Times Cryptic Jumbo 1520 – 2nd October 2021. Initially Identical Iterations

15 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1520 – 2nd October 2021. Initially Identical Iterations”

1. Congrats on teasing this one out, Kitty; you did a lot better than I did. I got through it eventually but with increasing reliance on aids as I realised it contained far too many obscurities – words I didn’t know at all and clues where having identified the answer one way or another I was unable to unravel the wordplay. At times it felt more like the rare occasions I have attempted Mephistos, a type of puzzle I find utterly unsatisfying which is why I never even look at them these days.

   I was interested to be reminded that CUT CAPERS appeared in this one, which might explain why it came so readily to mind when it turned up in a 15×15 earlier this week and CAPERS was in the QC on the same day.

   1. Thanks Jack. I do enjoy barred puzzles, but they are a different beast and I like them for different reasons. I’m not tempted by Mephisto and the like while puzzles like the Listener exist. (I was recently obliged to do an EV without an endgame, and would definitely not have bothered with it were it not mine to blog.)
2. I was tempted to give up but persevered since I’d precious little else to do. NHO ISLAND ARC, or AWETO, let alone TRIWOTSIT. If it was like this every week I’d take up another pastime. I quite liked IMHOTEP though.
3. I ended up enjoying this one once I realised that it would be pointless to try and solve it without aids and treated it like a Mephisto. ORCZY, for instance, is impossible to solve if you haven’t heard of the writer, and TRIMETHYLDOODAH is very close to impossible to construct from the wordplay. So I didn’t bother.
4. Only the dyestuff needed assistance to finally unscrew, the other relative obscurities either within my ken (like the Scarlet Pimpernel baroness and the Egyptian architect(?))) or yielding to wordplay, such as the Sun King, the improbable fish and the spider. It did push my time to a tick under 55 minutes.

   I wish I’d spotted the NINA, an absolutely astonishing achievement of the setter’s sublime skill.

   1. Could someone explain the Nina please? I see that the across clues all begin with the same letter on each line, is that it, or is there more to it?
      1. I’m also stumped by this. I never spot Ninas, but I can usually find them if someone points out that there is one!
         1. The feature I spotted was just that: the across clues on each row begin with the same letter. I’m not sure if I would call that a nina as such – I think of that as specifically a hidden word or message – which is why I hedged with “hidden feature”.
            1. Thanks Kitty. Doesn’t seem much of a feature: I’d have expected the first letters to at least spell something. Over-picky no doubt!
5. Managed it without aids except for 13ac, which is just taking the widdle, surely. My do-a-few-and-come-back-later approach to jumbos is especially useful on occasions like this.
   Not all that enjoyable though, if I’m honest, a bit too much of a grind.
6. I really enjoyed this one. I finished in a good time for me — 1:42:42 — and only messed up once with IN A CURRY.
   I do not recall using aids at all. Some may have gone in without quite total understanding, but generally I found that where the vocab was pushing at the boundaries, or beyond, the wordplay was kind; eg TRAGUS NHO but T + SUGAR backwards is something I was happy to go with. Even TRIP… the”fun” clue at 13ac was eminently doable with diligence and plenty of crossers. The components were not difficult.
   I’m well satisfied. It’s a shame about the dodgy curry. I really do think we should be allowed one mistake in a puzzle as big as a Jumbo.
   Thank you kitty and setter
7. Completed, including the spectacular 13a, a clue so great I have shared with non-crossword fans. I got it early by seeing NY and NE at the end, and deciding it must be an organic chemical. That led to PHENYL and various checkers brought it home.

   I had to cheat on ORCZY :C=note, I don’t like that device in an obscure word.”note” can be ABCDEF plus Do Re etc, which seem to have multiple spellings as well (me, mi, te, ti etc). Along with unknown (x,y,z) thats just too many things to try.

   Other NHOs were gettable, which is part of a well-judged puzzle: TRAGUS, TABLEAU VIVANT, MAHER etc

   Knew IMHOTEP from Year 7 History, our teacher said he was the first individual whose name is known because of a skill, ie not a king or ruler.

   COD CARPETS/SPECTRA anagram.

8. Sorry, not to be able to understand the nina everyone seems to be raving on abut 🙁

   1. Me neither

9. A hidden feature was mentioned but not a NINA!

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