Times Cryptic 26966

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

I needed 31 minutes for this one, so another puzzle at the easier end of the spectrum methinks. And only one unknown word or meaning which presented no problem at all.

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 Sign of error with repair makes one irritable (10)
CROSSPATCH – CROSS (sign of error – as opposed to ‘tick’), PATCH (repair)
6 An element of unknown, batting first for change (4)
ZINC – Z (unknown), IN (batting), C{hange} [first]
9 Record for auditors comparatively feeble denial (10)
DISCLAIMER – DISC (record), LAIMER sounds like [for auditors] “lamer” (comparatively feeble)
10 Flipping onion making you cry! (4)
BLUB – BULB (onion) reversed [flipping] with onion being one example of a bulb
12 Issue of accident-prone doctor being raised with others? (6,8)
FOSTER CHILDREN – Cryptic definition. The accident-prone medic is Doctor Foster (of nursery-rhyme fame) who went to Gloucester all in a shower of rain. He fell in a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again.
14 Frenchman landing place with royal backing (6)
PIERRE – PIER (landing place), ER (royal – HMQ) reversed [backing]
15 Everyone’s awake early, evidently, and readily available (2,1,5)
ON A PLATE – If everyone’s awake early, then none or 0 NAP LATE
17 Hardly surprising, snow on Derry’s walls (2,6)
NO WONDER –  {s)NOW ON DER{ry} contains [walls] the hidden phrase
19 Slips tailored with oriental fabric (6)
PLISSE – Anagram [tailored] of SLIPS, E (oriental). I didn’t know this word but having established it was mostly an anagram and having worked out all the checking letters it wasn’t hard to arrive at.
22 Chap is, note, visibly embarrassed after getting important letter? (10,4)
REGISTERED POST – REG (chap), IS, TE (note), RED (visibly embarrassed), POST (after)
24 Briefly, Louis XIV ruined (4)
SUNK –  Louis XIV was the Sun King or SUN K[briefly]
25 African no longer in sin bin, say, fouled outside area (10)
ABYSSINIAN – Anagram [fouled]  of  SIN BIN SAY containing [outside] A (area). I wouldn’t claim to have more than a passing knowledge of the subject, but I suspect some Africans still regard themselves as Abyssinian.
26 Put out / someone to grass (4)
NARK – Two meanings. As a verb it’s to annoy,  and as a  noun it can mean ‘informer’ – hence ‘grass’, another slang term for the same
27 Partner no longer can pour drinks one put out (10)
EXTINGUISH – EX (partner no longer), TIN (can), GUSH (pour) contains [drinks] I (one). I’m not getting into the recent tin can debate.
Down
1 Hand over ear’s observed incorrectly? (4)
CEDE – sounds like [ear’s] “seed” (observed –  incorrectly, as it should be ‘seen’ or ‘saw’)
2 Leg needing support to land (7)
ONSHORE – ON (leg – cricket), SHORE (support)
3 Sir sits alone, sadly, in this? (12)
SOLITARINESS – Anagram [sadly] of SIR SITS ALONE
4 Group in circulation taking train where air travel the norm (6)
AVIARY –  A (group in circulation – blood), VIA RY (taking train)
5 What Italian repeated in front of Poles and people in Russia (8)
CHECHENS – CHE (what,  Italian) + CHE (repeated), N S (poles)
7 Ancient place not well ventilated, on reflection (7)
ILLYRIA – ILL (not well), AIRY (ventilated) reversed [on reflection]
8 Rambling in Feb stopping potholer’s winter depression? (5,5)
CABIN FEVER – Anagram [rambling] of IN FEB, contained by [stopping] CAVER (potholer)
11 Film excerpt left in capturing sound of horses’ hooves (4-8)
CLIP-CLOPPING – CLIP (film excerpt), L (left) contained by [in] COPPING (capturing – it’s a fair cop, guv!)
13 Cooler, more easy-going (4,6)
OPEN PRISON – Cryptic definition
16 Contest broadcast on TV — in which case something valuable? (5,3)
JEWEL BOX – JEWEL sounds like [broadcast] “duel” [contest], BOX (TV). Batten down the hatches  in readiness for complaints about this one!
18 Trucker’s wife doomed? (7)
WAGONER – W (wife), A GONER (doomed)
20 Ham is twice mistaken for fish dish (7)
SASHIMI – Anagram [mistaken] of HAM, IS IS [is twice]
21 One skims the drink: Black Russian, amusingly? (3,3)
JET SKI – JET (black) + SKI (Russian, amusingly?). ‘Ski’ is one of the suffixes common to a lot of Russian words and as such can be added to English words for humorous effect to suggest they may be the Russian equivalent.
23 Rum for one to steal (4)
INCH – Two meanings. ‘Inch’ is a Scottish or Irish term for a small island, so the Isle of Rum may well qualify for that epithet although I’m not aware of it ever being referred to as such. It also means to move stealthily.

76 comments on “Times Cryptic 26966”

  1. A very enjoyable puzzle. I particularly liked 23d, 18d and 24ac but, despite Jack’s explanation, I still don’t understand how via =’group in circulation’ in 4d. 27m 58s
    1. It’s (blood type) A that is the “group in circulation,” going by train.

      Guy
      (not at home with the browser that knows my password)

  2. Took me a while to remember the doctor (or the word FOSTER; I actually tried ‘orphan’ at first). I don’t bet, but I rather suspect there are no self-styled Abyssinians left; it’s not, so far as I know, the name of an ethnic group. Speaking of ethnic groups, although I enjoyed JET SKI, the conventional transliteration for Russian names is -sky; -ski for Poles. And the only people I know who pronounce ‘duel’ ‘jewel’ are not RP speakers. Not complaining, mind you!
  3. In what quaint dialect does “J” sound like “D” and “jewel” like “duel,” eh? I’m jying to know!

    CEDE and JET SKI are groan-worthy, but give no ground to object.

    Had never met the good Dr. Foster, but shrugged and wrote it in. And if I’ve ever come across the term CROSSPATCH before, it must have been here; the wordplay was downright explicit, though.

    Loved ILLYRIA.

    I don’t know if any Africans still consider themselves Abyssinians, but it’s clear that certain cats do.

    Enjoyed this very much. I confess that I neglected to parse a couple. Just forgot.

    Edited at 2018-02-20 03:35 am (UTC)

    1. The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English has both ˈdjuːəl and ˈdʒuːəl for ‘duel’ as spoken in British English. You’ll hear it widely in England.
  4. Might I suggest that 21dn would have been a little less groan-worthy had the word amusingly not been included in the clue? The question mark would surely suffice. Did the Ed. add it?

    FOI 17ac NO WONDER
    LOI 24ac SUNK
    COD 12ac FOSTER CHILDREN liked 13dn OPEN PRISON
    WOD 25 ABYSSINIAN- the Abyssinians do exist- huge reggae band in Jamaica since 1969 use Amharic (Ethiopian) in their songs. Probably not welcome in America presently.

      1. Второе место? Извините, я не понимаю вас, товарищ!

        BTW – my time was 40 mins.

        As for ‘dool’ and Proper English! Jeeez!

        Mr. Crosspatch

        Edited at 2018-02-20 08:17 am (UTC)

  5. 13:28. I’m in New York for a couple of days this week so I will be doing some evening solving. No problems with this one even after a long day.
    The word ‘dual’ is certainly often indistinguishable from the word ‘jewel’ (in the phrase ‘take the dual carriageway’ for instance) but I’m not sure this is true of ‘duel’, which is a bit odd actually.
    1. I recommend meeting up with the NY solver crew if you can roust any of them out… terribly nice chaps, for rebellious colonials.
      1. I thought about that but I have meetings going late this evening (starting at 6!) and then I’m having dinner with some local financy types tomorrow evening.
    2. Sorry not to see you this time. Perhaps you could send advance word if there is a next time.
      1. I may be back in three weeks, I’ll keep you posted. I thought about it this time but as I mentioned to verlaine earlier I have a pretty packed schedule so I’m not going to get an opportunity.
        1. I’ll add to the ‘squeeze us in if you’re able’ brigade.

          Edited at 2018-02-20 03:47 pm (UTC)

  6. 23 minutes, finishing with an unparsed AVIARY after the ‘unknown’ CROSSPATCH.

    It’s amazing what RP speakers get up to in rapid connected speech. Even I have been known to say ‘jewel carriageway’ and ‘a jewel at ten paces’. And I am seriously posh.

    Edited at 2018-02-20 08:06 am (UTC)

    1. No you ain’t!

      Posh folk would understand jewels OK.

      But dual carriageways – heaven forfend – are for the hoi polloi and their little oiks!

      The seriously posh have fruit on the sideboard which they never eat!

      Edited at 2018-02-20 08:25 am (UTC)

    2. I think part of the doubt I have about the pronunciation of ‘duel’ is that it’s far more likely to be said in a rather rarified context like this, which might put subconscious pressure on the speaker to talk proper.
      1. You’re right, of course, except for them jewels between them lush blokes on the telly in those gorgeous costumes.
  7. Back to squeezing just inside an hour today; 58 minutes for this one, never feeling on the wavelength. FOI the hidden at 17, LOI 23d, after finally seeing the definition and assuming the unknown Rum, but it was the NW that caused the most problems, with 9a DISCLAIMER and a lot of its crossers remaining blank for most of my time.

    On the plus side, loved 15a! Thanks to setter and Jack.

  8. … ending with ONSHORE. Those pesky cricketing refs. Thanks for enlightening me on INCH… was thinking steal was sommat to do with ‘half inch’. And AVIARY, which was part-biffed.

  9. 14:45, so pretty quick for me. 23d my only hold up as I struggled to parse it. I’d never thought of Rum as an inch, which I thought was usually an island in a loch, but I appear to be wrong.
      1. That is indeed a famous example, but I was thinking more of the likes of Inchmurran and those in the Firth of Forth. See here for example. On further reading I see that Rum is one of the “Small Isles”, although, at 104 square Km it seems a bit big to be called an inch to me. But the word is derived from “Innis”, meaning simply island, so I shouldn’t grumble.
  10. 50 mins with yoghurt, compote, granola, etc.
    I struggled to get any foothold at all in the NW and eventually did a NE/SW pincer movement to get there – except the LOI Inch.
    FOI was ZINC! (the element of surprise).
    IMHO 1dn is bizarre. Fair but bizarre.
    Mostly I liked: Jet Ski, Nark and Inch.
    Thanks setter and Jack
    1. I thought 1dn was a bit strange too. After all there are any number of incorrect ways of saying ‘observed’. A reference to children would have made it more precise, since this is exactly the kind of error they make before they master irregular verb forms (which of course they do astonishingly quickly).
  11. Nothing to frighten the horses here – just a steady plod from top to bottom. Didn’t know PLISSE but no problem once checkers in place. Quite liked 12A
    1. I enjoyed 12a too – once I’d finished smacking myself in the face for not seeing it sooner. Especially having had 3 of the little sods darlings since last June. Had worked out the doctor very early as well. Just not one of my days I guess.
  12. 31 minutes, and a real struggle as I frequently hit incomprehension and recalcitrant memory.
    So, for example, 8d where I was looking for a hole in the snow or something, and despite knowing that there was an anagram of IN FEB in there somewhere, spent way too long trying to conjure that funky word for a potholer from my decaying memory. When I finally recalled SPELUNKER (sic) it was, of course useless as was my supposed definition.
    DUEL/JEWEL likewise evaded capture until LOI even though I had the box.
    Add me to those who thought there should be a half in 23d, though now Jack’s explained, it’s perfectly OK as it is.
    AVIARY never understood, and on a toss-up very nearly APIARY, since neither AIVA nor AIPA made any sense as words to be “circulated”.
    The onion in 10a I assumed was the setter being clever with slang terms for head. Wrong again.
    A clever setter, then, who knew exactly how to make me flounder in overcomplication. And respect to Jack for not letting it faze him.
  13. Whereas I was thinking as I typed INCH in, ‘How did they drop the P from “pinch”?’.
  14. I completed this one with more hope than expectation that I had everything correct – both AVIARY and INCH were unparsed though like others I thought the latter might have something to do with the rhyming slang half-inch.

    I liked SOLITARINESS for the quality of the surface, but my COD to OPEN PRISON for being a cryptic definition that I particularly liked – not normally my favourite clue types.

  15. 29 minutes with LOI SASHIMI vaguely known after PLISSE put in as the only answer available. I’m not that fond of Sushi, probably because I’m useless with chopsticks. Lots of enjoyable clues today with CABIN FEVER, OPEN PRISON and JEWEL BOX all COD contenders, but FOSTER CHILDREN scooping the award. I also was a bit dubious about Rum being an INCH, but there was no other answer. ILLYRIA was a write-in after the RSC Twelfth Night we watched last week, and CLIP-CLOPPING similarly after the Hopalong/ Jurgen discussions of a few weeks ago. Enjoyable. Thank you Jack and setter.
    On edit, just seen that Myrtilus beat me to the headline. From a Private Eye cover?

    Edited at 2018-02-20 10:04 am (UTC)

      1. Just watched it and then the Frankie Laine version Did you notice how, after all Bob Blackman’s endeavours, the audience politely clapped? I watched some old footage of The Cavern in its prime and the audience were sitting down like that there too. I guess it changed just a few years later.
  17. A disappointing 46mins required to complete — with AVIARY as LOI, requiring a good 10mins of mental wrangling. After a long while I saw the “group in circulation” as the leading A, and reckoned that the ‘train’ would probably be -RY on the end, but couldn’t see how to fill in the middle. An excellent, misleading clue.

    Agree that CEDE was a bit iffy, using two levels of incorrectness: one grammatical and one orthographic.

    This puzzle seemed to have a large number of circumlocutory definitions: ‘African no longer’, ‘where air travel is the norm’, ‘one skims the drink’, ‘in which case something valuable’, ‘sound of horses hooves’ and the whole-clues of 3d and 13d.

    Enjoyed this, especially W-A-GONER, SUN-K and O-NAP-LATE. Very witty.
    Thanks for the thorough blog, jackkt.

  18. Since when was seed the equivalent of ear? An ear of corn contains many seeds. If the answer at 1d was CEDES I might cede the point.
    1. “Ear’s” is a homophone indicator. CEDE sounds like ‘seed’, which is how a child might say ‘saw’.
  19. Thought this was harder than our blogger made out – nevertheless done in 43 mins. Several went in with a shrug – no need to add to previous comments, but JEWEL, AVIARY and INCH were simply biffed. At least the setter used ‘group in circulation’ – watch out for future setters using ‘group’ for blood groups – they’re sneaky like that.
  20. No problem with JEWEL, have always pronounced the three words the same. dnk PLISSE. ABYSSINIAN is a rosetted cavy, ni why. 24′, thanks jack and setter.
  21. A familiar experience here – the answers weren’t horribly obscure, but a number of clues needed careful examination to work out what the question was to begin with. Didn’t know PLISSE, but I don’t object to anagrams of unknown words as long as there’s really only one convincing way to arrange the left over letters.
    1. I watched the Detectives go down in Only Connect last night, Tim. It seemed like VC was being exceptionally generous to the other side early on – “give them a chance” kind of thing – then they turned out to be really good!
      1. The most interesting thing is getting to solve the other team’s wall, which you don’t see at time of recording (as was explicitly pointed out last night, you don’t even hear each other’s scores until you’re back in your seat and recording again, hence the relief in discovering that we’d both had a bit of a ‘mare). If anything, I found theirs tougher than ours, so things could have been even worse…
        1. Bad luck, Tim. It must have been disconcerting playing against a young Hank B Marvin.
    2. I never knew what esteemed company I was in on this forum. Which one were you Tim? Hall or Harrison?
  22. Finished in 35m but felt many clues were dubious. I still don’t get 1d which I think is unfair. As others I don’t think jewel/dual is acceptable, even for a coarse northerner. Northerners will ‘ave more fun pronouncing clip-clopping as we like to stress the G to make four syllables in all. Not been here for a while – as one of the few to actually buy the rag I find I’ve little to add to existing comments, but your help is still very appreciated.
  23. About 17 minutes but with a misspelt ABYSSINIAN. I couldn’t really get on board with the quirky stuff in this one — things like “where air travel the norm” as a def. for AVIARY just made me cross. Maybe a mood thing.

    I did like the wordplay for EXTINGUISH. Very clever

    Edited at 2018-02-20 11:47 am (UTC)

  24. I had to waver over AVIARY because it couldn’t just be biffed in – what if the answer was APIARY instead? Fortunately the “group in circulation” penny dropped before *too* long and I wasn’t way over the 10 minute mark, in the final events.
  25. Toughest one in a while, for me – it took me 20m 18s, with slow progress throughout. AVIARY was the last in, but I struggled with a number of them: ONSHORE, PIERRE, OPEN PRISON, SUNK, NARK… not my finest attempt. I think I must still have residual flu…
  26. Not often you get left with a double nursery rhyme earworm after you’ve solved a crossword – “Crosspatch, draw the latch, sit by the fire and spin…” alternating with poor old Dr Foster.

    Also I’m pleased to report that I appear to have been quite a bit quicker than the Young Pretender today

  27. Definitely on the tricky side today, but at least I managed to complete without a typo. Yay! Pondered for ages over INCH, AVIARY/APIARY(spotted the blood group reasonably quickly), CEDE and LOI JEWEL BOX. I can’t tell the difference between DUAL, DUEL and JEWEL in everyday speech tho’ but. I have to agree with the comments on the verbosity of the clues: MERs all over the place. Lots to appreciate once I’d got my head around them. 37:20, with CROSSPATCH FOI for a flying start. Liked the puddlesome Doc. Stared at ON A PLATE for ages before the parsing penny clanked. Nice puzzle. Thanks setter and Jack.
  28. Much the same experience as Z’s – I absolutely couldn’t get a toehold with the across clues. For this solver “jewel”/”dual” was the dodgiest homophone in quite some time – like listening to the juke on the dukebox. Perhaps I just got out of bed on the wrong side, CROSSPATCH doesn’t begin to describe it. 30.57
  29. Quirky definitions, a lot of question marks and some baffling – for me – links (cede and jewel/duel) all made this a) irritating and, probably linked to a), b) ungettable for a number of clues. I abandoned this after 60m with the NW almost empty. Problems all compounded by not knowing (or remembering at least) CROSSPATCH. All in all, a day and a crossword to forget ASAP. As ever thanks for the thorough and elucidating blog, Jack.
  31. This was an enjoyable MDF puzzle – no easily-splt grain, no knots, just chewy in every direction. Thirty-nine minutes, with DISCLAIMER my LOI and PLISSE my only NHO.
  32. 16 minutes. The domestic between me and Mrs pip lasted longer, over whether DUEL and JEWEL were homophones and whether SOLITARINESS and SOLITUDE were the same thing. I can’t remember now who was right.

    Edited at 2018-02-20 03:48 pm (UTC)

  33. Is INCH supposed to be a reference to ‘half-inch’ as in CRS?

    Found this one a bit weird for a Monday!

    1. Inch meaning just “to move around subtly/stealthily”, I’m pretty sure.

      Edited at 2018-02-20 05:24 pm (UTC)

  34. 37 minutes – as with others NW was slowest part. After getting ZINC & JEWEL BOX, I was looking out for a pangram, but it soon became clear there wasn’t going to be a Q.
  35. Does “Young Pretender” mean “someone pretending to be young”?

    I had to dial back on the speed a lot because I did a typo in the Quick Cryptic, and could no longer trust my fingers 🙁

  36. Doctor Foster went to Gloucester In a shower of rain,
    He stepped in a puddle,
    Right up to his middle,
    And never went there again.
    1. Yes, I said I had never heard of the doc—meaning before reading Jack’s blog, where he cites the nursery rhyme.
      (I doubt if you will see this reply, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous.)
  37. 54:29 quite a few tricky ones in this I thought. Held up at the end in the NW where crosspatch was unfamiliar but known, I think from a previous crossword, cede took a while to parse though I have seen a similar device used before and aviary of course took ages to parse and to convince myself that it was not apiary, once the blood group was twigged the via RY bit was easy. COD 13dn.
  39. Well I failed to finish with 13d incomplete. Problem was that I had Turf in for 26a, which seemed perfectly fine. Then couldn’t think of anything to go in 13d.

Comments are closed.