Times Cryptic No 27918 – Saturday, 6 March 2021. How do you spell that?

Posted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Well, that was fun. I got started in the NE corner, and finished in the SW. There was a scattering of words I had to look up post solve, but nothing to stop one finishing. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. How did you get on?

Notes for newcomers: The Times offers prizes for Saturday Cryptic Crosswords. This blog is posted a week later, after the competition closes. So, please don’t comment here on the current Saturday Cryptic.

Clues are blue, with definitions underlined. Deletions are in {curly brackets}.

Across
1 One engaged in the actual job of abstraction (8)
THIEVERY – THE VERY = the actual. Insert I=one.
5 Familiar feeling from Dave broadcast around July 1st and 2nd (4,2)
DÉJÀ VU – anagram (broadcast) of DAVE + J (1st letter of July) + U (2nd letter of July).
10 After day you limit, then direct, when capacity’s reached (10,5)
SATURATION POINT – SAT=the day Saturday, U=you, phonetically, RATION=limit, POINT=direct.
11 A couple of ways around organ (7)
ADRENAL – A (literally), then LANE + RD ‘around’. The answer looks like an adjective, but can also be a noun as implied by the definition.
12 A good set of drinks on the rocks? (7)
AGROUND – A (literally, again), G=good, ROUND=set of drinks.
13 To arrange golf in African port is ultimately inane (8)
ORGANISE – ORAN is a port in Algeria. Insert G=good. Append IS, INANE.
15 Replace whistle-blower linked to PCs etc (5)
REFIT – REF=whistleblower, as usual. IT=linked to PCs, etc.
18 Father Ted mislays last new communion plate (5)
PATEN – PA=father, TED mislays its last letter, N=new. PATEN came up last August, with more straightforward wordplay. This time I almost bunged in PATER but fortunately resisted.
20 Bordeaux perhaps ultimately good with a convenience food (8)
VINDALOO – VIN=wine=Bordeaux, perhaps. D=GOOD, ultimately. Then A (literally), LOO=convenience. Nice misdirection in the conjunction of ‘convenience food’.
23 Hammer business graduate in final (7)
LAMBAST – LAST=final. Insert MBA.
25 Authorise small space for printer before heading (7)
ENTITLE – you know you’ve been doing too many crosswords when you think of EN=small space before TITLE=heading!
26 Quiet priest flogging crucifix blocks safe urban route (7,8)
PELICAN CROSSING – P=quiet, ELI=the usual priest, CANING=flogging. Let that all be blocked by CROSS=crucifix.
27 Nice chap put back son’s departure (6)
EGRESS – regular solvers will see “Nice” positioned at the start of a clue to disguise why it has a capital N, and think “France”. The French chap turns out to be SERGE. Write him backwards, and add S for son. I finally got this from definition, not wordplay, of course.

I also can’t confirm that ‘Serge’ is a particularly French name. There was of course the singer, Serge Gainsbourg, but I discover he changed his name from Lucien to Serge to be more representative of his Russian background!

28 Old king and Queen embodying superior majesty (8)
GRANDEUR – GR=old King George, AND (literally), ER=the current queen, ‘embodying’ U=superior.

Down
1 Italian aunt arranged to go round small capitals (6)
TUSCAN – anagram of AUNT (arranged), going round SC=small capitals. Not an abbreviation I ever remember using, but you can see that it might well be useful if you’re in the printing business.
2 Gloss is an essential component for painter, prettifying (9)
INTERPRET – hidden answer.!
3 Museum of London houses royal gallery (7)
VERANDA – the V & A gets spelled out as V AND A, and ‘houses’ ER.
4 Republican took in large mustelid (5)
RATEL – R=Republican, ATE=took in, L=large. If you want to know, the Mustelidae are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks, and wolverines, among others. I looked it up for you!
6 Theatre in his city backed Caesar for one (7)
EMPEROR – REP in ROME, all ‘backed’.
7 Gold-plated stamp, the last word for some (5)
ADIEU – DIE=stamp, plated with AU.
8 Put out duck with fruit that’s fresh (2-2-4)
UP-TO-DATE – anagram of PUT (out), then O=duck, DATE=fruit.
9 Hospital nursing old online dealer raised pulse (4,4)
SOYA BEAN – SAN=hospital, ‘nursing’ O + EBAY backwards.
14 Modern sextet can, with a grand — being seductive (8)
INVITING – IN=modern, VI=sextet, TIN=can, G=a grand.
16 Scott’s problem? Dashing to be first (9)
FROSTBITE – anagram of TO BE FIRST, (dashing).
17 Perfect tricky bed arrangement (5-3)
APPLE-PIE – double definition, the second relating to a schoolboy prank.
19 Fine differences one’s not seen in pests (7)
NUANCES – NUISANCES without I’S.
21 Arthur is an excellent worker with his hands (7)
ARTISAN – ART IS AN.
22 Pub welcomes nit, one with cap in hand? (6)
BEGGAR – EGG in BAR.
24 It grinds, moving only left and right at first (5)
MOLAR – spelled out by first letters.
25 Slip and panic, having wasted time (5)
ERRORTERROR, ‘wasting’ Time.

26 comments on “Times Cryptic No 27918 – Saturday, 6 March 2021. How do you spell that?”

  1. ….”apple pir” variety, and only spotted the typo after wasting a minute alpha trawling the wrong letters for 27A. Surprised to see EBAY appear here.

    FOI DEJA VU
    LOI EGRESS
    COD VINDALOO
    TIME 11:15

  2. I never did figure out EGRESS; for me, anyway, Serge is a Russian name. Like Phil, I was surprised at EBAY; and not particularly pleased. ‘Ultimately’ inane at 13ac, good at 20ac. DNK ADRENAL, SC.
    1. Serge has the same origin (Roman Sergius) as the Russian Sergei but it is very much a French name.

      Edited at 2021-03-13 03:08 pm (UTC)

  3. I thought some clues were almost write-ins but others were trickier.
    In 11ac I’m still dubious about ADRENAL equalling ‘organ’ but I’ll take you word for it, Bruce.
    And I am also dubious about ‘gloss’ equalling interpret.
    Thanks for explaining APPLE PIE. I was having difficulty seeing how ‘tricky’ was involved.
    THIEVERY and SOYA BEAN were very good but my COD was VERANDA.
    As I spent 60 years as a Catholic I had no problem with PATEN.
    16d was a good hidden anagram, I thought, but I have an aversion to those silly little printing terms like EN.
    As for SERGE, the French rugby team once had a terrific full back called SERGE Blanco.
    1. Ah yes, Serge Blanco. Well remembered!

      As to the vocabulary, Chambers has

      adrenal /ə-drēˈnəl/ adjective

      noun
      An adrenal gland

      and

      gloss2 /glos/
      noun
      An explanation given in a margin or between lines, eg of an obscure or unusual word
      A deceptive or intentionally misleading explanation
      A collection of explanations of words, a glossary
      transitive verb
      To give a gloss on
      To explain away
      intransitive verb
      To comment or make explanatory remarks

      Edited at 2021-03-13 07:35 am (UTC)

      1. As a (fellow)-Australian, I think of our current government who can gloss over all sorts of corruption and illegality (you allegedly misheard me) and interpret facts differently. From the top down: “I didn’t read the allegations of rape against the minister, but they’re false.”
        I had gloss as a verb; but that’s my usage, might not be in the dictionaries.
        1. How about “He put his own gloss/interpretation on it”?

          (Without reading the allegation … of course!)

    2. Sadly, M Blanco was raised in Biarritz rather than Nice. I wonder if there are any famous Serges who came from Nice?
      1. I still remember the first time I saw Serge Blanco play. It was on that Sunday afternoon BBC2 rugby programme hosted by Nigel Starmer-Smith back in the 70s. The match was a B International between Wales and France. Blanco was just outstanding.
  4. 29 minutes. LOI a biffed EGRESS. Neither Serge Blanco nor Serge Gainsbourg came into view. I liked VERANDA , APPLE-PIE and FROSTBITE, but COD to VINDALOO. It’s a good jod RATEL was clearly clued because I didn’t know what a mustelid was. Nice Saturday puzzle otherwise. Thank you B and setter.
  5. What others have said about SERGE. If I’ve ever come across it as a Frenchman’s name I have assumed he had Russian heritage. GLOSS as interpret was news to but then I thought ‘glossary’ as a list of interpretations and it seemed perfectly logical. ADRENAL as a noun was also news.
    1. See here: almost all the people called Serge are French, French Canadian or from Francophone countries. The Russian equivalent is Sergei or Sergey.
      List_of_notable_people_with_given_name_Serge
  6. I’ll dedicate this if I may,
    To our bloggers. I just want to say
    A massive thank-you
    For the work that you do
    You really do brighten our day.
  7. The mists of time have once again clouded my memory of the details of my solve, but I obviously didn’t struggle too much, as I was all correct in 21:30. I do remember thinking “Ah, so a RATEL is a mustelid!” I was puzzled by GLOSS as INTERPRET, but it was clearly hidden(er, so to speak). Liked VINDALOO and FROSTBITE. Thanks setter and Bruce.
  8. It took me about an hour to get my first 17 clues; the NW remained blank. FOI was ARTISAN. PATEN I may have seen before but wasn’t sure of this word.
    In a second session I finally cracked the NW. Wondered whether ADRENAL could be a noun. Once I saw the hidden INTERPET I wondered what happened to the -ETATION bit to mean Gloss, but hey ho.
    LOI was THIEVERY after another 30 minutes or so.
    Enjoyed this overall. COD to VERANDA.
    David
  9. At the time of writing, I can’t check my success or otherwise with this puzzle because the club site is down, which I found out attempting to submit this week’s. But I don’t remember having too much of a struggle, and Serge seemed French enough to me.
    Presumably we can expect Amazon and Rakuten to appear soon to balance the appearance of Ebay.
  10. The only ones I know have had Russian connections. What can it be short for except Sergei, and few would doubt that that’s Russian?

    To try to settle the matter I looked Serge up in the list in an old edition of Chambers. But nothing, under either Serge or Sergei.

  11. 11:18 so no horse-scaring involved, although I had to look up what a “mstelid” is. I liked NUANCES and VINDALOO.
  12. 45 mins for this, so standard fare for me. I had no probs with 27 ac as I have a good friend called SERGE and to my knowledge, he has no Russian connections. FOI DÉJÀ-VU, DNK RATEL or PATEN but bunged them in from the cryptics. COD VINDALOO. Certainly don’t get that in France! Thank you B for the blog.
  13. 11:13. No dramas. I know one person called Serge and he is, unsurprisingly, French.
    1. The one Serge I could think of at the time was Koussevitzky, and it turns out he was born Sergei.
  14. 53:11. I’m OK with that. FOI DEJA VU. RATEL and PATEN were both unknown but were much less trouble than LOI FROSTBITE which I stared at for ages at the end. I liked VERANDA and PELICAN CROSSING. I know a Guillaume, but no-one called Serge
  15. Thought this was an exceptionally good clue — totally fooled me. Is it a chestnut? If not incredible that the anagrist forms “to be first” and dashing the perfect anagrind. Chapeau, as no Serge is ever likely to say…

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