Times Cryptic 27812

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 23 minutes. Somewhat easier than average but I enjoyed it as it was quite varied. I hesitate to suggest it as I have disagreed with a couple of recent recommendatioins made by others, but I think this one may be suitable for QC-ers wishing to have a go at a Biggie.

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 Star cooped up, putting on some weight (9)
PENTAGRAM : PENT (cooped up), A GRAM (some weight). By convention in an Across clue ‘A on B = BA’ but it seems this doesn’t apply if instead of ‘on’ we have ‘putting on’.
6 Plant parasite almost engulfing top of tree (5)
LOTUS : LOUS{e} (parasite) [almost] containing [engulfing] T{ree} [top]. We’ve seen rather too much of this plant in recent weeks.
9 Dignified female author holding sway (7)
DOWAGER : DOER (author) containing [holding] WAG (sway). I looked twice at ‘author’ as ‘doer’ but ‘author’ can be someone who causes something to happen and I think that covers it.
10 Radical change sees tribal leader quoted in court (5-2)
SHAKE-UP : SHAKE sounds like [quoted] ” sheikh” (tribal leader), UP (in court). “Up before the beak” and all that sort of jargon). This can also be prounced ‘sheek’ so the clue it won’t work for some.
11 Philosopher a product of Yale, they say (5)
LOCKE : Sounds like [they say] “lock” (a product of Yale – geddit?). Possibly Crosswordland’s favourite philosopher.
12 Eccentric   offering of a tea shop? (9)
FRUITCAKE : Two meanings. “Cut and come again cake ” as my old Auntie used to call it.
13 Upset teacher grabbing unmarried mum (8)
BOTHERED : BED (teacher – Bachelor of Education)  containing [grabbing] {m} OTHER (mum) [unmarried – remove ‘m’]
14 Losing power, call Hebridean destination (4)
SKYE : SKY{p}E (call) [losing power]. I spent a week there once long before the bridge was built.
17 Supporter heading west astride a horse (4)
ARAB : BRA (supporter) reversed [heading west] containing [astride] A. Nice to see the oldest chestnuts are still in circulation.
18 Health hazard in the Commons? Run for it! (8)
HOUSEFLY : HOUSE (House of Commons ), FLY (run for it). I think at the moment the humans there are more of a hazard to health than any flies.
21 School actors in retreat concerning programme maker (9)
PODCASTER : POD (school), CAST (actors), then RE (concerning) reversed [in retreat]
22 A long time going round the Colosseum? (5)
ARENA : AN + ERA ( a + long time) reversed [going round]
24 Beer drinking backbencher maybe on English vote: it’s a warning (7)
EXAMPLE : E (English), X (vote), then ALE (beer) containing [drinking] MP (backbencher maybe). The ‘on’ convention still alive and well!
25 Produce books devoured by grumpy old woman (4,3)
TROT OUT : OT (books – Old Testament) contained [devoured] by TROUT (grumpy old woman). What are grumpy old men called?
26 Less than 50% of women do without support financially (5)
ENDOW : Hidden in [less than 50% of] {wom}EN DO W{ithout}. 35.71% actually.
27 Who’ll guide a dreamer lost without plan at first? (3,6)
MAP READER : Anagram [lost] of A DREAMER containing [without] P{lan} [at first]
Down
1 Perhaps clutch ring worn by daughter (5)
PEDAL : PEAL (ring) contains [worn by] D (daughter)
2 Constable collection can be seen here (3,8,4)
NEW SCOTLAND YARD : Cryptic
3 Island of our forebears eerily empty (8)
ANGLESEY : ANGLES (our forebears), E{eril}Y [empty]
4 Dire fare cooked only for a few (8)
RAREFIED : Anagram [cooked] of DIRE FARE
5 Place of learning and inspiration? Let me see (6)
MUSEUM : MUSE (inspiration), UM (let me see)
6 Shelter provided by social worker in house (4-2)
LEAN-TO : ANT (social worker) contained by [in] LEO (house – sign of the Zodiac)
7 Remote spot: D for the cruciverbalist? (3,4,2,6)
THE BACK OF BEYOND : One of those self-referencing clues. ‘For the cruciverbalist’ THE BACK OF BEYOND is ‘D’.
8 Very like a member of a Motown group? (9)
SUPREMELY : A definition plus a cryptic hint, The Supremes being the Motown group in question
13 Damn shame pleb’s on the loose (9)
BLASPHEME : Anagram [on the loose] of SHAME PLEB’S
15 Where you might be kept waiting for a bit of bread? (8)
DOORSTEP : Two meanings, the second being a big chunk of bread as in the term ‘doorsteps and jam’. Mention of this and ‘cut and come again’ cake takes me right back to childhood teatimes!
16 Cut pace and lose out (8)
ESCALOPE : Anagram [out] of PACE LOSE. Cut of meat.
19 Repeatedly manhandle fruit (6)
PAWPAW : PAW (manhandle) + PAW [repeatedly]
20 Become angry about Republican surge (6)
STREAM : STEAM (become angry) containing [about] R (Republican). I wonder of the setter knew this would be published today and it could turn out to be prescient!
23 Wife leaving layabout, one often found in bed? (5)
ASTER : {w}ASTER (layabout) [wife leaving]

61 comments on “Times Cryptic 27812”

  1. Although there are a couple of QCish clues–2d, 17ac, 22ac for instance–this is still rated a lot harder by SNITCH than yesterday’s. DNK TROUT, and had TURN OUT for a longish while, even though I couldn’t, of course, make anything of it. I was slowed down especially by POI BOTHERED and LOI SHAKE-UP: it took me ages to see the BED and then ‘unmarried’; and although I thought of SHAKE-UP early on, I pronounce it ‘sheek’ (although I know the ‘shake’ pronunciation, of course), and was taking ‘tribal leader’ to be T. It was only when I’d given up and was about to biff and be damned that it came to me. damn=BLASPHEME?

    Edited at 2020-11-03 01:58 am (UTC)

  2. I wavered between O and E for my LOI DOORSTEP, but happened to guess correctly for a 27 minute solve. I agree that the more general use of the term ‘author’ makes DOER acceptable in 9a. I liked the ‘Dire fare cooked’ for RAREFIED at 4d.

    I know it’s not really a gender or age-specific word, but a “curmudgeon” is what comes to mind when I think of a ‘grumpy old man’. Personally, just about there, but not quite.

    1. If my ex-partner was to be believed (and that stretches credibility somewhat) I achieved curmudgeonhood 12 years or so ago.
  3. Gosh, I found this tough! Would have definitely been faster if I’d known it was NEW, and not THE SCOTLAND YARD. In many cases, like Kevin, I thought I had the answer but couldn’t justify it convincingly by the wordplay. That was the case for TROT OUT, BOTHERED, LEAN-TO, SHAKE-UP, and DOWAGER, all of which I’d considered many minutes earlier. ANGLESEY, ESCALOPE, BEYOND, and others were also tough, as I simply didn’t know them and had to go for something reasonable-sounding. Any puzzle with ‘author’ = DOER is probably going to take me a long time, even when DOWAGER is practically biffable.

    Jackkt, I believe 8’s definition is ‘very’.

  4. POI TROT OUT
    LOI DOORSTEP

    Collins has the definition “an irritating or grumpy person” for “trout,” non-gender-specific, but Oxford/Lexico adds “especially a woman.”

    Edited at 2020-11-03 07:10 pm (UTC)

  6. I managed to fail epically today, coming up with a misspelt RARIFIED, a stupid DOORSTOP and an unparsed MOSQUE as a place of learning. My excuse is I’m getting my errors out of the way before the championship. Speaking of which I’ve noticed Magoo’s absence from the leaderboard recently. Does anyone know why? I know it’s been suggested in previous years that he practices solving on paper coming up to the championship but he’d be wasting his time if that’s what he’s doing this year!
    1. I’m glad i wasn’t the only one to fail with “rarified”. Fortunately, I had the good sense to consult Mrs S on the M_S_U_ clue (with “mosque” pencilled in). She, of course, immediately suggested MUSEUM to save me from that error.

      Good luck for the championship. Perhaps Verlaine can hope that Magoo is too busy solving various forms of Sudoku to maintain his cryptic acuity, but I suspect he will be disappointed.

      1. And another one with RARIFIED. Shame as I finished in 11:05 with no hold ups, LOI TROT OUT.
  7. Easy after yesterday, Jack!? Mr. Snitch and I disagree (75-103 presently). QC Brigades stand well clear! I don’t enjoy lumpy porridge nor lumpen crosswords.

    I found 8dn real problematic – SUPREMES group from Detroit + to a ‘T’ = very like – thus SUPREMEST – SUPREMELY!?? Illogical!

    FOI 11ac LOCKEd and loaded!

    (LOI) 18ac HOUSEFLY a danger to health? In the age of Covid19 seriously? You silly twisted boy, Bluebottle!

    COD None – unless one enjoys 13ac FRUITCAKE from a tea shop, ‘en plastique’. Homemade please!

    WOD 2dn NEW SCOTLAND YARD – Britain – Britain – Britain!

    I note that Trump has finally managed to complete his ‘Wall’ round the White House. But will he ever come out?
    If not Joe Biden should set up shop at Mar-a-Largo.
    The Confederacy of Dunces prevails.
    May Gawd Bless America.

    Edited at 2020-11-03 07:06 am (UTC)

    1. I wondered about ‘housefly’ but found this in Collins so I didn’t dispute the crossword definition:

      housefly – a common dipterous fly, Musca domestica, that frequents human habitations, spreads disease, and lays its eggs in carrion, decaying vegetables, etc: family Muscidae

      I’m not sure I’m even thinking of the right insect but to me a housefly is one of the little ones that flit around silently and apparently harmlessly, unlike the much larger bluebottle that buzzes and zooms around like a thing possessed, and by its very nature looks as if it may be carrying all sorts of diseases. But maybe the little housefly is a more stealthy carrier of disease and just as deadly because it doesn’t draw attention to itself.

      Apparently we’re due a plague of deadly giant hornets any time soon. They’re already in parts of the US and on mainland Europe. Perhaps we should all stay indoors and shut down the economy? Oh, but we’ve already done that!

        1. Back in 1997 just around ‘The Handover’ in HK, I killed a hornet that, I kid you not, was the size of a small remote-control helicopter {hecilopter as my son used to say!} So brave! It must have been a queen! I’ve never seen one after I was handed over to Shanghai.

          Edited at 2020-11-03 01:35 pm (UTC)

  8. …Past the near meadows, over the still Stream.
    20 mins pre-brekker.
    Neat and tidy, nice mix of clues. No crosses, no big ticks.
    If I was being supremely picky, I might have a MER at “sees” being the link word next to the 10ac homophone. We specifically don’t see the tribal leader, we hear him.
    Thanks setter and J.
  9. I can only hope that my increasing times over recent weeks are because the editor is ramping up the difficulty as we head towards the championships, but I suppose 38 minutes isn’t too bad. I rather wish I’d been solving electronically all this time so I could make a little graph of my progress, but I like paper and I’m too lazy to record my times manually…

    Anyway. FOI 11a LOCKE after despairing a bit with the first few, LOI 21a PODCASTER, somewhat shamefully, given how many podcasts I listen to. COD 13a BOTHERED for its “unmarried mum”.

  10. 10:47. I didn’t get many on the first pass through the acrosses, but the downs fairly flew in. COD to ESCALOPE for the surface mis-direction.
  11. 32 minutes. LOI to PODCASTER. COD to THE BACK OF BEYOND. Some leaps of faith needed from time to time but enjoyable, to be remembered as a good thing. I think that was just Diana Ross without The Supremes but otherwise it works. Thank you Jack and setter.
  12. Well I must have been on the wavelength today as all done in 29 mins, hoorah.FOI LOTUS, LOI BOTHERED which took me my last few mins to see. Tricky clue in MHO. COD to THE BACK OF BEYOND which I very much liked. Odd to see the word VOTE in today’s clues, of all days. Or perhaps not! What is going to happen over there? Thank you Jack as ever and setter.
  14. This tested my crosswording power
    For roughly one half of one hour
    So some brain exercise
    And a mild eyebrow rise
    At two islands and two types of flower
  15. If you pick a pawpaw or a prickly pear,
    And you prick a raw paw, the next time beware.

    Baloo

  17. Not too much trouble today, luckily I knew RAREFIED was a trickily-spelled word.

    COD: PENTAGRAM, nice surface.

    Yesterday’s answer: CONVERSATIONALISTS/CONSERVATIONALISTS is one of the longest one-word anagrams.

    Today’s question: Skye is the fourth largest of the British Isles, but what is the third most populous, after Great Britain and Ireland (this is a surprisingly difficult question)?

    1. This is a good question, as it makes me realise I don’t think I know the answer. My instinct is that some of the Scottish islands may be larger, but less populated than the Isles of Man or Wight. I am also now thinking of a quiz staple i.e. Britain’s only island city, which is less obviously an island, but quite possibly the most densely populated one on the list (name redacted so as not to give it away, if it’s the answer).

      In short, I don’t know.

      1. One’s left the main country borders, here (7,6)

        Or…

        It’s pros and ale, at sea (7,6)

        Edited at 2020-11-03 02:25 pm (UTC)

    3. Um, conservationalist isn’t a word? According to 3 online and 3 treeware dictionaries. Even Chambers (whose editors make up words at random) don’t include it.
  18. Definitely bucking the trends: Like Jack I found this one easier than yesterday’s and solved in less than 13 minutes, though PENTAGRAM and ANGLESEY resisted to the end.
    RAREFIED is one of those words I’m vert conscious of not knowing how to spell, so checked our the anagram fodder with care.
  19. One of those days where I carefully considered making a mistake or two and happily managed to think better of it: first I was glad that RAREFIED was an anagram, as I think I’ve erred there before, so like Santa Claus, I made a list and checked it twice (sorry, I know it’s far too early to be mentioning the C word); second, I biffed MOSQUE then quickly undid it on the very straightforward grounds that it made no sense (pretty obvious, but another thing I don’t always do).
  21. endowed by the ruined millionaire…

    Didn’t find this easy and ended with a bemused doorstop so a dnf in 32’50. I hope the rarefied knowledge of the wider musical world rattling round inside ‘supremely’ isn’t going to be taken more and more as a given. Regarding ‘trout’ I wonder if the Times really should be okaying the usage.

  22. ….and had no real problems, despite another slow start, so it was “Yesterday Once More” I suppose. Does one actually find constables at NEW SCOTLAND YARD, or is it just the upper echelons of The Met ?

    FOI ARENA
    LOI DOORSTEP
    COD SKYE
    TIME 10:53

    1. The oldest existing English ‘high position’ is ‘Constable of the Tower of London’ (Old Scotland Yard)

      Edited at 2020-11-03 01:30 pm (UTC)

  23. Yes, I disagree that this was easy – modern words such as SKY(P)E and PODCASTER seem unusual in this setting. I couldn’t really get up any momentum and trudged in underwhelmed at just under 50 mins. Maybe a wavelength thing, but some days, my brain just misses tricks such as the ‘unmarried mum’ used in BOTHERED.

    Sometimes if it seems particularly tough, I check the SNITCH to see if I’m on par – it was 96 when I checked after 30 mins and only half the grid done, so 50 mins seems about right for me.

  24. Having biffed LEADER for the second word at 27a, I forgot to revisit and parse the clue properly when I got the MAP part, so finished up with a time of 23:10 and a pink square. Drat! Thanks setter and Jack.
  25. Worked steadily through this expecting another ANCIENT but it never came. Almost disappointed by the sudden completion.
    The only one I biffed was ENDOW where I didn’t see the hidden (I hate that).
    I was also relieved that my interpretation of OTHER being a significant OTHER was wrong!
  26. This came in on the easier side of the ledger for me although I started out with Alderney at 3d for some reason and had to sort that out. We haven’t seen the supporter in 17a for such a long time it took me a while to spot it. 15.09
    1. I too was in your Bailiwick, for some reason!

      I note that POTUS lost the first declared result at Dixville Notch NH, five-love.
      Way to go!

      Edited at 2020-11-03 01:41 pm (UTC)

  28. I found this surprisingly do-able. A few clues solved before a visit to the dentist. Pre-appointment nerves seemed to give me a spark so I did a lot of filling in before the dentist did his filling in.
    And completed on my return; well under an hour all told. FOI 2d, gave a lot of letters. LOI HOUSEFLY; I paused to correct Horsefly thank goodness.
    I liked SKYE and PODCASTER but COD to MUSEUM (closed from Thursday).
    David
  29. Another silly error. doorstop for doorstep, although I seem to remember the big chunks of bread being called doorstoppers (not in Chambers, mind you, which clearly has step being bread, stop being anything heavy). Must be more careful. Doesn’t bode all that well for champs, if my machine is up to speed…
  30. No bother with this one, although the last few in the SE corner took as long as the first many. 24 minutes. liked 3d and 7d.
  31. 28.25 after a bit of a struggle , particularly in the SW corner. Not helped by recognising the anagram at 19 dn but omitting the b in the jumble of letters- that made a solution rather difficult. FOI pentagram, LOI bothered. liked podcaster and trot out. Despite their appeal, my COD was doorstep, oh the happy memories. Yum.

    Before I forget, held up a little more by rarefied , I thought there were two Is!

  33. I slowly worked my way through most of this, but pulled stumps with a few gaps in the NW corner, not including Dowager. I also had Horsefly – more of a hazard than a housefly, but then I can think of far worse than either in the current HoC… Invariant
  34. A 30 minute DNF for me. I found it something of a struggle and came up with the same rarified error as others, should’ve checked the anagrist, I also had doorstops instead of doorsteps. There was a sandwich bar called doorsteps in Liverpool city centre about 25 years ago which stayed open late to catch the post pub and club trade, serving up huge hunks of crusty bread, doorstep sarnies. I should’ve remembered it.
  35. Another doorstop but otherwise a reasonably straightforward solve save for being held up by not seeing Anglesey and being unable to parse dowager.
  36. we always called them ‘doorstops’ not doorsteps growing up in the antipodes. Is this a regional thing? A 17min solve spoilt by a pink square.

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