Times Cryptic No 28110 – Saturday, 16 October 2021. Money, money, money …

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Financially orientated, this puzzle. Those who counts the money, those who bring it home, those who won’t spend it, those who want yours, a thing to put it in, and more. Mind you, the clues that caused me most difficulty weren’t to do with money! The dancer, the successor, and the drink were most awkward.

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.

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Clues are blue, with definitions underlined. Deletions and commentary are in (brackets).

Across
1 Duke on duty is removed (7)
EXCISED – EXCISE + D.
5 Spirit of the people there moving east (5)
ETHOS – THOSE people, move the E up front.
9 Mathematician docked in Italian city (5)
TURIN – Alan TURIN-g.
10 A nun cries out for protection (9)
INSURANCE – anagram (out) of A NUN CRIES.
11 Record humiliating remark (3-4)
PUT-DOWN – double definition.
12 Late blow hampering current book show (7)
EXHIBIT – EX, then HIT ‘hampering’ I + B. I, or strictly ‘i’, is the symbol for electric current.
13 Manage to find partner speaking drunkenly? (10)
ACCOMPLISH – a drunken slurring of ACCOMPLICE.
15 More than one clever chap scratching head for hours (4)
AGES – s-AGES.
18 Win the Ashes perhaps, did you say? (4)
EARN – sounds like URN. Explanation here for non-cricketers.
20 A miser and his favourite fish? (10)
CHEAPSKATE – ho ho.
23 What God did, or a member of the Cosa Nostra? (4,3)
MADE MAN – and again, ho ho.
24 One straining to down northern drink (7)
SNIFTER – N in SIFTER. I struggled with this. Might SNIEVER be a word?
25 Money man more positive after March, for the most part (9)
TREASURER – TREA-d, SURER.
26 Stranger with an entertaining story (5)
ALIEN – LIE in AN.
27 Enjoyed being beaten in Charlie’s absence (5)
LIKED – LI-c-KED.
28 Approaching Bond in flimsy clothing? (7)
NIGHTIE – NIGH, TIE.

Down
1 Unreliable, making endless mistakes I see (7)
ERRATIC – ERRAT-a, I, C. I’m slowly getting used to this habit of spelling out the names of letters!
2 Eat this and do battle! (8)
CONSOMME – CON=do, SOMME=WW1 battle.
3 Hits back, crushing Conservative successor (5)
SCION – greatest hits would be No. 1s. Insert C in NOIS, and reverse. Obvious answer that took me ages to parse.
4 Perhaps the result of gluttony, Pepys said sadly (9)
DYSPEPSIA – anagram (sadly) of PEPYS SAID.
5 Crude, and eager to put husband down (6)
EARTHY – HEARTY, with H for husband moved. This has appeared before.
6 Weapon of Spooner’s ostracised old crone? (7)
HANDBAG – give the Spooner treatment to a BANNED HAG. I think the whole clue is definition!
7 Become aware of outspoken broadcast (5)
SCENT – homophone: SENT would be broadcast.
8 Gestapo quietly organised a strike (8)
STOPPAGE – anagram (organised) of GESTAPO + P.
14 Production of Rheingold cut short, end of northern opera (9)
LOHENGRIN – anagram (production) of RHEINGOL-d + norther-N.
16 Jacob perhaps endures this second trial (8)
SHEARING – S + HEARING. Jacob sheep.
17 Would-be setter, not about to join rave (8)
ASPIRANT – ASPI-c, RANT.
19 US reactionary looking hot, getting kiss (7)
REDNECK – RED, NECK.
21 Dancer’s means of reaching the top, might one say? (7)
ASTAIRE – he might get up there on A STAIR! This took me ages. I was thinking of reindeer for quite a while. He was a great dancer, but Ginger Rogers did it all too, backwards in high heels!
22 Smiling maybe with head of aged American appearing in sea (6)
AMUSED – A-ged, then US in MED.
23 Delayed going north to meet married copper? (5)
METAL – LATE meeting M, all backwards.
24 Shoot revolutionary soldiers holding prince (5)
SPRIG – GIS backwards, holding PR.

25 comments on “Times Cryptic No 28110 – Saturday, 16 October 2021. Money, money, money …”

  1. I had to do this on paper, as my cursor froze so that I could only type a letter in one square. (I’m still waiting for a reply from Customer Service to my request for assistance; a week ago.) DNK SNIFTER as a drink; in the US, it’s a balloon glass. Biffed ASPIRANT, only parsed (long) after submission. I toyed with ETHER at 5ac; either as a hidden, or with the final E moved to the front. It took me a long time to see how ETHOS worked. I liked CONSOMME, SCION, & SHEARING. Fortunately, I’d learned (here) about the sheep recently, or I’d still be working on it; as it was, I immediately thought ‘sheep’.
    1. I also thought immediately of sheep, but couldn’t see past ‘sheepdip’ for much too long. It didn’t parse well
  2. 30 minutes. AGES was LOI. I biffed it and then did an alphabet trawl to parse it. I only got as far as MAGES, and decided that would do though I’m sure the setter will be more of a sage. For some unaccountable reason I thought SCION. and saw Number Ones backwards as my first one in. I enjoyed the Spoonerism which gave both Mrs Thatcher’s weapon of choice and Edith Evans’ best line, and also the memories of Fred and Ginger, but COD to SHEARING. Mind you, as a proud owner of a fantastic border collie for 15 years, I used to hate the Specsavers advert with the short-sighted shepherd. Decent puzzle. Thank you B and setter.
  3. 41 minutes. I didn’t know MADE MAN as a Mafia related term and can’t remember from last week if I parsed ETHOS, but otherwise everything made sense. I liked ASPI(C) as a ‘setter’ in the wordplay for ASPIRANT and was fooled into looking for a “leaping and prancing” word for the very good ASTAIRE. Other favourites were the surface for NIGHTIE and the original ‘Weapon’ in HANDBAG; Edith Evans for me too.

    Thanks to setter and blogger

      1. Hello, Those Mafia dramas are not really my thing. I tried watching “Goodfellas”, but after seeing a piano wire being used for a purpose for which it was not originally designed, I switched off. Maybe “The Sopranos” would be a bit more touchy-feely but somehow I doubt it. “Montalbano” is about as far as I’d go.
  4. …I needed aids to solve CONSOMME, ASTAIRE and, surprisingly, SCENT.
    I didn’t detect a financial orientation with this one, Bruce, because, as usual, I couldn’t see the wood for the trees.
    Thank you for ETHOS, ASPIRANT and SCENT.
    More and more I’m finding that the SW corner goes in first. It did with this puzzle and it did with the Sunday puzzle we’ll discuss tomorrow.
  5. NHO MADE MAN re the Mafia.

    Not sure I’ve seen PR for prince before. I think we’ve had P but Collins says that’s American.

    31 minutes.

  6. Much more straightforward than last week’s challenge, and done in just under an hour. FOI 1d ERRATIC, LOI 21d ASTAIRE, because for too long I was looking for some French ballet term! Also toiled unnecessarily over 16d SHEARING and 7d SCENT, thrown off by first-try ETHER rather than ETHOS blocking progress. Thanks to setter and blogger.
  7. for a much 27ac crossword. COD 24ac Snifter with 16dn Shearing there or thereabouts. WOD DYSPEPSIA. Next!
  8. This one kept me busy for longer than usual. ASTAIRE was LOI. Didn’t know the Mafia term. Liked HANDBAG and CHEAPSKATE. 45:10. Thanks setter and Bruce.
  9. I had a deal of trouble with 16dn SHEARING and 21dn ASTAIRE. Thus an unwelcome DNF. Only eight takers so far today!

    FOI 9ac TURIN – Alan Turing – Bletchley Park – code breaker who took the poisoned apple – to escape his persecution by the police – who didn’t like the fact he was gay. It is said the ‘Apple’ logo was designed is in his memory. Newton also has links to the apple – but he was not persecuted, as The Church (of England) rather liked his theory of gravity, as it showed there was a powerful external force which was above and beyond mere mortals.

    (LOI) 7dn SCENT

    COD 24ac SNIFTER

    WOD 6dn HANDBAG! Maggie!

    Edited at 2021-10-23 09:16 am (UTC)

    1. Newton himself didn’t like his theory of gravity: ‘so great an Absurdity that I believe no Man who has in philosophical matters a competent Faculty of thinking, can ever fall into it.’ But he felt compelled to accept it.
      1. I’m pretty good on Newton, as I was brought up at Quarrington a village just a few miles away from Woolsthorpe, where Isaac had his ADM — apple drop moment. I am told the tree is still there!
      2. Perhaps he thought gravity was the curvature of space-time and not a force. He was ahead of his time.
  10. ….where I DNK MADE MAN, but had no other issues. SHEARING was just pipped for COD.

    FOI ETHOS
    LOI SCENT
    COD CHEAPSKATE
    TIME 10:28

  11. SCENT last one inked in – had to be from the crossers, but I was thinking broadcast was the homophone indicator and couldn’t see sent meaning outspoken. Real LOI was ASTAIRE, like others – hard to see, and I reached the end of my list of names of know dancers after Nureyev and Baryshnikov. Who defected in the 60s & 70s, long time unheard of. No troubles with MADE MAN from US movies… not sure if it’s a translation from Sicilian dialect, or a New York affectation – don’t remember it in The Godfather.
    COD ASPIRANT – liked the aspic.
  12. One of the themes of “the Sopranos” was Chris Moltisanti’s efforts to become a made man. Brilliant series.
    LOI SCENT, liked CONSOMME when I saw it. Thanks setter and blogger. 29:24
  13. Just under an hour. I’m another who went with ETHER at 5ac, making ETHOS and 7dn SCENT LOsI. Liked 13 acrosh, HANDBAG and SHEARING
  14. I didn’t get the ASPI bit of ASPIRANT but it had to be – a great piece of misdirection. Otherwise a smooth and enjoyable solve over my morning tea. 29 minutes. Ann

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