Times Cryptic No 26916 – Sat, 23 December 2017. Never mind the turkey, pass the Crossword please

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I have no idea how long this took, because it was a workshop topic over a pre-Christmas lunch with what might, given luck, be the next generation of crossword fans! I do know that after lunch I was left with six unsolved: 19, 25 and 28ac, and 7, 13 and 20dn. 28ac fell first … sadly, although I’d accurately workshopped how the cryptic would have to work, I had to get there by trawling through hot drinks with middle letter “t”. The rest flowed, with the elusive 7dn my LOI – my clue of the day! Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle.

Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Anagram indicators are in bold italics. Answers are in BOLD CAPS, followed by the wordplay. (ABC*) means ‘anagram of ABC’, deletions are in {curly brackets}.

Across
1 Investigated, holding back live work on code (5)
DEBUG: DUG around BE backwards. I thought the definition was nicely disguised.
4 Pail may survive scrutiny (4,5)
HOLD WATER: double definition, the first literal, the second metaphorical.
9 Duck’s little problem, back in lake and river (9)
MERGANSER: SNAG backwards inside MERE, then R for river.
10 Marie Lloyd is full of spirit on the stage (5)
ARIEL: hidden answer.
11 Where slaves are sold at a monopoly price? (7,6)
CAPTIVE MARKET: is this a whimsical cryptic definition, or a double definition?
14 One time at college (4)
UNIT: UNI / T.
15 Where one may lay out sleeping bag purposefully? (4,6)
WITH INTENT: put the sleeping bag WITHIN the TENT.
18 Humble communication on boat (10)
SUBMISSIVE: SUB / MISSIVE.
19 Go down badly for a lot of money (4)
BOMB: double definition.
21 Incarcerate criminal and put in block regularly for obstinacy (13)
RECALCITRANCE: (INCARCERATE L C*), where L and C are the even letters (regularly) of “block”.
24 Soul of a bird returning (5)
ANIMA:  A MINA bird backwards.
25 Park on downs for a ramble, taking main road back (9)
SNOWDONIA: (ON DOWNS*), then AI backwards.
27 Be dismissed in America, and start an independent course (6,3)
STRIKE OUT: double definition: the first to do with baseball, the quintessential American summer sport, and the other literal or metaphorical trailblazing.
28 Hot drink with butter up each side missing (5)
LATTE: {f}LATTE{r}=butter up.

Down
1 Around a month produces reworked section of wall (4,6)
DAMP COURSE: (A M{onth} PRODUCES*).
2 Obstruct poet endlessly (3)
BAR: BAR{d}.
3 Player using energy needing a rest (6)
GOALIE: GO / A / LIE.
4 Sit and cry — she must be suffering these? (9)
HYSTERICS: (SIT CRY SHE*), and a &lit definition.
5 Rising sea overwhelms very immature creature (5)
LARVA: ARAL sea around V{ery}, all reversed.
6 Enormous weight placed on computer misuse (8)
WHACKING: W / HACKING. Not sure the definition quite works for me – don’t you have to say “whacking great” to mean “enormous”? No, Chambers says “whacking” alone will do.
7 Let this out below — it may float away (11)
THISTLEDOWN: (LET THIS*), then DOWN=below.
8 Broadcast part in play that ham may fill (4)
ROLL: sounds like ROLE.
12 Limits of endurance of a popular playwright engulfed by publicity (4,7)
PAIN BARRIER: A / IN=popular / BARRIE=playwright, inside PR.
13 Fellow member, fit male, in condition (10)
STABLEMATE: put ABLE M{ale} inside STATE.
16 Don’t employ several solicitors to pursue argument to the end (4,2,3)
HAVE IT OUT: or only HAVE / 1=one / TOUT.
17 Shoddy fighter knocked over with sharp blow (8)
GIMCRACK: MIG fighter backwards, then CRACK=sharp blow.
20 Free to enter party that’s got up for those recently joined (6)
BRIDAL: RID inside LAB backwards. The definition relates to a bridal party.
22 Restraint of girl leading to love (5)
LASSO: LASS / O=love.
23 Winter misery, standing around one platform (4)
DAIS: SAD around I, all backwards. On edit: if like the first commenter, you wonder what “SAD” has to do with winter, look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
26 Regularly insult head (3)
NUT: even letters of “insult”.
 

27 comments on “Times Cryptic No 26916 – Sat, 23 December 2017. Never mind the turkey, pass the Crossword please”

  1. I can’t quite see how SAD = winter misery. Until someone explains it to me that is. BTW I can’t remember who here gave me the idea of doing the prize puzzles a week in arrears, but many thanks to him or her. It works well for me to find out instantly whether my solution is correct or not and to come here and find the blog ready and waiting. I don’t mind not being able to enter the competition. I actually won it once and the accompanying letter congratulated me on being a ‘lucky’ winner. So, sadly, there was no chance of impressing anyone here with my prize.
    2. SAD = Seasonal Affective Disorder, Google out. It is one of those ailments that are real enough tho those who have it, but not to the long-suffering GPs that year them. Basically out means tiki dislike winter a lot. I entirely sympathise with that view
      JerryW not logged in…
      1. Sorry.. that was me on my phone making a bit of a hash of the entry! And I now see our esteemed blogger has added a link anyway… well, that’s December for you 🙂
    3. I’ve been doing the weekend puzzles a week in arrears for years. I like to get the solutions when I can still remember my thought processes.
  2. Posting early as my injuries from yesterday’s fall have made sleeping somewhat uncomfortable, and the Test Match has petered out. Did this in 55 minutes while watching the Jeff Stelling show last Saturday afternoon as Wanderers actually won. COD between CAPTIVE MARKET and HAVE IT OUT. The subject matter of the pun meant solving the former didn’t feel like a light-bulb moment, so I’ll give it to the latter, although I’m none too fond of ticket TOUTs either. I knew of seasonal affective disorder, for which a light bulb can actually be part of the solution. Thank you B and setter.
    1. Sorry to hear about this. I’m scheduled to have a new left knee in 3 weeks thanks to the injuries I did myself a couple of years ago with a crashing fall onto said joint. I hope you’re spared such an aftermath.
      1. That’s very kind, Olivia. A day later, the wrist has improved and the back seems to be just bruising, but I think I may have cracked a rib. There’s no point in finding out because the medics only prescribe rest anyway. Good luck with your knee operation. I can never think of National Parks as proper parks either. I think The Crown has been a bit unfair to the Duke of Edinburgh.
  3. So many crosswords recently I can’t remember anything particulary tricky with this one, my print-out has 19 in a circle so that’s what it took me. I do remember LATTE taking longer than it should and THISTLEDOWN being a good one.
    MERGANSER is a crossword duck, comes to mind quickly when you see the duck word, although I have no idea what a merganser looks like.
    I knew about SAD having spent time in Sweden in the winter, and from my son who lives north of Aberdeen. Daylight starvation is not good for you.
      1. Nice to know, but leaves me none the wiser 🙂
        For me, it’ll remain just a crossword duck.

        Edited at 2017-12-30 08:00 pm (UTC)

  4. An hour and a minute here. FOI 1a DEBUGging is something I’ve done nearly every day for about 37 years, so I’m glad I didn’t embarrass myself by missing that answer. LOI the crossers of 13d STABLEMATE and 19a BOMB.

    Enjoyed 16d, learned a new duck at 9a, and apparently forgot about it in between last week and today. A friend of mine suffers from SAD and is certainly none too happy at the moment. At least we’ve passed the solstice now.

  5. Thanks both. Not an expression I’d met before. How often do I say that after reading the TftT blog?
  6. No trouble with this puzzle. I even knew of the duck. DEBUG and BAR were my FOsI and STABLEMATE brought up the rear. 29:48. Thanks setter and Bruce.
  7. This seemed to go in smoothly except for SNOWDONIA which never quite springs to mind as a park (I mean it’s not Hyde or Yellowstone). Not to mention that I binge-watched The Crown over Christmas having almost forgotten about Armstrong-Jones. I did know SAD and while I can’t say I suffer from it I always perk up after the Solstice, no matter if it’s 1F outside, as it was yesterday morning in NYC. P.S. Forgot – 17 on the nose.

    Edited at 2017-12-30 12:58 pm (UTC)

  8. Enjoyed this, especially WHACKING, which is a great word. Bamboozled by DAIS, as SAD was an acronym I’d never heard of.
  9. 44:34. I found it difficult to get started with this one but answers flowed steadily once my FOI 28ac finally got me going. Remembering the duck was a struggle.
  10. This was a struggle for me. Got all the RHS but little of the LHS. Looking at the answers it all seems fair apart from the MYNAH bird ( that’s how I’ve always spelt it). The duck which I have seen before in crosswords eluded me; as did the very clever hidden anagram in 4d. And so on.
    I’ll put this down to a brain fade -was it the former leader of the Green Party who used that expression?
    An enjoyable puzzle nevertheless.
    A happy new year to all and get well soon Bolton Wanderer.
    I’m feeling rather elated after Preston North End’s last gasp win at Cardiff last night. Not a spectacle for the uncommitted. David
    2. I’m pleased about Preston’s win as well but for different reasons. The idea of Cardiff going up while Swansea goes down is a horrific prospect for anyone in West Wales. It’s impossible to overestimate how much the rest of Wales resent Cardiff. It sucks the life out of Wales in much the same way as London sucks the life out of the rest of the country. So well done, Preston. Rejoicing all round.
  11. The parsing of 3d [Goalie] felt a bit inaccurate.
    And I’ve got to agree with David about the “Mina” spelling. Can that really be correct? I’ve only ever seen it spelled ‘Mynah’, and acknowledge that the ‘h’ is often dropped. But… Mina?
    1. Collins only has “myna(h)”, but Chambers and Oxford have “mina” too, in Oxford’s case saying “earlier”. You can see that the “i” spelling would appeal to setters.
      1. Hmmm. Well, ok, but still… GO = energy? Surely just a tiny bit tenuous? I’ve seen worse, yes, but I’ve seen a lot better!
        1. Again I think it’s ok. “He’s got a lot of go”, for example. My rule of thumb is, they don’t have to have identical meanings, but can one substitute for the other satisfactorily in a sentence? All of that said, it was a toughie. I wasn’t close to parsing the cryptic until I saw a GOALIE was a player!

          Edited at 2017-12-31 11:49 pm (UTC)

  12. This was a very satisfying crossword for me. Just chewy enough without being indigestible. Two last in were the DEBUG/GOALIE cross. I had DEB** for ages which just shows the level of my IT awareness. 29 minutes. Ann
  13. Just filled DAIS from ‘platform’.Never heard of the said meaning of SAD.The rest no problem.Happy new year to all.
    Chadwick Ong’ara,
    Nairobi.

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