Times Cryptic 28202

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 30 minutes. This was a little harder than yesterday’s puzzle but I  still found it reasonably straightforward, and I’m not complaining after some of the really tricky challenges of last week.

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 Traverse vegetable plot perhaps, finding old grump (10)
CROSSPATCH
CROSS (traverse), PATCH (vegetable plot perhaps)
6 Animal’s tail yobs finally severed (4)
SCUT
{yob}S [finally], CUT (severed). A short, stumpy tail, especially of a hare, rabbit, or deer.
9 Sailor‘s mother and child crossing European lake (7)
MATELOT
MA, then TOT (child) containing [crossing] E (European) + L (lake)
10 Begin again, songbird not having died (7)
RESTART
RE{d}START (songbird) [not having died – d]
12 Church officer who has pinched manual worker’s wife (5)
ELDER
{w}ELDER (manual worker) [pinched…wife – w]
13 Select old solver’s needs, ignoring key the compiler’s provided (9)
EXCLUSIVE
EX (old), CLU{e}S (solver’s needs) [ignoring key – e], I’VE (the compiler’s)
14 Case trainer sets out for repelling wrinkles? (6-9)
CREASE-RESISTANT
Anagram [out] of CASE TRAINER SETS
17 Branching-out of girl with poetic technique (15)
DIVERSIFICATION
DI (girl), VERSIFICATION (poetic technique)
20 Domineering manner of woman keeping old vessel at home (9)
BOSSINESS
BESS (random woman) containing [keeping] O (old) + SS (vessel) + IN (at home)
21 Class actors in play established at first (5)
CASTE
CAST (actors in play), E{stablished} [at first]
23 Argument about trill, a fugal device (7)
STRETTO
SET TO (argument) containing [about] TR (trill). Two lesser known musical terms here. ‘Stretto’ is a fugal device in which the subject entries follow closely in succession, each overlapping with the next. ‘Trill’ may be more familiar but its abbreviation to ‘tr’ not so, perhaps. It’s a rapid alternation of next-door notes. Fortunately my background in classical music made ‘stretto’ a write-in for me.
24 Creatures identified by small plates facing backwards (7)
ANIMALS
S (small) + LAMINA (plates) reversed [facing backwards]. I think there may be a problem here as ‘lamina’ is a thin plate, singular. The plural would be ‘laminae’ or ‘laminas’. We had a similar problem with ‘automata’ last Wednesday.
25 Lack of exercise? The answer’s in the negative (4)
NOPE
NO PE (lack of exercise). I can’t find any credible explanation of how this slang word came into being.
26 Way a jailbird with power reportedly raised deposit (10)
STALAGMITE
ST (way – street), A, LAG (jailbird), then MITE sounds like [reportedly] “might” (power)
Down
1 Began praise church inspired (9)
COMMENCED
COMMEND (praise) with CE (church) enclosed [inspired]
2 Group originally observing notice outside court (5)
OCTAD
O{bserving} [originally] + AD (notice), containing [outside] CT (court)
3 Composure and individuality others displayed around school (4-9)
SELF-RESTRAINT
SELF (individuality), then REST (others) containing [displayed around] TRAIN (school)
4 African native worker originally encountered in pub (7)
ANTBEAR
ANT (worker) then E{ncountered} [originally] contained by [encountered in] BAR (pub). Another name for the aardvark.
5 Capital form of transport used by arbitration service (7)
CARACAS
CAR (form of transport), ACAS (arbitration service). The capital of Venezuela. For those who don’t know but may wish to: The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice.(Wiki)
7 Row involving hair vicar restyled (9)
CHARIVARI
Anagram [restyled of] HAIR VICAR. SOED: A cacophonous mock serenade in derision of an unpopular person, marriage, etc.; a discordant medley of sounds, a hubbub. M17. I’ve always thought this was from Italian but apparently it’s French.
8 Cricket championship, for example, Lord’s got? (5)
TITLE
Two DBE are involved here
11 Critical examination in English rough class abandoned (4-9)
SOUL-SEARCHING
Anagram [abandoned] of IN E (English) ROUGH CLASS
15 Earwig woman’s picked up by sink (9)
EAVESDROP
EAVES sounds like [picked up] “Eve’s” (woman’s), DROP (sink)
16 Several directions given in time to visit US state (9)
TENNESSEE
ENNES (several directions – points of the compass) contained by [given in] T (time) + SEE (visit). This sort of cluing is not popular around here.
18 Vessel, one Cabot damaged touring East (7)
ICEBOAT
Anagram [damaged] of I (one) CABOT, containing [touring] E (East)
19 Establish where an Arab might be (7)
INSTALL
A definition with a cryptic hint leading to the alternatively spaced IN STALL (where an Arab – horse – might be)
20 Naval rating filling roll for warrant officer (5)
BOSUN
OS (naval rating – Ordinary Seaman) containing [filling] BUN (roll). Originally ‘boatswain’.
22 He teaches Hindus in the morning in Westminster? (5)
SWAMI
AM (in the morning) contained by [in] SW1 (Westminster). SW1 is the postal area of the Houses of Parliament and all the principal government departments sometimes referred to collectively as ‘Westminster’and  also ‘Whitehall’. The City of Westminster covers a larger area and includes other postal areas.

58 comments on “Times Cryptic 28202”

  1. A bit like yesterday, I thought I was being brilliant but then the Snitch came in and it was only 67! Still, much fun was had. Charivari Agreable are a super early music group.
  2. A disproportionate amount of time spent, like others, on resolving STRETTO, as I am not an accomplished musician, although I know what I like. Generally good fun, though.
  3. DNF. 18.39 but a typo. My seLL-restraint didn’t show sufficient self-restraint. Wasn’t too keen on the randomness of several directions in Tennessee. Minor delays taken to resolve scut / title in the NE and bossiness, bosun, stretto in the SW at the end.
  4. As noted, some difficult vocab in this. DNK SCUT or OCTAD but guessed correctly. Assumed BOSUN could be spelt thus without seeing the parsing. That left LOI 23a. I found SET TO but then failed to understand how to deal with TRILL; thought it might be an instruction to insert about or RE, hence SERETTO. One letter wrong is annoying. Agree with eniamretrauq above.
    Otherwise, enjoyed and quite quick -say 45 minutes or less.
    David
  5. 38m but once again a foolish biff, since like Olivia I bunged in CURMUDGEON and then since COMMENCED went in next never bothered to check the actual cryptic. And then i noticed I hadn’t got many at the top after a 10 minute delay! A steady solve otherwise with pauses on the ones others and Jack have mentioned, though musical background meant STRETTO was a write in. Thanks to setter and blogger today for a bit of fun in the howling gales.
  6. Nearly biffed OCTET in error, CHARIVARI remembered from a previous puzzle, otherwise I quite liked DIVERSIFICATION.

    13:30

  7. …for that rare vessel, the ICEBAOT. I liked the puzzle apart from TENNESSEE and the very weak TITLE.

    I knew CHARVIARI through once owning two volumes of collected issues of Punch from Victorian times. Bought for a couple of quid in a second hand shop. Still an entertaining read a hundred years later.

    Thanks to Jack and the setter

  8. 14.30. Nothing too tricky but NHHO stretto I did check I got it right. I had worked out the set to bit but had no idea about tr for trill. COD bosun.
  9. In an otherwise smooth solve I had trouble (and pink squares) where the unknown TRill and the vaguely known Lamina came up in the cluing. It’s easier for me when any unknown is the answer itself. I easily worked around the unknown Redstart, and either knew (Charivari, Scut) or quickly figured out (Crosspatch) the rest of the slightly eccentric fill. Onward to Wednesday
  10. Folks might have remembered it from my earlier ‘avatari’.
    This was my FOI with COD 23ac Stretto. WOD Stalagmite I can never remember which is which! My LOI was Title, with its dreadful surface. My Time 11:53
    1. one of the odd things I remember from my schooldays is a teacher remarking that stalactite’s (the ones that hang down) are so named because they need to *hang on tite*!
  11. 35 minutes (give or take 5 seconds) today, so still quite easy. I needed the wordplay for STRETTO, but then it was clear enough. And TENNESSEE could have all of the noninitial letters clued as directions, which would not have made it significantly worse. SCUT was my LOI, after I couldn’t find a tail which but for an extraneous S would be the name of an animal (or trying to apply the wrong end of the clue, as z8b8d8k said).
  12. I knew Phil had done this in a super quick time from the Quickie blog so thought my time would be on the slow side but I see it was not bad (for me)

    Like others nho STRETTO but fewer excuses as I have scraped about on the cello in my time (mercifully no more). That accounted for 2/3 minutes at the end till I remembered SET TO

    CHARIVARI also remembered from a previous puzzle and blog

    Thanks Jackkt and setter

  14. Got tied up yesterday before I had time to comment. CROSSPATCH was FOI. Then I sped through, even remembering CHARIVARI, until about 14 minutes in I was left with 23a. After an age I came up with SET TO for the argument, but still needed aids to come up with the unknown STRETTO. 21:31 with a little bit of help. Thanks setter and Jack.

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