Times Cryptic 27608

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 33 minutes with 2dn and 14ac being responsible for missing my half-hour target.

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 Flipping dog pinching good place finally for a roll! (5)
BAGEL : LAB (dog) reversed [flipping] containing [pinching] G (good) + {plac}E [finally]. An echo of 23dn yesterday.
4 Mild casual worker endlessly subjected to censure (9)
TEMPERATE : TEMP (casual worker), {b}ERATE{d} (subjected to censure) [endlessly]
9 Business woman embracing virtuous person’s steadiness (9)
CONSTANCY : CO (business – company), NANCY (woman) containing [embracing] ST (virtuous person – saint)
10 Goods originally conveyed by legendary ship (5)
CARGO : C(onveyed) [originally], ARGO (legendary ship)
11 Lining up, we hear, for prompting on stage (6)
CUEING : Sounds like [we hear] “queueing” (lining up)
12 Passage orchestra leader left out, ultimately unhappy with practice (8)
ALLEYWAY : {h}ALLE (orchestra) [leader left out], {unhapp}Y [ultimately], WAY (practice – way of doing something). The orchestra was founded in 1858 by Sir Charles Hallé and is based in Manchester.
14 Skill on range? Evaluates staff with it (12)
MARKSMANSHIP : MARKS (evaluates), MAN (staff), S (?), HIP (with it). I don’t think ‘man’ can clue ‘staffs’ so the second S does not appear to be accounted for.
17 Nice girl caused me to tour French department lakes (12)
MADEMOISELLE : MADE (caused), then ME containing [to tour] OISE (French department) + LL (lakes). ‘Nice’ in the definition indicates that the lass is French.
20 Like some income a Parisian press chief keeps close by? (8)
UNEARNED : UN (‘a’ Parisian) + ED (press chief) contains [keeps] NEAR (close by)
21 Island zoo initially invested in fat reptile (6)
LIZARD : I (island) + Z{oo} [initially] contained by [invested in] LARD (fat). Alternatively I{sland} + Z{oo} [both initially].
23 A singer graduates in this way (5)
BASSO : BA‘S (graduates), SO (in this way). The Italian for ‘bass’.
24 Jogger welcoming a rest (9)
REMAINDER : REMINDER (memory jogger) containing [welcoming] A
25 Riddle of sister surrounded by fish and alcoholic drink (9)
CONUNDRUM : NUN (sister) contained [surrounded] by COD (fish), RUM (alcoholic drink)
26 Odd about the Bluegrass State being dark and gloomy (5)
MURKY : RUM (odd) reversed [about), KY (the Bluegrass State – Kentucky)
Down
1 Help fellow medic puff out hair (8)
BACKCOMB : BACK (help – support), CO-MB (fellow medic). Layering hair to make it look bulkier, puffing it up or out.
2 Great lines about woman in seabird breeding-ground (8)
GANNETRY : GT (great) + RY (lines) containing [about] ANNE (woman). Not a word I’ve met before but I’m not surprised to learn that it exists.
3 Act wildly — drop one’s capital cover? (3,4,4,4)
LET ONES HAIR DOWN : A straight definition with a cryptic hint
4 Temporary accommodation for sacramental wine (4)
TENT : Two meanings. The wine is sweet, deep-red and low in alcohol.
5 A symbol circulated thus, mistaken at first for hawthorn flower (3,7)
MAY BLOSSOM : Anagram [circulated] of A SYMBOL, then SO (thus), M{istaken} [at first]. The May tree is another name for the hawthorn.
6 In Gt Manchester town one I miscast badly for churchiness (15)
ECCLESIASTICISM : ECCLES (Gt Manchester town), I (one), anagram [badly] of I MISCAST. The local authority is called ‘Greater Manchester’ but I’m not aware that ‘gt’ can stand for anything other than ‘great’, but I suppose the long name has to be abbreviated to something.
7 Like darts that hurt, piercing Cockney bloke (6)
ARROWY : OW (that hurt) contained by [piercing] {h}ARRY (bloke) [Cockney]. I was dubious about this word, thinking it a as candidate for the Uxbridge English Dictionary, but it’s in Collins.
8 English maiden keeping animal for riding: Black Beauty is one (6)
EPONYM : E (English) + M (maiden) containing [keeping] PONY (animal for riding). A reference to the book by Anna Sewell.
13 Civic official, one tolerating spice? (10)
MACEBEARER : MACE (spice), BEARER (one tolerating). The mace is a ceremonial symbol of authority and there’s one permanently on view in the chamber of the House of Commons when it’s in session.
15 Continental river accommodating slender shrub (8)
OLEANDER : ODER (continental river) containing [accommodating] LEAN (slender)
16 Sensitively keep ahead of time, leaving area (8)
TENDERLY : TEND (keep), E{a}RLY (ahead of time) [leaving area]
18 Part of clique becoming Canadian province (6)
QUEBEC : Hidden in [part of] {cli}QUE BEC{oming}
19 She is the third soprano principally engaged in Evita (6)
PERSON : S{oprano} [principally] contained by [engaged] PERON (Evita)
22 This writer’s a male religious leader (4)
IMAM : I’M (this writer’s), A, M (male)

69 comments on “Times Cryptic 27608”

  2. Is it just me, or are the ads on this site becoming more aggrssive.
    I often find I cannot load it on my phone.

    I’ve long wished LiveJournal could be binned in favour of something better. Too late now I guess.

    FGBP

    1. If you sign up to a free LJ account and give yourself a user-id you may be able to avoid most of the ads. I see no ads at all on my PC and very few when viewing on my phone or tablet.
      1. Unfortunately yukky / annoying / inappropriate ads still appear even if you have an LJ account – today a truly revolting one about earwax popped up on the quickie blog. I couldn’t scroll past quickly enough! And tucked away under the blog is a promotion to try and get you to upgrade to the professional package. Boo!
        1. I do pay for the LJ pro package, mostly because I used to use the platform for its stated purpose years ago, back when personal blogging meant more than being on Twitter. The thought of going back to seeing adverts and the comparative cheapness of the sub ($20 per year, I think) compared to the extortionate price of access the crossword itself have so far stopped me from lapsing.

          I suppose LJ have to keep the lights on somehow…

        2. You can use an ad-blocker to eliminate them. I have ABP (AdBlock Plus) on my PC -I had forgotten this when I wrote previously – which is free and very effective. I have it also, or something similar, on my tablet and phone. I only see adverts on LJ now (mostly in Russian) when I inadvertently find myself logged out and accessing the site anonymously.
          1. Many thanks for your advice / comments Jack and Matt. I do take your point about keeping the lights on – it was just the one today was deeply unattractive, so Anon’s comment touched a nerve! I mostly just scroll past the ads (and in fairness there aren’t too many) without even registering what they’re selling. But I will investigate the ad-blocker you mention – thanks for that, Jack.

            I do the crossword on paper, so don’t know how much the crossword club subs are (although I remember the controversy a while back), and only use LJ for this blog. Most of the internet is a mystery to me 😊

            BTW congrats Matt on your super time – fingers crossed for tomorrow. Regards Penny

  3. I did this in a personal record time, which means one of two things. Either I am improving, or that was very easy. I suspect the latter.
  4. A fairly easy offering. I didn’t notice the intrusive S as I biffed 14a. ARROWY is a horrible construction no matter what the dictionaries say. NHO GANNETRY but it’s easy to believe that it exists (cf ROOKERY). 20 minutes – which is a good time for me. Ann
  5. So near, and yet so far. I was on course for a very quick time today but got stuck on 14a, due to a very silly spelling mistake on 6a, bunging a T in where there should have been the first I in ecclesiasticism. I’ve done this sort of thing before so checked all the checkers (so to speak) but still didn’t see the little rascal. Consequently I simply couldn’t solve 14a, so sadly it was a DNF! Then I discovered that my answer to 7d was wrong when I read Jack’s blog – arrowy? Yeah, ok, I see ‘like darts’ now, and I did wonder who ‘arrs’ was. A pain, I suppose … like this clue. On the whole, though, I did enjoy this, so thanks to the setter and to Jack.

    FOI Bagel – easy after yesterday
    COD Remainder – lovely stuff
    Time – 20 minutes to do everything except marksmanship, then DNF

  6. 7:41. Another easy one, and a swift enough pace not to notice the extraneous S.
  7. I’ve never managed more than a couple of answers in the 15×15 grid before today. Not only did I get more answers, I got them all and finished in under an hour!
    Now I’ve come here to understand those words I couldn’t completely parse and also to thank all the QC bloggers who’ve shared their expertise over the last few years and got me this far.
    Feeling rather proud at the moment 🙂
  8. 13:51 I ran through this one without any difficulty. Gannetry and arrowy gave me a slight pause for being a little out of the ordinary. LOI was macebearer. The spice wouldn’t immediately come to mind and the possibilities of -a-e at tye start did induce a mild panic before the obvious hove into view.
  9. I find it weird that there are several mentions of Gannetries in New Zealand, but none (unless I have missed them) about Sula Sgeir (off the NW of Scotland) with 5000 birds and the Bass Rock (visible from civilisation) withe 150,000 birds (Wiki).
    Perhaps the Scots don’t do the Times Crossword.

    Pace Jackkt – hated ‘arrowy’ and not only because I didn’t get it.

Comments are closed.