Times Cryptic 27530

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: Off the scale, and as I start to write my blog I still have at least 4 clues unparsed so we shall see what develops along the way.

Edit later: I got all the parsings bar one eventually. Also, having read the first two comments below and realised that others struggled too, I think I would be selling myself short if I didn’t mention that I completed the grid without resorting to aids despite the presence of two or three NHOs.

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]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.

Across
1 Calm condition for fleet to cross (6)
PACIFY : PACY (fleet) contains [to cross] IF (condition)
4 Improvised lying perhaps holding German newspaper back (2-6)
AD-LIBBED : ABED (lying perhaps) containing [holding] BILD (German newspaper) reversed [back]. Literally Bild means ‘picture’. It’s the best-selling European newspaper.
10 Published small plagiarism in education journal copies (11)
TRANSCRIBES : RAN (published) + S (small) + CRIB (plagiarism) contained by [in] TES (education journal – Times Educational Supplement)
11 Enormous flier from some music broadcast (3)
ROC : Sounds like [broadcast] “rock” (some music). I was tempted briefly by the hidden EMU but soon realised that a) it’s flightless, and b) it would have left ‘broadcast’ surplus to requirements.
12 Rung when away from company briefly by city chap (7)
ECHELON : EC (city), HE (chap),  LON{e} (away from company) [briefly]. At first I had some difficulty justifying the order in which the elements of the clue are presented but on reflection I think it works because ‘by’ as a positional indicator in an Across clue can mean before or afterwards. I haven’t been able to find ‘echelon / rung’ in any of the usual sources but both can mean a rank within a hierarchy.
14 One wizard line in poetic language? (7)
IMAGERY : I (one), MAGE (wizard), RY line (railway)
15 Riviera club MCs transformed my business (14)
CRUCIVERBALISM : Anagram [transformed] of RIVIERA CLUB MCS. ‘My’ refers to our setter.
17 Which involves an outpouring of compassion? (3,3,8)
TEA AND SYMPATHY : A cryptic definition with reference to pouring tea
21 Blazer to change into for nine? (7)
INFERNO : Anagram [change] of  FOR NINE
22 Cowhand maybe one taking fork away from front of barn (7)
RANCHER : {b}RANCHER (one taking fork) [away from front of barn]. My knowledge of such matters comes entirely from Westerns and TV shows such as Rawhide! and I’ve always had the impression that a rancher would be a boss and the cowhand his hired help, but I’m sure there’s room for crossover between the two roles. Cue one of the original singing cowboys…
23 Possible representative of market-goer at home periodically (3)
TOE : {a}T {h}O{m}E (possible representative of market-goer) [periodically]. “This little piggy went to market…”. Great clue, and one for Oink to savour if he didn’t write it!
24 Yard turning in crook found with weapons supplier’s winter gear (4-7)
BODY-WARMERS : YD (yard) reversed [turning] contained by [in] BOW (crook), ARMER’S (weapons supplier’s)
26 What’s after correspondent’s initial lines of address? (8)
POSTCODE : Cryptic definition. Edit: As vinyl1 has kindly pointed out, I missed the wordplay here. It’s POST (after), C{orrespondent’s} [initial], ODE (lines of address).  And the defintion is &lit.
27 Poem priest’s written about Mediterranean port (6)
AMALFI : IF (poem) + LAMA (priest) all reversed [written about]
Down
1 Girl‘s power serve clinching match point (8)
PATIENCE : P (power), ACE (serve) containing [clinching] TIE (match) + N (point). The list of famous Patience’s on Wiki is small indeed, and in fact I’ve only ever heard of one of them, the actress Patience Collier (1910-1987). I also know of the  poet Patience Strong (1907-1990) but she’s not on the list, perhaps because her real name was Winifred Emma May.
2 Short talk that’s an essential part of 17? (3)
CHA : CHA{t} (talk) [short] referring back to TEA AND SYMPATHY at 17ac
3 Twists on course one’s following force us the wrong way (7)
FUSILLI : F (force), US, ILL (the wrong way – don’t take this ill), I (one). It’s spiral pasta..
5 In pub brawl Andy tossed a bit of seafood (6,3,5)
DUBLIN BAY PRAWN : Anagram [tossed] of IN PUB BRAWL ANDY. I was vaguely aware of this so I’ve probably seen it on a menu or a TV cookery show.
6 Touring bottom of garden, is unlikely to find plant (7)
INSTALL : IS containing [touring] {garde}N [bottom], TALL (unlikely – a tall tale)
7 Rash of composer to lie about intro of his (7,4)
BARBERS ITCH : BARBER (composer), SIT (lie), C (about), H{is} [intro]. Not helped by thinking ‘brewer’s itch’ first and wondering if there was a composer called Brewer. Here’s Barber’s most famous composition.
8 Is beguiling and demure when hugged by boy (6)
DECOYS : COY (demure) contained [hugged] by DES (boy)
9 With such a savings policy present, finish up rich (5-3,6)
FRONT-END LOADED : FRONT (present – a news bulletin, for example), END (finish up), LOADED (rich).   Wiki advises: A ‘front-end load’ is a commission or sales charge applied at the time of the initial purchase of an investment. NHO it.
13 Book includes something made for opening parliament (5,2,4)
HOUSE OF KEYS : HOS (book – of the Bible, Hosea) contains [includes] USE OF KEY (something made for opening). It’s the lower chamber of the parliament on the Isle of Man.
16 What raises seaplane‘s height: then do risky manoeuvres (8)
HYDROSKI : H (height), anagram [manoeuvres] of DO RISKY. SOED advises this is a hydrofoil on a seaplane or amphibious aircraft that skims the surface of the water during take-off and provides extra lift.
18 O to be involved in such an exercise! (7)
AEROBIC :  A cryptic definition referring to any process (in this case exercise) which involves dependence on  oxygen (O)
19 Greek airline no longer stores A to Z in this (7)
PANGRAM : PAN AM (airline no longer) contains [stores] GR (Greek)
20 Excellent advice when on Jersey? (6)
TIPTOP : TIP (advice), TOP (jersey)
25 Ultimately the full length less than four feet (3)
ELL : {th}E + {ful}L [ultimately], L (length). This old measure varied according to location. In England it was 45 inches, in Scotland 37.2 inches, and in the Netherlands 27 inches.

49 comments on “Times Cryptic 27530”

  1. This was a beast; and I gave up with FUSILLI, AMALFI, & HYDROSKI to do. (I got HYDROSKI, but only because I came here and found AMALFI.) DNK BARBERS ITCH, DNK DUBLIN BAY PRAWN. I got 17ac only because of 2d; the first time I’ve been glad to see a cross-referenced clue.
  2. I don’t know what my time was but it was somewhere north of 2 hours + snooze. At least I managed to finish, admittedly with ECHELON, POSTCODE and HOUSE OF KEYS (last in) unparsed. I’d heard of FRONT-END LOADED (and back-end) to describe football players’ contracts but didn’t know about the Irish crustaceans.

    It will be interesting to see how the SNITCH ends up. Towards the harder end of Harder so far.

  3. Also glad to have finished without aids, but I couldn’t parse my LOI… POSTCARD. Merde! I should have known… But I was tired, and too glad to be “finished” at that point. I had thoughtlessly written FRONT-END LOADER for the finance term.

    Edited at 2019-12-10 07:45 am (UTC)

  4. FOI: 11
    LOI: 12

    Enjoyed: 26, 16, 27, …
    Didn’t like: 3 (surely it should be “twists in course”. I found the “on” confusing), 1d (because it’s very rarely used as a girl’s name), …
    NHO: 5, 13, …
    Difficulty parsing: 12, 13 (NHO “use of key [box]”), …

    Overall, thanks to the setter for the challenge and teaching me new phrases/abbreviations, and the blogger, especially for explaining parsing.

    Edited at 2019-12-10 07:46 am (UTC)

    1. Patience is the eponymous heroine of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta; and it may be a more familiar name to Murcans, as it’s the archetypal female name for a Puritan, and they, alas, loom large in our legend.
  5. 31:12. All correct but a few unparsed. NHO HOUSE OF KEYS, my LOI and just bunged in what looked like fit. I also failed to parse RANCHER and PANGRAM, so thanks for those Jackkt. I spent ages with 7D convinced the composer was BACH until I belatedly saw the CH came from “about intro of his”. Chewy? I nearly got indigestion. A good test! I was glad just to finish without resorting to any aids. Thanks Jackkt and setter.
  6. Gosh. 54 minutes, and one of those puzzles where I had no great confidence that I’d actually finished it once I had letters in all the lights.

    NHO FRONT-END LOADED, HOUSE OF KEYS, DUBLIN BAY PRAWN, HYDROSKI or BARBER’S ITCH (or indeed Barber), which made things considerably harder.

  7. Still had four to do. With the self-referencing at 15 and 19 I was looking for a pangram or something. My 13d in the printed edition has “Man’s diet holding all the answers?”which I prefer to the version blogged here. COD to the elegant PACIFY.
  8. Interesting experience – definitely a 3 coffee puzzle. Thank you setter and well done Jack. Glad I wasn’t blogging this one.

    FRONT END LOADING was the bane of the direct-selling commission only life assurance business. A policyholder would pay a £20 monthly premium and the life office would immediately pay the agent £300! You don’t have to be Einstein to see that it would take the policyholder 2 years to refund that to the company plus the set up and running costs – so forget investment during that period!

  9. 40 mins. Tricky.
    Never saw the &Lit for Postcode. And I thought House of Keys must be a book!
    Thanks setter and J.
  10. In the paper edition the clue for 13d is different. I don’t have the paper in front of me but something about a man’s diet holding all the answers.
      1. Paper clue : Man’s diet holding all the answers.

        I’ve no idea what the online version is, but this version is my COD.

  11. Maybe 75% done when I hoisted the white flag. I was finding it a bit like pulling teeth. I did take some grim satisfaction in getting FRONT END LOADED, the sort of expression that makes my eyes glaze over. I’m not sure I would ever have got BARBER’S ITCH. Just not my cup of cha, I guess
  12. 40:47 but I was stumped by AMALFI and went for EMELLI. Quite a challenge!

    COD: AEROBIC.

  13. Late arrival at the cruciverbalist’s ball this morning, detained on the phone by a lawyer who must be charging his client on an hourly-rate basis. I finished in just about the hour with the interruption but used an aid on LOI BARBER’S ITCH. It’s the itchy bits of hair down the back that get me. I biffed ECHELON and AEROBIC. The latter would be my COD but isn’t it against house rules to select a COD you didn’t parse? I did get the pretty obscure FRONT-END LOADED but that was a bit laboured, so COD to TEA AND SYMPATHY. What, you expect both? Thank you Jack and setter.

    Edited at 2019-12-10 10:15 am (UTC)

  15. Too hard for me, way off the wavelength. Not enjoying it enough to persevere. A few good clues, but a few that didn’t appeal, and the same 4 or 5 unknowns and (never-would’ve-gottens) as everyone else.
    1. An honest post!
      It is crosswords like this that make me doubt the veracity of many of the bloggers!
  16. Glad to see I’m not the only struggler today! Finished in 45 minutes but had got virtually nowhere after 30. Then ,from god knows where , inspiration and a surge forward. Really tough and never thought I was really on the compiler’s wavelength. But when I finally got it, thought 15 across “cruciverbalism” was stonking in its obscurity.
  17. The leaderboard has a very peculiar look at present, presumably reflecting a lot of people giving up the struggle. Hold-ups everywhere, of course: I was sure the composer must be BACH, so it took a while to parse that (fortunately I had a haircut last week, and spent the rest of the day scratching the back of my neck, so it soon sprang to mind). And I wasn’t entirely confident about the FRONT-END thingummy, but it seemed plausible, and definitely more so than other possibilities like GRANT-END, so in it went. Otherwise, some lovely penny-drop moments, especially in CRUCIVERBALISM and PANGRAM – but then I do like a self-referential clue.

    The Crossword ed. unintentionally gave me a leg-up at 18dn, as his Q and A session on Saturday mentioned a particularly brilliant old clue which quoted Molly Malone, with the words “Alive, alive-O” being a definition of ANAEROBIC…

  18. Having read the comments here, I feel a lot better about my 51:04. I started off ok, with PACIFY and CHA going straight in, but then became becalmed. Every now and again a flash of inspiration would reveal another answer, but it was impossible to get into a solving rhythm and the answers came along like teeth extractions. I managed to parse all except PANGRAM and HOUSE OF KEYS eventually. Relieved to have met the setters challenge! Thanks setter and Jack.
  19. A very slow start, as I got all the way to TOE before entering anything. Eventually things sped up a bit for a 16m 22s finish, but there were plenty of unknowns – AMALFI, HOUSE OF KEYS, FRONT-END LOADED, DUBLIN BAY PRAWN, BARBER’S ITCH.

    I solve in the paper so I got the “Man’s diet holding all the answers?” version of the clue, which is a bit weak in my opinion. Presumably that’s why it was changed for the online version. My LOI.

    POSTCODE was a lovely &lit and gets COD from me.

  20. ….PATIENCE with this one. I seriously felt as if it was still Saturday, and I was sitting at a desk in London Bridge House.

    NHO FRONT-END LOADED, or HYDROSKI. Thanks to Jack for parsing ECHELON and RANCHER. I don’t see what the “into” is doing at 21A. I had to write out the anagrist for CRUCIVERBALISM – both that and PATIENCE were “duh” moments. I wasted time looking for a hidden in 17A before the penny dropped at 2D.

    Given that I was 8 clues in before starting, it’s no surprise that I cleared the bottom half with the top practically empty.

    FOI TEA AND SYMPATHY (which I’ll be aiming for once I’ve posted – at least there’ll be tea !)

    LOI FRONT-END LOADED (I’ll never be rich)

    COD HOUSE OF KEYS (the print version thereof. I was tempted by FUSILLI, but on reflection I agree with Melanchol1ac that “in” would be more correct than “on”)

    TIME 21:22

  21. About half of this was normal fare, but having got that I seized up. LOI AMALFI where I was looking for a poem. Tx J for all your hard work. ECHELON TIPTOP had to come here to find out what was going on. NHO FRONT END LOADED and BARBERS ITCH. Most embarrassing was POSTCODE when I eventually got it.
  22. 42′, but a careless CRUCIVERBALIST, furious with myself having done the hard work. Liked HOUSE OF KEYS, FRONT-END LOADED.

    Vaguely knew DUBLIN BAY PRAWNS, aka langoustines.

    Is AMALFI the same as MALFI?

    Thanks jack and setter.

  25. 19:35. Tough one but a very enjoyable workout.
    I had no idea about HOUSE OF KEYS: I’ve never heard of the parliament and the wordplay included a dreaded book of the bible so I was never going to figure that out. I just bunged it in on the basis that it looked vaguely feasible and ‘opening’ in the wordplay pointed to KEYS being involved in some way.
    I don’t like the definition of FUSILLI: a piece of pasta doesn’t really constitute a course.
    DUBLIN BAY PRAWNS are not prawns, they are lobsters. In much the say way Moreton Bay Bugs aren’t bugs, they are slipper lobsters, which of course aren’t lobsters.
    1. I disagree about FUSILLI. Spaghetti can be ordered as a course, so why not fusilli if it’s on the menu?
      1. I think it works best if you think of the ‘course’ in the clue being a pasta course. So fusilli are twists on a pasta course. Maybe ‘twists in course’ would be slightly better?
      2. I agree that you can refer to FUSILLI as a course, but then you are referring to the dish as a whole and you can’t say that it has twists ‘on it’: for that to make sense you have to be referring to an individual piece of pasta, which isn’t a course. ‘In course’ would be OK, as melanchol1ac and pootle have already commented, but ‘on’ doesn’t work for me.

        Edited at 2019-12-10 10:44 pm (UTC)

  26. Congratulations to all who finished this. For me it formed the final part of a trifecta; having gone for aids on both the Concise and the Quickie on one clue each, I went one (no – many, better) on this. And that was all after 75 minutes slog.

    How are the not so mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

    Edited at 2019-12-10 03:16 pm (UTC)

    1. Today’s QC took me five times as long as my personal best. I’m not going to try the concise.
  27. I ran well over my usual allotted a.m. crossword time and thought ok I’ll finish this in the doctor’s waiting-room – not. I did get all of it in the end in 3 sessions but did not submit. I think our glossary should include a secondary definition for NHO – “no hope of”. Which would describe BARBER’S ITCH for me. I’ve heard of, in fact I’ve got, leg warmers but DNK BODY WARMERS. And I got hopelessly astray with AMALFI until I twigged oh THAT kind of priest. Of course I’d been looking for old Eli. There’s a nice tea shop in the Village called TEA AND SYMPATHY but I don’t want to say how long that took me to get and I thought a FRONT-END LOADEr was some kind of heavy equipment like a back-hoe – which in fact it is – so that didn’t exactly fall from the tree either.
  28. 66:25 – my slowest for a while. After about 40 minutes I had completed about 10%, paused the timer for a trip to Sainsbury’s where I clearly picked up some good vibes, and polished off the rest in double quick time on my return. No NHO’s – just an initial wavelength problem.
  29. I was thinking this morning that maybe I was showing signs of dementia as I approach my 80th year. It was such a relief to come here and find that I was not alone in finding this difficult. It took just over an hour with several clues biffed (ECHELON, FUSILLI – I couldn’t see ILL and I still don’t like the definition, AEROBIC- a brilliant clue once you know how it’s parsed). NHO FRONT-END-LOADED but getable from the cryptic. Well done to our blogger. You definitely drew the short straw here. Ann
  30. Blistering start – thought it was going to be easy the whole way through but held up by FRONT-END LOADED, ECHELON, PANGRAM, AMALFI and BARBERS ITCH holding me up the longest.
  31. It took me about 45 mins to DNF this one. My brain had been working overtime to come up with Dublin Bay Prawns, House of Keys, hydroski and others. By the time it came to the unfamiliar front-end loaded I was pretty spent. I ended up with front-end loader and a crossing postcard. I’d been on a fairly decent error-free run so it was annoying to get a couple of pink squares.

    Terrific blog on a very hard puzzle – I enjoyed every minute of the singing cowboy and Barber’s strings.

  32. Late to the party .. I found this easy to start but hard to finish, hardest for a while in fact, for me. So put it to one side til this evening .. overall it must have taken me nearly an hour, watching Horizon on the side … brilliant, my favourite sort of crossword!
  33. Came in at 38’10” but that included an overnight. returned this morning for last six or seven clues, and my head had cleared so they went in quite quickly. Very tough. Not very happy about the parsing of House of Keys. Is “use of key” the same as “something made for opening?” A key is something made for opening. So where does the “use of” come from? On the Patiences, don’t forget Baroness Wheatcroft.
  34. Apart from the definition, I’m not sure how the answer to 13 down is arrived at in the paper version….it feels as if something is missing in the clue!
  35. Hard. With LOI the house of keys, after an alphabet trawl for the first letter of keys. Then the PDM as the realisation that the required Man was the island ( a common misdirection , but we often miss it! ). 46 mins unaided with all correct felt slow , but reading the comments has made us feel better. Liked the self-referential cruciverbalism, and the non-self-referential pangram.

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