I think the best term to describe today’s offering from Teazel is “enjoyably chewy”. Several clues gave pause for thought and I ended up taking 12:45. I couldn’t satisfactorily parse 3d or especially 6d; don’t you love those cryptic definitions, which can be so hard to explain? I confess to needing an alphabet trawl for my last in 9a. Favourite was 8a, an appropriate way to describe the battle with our setter.
Thanks to Teazel
Definitions underlined in bold.
| Across | |
| 1 | Good massage, and some food (4) |
| GRUB – G (‘Good’) RUB (‘Massage’) | |
| 4 | Spare English newspaper collected by boyfriend perhaps (8) |
| LEFTOVER – E (‘English’) FT (‘newspaper’=abbreviation of Financial Times) contained in (‘collected by’) LOVER (‘boyfriend perhaps’) | |
| 8 | One’s team backed to win this (3-2-3) |
| TUG-OF-WAR – Cryptic definition
I didn’t have any idea about this until near the end. In a TUG-OF-WAR, the winning team is the one that ends up pulling backwards whereas the losing team is pulled forwards. Nothing to do with betting then. |
|
| 9 | A winter relaxation? (4) |
| THAW – Cryptic definition
Second cryptic definition on the trot. Again nice misdirection; not a winter recreational activity or holiday. |
|
| 10 | One intending to be less generous (6) |
| MEANER – Double definition
The first definition more cryptic and the second ‘less generous’ def in conventional use. |
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| 11 | Handsome guy wrong to return after commotion (6) |
| ADONIS – NIS (‘wrong to return’=reversal of SIN) following (‘after’) ADO (‘commotion’) | |
| 12 | General discomfort handicaps Sean moving around (5,3,5) |
| ACHES AND PAINS – Anagram (‘moving around’) of HANDICAPS SEAN
Hooray! An anagram, with helpful enumeration. |
|
| 16 | A temporary prop on land (6) |
| ASHORE – A (‘A’) SHORE (‘temporary prop’)
The word ‘on’ is part of the definition here, not a positional indicator as I’d first thought. |
|
| 17 | Embarrassed about mistake getting something fortified (6) |
| SHERRY – SHY (‘Embarrassed’) containing (‘about’) ERR (‘mistake’)
‘Fortified’ wine of course. Originally made from white grapes grown near Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. In my part of the world, after all the kerfuffle several years ago about the misappropriation of European wine names, it is apparently meant to be now known as “Apera”. Maybe something from the drinks tray on the table in Grannie’s parlour, but I quite liked it when I last had some about two decades ago. If you want to know about fortified wine, here’s a good introductory site. |
|
| 19 | Depressed university teacher drinking whiskey (4) |
| DOWN – DON (‘university teacher’) containing (‘drinking’) W (‘whiskey’ in the NATO phonetic alphabet) | |
| 20 | Inherently, a Cambridgeshire pub? (8) |
| INNATELY – An INN AT ELY would be an example of, or could describe ‘a Cambridgeshire pub?’
See how clever this clue is? |
|
| 21 | Heavenly picture of spaces developed around Kentucky (8) |
| SKYSCAPE – Anagram (‘developed’) of SPACES containing (‘around’) KY (2-letter abbreviation for ‘Kentucky’) | |
| 22 | A western railway is misaligned (4) |
| AWRY – A (‘A’) W (‘western’) RY (‘railway’) | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Red wine, gallon drunk by debauchee (5) |
| ROUGE – G (‘gallon’) contained in (‘drunk by’) ROUÉ (‘debauchee’) | |
| 3 | Good marks for one’s chocolate cake? (7,6) |
| BROWNIE POINTS – Cryptic definition
In say a baking competition, BROWNIE POINTS could be given as a score or ‘marks for one’s chocolate cake?’, a BROWNIE being a type of ‘chocolate cake’. If the clue were a double definition, ‘marks’ would be part of both definitions, a no-no for The Times. I’ve therefore taken this as a cryptic definition. |
|
| 4 | Let down, scowl, losing head (5) |
| LOWER – GLOWER (‘scowl’) with first letter G deleted (‘losing head’) | |
| 5 | Advancing, supporting conflict, died (7) |
| FORWARD – FOR (‘supporting’) WAR (‘conflict’) D (‘died’) | |
| 6 | One didn’t have to run this bye? (8,5) |
| OPTIONAL EXTRA – Cryptic definition
Maybe I’m over-thinking this. I’ve never heard of OPTIONAL EXTRA (the two words together) as a recognised cricketing term, although it is defined in at least one dictionary in a non-cricketing sense. I think this is a whimsical take on the idea that batters can choose whether or not to take a run on a ‘bye’ (an example of an EXTRA in cricket), with the question mark indicating that a potential run is available. No, not a very satisfactory explanation, so any better ideas would be welcome. |
|
| 7 | Euphoria, getting toenail repaired (7) |
| ELATION – Anagram (‘repaired’) of TOENAIL
After the last one I needed this. Another not too difficult anagram. Good surface too. |
|
| 10 | Endless complaint — one couldn’t get off the ground (3) |
| MOA – MOAN (‘complaint’) with last letter N deleted (‘N’)
No ‘complaint’ about this one from me. In crossword land, with this definition and so few letters, not too many possible answers, in this case the now extinct NZ variety. |
|
| 13 | Long coat Robin perhaps draped across equine (7) |
| CASSOCK – COCK (‘Robin perhaps’) containing (‘draped across’) ASS (‘equine’)
This one held me up and I needed all the crossers. |
|
| 14 | I must take revolutionary camera round country (7) |
| AMERICA – I (‘I’) contained in (‘must take’) anagram (‘revolutionary’) of CAMERA
America (without any qualifiers) as a ‘country’? Not if you’re being pedantic. |
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| 15 | Secretive and occasionally sulky (3) |
| SLY – Every second letter of SuLkY | |
| 17 | Char going through housing estate (5) |
| SINGE – Hidden (‘going through’) in ‘houSING Estate’
… and eventually making more work for the ‘Char’. |
|
| 18 | Governor drawing the line with this? (5) |
| RULER – Double definition | |
Shout me down, but I chose to see 6 down as an optional extra when purchasing something, as in BUY(ing), so thought the clue was suggesting one didn’t have to run when doing so, but would need to run in relation to a BYE.
So, overall for me it was about the comparative definitions of ‘buy’and ‘bye’.
As you may have guessed I know nothing about cricket!!
A tricky puzzle, but all done and parsed (to my level of satisfaction, anyway) in just under 11 minutes. Then I come here and see I had missed the multiple levels of intrigue and debate in Optional Extra; having read all the comments I can see why the clue is not as straightforward as I thought at the time! Apart from anything else I can’t think of any bye that one does have to run, so the idea of one that one doesn’t have to doesn’t really arise as a distinct thing.
Like many others, Thaw was my LOI and a nice moment when the alphabet search revealed it, but it was Meaner, and specifically its interpretation as “one who means” that held me up most. Not a usage I have met in real life, even if quite clear and obviously legit.
Many thanks to BR for the blog
Cedric
One certainly needs to run a leg-bye.
“i can’t think of any bye that one does have to run”. Perhaps you are confusing a bye (which you do have to run unless it is 4 byes as discussed before) with a wide which you don’t have to run.
My fault I suspect for phrasing it badly. All byes (except 4 byes or the unimaginable 6 byes) are voluntary – you are not forced to run them, and you can always simply stay in your crease. Indeed if you are trying to protect a tailender it might be wiser to do so. So they are all in that sense optional extras.
I like the explanation of when you might choose not to run one. But if you don’t run them they are not a bye, just a dot. If you don’t hit the ball and it is not bowled, lbw, a wide, leg-bye or a no-ball it is not a bye unless the ball goes to the boundary or you and your partner run and get to the other end without either of you getting run out. Wafting at the ball and missing and it going through to the keeper is not usually an “optional extra” unless you run and are very lucky! More likely at the death of a T20 than a Test Match, I’d say.
Loved today’s QC – tricky but doable. Bunged in OPTIONAL EXTRA without understanding the clue – no cricket knowledge – and pleased to get THAW although it did take a while. Inside the SCC but always glad with a finish when it’s a Teazel QC. COD by miles INNATELY. Many thanks for cricket education above. Thanks to BR and Teazel.
Found this quite hard in places and was beaten by 6d, 9a and 21a Innately. Could possibly have got them with more effort but was already well over my time limit.
COD 19d Singe which was cleverly hidden.
Enjoyed the puzzle, blog and explanations.
After some thought, I put in both. OPTIONAL EXTRA and THAW, but considered neither entirely satisfactory. However, as a GOM, I seldom find anything completely satisfacory, and I enjoyed the puzzle which I found much more of a challenge than most recent puzzles. I also spent a long time on 8a, which had to be a CUP OF something; moved on then returned now having an R at the end; perhaps it was a three-letter beginning with R spelt backwards (“backed”). RAW came to mind, then WAR and the penny dropped. FOI GRUB, LOI AWRY, COD BROWNIE POINTS, a satisfactory😊 cryptic definition! Thanks, Teazel and BR.
Chewy indeed! I jumped around the grid but ended up, like a lot of others here, with my penultimate solve OPTIONAL EXTRA (unparsed) and LOI THAW. I should have realised that I was going to be way outside target when I had a debate with myself over ROguE/ROUGE at 2d. 13:38
9.25 Steady solve, LOI THAW.
Just scraped home within my target 25 with thaw LOI. Having seen the comments above I should be very pleased with this.
Never noticed before that cassock was a combo of cock and ass. Do top shelf mags have cryptics? Not sure Mrs Johnny would approve. J
😂
Completed in about 20m which is good for us. Started from the bottom upwards, finishing with 9a thaw, which eventually came to mind. Perhaps dipping into boxes of chocolates helped!?
I found this to be at the tougher end of QCs, finishing in 14:40. My two favourite clues were INNATELY and OPTIONAL EXTRA. I am one of the many who had a Mer at America=country; without any qualifiers America is two continents, containing many countries.
Very quick comment as horrendously busy at work.
Found this extremely hard and solved it in fits and starts. Held up badly by ASHORE. Resumed my normal seat towards the back of the SCC after a few good days.
5:49 this afternoon, above my average/ target but I usually find that Teazel devises clues for me to have to deliberate over. Can’t really add much to what’s been said already. Entered “optional extra” with a shrug and “thaw” eventually with a tip of the hat to the setter. Also liked “tug of war”and “innately”.
Thanks to BR and Teazel
I shared the raised eyebrows at BROWNIE POINTS and OPTIONAL EXTRA. My print copy also did not contain the “losing head” for LOWER, but it went in with a MER. Not the greatest QC.
DNF!
Did get MOA and biffed ASHORE , LOWER and OPTIONAL EXTRA, but failed several elsewhere.
Oh dear.
A bit chewie in places but all done and dusted. Took a while to see the joke of 20ac
10:42
Another very quick solve (by my humble standards). Almost biffed TUG OF WAR but never did parse it but once the checkers were there it coulee anything else. Wasn’t sure where the prop was in ASHORE but that solved LOI CASSOCK was obvious.
Well I’m sorry you all make such a fuss. I’m brand new to this game, learning the tricks from scratch since a couple of weeks ago, and I managed all of it except OPTIONAL and THAW. I agree AMERICA is dubious; I was in the car (parked!), so was puzzled by MOA (but will remember it in future in case of any Moabites, thanks Vinyl1), but worse, had never heard of MEANER as a noun (it’s not in either of my fairly large 2000 dictionaries). So I had to Biff both those M’s. Well we all live and learn!
I’d say that meaner as the noun of someone who means to do something is just a play on words, rather than a real definition. I believe it’s the sort of word you might find in the Uxbridge English Dictionary, which is a game on the radio show, I’m Sorry, I Haven’t a Clue. It’s worth keeping your eye open for other puns like ‘bunny’ meaning like a bun, or ‘vanish’ meaning like a van! The setters quite often pop that sort of wordplay in. Hope that helps!
Welcome, btw 😊
New to this game (as I say) so only just seen your friendly reply. Thank you!
19 minutes, held up by THAW (which comes in the spring, surely, not the winter) and OPTIONAL EXTRA (still don’t understand the cricketing explanations!) like everyone else. COD INNATELY. Thanks blogger and setter.
I’m a pedant but I think AMERICA is fair game – it’s a recognised and very commonly used abbreviation of the United States of America, which is a country. The ambiguity often associated with the word’s usage is not important here. HOLLAND or ENGLAND, on the other hand, I might have taken exception to!
Don’t see the problem with OPTIONAL EXTRA. If you don’t have to run it’s optional and a bye is a type of extra in cricket. A bye is a run scored when the ball has not been hit and has not hit the batter’s body. Don’t often see it in first class cricket it’s more likely in amateur cricket when the wicket keeper misses the ball.
DNF because of 6d and 9a. Liking cricket confused more than helped with 6d and I never got OPTIONAL EXTRA. Not a term I’ve ever come across in cricket. Really liked INNATELY (INN AT ELY)