Times Cryptic 28208

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic

Solving time: 37 minutes. I found this straightforward.

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 Possibly drove around address I shunned (6)
CATTLE
CA (around – circa), T{i}TLE (form of address) [I shunned]. Drove – a number of cattle, horses, sheep, or goats being driven in a body or moving together; a herd, a flock (SOED)
4 Game — variety of grouse? Lovely (8)
GORGEOUS
GO (game), then anagram [variety] of GROUSE
9 Father apprehended, but criminal initially escaping, tense (7)
FRAUGHT
FR (father), {c}AUGHT (apprehended) [c{riminal} initially escaping]
11 Set to secure arrest? That’s credible (7)
TENABLE
TELE (television set) containing [to secure] NAB (arrest). More usually ‘telly’.
12 Put out and cross, blocking recording by the Spanish (5)
EXPEL
X (cross) contained by [blocking] EP (recording – extended play), EL (the in Spanish)
13 Writer’s material recalled stuff for one reflecting critical situation (5-4)
KNIFE-EDGE
INK (writer’s material) reversed [recalled], FEED (stuff), then EG (for one – example) reversed [reflecting]
14 Her figure can be so   wrong? (4-6)
PEAR-SHAPED
Two meanings. ‘He’ can be pear-shaped too!
16 Consequence of cold snap seeing setback for this leader of warm place? (4)
EMIR
RIME (consequence of cold snap – frost) reversed [setback]
19 Carry fifth child? (4)
TOTE
TOT E (fifth child). ‘Tot A’ being the first, etc.
20 Teaching op, with surgery, describing disease (10)
PATHOGENIC
Anagram [with surgery] of TEACHING OP
22 Web image needing time to understand for the present? (4,5)
GIFT TOKEN
GIF (web image – Graphic Interchange Format), T (time ), TO, KEN (understand)
23 Hate having reactive metal when short of sulphur (5)
ODIUM
{s}ODIUM (reactive metal) [short of sulphur – s]
25 Anger included feeling when deprived of leader (7)
INCENSE
INC (included), {s}ENSE (feeling) [deprived of leader]
26 Building‘s effect initially provided in cubes (7)
EDIFICE
E{ffect} [initially], then IF (provided) contained by [in] DICE (cubes)
27 Monarch in backing of business district displays savage attitude (8)
FEROCITY
ER (monarch) contained by [in] OF reversed [backing], CITY (business district). The business centre of London is referred to as ‘the City’ although a lot of it is further to the east now.
28 Bad leader not overthrown in middle of battle (6)
TYRANT
NARY (not – slang) reversed [overthrown] contained by [in] {ba}TT{le} [middle]
Down
1 Source of drink inappropriate in church? Drink’s overturned (9)
COFFEEPOT
OFF (inappropriate – a bit off) contained by [in] CE (church), then TOPE (drink) reversed [overturned], This looks wrong to me as one word but Collins allows it as an alternative.
2 Pitfall about motorway for a long walk (5)
TRAMP
TRAP (pitfall) containing [about] M (motorway)
3 Language in case where stormy weather penetrates shelter (8)
LEGALESE
GALES (stormy weather) is contained by [penetrates] LEE (shelter)
5 Each seduction punished? It’s not very likely (7,6)
OUTSIDE CHANCE
Anagram [punished] of EACH SEDUCTION
6 Big eater to understand about an opening for nutrition (6)
GANNET
GET (understand) containing [about] AN + N{utrition} [opening]. Traditionally gannets are greedy birds.
7 Government official, male, with friends in Arab state (9)
OMBUDSMAN
M (male) + BUDS (friends) contained by [in] OMAN (Arab state). This word derived from Swedish entered common paralnce in the UK in 1967. It’s an official appointed to investigate complaints by individuals against maladministration by public authorities; esp. a British official of this kind (officially called the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration). (SOED)
8 Material challenged in court — end of case (5)
SUEDE
SUED (challenged in court), {cas}E [end]
10 Withdraw surprise answer in group (4,1,4,4)
TAKE A BACK SEAT
TAKE ABACK (surprise), then A (answer) contained by [in] SET (group)
15 Mechanic, if boarding lorry, starts to examine radiator (9)
ARTIFICER
IF contained by [boarding] ARTIC (lorry), then E{xamine} + R{adiator} [starts]
17 Curious disposition around City is on the level? (9)
RECUMBENT
RUM (curious) + BENT (disposition) containing [around ] EC (City – of London , see 27ac)
18 Shame when mining rocks, bagging nothing before closure of quarry (8)
IGNOMINY
Anagram [rocks] of MINING, containing [bagging] 0 (nothing), then {quarr}Y [closure of…]
21 Moral imperative to include name of racial group (6)
ETHNIC
ETHIC (moral imperative) containing [to include] N (name)
22 Government’s foremost official suppressing one lot of trouble (5)
GRIEF
G {overnment’s} [foremost], REF (official) containing [suppressing] I (one)
24 Island area accommodating casual business — holiday spot? (5)
IBIZA
I (island) + A (area) containing [accommodating] BIZ (casual business)

59 comments on “Times Cryptic 28208”

  1. Took a minute or 2 before FOI TRAMP, but the NW then populated nicely, and the SW filled up kicked off by TOTE(getting the hang of these now!). TAKE A BACK SEAT allowed KNIFE EGDE to get the NE on its way and I was soon left pondering over LOI EMIR. PEAR SHAPED occurred to me fairly quickly as I had most of the crossers. I saw the failure definition immediately but took longer to recognise “her figure can be so.” Enjoyed this one. 21:24. Thanks setter and Jack.
  2. All fairly simple today, with lots of biffing and semi-biffing opportunities. Like others, I finished on PEAR-SHAPED as by far the trickiest one to enter – all done in 5m 32s, and would have been sub 5 mins without that one.
  3. 16.49. A definite game of two halves. Struggled initially with the LH side but RH went in pretty quickly . Eventually got stuck in the top LH corner till coffeepot saved me. Didn’t parse cattle but stuck it in anyway and I still don’t get pear shaped. Liked ferocity but COD to fraught.
    Thx setter and blogger..
  4. All straightforward. I think Tote is the third time we’ve had that style of clue in recent days. LOI pear-shaped
  5. I’m with you there, Olivia, with the book token. I also got stuck on 10d, but not as above but because I was convinced that the group was TAKE THAT. It took a long time and the accumulation of helping letters before I guessed the answer, albeit that I never parsed it at all.
  6. 29.45. I had trouble getting to grips with this one generally. I was thrown by coffeepot at the end where for some reason having worked out that I had to start by putting OFF in C and E, I thought that had given me coffee and did not spot that it had only given me coffe. Getting tope eventually sorted that out and then allowed me to see LOI by some margin, pear-shaped.
  7. Finished this over lunch and coffee with a few biffs. Came here to see if I succeeded.
    LOI was RECUMBENT. Incumbent never seemed right but there could have been a 10th definition in Chambers. Prior to that the difficult RIME/EMIR.
    COFFEEPOT ate in; I had a BEAN in mind.
    And I too stared long and hard at 14a -the second word was definitely SKATER (winter Olympics etc.); until I saw the light.
    All good in the end. An enjoyable puzzle I thought.
    David
  9. About 20 minutes for this one, nice puzzle. LOI was PEAR-SHAPED which Mrs K saw straight away when I read out the checkers. Apparently she is pear-shaped, and not avocado-shaped as I had thought. I was fixated on -SKATER for a while, thinking figure skating.
    1. Well you were right of course in that an avocado is of course an alligator pear. On reflection perhaps best not to mention this.
  10. FEROCITY; IGNOMINY; yet
    They won’t EXPEL the birds that we get,
    FRAUGHT ODIUM, GRIEF,
    INCENSE, past belief,
    The PATHOGENIC use of GANNET
  11. Easily a PB for me. I have been learning to do these over the last few years and am beginning to get to the point where I don’t look at a puzzle and think “it’s never going to happen”.

    Thanks to all the bloggers for the help because there is no way that I would be able to do this without learning from the pros.

  12. 43 minutes, so a bit slow-going, but everything eventually fell into place. PEAR-SHAPED was my LOI of course, the only thing that would fit the crossers and I did vaguely remember that there was something pejorative about it.

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