Times Cryptic 27086

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

I needed 38 minutes to complete this one as it presented no major problems. There were a couple of  words / meanings I didn’t know, but the wordplay was straightforward in these instances apart from the (almost)  inevitable foreign / obscure word clued as an anagram.

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 Work space vacated round Post Office counter (6)
OPPOSE – OP (work), PO (Post Office), S{pac}E [vacated]
5 National emblem a rhinestone? (8)
SHAMROCK – Alternatively spaced this could be ‘sham rock’ suggesting an artificial gem of which the rhinestone is an example
9 Daring fellow, great and emphatic type (4,4)
BOLD FACE – BOLD  (daring), F (fellow), ACE (great)
10 I’m surprised by one like Gandalf’s resistance (6)
OHMAGE – OH (I’m surprised), MAGE (one like Gandalf- a magician). Not sure I have met this word before as it looks rather odd on paper, but ‘wattage’ is familiar enough for electrical current power so ‘ohmage’ for resistance is perfectly logical.
11 Evidently embarrassed over complaint for going off track (10)
DERAILMENT – RED (embarrassed) reversed [over], AILMENT (complaint)
13 Prompt to dispose of grand artwork (4)
NUDE – NUD{g}E (prompt) [dispose of grand]
14 Play day in pool (4)
FUND – FUN (play), D (day)
15 Desperate sellers do a sales booster (4-6)
LOSS-LEADER – Anagram [desperate] of SELLERS DO A. This is an item that’s offered for sale at a non-profit-making price in order to attract potential buyers of other articles.
18 Island with crude oil and panache (10)
CEPHALONIA – Anagram [crude] of OIL PANACHE. Yet another example of  a less than familiar foreign word clued as an anagram. With all the checkers in place the remaining anagrist consisted of CPAIO. Given that the ending in an island’s name was likely to be -ONIA that left CEPHALONIA or PECHALONIA as the only possibilities so I mentally flipped a coin and  was fortunate it landed the right way.
20 Song‘s main performer in audition (4)
LIED – Sounds like [in audition] “lead” (main performer). More foreign-speak needed for this as one has to know that the German for ‘song’ is pronounced ‘leed’. There’s a handy rule that the Germans say IE as E, and EI as I, so go by the second letter.
21 Make miserable / baguette? (4)
PAIN – Two definitions, the second requiring knowledge of French this time
23 Vile scenes broadcast on TV, ideas close to savagery (5,5)
VIDEO NASTY – Anagram [broadcast] of ON TV IDEAS, {savager}Y [close]. A somewhat loose definition here.
25 Make a fold in the same clothes (3-3)
DOG-EAR – DO (the same – ditto), GEAR (clothes)
26 Very great job that’s temporary and bizarre (8)
GIGANTIC – GIG (job that’s temporary), ANTIC (bizarre). I didn’t know the archaic meaning of ‘antic’ required in the wordplay but the answer was obvious. SOED has: antic –  (adj.) grotesque, bizarre, fantastically incongruous. arch.
28 Spot president once at entertaining gathering (5-3)
POLKA-DOT – POLK (president once), AT containing [entertaining] DO (gathering). It reminds me of this silly song.
29 Maybe Thomas More‘s pretentious title captivates (6)
MARTYR – MR (title) contains [captivates] ARTY (pretentious – as in ‘arty-crafty’, ‘arty-farty’)
Down
2 At sea, repose around dock, or put into dock (9)
PROSECUTE – Anagram [at sea] of REPOSE containing [around] CUT (dock)
3 Game of cards / one’s left on the shelf (3,4)
OLD MAID – Two meanings – all very non-PC
4 Girl welcome to come round (3)
EVA – AVE (welcome – Latin) reversed [to come round]
5 In recital, did rock and roll material (5)
SUEDE – Sounds like [in recital] “swayed” (did rock and roll)
6 Drink a day before agitation (11)
AMONTILLADO – A, MON (day), TILL (before) ADO (agitation)
7 Country that’s had burning desire to depose leading couple (7)
ROMANIA – {py}ROMANIA (burning desire) [depose leading couple]
8 Penned record covering a number of years (5)
CAGED – CD (record) containing [covering] AGE (a number of years)
12 Girl with bad back, a shade yellow (4-7)
LILY-LIVERED – LILY (girl), EVIL (bad) reversed [back], RED (a shade)
16 Part of issue paper’s spoken of (3)
SON – Sounds like [spoken of] “Sun” (paper – The Times downmarket sister-paper in the UK). A strange definition as ‘part of’ would not be appropriate in a situation where parents have only one child.
17 Pick extremely raunchy clothing providing thrill (9)
ELECTRIFY – ELECT (pick), R{aunch}Y [extremely] containing [clothing] IF (providing)
19 In kitchen, peckish shrews may do so (7)
HENPECK – Hidden [in] {kitc}HEN PECK{ish}
20 One listing housing right for student? (7)
LEARNER – LEANER (one listing) containing [housing] R (right)
22 A couple of leaves? Or as many as you like (1,4)
A GOGO – A, GO + GO (couple of leaves).  More French: à gogo, meaning in abundance, galore.
24 Figure it’s what computer fans do? (5)
DIGIT – A straight definition and a cryptic one which requires the answer to be alternatively spaced as DIG I.T.
27 Stick with unhappy, losing side from Liverpool (3)
GUM – G{l}UM (unhappy) [losing side from L{iverpool}]. Goody goody gumdrups!

67 comments on “Times Cryptic 27086”

  1. Around 30 minutes, with some delays such as waiting for all the checking letters to appear before trying to find a likely island, and choosing CEPHALONIA over Pechalonia. I’m OK with geography, but there are just too many Greek islands (and Scottish ones) for me to recall. Didn’t know A GOGO was French either, because it seems still like a ’60’s English language invention. Anyway, regards.

    Edited at 2018-07-10 05:08 pm (UTC)

  2. Decided to do this one while watching the footy on the assumption that it would be 0-0 which it is at the moment. (41 mins). Had to check that Cephalonia was an island otherwise a steady solve LOI FUND which didn’t seem to be a very good clue but went in with a shrug. Most appreciative of the Ceaucescu reference.
  3. 34:59 a delay at the end with polka-dot where, like others, when I had the k checker I convinced myself that the president once would be Ike. For me the earworm conjured was Polk Salad Annie performed by the King in one of his Vegas shows, white jumpsuit covered in rhinestones (though 5ac of course brought Glen Campbell to mind), I’m glad it was that and not the itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini. Some good stuff especially the burning desire and the sham rock which also tickled me.

    Edited at 2018-07-10 07:16 pm (UTC)

  4. Kicking myself because I entered BOLD CASE and came here to see how it worked.
  5. My copy of The Times may be dog-eared but can I interrogate my grandchildren to find out who dog-eared it? Isn’t that like asking who greater-crested the greater-crested newt? On 15 March 44 BC a child, hearing grown-ups saying “Caesar necatus est”, asked “a quo” and was told “Bruto”. He “transformed” this into “Brutus Caesarem necavit” to tell his friends. Later he heard “Caudatus est ille Brutus” and asked again “a quo”. Everybody laughed but someone said “natura”. The child did not know what this meant but is sounded grown up so he told all his friends “Natura caudavit Brutum.”

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