Times Cryptic 26336

Posted on Categories Daily Cryptic
This one took me 45 minutes which on reflection seems rather excessive but I reserve the right to take extra care and double-check the parsing when it’s my day for blogging. Nothing strikes me as particulatly difficult though 4dn will not be familar to some, I’m sure, and there are at least 53 possibilies to fit the checkers at 6ac if one doesn’t happen to spot the references that the setter had in mind.

As usual deletions are in curly brackets and indicators are in square ones.

Across

1 UNHITCHING – {h}UNG (Cockney was hovering) encloses [about] HIT (strike) + CHIN (punch)
6 BAIL – Two definitions, firstly with reference to the wooden doings that sit on top of the wicket in cricket and secondly concerning law and court procedures where a sponsor “puts up” bail to release a prisoner from custody who then perhaps absconds and “jumps” it. This was my last one in as I was daunted by the number of possibilities until the penny finally dropped
10 AUTOCUE – Sounds like [picked up] “auto queue” (line of cars). Definition: TV signal, though that medium doesn’t have exclusive use of such devices so a question mark may have been in order.
11 TARDIER – TARDI{s} (time machine) and ER{a} both [stopping sooner]. Those who have never heard of Doctor Who and his time travelling machine may consider themselves most fortunate.
12 EGOTISTIC – Anagram [novel] of CITES that has GOT (understood) + I (one) inside it [in]
13 NOTCH – Two definitions. ‘Nick’ is straightforward but I wasn’t aware that NOTCH  could mean ‘secure’, however COED has it as ‘secure or insert by means of notches’.
14 BAFTA – FAB (champion) reversed, TA (cheers). This is timely either by accident or design as the annual film awards ceremony hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts took place only last Sunday at the Royal Opera House.
15 PEDALBOAT – Anagram [junk] of ADOPTABLE. I tried to bif ‘paddleboat’ but ran out of spaces and letters.
17 GROOVIEST – G{roup} [head of], then VIES (struggles) inside ROOT (base)
20 KYOTO – Last letters [ultimately] of {ban}K {ma}Y {forg}O {profi}T {als}O
21 BIGHT – Hidden and reversed [to the west] inside {wi}TH GIB{raltar}. Famous ‘bights’ include the Great Australian and the German one that features in UK shipping forecasts.
23 BRIC-A-BRAC – BR (old trains – British Rail), I (one), CAB (taxi), RAC (drivers’ association – Royal Automobile Club)
25 NOVENAS – SANE (well in mind) + VON (of, German) all reversed [recalled]. Obscure religious stuff as far as I’m concerned but I’ve met it in crosswords somewhere, if not apparently in The Times.
26 LOITERS – 0 (nothing) inside LITERS (New Yorkers’ volumes)
27 YANK – YAK (rabbit – both slang for incessant talking) enclosing [straddling] N (pole)
28 HYPOTHESIS – HYPO (jabber – hypodermic needle), THE SIS (British spies – the Special Intelligence Service)

Down
1 USAGE – US (States), AGE (time)
2 HATS OFF TO – HATS (capital coverage) OF FT (newspaper’s – Financial Times’s), 0 (nothing)
3 TACTICAL VOTING – Anagram [corrupt] of CCTV GOT ITALIAN
4 HEELTAP – Anagram [abandoned] of THE ALE, P (quietly). The definition is &lit. This is a dated word for the remains of an alcoholic drink left in a glass. I also remember ‘heeltapping’ as the rather antisocial practice of eeking out the dregs of one’s drink when in company in the hope that somebody else would pitch in and buy the next round, but I can’t find any support for this. Not that I’ve ever done it myself of course!
5 NOTICED – TON (high speed) reversed [after ascent], ICED (finished off – killed). Definition: clocked – slang
7 A-LIST – S{ilent} [at first] inside ALIT (settled – landed). This came up elsewhere within the past few days.
8 LARGHETTO – LAR{k} (bird) [tailless], then H{overing] [initially] inside GET TO (reach). Definition: rather slow – in music
9 DRINK LIKE A FISH – Anagram [bent] of KIND FRAIL SIKH E (English). Definition: down a lot
14 BUGS BUNNY – BUGS (insects), BUN-NY (like cake – ho-ho!). Definition: He loves carrots
16 ODOURLESS – O (old), DOUR (miserable) , LES’S (boy’s)
18 EMBASSY – EASY (with facility) containing MB (doctor) and later an extra S (small) for good measure
19 TWIGLOO – TWIG (cotton on), L (large) O+O (rings). I didn’t know this temporary shelter made of twigs but it didn’t take much working out as a possibility
22 GIVEN – GI (American in service), VEN (archdeacon). I’m not sure that ‘lent’ is quite the same thing but I suppose it’s close enough and the question mark covers any ambiguities
24 COSTS – COS (informally for – because) containing [crossing] ST (thoroughfare)

38 comments on “Times Cryptic 26336”

  1. … it was the ease of yesterday’s puzzle, but I found this quite hard, especially in the NW, with AUTOCUE last in. But there’s little to complain about here, and had a good chuckle at BUGS. HATS OFF TO our setter for that one (and much else).
  2. I had RAIL instead of BAIL. Thought it was a really bad cryptic relating to show-jumping. Could almost defend my solution except that it doesn’t account for the “wooden”.

    Everything else in just over 30 minutes, with similar problems to Mctext in the NW.

    DRINK LIKE A FISH was the best of a very good bunch. Thanks setter and Jack.

  3. DNF as I missed with TWILLOO(Cotton=twill+oo)LOI

    6ac BAIL shouldn’t the clue read ‘when another jumps’ (rather than then another jumps)?

    But a gritty workout. 15ac FOI PEDALBOAT

    COD 14dn BUGS BUNNY!

    HEELTAP is a blast from the past. Remember Worthington’s White Shield?

    horryd Shanghai

    1. I’m not sure about that, horryd Shanghai. Bail is said to be ‘put up’ whether the accused person complies with the order or ‘jumps’ it, but ‘when’ would seem to make the putting up conditional upon the jumping. It’s a fine point though.

      I do indeed remember Worthington White Shield!

      Edited at 2016-02-16 05:59 am (UTC)

  4. Entertaining middle-of-the-roader with some very neat definitions, ‘the most with it’ at 17ac, ‘stands by’ at 26ac, etc. COD to BAIL and word of the day to TWIGLOO, a lovely construction. Thanks to jackkt for getting the blog up so promptly.
  5. could do nothing with 6ac and, like Galspray, threw in ‘rail’, although without any particular justification. I take some comfort in learning that BAIL is yet another cricket term. I did manage to dredge up the Dr Who time machine from memory (and just now finally remembered the Daleks after finding nothing but Eloi in my head for 10 minutes). I never did parse 1ac, wondering if hunching could be considered hovering. Some lovely clues, COD for me being 9d.
  6. Count me in as another who gave up on the number of possibilities for 6a and I ended up bunging in RAIL out of laziness. A few interesting new words such as HEELTAP and TWIGLOO and some good clues of which my favourites were TARDIER and GROOVIEST. I thought NOTCH for ‘secure’ was in the sense of eg notching (up) or securing a win, but with the need for ‘up’, I guess it doesn’t quite work.

    Thanks for blog and to setter.

    1. I considered the same explanation but rejected it because it would usually take ‘up’ and the clue didn’t account for that so I researched whilst blogging and found an alternative sense of the word that allows it to stand alone. I still think there may be a case our first thought though.
        1. That must be what’s required: ODO gives as an example ‘she notched her belt tighter’. A new one on me, although it makes intuitive sense.

          Edited at 2016-02-16 07:09 am (UTC)

      1. In my Sunday League days to notch meant to score, and by extension to achieve (secure) anything. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this on Match of the Day as well!
  7. 21m. Tricky one this, with some well-disguised definitions and a few unknowns (NOVENAS, HEELTAP, TWIGLOO) that needed to be constructed from the wordplay. I thought the ‘TV’ bit of AUTOCUE was dodgy (TV isn’t necessarily involved), but that’s how Collins defines it so I’ll be writing to them. I didn’t understand NOTCH, and I don’t remember hearing it as a verb used in this sense, but it didn’t cause me any real problems. I panicked a bit at _A_L but fortunately B is early in the alphabet.
    Nice puzzle, so thanks setter, and thanks to jackkt for getting the blog up so early on a morning when I had to get up at 5am!

    Edited at 2016-02-16 07:07 am (UTC)

  8. Most enjoyable puzzle, I echo Mctext’s sentiments entirely. 20 minutes with the RAIL v BAIL penny dropping eventually. Bugs bunny made me smile.
  9. LOI was BAIL, where I was helped, like Keriothe, by B being early in the alphabet. Nonetheless the cricketing ref went completely over my head (“quoi de neuf…?”).

    Same unknowns as others formed from wp: NOVENAS, HEELTAG, TWIGLOO. Quite a few biffed: NOTCH, HYPOTHESIS, NOTICED, so thanks for sorting those ones, Jack.

    About 45mins or so.

  10. 31:47 … good stuff. I spent ages at the end staring at 6a, knowing that something was going on but taking forever to realise what. And NOVENAS took almost as long to untangle.

    Entertainment everywhere but BUGS BUNNY is a belter. Thank you, setter (and jackkt). I’m off to build a twigloo …

    Edited at 2016-02-16 10:19 am (UTC)

  11. I found this hard going, and ended up after 26 minutes with a typo that took me three scans to spot.
    Living near the forest means that my grandchildren and I have the opportunity to construct and maintain what we prefer to call twigwams, an epithet which we consider much better (and more accurate) than the TWIGLOO cited here. I suppose if you can manage the rounded shape (and the little tunnel entrance) it would do but I’d take some persuading. Research shows some pictures of mostly wicker based structures, but ours are more fun.
    Several of these not fully parsed, so thanks to Jack for UNHITCHING, where I made do with (h)unching as adopting a boxer’s low stance (somewhat unconvincing) and BIGHT, where I was convinced that Gibraltar conventionally abbreviates to GIB and the remaining HT therefore emerged smiling vacantly from the ether.
    TV signal for AUTOCUE? I suppose it’s a signal to the presenter as to what he should say.
    Much good stuff, clever and challenging. Hats off to setter and Jack.
  12. Just under the 30 min mark with TWIGLOO LOI. Worthington White Shield is still available, as is its dangerous friend, Courage Imperial Russian Stout. A bit like the Sixties, if you remember drinking three of the latter, you didn’t! Thanks setter and jackkt.

    Edited at 2016-02-16 10:13 am (UTC)

  13. Another one who failed to parse UNHITCHING. I also prefer Z’s twigwams. My parents used to keep their logs and kindling in the outside WC so I’m afraid that’s what came to mind when I managed to stop thinking about twiglets (haven’t had one in years). Very good puzzle and first-rate blog. 22.22
    1. I delighted to find another coining of twigwam: we had imagined it might be our very own word, though again a search has revealed actual commercial versions, neatly made from hazel and selling for upwards of £114.99. Ours are much more rustic, built from any branches we can actually move, frequently artistic with balanced kinetic features and open to the public without cost. Surely priceless.
  14. A bit of a fight this one with quite a bit of reverse engineering from possible solution to cryptic

    Didn’t understand NOTCH, don’t think “TV signal” defines AUTOCUE, and last one in BAIL involved thinking “put up X”, “jump X” ah! Liked BUGS BUNNY

    Great work Jack

  15. 45 min approx, but technical DNF as needed to use aid to find something to fit checkers at 15ac, as couldn’t parse. Also thanks for 1ac, just biffed in. NOVENAS no problem, as an old Countdown favourite.
  16. Great puzzle I thought – 12.5 minutes, but a DNF as I’d put RAIL in at 6ac thinking “that makes absolutely no sense, so I need to revisit it” and then forgetting to. Cricket proves my enormous bane once again!

    I should’ve known better than to attempt a tough cryptic after my performance on the concise, where I had to go through the alphabet to think of a five-letter European country beginning with I. Don’t try to solve crosswords before sufficient caffeination, peopke…

  17. I found this rather tough and took almost an hour to solve it. Didn’t know NOVENAS, but at least it was gettable from the wordplay. I took ages to get 1a. In fact the whole of the NW gave me problems.
  18. I managed to make a complete pig’s ear of this, failing on BIGHT, LARGHETTO and BAIL. All seem reasonable with hindsight.

    I did know the word HEELTAP, if not the meaning. Until a few years ago there was a bar called the Heeltap and Bumper opposite St Paul’s Cathedral. I’d never been curious enough to find out the meaning of the name until now. A quick Google gave me this useful nugget which will now be quoted whenever I go for a drink: “Bumpers all round and no heel-taps was once a sort of drinking toast, or exhortation to drink to the bottom of the glass (a bumper was a glass filled to the brim).”

    1. Used to often go in there after work, though for reasons I can’t recall I’d thought the name was something to do with dancing (!)
  19. Hypo to me means either the stuff we used in school photography or when a diabetic suffers with low blood sugar. I read Physics the same three years at Oxford as Howard Marks but didn’t inhale. Didn’t realise how much it would hold me back with The Times fifty years later.
  20. This wasn’t the ideal puzzle to coincide with my first knock of the week, and I limped home in 37 mins with one wrong under competition conditions, an error that was rectified as soon as I checked my Chambers post-solve. For some reason I just couldn’t see the wordplay for 25ac and bunged in “novenes”. As soon as Chambers led me to the correct NOVENAS I saw the wordplay, and I’m blaming the knock on my not being able to see it before then. Ho hum. I thought the puzzle was a belter and my favourites were BUGS BUNNY and DRINK LIKE A FISH.
  21. I needed aids to finish because I had no idea of HEELTAP, TWIGLOO or AUTOCUE. I though of and rejected TWIGLOO as not existing, HEELTAP is entirely unknown over here and the AUTOCUE is apparently what we call a teleprompter. Tough for me. I did get BAIL, though, and appreciated BUGS dropping in. Better luck tomorrow for me, regards to all of you.
    1. It’s pretty much unknown in the UK too. As mentioned in the blog it’s very dated and is qualified as such in the Oxford Dictionaries and Chambers.
  22. 17:22 for me, taking an age to find the setter’s wavelength, but then plodding steadily through once I’d done so.

    No unknowns today: I’ve a feeling I may have first come across the word HEELTAP in a Times crossword many years ago, and it must have appeared several times since then, though not so much in recent years (most recent sighting in 2006). On the other hand I think this must be a first for TWIGLOO, though the word is familiar enough. BAIL was my LOI: I thought of RAIL but wasn’t convinced. (Phew!)

    All in all a delightful puzzle. 2dn the setter.

  23. Things are looking grim – today’s puzzle keeps my mortality rate at 100% for the week so far. I was undone, like some others, by BAIL. Given that my oldest daughter (actually my only daughter, but I’m leaving options open for the future) is a horse-person, I knew that the things that make up the jumps are called poles, yet I still managed to convince myself that they were rails. What is particularly irksome is that BAIL is one of the seven cricketing terms that I know (the others being stumps, wicket, bat, bowler, and in [or possibly on]).

    I also blew 24d, having “casts”. I won’t even begin to attempt to try to start to explain how I justified that one.

    I got TWIGLOO, but it is a word that quite simply should not exist.

  24. A day behind still, and found this very chewy. Same unknowns as most but was able to construct them from the cryptic. Got BAIL fairly quickly and managed to parse UNHITCHING correctly. My downfall was 21ac where I confidently put in BIG_T with GIB being the short form of Gibraltar reversed, but left it until last to parse properly after getting NOVENAS and GIVEN just before my lady friend arrived with her bouncing Jack Russell, at which point I carelessly shoved an O in, and put the paper away until I came here and found my error. Totally missed the hidden word! No time as I had several interruptions to this one, but I did find it enjoyable. Thanks to Jack for the missing parsings and confirmation that the impossible words did exist, and to the setter for an interesting challenge. John

    Edited at 2016-02-17 05:02 pm (UTC)

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