Times Cryptic 29102

Solving time: 21 minutes with 3 half-guesses, things I didn’t know and the wordplay was not entirely conclusive. Still, I got them all right. Elsewhere there were some very easy answers, especially towards the end of the Down clues. Not that I’m complaining. Just as QC puzzles need to be more challenging on occasions it’s only right that 15×15 puzzles should provide some entry level clues to get less-experienced solvers started and build confidence.

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]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.

Across
1 Set down soldiers, infantry principally, in training camp (7)
DEPOSIT
S{oldiers} + I{nfantry} [principally] contained by [in] DEPOT (training camp). I don’t think I knew of depot as a training camp until a couple of weeks ago when I was researching ‘depot’ defined as a US railway station.
5 Greek god’s verbal plea for support? (7)
BACCHUS
Aural wordplay[verbal]: “back us” [plea for support] / BACCHUS . The god of wine and revelry.
9 Is one not able to meet south-east Asian citizens? (9)
CANTONESE
CAN’T ONE (is one not able to), SE (south-east)
10 Appeal of Daily Mail, initially (5)
CHARM
CHAR (daily – cleaner), M{ail} [initially]
11 Folk traditions one stops in French department (5)
LOIRE
I (one) contained by [stops] LORE (folk traditions)
12 Sickeningly upset most of malt whisky (9)
MAWKISHLY
Anagram [upset] of MAL{t} [most of…] WHISKY
14 Supervisors inspired by alternative idea not referred to previously (14)
AFOREMENTIONED
FOREMEN (supervisors) contained [inspired] by anagram [alternative] IDEA NOT
17 Summing-up of surrender by army corps (14)
RECAPITULATION
RE (army corps), CAPITULATION (surrender)
21 Academic canny concealing report of arrest? (9)
SCHOLARLY
SLY (canny) containing [concealing] aural wordplay [report of]: CHOLAR / “collar” (arrest)
23 Yarn assimilated by many Londoners (5)
NYLON
Hidden in [assimilated by] {ma}NY LON{doners}
24 Like heavy metal? That’s mild sarcasm (5)
IRONY
IRON-Y (like heavy metal), as per the Uxbridge English Dictionary.
25 Female slave’s poem involving wild quails (9)
ODALISQUE
ODE (poem) containing [involving] anagram [wild] of QUAILS. One of my 3 half-guesses, a word I never heard that doesn’t really look like it should exist but the wordplay suggested two options and I picked the right one. SOED: A female slave or concubine in an Eastern harem.
26 Time relative backed strange patent medicine (7)
NOSTRUM
T (time) + SON (relative) reversed [backed], then RUM (strange). A quack remedy.
27 Young hare heading off round back of this mountain (7)
EVEREST
{l}EVERET (young hare) [heading off] containing [round] {thi}S [back of…]
Down
1 Submissive medic on French island (6)
DOCILE
DOC (medic), ÎLE (French island)
2 Church leader perturbed at first about petty quarrel (7)
PONTIFF
P{erturbed} [at first], ON (about), TIFF (petty quarrel)
3 Way a person cut a flowering plant (9)
STONECROP
ST (way – street), ONE (a person), CROP (cut). My second half-guess. I didn’t know this plant although it has come up a couple of times previously. My doubts were over the last part of wordplay where I was considering DROP (cut) as in ignoring a previous friend or acquaintance.
4 New term mother engendered primarily for temperature gauge (11)
THERMOMETER
Anagram [new] of TERM MOTHER E{ngendered} [primarily]. An absolute write-in.
5 Extra purchase, by the sound of it (3)
BYE
Aural wordplay [by the sound of it]: “buy” (purchase) / BYE (extra – in cricket)
6 Prickly plants originally culled before opening of play (5)
CACTI
C{ulled} [originally], ACT I (opening of play). Another write-in.
7 Non-believing female overcome by high temperature (7)
HEATHEN
HEAT (high temperature), HEN (female). Yet another write-in.
8 Day Moses exercised spitz-like dogs (8)
SAMOYEDS
Anagram [exercised] of DAY MOSES. My final half-guess as I wasn’t sure of the word and had to cross fingers when placing the three unchecked vowels. Spitz dogs are characterized by their pointed ears, curled tails, and thick double coats. The family consists of  50-70 actual breeds including the Samoyed. 
13 Around noon, preacher finally consumed beer and cheese (11)
WENSLEYDALE
WESLEY (preacher – John Wesley) containing [around] N (noon), then {consume}D [finally], ALE (beer)
15 Thoroughgoing quartet entering in future, perhaps (9)
INTENSIVE
IV (quartet) contained by [entering] IN + TENSE (future, perhaps)
16 Old German’s afterthought about game Welsh girl (8)
PRUSSIAN
PS (afterthought – postscript) containing RU (game – Rugby Union), then SIAN (Welsh girl)
18 US partnership in Civil Service, a cause of much amusement (7)
CAHOOTS
A + HOOT (cause of much amusement) contained by [in] CS (Civil Service). US slang for being in collusion with.
19 Indirect learning ability encountered in old varsity sportsperson (7)
OBLIQUE
IQ (learning ability) contained by [encountered in] O (old) + BLUE (varsity sportsperson)
20 Fashionable group taking in start of county cricket, say? (6)
INSECT
IN (fashionable), then SET (group) containing [taking[ C{ounty} [start of…]
22 Counsel possibly ignoring wife’s thickness (5)
LAYER
LA{w}YER (counsel possibly) [ignoring wife]
25 Physicist’s residence in Bow, do we hear? (3)
OHM
Aural wordplay [do we hear?]: “{h}ome” (residence) [in Bow  – cockney-speak] /  OHM

71 comments on “Times Cryptic 29102”

  1. 12:33
    Easy, all right. I never figured out OBLIQUE, but the Q made things easy. EVEREST: that’s “back of thiS”.

  2. I found this very easy except I got the ODCBA (obscure dog clued by anagram) wrong going for SEMOYADS. Otherwise all green in 16 minutes (fast for me). I don’t even know what a “spitz-like dog” means. When I was aged about 10-13 we lived in a house in Bradford-on-Avon where John Wesley had lived centuries earlier (yes, it was a very old house), although an eleven letter cheese beginning with W doesn’t really require reading the rest of the clue.

      1. Thanks. I wasn’t complaining since I went and looked it up after typing the comment. If you look up “spitz” in Chambers it even gives SAMOYED as an example.

        Dog breeds have been used in computer visual classification. They started with “is there a dog in this picture” about 20 years ago, and eventually visual recognition on computers of dog breeds (“is there a samoyed in this picture”) got better than humans. So like chess, where you can run Stockfish on your computer and it can beat Magnus Carlsen, recognising dog breeds is an area where humans are not as good as the algorithm.

  3. Breezed through this one – 5:18, one of my top ten times. Everything fell on a first or second reading. There are some very slick times from early solvers.

  4. Easy Street!
    Chambers actually has a second set of definitions for IRONY as an adjective:
    Formed of iron
    Resembling iron
    Harsh, grating
    Stern
    Not to be broken
    Robust
    Insensitive
    Inflexible
    I must’ve learned ODALISQUE from the painting by Ingres, La Grande ODALISQUE. A picture is worth a thousand words!

    1. I relied on WS Gilbert’s Heavy Dragoons in Patience.

      If you want a receipt for this soldierlike paragon,
      Get at the wealth of the Czar (if you can)
      The family pride of a Spaniard from Arragon
      Force of Mephisto pronouncing a ban
      A smack of Lord Waterford, reckless and rollicky
      Swagger of Roderick, heading his clan
      The keen penetration of Paddington Pollaky
      Grace of an ODALISQUE on a divan
      The genius strategic of Cæsar or Hannibal
      Skill of Lord Wolseley in thrashing a cannibal
      Flavor of Hamlet the Stranger, a touch of him
      Little of Manfred, (but not very much of him)
      Beadle of Burlington Richardson’s show;
      Mr. Micawber and Madame Tussaud!
      Take of these elements all that are fusible,
      Melt them all down in a pipkin or crucible,
      Set them to simmer and take off the scum,
      And a Heavy Dragoon is the residuum!

  5. Around 40 minutes. Generally straight forward. NE corner was very quick then the NW a bit slower and the bottom was slower still. FOI CACTI LOI OHM. The wordplay overall was very clear so the most were a breeze.
    Thanks Jack.

  6. 14.58. If I break 15 it’s easy. Were it not for CAHOOTS (I was chasing the wrong def) and SCHOLARLY (where I forgot the adjectival sense of academic) it would have been around 12. Good fun, I especially liked the clever misdirection in 14ac AFOREMENTIONED of placing the anagrist NOT in front of the definition ‘previously mentioned’, fooled me for a while. Thanks Jack.

    From Ring Them Bells:
    Ring them bells, ye HEATHEN
    From the city that dreams
    Ring them bells from the sanctuaries
    ’Cross the valleys and streams
    For they’re deep and they’re wide
    And the world’s on its side
    And time is running backwards
    And so is the bride

  7. 19:13 with 1 error

    Did not recall the dogs correctly and submitted SAMEYODS.

    Thank you, jackkt and the setter.

  8. 11 minutes – that is v fast for me – and as my brain has not improved, that would indeed indicate a fairly easy crossword. I liked it a lot because, while easy, it was still fun.

  9. Yup, pretty easy. 29 mins. Managed to get the vowels in the right place for the unknown dog, like our blogger, and dragged ODALISQUE out from the depths of my brain. Otherwise all straightforward.

    I liked the two long clues and the cheese best. Daily Mail was quite clever too.

    Thanks Jack and friendly setter.

  10. I worked through this in around 30 minutes, which was quick for me. Only the spelling of the dog and female slave needed more attention.
    OBLIQUE went in unparsed.

  11. 10.53

    Held up a bit at the end by RECAPITULATION (don’t think I’ve ever seen it written in full) and STONECROP (new to me, I think), but otherwise rather gentle. I knew the dog – lovely big silly fluffy things.

    Thanks both.

  12. Like others I found it pretty straightforward, 14.18 and would have been 20 seconds faster had I not succumbed to a rush of blood to the head in the SW corner and tried to put in BRONWEN as a Welsh girl. More haste, less speed. The four longest clues (AFOREMENTIONED, RECAPITULATION, THERMOMETER, WENSLEYDALE) were among the easiest and because of their position on the grid this effectively unlocked the gates.
    Thanks jackkt and setter.

  13. Bacchus and Mars to rule the camp combine;
    A mingled chaos this of war and wine.
    (Nisus and Euryalus, Byron)

    15 mins pre-brekker. A gentle workout. I wouldn’t know a Stonecrop if I lay in a patch.
    Ta setter and J

  14. 18 minutes with LOI CAHOOTS. I constructed ODALISQUE, which sounded more familiar than the alternatives, not that the Sultan has ever invited me to his harem. I knew the dogs. COD to BACCHUS. Pleasant puzzle. Thank you Jack and setter.

  15. I finished in 13:47 except I had SEMOYADS instead of the NHO SAMOYEDS. Well I did the best I could with arranging the vowels! It‘s a bit weird having this totally easy puzzle and then just this one word which I doubt if even 1 in 1000 people have heard of.

  16. 13.34. Puzzled by Bacchus, wasn’t he the Roman equivalent of Dionysius? Odalisque was a good clue and a word I was familiar with. Much more elegant than most of the alternatives!

    As others have remarked, lots of easy clues but some which stretched.

  17. 19:02
    No real problems aside from umming and ahhing over where to put the vowels for the unknown SAMOYEDS. ODALISQUE and STONECROP were the only other unknowns but they were more straightforward to piece together.

    Overall an enjoyable puzzle with some easier clues to help maintain a steady pace.

    Thanks to both.

  18. 9:52. Held up by SCHOLARLY and CAHOOTS at the end. I read the clue for NYLON as starting yam rather than yarn, so found it rather mysterious but bunged the obvious hidden answer in anyway with a shrug of my shoulders once I had all the checkers. Thanks Jackkt and setter.

  19. Very straightforward for me this morning, a lifetime PB.

    Most long answers and some short ones went in unparsed. ODALISQUE was dragged up from somewhere. I used to eat a lot of WENSLEYDALE, and of course it was later made more prominent by Wallace and Gromit. CAHOOTS LOI.

    Jim Callaghan, former PM, was once mocked by the media for his choice of gods: ‘Bacchus Orsaccus’.

    7’04”, thanks jack and setter.

  20. 6:10, but with one error. A good friend of mine has a SAMOYED so I was sufficiently confident in the spelling not to check the anagrist. My confidence turned out to have been misplaced.

  21. Just over 10 minutes.

    – Didn’t know depot=training camp for DEPOSIT
    – Relied on the wordplay for the unknown ODALISQUE
    – Couldn’t parse EVEREST as I didn’t know leveret=young hare
    – STONECROP was another unknown where the wordplay was kind
    – Only heard of SAMOYEDS recently and sympathise with those who haven’t, because there were multiple options for the vowels
    – Didn’t know that CAHOOTS is an American term

    Thanks Jack and setter.

    FOI Loire
    LOI + COD Stonecrop

    1. The Royal Artillery DEPOT in Leagrave, Luton, was where I trained on the 5.5 inch gun-howitzer. A skill I may never now use.

  22. DNF in 28 mins. Another defeated by the random vowels in the NHO pooch.
    Otherwise trickier than the low average suggests with more unknown vocab in NOSTRUM and ODALISQUE though both ring a bell from previous puzzles.
    Nearly went for STONEDROP but NHO that so revisited until penny dropped.
    I like IRONY, its like goldy or coppery but duller.

  23. 20 minutes. I remembered the less common words mentioned above (or at least they rang a bell) so should have been quicker, but had trouble with the crossing SCHOLARLY and CAHOOTS (which I didn’t know was an American word) as my last two in.

    I’m afraid I’m not a whisky connoisseur so I could identify with the not exactly feel-good surface of 12a. Thinking of SAMOYEDS made me feel a bit happier.

  24. 15:56, my second fastest time to date.
    Only met SAMOYEDS in crosswords, though not sure I would recognise one if I saw one in real life.
    LOI was WENSLEYDALE.
    COD to MAWKISHLY.

    Thanks Jack and setter

  25. Top 10 time for me, so adding to the chorus of “easier puzzle”.

    LOIRE LOI, I don’t think there were any NHO’s or unparsed clues.

    9:02

  26. 13.33. Not a PB, but getting close, despite the puzzle flipping numerous times to other pages when entering letters on my iPad.

  27. 12:57

    Must have come across ODALISQUE around here previously, not sure why I would have known the word otherwise. My lack of plant knowledge nearly did for me – has LOI STONECROP been here before? Otherwise, I don’t know why I thought of this.

    Thanks Jack and setter

  28. 19:27
    Pretty easy. Stonecrop I recalled from T S Eliot’s Gerontion, which I hadn’t read for about 50 years. Funny how things like that stay with one.
    Thanks, jack.

  29. “Oh, THAT temperature gauge!”

    Very gentle but a couple of nice touches. Like others, I’ve got Ingres to thank for ODALISQUE. COD WENSLEYDALE.

    Thanks to Jack and the setter

  30. I was expecting some more SOMAYED, SEMOYAD agony on here, but clearly I am not sufficiently well versed in canine species, and my luck ran out after ODALISQUE

  31. Only took around 10 mins longer than the QC. NHO the plant or the slave but wordplay fairly straightforward and ODALISQUE sounded like it might be a real word. I did like IRONY 😆 Very rare that I can complete one of these successfully so I know it must have been easy! Needed blog to parse OBLIQUE. Many thanks Jack.

  32. 13:40 – brisk little puzzle, the definitions so clear and well signposted that it felt more like a concise at times.

  33. Certainly on the easy side, and I feel my time of 32.16 should have been better. Initially misspelling WENSLEYDALE didn’t help. Should have asked Gromit!

  34. 10:25 here, would have been easily under 10 minutes if I hadn’t spent far too much time trying to work out why ‘AHOOT’ was a US partnership for my LOI. A fun puzzle with no nasty surprises.

  35. I found most of this fairly easy, but came a cropper on the plant and the female slave (I knew the dog).
    It’s not been a good week, with these careless mistakes.
    Nevermind. Onward!

  36. 4:54 which would have been a PB were it not for falling into the stone[D/C]rop trap.

    Ah well this time the cookie didn’t crumble in my favour….

  37. 14.49

    Got a bit bogged down in the NW not knowing STONECROP and failing to get the right medic and island for an age. And depot as training camp? But no moans for a sub-15. On with the Christmas cards…

    Thanks Jackkt and setter

  38. DNF

    Tempted over from the QC by the low Snitch. And gosh, there were some easy answers. THERMOMETER! I should have finished but carelessly misspelled AFOREMENTIONED which rendered the NHO STONECROP impossible.

  39. A couple short at 40 mins, having STRIP (=cut) at the back of the STONECROP clue meant I missed LOIRE, where I was looking for a four letter department. Should have used pencil.

    NHO SAMOYEDS or ODALISQUE ( or STONECROP).

    COD BACCHUS

  40. I wish I’d solved this in one sitting as a PB might have been on.
    5 minutes before lunch gave me lots of letters and mostly the clues were very clear.
    I knew the dog. My only hesitation was STONECROP which I became more confident about as I went on.
    LOI NOSTRUM being the last clue I read.
    Well under 30 minutes in total.
    COD to INSECT.
    David

  41. Started off with DOCILE and LOIRE, then cantered thought to ODALISQUE, which I had to construct. SCHOLARLY and CAHOOTS held me up a little. Knew the dog. An enjoyable puzzle. 15:18. Thanks setter and Jack.

  42. 40 mins which is good for me. Thought the def for 14a was Not Referred to…. so bunged in UNDERMENTIONED which held me up. Had to Google the dog to be sure. Also NHO the female slave but the checkers and wordplay made it clear. Thanks to jackkt for the explanations.

  43. Late to this and glad I did it since my c15 mins is pretty close to my best. Held up on STONECROP, having seen the “crop” I wondered if the definition related to a hairstyle. Other than that and taking a chance on the NHO ODALISQUE lettering, everything was pretty straightforward. Thanks Jackkt and setter.

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