down to “Doctrinal stances and responses to criticisms” in the Wiki article.

  4. 9:40 – I solved 1A on first look and then experienced the much smoother progress suggested by Sabine. Slowed down in the SE by 16 (last in), 18, 26, 19, 15, 23, 12 – 19 was the breakthrough answer to finish off this corner. Good wordplay calls on 9 and 3, where I fell into traps already described.
  5. Well done, Sabine and the setter. I found this a slow but steady solve with plenty to keep me entertained along the way.

    I finished in 45 minutes with several unexplained, all of which fell into place quite easily when revisited except EARL’S COURT at 9ac which I gave up trying to work out having completely overlooked the possibility of a Cockney angle. I should have spotted that “middle” in the clue must have a particular purpose as the contained LSCOUR was clearly not going to be in the middle of that which contained it.

    New to me were ANI and THALIA.

    I thought of Jimbo yesterday when I found myself doing the Telegraph puzzle where one was expected to believe that the A,C,I,A in ACACIA sounds like Asia!

  6. Had to be out on a job at 7:45am and just about had this done by then. So 40 mins approx. A few were pencilled in because I wasn’t sure of the parsing (EYELET, TARKA, BARBIROLLI corner). Then, cruciverbal nightmare: just got back to find I hadn’t completed 16ac. Brain wracking only just revealed the reversed-regular-letters inclusive before coming here for confirmation. Makes me grateful I’m a mere “ledger line” on this site (i.e., not on “the staff”).
  7. A steady 30 – 35 minutes for me today with a few unexplained such as EARLS COURT. Was pleased to see BARBIROLLI with only one checking letter.

    A good end to the week.

  8. Hugely enjoyed this toughish puzzle (I pray no yawn from Jimbo) and ends what for me has been a satisfying week and (no doubt pride before the fall) indicates some progress at last. Perhaps just an easy week?

    Thanks to Sabine for a/ explaining VESTIARY, RUNIC, SIR amd ISLET, and b/ for another marvellous blog, so illuminating on the solving process.

    Like Sly solved BARBIROLLI with 1 checking letter after briefly considering and rejecting Toscanini.
    Last in, a wild stab at RUNIC but gets my COD. Interesting how often solvers’ last in gets nominated COD.

  9. The crossword gods seem to have it in for you Sabine – two toughies on the trot and another absolutely first class blog.

    I struggled with this (possibly because it’s been so long in coming) but found it a really enjoyable 35 minutes. Some of the definitions are superbly misleading, some of the word play really brilliant.

    It’s a mark of a good puzzle when without resorting to obscurities the setter thoroughly tests ones ability and leaves one with a real sense of achievement when one finishes.

  10. My most enjoyable crossword for some time. Done in fits and starts of hitting brickwalls then trying a guess.

    COD for me is 21dn. If only because I can do this joke:

    Have you heard of a Tarka Curry? It’s like a Vindaloo only a little bit ‘otter.

    W

  11. Ooh, I did like this one! Invigorating stuff, with lots of cleverness. I thought the cluing for BARBIROLLI was just stunning, so smooth. I was greatly helped by getting 1ac and 1dn quickly, always a cheering beginning. Can’t fault the blog either, though it might be worth mentioning that Thalia (11ac) isn’t just a girl, she is the Muse of Comedy and therefore the “inspiring”…
  12. I made steady progress with this, finding it less difficult and, possibly, less entertaining than others have suggested. It is certainly the most difficult this week, but that is not saying much. I finished with Rivulet and Vestiary because I could not get the wordplay for Rivulet. Thanks for that, Sabine, and also for the ‘eart of Earls Court. So I still have not had to open my dictionary since Samuel Johnson’s birthday.
  13. 11:11 here, making it one of the easiest of the week for me! I got NORFOLK BROADS first, but I had to write out the letters in a circle to see it, correctly hoping I’d get all the downs off it, so the top half went in very quickly. Slightly slower with the bottom half, as I wasn’t too sure of BARBIROLLI until I had all the checkers. Last one in was SIDESWIPE, which I thought of straight away but had difficulty justifying it for a while.
  14. Not much to add to fellow bloggers exccept i felt very pleased to finish in 45 minutes. Hadnt heard of Ani before. liked the Runic clue too. some good anagrams and wordplay! Nice one to the blogger and the setter
  15. 24:51 .. I think we’re all grateful to the setter for giving Jimbo something to chew on.

    No particular problems for me, just a lot of concentration required throughout. Well done to Pete and linxit, and anyone else who gets below 15 minutes on this. Looks like this year’s Cheltenham could be a real Rumble in the .. er, Cotswolds. Cue Rocky music.

    First in RESET, last in ADORATION, which also gets my COD vote for a lovely definition and some truly groan-inducing wordplay.

  16. About 30 mins, of which perhaps 10 at the end to dredge up 10A VESTIARY. Great puzzle, not easy to pick a COD but I’ll follow Barry by going for 2D RUNIC.

    Tom B.

  17. As others have said, it’s all been said! A superb end to the week – 16:01 of solving pleasure. I didn’t understand ‘EART or SIR, so thanks Sabine for the explanations – “who took duty” is probably the best of a rather big bunch of clever deviousness and gets my COD NOD.

    Thanks setter

  18. It seems like times for this one depended on whether you spotted NORFOLK BROADS immediately. I did not, so took 16:24. Some nice clues, which I would have appreciated more if I hadn’t been hurrying. I think the clue for RUNIC is particularly impressive, though probably opaque to those with little knowledge of Northern Ireland and the former Royal Ulster Constabulary.
  19. No time recorded, as I resorted to aids after an hour with most of the bottom half still undone.

    1a went in quickly, and most of the down clues that came off it followed. Had the NW half done in about 15 mins then ground to a complete halt, and put in maybe half a dozen more over the next 45. Nothing unreasonable in there, I just wasn’t on the right wavelength at all.

    Thanks to Sabine for explaining all the ones I didn’t fully understand (3, 7, 20, 22 & 27).

    COD was going to be 17 for its wonderful misdirection, but now I fully understand 3, I think it has to be that.

  20. Over an hour on this, with lots of question marks against clues I didn’t fully work out. I think STUN was my first answer, after which I got nothing on first reading until I got to 5 down, then TARKA, which is a pretty safe bet when one sees “otter’. After that it was a question of teasing out the rest, very slowly.
    Is The Inland Revenue called something else now (as an expat I’m not abreast with bureaucratic changes in the UK)? Otherwise how else to explain the past tense, ‘took’? I’m assuming IR is indicated by “who took duty”, not just “duty”.
    I agree there are many gems – “Drop litter” for PUP, the whole construction for BARBIROLLI and RIVULET, to name but a few.
    1. Yes – Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise were merged in 2005 into a new body called HM Revenue and Customs
      1. Yes, and within the past year or so we have had both IR and RUC (2dn) clued as if they still exist, so well done to this setter for getting both right.
  21. Andrew K

    Bloomin’ Times wesite again playing up, just when I wanted to look at it over lunch!

  22. 18:30 and I think that’s the first time I’ve beaten Sabine which I put down to a combination of being on the right wavelength for me (I spotted the disguised definitions without too much ado) and a bad day at the office for Sabine. Thankfully her blogging skills didn’t suffer.

    I think we’ve had ANI in the Times daily before so no new words and nothing too obscure so as Jimbo says well done to the setter for presenting a challenging puzzle without resorting to arcania.

    COD to pulp – drop litter for pup as a verb is terrific.

    I wonder if Anax would have come up with an ever-so-slightly different treatment for 18?

    I received an anonymous text today that just said GBNA. I think it’s bang out of order.

  23. 19.20 with 1 mistake BARBEROLLI (no valid excuse offered – just misconstrued the wordplay thinking ARBE was some kind of counter). I found the whole puzzle much more difficult than yesterday with some really tough, and very good, clues.
    After getting 1a straight off thought it might be a dawdle. Liked T-ARK-A and ADORATION , last in VESTIARY.
  24. Back to normal at last, a nice 35 minutes on my swing seat dozing between being happily sluggish to see what went after overp, sorting out 1a, and rather erratically filling in a lot more without working out the wordplay; last in koranic and working out Isla was a valid guess. Thanks to setter, and to sabine for explaining it all.
  27. Yikes! Over an hour, and needed aids to finish, since I’d never heard of BARBIROLLI, NORFOLK BROADS, or TARKA. Hadn’t understood RUNIC, SIR, EARLS COURT or EYELET wordplay til coming here, so thanks very much for the blog explanations, Sabine. Overall a very clever and (to me) difficult puzzle, perhaps a bit UK-centric, but as we say, ‘ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances’. Maybe you UK folks say that also, in better English. Regards all.
  28. Forgot to record a start time, but about 45 anxious minutes. Made hard work of it, but it was well worth it for the tuneful chorus of dropping pennies. I think COD has to be 1 ac, since it is so slickly clued, and is the key that opens the whole puzzle. I missed it for ages, and didn’t get a start until STAT. Had to go to the aids for VESTIARY. Would like to meet this setter again, but not while suffering a bad hangover.
  29. An extremely British-centric puzzle, this one. I was able to get every answer except Barbirolli without resorting to looking the answers up in advance on the Internet, but many of my answers were based on guesses and assumptions (Norfolk Broads, Earls Court, Isla, runic, overpitch, sir, battlebus, rivulet) because they were (or included) terms which are not known to me as an American.
    Still, that’s part of what makes the puzzle challenging and interesting for me. The only clue/answer I would question is “Isla” – I don’t see much about it on the Internet. Is that name really much used in the UK (or anywhere)?

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