Times Cryptic 27656

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 40 minutes. Not overly difficult but I was slowed down by two unknown plants and the Australian bird.

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 Incorrect answer teacher finally rejected twice? That’s Aussie’s pigeon! (5-5)
WONGA-WONGA : W{r}ONG (incorrect) [{teache}r finally rejected] + A (answer) x 2 [ twice]. Never ‘eard of it, and I needed all the checkers  – which were a long time coming – to persuade myself from biffing ‘Wagga-Wagga’ just because of ‘Aussie’ in the clue.
6 Writer of verse proscribed on radio (4)
BARD : Sounds like [on the radio] “barred” (proscribed)
10 Retiring girl eating last of broccoli for fibre (5)
SISAL : LASS (girl) reversed [retiring] containing [eating] {broccol}I [last]. Used for making matting and cords.
11 Exciting fact about flowing water (9)
THRILLING : THING (fact) containing [about] RILL (flowing water)
12 A scorer briefly crossing a sort of green, one at the White House once (7,7)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN : A, BRAHM{s} (scorer) [briefly] containing [crossing] A, then LINCOLN (sort of green – as worn by Robin Hood and his Merry Men). Presumably Abe would have been at the White House twice but for his ill-fated trip to the theatre.
14 Shorten Arsenal’s opening game (7)
ABRIDGE : A{rsenal’s} [opening], BRIDGE (game)
15 Unexpectedly named by Queen, one changing for the better? (7)
AMENDER : Anagram [unexpectedly] of NAMED, then ER (Queen)
17 Starchy food rejected by European staff one employed in spring? (7)
MAYPOLE : YAM (starchy food) reversed [rejected], POLE (European)
19 Useless cricketer going round old supply vessel (7)
BUMBOAT : BUM (useless), BAT (cricketer – batsman) containing [going round] O (old)
20 Officer orders lane to be diverted round square (8,6)
SQUADRON LEADER : Anagram [diverted] of ORDERS LANE containing [round] QUAD (square – quadrangle, often at old schools and colleges).
23 Popular passage, one acceptable in investiture (9)
INDUCTION : IN (popular), DUCT (passage), I (one), ON (acceptable – more often in the negative, ‘not on’)
24 Friendliness of girl embracing computer studies (5)
AMITY : AMY (girl) containing [embracing] IT (computer studies)
25 Observed freshwater fish, so to speak (4)
EYED : Sounds like [so to speak] “ide” (freshwater fish)
26 Eurasian plant —  something inviting blessing with limited value (10)
SNEEZEWORT : SNEEZE (something inviting blessing – Gesundheit!), WORT{h} (value) [limited]. NHO this, a kind of yarrow with leaves that can cause sneezing.
Down
1 Showing sagacity   the old way? (4)
WISE : Two meanings. ‘Wise’ for ‘way’ survives in ‘clockwise’ for example.
2 Evergreen tree European bishop planted in battle site (9)
NASEBERRY : E (European) + RR (bishop – Right Reverend) contained by [planted in] NASEBY (battle site – 1645, English Civil War). NHO this tree.
3 Male Liberal passes on cards —  everyone must get involved (3,5,2,4)
ALL HANDS ON DECK : AL (male), L (Liberal), HANDS (passes), ON, DECK (cards). Naval command.
4 Profound indignation not in fashion (7)
OUTRAGE : OUT (not in),  RAGE (fashion)
5 Outside entrance to Oratory, interrogate a primate (7)
GORILLA : GRILL (interrogate) contains [outside] O{ratory} [entrance], A
7 Friend giving a Russian fighter oxygen (5)
AMIGO : A, MIG (Russian fighter – jet plane), O (oxygen)
8 Decline of French commander English think highly of? (10)
DEGENERATE : DE (of, French),  GEN (commander), E (English), RATE (think highly of)
9 Stately home‘s new peach melba line? (8,6)
BLENHEIM PALACE : Anagram [new] of PEACH MELBA LINE. Ancestral home and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
13 First of many disrupting Buddhist monk’s current feast (10)
LAMMASTIDE : M{any} [first] contained by [disrupting] LAMA’S (Buddhist monk’s), TIDE (current)
16 Book Italian cathedral displayed around beginning of last month (9)
DUODECIMO : DUOMO (Italian cathedral) containing [displayed around] DEC 1 (beginning of last month). A printing term for a book of a certain size.
18 Public school type‘s rising importance in surrounding area (7)
ETONIAN : NOTE (importance) reversed [rising], then IN containing [surrounding] A (area)
19 Steadiness of British fellow supported by Anglican church (7)
BALANCE : B (British), ALAN (fellow), CE (Anglican church)
21 Excessive, but not expected yet? (5)
UNDUE : UN-DUE (not expected yet)
22 Eliot’s first play about small island (4)
EYOT : E{liot’s) [first], TOY (play) reversed [about]. We had this alternative spelling of ‘ait’ quite recently referring to  ‘Chiswick Eyot’, the small island in the Thames on the Boat Race course.

71 comments on “Times Cryptic 27656”

  1. 23 mins.
    10 mins looking for a word meaning current before I thought of tide.
    Wordplay was your only man in some of the obscurities here.
    Thanks jack.
  2. 8:55 – knew WONGA-WONGA but did some growing up in the Gippsland area of Victoria where they were common in the 70s, also clued in to SNEEZEWORT from the Mephisto.
  3. ….Wonga as the payday loan company who sponsored Newcastle United for some time. This attracted much adverse publicity, but that’s something that the appalling Mike Ashley simply ignores. He’s so thick-skinned that a rhino would think twice before charging him (even at 42.3% APR).

    No other problems, and this was a relief after the pig’s ear I made of the QC.

    FOI BARD
    LOI SNEEZEWORT
    COD BUMBOAT (I was that bum bat !)
    TIME 8:20

  4. A Red Letter Day today – finished in just under 23 minutes, my best ever time. This crossword seemed to fit me very well – starting with ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Having commented last week that I always think of green when Lincoln is referenced, it worked the other way round today. Our street is named after Naseby, so that tends to be the first battle we think of, so that fell into place easily too. (Our family pub quiz name is Baffled of Naseby!) We’re now thinking of putting a naseberry in our garden if we can find one.

    All in all, I really enjoyed this – the unknowns (naseberry, wonga wonga, duodecimo, sneezewort) were get-attable from wordplay; lots of old friends (eyot, amigo, bard) were interestingly clued; and there was a good mix of the setters’ tricks.

    FOI Abraham Lincoln
    LOI Sneezewort
    COD Naseberry (obvs -but I did really like Lammastide and Duodecimo too because I worked them out fully – no biffing)
    WOD Sneezewort

    Thanks setter for the fun and Jack for the blog

    Back to reality tomorrow, no doubt 🤨

      1. Thank you so much. I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to do that!
        I would have had PB for my username for the pun but LiveJournal wouldn’t let me. Alternatively I was thinking about 1d for similar reasons 😉
  5. DNF in 35 minutes today (NOSEBERRY instead of NASEBERRY), but I didn’t stand a chance to get that one right, never having heard of the plant nor the battle. Earlier bits of English history are no problem, since on my daily walks I have been listening to David Crowther’s excellent podcast on the History of England, but unfortunately he still has a century to go before he gets to the Civil War. When I think Civil War it tends to be Gettysburg, rather, which would not have been very helpful here. Also, wrong side of the Pond.

    Edited at 2020-05-05 05:58 pm (UTC)

    1. I love those podcasts too, though I have to confess the Archers is jostling for My attention with the rather good modern slavery storyline Mark C
  6. I only explore the ‘biggie’ once a week or so and found most of it quite testing but fair and accessible today. That is until NASEBERRY and SNEEZEWORT. I managed the first of these after a while (then looked it up to confirm) but I had no chance whatever with SNEEZEWORT. Clever clue but beyond me. John M.

Comments are closed.