Times Saturday 23635 (23 June)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Weekend Cryptic
Solving time: > 1 hour!

Wow, I found this really difficult! I printed it off on Monday to solve at work, and got about half done in the time I had to look at it. Tuesday I got a few more answers, then finished it Wednesday lunchtime. Now Peter’s probably going to come along and say it took 7:30 or something, but for me it was a nightmare.

Across

1 IN(SIP)ID – DIN 1 rev.
5 CO(M,MAN)D – COD = hoax has been turning up regularly just lately.
9 FI(if rev),EL(DSM)AN – cover is a fielding position in cricket.
11 BEY,OND MEA(mad one*),SURE – for some reason this took ages, even when I knew it was something MEASURE.
13 LIT,E,RACY – writer=PEN, skill=ART, full of=containment indicator…this clue was filled with unused crossword clichés.
15 P(AID)UP – boxer nearly always means the dog.
17 V,ERIF,Y – FIRE,V rev, or maybe F=strong, IRE=criticism. Neither really works for me.
22 HER(BERTH)O,OVER – 31st president of the USA.
26 F(RUST)RATE – “Stop” is the definition, RUST is fungus, I can’t see how the rest of it works. [ As pointed out by Sue, it’s RUST inside AFTER*. How did I fail to spot that?! ]
27 HO(LID,A)Y
28 L.A.,R(G)ELY – G (short for grand) = $1000.

Down

1 (j)IFFY
2 S(HERB)ET
4 DO,MINI,CA – these last three all seem very obvious now, but I didn’t get them until nearly the end.
6 MAR(MALAD(y))E – I think this was the first one I got.
8 DI(S)RE,S(P)ECT – it’s worth remembering that saint=S as well as ST.
12 C(LOVE)H,ITCH
14 REF,RE,SHED – nice misleading surface.
16 M(O,NOH)ULL
18 R,OR,QUAL(m) – men = OR = other ranks.
20 T(haw),ERR,ACE
21 ST((r)UFF)Y
23 VOTER – seems like a very clumsy cryptic def. Is there anything else going on?
24 BEVY (“bevvy”)

3 comments on “Times Saturday 23635 (23 June)”

    1. D’oh! That just goes to show how FRUSTRATEd I was when solving this!! Normally if I can’t see the wordplay when solving I can work it out when writing up the blog, but it didn’t come to me today. Thanks, I’ll amend the entry.
  2. If our esteemed blogmeister took an hour it must have been a toughie! No other regulars’ times to help unfortunately. I don’t recall having that much difficulty with this one – but I have a backlog of puzzles to comment on so it’s not that fresh in my mind.

    Just the half dozen “easies”:

    10a Formal procedures necessary to inheRIT EState (5)
    RITES

    19a Quarrel monk cites, getting out of order (8)
    DOM ESTIC. A DOM(inican) Friar followed by cites out of order. Didn’t know the abbreviation for the Monastic Order but it must be this?

    25a Move tons with expression of pain (5)
    T OUCH. Move as in being moved emotionally.

    3d Quiet dog sadly over year getting fat (5)
    P ODG Y

    5d Building opening for visitors to view features (6)
    CINEMA. It took me quite a while to realise it was the whole buiding and not a part of it.

    7d Bowl over (a)rea with (dust on)* ground (7)
    ASTOUND. The anagram indicator “ground” is well used these days. No cricket involved!

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