Times Quick Cryptic No 1813 by Izetti

74 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1813 by Izetti”

1. Wasted time trying to figure out the wordplay for MENDEL before I finally saw the hidden. Wasted more time wondering if there was a fabric called GINCRAM. 5:33.
2. …was biffing gingham without thinking too much – well, it does start with gin, right? I also biffed igloo, but erased it almost immediately. Started to write idolator, too.

   Fortunately, I have a large container of erasers near my solving station, so I still managed to finish in 9:22.

   Edited at 2021-02-18 01:17 pm (UTC)

3. 7 minutes. As Izetti’s puzzles go, this one was easier than many, but there was less than familiar stuff along the way i.e. GROGRAM (stuff – geddit?), and MENDEL who thankfully was hidden or I doubt I would have got him.

   Edited at 2021-02-18 05:01 am (UTC)

4. NHO grogram so had to look it up. Usually find Izetti v tricky but today the wordplay clicked so pleased with sub 13. Many thanks for blog.

5. DNF with the NHO GROGRAM . Looking at it now it still looks like at less likely fit than GINCRAM, which had the familiarity of GINGHAM. Also flirted with various rivers and seas for ‘drink’.

   It’s been a tough week, especially as on each day 1a has been FOI which is usually a good start.

   Had to really dredge the memory banks for Mendel, getting confused with the Periodic Table guy, Mendeleev. I believe when many years later mathematicians did chi-squared analysis on his data they decided he had been fiddling it.

   For 22a I had HATE for some time which fitted well, H+ATE. Also pencilled in GRANDEE, at 7d, with thoughts of an enraged, drunk Senior Tory MP exploding (about “Political correctness gone mad” probably)

   COD 9A, UNOOENED, although I parsed “marmalade” as the anagrind.

   1. I too thought HATE at first for 22a, but couldn’t convince myself that ‘ate’ = ‘food’ so left it blank until later.

      Interesting tidbit about Mendel; I was not aware of the later analysis so will look it up, thanks!

      WB

6. I usually start with all the acrosses but tried building up from the NW today and it seemed to help as I was very fast (for me) to get three quarters done. The NE took at least as long as the rest though. Didn’t know BOGY was spelled that way, thought ‘chants’ was a noun for ages, NHO of GROGRAM — and like others wanted it to start with ‘gin’ — and missed the anagram for UNOPENED which I entered nervously from the checkers and the definition. All green in 13 — no typos for the first time this week.
7. Anything under 20 minutes is a good time for me, so very happy to finish in 17!

   No real problems except for GROGRAM which I’d never heard of, but it was the only thing I could find that fit the clues and the crossers so I biffed it in.

   ADULATOR took me ages to unscramble despite having all the crossers; I too had IDOLATOR stuck in my head for some time which impeded my efforts.

   Thank you all for another enjoyable week of crossword disections!

   WB

8. On the gentle side for Izetti I thought …
   … and all finished in just under 9 minutes, the GK at 5D Grogram and 16A Mendel being familiar. The word Grog, for the navy drink, is actually derived indirectly from Grogram — it was introduced by an admiral who always wore a grogram coat and was thus affectionately known as Old Grog, and the name was transferred to the drink.

   I may have got out of bed the wrong side this morning but I thought some of the surfaces slightly below the Don’s usual stellar standard. In 4D, there is no island called Uist — there is North Uist and South Uist, and as Rotter says a group of islands collectively called the Uists, but no actual Uist. I was also surprised at the spelling of 6A Bogy, which I’ve only ever see as Bogey, and as for 9A Unopened — personally I consider an unopened jar of marmalade a joy in store not a problem!

   But overall an enjoyable puzzle, and rare for me to finish an Izetti this fast.

   Many thanks to Rotter for the blog
   Cedric

   1. Chambers lists it as BOGY or BOGEY, suggesting that the former is the preferred spelling.

9. Just over 20 minutes for me today, so a little easier than yesterday. My first one in was 8A and then a lot of gaps until I got back to the downs.

   Like Merlin, I put hate in initially but switched to dish on getting the down clue. Also wasn’t sure about dis with one s.

   I’d never heard of grogram either but from the crossers, thought it was grog at the start & felt says there was a material that started like that. I now realise I was thinking of grosgrain but somehow muddled through.

   I had heard of Mendel but had no idea he was a monk. Toyed with Manley before seeing the hidden word.

   Thanks Rotter for the blog and Izetti for the challenge.

   1. Grogram is indeed the same as grosgrain (French for “coarse grain”); it is the anglicised version of the original French word grosgrain, meaning “coarse grain”.

      1. Oh that’s interesting, and I also liked learning that grog is derived from the material, so thanks for an informative morning!

   2. Well, Manley would have been most appropriate given the setter 😉
10. Very satisfying finish today, and enjoyable.

    My jars of tuna are far more difficult to open than the marmalade!

    Thanks to Don and Rotter.

    Diana

11. FOI: 8a WARY
    LOI: 6a BOGY

    Time: DNF

    Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 14

    Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 1a, 18a, 6d

    Clues Unanswered: 9 (9a, 10a, 16a, 22a, 2d, 4d, 5d, 11d, 20d)

    Wrong Answers: Nil

    Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 17/26

    Aids Used: Chambers, Bradfords

    Another one I found quite difficult. I am not a fan of Izetti going by my previous attempts of their crosswords.

    5d. GROGHAM – Never heard of that word, it’s not even in my OED. Too obscure in my opinion.

    1a. CHARMING – Annoyed with myself for not getting this one. I even got CHAR and briefly thought of MING. Unfortunately I did not think of them at the same time.

    18a. CAMISOLE – Another word I have never heard of.

    Edited at 2021-02-18 08:58 am (UTC)

    1. Hi PW. I have been through the throes of getting to grips with crosswords, helped in my early stages by solving with colleagues in coffee and lunch breaks, so benefitting from a range of views and ideas and, crucially, beginning to think more laterally — getting off the first set of tramlines that my mind fixed on. We used to continue all day if necessary. I’m surprised that you post so early with quite a few unsolved clues listed. I would be tempted to set the puzzle aside and come back to it at intervals. A fresh look always helps, I find.
       Btw, you won’t have found the answer to 5d in your reference works if you looked up Grogham. The answer was GROGRAM. Perhaps a typo. I found it obscure, too. Do keep at it; it gets easier! John M.

       Edited at 2021-02-18 09:47 am (UTC)

       1. No, it was a typo in the post, but not in the looking up of the dictionary.

          Yes, I post early, but then again I get up at 5am every morning (Mon-Fri) for a run, breakfast then crossword.

          If, when doing the crossword, I come to the point where I feel I can get no further, then I DNF it and post here.

          1. I am impressed. If I went out for a 5am run, I would be unable to do anything, never mind a crossword!
             I sometimes reach an impasse when I try the 15×15. However, it is surprising how many answers emerge if I return to the unfinished bits an hour or two later. The mind moves in mysterious ways (ofter laterally which helps). John
    2. Grogram is in Chambers —
       A kind of coarse cloth of silk and mohair
       ORIGIN: OFr gros grain coarse grain
       [© Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. 2014]

       Brian

12. An enjoyable solve which struggled to finish off. For some reason I thought INUIT had 2 Ns and I couldn’t remember any Scottish islands beyond Mull, Skye and Jura. For a long time I missed that UNOPENED was an anagram and I tend to agree with Cedric’s view about marmalade. I then needed and alphabet trawl for the unknown GROGJAM. I was also relieved that MENDEL was a hidden because my GK was lacking. Crossed the line in 12.31
    Thanks to Rotter
13. Learning a few more Scottish islands might yield some future answers. Setters certainly like ARRAN and IONA.
    1. Confusingly (well, it confused me) we had the Irish Aran Islands the other day
    2. Not to mention Rum, Muck and Yell.
14. I enjoyed this and moved smoothly through the top half (apart from 5d) before meeting in the middle after starting up again from the SW corner. No great problems apart from my LOI, GROGRAM (thanks for all the info, Cedric — I had to look it up). This was tough and only became inevitable after the penny dropped and I was able to see MENDEL and the key ‘M’.
    Spookily, I finished within a couple of seconds of therotter’s time. I found this an easier QC than usual from Izetti, continuing the run of generally more approachable recent puzzles. There always seems to be a sting in the tail, though (as yesterday). Thanks to Izetti for a neat puzzle and to therotter for a concise blog and the usual bits of dry humour. John M.

    Edited at 2021-02-18 09:57 am (UTC)

15. At last, a QC from Izetti which i had a chance with. First few went in quickly, after which pace slowed down, but the grid gradually filled providing cross letters for the harder clues. Final 3 in NE corner were 4 5 & 9. A trawl through scottish isles helped with 4, which was enough to make me realise what 9 was, clever clue with a well disguised anagram. DNK grogram (spellchecker didn’t either) but i don’t care as it was the last clue. In total a satisfying 42 minutes. Thank you to Izetti and to therotter. DavidS
16. This was a nice puzzle. I was proud of myself to work out GROGRAM from the wordplay as I’d never heard of it. I too lingered over MENDEL until I saw it hidden and was annoyed to stumble, initially, over LANDLORDS as ‘letters’ is such a commonly used substitute by setters. I finished the puzzle before I finished my, albeit piping hot, porridge this morning. About 15 minutes. Today’s favourite UNOPENED.
    I really must summon up the courage to apply myself to a 15×15 but seem to hit some psychological brick wall as soon as I open one up!

    Edited at 2021-02-18 11:56 am (UTC)

    1. I always find the 15×15 a slow burn, but if I get four or more on the first pass it usually pays to persevere. Mind you, it’s a good job I’m retired.
17. Some tricky parsing today slowed me down, plus a trademark Izetti learning experience i.e. a very rare or new word for me.
    FOI was RAY after pausing over DIM. As noted 22a invited HATE as a biff but I avoided that.
    I got to my last two after about 10 minutes. I could not justify UNOPENED so spent some time on that; once I saw the anagram I was sure-but the definition still doesn’t quite work for me. I then spent three minutes trying to improve on the unknown GROGRAM. Nothing emerged and I thought that’s Izetti’s learning experience for today.
    About 15 minutes in all.
    David
18. I started off very quickly in the NW corner but I soon slowed after I bunged in gingham without parsing. I worked around the error until I was left with the clues 9a and 10a which intersected with the erroneous gingham. At least MENDEL wasn’t a problem but then as my degree is in Genetics the clue was a write in for me. After solving the anagrams ADULATOR and UNOPENED I then guessed GROGRAM (NHO) correctly. I think new solvers will find Izetti’s wordplay quite tricky but it suits me….well all except for GROGRAM. Thanks Rotter. 9:26 so just within target.
19. Actually, come to think of it, I do remember/can visualise Grosgrain but absolutely NHO alternative spelling. Also failed on INUIT and UNOPENED which I might have got if I’d pondered longer.

    FOI WARY. Liked MENDEL, CHARMING, RECEDED, BLESSINGS

    Thanks as ever, Rotter.

20. This was a steady and entertaining 20 minute solve. Lots to like and some lovely clues. I especially liked LANDLORDS, 11 down, which delivered a very satisfying PDM. Luckily, I’d heard of GROGRAM, so that was OK. I didn’t see it straight away, though, and that and MENDEL were my last two in. Thanks to Rotter and Izetti.
21. Slow today. I found this harder and thought I might have to set it aside and let my brain work on automatic while I did something else for a bit. I found the anagram at 10 across but put in a non-word, laudator, thinking it might be someone who lauds. This made a mess of solving hoard and landlords so I bunged what I had in the grid online to check. Pink squares showed I had 10ac wrong so had a rethink and found adulator. Everything fell into place except grogram (NHO) so I had to find that in the dictionary. 25 minutes for the whole process. Penny dropped about which Scottish island as 4d had to be inuit. FOI wary, LOI grogram after dictionary search — wasn’t able to guess it. Did not parse unopened. A nice mixture of easy and not so easy. A good workout for the grey matter. Despite the time taken, I really enjoyed this puzzle. Lots of candidates for COD. Thanks Rotter and Izetti for the entertainment. GW
    1. LAUDATOR – an excellent descramble albeit wrong, sadly. I’d be very proud of that!
22. Probably in the minority here, but I thought this was a slightly harder offering from Izetti compared to their recent puzzles.

    NHO “Grogram” — so my final answer after 25 mins of “Goodrum” was a complete guess. Not convinced the wordplay helped here if you hadn’t heard of it — as there were plenty of potential “gins”, “rums”, “goo”, “good” that could all have been stuck in.

    The rest of it I enjoyed, although I was once again left staring at 11dn even with the last part “Lords”. Will I ever learn? Have to admit, I had to get the checker for 22ac until I could get my “S” and “Z”’the right way around for the composer.

    DNK “Mendel” for 16ac but spotted the potential hidden answer. Not really a fan of the use of the plural for 23ac “Etas”.

    FOI — 3dn “Ray”
    LOI — 5dn — dnf
    COD — 6dn “Blessings”

    Thanks as usual.

23. This was a good example of where the learning from this blog and a little more experience can still lead to an enjoyable part solve.

    FOI was Ray
    COD Receded and Landlords where is saw the misdirection of letters immediately.

    Did not know Bogy could be spelt without the e but should have got that
    Missed the hidden for Mendel who I never heard off
    Never heard of Grogram and not for the first time my greek let me down for Etas

    Thanks to all

24. Didn’t know GROGRAM, but once the checkers were in, grog was the only drink that fitted. The M gave me the staring point for the hidden, and only vaguely remembered, MENDEL. CHARMING was FOI and RECEDED went in last. 9:11. Thanks Izetti and Rotter.
25. Great puzzle and I have to disagree with my learned friend Cedric, because I found the slightly whimsical nature of some of the surfaces (UNOPENED being a prime example) to add charm and sparkle. Very, very good.

    I thought I was going to have a true clean sweep (all the acrosses followed by all the downs) but alas I couldn’t crack DISH on first pass (fixated on it starting with H, not ending) and then I ran into GROGRAM … ye Gods, what a beast of a word to meet down a dark alley in the QC. I was genuinely surprised when that came up green.

    I was annoyed by ADULATOR since I had entered the (much superior IMHO) LAUDATOR. And yes, that is a real word – per Collins “laudator in British English (lɔːˈdeɪtə) NOUN literary, formal someone who praises highly”. But HOARD sorted it out so no harm done.

    FOI & COD CHARMING, LOI GROGRAM of course, time 08:32.

    Thanks Izetti and Rotter (and Cedric for the great information about the origin of “grog”!).

    Templar

    Edited at 2021-02-18 12:16 pm (UTC)

26. I found the NW corner very difficult, not helped by putting in REST instead of STAY. Realised this when I got BLESSINGS, but did not see BOGY as ‘malign influence’ for ages or INUIT (did not think of UIST) and NHO GROGRAM -had to look it up or MENDEL, but saw it hidden. Not an easy puzzle.
27. At 16 mins this must have been one of my speedier Izetti solves, and certainly a welcome change after being off the pace these past few days. Bogy without the ‘e’ looked odd, but couldn’t be anything else, and the unknown Grogram (even without Unopened) was another ‘had to be’ given the absence of anything to suggest a letter between drink and stuff. That’s not to say it wasn’t a relief to find that it was correct. A few too many anagrams to be a classic, but very enjoyable all the same. Invariant
28. Not on the wavelength today. 24:45. Convinced that INUIT had two Ns and BOGY had an E so rejected both at first. DNK GROGRAM but I knew buckram so just went with it. I spent ages on UNOPENED and still don’t really get it. Never mind. There was plenty of good stuff here
29. I made very good progress until I had about four clues to go. Weirdly, 1a (CHARMING) was a struggle, as was 9a (UNOPENED). However, the main culprits were the two requiring some not-so-general knowledge: 5d (GROGRAM) and 16a (MENDEL). These took me around 10 minutes to crack and the key for me was realising that ‘stuff’ was RAM.

    N.B. Mrs Random is wracking her brains over these two clues as I write this post, so I find myself in the very rare position of having finished ahead of her. I think she must have used up all of her crossword skills yesterday evening, when she completed the 15×15 for the first time.

    Many thanks to therotter for his very thorough blog, and to Izetti for a well-constructed puzzle.

    1. Whether you warn Mrs.R. that today’s 15×15 has a Snitch rating of 137 depends very much on how much you love her ! I’m going there next, and with some trepidation….
       1. Many thanks for forewarning me (even though I have on just seen it). Mrs Random did indeed try yesterday’s 15×15, but without much success, I’m afraid. Luckily, she has not held me accountable … yet!

          P.S. As I’m a relative newcomer to the QC and the 15×15 is currently beyond me (although I can sometimes solve a handful of clues), I am not familiar with SNITCH ratings. Your reply has encouraged me to go and explore, if only to understand whether 137 signifies an easy, medium or difficult puzzle.

          1. 137 is pretty high, and I didn’t finish yesterday’s puzzle. It’s worth checking the SNITCH rating in advance, especially if you’re strapped for time or are still on the nursery slopes of the 15×15. If it’s rated lower than 85 it’s worth trying in either case. Today’s looks toughish.

30. I like Rotter’s days because I always seem to take the same time as him, and struggle where he struggles. Never heard of grogram – it could have been a number of different arrays of letters and I’d have been none the wiser.

    I’m surprised people struggled with Mendel- Mendelian inheritance was basic school biology in my day. Maybe it was O level. Too long ago….

    Nice crossword overall.

    1. Mendel is still alive and well in GCSE Science and always has been. As a biology teacher (now of the supply variety) I too was somewhat surprised at how many people had forgotten him.
31. I’m with Templar on the enjoy-ability of this lovely offering from Izetti. For me, it was a bit easier than many of his puzzles, and I was pleased to finish under my target of 12 minutes. In fact, my average for an Izetti is the other side of 15 minutes! So much to enjoy and many smiles along the way – even the relatively easy clues such as 8a WARY and 22d DIM had such lovely surfaces. Every clue tells a story!

    I hadn’t noticed the foundational elements but there were a couple of banging clues at 24a and 7d 💣 I wouldn’t have come up with MENDEL without the hidden although I realised I knew the name when he appeared, and worked out GROGRAM from buckram, so to speak. Thanks so much to Rotter and Cedric for the extra facts – I love bits of info like that 😊

    FOI Charming
    LOI Grogram
    COD Hard to choose, but have gone for Unopened. I discovered a while ago that if you can’t open a jar, you don’t need any of those bits of kit – just bang the top or side of the jar on the kitchen counter and the vacuum releases. Mind you, you do have to be careful that you don’t chip the glass – that would spoil the marmalade!

    Many thanks to both Izetti and the Rotter for the entertainment.

32. Here’s a new first. I gave up in the end after trying to fit the clue for 23 into 24. And I had already done 23 much earlier. yes i know it was eight letters not four! DM
33. ….having entered “idolater” at 10A. Fortunately I realised that it was wrong before I stopped my timer !

    My COD was a sitter, but it’s my mate RAY’s birthday today, so I sent it on to him. Ray and I stand together at Altrincham matches and grumble our way through the game. Our sons say we’re like Statler and Waldorf. We’ve not seen each other for a year now, but we grumble through WhatsApp while watching the live stream.

    FOI BOGY
    LOI ADULATOR
    COD RAY
    TIME 3:33

    1. Thanks for the three points last Saturday! When I first went to Yeovil Town with my Dad Altrincham were among the bigger boys of the Alliance Premier League — nice to see you back up that end of the table.
       1. You may well say thanks — you caught us on what was, by general consent, our poorest performance of the season ! However, it’s good to see the Glovers showing improved form lately.
    2. Interesting to learn. I too was an Alty fan. AGS pupil and now looking forward to my first Brentford match with my Season Ticket to the new stadium.
       1. I’m an Old Alt as well (some years earlier than you I suspect). Funnily enough, I’ve always said that if I relocated to London, I might watch Brentford. Maybe it’s the red and white stripes.
34. That was fine apart from Grogram for which I resorted to an aid. And for some strange reason Pascal popped into my head before Mendel, but that wouldn’t do, and Mendel popped in instead a bit later — before I saw him hidden in there! 20 mins, so slower than it should have been. Thanks, Izetti.
35. Had to shift my tired brain into QC gear today — stuck until I saw all the indicators such as ‘chucked’ , ‘drunk’ and got into the groove.

    Have never heard of GROGRAM, and I still don’t understand 11D LANDLORDS being ‘letters’ ?

    A challenging puzzle, but some elegant clues.

    Thank you!

    1. LET their properties to tenants, so they could be described as LETTERS. I would normally say they were lessors.
36. Took me a whole minute. G?O?RAM. I’ve heard of BUCKRAM from crosswords. D’oh.

    Biffed UNOPENED, so thanks for the parsing there!

    7:07

37. Another DNF as I had to resort to aids for 5d (NHO) and biffed 9a, but couldn’t parse. I must confess that I’m not a fan of bifurcated anagrams -although I did spot the one at 18a.

    Thanks for the blog.

38. One of mine us to give up when having not put pen to paper for 10 mins. So with only grogram and Mendel unsolved I saved myself 10 hours.
    One of my other rules is not having a curry the night before a long haul flight. This I would recommend no matter how good your cryptic skills. Thx all. Johnny
39. I think this was a bit easier than some of Izetti’s QCs. I got on steadily. It took a few moments for me to realise why landlords were letters — I was still thinking of etas. When I remembered shiner, I biffed hear out. I was wondering if Harout was some author I hadn’t heard of. I know what grosgrain looks like but I’ve never heard of grogram- an aid was required. It took me 25 minutes.
    FOI charming
    LOI grogram
    COD I enjoyed the old lawn at 15d and Mendel as a delightful scientific monk but the best was camisole- what a lovely picture it conjures up!
    Thank you Izetti and Rotter
    Blue Stocking
40. Easier than yesterday IMO, but still took me 23 minutes. Saw the hidden Mendel fairly quickly but had to look him up to check that he was indeed a monk. NHO grogram and as I had not solved 9ac at that point it could equally well have been gincram! Also took far too long to crack the anagram at 21ac – don’t know why.

    FOI – 6ac BOGY
    LOI – 9ac UNOPENED (entered from the crossers but couldn’t parse it, so thanks to Rotter for the explanation)
    COD – 1ac (utterly) CHARMING

41. Well, after a great deal of thought we decided that the solution to 5D was “grogrum” having never heard of “grogram”. So, after powering our way through the rest of the puzzle, we fell at the final hurdle (and took about 19 minutes to do so). Never mind, we enjoyed the puzzle – thanks Izetti.

    FOI: ray
    LOI: grogram
    COD: shiner

    Thanks for the blog Rotter. Off for some medicinal grogrum (sic) now….

42. Tricky end in the NE with Inuit (Uist not my first thought for a Scottish island) and the crossing Grogram and Mendel. All doable and enjoyable though. Just over 11 minutes.
43. Mostly okay, although more of a steady solve than a rapid one, but ground to a halt when I was left with 5d. That must have been something around the half hour mark, but it took until 49:14 to do an alphabet trawl of all the likely possibilities and convince myself that there was no obvious answer and nothing more likely than the never heard of GROGRAM. I probably should have a rule about stopping on 30 or 40 minutes or something like some others have, but when you’ve only got a couple of letters to put in, it seems a shame to concede defeat, or plump for an answer which is probably wrong, when another few minutes might yield a more satisfying solution. Good to see MENDEL make an appearance. Too few scientists seem to make it into the QC. COD to 15d. WOD to GROGRAM, which I will try to remember. Thanks Izetti and Rotter.
    1. Admirable perseverance Crispb. Well done for completing. And I agree with you on the dearth of Scientists and science / tech answers in QCs.
44. Failed on grogrum
    Also put in laudator for 10 ac
    Oops
45. Chambers does give both cha and char as possible spellings for the word indicating tea, though the latter states it’s the Cockney spelling of cha. I’ve always written it as char despite not coming from London.
46. A DNF – Somehow failed on 1a Charming, 4a Inuit, 5d Grogram (NHO), and 9a Unopened (failing see the anagram). A slow start but picked up a fair pace leaving only these 4 unresolved and eventually threw in the towel (I usually persevere – even over a couple of days!). Decided that 4a Bogy must be either 4 or the more familiar to me 5 letters. Lucky to see 16a Mendel as a hidden. FOI 2d Hoard. LOI n/a. COD probably 7d Grenade. Helpful blog from the Rotter on a real test from Izetti.
47. Click on the garbage can icon next to the date/time.
    1. Thank you
48. Not feeling on top form and struggled with this — didn’t enter Bogy although thought it must be. Like templarredux entered Laudator having looked it up and it means the same as Adulator, error corrected after Landlord pdm and convinced 5d should end in a stiff drink of rum…
    So incomplete with three missing.
    No time but slow.
    I thought on the hard side so hates off to the top form…
    Thanks all
    John George
49. I have just fed this phrase into one of the anagram solvers, and both ADULATOR and LAUDATOR are solutions. So also is LOURDATA which isn’t a word but should be, as it is so suggestive of a running total of miraculous cures.
50. Your explanations as always are as enjoyable and amusing as the crossword itself!

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