Times Cryptic 29328 – Sat, 6 September 2025.Say what, now.

Author   branchPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic

This would have been easy if not for 13 down!

Thanks to the setter. How did you do?

Note for newcomers: The Times offers prizes for Saturday Cryptic Crosswords. This blog is for last week’s puzzle, posted after the competition closes. So, please don’t comment here on this week’s Saturday Cryptic.

Definitions are in bold and underlined. Instructions copied from the clues to explain the wordplay shown thus. Anagram material (THUS)*. A “~” symbol indicates where text is to be inserted.

Across
1 Judge to authorise revision of Times sketch, finally, for comedian (9)
JOKESMITH – J + OK [to authorise] + anagram (revision) of (TIMES)* + H (sketcH, finally).
6 Review amount raised (3,2)
SUM UP – SUM [amount] + UP [raised].
The chair of the discussion will review/sum up at the end.
9 Vain American first to enrol in a lower degree (7)
USELESS – U.S. + E [first to Enrol] + LESS.
10 Part of order retracted about including current name (7)
MONIKER – MON~K [part of order] + ER [RE, retracted], including I [electrical current]. The “~” symbol indicates where text is to be inserted.
11 Essay subject lacking content? Agree to meet (5)
TRYST – TRY [to essay] + ST  (SubjecT, lacking content).
12 Blokes caught with it in 24 hours? It’s not true (9)
MENDACITY – MEN + (C+IT) in DA~Y.
13 Nobleman abandoning cold in principal skiing venue? (8)
MOUNTAIN – COUNT, abandoning C, in M~AIN.
14 Sports centre abandoned by northern region (4)
AREA – ARENA, abandoned by N.
17 Josephine leading quiet banter (4)
JOSH – JO + SH.
18 No lines including expression of farewell? Don’t worry about it (3,2,3)
NOT AT ALL – NO + LL [lines], including TA-TA.
21 Sources of some prevalent cold or heat (9)
SPICINESS – sources of Some Prevalent + ICINESS.
22 Vessel losing power carrying American food from Japan (5)
SUSHI – SHIP (losing power), carrying U.S.
24 United suffering about limitations of their transport to London? (2-5)
UP-TRAIN – U + PAIN about TR (limitations of TraiN).
25 French designer adopting extra new medium (7)
CHANNEL – CHANEL adopting extra N.
26 One French article with extra heart repelled boredom (5)
ENNUI – it’s EN(N)U+I. Produced by reversal (repelled) of: I [one] + UNE [French grammatical article] with extra N in its heart.
27 Coolness under pressure if tussling with dragons (4-5)
SANG-FROID – anagram, tussling: (IF DRAGONS)* 
Down
1 Jack and Sally at the fair for an outing (5)
JAUNT – J + AUNT.
2 Calm down and continue to bet everything? (4,4,5,2)
KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON – to bet everything would be to “put your shirt on”. Keep doing it!
3 Watch muscle getting into condition (8)
SPECTATE – PEC getting into STATE.
4 Some — not all — in pub, I admitted, initially showing wakeful state (8)
INSOMNIA – SOME (not all) in IN~N + I + A [Admitted, initially]. The “~” symbol indicates where text is to be inserted.
5 Player kept in shade? Very kind (6)
HUMANE – MAN [player] in HUE.
6 Footwear outrage after Conservative’s dismissal (6)
SANDAL – SCANDAL.
7 Use up in moderation — ask to be extravagant (4,7,4)
MAKE INROADS INTO – anagram, to be extravagant: (IN MODERATION ASK)*
8 Shared support from bohemian women in cover of darkness (5,4)
PARTY WALL – ARTY W in PALL.
13 Almost impartial copper collared by bloke in capital style (9)
MAJUSCULE – JUST [almost impartial] + CU collared by MALE.
15 Islander running narcotics, offloading tons (8)
CORSICAN – anagram, running: (NARCOtICS)*. You have to offload T [tons].
16 Role diminished fat, large man (8)
FALSTAFF – FAT + L + STAFF.
19 One piece of legislation I’d overturned for festival (6)
DIWALI – reversal (oveturned) of  I + LAW + I’D.
20 Crucial information shunned by western economist (6)
KEYNES – KEY + NEWS.
23 One dead electric light failed to work (5)
IDLED – I + D [dead] + L.E.D [electric light].

20 comments on “Times Cryptic 29328 – Sat, 6 September 2025.Say what, now.”

  1. I was helped by knowing MAJUSCULE from the French. Now I’ve learned that it is also an English word!
    As is SANG-FROID!

    1. With the adjective in the French position!

      BTW folks – got a couple of ‘error 500’s when trying to post this response.

  2. I knew MAJUSCULE and the Indian festival (coming up soon) so this was a steady solve. If I had to spell it cold I’d have said MONIKER has a C in, but the wordplay (and the enumeration) says no. Luckily there seems to be only one economist famous enough to make it into the crossword.

  3. A slight return to more soluble Sat cryptic.
    Particularly liked 12ac MENDACITY and 14ac AREA for being clever but direct. 19d a cleanly posed clue made easier by recent appearance here, and 20d as Paul noted could only be Milton KEYNES.
    Slight ER only at 1d JAUNT and 24ac UP-TRAIN where this one had to post check to confirm what an Aunt Sally at fairs, and trains in London, were.
    Even MAJUSCULE was almost soluble but required research to see what text styles would fit the crossers. Engaging but not strongly entertaining.
    Apologies for any crossings, I will read.
    Thank you setter and branch.

    1. From Yes, Minister – A Question of Loyalty

      Sir Desmond (a city banker): It took me thirty years to understand Keynes’ economics. Then when I’d just cottoned on, everyone started getting hooked on these new monetarist ideas, you know, ‘I Want To Be Free’ by Milton Shulman.

      Sir Humphrey: Milton Friedman.

      Sir Desmond: Why are they all called Milton? Anyway, I’ve only got as far as Milton Keynes.

      Sir Humphrey: Maynard Keynes.

      Sir Desmond: I’m sure there’s a Milton Keynes.

      Sir Humphrey: Yes, there is, but it’s… [Humphrey gives up]

      1. Thank you for the stylish correction to my obvious error.
        My favourite Sir Humphrey is where he is trying to admit his culpability:
        ‘The person responsible (Prime?) Minister is one whom your present interlocutor is accustomed to referring to by means of the perpendicular pronoun’.
        (Just to get ahead of the game, I may not have that quote exact.)
        So, mia culpa here.

  4. 32:48
    I expected ONES in 2d, which slowed me down a bit. I don’t geet the ‘continue’; if I keep my shirt on, I’m not betting everything.

    1. I suppose if playing roulette and you just won on Black, and you keep your shirt on Black (along with the other winnings?)

  5. I had this down as 42 minutes with no queries, but on revisiting my copy today I find that I failed to complete 13dn, and since I’ve never heard of MAJUSCULE I doubt I ever would have if I’d remembered to go back to it.

  6. 23 minutes. I hadn’t heard of MAJUSCULE which still went in fairly confidently thanks to the clear wordplay and that helpful J crosser. After solving I realised it’s the partner to the lower case MINUSCULE. I had more trouble with MONIKER; the wordplay was perfectly fair but took some working out, even after getting the answer. I didn’t know a PARTY WALL as a thing and despite the wordplay, it looked a bit green paint.

    Favourite was 1d – hope Jack and Sally enjoyed themselves at the fair.

    Thanks to Bruce and setter

  9. My thanks to branch and setter.
    I had to cheat for 13d NHO Majuscule. I don’t feel guilty; it isn’t a word many people need. Guy du Sable might perhaps, but I don’t. Otherwise I got very stuck a week ago and just picked it up again today. Not as hard as I had thought; perhaps I was feeling dim a week ago.
    1a Jokesmith NHO, but guessable. Added to Cheating Machine.
    25a Channel. I am not a keen devotee of haute couture and took a long time to remember Mlle Chanel.
    7d Make inroads. Took a lot of paper to determine that it was INTO and not UPON.

  10. 15 minutes.

    – KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON went in with a bit of a shrug as I didn’t know the betting expression
    – Also not familiar with PARTY WALL, but the wordplay was kind
    – Got MAJUSCULE thanks to knowing enough Spanish (‘mayúscula’)

    Thanks branch and setter.

    FOI Jaunt
    LOI Majuscule
    COD Corsican

  11. 18.30

    Stuck on MAJASCULE and the easier JOSH at the end. Wondered whether the bloke was a MATE so pleased to avoid a pinkie.

    Watching NAPOLEON at the moment so couldn’t help but notice both CORSICAN and Josephine in the puzzle but looks like just a coincidence. I did wonder whether MAJUSC was the capital of that island though in such confession, my total incomprehension of what was happening with that clue is laid bare!

    Thanks Bruce/setter

  12. Some easy clues to get started, then more challenging with some devious definitions and wordplay. Liked MONIKER and PARTY WALL. Having lived in a terraced house all my adult life, I am very familiar with the term. LOI MAJUSCULE, from wordplay, or might have worried about the spelling.

  13. 42 mins, all fully parsed with MONIKER taking the longest – I think because ‘part of order’ is vaguer than ‘member of order’. COD to SANG-FROID for a whimsically convincing surface.

  14. Completed in 40:34.
    FOI JOKESMITH, although NHO this word.
    LOI MONIKER
    COD PARTYWALL

    For SUM UP I had TOT UP first. Struggled with the ending of MENDACITY, for CHANNEL I tried COCO at first for the designer.

    Couldn’t parse FALSTAFF. and for DIWALI I had ACT not LAW, so was looking at something like ITCADI.

    I didn’t get the SHIRT for ages, as I thought of HAIR “keep your hair on” Not sure the clue really works, to be honest. When do you bet your shirt ?

    MAJUSCULE was a good guess, I did know MINUSCULE, one to watch the spelling on,

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