Times Cryptic 29300

104 comments on “Times Cryptic 29300”

1. Not helped by reading ‘overhead’ as ‘overheard’ in 8d ACETATE, but saw my error eventually. I enjoyed this more than yesterday’s puzzle. REED ORGAN came to me immediately and thought of the Turkish president but didn’t bother parsing, well done Jack, missed the ‘dropping’ bit completely. Thought POISON GLAND was clever. SIDEARM went straight in having come up in the last few days. Liked HIPPO for ‘in river’. Took a while to see WARTHOGS. Twigged to the advisor in ERELONG. COD to the simple but missed ACNE.
   Thanks Jack and setter.

   1. Reed organ doesn’t have pipes, surely??

   2. Wot e sed.

2. I didn’t understand “two coats” for EAT, and am still not sure I do. I was trying to think of a short word for “coat” (mac?) and then figured it must just mean two letters covering EAT, so just one at each end. Seems this is really two two-ply coats, if not simply four coats!

   1. Wouldn’t a coat be both the front and the back, so two coats would be two at the front and two more at the back?

      1. OK then!

3. All correct but several not understood. I have heard of ERDOGAN in Turkey (or Türkiye as we are apparently meant to say) but I just biffed REED ORGAN from the checkers. I’ve not heard of a POISON GLAND but from the anagrist it seemed almost certain it exists. I biffed ERELONG and saw ELON later after I’d given up on fitting Kissinger. I got OBI and just assumed it must be a Japanese charm as well as a sash. Wasn’t clear that ROGUING is a real word (Chambers says yes) but the answer was clear anyway. Nice crossword.

   1. Exonyms are usually uncontentious; the Italians are not in the slightest concerned that Anglophones call their country “Italy” not “Italia”, nor do we care that they say “Inghilterra” not “England.” The Turkey/Türkiye spat is an interesting and rare exception.

      1. I like the way the French call Putin Putain 😉

         1. The other pronunciation is “poutine” which is I believe a Québecois gastronomic treat involving chips, gravy and cheese.

            1. Generally it is the latter, though I agree it should often be the former!

      2. It is interesting how we all switched to Beijing from Peking. But the Chinese kept the 3-letter airport code as PEK (and CAN for Canton/Guangzhou)

4. 20:20
   I spent some time trying to account for LOsI ACETATE (dnk =overhead) and EAT, finally biffed them and submitted without leaderboard. I knew Erdogan (the G is silent) but never saw it, and just biffed REED ORGAN. Does anyone else remember Wonder Warthog (the Hog of Steel)? Didn’t think so. I knew SANDMAN from childhood; for some reason ‘The Japanese Sandman’ (a 1920 hit) has stayed in memory.

   1. Thanks for reminding me of the 1920s song recorded by many including the Andrews Sisters and Django Reinhardt. There was also Mr Sandman (Bring Me a Dream) by The Chordettes from the 1950s.

      1. Thanks for the link to the Chordettes, my madrigal group should give that one a go.

         1. Or maybe Enter Sandman by Metallica?

      2. How could I have forgotten ‘Mr. Sandman’?

   2. No, but used to love Captain Goodvibes, “The Pig of Steel” in Tracks magazine.

   3. I have Artie Shaw’s version of Japanese Sandman

5. Took a while to remember acetates. Those who’ve used them will know why I was happier not remembering.
   Jack, have we ever had “up” for an anagrind before?

   1. Yes indeed, and I recall that it wasn’t popular with some.

      1. Still isn’t

      2. Had it yesterday and it passed uncommented! Add me to the ‘don’t like it’ list…

   2. We sure have! I googled: site:timesforthetimes.co.uk/ “up as anagrind” and got the following results. (Slightly different searches would bring up more instances. At least once a year, I’d guess, someone wonders about this.)

      Quick Cryptic 2743 by Alex
      https://timesforthetimes.co.uk › quick-cryptic-2743…
      Aug 1, 2024 — LADYS FINGERS or indeed ladies fingers for okra was new to me, also “up” as anagrind, sheesh, sdnirgylefas, anyone? DAMN and blast it, can’t …

      Times Cryptic 27956
      https://timesforthetimes.co.uk › times-cryptic-27956
      Apr 20, 2021 — Anagram [up] of I SET NOBLES. ‘Up’ as anagrind occurred very recently, maybe in a QC, and gave rise to some objections. 26, Plant’s first …

      Sunday Times 5096 by David McLean
      https://timesforthetimes.co.uk › sunday-times-5096-by-…
      Feb 4, 2024 — I had a query at 8d about ‘up’ as anagrind, but wotthehell. I had a query at 1d, but I can’t read it. I saw how 27ac works, but the surface …

      1. Hey Guy there’s a story in the Times today about Mick Taylor’s stolen (or not?) Les Paul, and I was reminded of your tale of woe. Also I noticed that this anagram of ladyfingers – sdnirgylefas – is actually ‘safely grinds’ backwards. Just thought I’d point that out…

   3. Of all the 765 possible anagrinds, this has to be the most nonsensical.

      1. I can’t recall (or be bothered to track down) what I’ve said on the subject before, but ‘up’ doesn’t appear as an anagram indicator in the Chambers list, the longest one I know of. Nor can I find a single-word synonym that clearly has it covered, but I suppose it might be taken as short for ‘up in the air’ which can mean agitated or excited. Anyway as Guy has researched, it has appeared here many a time, so one might as well get used to it and move on.

         1. What’s up? What’s wrong? It can’t be the most nonsensical

            1. Cactus? You’d have to be Australian!

               1. or toast? The UK equivalent of “he’s cactus” might be “he’s toast”. Two to watch out for

         2. Two Chambers definitions that I think justify it:

            11. in an excited state
            12. in revolt

            1. Well found! I didn’t check there as I don’t have access online and my printed copy wasn’t to hand.

               1. I shouldn’t have asked the question, should I

6. 21 minutes. I had a presidential blind spot today, having no hope in parsing REED ORGAN and just biffing ERELONG. The rest weren’t too difficult to work out though I needed crossing letters for my LOI PROROGUING. I agree with Paul.in.London about ACETATE(s).

   Favourites were the beastly HIPPO (even if we’ve had variations on the theme before) and WARTHOGS.

7. I hardly parsed anything, but finished anyway. Sometimes you just know what it must be – reed organ, hippo, outer space. I did like tree farm and doodle. I was stuck at the end with the brilliant proroguing and the should-have-been-obvious squash rackets. We definitely wouldn’t want amateur roguing!

   Time: 27:28

8. Funny thing about HIPPO, “Large animal in river.” The word HIPPOpotamus (as y’all probably know) is (Merriam-Webster) “Latin, from Greek hippopotamos, alteration of hippos potamios, literally, riverine horse.”

   1. Same root a ‘Hippodrome’ originally a stadium for chariot and horse races (dromos – race, course). Later in the UK it became a popular name for large theatres, especially in the days of Music Hall and Variety.

   2. When I lived in Paris there was an old-fashioned “boucherie chevaline” with the golden horse’s head sign outside; the shop was called “Hippo-comestibles St Victor”.

9. Thought I was on for a good time here, but ended up difficult as usual, with AS A WHOLE and OBI slowing me well down at the end for a 19:25 finish.

   Clue quality felt high, although I definitely needed the blog more than usual today. Thanks!

10. 23.21, with REED ORGAN, SQUASH RACKETS and DOODLE coming in a little rush at the end. Had no idea about ACETATE’s overhead meaning, so thanks Jack. I just followed the cryptic with a shrug. Also didn’t notice the presence of the Turk who keeps threatening to overrun the Dodecanese. In Kalimnos, Kos and other islands there are giant Greek flags painted on the seaside bluffs facing Turkey, the message being ‘Up yours, Turkey’.

    From It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry:
    Now the wintertime is coming, the windows are filled with frost
    I went to tell everybody but I could not get across
    Well I wanna be your lover babe, I don’t wanna be your BOSS
    Don’t say I never warned you when your train gets lost

    1. Best version ever of that song is on SuperSession album, with Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield and Steven Stills.

       1. That album is a classic, and has some of the best examples of Mike Bloomfield’s playing I have yet heard.

          1. The album is a treasured possession, long since copied to digital for actual playing 🙂

       2. I always wished it was on the Bloomfield side of SuperSession tbh, given where it started. But yeah, it sounds pretty good.

11. Had a go at this daily and got all ‘correct’ except 7d – had AVERAGE for business overhead, although TATE and ACE were considered early.
    Todays lesson – always prefer the clue – even if the meaning is not seen.
    Joint COD to 28ac and 19d – the first because of the honest kinky sex, and second because of the the tricky November 5th – Guy Fawkes, the only man to enter parliament with honest intentions, had us going in all directions.
    Was not aware of the Billy significance in 3d. ‘Stalling’ for containing in 5d?
    What is the purpose of the ‘in’ in 15d? And the NHO president? A collection of pipes had to be an organ and just guessed REED from crossers.
    Thought 22d HIPPO and 24d BOSS a little weak, on balance.
    But all in all a doable daily with some enjoyable aspects.
    Apologies for any crossings with other posters – which I will read.
    Thank you setter and jackkt.

    1. ‘In’ stands for ‘within / inside’:

       R (Republican) drops within/inside [in] RE + ERDOGAN (on + President)

       I put it at the start of my parsing explanation to keep the remaining word order simple.

       1. Yes, I can see that something was needed for the surface reading, and ‘out’ or ‘out of’ might not work.
          Enough second guessing by the ‘amateur’ (ie me). (From my phone)

12. Another day, another DNF. ACETATE was my undoing, which is ironic as in a past life I made extensive use of an OHP and acetates. Saw the gallery reference but seem to have difficulty equating ace with wonderful.
    OBI was dredged from the silt of my crossword-only memory bank.
    Otherwise some very kind stuff eg FUTURE PERFECT and HIPPO – which seemed too obvious really. I agree with those who were not entirely happy with AS A WHOLE.
    Thanks to setter and Jack.

13. I biffed ROMANIA, OUTER SPACE, and REED ORGAN. NHO TREE FARM, or POISON GLAND, but both were easy enough to parse. I can’t say I enjoyed this very much.

    FOI OPERATE
    LOI WESTMINSTER
    COD SANDMAN
    TIME 8:24

14. Just under 15 minutes

    – Not familiar with TREE FARM as a term but got there from wordplay
    – Didn’t parse OUTER SPACE or REED ORGAN
    – Wasn’t sure how ACETATE was ‘overhead’, but it parsed so in it went

    Thanks Jack and setter.

    FOI Eat
    LOI Squash rackets
    COD Poison gland

15. Quick today, and no unknowns for once.
    I remember acetates very well. They made me feel important, and everyone else feel bored (probably)..

16. 1 error with PROROGGING where I started with Ragging then changed having only vaguely HO the correct answer and not thinking enough.
    V. slow to get into the style of this but sped up to 31 mins of mostly enjoyable solve, far more so than yesterday.
    COD to Billy-no-mates.
    LOI ACNE took far too long.
    Thanks to jackkt (esp for Erdogan) and setter

17. Well this could have been quick but for an incorrect SQUASH RACQUET sitting there for far too long and POISON GLAND taking an age with spotting son/lad was probably in the middle of the word and consequently missing the anagram.

    Stumbled into REED ORGAN from the incorrect Reagan after correctly assuming the second word.

    COD SANDMAN

    1. Well I played squash racquets at school. Never tried squash rackets

18. Going well with 75% done in 15 mins, but ground to a halt in the SW. Eventually decided that OBI was wrong, it is lodged in my brain as the kind of word that setters use, but I couldn’t remember what it meant. Looking for other 5 letter birds with an I in fourth position is a query my brain can’t process. On lookup, there’s QUAIL, PEWIT, PIPIT. For UAI, EWI, IPI.

    Saw SQUASH but couldn’t get that second word, shame, it’s a good clue.

    Was slow to get ACNE, as was stuck on the borough of Hayes.

19. 25:06. Super crossword. I loved it. I couldn’t get started at the top and had to come up from below. FOI TENDON in the bottom right. LOI ACNE (lol). I liked SQUASH RACKETS, ACETATE, OUTER SPACE, SANDMAN…. COD to the simple HIPPO with its well hidden wordplay

20. A quick one today, 16 minutes, with REED ORGAN biffed so thanks jackkt for explaining the President wasn’t Reagan. ACNE was a groan-inducing clue. Some good stuff here, I liked PRO-ROGUING. I too remember acetates, which always seemed to fall on the floor at the wrong moment.

    1. And, unless you used those fussy cardboard frames, could not be picked up from the floor once they had dropped, unless it was carpeted.

21. More Monday than Monday. About 30′. Enjoyed the puzzle though did mess up some parsings. For instance I assumed the president was Reagan and that something was going on which I didn’t understand (which of course it was…). Also didn’t see Mr Musk, which is no bad thing really. I now have a Metallica riff as an earworm; not my favourite band but a great track. Thanks Jackkt and setter.

22. 12.42 for a straight through solve, illustrating the perils of letting the living into the world of the crossword. Musk is, if he ever was, no presidential advisor: their spectacular falling out renders the clue erroneous. Erdogan I might have worked out if PIPE ORGAN didn’t present itself so freely, but I’d have had him down as the Hungarian one. Mancini? I remember his brother Henry: ba DUM ba DUM….
    I nearly biffed PRISON GUARD, thinking “toxic chemical storage facility” was a bit iffy as a second definition after “lad snooping around” was almost perfect as the first.

    1. ‘Once’ indicates Elon no longer holds that position, no?

       1. Probably, but why spoil a bit of political comment with truth?

    2. Just spotted in my Times briefing: “have a go at this anagram… Hint: former presidential pal. OMEN SULK.” Struggling….

23. Another who assumed Reagan and missed Musk, but got there anyway. I do know of Erdogan, but missed his presence today. From REIGNS and MASTIFF to POISON GLAND in 20:34. Thanks setter and Jack.

24. I parsed REIGNS as ‘sounds like (as sung by a singer) reins/breaks’. Of course that doesn’t work but I smile at my determination to overcomplicate everything. This usually means I sail through tricky clues and stare far too long at the most obvious…and never learn.

    Thanks Jack.

    1. Brakes?

       1. Yes. The homophone indicator (as sung) would have to apply to both the clue breaks/brakes and the answer REIGNS/reins, which is of course not a thing. I didn’t claim to be making much sense, only amusing myself at the lengths to which I habitually go to over complicate, in this instance, a straightforward anagram. My mind, perhaps, in a post-traumatic, hyper-vigilant, beastly crossword induced state, which almost certainly is a thing.

25. 16.28

    Ditto re Erdogan and Reagan. “Saw” Ronnie and in it went. Otherwise no hold ups until the DOODLE/TENDON crosser at the end. Liked quite a lot of the clues (WESTMINSTER; NOMINATES; PROROGUING). Thanks Jackkt and setter.

26. I don’t often try the 15×15 these days but thought I would have a crack after an encouraging post from LindsayO on the ‘quickie’ blog. I found it refreshingly accessible and wandered around the grid successfully in just under 40 mins (good for me). Too much of that was spent on PROROGUING which needed more than one alphabet trawl even when all the crossers were available.
    Some clever clues and jackkt’s blog was a good read afterwards.
    Thanks to jackkt and setter.

27. 24:45, I am another who thought REED ORGAN must have something to do with REAGAN but couldn’t quite work it out.
    Thanks setter, and blogger for the elucidation 🙂

28. The only real resistance came in the south east, particularly the REED ORGAN/POISON GLAND crossers. I saw REED ORGAN almost straight away and was tempted to biff, but instead I struggled to make the cryptic fit: I got distracted by the idea that “Republican drops in on” meant an r had to be added, not subtracted. I had a momentary concern that this was going to follow a recent pattern of one recalcitrant clue in an otherwise reasonably straightforward puzzle leading to a DNF, but I got there in the end.

29. 32 minutes, ready to comment a couple of hours ago but TfTT wouldn’t let me in. COD to ACETATE. Haven’t we already had SIDEARM recently? We need better gun control. Needed all the crossers for POISON GLAND and the U to give the Q for SQUASH RACKETS. Pleasant puzzle apart from the wretched earworm of the sandman bringing me a dream. Thank you Jack and setter.

30. 14:41

    Much enjoyed – the answers flowed freely today creating plenty of checkers for the slightly more difficult items. Only notes are for:

    PROROGUING – heard of in the Boris Johnson context, and the answer fit the checkers, but didn’t know 100% the definition
    OUTER SPACE – from checkers, didn’t parse
    REED ORGAN – also from checkers. A quick glance in flight, didn’t reveal any presidents to me, though have heard of Erdogan
    ACETATE – had forgotten about the overhead projector usage

    Thanks Jack and setter

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