Times Cryptic 27734

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 31 minutes. Some rather fine surfaces today. Not quite as easy as yesterday’s offering but for the most part this was pretty straightforward with one or two clues possibly escaped from the Quickie.

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 Aunt boils muddy washing (9)
ABLUTIONS : Anagram [muddy]of AUNT BOILS
6 Stupid way Cymbeline ends? (5)
INANE : The way Cymbeline ends? IN, AN, E
9 The right time to repent? (5)
ATONE : The right time to repent? AT, ONE
10 Team’s diet needs shaking up, it’s thought (9)
ESTIMATED : Anagram [shaking up] of TEAM’S DIET
11 Drunk, adversely affected by sport (3,5,3,4)
THE WORSE FOR WEAR : A straight definition followed by a cryptic one relying on ‘sport = wear’
13 Couple allowed to form band (8)
BRACELET : BRACE (couple), LET (allowed)
14 Gravedigger has lewd message being broadcast (6)
SEXTON : SEXT (lewd message), ON (being broadcast)
16 Small group welcoming learner, naturally bright (6)
SUNLIT : S (small), UNIT (group) containing [welcoming] L (learner)
18 Nice policeman? (8)
GENDARME : Cryptic chestnut
21 Unfortunate year for the classically inclined? (5,10)
ANNUS HORRIBILIS : Cryptic definition. 1992 was the year when HMQ used this in a speech, bringing it to the attention of the masses. A lot worse has happened to her since then.
23 For Poirot, some trouble following each villain (9)
DESPERADO : DES (some, for Poirot), PER (each), ADO (trouble). Poirot was actually Belgian but there’s no evidence he spoke Flemish so the French word will suffice.
25 Woman with next to nothing as it happens (5)
OLIVE : 0 (nothing), LIVE (as it happens)
26 Criticise rubbish written about case for Arkansas (5)
ROAST : ROT (rubbish) containing [written about] A{rkansa}S [case]
27 Error in commentator’s position on left (9)
OVERSIGHT : OVER (left), then SIGHT sounds like [commentator’s] “site” (position)
Down
1 A bit aloof? (5)
APART : A, PART (bit)
2 Promiscuous girl in fleece, one out of control? (5,6)
LOOSE CANNON : LOOSE (promiscuous), then ANN (girl) contained by [in] CON (fleece – swindle)
3 One’s for skipping execution? (3,4)
THE ROPE : Two meanings. SOED defines ‘the rope’ as ‘execution by hanging’ and gives the example: ‘Some of them had left the cell for the rope or the firing squad’.
4 Plant almost mature by Resurrection time (8)
OLEASTER : OL{d} (mature) [almost], EASTER (Resurrection time). Biffers may have tried the more familiar OLEANDER first.
5 With drugs around, posh chap exploded (3,3)
SET OFF : E‘S (drugs) reversed [around], TOFF (posh chap)
6 Duck swimmer secretly shows off (7)
IMMERSE : Hidden [shows off] in {sw}IMMER SE{cretly}
7 Sailor‘s behind, a pink one? (3)
AFT : A, FT (pink one – Financial Times). ‘In, near or towards the stern of a ship’. The FT is printed on pink paper and I believe in some quarters is referred to as ‘the pink one’.
8 Ran nude around church, showing stamina (9)
ENDURANCE : Anagram [around] of RAN NUDE, then CE (church)
12 Fascinating all-nighter, breaking up around noon (11)
ENTHRALLING : Anagram [breaking up] of ALL NIGHTER containing [around] N (noon)
13 Witness Her Majesty supporting Times point of view (9)
BYSTANDER : BY (times), STAND (point of view), ER (Her Majesty)
15 Female auditor a little frightening (8)
FEARSOME : F (female), EAR (auditor) SOME (a little)
17 Look at cricket perhaps, quietly absorbed (7)
INSPECT : INSECT (cricket perhaps) with P (quietly) contained [absorbed]
19 Suspect friend heading north has debt notices (7)
DUBIOUS : BUD (friend) reversed [heading north], IOU‘S (debt notices). A more generous setter might have given us ‘American friend’.
20 Painter inspired by cooks making fish (6)
DORADO : RA (painter) contained [inspired] by DO + DO (cooks). This rare fish has come up only once before in the TfTT era, in one of Dean’s Sunday puzzles and I didn’t know it then either. ‘Do’ for ‘cook’ may seem a little strange but ‘done’ for ‘cooked’ is common enough.
22 Constituency wife held for Labour (5)
SWEAT : W (wife) contained [held] by SEAT (constituency – in parliamentary terminology).
24 Quarrel noisily in Baden-Baden? (3)
SPA : SPA sounds like [noisily] “spar” (quarrel)

64 comments on “Times Cryptic 27734”

  1. My LOI was THE ROPE too. I’m not sure quite why “AT ONE” is the right time, although it didn’t hold me up at all since ATONE was obvious. No problem with DORADO since there is dorade in French and it was the name of a famous computer too.
    1. The question mark implies that you can’t take the wordplay too literally.
      1. Thanks for responding before I got to it. Yes, it could just as easily have been ‘the wrong time to repent?’ or ‘a good or bad time..?’
  2. Home in 24 minutes. Saved by DORADO having appeared elsewhere in only the last few days, otherwise I doubt I would have worked out 20d. I liked the surfaces too, particularly the pink sailor’s behind, the nude run around the church and the aunt boiling the muddy washing.
  3. It took me a while to see how INANE worked, taking ‘way’ to be separate from the E (PATHE?). AFT was my POI; I needed the A and T, and then I recalled the pink paper. LOOSE CANNON and SEXTON biffed, parsed afterwards. SPA ditto; it always takes me time to get the non-rhotic homophones. LOI DORADO; and it’s only because I knew the fish that I got it from _ORA_O, wondering to the last if ‘cooks’ was DO + DO. C0D to AFT.
  4. Not sure what took me so long. Actually, I am: the anagrams. My anagram brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders which slowed me down incredibly.
  5. 30 minutes but I had tie rope.
    Sexton and dorado were not put in with 100% confidence.

    This year is definitely a 21. I am cancelling my flight today so no flight home this summer to see family and celebrate my girls’ birthdays.

    COD IMMERSE.

  6. LOI was DORADO, while still wondering how DO DO could be cooks. D’oh! Thanks, Jackkt.
  8. I was going to extend my campaign against obscure birds to include obscure fish, but actually DORADO was the only clue that gave me any pause for thought today. I’m not a fast solver, but had this done in less than 20 minutes, a time that seems unexpectedly compettitive.
    1. Three in an hour = championship material. See you there (in whatever year that may next be)!
  9. 1A went straight in today which is often a sign of an easier puzzle and like yesterday, so it proved again today. With a rating of 61 on the SNITCH I expect there might be some PBs.

    So far this year is shaping up as annus horribilis maximus (with apologies to Latin speakers).

  10. At 19 minutes, I found this a smidge easier than yesterday’s. Like bletchleyreject I was grateful for 20d DORADO having come up in Another Place recently (or should I say Another Plaice?) and everything else was fairly straightforward.

    Oddly I think I was most held up by parsing 6d IMMERSE, so I shall call it “cunningly hidden” rather than calling myself an idiot.

  11. 16 minutes today, with fingers crossed for DORADO, which I must have known deep down. COD to the clever INANE. I thought it would be THE ROPE on my first run through but didn’t enter it until I’d performed my ABLUTIONS. I found this pretty easy but enjoyable. Thank you Jack and setter.
  12. …The Sexton toll’d the bell.
    20 mins pre-brekker. Very enjoyable and nicely done crossword.
    Mostly I liked the wife holding the labour seat.
    Thanks setter and J.
    1. If only Mr.& Mrs.Elphicke (news this week) had been Socialists – I do like a topical clue !
  13. 10:54. I hesitated over DORADO, THE ROPE and SPA and wasted time (as I’m sure the setter intended)trying to solve an anagram for 11A. COD to ABLUTIONS.
  14. Jet propelled, my quickest time for ages, finished before my coffee cooled. Straight through from 1A to 22D without a pause, that only happens to me once a year, mirablilis.
  15. 15 minutes on the dot. I had two entries which slowed things up: LOOSE LIVING at 2d which fits everything except the wordplay, and MEDITATES at 10 (I was working my way straight through the across clues) only wondering why the S was on the end when the definition was just “thought”.

    OVERSIGHT works perfectly well without the “left”, which also gave me pause for thought wondering where to put the L.

    I put in SEXTON wondering what hideous homophone (being broadcast) could account for TON as message.

    Liked the INANE clue, though it’s probably been done before, and the reminder the fish gave of the English/Spanish soap disaster which we immediately called El Dora do.

    Entertaining blog “full of wise saws and modern instances” – I’m on a Shakespeare kick at the moment bingeing the RSC’s Culture in Quarantine series on the Beeb. Sumptuous

  16. Simples. Some nice images of aunts boiling washing and nudes running round a church. Knew DORADO so no problem there.
  17. Quite Monday-ish for a Tuesday, which is fine by me. Slight delays for reasons already well covered – and a pause to wonder if this is the first time that the venerable Times puzzle has alluded to sexting – but my only major hold-up came because I’d typed in LOSSE CANNON, which meant 9ac took a bit longer than it should have done.
  18. 45mins for this gentle romp which I enjoyed. FOI ABLUTIONS, LOI SEXTON for some peculiar reason. Just couldn’t see it. COD to INANE.
    Thank you Jackkt and setter.
  19. … but chuckled as I filled them in. Good fun. COD to AFT even though it stuck out a mile (the clue that is).
  21. I forgot to watch the clock so checking my entry took me just over the 20 minute mark.
    Thank you Jack, for clearing up the question marks I had such as how OVERSIGHT, AFT and SEXTON work.
    I liked the similar devices used in INANE and ATONE.
    I also enjoyed DORADO and SPA but my COD goes to ANNUS HORRIBILIS.

    THE ROPE reminded me of that very good movie about Albert Pierrepoint, the hangman which starred Timothy Spall.

  23. Baffled by SEXTON and now I know why. Held up at the end by THE ROPE and ATONE, which used up at least 5 mins of my 21 mins.
  24. Around the time that he was performing his best, it was often pointed out that Usain Bolt is an anagram of ablutions, and much was made of this in crossword clues. How quickly people forget, evidently.
    1. My mind goes back to the heady days of the 90s when setters realised that Britney Spears was an anagram of PRESBYTERIANS.
  25. Started off with APART. A biffed MEDITATED(already had ENDURANCE and didn’t check the anagrist properly until IMMERSE arrived) held up SET OFF. Took a while to see ABLUTIONS, but that gave me LOOSE CANNON, and allowed me to complete the NW, leaving _ORA_O. I eventually put in DORADO, which seemed very vaguely to remind me of a fish, but I had no idea what DODO was doing. 28:09. Thanks setter and Jack.
  26. Oh no!

    This was going to be, by quite a bit, a PB for me in 3m 26s – but I carelessly wrote ANNUS HORRIBILUS rather than ANNUS HORRIBILIS. Devastating! And even worse because it came up in another crossword very recently (where I got it right!).

    An easy crossword but with some absolutely lovely clues, AFT possibly my favourite.

    1. Same mistake here. I feel your pain, although my time would have been somewhat slower than yours.
    2. Ouch! I feel the sting so much more when I make an error on “an easy one”… but of course they’re harder to get 100% correct really, because there’s less time to reflect over everything.

      I shall keep a seat in the front row of Solvers Arena warm for you, come occupy it tomorrow.

  27. 10:22, with a pause at the end over THE ROPE. There just didn’t seem quite enough to it so I suspected I was missing something.
    No problems otherwise, and no unknowns.
  28. 1across was a nice easy start with an amusing image.

    Good to break the TMB (Ten Minute Barrier) without any errors. Last two in were SUNLIT and SEXTON with COD: SUNLIT.


  29. What everyone else said, really.Enjoyable and straightforward.

    24.44

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

    Dave.

  30. Pleasant, easy, several write-ins, 20 minutes. LOI 24d SPA as it was one letter at the end, was thinking how is SPAT for quarrel reduced, didn’t like it as a homophone.
  31. 23 minutes, over twice yesterday’s time, though the puzzles seem about the same level. As long as the rate doesn’t continue. I rather like 7’s surface. From a distance. Otherwise the clues are neat enough in their way but generally unmemorable. 1 across of course is refreshingly dodgy in these hyper-PC days. joekobi
  32. I just know DORADO (and pompano) from beach resorts of that name, currently getting pounded by hurricane Isaias. Maybe Isaias could pay a call on Mar-a-Lago while he’s at it. I rarely get in under 10 but my only pause was a slight confusion a la Z with the wording of 27a although the answer was clear. 9.32
  33. My first times crossword fully completed. I had 90 percent of yesterdays.
    All this time sat on the geothermal well is paying off!
    This blog has been invaluable in helping me in the past

    enthralling was also in the telegraph yesterday

    1. Many congrats, Anon. Glad the blogs are helpful. Please post a name, real or imaginary at the end of anon texts so we can tell you from other Anons. Or better still sign up for a free Live Journal account and give yourself an official user name and avatar.
        1. Welcome, siashjoe. Now the fun can start properly! Looking forward to hearing more from you.
  34. MEDITATES also fitted 10a and held me up for a while until I saw OLEASTER.

    SEXTON wouldn’t come to me for some time at the end.

  35. 12:38. Another quick one. Fun though. Slight delay caused by putting in meditates but quickly corrected as I solved oleaster next and saw that it had to be estimated.
  36. For some reason, I didn’t find yesterday’s as easy as many of you, but today was just fine. I had a similar experience with both the quickie and the biggie today, in that I belted (not bolted) along in a good time, only to waste several minutes at the end, trying to sort out the few remaining blanks.

    There was a lot to smile at here, with ticks going next to ABLUTIONS, AFT and ATONE – maybe I should have put asterisks next to them then I would have 3 A*s! Although I’m not remotely rhotic, I really don’t think spar and SPA are quite the same. But, as we know, homonyms are always debatable. My troublesome trio were ATONE, SEXTON and THE ROPE. No problem with DORADO – I’ve eaten it abroad, and at home under the name Mahi-mahi, which I only discovered today is the same thing. Very nice, whatever you call it.

    FOI Oleaster
    LOI Atone
    COD Inane
    Time 31 minutes

    Many thanks setter and Jack

  38. not my cup of tea this one. didn’t enjoy the rope or atone which seemed very odd. I also couldn’t spell annus horribilis correctly, and I dislike clues where you can’t use the clue to help with spelling
    dorado my LOI
    hopefully normal level of enjoyment will be resumed tomorrow
    thanks blogger
  39. 10.35. For one glorious moment thought I might be on for a sub 10 minutes. Then got stuck on inane until the penny dropped. Probably biased due to that but I’m nominating that clue for COD.
    Lots to like in this puzzle and pleasing to get the horticultural and French references , though they weren’t too demanding.
    Will HM be seeking royalties for the AH reference?
  40. Lots to like in this one, particularly AFT, INANE and ROAST which all made me smile.
    I struggled with THE WORSE FOR WEAR as I hadn’t thought of the ‘wear’ meaning of ‘sport’ and BYSTANDER took me a while too as I hadn’t twigged the ‘by’ and ‘times’ connection. Some more words to be added to my crossword hints list!
    For ATONE I thought of A-one around the ‘T’ but not sure whether this can be interpreted as ‘right’.
    I was interrupted today but finished in just over 30 minutes.
    Thanks to the setter and to Jack.

    Edited at 2020-08-04 04:17 pm (UTC)

  41. 18:51 so about half my average time, just held up by sexton. Not sure why I was so much quicker than normal. Saw dorado quickly once I had oversight and everything else seemed reasonably straightforward. My classical grammar school education (Latin A level) helped with the spelling of horribilis but I can see why others fell into the “…us” trap. Thanks to setter and blogger as ever.
  42. fell into the meditates/estimated anagram hole, which held up proceedings. NHO DORADO as a fish, so this was LOI and entered without confidence, fully expecting pink squares, but relieved to have a clear round.

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