Times Crossword 30176 – What a difference a decade makes..

Solving Time: After the debacle with the 1961 effort last month, it was a relief to move into the 1970s today and a crossword much more to my taste. I rattled through it all in 20mins (greatly helped by writing 1ac and 1dn straight in) except for two (crossing, natch), which I couldn’t fathom. One of them I now have, so just one clue left which is unclear.. perhaps it will resolve itself as I do the blog. Most, though not all of the clues would fit straight into a modern day grid. It is the overall structure perhaps which is most strange to us now so many double definitions, but only one two anagrams

I would almost certainly have done this when first issued, though no recollection remains. It’s quite hard to blog since so many clues are basically just puns or jocular dds.. off we go

cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(–), homophones indicated in “”

ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online

Across

1 next to nothing – a dd. Hardly anything, and also the number next to one
9 transport – another dd. A transport caff, and if you are carried away you are transported, both literally and (more likely) figuratively, I guess.
10 tease – dd again.. tantalize, and sounds like Ts
11 russe – because a Charlotte Russe is a rather sickly dessert
12 Lena – sounds like “leaner.” The only one I know is Lena Horne, a remarkable woman who triumphed over much adversity. Here she is singing “Stormy Weather,” and if you like that sort of music, nobody did it better
13 Nana – I found this reversal of An-an ok, she was the reluctant mate of Chi chi at London Zoo. But I had to google Nana, who turns out to be the dog of the Darling family in Peter Pan. Long time since I read that!
15 leagues – another dd, leagues as in Hanseatic and leagues as in seven l. boots., ie a measure of distance, “Usually about three miles” (ODO)
17 chariot – a reference to Chariots of fire, a line from the world’s most famous hymn, Jerusalem, from which the title of the equally well-known film was taken
18 invalid – guess what? Yes, a dd. A patient, as in the English p., and ineffective as an invalid contract clause might be
20 balance – lose it and fall over, geddit? The numeration is 18ac as it should be (7)
21 tact – because contact is touching. No real definition, then..
22 Alph – Alph, the sacred river that ran through caverns measureless to man in what might be one of the best known poems ever written, Kubla Khan by Coleridge. Cf “Person from Porlock,” which also popped up in a crossword not so long ago
23 wight – because a wight is an archaic term for a man, these days to be found in books like Lord of the Rings, 9or in shipping forecasts)
26 ratio – one of my last two in. If you put ON about ratio, a (mathematical) relationship, you get ORATION, a speech
27 masterful – a jocular reference to “Mr Chips,” star of a a rather good novella used as the basis for various film & TV adaptations
28 dental surgery – another dd, teeth being drawn or filled.. change the subject someone, I’m squeamish

Down

1 natural history – Clearly a literary reference, fortunately one I knew. Recommended reading (look at the reviews for the book); we are far too out of touch with nature these days
2 x-rays – jocular pun on X being an unknown quantity
3 tastefully – dd
4 noodles – dd
5 titanic – dd, one d presumably referring to the Film, this one perhaps, or more likely this excellent one as the crossword predates Mr di Caprio (and, I forgot to mention, it’s an anagram)
6 iota – hidden in rIOT Act. An iota is a small amount, because iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. Interestingly (to me, anyway) “jot” is the same word, as it is the Latin for iota..
7 gradation – another dd, a progression of steps or one small step
8 departmentally – a reference to Rudyard Kipling’s Departmental Ditties
14 fallow deer – ooh, look – an anagram! *(We’ll read of)
16 advocated – dd, the barman being a barrister, called to the bar..
19 dilemma – reference to GB Shaw’s play Doctor’s Dilemma, seldom performed these days but twice filmed, apparently
20 behests – HE’S in stakes = BETS
24 gaffe – old man = GAFFE(<a href=”R).. almost
25 noon – my last in, not because the word is hard to find but just because I had trouble convincing myself the answer was correct. It is a time, and is a reference to it’s palindromic nature, but it still seems a bit weak to me.

Author: JerryW

I love The Times crosswords..

53 comments on “Times Crossword 30176 – What a difference a decade makes..”

    1. Not yet – the online edition still only has a link to the first qualifier.
  1. 30176 for a puzzle in 1976? Full of literary references ranging from Blake to Gilbert White to Coleridge … had to do much googling
    1. The number is presumably to do with the date it appeared, but I can’t locate it in the archive on any variation on that theme.
      Good to hear from you Uncle Yap!
  2. Is anyone else having difficulty logging in to this site using Windows and Mozilla/Firefox? My Apple products work well, but the W/M is lots of blank screens.

    Edited at 2014-05-14 01:22 am (UTC)

    1. I’m on Windows 7 and Firefox 29.1 and am experiencing no problems with this site.

      I note we have another error in the enumeration in the vintage puzzle (at 20ac). I wonder if it’s also in the archive version to prove that such things happened way back then too.

      Edited at 2014-05-14 05:19 am (UTC)

      1. On the iPad app version of the crossword, this enumeration error extends to actually not being able to insert more than 4 letters of the answer. I have better things to do (ie the dog).
        1. One of the reasons I gave up on this one. They’ve also used the horrible Sunday Times format. I hope this isn’t a permanent change, or I will have to go back to paper and pen.
          1. It was the same for the first ‘Oldie’. I don’t understand why they do it. Personally and normally, I solve on a Zagg keypad which as well as being bluetooth-connected to the iPad, acts as a tough case.
            1. I have something similar but it’s not very practical when you’re standing up on a train!
              1. I too hate the ST keyboard. Why do they do it? A lovely puzzle but please, please make them stop using that awful format!
  3. I just took a screen capture, missing out the bits at the bottom and right-hand side, opened it in Preview (Adobe should work equally?) and it printed exactly on to an A4 sheet. The text is a bit blurry, but readable.
  4. 23:43 … If the previous vintage offering was like pulling teeth (sorry, jerry), this was more like a trip to the hygienist.

    The only clue that really struck me as odd was the one for TACT.

    I really liked RATIO, once the penny dropped. And, of course, DENTAL SURGERY (really sorry, jerry).

  5. I think I had everything but 26ac and 25d done in well under 20′, then spent the rest of my 26:47 pondering those, and never did get 25d. I wasted some time, too, thinking 15ac would end in -fuls. Knew NANA, guessed that there must have been a panda named An-An. Like Jack, glad to have been able to (almost) solve this; but not particularly a fun puzzle, although I liked 28ac and 23ac. There’s another famous bit of English poetry:
    Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight,
    Alone and palely loitering;
    The sedge is withered from the lake,
    And no birds sing.
    1. Ah yes Kevin – la belle dame sans merci (aka the beautiful lady who never says thank you). Actually I think it’s a knight who’s so miserable.
          1. Did it get spammed? It was visible to me immediately. It was an experiment to see if I still got spammed now I have posting access.
            1. Yes, it showed up as a suspicious comment. I think some bloggers have different levels of access and that may affect how spam works, and what I posted the other day was not necessarily correct in all cases.

              Edited at 2014-05-14 05:06 pm (UTC)

        1. Knight, wight – pretty sad guy whichever but I never knew the wight one (ouch).
      1. In fact it is knight-at-arms. Hardy’s poem in the of the breaking of nations refers to “a maid and her wight”
  6. … that comes to mind is “cloudy”, even though the answers went in quite smoothly. E.g.: conTACT and OratioN. Dorset, despite its longevity, will be complaining about the lit. I found it quite fun. Looking foward to the Qual2 blog.
  7. I took 9 mins to solve this with TACT being the last one to fall. I too was a fan of 28a

    Off to that London for the S&B at Wapping this afternoon -hope to see some of you there.

  8. Just glad to find it do-able unlike the previous vintage puzzle. No time, but the answers went in steadily enough. DK WIGHT but guessed it. Thought 28 was rather fun.
  9. I want to send off today’s qualifying puzzle and see if they’ll let me in, but I’m still waiting for a cheque book to turn up and the bumph alongside the qualifier only mentions cheques for the entry fee.

    Does anyone happen to know if I can pay by Postal Order? Or do I have to make a lengthy drive to the big city (Redruth), find somewhere to park and go into the bank for a counter cheque?

    I couldn’t see an appropriate place on the forum to ask the question.

    1. I missed my invitation last year, and emailed DL in September to see if had indeed qualified. I was told (officially, therefore) that payment on the day in convertible currency for my place would be acceptable. Finding someone to pay on the day proved difficult, but I was still an official candidate. I’m sure something similar can be arranged for those who have no cheque/checkbook. Soon enough, that will be everyone.
      1. Thanks, z8.

        When I opened my account (by phone) a while ago I was talked out of having a cheque book. Within a few weeks, I found myself needing one on several occasions. Cheques aren’t often used now by individuals, but when you need one you need one. I’ve now requested a chequebook but have no idea when it’ll turn up. I’m not holding my breath.

        1. I received a very rapid reply from David Levy (thanks for the suggestion, Olivia).

          Just in case anyone is in a similar position, Postal Orders are fine.

    2. Sotira – last year I had a similar problem (I’m in NY and don’t have a UK chequebook). You could try emailing the following:

      Davidlevylondon@yahoo.com

      He was running the competition and was very helpful so I hope he’s still around.

      1. I did think of you when I was pondering the problem, as I was sure you would have encountered a similar obstacle. Thank you. I believe from other comments that David Levy is still running things so I’ll try dropping him a line.

  10. This was definitely more approachable than the last one: I managed about half of it before getting fed up. It’s an interesting cultural artefact: there are lots of things in here that would have been top-of-mind (as admen say) for your average solver in the 70s but are not so much these days:
    > TRANSPORT CAFF: these days we say ‘Starbucks’.
    > Charlotte RUSSE: like Black Forest Gateau, if you encounter it these days it will be in an ironic recreation by Heston Blumenthal.
    > An-An. Obviously.
    > ALPH: don’t worry, I’m not saying Kubla Khan is obscure but a solver in the 70s would have had a literary education very heavy on this and other pillars of the Canon. I got through school without ever touching Coleridge. I make no comment on whether this is a good or bad thing, beyond saying that I don’t look back at the entire term I spent on The Human Factor by Graham Greene as the highlight of my literary education.
    > Mr Chips. A bit like An-An.
    > The Natural History of Selbourne. Huh?
    > Departmental Ditties. See ALPH.
    > Doctor’s Dilemma. See ALPH. I got in trouble a while back for suggesting that the lesser plays of GBS are a bit obscure, but the reality is that his reputation is not what it was. Or at least it wasn’t when I was at school and university: he may have done an Oscar Wilde by now for all I know.
    1. > Charlotte RUSSE: … if you encounter it these days it will be in an ironic recreation by Heston Blumenthal.

      And presumably deconstructed, with an infused vapour of fruit within a geodesic cloche. It’s what you pay the big bucks for.

      I accidentally found myself watching Masterchef the other day and saw someone dish up a deconstructed beef wellington. It looked awful, and apparently tasted like it looked.

      1. And foam, of course. If you’re paying Michelin star prices you have to insist on foam.

        Why on earth would anyone deconstruct a beef Wellington? You might as well deconstruct a gin and tonic.

        1. Somewhere, a ‘mixologist’ is furiously scribbling a note to self.

          I don’t do foam. The sight of it makes me feel queasy. If I see foam on a menu I go to another restaurant because I don’t even want to see foam at a neighbouring table. There’s a probably a word for it but I definitely have foam-related issues.

          1. I react to the word ‘mixologist’ rather like you react to foam. Likewise people drinking cocktails out of jam jars.
            1. Drinking cocktails out of jam jars – sheesh. Not in NYC bars so far as I know… Hope they don’t mix it with the raspberry vinegar balsamic reduction or their little tummies will be unhappy. Foam is strictly reserved for my bath.
    2. It might be a mistake to assume a general level of such ignorance.. none of the above caused me any trouble except for the Shaw play. And I don’t think I got much of it from school, either. What were your parents doing all this time? The local library? Mostly I think it was just stuff I read.
      Or got from crosswords 😉

      Edited at 2014-05-14 03:37 pm (UTC)

      1. When you were at school Shaw was considered an Important Playwright, so I’m afraid you’ve got no excuse. 😉
  11. Like the blogger, I struggled with RATIO and NOON. I got ratio (unparsed) from def, but couldn’t decide between noon and soon, also toyed with anon.
    A bit too much GK for my liking – Selborne Natural History was a look-up, Nana from wordplay, should have remembered Alph. Never heard of departmental ditties.
    COD to dental surgery.

    Edited at 2014-05-14 10:09 am (UTC)

  12. Away from home, no printer, I’m doing this on a tablet with bluetooth keyboard. Every letter goes in twice and has to be backed out. Possible, but tedious. The quick cryptic is even worse. Each letter typed thinks it’s a google request and has to be cleared. Any takers?
  13. Much enjoyed as a blast from my actual past solving days, though not a glimmer of specific memory was there to assist.
    Quite a bit of guesswork, especially on the Sage of Selbourne, but AN AN was a write-in as the quintessential panda of my salad days. I actually knew ALPH, and have often wondered, if Alph the sacred river ran through caverns measureless to man, where did the the other alph run?
    28 across is the only occasion when DENTAL SURGERY has made me smile. I can trace my phobia precisely to my childhood dentist, his shaky hands, his foot driven drill and his antagonism to any form of pain relief. Sorry again Jack.
    1. My original childhood dentist was Diana Quick’s dad but in my teenage years, we had a very gloomy guy for whom all teeth were on the point of falling out. He met his match in my doctor father who went out of his way to tell the dentist how ill he looked every time that they met. My late cousin was the dentist in the Falklands before the unpleasantness and he certainly toured the farms and homesteads with his foot-driven drill.
  14. 5:21 for me, for a puzzle I must have solved when it first appeared but (not surprisingly) could remember nothing of – apart perhaps from 23ac (WIGHT), which might simply be an old chestnut.

    Since I’m off the S&B gathering at Wapping this afternoon, I decided to tackle this not long after midnight when I was already desperately tired following a busy day and an evening out – otherwise I might have posted a really sparkling time. As it was I made heavy of some easy clues, particularly 26ac (RATIO), 25dn (NOON – I knew exactly what I was looking for but, with no checked letters in place when I reached it first time, just couldn’t think of a palindromic time of day), and (worst of all) 15ac (LEAGUES) and 16dn (ADVOCATED). These last two must have cost me nearly half a minute at the end, otherwise I’d have been pushing that Goodliffe chap and his 4:48.

    Certainly a darned sight easier that the 1961 puzzle: all the literary references were straight out of the Times crossword’s set works of the era.

    1. Sorry, should have mentioned: I agree with Anonymous. Oh, and I loved 28ac (another clue I made heavy weather of) – my COD.
  15. Postal Orders? WowI I thought that they went out with decimalisation. Billy Bunter was famously always waiting for a 10 shilling PO to turn up. I guess that sending postage stamps is however now frowned upon.
  16. Any chance of a link directly to the pdf file? I’m not a Times subscriber, so the above doesn’t help me.
  17. I often have a tough time with dds and cryptics, because they usually turn on nuances or usages a foreign ear misses. Ditto for my-age Brit GK (for example, an American of my age would, and did, assume the literary ref in 1d was to Elements of Style (E.B., and neatly crossing with Charlotte’s Web), or The Making of the President 1960/64/68 (Theodore) and would, and did, work feverishly and vainly).

    When it all comes together, as today, I end up not getting a lot, and not trusting anything I do get, which makes working from crossers untrustworthy. Still good fun if I can decide when to stop…

  18. … when there are so many literary references. And I still haven’t figured out what “room” and “station” have to do with 28A. It seems rather to clue “dentist’s office”.

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