Times Cryptic 27242

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

I completed this in 24 minutes, one of my fastest times for solving a puzzle on a blogging day. It would have been quicker but for a hold-up at the very end in the SW corner where 16 and 21 eluded me until I had dealt with 17dn –  I knew it was the original name of  ‘tungsten’ but it wouldn’t come to mind.

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 Development angle initially ignored in training (8)
EDUCTION – EDUC{a}TION (training) [angle initially ignored]
6 God as revealed in performance by Salvationists (6)
SATURN – SA (Salvationists – Salvation Army), TURN (performance)
9 Collecting bits and pieces? (13)
NUMISMATOLOGY –  A cryptic definition that’s not very cryptic, with ‘bits’ and ‘pieces’ both being coins and the N-word meaning the collecting of coins. It’s still a very neat clue though.
10 Grieve for bird that disappeared inside mountain (6)
BEMOAN – MOA (bird that disappeared – became extinct) contained by [inside] BEN (mountain)
11 First man to hold pen maybe creating massive barrier (5,3)
ASWAN DAM – ADAM (first man) contains [to hold] SWAN (pen)
13 Opposing or supporting check by social worker (10)
PROTESTANT – PRO (supporting), TEST (check), ANT (social worker)
15 Tongue in ancient city to be enough for listeners (4)
URDU – UR (ancient city), DU sounds like (for listeners) “do” (be enough – as in ‘that will do’)
16 Affected material finally cut (4)
TWEE – TWEE{d} (material) [finally cut]
18 Spokesman opening with dramatic work (10)
MOUTHPIECE – MOUTH (opening), PIECE (dramatic work – as in ‘villain of the piece’)
21 One used to beat dispirited infantry (8)
FLATFOOT – FLAT (dispirited), FOOT (infantry).  ‘Flatfoot’ is a slang term for a policeman who as we all know at one time used to patrol his beat. The British army had many ‘Regiments of Foot’ before the terminology was changed to Infantry.
22 Hard men in secret place make drastic cuts (6)
DEHORN – H (hard) + OR (mean) contained by [in] DEN (secret place). I’m wondering if there is a meaning of ‘drastic’ that’s particularly relevant to the dehorning process but I haven’t been able to come up with one.
23 Mug collection regularly goes astray (6,7)
ROGUES’ GALLERY – Anagram [astray] of REGULARLY GOES. A rogues’ gallery is a collection of photographs (‘mugshots’) of criminals that is kept by the police and used when they want to identify someone. ‘Mug’ is slang for ‘face’.
25 Influence thing done by little devil (6)
IMPACT – IMP (little devil), ACT (thing done)
26 Cardinal in there crippled after tango (8)
THIRTEEN – T (tango – NATO alphabet), anagram [crippled] of IN THERE
Down
2 Ballet star has no regrets coming up short (7)
DANSEUR – RUES NAD{a} (rues nothing so ‘has no regrets’) [short] reversed [coming up]. I think it’s just a male ballet dancer and not specifically a ballet star. 
3 Left cutting remark in personal manner (11)
COMPORTMENT – PORT (left) contained by [cutting] COMMENT (remark)
4 Dramatist elevated in Verlaine’s biography (5)
IBSEN – Reversed [elevated] and hidden in {verlai}NE’S BI{ography}. I await publication the book with interest!
5 River‘s northern one a gelatinous substance blocks (7)
NIAGARA – AGAR (gelatinous substance) is contained by [blocks]  N (northern) + I (one) + A
6 Timepiece best in sample collection (9)
STOPWATCH – TOP (best) contained by [in] SWATCH (sample collection) – a ‘book’ of  curtain or carpet fabrics for example
7 Company that sends up anything (3)
TWO – OWT (anything – Oop North!) reverses [sends up] with reference to the saying ‘Two’s company, three’s a crowd’
8 Fox on road around some turning (7)
REYNARD – RE (on) + RD (road) contains [around] ANY (some) reversed [turning]
12 Eats nuts in Homer, which is anomalous (11)
NOURISHMENT – Anagram [which is anomalous] of NUTS IN HOMER
14 Sleepy old man dropping article in strait (9)
SOMNOLENT – O (old) + M{a}N [dropping article] contained by [in] SOLENT (strait). The Solent is the strait that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.
17 Metal bolt and stuff (7)
WOLFRAM – WOLF (bolt – as of food), RAM (stuff)
19 Stressed and too drunk to go to bed? (7)
UPTIGHT –  UP can mean ‘not in bed’, TIGHT (drunk). Put them together for a cryptic hint.
20 Scottish historian in Cumbrian city to speak (7)
CARLYLE – Sounds like [to speak] “Carlisle” (Cumbrian city). Thomas Carlyle was more than just a historian, but he first came to my attention when travelling in Scotland many years ago I spent a night along the way in his birthplace, Ecclefechan, where there is a large statue commemorating his association with the village.
22 Capital at one time husband invested in food store (5)
DELHI – H (husband) contained by [invested in] DELI (food store)
24 State purpose falling short (3)
GOA – GOA{l} (purpose) [falling short]

58 comments on “Times Cryptic 27242”

  1. Visions of DNF danced in my head as I got the checkers for 22ac; I was sure I didn’t know any word that could fit. But the wordplay finally came through, although it was my 2d to LOI, BEMOAN being the LOI. I was wondering about the homophony in 15ac, as I was thinking of ‘due’ as in ‘due diligence’. (Of course ‘due’ sounds exactly like ‘do’ in my dialect, but my dialect doesn’t count.) Liked SATURN and FLATFOOT.

    Edited at 2019-01-08 02:20 am (UTC)

  2. 7:37, so on the quicker side for me. Was a little nervous about FLATFOOT but didn’t think it could be anything else.
  3. I was going very well until I hit the NW corner and was held up by 1a, 2d and 9a. Thanks for explaining the DAN (reversed) bit of 2d which I couldn’t understand. Finished in 42 minutes.

    Favourites were the ‘One used to beat’ def. in 21a and my LOI and COD, the innocuous looking but very clever 7d.

    Thank you to setter and blogger

  4. For 37 minutes I had 13ac as CONTESTANT which left me with 1dn as the improbable DANSERO (Doris Day!?).

    That which parseth all understanding.

    FOI 22dn DELHI

    LOI 1dn DANSEUR

    COD 7dn TWO

    WOD NUMISMATOLOGY – I recently discovered there was once a PHILATOLOGICAL Society of Kingston, who were arch rivals of the Jamaican Philatelic Society in the early 20th Century. In May 1920 they merged.

    TEGESTOLOGY is the collecting of beer mats…….

    Taxidermist for one!

    Edited at 2019-01-08 04:15 am (UTC)

  5. 16 minutes, outMondaying Monday’s.

    Re DRASTIC, I guess it might appear pretty harsh if you were the bovine involved, and then of course it is an extreme process, in terms of the location of the horns.

      1. If you’re a rhino being dehorned by poachers, you’re dead. Which is a lot more drastic.
    2. Yes, I’m in the pro-drastic camp too. I wouldn’t want it done to me, if I had horns. It would be right up there with the other thing they have a tendency to do to male farm animals. Before they kill them, that is
  6. Thank you. I looked up the story in a back number of the Jamaica Gleaner (I am working in Jamaica on and off for 14 months).
      1. I am involved in the National Spatial Plan – so, all over Jamaica. At the end of next week I will be travelling from Kingston to Mandeville to Montego Bay and back. I previously did something similar in Trinidad over a 5 year period.
  8. It’s not a very neat clue, it’s absolutely dreadful. What a waste of 10 minutes.
  9. 25 mins with toast and the delightful Gin&Lime Marmalade.
    I liked the crispness of cluing and some witty defs.
    Mostly I liked: Mug collection and One used to beat.
    Thanks setter and J.
  10. Bread and butter offering with no stand out clues. The Solent is like a mill pond this morning.
  11. 42 minutes, possibly because I’m a bit 14d today.

    Isengrim came up recently, or I’d have been a lot less sure of REYNARD.

    FOI 4d IBSEN, enjoying V. getting a mention. After that it took a few passes through, with a lot of clues—DEHORN, TWEE, EDUCTION, so forth—needing a third or fourth look, until I finished off with 2d DANSEUR.

    Liked 19d UPTIGHT and 21a FLATFOOT.

    1. Struggled a bit with this, compared to most. 45 minutes with TWO my LOI, not being on an up north wavelength. Now I see it I remember the “bread with nowt taken out”. Well blogged jackkt thanks for explaining 2d.
  12. ….DEHORN. Nah – stop messing about !

    A straightforward enough offering, with a tiny hold-up as I tried to justify “dehort” before the truth dawned.

    FOI ASWAN DAM
    LOI DEHORN
    COD NUMISMATOLOGY – also liked FLATFOOT, and ROGUES GALLERY
    TIME 9:07

  13. I wasn’t sure of FLATFOOT or why DEHORNing is making a drastic cut. NHO EDUCATION, but it was clear from the wordplay and checkers. COD to ROGUES GALLERY. 16:02.
  14. My first contribution. I’ve been doing the Times crossword off & on for ever (most recently a month late in Oz) and been enjoying the blog for a while.
    Sometimes, like today, I’m quite quick (17 mins) and other times I can stare at it for hours seeking inspiration even when others don’t find it too difficult. It’s hard to explain why.
    LOI was NIAGARA. For some reason I was convinced that the falls were on the St.Lawrence river.
    1. Welcome! The St Lawrence is the other end of Lake Ontario .. it’s worth a peep at Google maps, the geography is interesting thereabouts. The Niagara is less than 60km long in total ..
    1. Indeed. I wanted to use one of my photos of said bird but couldn’t see how to upload it to LiveJournal
      1. Click on your name at the top of the page, then settings, then manage userpics, then upload a new one. Have a suitable pic. ready to upload, cropped small.
        Your post was duplicated and I deleted the other one, hope that’s OK 🙂
    2. Indeed. I wanted to use one of my photos of said bird but couldn’t see how to upload it to LiveJournal
  16. 31 minutes with LOI WOLFRAM after the unknown FLATFOOT finally yielded. Wasn’t keen on DEHORN, unless I’m missing something. NUMISMATOLOGY also wasn’t my type of clue. I liked CARLYLE, ASWAN DAM and PROTESTANT, thinking for quite a while it was going to begin and not end with the ANT. COD though goes to MOUTHPIECE. Fake news a la Betjeman. ‘So spake the brewer’s PRO, A man who really ought to know, For he is paid for saying so.’ Thank you Jack and setter.
    1. Roman god of agriculture and formerly of time, I believe. Holst had him as the Bringer of Old Age.
  18. 17 minutes all but, held up marginally by DUCATION (which might be a thing) at 1ac. Almost inevitably, TWEE was my last in, as the number of materials is almost as multitudinous as the kingdom of plants. I needed the W.
    Liked FLATFOOT and TWO.
    I’m pretty sure I’d have got DELHI uncomplainingly without the “at one time” – even Wiki is not noticeably committed to consigning it to history without the New. On the other hand, I didn’t pick the Solent as a strait, though obviously it is. Cook Strait, Strait of Hormuz and loads of others, but Strait of Solent? Solent Strait? Doesn’t really ring true.
  20. I seem to be settling down around the 20 minute mark, unless the crossword is either very easy or very difficult. Some lovely clueing here, I thought, notably 23 across with its use of ‘regularly’ inside the anagram. FOI was Aswan Dam, with the pen-swan connection clicking automatically. LOI Wolfram, which I am glad I remembered. There’s a website called wolfram-alpha which lets you do all sorts of calculations.
    1. Yes, yes — I thought the same about the use of ‘regularly’ within the anagrist. Very good.
  21. I took a lumbering 50 mins to complete this: most of that time spent on the last three in the SW corner: TWEE, WOLFRAM and FLATFOOT. This last was unknown to me, but of course the wordplay was very clear. (I blame my fuddlement on this horrible aching, coughing, shivering virus that I’ve been nursing for the last few days: The Christmas Revenge.) Such was my mental torpor, that I had the anagrist for the ‘cardinal’ and the checkers in place — and still spent several minutes trying to find one such as Newman, Richelieu, Wolsey et al.
    TWO was a clever clue. My COD.
    I do appreciate the clarity of explanations in your blogs, jackkt: many thanks for this one.
  22. Clearly on the right wavelength, even after a false start writing in NUMISMATICS and being brought up short by there not being anywhere near enough letters. Add me to the list of those who found TWO and FLATFOOT especially pleasing.
      1. I outpace Magoo about once every two or three years, so today may be a good day to go out and buy a lottery ticket 🙂
  23. 19’28. Steady solve. 6 ac. put me in mind of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 98 which begins:

    From you have I been absent in the spring,
    When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim,
    Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
    That heavy Saturn laughed and leaped with him.

  24. 29 mins, held up at the end by FLATFOOT (LOI), which I had never heard of. Tried googling it and got a load of chiropodists. Had to be so in it went.
    I guess PROTESTANTS aren’t that much of an opposition these days…
  25. I was off the wavelength today, taking 15m 02s. It took me an age to work out what the deal was with NOURISHMENT, despite the fairly obvious anagram fodder – partly because I misread ‘anomalous’ as ‘analogous’. And, despite having seen the marvellous Falls in 2017, NIAGARA took a long time to, er, fall.

    FLATFOOT probably my COD for a neat definition and surface.

  26. What a difference a day makes – very slow to get started this morning until I admonished self to get a grip. Nice piece of misdirection in FLATFOOT. DNK DEHORN or that meaning of EDUCTION. So that’s what “anomalous” was doing in 12d – thanks Jack. 18.28
  27. Without the crossing T from 3 down there were a couple of interesting possibilities: Clubfoot, or even more intriguing Bluefoot which is worth looking up and would have fitted the clue very nicely.
  28. My eyes were immediately drawn to 4d, when I noticed Verlaine, but a reverse scan failed to spot our playwright until I had the N from my FOI, BEMOAN. Was it just me, or did others find it was well hidden too? The river and ___SEUR went in next but I couldn’t justify the DAN, and the rest of the corner was recalcitrant, so I moved on. After rattling through the rest of the puzzle, apart from my LOI, FLATFOOT, I spotted EDUCTION and the NW finally fell, and the A was inserted into DANSEUR, although still not fully parsed. FLATFOOT then went in from wordplay, with the penny not dropping until I came here. Doh! I wondered about DEHORN, but then considered that a rhino dehorned by poachers would have found it a drastic experience. No problem with the fox, as he often pops up in folk songs, sometimes as Reynardine, a werefox who attracts beautiful women to him so that he can take them away to his castle. What fate meets them there is usually left ambiguous. Sandy Denny sang a great version of it. 16:58, so pretty speedy for me. Thanks setter and Jack.
  29. Easy but good, nice level for Tuesday I’d say.

    I’m a devout dead tree person, but I think this took around 30 mins. Nice solvable clues with FLATFOOT, WOLFRAM and SATURN doing it for me on this occasion.

    Many thanks setter, and great blog too.

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