Times Cryptic 27824

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

I had most of this done within 40 minutes but three or four answers held out against my best efforts taking me close to an hour when I finally gave up and used aids for the last one. I knew the word but was unable to bring it to mind because the wordplay relied on a total obscurity (i.e. a word I never heard of).

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 Turning on water supply, likely to bottle it, being mature (2,6,7)
NO SPRING CHICKEN : ON (reversed) [turning], SPRING, (water supply), CHICKEN (likely to bottle it – cowardly)
9 Thus, playing D and E flat around piano, it creates effect on one? (4,5)
SOFT PEDAL : SO (thus), then anagram [playing] of D E FLAT containing [around] P (piano)
10 Not all occupy London’s tower (5)
PYLON : Hidden in [not all] {occu}PY LON{don’s}
11 Respecting boy fencing area in grounds (6)
REASON : RE (respecting) + SON (boy) containing [fencing] A (area)
12 Proof of competence? Officials won’t have tons (8)
DIPLOMAS : DIPLOMA{t}S (officials) [won’t have tons – t]. Not necessarily a proof of competence in my experience, more an ability to pass exams, so I was glad to see the question mark.
13 Large number in the Moroccan property I own (6)
MYRIAD : MY (…I own), RIAD (Moroccan property). SOED has: riad – in Morocco, a large traditional house built around a central courtyard, often converted into a hotel. Never ‘eard of it. This was the clue I gave up on as I was unable to biff the answer and I had no idea where the wordplay was leading.
15 Outside hotel, salesmen knocked back drink (8)
SPRITZER : REPS (salesmen) reversed [knocked back] containing [outside] RITZ (hotel)
18 Some not so awful crimes could be fascinating (8)
MESMERIC : {so}ME [not ‘so’], anagram [awful] of CRIMES
19 Playing well at the moment, do some singing? (6)
INFORM : IN FORM (playing well at the moment). Another that delayed me although I got there eventually. I’d say ‘on form’ rather than ‘in form’. ‘Singing’ in the sense of informing on someone.
21 Perhaps a rhinestone is a national symbol (8)
SHAMROCK : SHAM ROCK (perhaps a rhinestone). Rhinestone is an artificial gem cut to imitate a diamond. I’ve seen this wordplay before.
23 Carouse as of old, hiding whiskey in mug, say (6)
ASSAIL : {w}ASSAIL (carouse as of old) [hiding whiskey]. ‘Mug’ as in street crime.
26 Eastern dynasty maintains western pronunciation (5)
TWANG : TANG (Eastern dynasty) contains [maintains] W (western). Lionel Bart’s ‘Robin Hood’ musical that bombed and set him on the road to ruin before eventually Abbey National commercials and Sir Cameron Mackintosh reversed his fortune a little towards the end of his life .
27 Encroaching characters may be written thus (9)
INCURSIVE : Characters – letters – may be written IN CURSIVE script. Joined up writing.
28 How tennis ace could be described in decisive moment (5,2,2,6)
POINT OF NO RETURN : A cryptic hint precedes the main definition. My last blogged puzzle contained a reference to ‘crossing the Rubicon’, a more figurative description of such a moment.
Down
1 Remedy in no way unusual (7)
NOSTRUM : NO, ST (way), RUM (unusual). A medicinal compound; most efficacious perhaps?
2 Capital of India with place to park behind housing (5)
SOFIA : SOFA (place to park behind) containing [housing] I (India – NATO alphabet). On its own worth the price of admission!
3 Rake in money coming back that expert divides (9)
REPROBATE : PRO (expert) contained by [divides] REBATE (money coming back). I think we may be in DBE territory here.
4 An indefinite number of lines in intersection (4)
NODE : N (an indefinite number), ODE (lines)
5 Name that is inspiring work of art? (8)
CALLIOPE : &lit. CALL (name), then IE (that is) containing [inspiring] OP (work). The muse of epic poetry. Her name came up only last week clued with reference to the steam organ named after her. ‘Beautifully voiced’ is the literal translation.
6 Drive English leader around in centre of Basildon (5)
IMPEL :E (English) + PM (leader) reversed [around] contained by [in] {bas}IL{don} [centre]
7 Priest breaking wind instrument in US city (9)
KALAMAZOO : LAMA (priest) contained by [breaking] KAZOO (wind instrument). Only known to me via the Glen Miller song, here performed with the fabulous Nicholas Brothers. I recommend watching to the very end.
8 One avoiding consumption that could make nose run (7)
NONUSER : Anagram of [could make] NOSE RUN
14 Emperor runs a hunting trip that saves time (3,6)
RAS TAFARI : R (runs), A, then SAFARI (hunting trip) contains [that saves] T (time)
16 No need to pay for bed and board in this island (9)
INNISFREE : INN IS FREE (no need to pay for bed and board). Two islands, actually, off the coast of Donegal. That’s Innishfree; see comments below for the correct reference.
17 Spymaster has the leading role in roguery (8)
MISCHIEF : M (spymaster – James Bond’s boss), IS CHIEF (has the leading role)
18 Girl recalled caress in an ill-advised move (7)
MISSTEP : MISS (girl), then PET (caress) reversed [recalled]
20 Ruminate on a German flower (7)
MULLEIN : MULL (ruminate], EIN (a, German]. I didn’t know this one, but worked it out.
22 Clever releasing B side (5)
RIGHT : {b}RIGHT (clever) [releasing B]
24 It’s time to split up gold-plated cube (5)
ADIEU : DIE (cube) contained [plated] by AU (gold)
25 Green skirts hot for nymph (4)
ECHO : ECO (green) contains [skirts] H (hot)

56 comments on “Times Cryptic 27824”

    1. I was actually looking for RIAD when I saw the clue. It has been ‘good’ in Scrabble for a few years now, which is how I knew it (can’t afford not to know one’s 4LW)
  2. Looks like you have double-posted. I got off to a quick start but a slow finish, with DIPLOMAS being the last one in. 11:24
  3. I guessed MYRIAD from the R; I’ve been in Morocco 3 or 4 times, and now that I read the definition RIAD sounds ever so vaguely familiar, but still this is a Mephisto clue. DNK MULLEIN, but like Jack, worked it out. At 16d, I was thinking of Yeats’s Lake Isle of Innisfree in County Sligo, and I suspect the setter was too: the Donegal islands are spelled Inishfree. Definitely COD to SOFIA. Thanks for the link, Jack; I’m ashamed to say I’d never heard of, let alone seen, the Nicholas Brothers.

    Edited at 2020-11-17 02:43 am (UTC)

  4. I raced through this and then couldn’t see MYRIAD. So I did an alphabet trawl (should have started at the end and worked backwards!). But I’ve never heard of RIAD but I put it in without much confidence. The rest went in easily, even RAS TAFARI which I got entirely from the wordplay. I vaguely remember him coming up before but I’d completely forgotten. Then I remembered Rastafarians and remembered it is another name for Hailie Selassie. I had the same problem as vinyl1 thinking immediately of WASSAIL but realizing it didn’t fit. Eventually I twigged it wasn’t the type of mug I was thinking of.
  5. Oh, and Innisfree is not Inishfree. Innisfree is a lake isle on Lough Gill. It’s in the title of the Yeats poem even, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”. So not off the coast of anywhere.
  6. A silly ‘misspat’ non-word for 18d so a DNF in 38 minutes. Saw MYRIAD pretty quickly, but couldn’t parse it, thinking the RIAD may be the Moroccan currency. I did remember MULLEIN, though only from past appearances in crossword-land and not in real life.

    Happy to be fooled by the ‘Capital of India’. I was beginning to think there may be some mistake when neither ‘rupee’ nor ‘Delhi’ would fit. Excellent “simple little” clue.

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  7. With Des O’Connor gone (Dick-a-dum-dum!), I am beginning to feel my age. And I laboured for all of forty-five minutes. However, it was a pleasant enough puzzle.

    FOI 9ac SOFT PEDAL

    SOI 2dn SOFIA – courtesy of IKEA BULGARIA

    LOI 24dn ADIEU

    COD 21ac SHAMROCK shades of Glen Campbell, the nine-stone dude

    WOD 7dn KALAMAZOO – it’s in the new blue state of Michigan, but not the hometown of Miss Harris, Senator Perdue.

    Edited at 2020-11-17 04:10 am (UTC)

  9. I found much to like today, in particular my COD, POINT OF NO RETURN. I thought that an excellent clue. As with others I got held up at the end by MYRIAD and DIPLOMAS, both of which required alphabet trawls.
  10. Enjoyed this, even though finding my DIPLOMAS took me up to 42 minutes. Also delayed, but not terminally, by MYRIAD—luckily I worked out the MY bit, which was enough to semi-biff it.

    KALAMAZOO must have come up before as I seem to remember this Hoyt Axton song being mentioned (possibly by me), and I seem to recognise MULLEIN, though that might be because one type of it is also called AARON’S ROD, which popped up in 2020.

    FOI 1d NOSTRUM, LOI 12a DIPLOMAS, COD 5d CALLIOPE.

    1. Thanks for posting the Hoyt Axton which I enjoyed though I never heard of him before. He has a great voice for this type of song – reminiscent of Johnny Cash, but in tune!
  11. 13:31 I took a while to spot MYRIADS but it was DIPLOMAS that held me up at the end. I liked SOFT PEDAL and POINT OF NO RETURN. Nice puzzle.
  12. Excellent puzzle with too many clues to recommend as COD but I did like MESMERIC
    LOI was DIPLOMAS as I thought the clue should have said “proof of achievement”, but, as Jack has said, there is a question mark there.
    I didn’t appreciate that CALLIOPE was an &lit so thanks, Jack.
  13. 45 minutes with LOI a biffed MYRIAD, not knowing the Moroccan property. I was also grateful to Glenn Miller for KALAMAZOO, which got me in the mood to tackle the last few sticky ones, a string of pearls. COD to INNISFREE in a very good crossword, sung by Bing rather than written by Yeats. The Evs album was mine, not my Dad’s Thank you Jack and setter.
  14. …and the white Assail shaking,
    And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

    After 30 mins pre-brekker I had the Mesmeric Ras Tafari unfilled. Took me another four.
    NHO Mullein. Mostly I liked the Point of no Return,
    As you poets will see, I have not used the obvious choice today. Anyway…
    …I will arise and go now, and go to…

    1. If I “arise and go now” it usually means I have a hospital appointment (“if you gotta go, oh, you had better go now” !) Otherwise I fall out of bed at any point between 8 and 10am and go nowhere. Bless the lockdown – not !
  15. I didn’t get to this until quite late and was glad that nothing hung me up too long. FOI POINT OF NO RETURN, and then there was no looking back. Had to take “bottle it” on faith; it seemed odd, knowing “bottle” as “courage.” Having “of” in the clue for SOFIA befogged the parsing a while.

    Edited at 2020-11-17 08:23 am (UTC)

  16. Another bird! O flapping hell!
    The MISCHIEF and MISSTEP IMPEL,
    Me to berate the setter
    Please try to do better
    “We wan’t NO SPRING CHICKEN!” I Yell
  17. 12:37, which is very close to my average time. I knew everything except MULLEIN: we stayed in a RIAD in Marrakech many years ago so no problems there.
  18. Excellent crossword. Glad I stopped as I was tempted by ONSONG for 23a which would have made MULLEIN impossible. COD to SOFIA although I enjoyed MESMERIC and MYRIAD.
  19. The north went in with as much speed as pleasure at the excellence of the cluing, though I biffed SOFIA and saw its genius only thanks to Jack. The south took ages, but was equally fine in construction. Just over 40m of sheer enjoyment, thank you setter.
  20. Just over 20 minutes, with DIPLOMAS resisting even at the end and MULLEIN entering as either a river or a bloom, or possibly a Japanese disease of cattle. MYRIAD went in assuming it was a variation on ryal, real, rial and all those other Mediterranean currencies.

    SHAMROCK was slightly annoying, but only because I knew the clue from of old but couldn’t recall the answer.

    CoD? SOFIA! Butt of course!

  21. One or two rather fine moments in this. I was slow to get going, then gradually picked up. Mullein not known: if asked I’d have guessed a window. Have always thought Innisfree would make a great name for a large untidy sort of dog. 27’33.
  22. Much as everyone else. Enjoyed this one with some very clever clues. 45 mins with last two in, INCURSIVE and MULLEIN. Looked a very odd word, but once I had the crossers, it had to be. COD has to be the excellent SOFIA. I liked NO SPRING CHICKEN too, though a bit too close for comfort! Also glad CALLIOPE came up recently as I looked it up then and remembered it for once. As an ex tennis player, I liked 28ac too. Thank you Jack and setter.
  23. Rather like yesterday, but with everything up a level: lots of quite straightforward words, but a sprinkling which gave pause for thought – how large a sprinkling will obviously depend on what you have in the way of “general” knowledge. I was particularly held up on the intersection of REPROBATE (was looking for a synonym for “rake in” for far too long, and MYRIAD (never knowingly encountered the house). Enjoyable as well as educational.
  24. I was slow to get going on this but once I’d pulled off the drive I moved along nicely. All but three done in 20 mins but then those three refused to yield. I need to get better at alphabet trawls. The three refuseniks were Diplomas, Myriad and Ras Tafari.

    I thought some “not so awful” was some of “meh” = me, which I rather liked but thought was a bit of a stretch. Our blogger’s explanation is clearly the correct one.

    COD: 1 across.

  25. very enjoyable. Particularly liked SOFIA, running out of Indian currency once our rupees and annas were exhausted.
  26. The top half flew in as NO SPRING CHICKEN sprang straight into view and its danglers followed. Loved SOFIA! Had one blind spot with DIPLOMAS, which was my LOI after an alphabet trawl and a doh! moment. Didn’t know RIAD but easily guessed it from wordplay and crossers. MULLEIN had to be constructed too. The lower half came together after some mulling over. KALAMAZOO was familiar to me as the home of an accounting system, but also as the home of Gibson Guitars. I had the pleasure of meeting the man who wrote a book about the Kalamazoo Gals, who kept producing guitars(on the quiet) throughout WW2, despite Gibson stonewalling his attempts to find the details, as they were supposed to be devoting production capacity to the war effort. He brought a Gibson Banner Guitar which had been through the rigours of the war along to a folk club meeting in Middlesbrough and gave a very interesting talk on the subject. http://kalamazoogals.com/ I was all done in 32:09. Thanks setter and Jack.
    1. I too thought of Gibson guitars when I saw KALAMAZOO. I own a very nice ES 335 and a Marauder from ‘76, players of which include Mick Taylor and Bob Marley. It’s a very underrated guitar IMHO.
  27. This was going swimmingly, with the long answers biffable or – in the case of POINT OF NO RETURN – an old chestnut. About 8 or 9 minutes on the clock – then INCURSIVE & ECHO (NHO the nymph, as far as I’m aware) took the rest of the time, finishing in 11m 22s.
  28. Top half completed in no time at all, but bottom half took longer. Overall less than half an hour.

    FOI – NO SPRING CHICKEN, not the hardest clue ever.
    LOI – MULLEIN, simply because I’d never heard of it. I decided that MULLEIN had to be the answer because of the wordplay and wrote it in. To check it afterwards I went to the index in an…. atlas (!!!), because I’m aware that ‘flower’ in a clue sometimes points to a river and I thought that maybe there was a river in Germany or somewhere that I’d never heard of. Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that it’s a flower of the petaled variety. Flowers have never been my thing.

  29. Got me thinking of Yeats and his self-isolating. Nine bean rows would produce absolutely bushels of the things, far too much for one person. Which then got me thinking of this year’s remote-Thanksgiving which is almost upon us. At least we won’t have to eat daughter-in-law’s traditional green bean casserole (don’t ask) – I’d much rather have brussel sprouts. Nice puzzle. 21.48
  30. Nice easy one today until the last 2 DIPLOMAS and REPROBATE, neither of them hard, held me up.
    Used to sell MULLEIN in my health shop. Good for colds and coronaviruses……
  31. MYRIAD biffed here from checkers – not familiar with the Moroccan property.

    Held up for a while pencilling INTONE where INFORM should be before parsing the plant.

  32. ….KALAMAZOO at their computer centre in Northfield, Birmingham between 1971-3 so that was a write-in.

    This was tricky, but very rewarding, and I avoided typos today. On paper I might have have shaved a minute or so off my time. I’ll have to get used to the phone for Saturday, as Sheila’s iPad won’t get me through to the Club Site. Rats ! Still, I’m treating it as harmless fun this year, and my competitive instincts have been dulled for some years now.

    NHO riad or MULLEIN. Had to alpha-trawl DIPLOMAS (I see I was not alone !)

    Like Vinyl I incorrectly entered “intone” at 19A and only on fixing it did I see my LOI despite not knowing it.

    FOI PYLON
    LOI MULLEIN
    COD SOFIA
    TIME 18:19

  33. A bit of a struggle but an enjoyable one nonetheless. NHO the Moroccan house so needed all the checkers. My LOI. I knew all the others. I have a badge somewhere with the words “Yes! There really is a Kalamazoo” – sent to me in the ’70s by an SF fan who lived there. Previously I had only known the song… 50 minutes. Ann
  34. 12.46. FOI nostrum, LOI adieu after thinking the answer was somewhat more obscure till the penny dropped. Lots to like about this one sofia, diplomas, myriad to name but three.

    One question: I got ras tafari but I thought that title was actually of the heir to the throne rather than the occupant. Wasn’t Haile Selassie ras tafari until he became Emperor?

    Minor pedantic quibble. Thanks setter for an enjoyable puzzle.

  35. 33.26. Found it hard to see Innisfree and LOI diplomas. Dnk mullein. Some nice touches in this one, ‘place to park behind housing’ was very good.
  36. I actually suspect my average time is closer to 30 minutes, rather than the 34 or so SNITCH has me at. I’ve been solving a lot of puzzles in 20-25 minutes lately but having errors that do me in.

    Today I was done in 18 minutes, but spent 12 minutes trying to get DIPLOMA(T)S — couldn’t see either definition from the crossing letters. Didn’t help that I never considered that position for the T!

    Very friendly wordplay with the only heart-flutter moment being MULLEIN, which doesn’t look felicitous.

  37. 40 minutes to solve and I really enjoyed this puzzle, not easy but also nothing unfair or extremely hard. Held up for a minute or two whilst laughing about SHAMROCK. MULLEIN was really the only unknown. Haven’t seen RITZ for hotel before, but it brought childhood memories: it was the place my mother used to say they wouldn’t be able to take me to if I didn’t learn proper table manners. Not sure my parents could have afforded it anyway.
  38. Around 50 mins with no errors. Like others diplomas was the last to fall after three (!) alphabet trawls with myriad my POI. Had similar experience to others in the SE corner. My error free streak is now 7. I think 9 is my record so I’ll be paying close attention for the rest of the week …

    Thanks to setter blogger an

  39. Had an empty SE corner, so left it for a while and came back later – all fell into place quickly – I find that often happens. Probably around 75 minutes overall. Excellent puzzle.
  40. Mine is a Taylor 410, although I’ve played it so much that it’s about ready for a re-fret!
    1. I have a Martin acoustic, a Gibson Les Paul and the old Hohner imitation Strat I bought when I was a teenager, which saw me through many gigs at university and still sounds great!
      1. Excellent! I still have the Korean built Fender electro acoustic I bought in the early 90s, but hardly ever use it now. The fret board is a bit narrow for my fingers and I always used to play it tuned down a semitone with a capo on the first fret. When I was at college I had a Watkins Rapier 33 with a Vox valve amp, but I sold that in the late 70s. I still have the Hokada classical which I replaced it with.
  42. Good puzzle. did this on Wednesday as too busy yesterday. All good except I had INTONE at first for 19a and then didn’t know MULLEIN. And was looking for a river not a plant.
    Liked the INN IS FREE and well done setter for clueing KALAMAZOO.
  43. Thanks for the link Jack. Quite magnificent. I’d never heard of them and it’s amazing that I’ve gone through life without ever being aware of such people.
    1. So glad you enjoyed it. You may like to take a look at this, Jumpin’ Jive, from the film Stormy Weather.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoMbeDhG9fU

      Fred Astaire reckoned it was one of the best dance sequences he had seen in any film. Cab Calloway and his Orchestra take the first chorus before the Nicholas Brothers appear.

      There’s also a 40 minute documentary about them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmJowrBwOY

      Edited at 2020-11-18 11:36 pm (UTC)

      1. Wonderful. In my travels on Google I found the Astaire quote, but couldn’t find the actual dance he was referring to. Those clips will be treasured. Many thanks.

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