Times Cryptic 27074

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

If Monday was the new Monday this week (as claimed by Kevin yesterday) I don’t know where that leaves this puzzle which I found even easier and it delayed me only 20 minutes. Edit: Thanks to Bletchleyreject (below) for pointing out that it’s a pangram.

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

Across
1 Turn over to clean small herring fillets (8)
ROLLMOPS – ROLL (turn over), MOP (clean), S (small)
5 Unhappy about page on the subject of food (6)
SPREAD – SAD (unhappy) contains [about] P (page) + RE (on the subject of)
9 Thinking of oneself having work in bustling cities (8)
EGOISTIC – GO (work) contained by [in] anagram [bustling] of CITIES
10 Mum and gran are coming together tomorrow (6)
MANANA – MA (mum), NANA (gran). A great performance by Peggy Lee here.
12 Followers of every line of Anouilh play like folksy and lusty poetry (5)
HAIKU – {Anouil}H {pl}A{y} {l}I{ke} {fol}K{sy} {l}U{sty} [followers of every line). Not sure I have seen this particular device before.
13 Cry, being unsettled and showing signs of advancing years (9)
YELLOWING – YELL (cry), OWING (being unsettled e.g. a bill). I wondered for a moment if people yellow as they age, but decided that this is more likely to refer to paper in old manuscripts etc.
14 A majority of sexual partners? (3,2,7)
AGE OF CONSENT – Cryptic definition
18 Something for consumers — suit with western isle check (4,8)
CLUB SANDWICH – CLUBS (suit – cards), W (western), I (isle), CH (check – chess)
21 Interim move? (9)
MAKESHIFT – Cryptic definition. On edit: Brnch suggests it’s better parsed as: interim=MAKESHIFT, move=MAKE SHIFT , and on reflection I tend to agree with him. I had started along those lines but then lost my train of thought and categorised it as a cryptic without due consideration.
23 All the best go west, getting into gold (5)
ADIEU – DIE (go west – kick the bucket, fall off the perch etc) contained by [getting into] AU (gold)
24 Pretty likely old theologian gets what Christ was to God (4-2)
ODDS-ON – O (old), DD (theologian – Doctor of Divinity), SON (what Christ was to God)
25 Making fast brew at home in gallons (8)
CHAINING – CHA (brew), IN (at home), IN (in), G (gallons)
26 Use editor to introduce unknown writer (6)
EXPEND – ED (editor) contains [to introduce] X (unknown) + PEN (writer)
27 Immature wood cut for infusion (5,3)
GREEN TEA – GREEN (immature), TEA{k} (wood) [cut]
Down
1 Missing opening, cannon section ring and reverberate (2-4)
RE-ECHO – {b}REECH (cannon section) [missing opening], O (ring)
2 Can family together make a short visit? (4-2)
LOOK-IN – LOO (can – lavatory), KIN (family)
3 Gets wrong idea about notes on book (9)
MISJUDGES – MIS (notes), JUDGES (book – of the Old Testament)
4 Set of advisers under throne? (5,7)
PRIVY COUNCIL – A cryptic definition with more lavatorial connotations. In the UK this is a group of people appointed to advise the monarch on political issues.
6 Joanna‘s rather too good with a “no” (5)
PIANO – PI (rather too good), A, NO. This is rhyming slang: Aunt Joanna / piano (pronounced “piana”) but unlike the best CRS e.g.  ‘apples’ meaning ‘stairs’ from ‘apples and pears’, the first word (Aunt) doesn’t get to stand alone. In fact ‘Aunt’ in this context seems to have fallen into disuse over the years and only the straight rhyme has survived in common usage.
7 Checked fabric cut on the reverse (8)
EXAMINED – DENIM (fabric) + AXE ( cut) all reversed [on the reverse]
8 Wind movements tug Shard all over the place (8)
DRAUGHTS – Anagram [all over the place] of TUG SHARD
11 Crack low-tech cuckoo for very precise timekeeper (5-7)
CLOCK-WATCHER – Anagram [cuckoo] of CRACK LOW TECH
15 Fruit — a number outside crate getting spoiled (9)
NECTARINE – NINE (number) contains [outside] anagram [getting spoiled] of CRATE
16 Friendly chat with head of security about Her Majesty and leak (8)
SCHMOOZE – S{ecurity} [head], C (about), HM (Her Majesty), OOZE (leak). I had thought this was some sort of composite word (from ‘smooth’ and another word, ooze, perhaps?) but apparently it’s from the Yiddish ‘schmues / schmuesn’ meaning  talk, converse, chat.
17 Successful pickpocket, one often seen at village fete (5,3)
LUCKY DIP – A straight definition preceded by a cryptic one
19 Flying visit introducing British musician (6)
VIBIST – Anagram [flying] of VISIT containing [introducing] B (British). And once again I am reminded of  ‘Aydolf Hitler on vibes’!
20 Question silver head in guessing answer: old zebra? (6)
QUAGGA – QU (question), AG (silver), G{uessing} [head], A (answer). Never ‘eard of it but this was perfectly guessable from wordplay. SOED: a recently extinct member of the horse family (Equidae), Equus quagga, of southern Africa: it had a sandy brown colouring with zebra-like stripes on the head and shoulders.
22 An end to this callous contempt (5)
SCORN – {thi}S [end], CORN (callous)

51 comments on “Times Cryptic 27074”

  1. Vaguely recalled ‘Joanna’, no doubt from a cryptic; and vaguely recalled QUAGGA. For some reason SCHMOOZE was pronounced schmoose by everyone I knew when I grew up, and it still sounds odd to me. (In German, but not in Yiddish, words don’t end in voiced consonants like [z].) Biffed HAIKU from checkers and def, parsed post-submission; a clever device, which gets my COD. Also liked AGE OF CONSENT. I didn’t notice at the time, but I thought ‘callous’ should be ‘callus’; but evidently the ‘wrong’ spelling is OK.

    Edited at 2018-06-26 01:09 am (UTC)

  2. 48 minutes, ending with an alphabet trawl for the OT book, which I’d never heard of, much less read. I liked the original wordplay device for HAIKU but my favourite was the ‘…guessing answer:’ bit of 20d. Applied to me, though I’m sure I’m the only one.

    Didn’t know the CRS for PIANO.

    Whatever turns you on, but I liked spotting the pangram.

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  3. A similar time and experience to Kevin (well, 17+ minutes), except I had never heard of callus (which I will file away for Scrabble) and never bothered to parse HAIKU mid- or post-solve. Just as well, I think, now I see what’s going on. ‘Tis folly to be wise…
  4. My Clue of the Day—
    Originality counts!—
    has got to be 12.

    I don’t time myself, but this one took me longer than it did Jack. Didn’t know what was going on with “Joanna” (but I might’ve guessed…). Never heard of LUCKY DIP. ROLLMOPS I must’ve come across here sometime, certainly nowhere else. And I’m glad QUAGGA turned out to be a real word!

    I thought the clue for MAKESHIFT was great, but I wouldn’t call it a cryptic definition, at least if that is supposed to encompass the entire clue. There’s a straight definition there, “Interim,” followed by a play on this as two words: “make shift,” i.e., “move.”

    1. Point taken about MAKESHIFT. I was planning to amend it following Bruce’s comment above but hadn’t got round to it. It’s done now. LUCKY DIP might also be called the ‘bran tub’, would that be more familiar to you? There surely must be an American equivalent for selecting an unknown prize at random.
      1. I somehow didn’t see that Bruce had addressed 21 until after I finished posting my own comment. I’ve never heard “bran tub” either, but, then again, I’m never at a “village fete” (country fair?). Merriam-Webster gives the American alternative as “grab bag.”
  5. Hi Jack, thanks for the blog. I definitely found this harder than the new Monday – perhaps I was a bit off the wavelength. I think maybe 21ac is interim=MAKESHIFT, move=MAKE SHIFT … two words, with a question mark to indicate the jokiness? (I’m really glad I do the Saturday blog without the time pressures involved in doing these daily puzzles so quickly!!)

    Edited at 2018-06-26 03:32 am (UTC)

  6. 2d was CALL-IN and DROP-IN before LOOK- suggested itself. If it’s “Aydolf Hitler on vibes”, then “Digging General de Gaulle on accordion” is due for a run-out, surely! And I think VIBIST has been seen fairly recently. Another clue that had me guessing for a long time was 3d where I wanted it to be MISQUOTES, for some reason. Anyon else think QUAGGA belongs in Hundred Acre Wood?!
    LOI was AGE OF CONSENT while my COD was HAIKU. Like Jack, I’ve not seen that device before.
    1. Too many classic lines to mention, but among my favourites (apart from “looking very relaxed, Adolf Hitler on vibes) are:

      Big John Wayne on xylophone
      Garner Ted Armstrong on vocals
      Quasimodo on bells
      and
      The Count Basie Orchestra on triangle (ting)

      1. Roy Rogers on Trigger….
        …..very appealing, Max Jaffa….

        I shall have to play “Gorilla” later, as extended thinking has left me the unlikely earworm of “The Equestrian Statue” !

  7. 13:14 … felt very different and creative, even if not as hard as it first seemed (to me).

    Last in SCHMOOZE, COD to the simple but perfectly formed SCORN

    1. Sotira. We both had Scorn as COD and Schmooze as LOI. (Although I didn’t get Schmooze). Anyway, great minds etc.

      I’ve not seen Boltonwanderer here the last few days. I hope all is well with him.

      1. I’d say we’re both fans of the elegant surface (I hope that doesn’t make us superficial).

        Didn’t BW mention a holiday recently? He may be on his travels.

  8. 18:28 with one wrong. Scumhole(!) for Schmooze.

    COD: Scorn

    LOI: Scumhole – erroneously.

    In 1828 London Zoo was opened.

  9. 36 minutes, fast but fun. If I hadn’t spotted the pangram I’d have had more problems with WOD and LOI 16d SCHMOOZE. It’s a welcome rarity that it came in handy; normally I spot them and then spend a few minutes laboriously finding out that I’ve already got all the letters…

    FOI 2a SPREAD COD 12a for a new (to me) device.

  10. 25 mins pre brekker on hols.
    DNK Quagga.
    Mostly I liked 7dn.
    Thanks setter and J.
  11. A real stroll in the park but liked 12A – I also don’t recall seeing this device before. Well done setter.
  12. I spent about half my time on AGE OF CONSENT and MISJUDGES which I just couldn’t see. For the former it took me a long time to get the meaning of majority. The latter I think highlights a weak spot of mine which is less common letters – I didn’t give much time to the idea of a J fitting in there. If only I’d realised it was a pangram…
  13. 10:02. QUAGGA really doesn’t look like a word but the wordplay was perfectly clear: just follow the instructions and make sure you’ve used all the pieces.
    1. You have quangos, no? Why not quaggas? Although it sounds more Australian.
      1. It sounds quite like quokka, which is Australian (a marsupial). A good word for a future puzzle perhaps?
    2. I forgot to mention that my crossword-inspired reading list is paying off! From H Rider Haggard’s _She_:

      “I saw a rhinoceros, buffalo (a large herd), eland, quagga, and sable antelope, the most beautiful of all the bucks, not to mention many smaller varieties of game…”

      I finished reading the book last month; handy timing for today’s puzzle.

  14. ….every town was Paris, every day was Sunday, every month was May.

    Here in Altrincham on a Tuesday in June, I finished in 9:22 but should have been a minute or so quicker.

    FOI EGOISTIC then sped along (taking a few moments to admire the new clueing device for HAIKU) and spotted the potential pangram when QUAGGA went in.

    Had I kept that to the forefront of my thinking, I wouldn’t have taken almost two minutes over LOI SCHMOOZE !

    As much as I admired the ingenuity of HAIKU, my COD goes to PRIVY COUNCIL.

  15. 13.15 – I don’t get any quicker. Delighted by 12a HAIKU – well, loved solving while following admiringly (work that one out).
    Words like QUAGGA and other wacko contributions from the JQXZ bits of the dictionary are familiar to those of us who do word games – I do Words With Friends online – even if we don’t always know what they are. But in the case of the QUAGGA, there’s been recent excitement at its return from oblivion (sort of), so I did know what it was beyond a useful collection of letters.
    I’m not good enough at spelling to quibble at call(o)us (I hesitated over council/counsel) but I’m pleased to see here it’s ok anyway. I always thought Maria had a particularly unfortunate surname, as did John Bunyan, I suppose.
    Permit me to SCHMOOZE (positively) both setter and Jack
  16. Banged in MISQUOTES, which held me up, after flying for a large part of the puzzle. Liked the device for 12ac, spent time parsing. Perhaps oddly, considering the low average outcome, a LUCKY DIP stall makes a lot of money. I like ROLLMOPS. 19′, thanks jack and setter.
      1. I originally put low expectation, which is a mathematical term which I attempted to explain. If you pay, say, £1 to enter a LUCKY DIP and the average prize is something worth 20p, your expectation is 20%. (For the National Lottery it’s 50%, for football pools 66%, for horseracing c90%, for fruit machines it varies, but about 85% would be a ballpark figure.)

        My point was that, in spite of a LUCKY DIP having a low expectation, it is a very popular stall at church fayres and village fetes. Is this the case with BRAN TUBS?

        1. People participating in a lucky dip or bran tub are usually contributing to charity so the mathematical expectation isn’t relevant to them. My golf club runs three raffles a year (on Captain’s Day for example) and it is common for people to purchase tickets but not claim their prize for much the same reason
        2. Got you. At first, it sounded the opposite of what I thought must be intended.
  17. 30 minutes waiting for my vw to go through the now extra long (and more costly) Controle Technique, puzzle not too tricky. I didn’t know the quagga was extinct, am sure we saw one or two in Shamwari 20 years ago?
  18. Definitely another Monday, this one took me 25 minutes. Enjoyable nevertheless, and I enjoyed the novel (?) construction of 12ac; sadly, I think it’s a device that can’t be used often without its becoming too obvious to be challenging.
  19. Even sprintier than yesterday, so I now feel as if I’m living Monday all over again. Some nice words, generously clued. That said, I must confess HAIKU was my last one in, because even though I couldn’t parse it, surely nothing else was ever going to fit H_I_U; and so I had to come here to realise how clever the device was (too clever for me, unfortunately).
  20. When I was reluctantly doing my piano practice as a child, “Joanna” was frequently what my mother called the thing, so that was a write-in for me. I agree that this was very Mondayish, and despite briefly going for WATCH-CLOCKER (I think I got as far as the K before realising I was writing nonsense), there were no big hold-ups. 6m 48s for me.

    Actually, I was concerned when approaching the SE corner that the 19d anagram would be an obscure Eastern European musician (BVISTI or some such) or that 20d would be unknown, but fortunately the checkers & wordplay were respectively kind.

  21. I romped through this one without noticing the pangram, as usual, starting with LOOK IN, and finishing with SCHMOOZE. I biffed HAIKU once I had the H and I, which helped with MISJUDGES. I did manage to parse it post solve. A clever device indeed, but perhaps, as Thud points out, easily spotted next time. No problem with PIANO, and VIBIST was fresh in the memory from a previous puzzle. QUAGGA rang a very faint bell, so I followed the instructions happily. 19:44 An enjoyable puzzle. Thanks setter and Jack.
  22. I agree with topicaltim – HAIKU could only be a guess for me and I’m grateful for the explanation. Very clever – my COD.
    After whizzing (for me at least) through the QC, I decided to have a go at this and was pretty happy to complete in 50mins. No competition for the real solvers but pretty satisfying for me. Now for a walk along the seafront…
    John
  23. Very easy indeed, due to the dearth of misleading definitions. In that sense (though there was much stirling work in the wordplay) it was a bit like a quick puzzle.

    So I liked it, as I managed to solve it in 12 minutes! Thanks to setter for an easy clue for QUAGGA btw, that helped!

  24. A pleasant amble through the alphabet for a Tuesday. I was slightly held up by SCHMOOZE and QUAGGA but managed to drag them up from the vault to finish in 35 minutes.

    Thank you to setter and blogger.

    Dave.

  25. QUAGGA reminded of an old set of children’s blocks (passed down by an elderly aunt) which illustrated each letter with an animal, so it might not have been extinct when they were new. (By the way, I think there were only 24 so they’d pack neatly in a box, and they chickened out at the end with the last being a zebra, captioned xyZ.)
  26. No problems here. Some lovely surfaces and a pleasure to solve. 20 minutes. I often play piano for singalongs. My name is Ann. Cue: Anna on the Joanna. I’ve got used to it.
  27. 22:07 quick and easy, the only slight delay being my egoistic attempt to shoehorn the too-many-lettered egotistic into 9ac. I did like 14ac when the penny dropped and 12ac when I saw how the answer was derived.
  28. 10:16 – and the pangram helped as my last in was MISJUDGES. Count me in with the admiration for 12 across, though I got the answer from definition without twigging what was going on in the clue.
  29. Around 25 minutes. Wasn’t familiar with the QUAGGA or the JOANNA. AGE OF CONSENT was good, and the HAIKU device actually jumped out at me, surprisingly. Nice puzzle. Regards.
  30. I found this quite a bit harder than yesterday and gave up with quite a few unsolved. I got as far as Quag… at 20d but would never have arrived at the unknown zebra without 27a , which I probably should have got.
    And I thought of Re-Echo without thinking it could be right! David
  31. At 38′ my PB for an actually finished grid, yippee. LO’sI EXPAND and SCORN as I had SCOLD for a long time. Pip, I have a Triumph TR6 in France, imagine trying to get that through the “Controle Technique”! Liked the new trick at 12 ac, my COD. Thanks setter and Jackkt for your usual, clear explanations.

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