Times Cryptic No 27936 – Saturday, 27 March 2021. New and different?

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This Crossword had a very fresh feel to it. Was it a new or different setter, I wonder? I got though it very quickly but paused to admire clue after clue as I went. I particularly liked the clue with Mrs Thatcher, and that with the Indian statesman, but my standout was the alphabet trickery at 16ac and 6dn. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. How did you all 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 struck through.

[Read more ….]

Across
1 Firearm found in river collected by police (6)
MUSKET – USK collected by the MET.
4 Take apart a French car, there being little left inside (8)
UNCOUPLE – UN, COUPÉ with L inside.
9 Swimmer in drink gets shock (5,2)
SHAKE UP – HAKE in SUP.
11 Permission from top Indian statesman? (2-5)
GO-AHEAD – GOA is the Indian State, HEAD is top. So, he’s the top Goan, not a statesman of the Thatcher calibre, as if that were possible!
12 Bar‘s very popular, understood? (5)
INGOT – IN is popular, GOT is understood.
13 British prime minister once suppressing a vote — description of Thatcher? (6-3)
BATTLE-AXE – B for British. ATTLEE was PM once, and here he suppresses A+X.
14 At the end of dance, it’s amusing to squeeze leg — careful! (10)
ECONOMICAL – E is end of dance. COMICAL is amusing, and it has to squeeze ON or leg.
16 Vehicle, one I would precede, on which to go around (4)
JEEP – I precedes J in the alphabet, then reverse PEE=go.
19 Large spruce (4)
TIDY – double definition. Neat and tidy, or a tidy sum.
20 Love to leave bouquet with new charity that’s concerned with mental issues (10)
PSYCHIATRY – take O=love out of PoSY, then add an anagram (new) of CHARITY.
22 One’s beaten on points by ace — hit back (5,4)
SNARE DRUM – S and N are compass points, A is ace, then MURDER=hit is backwards to give REDRUM.
23 Tough soldier goes around back of tank to get coat (5)
PARKA – PARA goes round the K from the back of tank.
25 Visiting worker being accommodated in one US city or another (7)
ATLANTA – AT is visiting. ANT is the worker, in LA.
26 Turned around in back row, tending to form new contacts! (7)
NETWORK – a backwards hidden answer, in bacK ROW TENding.
27 Work miles away, close to Dutch port (8)
PLYMOUTH – PLY is to work, M is miles, OUT is away, H is the close/last letter of dutcH.
28 Whiskey, right? That gets mistaken for scotch (6)
THWART – anagram (mistaken) of W R THAT, using one-letter abbreviations for the first two words..

Down
1 Send wrong credits: I’m confused (9)
MISDIRECT – anagram (confused) of CREDITS IM.
2 In manner of speaking, was grass laid around lake? (5)
SLANG – L for lake in SANG=grassed/informed.
3 Working out if, given immunity, Republican replaces representative (8)
EXERTION – EXEMPTION would be immunity. Replace MP by R for Republican.
5 Playing ninth match — a good wicket for late starter? (13)
NIGHTWATCHMAN – anagram (playing) of NINTH MATCH A G W, using one-letter abbreviations for the last two words.
6 Sage the most common ingredient in tagliatelle eaten by old people (6)
ORACLE – O for old, RACE of people. Add an L, the only letter which occurs three times in tagliatelle. (Very original).
7 Pressure on clergyman before a religious festival is common (9)
PREVALENT – P for pressure, REV is the clergyman, A, LENT is the religious festival.
8 Last, not penultimate gift (5)
ENDUE – to ENDURE is to last. Remove the penultimate letter.
10 Government official‘s initially nervous when entering seedy private clubs (6,7)
PUBLIC SERVANT – N from nervous goes into an anagram (seedy) of PRIVATE CLUBS.
15 Former gangster admitting one crime finally put inside by court (3,6)
OLD BAILEY – OLD is former. Then put I=one inside AL=the gangster, append E as the last letter of crimE, and put all that inside BY, and there by magic is the answer.
17 Yes, crowd invested in favourite — there’s money in it (3,6)
PAY PACKET – AY is yes, PACK is the crowd. Put that inside PET.
18 Murder in area covered by senior detective? (8)
DISPATCH – it’s the DI’S PATCH, isn’t it?
21 Slowly clads a building (4-2)
LEAN-TO – LENTO is the musical instruction for slowly. Put in an A.
22 Went through water, parking in boggy area (5)
SWAMP – SWAM, P for parking.
24 Wine and port on top of unfinished beer (5)
RIOJA – RIO is the port, a JAr is a beer.

15 comments on “Times Cryptic No 27936 – Saturday, 27 March 2021. New and different?”

  1. I had India and Battle-axe ticked, too. I thought “was grass” was awkward indicating “sang”, but the better “was a grass” would have been awkward for the clue. thanks, brnchn

    Edited at 2021-04-02 11:24 pm (UTC)

  2. I, too, particularly liked JEEP. Excellent offering.
    I worked a couple 15x15s and a week’s worth of QCs today. It’s all a bit of a blur.
    When will politicians remember, or learn, that they are PUBLIC SERVANTs?
  3. Easy apart from the unknown ENDUE (actually I think I knew the word but had no idea what it meant) and the double definition at 19ac, neither of which brought TIDY to mind until after the event having used aids to find it.

    I wasn’t so impressed by the definition at 13ac as it seems to be a derogatory term dreamt up by men to describe women they don’t like.

    Edited at 2021-04-03 05:30 am (UTC)

    1. How very woke of you! I had the same thought: men are forceful characters who don’t suffer fools gladly, women are battle-axes or harridans.
      1. Yes, it must be catching; I believe there’s a virus going round!

        Edited at 2021-04-03 10:07 am (UTC)

  4. That was fun for me. I, too liked JEEP and ORACLE.
    I thought SNARE DRUM and OLD BAILEY were a bit tortuous but fair clues.
    LOI was ENDUE COD: ORACLE
  5. I forgot to write my time down, but I really liked this puzzle. COD to JEEP, which I was very relieved to solve. Was it Robin Marlar who went in as nightwatchman and was out stumped second ball for six? Good stuff. Thank you B and setter.
  6. ….except to note what follows below. An enjoyable puzzle of medium difficulty.

    FOI BATTLE-AXE
    LOI ENDUE
    COD JEEP
    TIME 11:43

  7. I had most of the RHS done in about 30 minutes. FOI PREVALENT. 20 minutes later just four left: ECONOMICAL and TIDY eventually got me to the OLD BAILEY.
    Then I was left with 16a. Had thought JEEP was the vehicle, but it took me ages to parse it. A big smile when I did.
    Agree an excellent puzzle. COD -another vote for JEEP.
    David
  8. The mists of time have clouded my memory of where I started this puzzle, but I clearly remember spending a goodly amount of time trying to parse my LOI, JEEP. It was a great relief when the penny dropped! 36:39. Thanks setter and Bruce.
  9. Somehow I accidently submitted this after 41 minutes with four still to do. Then spent another 12 minutes on the last four including THWART which I found so hard to construct that I doubted the anagrist or that it was even an anagram. I liked JEEP, of course, and UNCOUPLE
  10. Not bad for a Saturday. Much in line the few who come here on the week-end these days.

    FOI 5dn NIGHTWATCHMAN lovely cricket reference. Jason Gillespie, Australia holds the record score in a Test Match by a nightwatchman – 201 not out v Bangladesh 2006.
    In 1933 the great bodyline bowler Harold Larwood made 98 against Australia (at the Oval?)!

    LOI & COD 16ac JEEP

    WOD 13ac BATTLE AXE! Mrs. Bouquet!

    Time: probably used the nightwatchman – so not recorded.

    Edited at 2021-04-03 05:44 pm (UTC)

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