Times Cryptic 26870

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
It’s Tuesday but this is another Monday puzzle judging by the time it took me to solve which was only 37 minutes. There’s one UK-centric acronym that may cause some head-scratching beyond these shores (and possibly within them too!) but the answer to that clue – 16dn – is easily arrived at without fully understanding the wordplay. A couple of other clues took me far longer to blog than to solve but much of this is really straighthforward. I imagine we’re due another stinker any day soon, but this most certainly is not it.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
1 Clear observation: rigged prices preceding bill received in regret (12)
PERSPICACITY – Anagram [rigged] of PRICES + AC (account) contained by [received in] PITY (regret)
9 Pair coming in also comes down (5)
LANDS – [Pair coming in] {a}LS{o}, otherwise written as L AND S
10 Encountered Monroe dancing — measure of pulse (9)
METRONOME – MET (encountered), anagram [dancing] of MONROE
11 Wrong interrupting supporter turning to reload (9)
REPLENISH – SIN (wrong) contained by [interrupting] HELPER all reversed [turning]
12 Conspirator’s heart displayed in conspiracy trial (5)
PILOT – {consp}I{rator} [heart] contained by [displayed in] PLOT (conspiracy)
13 Fabric, cut in back, put on view (6)
MOHAIR – HOM{e} (in) [cut] reversed [back], AIR (put on view)
15 Keenness from Republican entering in urban style? (8)
ALACRITY – R (Republican) contained by [entering] A LA CITY (in urban style)
18 Ruling group on for blocking demo by end of day (8)
MONARCHY – ON contained by [blocking] MARCH (demo), {da}Y [end]
19 WWII device: a piece of ordnance used around about capital of Germany (6)
ENIGMA – A + MINE (piece of ordnance) reversed and containing [around about] G{ermany} [capital]
22 Sick coming to doctor’s practice (5)
DRILL – DR(doctor), ILL (sick)
24 Heading for Portsmouth, rambler will seize last food (9)
PROVENDER – P{ortsmouth} [heading], ROVER (rambler) contains [will seize] END (last)
26 This person’s familiar with wings and flies (5-4)
STAGE-HAND – Cryptic definition with reference to two parts of the stage area of a theatre
27 Occupation of note with exterior function (3-2)
SIT-IN – TI (note) contained by [with exterior] SIN (function – abbr. trigonometry)
28 Disturbance in elements of various modern truths (12)
THUNDERSTORM – Anagram [various] of MODERN TRUTHS
Down
1 Religious devotee forbidding going under large building? Not entirely (7)
PILGRIM – PIL{e} (large building) [not entirely], GRIM (forbidding)
2 Hurriedly make  approach to wicket (3-2)
RUN-UP –  It’s arguable that there are two definitions here (hurriedly make approach / approach to wicket) but as they overlap and duplication is frowned on in some quarters perhaps it’s better to take the whole clue as one definition. On edit, thanks to brnch for pointing out that RUN UP can mean to make something quickly (as in the old jokes about running up curtains etc). It’s still not a perfect double definition in my view as in that sense it wouldn’t take a hyphen, but it’s better than my original thought which I’ve now crossed through. Further edit: emboldened by keriothe’s comment below I’m now confident enough to declare this a single definition with a cryptic  hint in the first half.
3 Back appearance of carnival city in advert (9)
POSTERIOR – RIO (carnival city) in POSTER (advert)
4 Sweet honey source curtailed, leading to tantrum (6)
COMFIT – COM{b} (honey source) [curtailed], FIT (tantrum). I’ve seen this word many a time without knowing exactly what sort of foodstuff it is. SOED defines it as a sweet containing a nut, seed, etc., preserved with sugar
5 Disapproving noise about hospital describing get-out clause? (5-3)
CATCH-ALL – CATCALL (disapproving noise) containing [about] H (hospital). In  a document containing terms and conditions and exceptions and exclusions, there may be a ‘catch-all’ clause that covers every circumstance that’s not specifically dealt with elswehere and enables one of the parties to get out of fulfilling obligations that might otherwise have been enforcable.
6 Gang to work around start of roadworks (5)
TROOP – TO contains [around] R{oadworks} [start], OP (work)
7 Not truthful about bird staying near the ground (3-5)
LOW-LYING – LYING (not truthful) contains [about] OWL (bird)
8 Room in church most suitable to accommodate religious figure (6)
VESTRY – VERY (most) contains [suitable to accommodate] ST (religious figure – saint)
14 Influence one to limit disadvantage (8)
HANDICAP – HAND (influence), I (one), CAP (limit)
16 Government statisticians should be involved in official count, it’s agreed (9)
CONSENSUS – ONS (Government statisticians – Office for National Statistics), contained by [involved in] CENSUS (official count)
17 Minister: man almost wholly without affectation? (8)
CHAPLAIN – CHA{p} (man) [almost wholly], PLAIN (without affectation)
18 Second course displaying a certain style (6)
MODISH – MO (second), DISH (course)
20 A term full of initiation (7)
ACRONYM – A rather good cryptic definition
21 Drawing party up for blocking social security payment (6)
DOODLE – DO (party) reversed [up] contained by [blocking] DOLE (social security payment – colloquially)
23 Shelter supported by church and old medical practitioner (5)
LEECH – LEE (shelter), CH (church)
25 Excessive personal documents turned up just the same (5)
DITTO – OTT (excessive) + ID (personal documents) reversed [turned up]

37 comments on “Times Cryptic 26870”

  1. Didn’t get held up anywhere, just a slow plod I suppose
    The surfaces made my head hurt. 19a is a prime example
    I did like _old medical practitioner_
  2. I certainly never heard of ONS, and spent some time (post-submission) trying to work out the ‘govt. statisticians’ part of the clue. Also didn’t get the MOH of MOHAIR, or how LANDS worked (I couldn’t get past L&R or N&S for ‘pair’). I thought it was rather odd to have LYING to get LYING. Didn’t Alice hand out comfits to the participants in the caucus race?
  3. I got stuck towards the end on MOHAIR (convinced it had to be MUSLIN although I couldn’t see why, from “material” and checkers), and HANDICAP. When I came back after doing some chores, I saw handicap immediately and then MOHAIR was obvious without bother to work out the wordplay.

    And then, after all that, I had a typo.

  4. I think 2dn is a double definition. One might “hurriedly make” or “run up” something at short notice. And of course “approach to wicket” is the cricketing term.

    Overall I found it harder than yesterday.

    Edited at 2017-10-31 05:48 am (UTC)

    1. Good spot. I hadn’t thought of RUN-UP in the first sense. I shall add it to the blog. Thanks.
  5. Failed with STAGE-HAND (I had no idea about “flies”) and ENIGMA (which I’m perfectly familiar with but just didn’t see and was still trying to do something with “gun” rather than “mine” when my hour timer went off…)

    Never quite got into the swing of things on this one. Very much liked 15a ALACRITY.

  6. 14:09. I whizzed through most of this but then slowed considerably for my last few. My last in – ENIGMA – took far too long to see, resulting in a severe self-kicking moment.
    It’s hard to overstate how little it matters but I agree that 2dn isn’t a DD because ‘run up’ in the first sense doesn’t have a hyphen. This minuscule (note the spelling) element of disguise renders the first half of the clue cryptic.
    1. Aha ‘minuscule’ caused debate on Sunday before last, when it appeared in the ST, have been spelling it wrongly all these years.
  7. 22 minutes for all bar mohair and handicap, and another half an hour for these two.

    At least I’m dogged…

  8. 55 mins to DNF – came here to get.. ENIGMA. Good grief – that is a Doh! and a half.
    But not before a very pleasant time munching croissant with home-made blackberry jam (hoorah).
    All but three in 40 mins, then an age on the Mohair/Handicap crossers. “cut in back” for MOH is devious.
    Mostly I liked: ‘L and S’, PILOT, and originality of O.N.S.
    Thanks devious setter and Jack.
  9. 25 minutes, so easing back in gently after an absence (in South Africa) without any meaningful connection to the interworld. Struggled to understand LANDS, interpreting also as AND and not seeing where the L and S (dh’o!) came into it. CONSENSUS went in without spotting the venerable Office.
    Liked A LA CITY.
  10. Not beset round with dismal stories today, finishing in 36 minutes. STAGE-HAND was a semi-biff as I didn’t know FLIES. Otherwise it was all parsed as I went along. with LOI LANDS. I normally find that a catch-all is more a get-me than a get- out clause. COD PROVENDER as I like the word. In fact, it’s time to scoff some comestibles right now. Thank you Jack and setter.
  11. 35′, held up in SW and also with sp of 1ac. Too many alphabet trawls for comfort. Thanks jack and setter.
  12. Not easy from where I’m sitting either. 31 minutes with neither LANDS or MOHAIR parsed. Quite a lot of shortening and reversing going on.
    1. 25.07. One of the delights of these things is being stumped by a deft simplicity, as I was by the parsing of ‘lands’. As for the run-up rationale (so to speak), don’t hyphens have an Ariel-like ability to visit the stage as and when they like? Ground down a bit right at the start when percipience, perceptivity and perceptiveness dogged and deserted me.
      1. Normally I’d agree with you but since the components of ‘run up’ can be separated (run something up) I don’t think they would ever be hyphenated.

        Edited at 2017-10-31 06:31 pm (UTC)

  13. Well I didn’t labour night and day but I can’t say there was no discouragement because I was another one who had to come here to get LANDS and MOHAIR (thanks Jack). 19.29
  14. I knew this was a quick time for me as my coffee was only just tepid, rather than the usual stone cold.
  15. 54:26, or to put it another way – I finished a Tuesday cryptic!!!!!

    Thanks for the blog – L AND S eluded me too. I wondered about 2d but it’s not the first time I’ve queried the presence or absence of a hyphen so I didn’t dwell on it.

    In 8d, I read VERY as “most suitable”, eg “He’s the very man for the job”.

  16. 34 minutes, held up by STAGE HAND for a while and wrongly had GROUP pencilled in for 6d. Once I had the A from 20d I suddenly saw ENIGMA, clumsy surface but nice work. Didn’t see the parsing of LANDS so thanks jackkt.
  17. I found this one tough – not on the wavelength at all. I abandoned it somewhere in the 19th minute with STAGE-HAND unentered. My form seems to be getting worse as the championship approaches.
  19. I started this with RUN-UP and finished with STAGE-HAND, although like BW, I didn’t know the Flies bit of the stage. PERSPICACITY was clarified by PILGRIM and I was off at a gallop, although despite LANDS being the obvious biff for 9a, I didn’t bung it in until I spotted the parsing just before seeing 26a. MOHAIR was a penny drop moment as I saw IN cut, and gave me 14d. Took me a while to see the parsing of REPLENISH even though I did write it in. The only parsing I didn’t quite see was for COMFIT, which I knew as a sweet, but missed the COMB bit. I pencilled in T at the end(Leading to (T)antrum) and saw COMFIT from the other checkers. An enjoyable puzzle which took me 27:06. Thanks setter and Jack.
  20. @ 25dn was my FOI.

    LOI 1dn PILGRIM which wasn’t a pericularly inspiring clue IMO.

    COD to 21dn DOODLE

    WOD 4dn COMFIT of the liquorice variety

    26ac STAGE HAND was a write in for us thespians.

    38 mins and quite enjoyable after a slowish start.

    We have had MOTORHOME and METRONOME on consecutive days – whatever next?

  21. I had a similar experience to paulmcl and ulaca, being held up at the end by HANDICAP and MOHAIR and trying to see how MUSLIN could work for some time. For HANDICAP I spent too long trying to put an I in a synonym for disadvantage to arrive at a synonym for influence.

  22. I made heavy weather of this, about 18 minutes for the solve and after that I was over it, so I didn’t check through carefully and managed to have three typos in the grid. Seems the more passes through I need, the more likely I am to type something in the wrong spot. Didn’t see the wordplay for ENIGMA
  23. I’m another who wasted time trying to fit MUSLIN into the grid. Then when that was finally sorted I came adrift in the SW corner. It took me ages to see ENIGMA – something that was so obvious in retrospect. As was ACRONYM, my LOI. 33 minutes. Ann
  24. Not easy here either, probably 40 minutes. MOHAIR and HANDICAP weren’t obvious, and I learned I’ve been spelling and pronouncing 1A wrong my entire life. Thanks to the wordplay it went in correctly. LOI ACRONYM, a clever clue. Regards.
  25. Stuck on Mohair and failed to get Handicap. I hote the setter used “on for” in 18a and I’ve been trying to improve my awareness of small words in clues (eg with=w). But is the use of “for” fair? I also fail to see Hand = Influence as I cannot think of an expression using hand in context. Otherwise a DNF in 45 mins. Thanks blogger
    1. ‘I spot X’s hand in this.” I found 18a preposition construction a bit quaint too.
    2. Not sure it’s a brilliant clue, and I didn’t bother to parse it at the time, but in the setter’s defence ‘on for’ something is an idiom, and to describe the word ‘on’ being contained by something as being available ‘for blocking’ just about makes sense!
  26. Harder than yesterday, but not much.
    I managed to parse Enigma and Lands but not Mohair.
    I was on the wavelength apart from 26a. DNK Flies in this sense and bunged in Space Hand before coming here.
    COD to 11a.
    Under an hour and one mistake. David
  27. DNF, but fairly quickly, at least. I of course didn’t know ONS, so the wordplay induced me to write CONCENSUS (CON being the government, although I wondered about it being so topical). The spelling did look funny, but in the heat of the fray … But the rest was fairly easy.
  28. After 31 mins this morning I had mohair, handicap and stage-hand still left to get. It took another 10 mins after lunch to get those. Handicap fell first then mohair, although I didn’t get the very neat cut and reversed “hom” bit of it. Although I saw hand I needed an alphabet trawl to get stage with the “t” being right up the other end of the alphabet from where I started. Didn’t know the flies part of the stage but once I saw the word stage and joined it to wings the penny dropped. An enjoyable challenge.
  29. Inexcusably DNFd this one, alas. MOHAIR, HANDICAP and ENIGMA were all perfectly gettable and yet ultimately ungotten.

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