Times Quick Cryptic 1180 by Tracy

September 16, 2018, 6:00 pm

This should have been straightforward for me but at 8 minutes with one answer in the SE corner outstanding I lost the plot and needed a further 6 minutes to come up with the correct solution. My feeble excuse is given below.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
7	Pop first of balloons using really sharp tack (5)
	BURST - B{alloons}+U{sing}+R{eally}+S{harp}+T{ack} [first of]
8	One entering popular phrase for caretaker (7)
	INTERIM - IN (popular), I (one) contained by [entering] TERM (phrase). It's an adjective as in 'caretaker / interim government'.
10	Complains about / sudden loud noises (7)
	REPORTS - Two meanings. The noise made by an explosion or a gun being fired, for example.
11	Bizarre leading couple in ballroom dance (5)
	RUMBA - RUM (bizarre), BA{llroom} [leading couple]
12	Poorly during leave, go back and forth (9)
	VACILLATE - ILL (poorly) contained by [during] VACATE (leave)
14	Right out of fruit and veg (3)
	PEA - PEA{r} (fruit) [right out]
15	Quite a large lake (3)
	ALL - A, L (large), L (lake). At the moment of writing, this blog's not quite/all done.
16	International being dealt with humbly (3,2,4)
	CAP IN HAND - CAP (international - sport), IN HAND (being dealt with). From Collins: If you go cap in hand to someone, you ask them very humbly to give you something or to do something for you.
18	Suggest just getting rid of leader (5)
	IMPLY - {s}IMPLY (just) [getting rid of leader]
20	Available for one disturbed about fine (2,5)
	ON OFFER - Anagram [disurbed] of FOR ONE containing [about] F (fine)
22	Recording about husband's love (7)
	NOTHING - NOTING (recording) containing [about] H (husband). Zero in tennis.
23	In favour of wearing article, protective garment (5)
	APRON - PRO (in favour of) contained by [wearing] AN (article - an indefinite one)

Down
1	Above Britain, flying for RAF, perhaps (12)
	ABBREVIATION - Anagram [flying] of ABOVE BRITAIN. A definition by example as indicated by 'perhaps'.
2	Very hot current across river (8)
	TROPICAL - TOPICAL (current) contains [across] R (river)
3	Celebrity, bald almost (4)
	STAR - STAR{k} (bald) [almost]
4	Feast I prepared for carnival (6)
	FIESTA - Anagram [prepared] of FEAST I
5	Nurse got boiled fish (8)
	STURGEON - Anagram [boiled] of NURSE GOT
6	Shortenspruce (4)
	TRIM - Two meanings
9	Kart in demand, potentially a source of pleasure (4,3,5)
	MEAT AND DRINK - Anagram [potentially] of KART IN DEMAND. I thought "meat and drink" was something that's very easy because one does it so often, but there's probably a degree of pleasure involved, and Collins confims this.
13	Duly pick off game (5,3)
	LUCKY DIP - Anagram [off] of DULY PICK
14	Policy of factory rejecting new mould (8)
	PLATFORM - PLA{n}T (factory) [rejecting new], FORM (mould). A public declaration of the policy of a political party,
17	Farm implement in soft bog son removed (6)
	PLOUGH - P (soft), {s}LOUGH (bog) [son removed]. I had a mental block here and spent about 6 minutes on it as my LOI. Absolutely unaccountable, other than I saw the word 'prongs' fitted the checkers and couldn't get it out of my mind.
19	Matter for regret in mine, last of many (4)
	PITY - PIT (mine), {man}Y [last]
21	Gemstone and ring given to friend (4)
	OPAL - O (ring), PAL (friend)

↧

Times Quick Cryptic 1181 by Des

September 17, 2018, 5:04 pm

≫ Next: Times Cryptic 27146

≪ Previous: Times Quick Cryptic 1180 by Tracy

As you can see, I am your blogger tonight, substituting for ChrisW91, who is off on a cruise of the Baltic. This is certainly a well-deserved vacation, as the job of a once-a-week blogger is pretty demanding - although at least you don't have to worry about whether it's your week or not.

I seem to be all over the map on Quickies, sometimes solving them in 5 minutes, sometimes taking 15. This puzzle, unfortunately, was one of the latter sort. I could just not get a handle on several important clues, and jumped to the conclusion that 11 across must end in -wick. 'Wolf whistle' and 'standing stone' also gave a lot of trouble, even though I had correctly analyzed how each clue worked.

But I did finish in the end, and am now able to look up anything I didn't know.

Across
1	Tree climbed next to golf club (8)
	ROSEWOOD - ROSE + WOOD, the club used by the new top-ranked golfer in the world.
5	Left fool to find lounge (4)
	LOAF - L + OAF. I would have to say that an 'oaf' is not exactly a fool, but he's close enough.
8	Gem, ruby initially, set in ring (5)
	PEARL - PEA(R)L.
9	But it occurs in February, and not spring? (4,3)
	LEAP DAY - Jocular cryptic definition.
11	CID won’t park carelessly in N Irish town (11)
	DOWNPATRICK - Anagram of CID WON'T PARK.....I suppose the IRA must be keeping them on their toes.
13	Here players can be sent some notes in binders (3,3)
	SIN BIN - Hidden in [note]S IN BIN[ders]
14	Temporary ruler, for example, in charge of landlord? (6)
	REGENT - R(E.G.)ENT.
16	Lose opportunity, as badly aimed torpedo may? (4,3,4)
	MISS THE BOAT - Double definition, one jocular (or maybe not, if you are manning the anti-aircraft guns).
18	Birds peculiar to caves (7)
	AVOCETS - Anagram of TO CAVES, another bird I don't know.
19	Light timber that’s a piece of cake to turn over? (5)
	BALSA - A SLAB backwards, biffed by me.
20	One changing colour, and sounding dreadful (4)
	DYER - Sounds like DIRE.
21	Des rests, when upset and very anxious (8)
	STRESSED - Anagram of DES RESTS, a Guardian-like reference to our setter. Tonight, the solvers are more likely to be stressed.

Down
1	Spellbound? That’s right and appropriate (4)
	RAPT - R + APT, my FOI.
2	Part of ancient site bearing weight (8,5)
	STANDING STONE - STANDING + STONE in different senses, a UK weight that it took me a while to think of.
3	What may be blown from building site, with fellows excited (4,7)
	WOLF WHISTLE - Anagram of WITH FELLOWS, a surprise to me until I put in the last two remaining letters.
4	Small operations involving forty-one plants (6)
	OXLIPS - O(XLI)PS, another one I biffed, as this pattern of letters is either 'tulips' or 'oxlips'.
6	Ancient Dutch legends? (3,5,5)
	OLD WIVES TALES - Cryptic definition, where ''Dutch' has its CRS meaning of 'wife', derived from Duchess of Fife, if that is indeed the derivation.
7	Flat key I played to test people’s reaction? (3,1,4)
	FLY A KITE - Anagram of FLAT KEY I, more often termed a 'trial balloon' in the US.
10	Very quickly occupying oneself with that large drink? (2,3,6)
	AT THE DOUBLE - Double definition, one jocular, more often seen as 'on the double'.
12	I dance on road in Kingdom (8)
	ISAMBARD - I + SAMBA + RD. I didn't understand the answer, but it seemed right. It was. You can look it up if puzzled.
15	County: it provides basic accommodation (6)
	BEDSIT - BEDS + IT, a chestnut that eluded me.
17	Young girl forced to speak out (4)
	MAID - Sounds like MADE/

↧

Times Cryptic 27146

September 17, 2018, 6:00 pm

≫ Next: Times Quick Cryptic No 1182 by Pedro

≪ Previous: Times Quick Cryptic 1181 by Des

I needed 40 minutes for all but two clues and then after a further 10 minutes I was getting nowehere so I threw in the towel and resorted to aids. Sometimes you just know that you don't know an answer and if the wordplay won't come togther it seems better to cut one's losses and move on. Generally this was interesting and entertaining though.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
1	China last to claim victory, symbolically (4)
	PALM - PAL (china - CRS 'china plate / mate'), {clai}M [last]. SOED has 'palm' as a palm leaf, esp. one used as a symbol of victory or triumph. The Golden Palm, or Palme d'Or, awarded to the winner of the Cannes Film Festival is one example.
4	Ordering audit from time to time, no women being involved? (10)
	ADJUSTMENT - A{u}D{i}T [from time to time] with JUST MEN (no women) contained within [involved]
9	Dinosaur's decline complete in the vicinity (10)
	DIPLODOCUS - DIP (decline), DO (complete) contained by [in] LOCUS (vicinity). One of the two clues I failed to solve today. A search through TftT history reveals that I claimed not to know the word in 2009 and more recently in November 2016, but at least on that second occasion I managed to arrive at it because it was plainly clued as an anagram. Today's clue I feel is not at all helpful to the point of being a little unfair for an uncommon word. 'DIP / decline' is fine and 'DO / complete' perhaps, but 'LOCUS / vicinity' less so, because LOCUS usually indicates an exact place or location whereas 'vicinity' is more vague.
10	Heading to the back, wander past (4)
	OVER - {r}OVE (wander) becomes OVER [heading to the back]
11	Old sailors on ship prompt to turn criminal (6)
	SUBORN - SUB (ship), O (old), RN (sailors - Royal Navy). Some contributors in the past have queried whether submarines are 'boats' rather than 'ships' or 'warships'. It's evidently a moot point but not one that I have strong feelings about.
12	Wild daisy covering most of area, maybe (1,4,3)
	I DARE SAY - Anagram [wild] of DAISY containing [covering] ARE{a} [most of]
14	Jump, ultimately failing to take the lead (4)
	STAR - STAR{t} (jump) [ultimately failing]
15	Snarling Parisian in stern of boat, Walton's craft (10)
	ENTANGLING - EN (in, Parisian), {boa}T [stern], ANGLING (Walton's craft). My first one in. It's easy if one happens to know of Izaak Walton's book The Compleat Angler first published in 1653. I have no interest in fishing and have never read the book but I know of it because it shares its name with a rather fine hotel and restaurant next to the bridge and weir on the Thames at Marlow.
17	Impious bishop on island about to engage in affair (10)
	IRREVERENT - I (island), RR (bishop), RE(about) contained by [to engage in] EVENT (affair)
20	Stitch-up / that's annoyed me (4)
	DARN - Two meanings
21	Brand one lover "short of ecstasy", taking another (8)
	FLAMBEAU - FLAM{e} (one lover) [short of ecstasy - E], BEAU (another - lover). Two words for a flaming torch.
23	Bees take it from flowers close by, bordering court (6)
	NECTAR - NEAR (close by) containing [bordering] CT (court)
24	Reportedly keeps back vital equipment for tower (4)
	ROPE - Hidden and reversed [keeps back] in {r}EPOR{tedly}. Not so vital, as most people would prefer to put their trust in a chain or similar metallic device rather than use a rope which is liable to snap.
25	Like some curves, deliberately exaggerated (10)
	HYPERBOLIC - Two meanings
26	Converted coaches, not one fitted with silencer? (10)
	TRANSMUTED - TRA{i}NS (coaches) [not one], MUTED (fitted with silencer)
27	Veggie food seaman from East always rejected (4)
	SOYA - OS (seaman) reversed [from East], AY (always) reversed [rejected]. It's a little unusual to see separate reversal indicators for adjacent elements of a clue when one would have done, but it improves the surface reading here.

Down
2	A religious sect north of river, devoted to queen and her workers? (11)
	APICULTURAL - A, PI (religious), CULT (sect), URAL (river) with 'north of' serving as a positional indicator in a Down clue. I used aids for this unknown word which it seems has never appeared in any Times crosswords (including the Mephisto) since TftT was founded. I saw the 'bee' reference immediately and was working along the right lines with wordplay with A PI and URAL, but I thought the fourth letter had to be A (as in apiary, apiarist etc) and that set me on the wrong track.
3	Victoria's first PM providing her capital? (9)
	MELBOURNE - Two meanings, the second being the state capital of Victoria in Australia. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne was the first Prime Minister of Queen Victoria's reign, which I must admit I know only because I watched the recent TV dramatisation covering her early years on the throne. [Thanks to the first anon below for pointing out that Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria, and not of the whole country, which is of course Canberra. I'm always muddling that up!]
4	Many uncovered poet quite slowly (7)
	ANDANTE - {m}AN{y} [uncovered], DANTE (poet). Italian musical direction.
5	What disillusioned preacher may do for lords and ladies? (4-2-3-6)
	JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT - A straight definition preceded by a cryptic one. I'd never heard of this but I knew 'lords and ladies' as a plant and assumed rightly that the answer would be an alternative name. The cryptic definition, the enumeration and available checkers helped me to arrive at it. It's also called 'cuckoopint'.
6	America must cut pollution to keep up (7)
	SUSTAIN - US (America) contained by [must cut] STAIN (pollution)
7	Lifts, commonly for high part of building (5)
	EAVES - {h}EAVES (lifts) [commonly - dropping the 'h']
8	Dilatory sailor on duty cleared out (5)
	TARDY - TAR (sailor), D{ut}Y [cleared out]
13	Freak may be on trial abroad, after English withdrawal (11)
	ABNORMALITY - Anagram [abroad] of MAYB{e} ON TRIAL [after English withdrawal]
16	Alternative to “ridiculous” one’s put out (9)
	LUDICROUS - Anagram [alternative to] R{i}DICULOUS [one’s put out]. A somewhat inventive variation on the standard anagram clue with the definition consisting of both anagrind and anagrist. I think we have to say the clue is semi&lit to get round the double duty.
18	Second person with false bottom in English town (7)
	EVESHAM - EVE (second person), SHAM (false) with 'bottom' as a positional indicator although it's really only needed for the surface. I'm not sure how far around the globe this town is known.
19	Plastic denture kept for an agreed time (7)
	TENURED - Anagram [plastic] of DENTURE
21	Initial"R" in one's own writing (5)
	FIRST - R contained by [in] FIST (one's own writing)
22	I'm surprised to secure record top mark (5)
	ALPHA - AHA (I'm surprised) contains [to secure] LP (record). Knowing me, knowing you...

↧

Times Quick Cryptic No 1182 by Pedro

September 18, 2018, 4:30 pm

≫ Next: Times 27147 - `Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

≪ Previous: Times Cryptic 27146

DNF, on account of 5 Down, in part because of US/UK usage differences, in part because of a foggy, sleep-deprived brain.

I thought this puzzle was superb. I don't get around to the main puzzle too often these days, so I like a bit of bite in my Quickie. Great word choice, definitions, and wordplay all around. I especially thought the upper-half of the puzzle had some wonderful clues.

I'm interested to see if some of the newer solvers found this puzzle to be difficult, or if I'm just tired.

Across

1	Sudden realisation: holiday finished (12)
	BREAKTHROUGH - BREAK ("holiday") + THROUGH ("finished")
9	Very motivated to list first pair of comets (3-2)
	CAN-DO - make a list of ("to list") the first two letters of ("first pair of") COMETS ("comets") That is: 'C' AND 'O'.
10	City to remain in receipt of second great joy (7)
	ECSTASY - EC ("city", London postal code) + STAY ("to remain"), taking in ("in receipt of") S ("second")
11	Happy solver taken aback, beset by black insect (7)
	BUOYANT - YOU ("solver") reversed ("taken aback"), in ("beset by") B ("black", pencil hardness) + ANT ("insect")
12	Those people having little energy [for] the topic (5)
	THEME - THEM ("those people") + ("having") the abbreviation ("little") E ("energy", in physics)
13	One suffering pretentious visiting mister! (6)
	MARTYR - ARTY ("pretentious") in ("visiting") MR. ("mister") Not sure what the ! is there for.
14	I had to follow many round, [showing] little emotion (6)
	STOLID - I'D ("I had") after ("to follow") LOTS ("many") reversed ("round")
17	Calls sailor over after first article's dropped (5)
	NAMES - SEAMAN ("sailor") reversed ("over") after first ("after first") A ("article") is removed ("'s dropped")
19	Scoundrel going to pub [and] cobblers (4,3)
	HEEL BAR - HEEL ("scoundrel") + ("going to") BAR ("pub")
21	Part of marshalling yard, Southern, is to suppress noise - good (7)
	SIDINGS - S ("Southern") + IS ("is") taking in ("to suppress") DIN ("noise") + G ("good")
22	Sharp [and] tart? That's about right (5)
	ACRID - ACID ("tart") outside ("that's about") R ("right")
23	Famous archer, familiarly, after period in prison? We'll see (4,4,4)
	TIME WILL TELL - WILL(IAM) TELL ("famous archer, familiarly") after ("after") TIME ("period in prison") Ba-da-dum, ba-da-dum, ba-da-dum-bum-bum...

Down

2	Operated trial venue — no time [for] spite (7)
	RANCOUR - RAN ("operated") + COURT ("trial venue"), removing T ("no time")
3	COs play recklessly with weapon [in] war film (10,3)
	APOCALYPSE NOW - COS PLAY ("COs play") anagrammed with ("recklessly with") WEAPON ("weapon")
4	Left during closing parts of latest contemporary score (6)
	TWENTY - WENT ("left") in ("during") last letters of ("closing parts of") LATEST CONTEMPORARY ("latest contemporary") What a gem of a clue!
5	Respond to provocation online, as it were? (4,2,3,4)
	RISE TO THE BAIT - RISE TO ("respond to") THE BAIT ("provocation online, as it were?") "Swim up to something provocative on a fishing line", that is. Lovely double-definition-in-one! I knew the expression as TAKE THE BAIT, however.
6	Customary behaviour [in] the American era? (5)
	USAGE - US ("the American") AGE ("era")
7	Rustic, say, rambling, gathering attention round (7)
	HAYSEED - SAY ("say") anagrammed ("rambling"), putting ("gathering") HEED ("attention") outside ("around")
8	Second taxi [delivering] strike-breaker (4)
	SCAB - S ("second") + CAB ("taxi")
13	Takes care of alien way of thinking (7)
	MINDSET - MINDS ("takes care of") + E.T. ("alien", extra-terrestrial)
15	Generous representation of Braille (7)
	LIBERAL - anagram of ("representation of") BRAILLE ("Braille") That is, re-'presentation'.
16	Church aisle reshaped without a woodworking tool (6)
	CHISEL - CH ("church") + AISLE ("aisle") anagrammed ("reshaped"), removing A ("without A")
18	Type of computer peripheral lines available in 2000 (5)
	MODEM - ODE ("lines") in ("available in") MM ("2000", in Roman numerals)
20	Regret about daughter [showing] bad manners (4)
	RUDE - RUE ("regret") outside ("about") D ("daughter")

↧

Times 27147 - `Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

September 18, 2018, 9:20 pm

≫ Next: Times Quick Cryptic No 1183 by Rongo

≪ Previous: Times Quick Cryptic No 1182 by Pedro

I am a Lewis Carroll enthusiast. An Aliceophile. So, just about on topic; when I saw the answer to 28a, it prompted me to read once more (although I could nearly recite it from memory) the Tea Party chapter; one of the most silly, but at the same time intelligently sensible, pieces of prose around. Give it a go.

I enjoyed this puzzle almost as much; the best on a Wednesday for a while. Not too challenging, but witty and with a couple of bits of lateral thinking required. The long anagrams at 5d and 9d will get you started, twenty minutes saw me completed except for 1a and 4a; the spelling of 4a surprised me but Collins gives it as an alternative. 19d is an open wound asking for your insightful treatment.

Just a reminder as I haven't added it for a while; definitions underlined, anagrinds italic, (anagram fodder)*.

Across
1	Hobo needs a large drink (6)
	BUMPER - Easy to write in, but trickier to explain in detail. Hobo = bum, no problem. A bumper is a large tankard or drinking glass, or a large drink in one. And bumper means large, as in 'bumper harvest'. The PER could be clued by the 'a', as in 'five a year / five per year'. So we have a definition, clued by Hobo and A.
4	Woman shows anger about nothing — she’s one of these? (8)
	VIRAGOES - VI the woman, RAGES, about O. I had expected the plural to be VIRAGOS but the OES is equally valid.
10	Clued-up company worker is about to celebrate retiring (9)
	COGNISANT - CO = company, ANT = worker, surround SING reversed.
11	Spray water on a book (5)
	HOSEA - HOSE = spray water on, A. Book of OT.
12	Note about film actors (7)
	PLAYERS - P.S. = note, around LAYER = film.
13	Notice one in angry discourse exuding heat? (7)
	RADIANT - RANT = angry discourse has AD and I inserted.
14	Fiddle about, in need of passion (5)
	CHEAT - C = about, HEAT = passion.
15	Greek statesman has page and two men following (8)
	PERICLES - P = page, ERIC and LES are the chaps.
18	Most stylish sixties film? There's something wet about it (8)
	SLEEKEST - SLEET is something wet (and nasty), around KES a 1969 Ken Loach movie about a boy and a Kestrel.
20	Game backed by man of nonsense, not a leader (5)
	RULER - The answer is a leader, not 'not a leader'; RU is a game, rugby, then LEAR loses his A ('not a').
23	Chief's tucked into eggs and lettuce (7)
	ROMAINE - MAIN inside ROE. I hate lettuce, rabbit food.
25	Article, coloured on the outside with a stain (7)
	TAINTED - TINTED with A inserted.
26	Cook, enthusiast for sweet American cake (5)
	DONUT - DO = cook, as in 'do me a fried egg' perhaps; NUT = enthusiast; how Americans wrongly spell doughnut, which is made of Dough not Do.
27	Remain close when protecting old group hiding away (9)
	CLOSETING - CLING = remain close, has O SET inserted. Odd to have CLOSE in the clue and the answer, but that's what it is.
28	Sleepy type beginning to moan when instruction to wake up comes round (8)
	DORMOUSE - DO ROUSE = instruction to wake up, insert M = beginning to moan. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice-VII.html
29	NI party holds bizarre rally (4,2)
	DRUM UP - the DUP holds RUM = bizarre.

Down
1	Support Wolves? This might be checked at entrance to ground (8)
	BACKPACK - BACK = support, PACK could be of wolves. I like this one, and I hope they do inspect the backpacks at Molineux.
2	Tycoon featured in publication, "name" getting worried (7)
	MAGNATE - MAG = publication, N = name, ATE = worried.
3	Grand hospital department needing engineers in situation where things fall apart (9)
	EPICENTRE - EPIC = grand, ENT the usual ear, nose, throat department, RE the engineers. Nice definition.
5	Reading petition, ranter becomes unsettled (14)
	INTERPRETATION - (PETITION RANTER)*.
6	Pest upset Parliament, probing charity (5)
	APHID - HP = Parliament, reversed inside AID = charity.
7	Male at party entertained by individual performing live (7)
	ONSTAGE - STAG = man at party, inside ONE.
8	Aim to preserve a set of books in cabin (6)
	SHANTY - SHY = aim, as in shy at a coconut; inset A, NT.
9	Phony presence felt as deception (5,9)
	FALSE PRETENCES - (PRESENCE FELT AS)*
16	Supply of wine drunk by long-term professional soldier (9)
	CARBINEER - A carbineer, or carabineer, or carabiner, is a soldier armed with a carbine. I didn't know this spelling but the word play is clear; CAREER = long term (as in 'a career philanderer' perhaps), insert BIN where wine is stored.
17	Old revolutionary caught by trick, a financial problem (5,3)
	TRADE GAP - AGED is reversed inside TRAP = trick.
19	Halt, stopping short, with awful rain in sheets (7)
	LAMINAR - Well, (RAIN)* is at the end, and LAM must be a shortened word from LAM* or LAM** but as yet in Collins I can't find a meaning of LAMP or LAMB or any other possible word meaning 'halt'. Or even one *LAM. Can you?
21	Element of humility not unknown after thrashing (7)
	LITHIUM - (HUMILIT)*, the Y = unknown is omitted. Third element of the periodic table, of which there will be a serious world shortage soon as the demand for batteries increases. Although I read recently an aluminium based version is not too far away.
22	Journalist, having travelled in, is worn out (6)
	ERODED - ED the journalist has RODE inserted.
24	Keen on including composer's last piece of music (5)
	INTRO - INTO = keen on, insert R being the end letter of composer.

↧

Times Quick Cryptic No 1183 by Rongo

September 19, 2018, 6:00 pm

≫ Next: Times 27148 - exterminate!

≪ Previous: Times 27147 - `Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Apologies for the 14d blog this morning - I’m doing this in California separated from my usual devices and tools, which has slowed me down somewhat. This took me a little over 12 minutes to complete, and significantly longer to write this bare blog.

Thanks to Rongo for an entertaining puzzle. I particularly liked the device in 3D and the assembly of 8d.

Across

1. Dote best, madly infatuated (8)
BESOTTED - Anagram of (madly) [DOTE BEST]
5. Following legislation is a mistake (4)
FLAW - F{ollowing} and LAW (legislation)
9. Teacher to express disapproval otherwise (5)
TUTOR - TUT (express disapproval) and OR (otherwise)
10. Widespread and rank (7)
GENERAL - Double definition
11. Amusing to go into children’s game, squeezing in twice (12)
ENTERTAINING - ENTER (to go into) and TAG (children’s game) containing (squeezing) IN and IN (in twice)
13. Citrus cultivated in the countryside (6)
RUSTIC - Anagram (cultivated) of [CITRUS]
15. An individual for each lad (6)
PERSON - PER (for each) and SON (lad)
17. NASA craft has gap closed with tile when one is missing (5,7)
SPACE SHUTTLE - SPACE (gap) SHUT (closed) and T{i}LE (when one is missing - i.e. drop the I or one)
20. Opposite of sweet name for a bird (7)
BITTERN - BITTER (opposite of sweet) and N{ew}
21. Originally seen in black and white days, yet rude in funny way (5)
BAWDY - First letters (originally seen) of Black And White Days, Yet
22. Behave like a twister in a gale (4)
WIND - Double definition, first a verb and then a noun.
23. Go grey, be upset? Indeed! (2,6)
BY GEORGE - Anagram (upset) of [GO GREY, BE]

DOWN

1. Some celeb at home somewhere in Somerset (4)
BATH - Hidden (some) in {cele}B AT H{ome}
2. Occupied a chair, wearing shiny cloth (5)
SATIN - A chair that was occupied would be SAT IN
3. People with XY chromosomes after YYY said visitors from the east (5,4,3)
THREE WISE MEN - ‘YYY said’ gives us THREE WISE (sounds like), and people with XY chromosomes are MEN
4. Four score - important when opener is dismissed (6)
EIGHTY - Important is {w}EIGHTY (opener dismissed)
6. Misleading statements about old Rolls Royce vehicles (7)
LORRIES - LIES (misleading statements) about (surrounding) O{ld} R{olls} R{oyce}
7. Perhaps Mozart‘s predatory pack (8)
WOLFGANG - A WOLF GANG would be a predatory pack, and the composer was famously WOLFGANG Amadeus Mozart
8. Hard to absorb popular summary with scriptures omitting first book (12)
INDIGESTIBLE - IN (popular) with DIGEST (summary) and {b}IBLE (scriptures omitting first B{ook})
12. Peevish, formal greeting, showing arm (8)
CROSSBOW - CROSS (peevish) and BOW (formal greeting)
14. Excitedly ran past Leonidas for example (7)
SPARTAN - Anagram (excitedly) of [RAN PAST]
16. Tending to complain, interrupted by new horse’s noise (6)
WHINNY - WHINY (tending to complain) with N{ew} inserted (interrupted by)
18. Bring down one that goes “moo” (5)
LOWER - cryptic definition
19. Outwardly visible parts of priestly role in cremation site (4)
PYRE - Outside letters (outwardly visible) of P{reistl}Y R{ol}E

↧

Times 27148 - exterminate!

September 19, 2018, 7:53 pm

≫ Next: Quick Cryptic 1184 by Mara

≪ Previous: Times Quick Cryptic No 1183 by Rongo

Time taken: 9:54.
I got almost all of the down answers on a first run though, and probably could have been a little faster than this on a good brain day. I'm in my last week of rehearsals for a show, so I'm a little behind in the regular solving regimen.

I thought today's was a good puzzle for wordplay!

First definitions are underlined in the clues...

Away we go!

Across
1	Youth from east extremely knowledgeable about robot (5)
	DALEK - LAD(youth) reversed, then K~~(nowledgeabl)~~E also reversed. The robots from Dr. Who
4	Eg top young woman’s hairpiece, might Spooner have said? (9)
	WHIRLIGIG - Spoonerism of GIRLY WIG
9	Phoney’s daily beat circling US city (9)
	CHARLATAN - CHAR(daily), TAN(beat) surrounding LA(US city)
10	Church land where bird has swapped river for lake? (5)
	GLEBE - the bird is a GREBE, replace R(river) with L(lake)
11	Unusually dire prospects for group loyalty (6,2,5)
	ESPRIT DE CORPS - anagram of DIRE,PROSPECTS
14	Fix some olla podrida, for example? (4)
	STEW - double definition - fix being an uncomfortable situation here
15	Tearing of delicate fabric in front of allotment (10)
	LACERATION - LACE(delicate fabric), RATION(allotment)
18	Copyist, one visiting a team in French quarters (10)
	AMANUENSIS - I(one) inside A, MAN U(Manchester United, soocer team), EN(In, in French), S,S(quarters)
19	Charge for accessing remote estates, primarily (4)
	FARE - First letters of For Accessing Remote Estates
21	Loyalty old railways originally showed, adopting alternative tracks? (13)
	BROTHERLINESS - BR(British Rail, old railway), and S~~(howed)~~, containing OTHER(alternative), LINES(tracks)
24	Friend’s note written during a match (5)
	AMIGO - MI(musical note), in A, MATCH(go, as in go with)
25	N European’s proposal for first daughter in run (9)
	LAPLANDER - PLAN(proposal) instead of the first D in LADDER(run)
27	Excellent, solidly attractive fish (5-4)
	HUNKY-DORY - HUNKY(solidly attractive), DORY(fish)
28	Tree-dweller appearing in sundry advertisements (5)
	DRYAD - hidden in sunDRY ADvertisements

Down
1	Surprisingly Nice is dank, squalid and poverty-stricken (10)
	DICKENSIAN - anagram of NICE,IS,DANK
2	Grassy area providing shelter for listeners (3)
	LEA - sounds like LEE(shelter)
3	Fellow entertaining Liberal physicist (6)
	KELVIN - KEVIN(fellow) containing L(liberal), for Lord Kelvin
4	Uncommunicative comedian lured outside hotel (9)
	WITHDRAWN - WIT(comedian), DRAWN(lured) with H(hotel) inside
5	Like an order mocking customer finally leaves (5)
	IONIC - IRONIC(mocking) missing ~~(custome)~~R - an order of architecture
6	Rest taken after member’s ball (3,5)
	LEG BREAK - BREAK(rest) following LEG(member) - a ball in cricket
7	Rough evaluation of visitor hugging son and current chum (11)
	GUESSTIMATE - GUEST(visitor) contaning S(son), then I(current), MATE(chum)
8	Anorak Stavros possibly needed, disregarding end of winter (4)
	GEEK - Stavros (as opposed to Davros) would be a GREEK, remove the last letter of winteR
12	Quiet about eccentric man from way back in history (11)
	PRECAMBRIAN - P(piano, quiet), RE(about), CAM(eccentric motor), BRIAN(man)
13	Limitless and, in Germany, without poetic rhythm (10)
	UNMEASURED - UND(and, in German), outside of MEASURE(poetic rhythm)
16	Rage hippy stirred up studying ancient inscriptions (9)
	EPIGRAPHY - anagram of RAGE,HIPPY
17	Independence of a posh man accepting prestigious award (8)
	AUTONOMY - A, U(posh), TONY(man) containing OM(order of merit)
20	Enchanting chap island zoo initially put in charge (6)
	WIZARD - I(island), Z~~(oo)~~ inside WARD(charge)
22	Greeting a man will love? (5)
	HELLO - HE'LL, O
23	Expression of disgust about leader of socialist party (4)
	BASH - BAH(expression of disgust) surrounding S~~(ocialist)~~
26	One of those appearing regularly in diary (3)
	DAY - alternating letters in DiArY

↧

Quick Cryptic 1184 by Mara

September 20, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Times 27,149: Dog Soldiers

≪ Previous: Times 27148 - exterminate!

I rather liked this, though it took me ages to get going. Fairly straightforward in the end, but I suspect it may take a few casualties. The reason I think it might be a bit stiff is that in several clues, standard crossword tropes that beginners rather depend on at first, are subverted or avoided. Best example is 3d. 'Knight' normally means K, or possibly N from the chess notation. Here, it's being used as a verb, which I think is great, but it's rather left field.

Across
1	Slight breaks alarming (8)
	MARGINAL - anagram ('breaks') of ALARMING
5	God snatching gold from writer (4)
	THOR - I biffed this. writer is AUTHOR, take off AU for gold. Made more confusing because OR also means gold. Nice, though perhaps a bit postgraduate for the QC
8	Leaders in every Asian state evidently drowsy, relaxed (5)
	EASED - initial letters of Every Asian State Evidently Drowsy
9	Parents, those kept under wraps? (7)
	MUMMIES - double definition
11	Excitement of member in cage, very amusing (3-8)
	RIB-TICKLING - RIB is 'member in cage', TICKLING is excitement
13	Contract put away, attempt to steal it (6)
	TREATY - put away is EAT, inside TRY. Spent a long time trying to insert the word IT into something.
14	Apartment in Odense gutted recently (2,4)
	OF LATE - Apartment is FLAT, Odense 'gutted' is OE
17	Be wary of huffing and puffing, staggering (4-7)
	MIND-BLOWING - Be wary of is MIND, huffing and puffing is BLOWING
20	Excess strife, worried about university (7)
	SURFEIT - anagram ('worried') of STRIFE with U inside
21	Some pin, or this point (5)
	NORTH - Hidden word: piN OR THis
22	Eat less— stop before end of dessert! (4)
	DIET - DIE is stop, end of dessert is T
23	Antipodean capital turning Serbian, alongside capital in Belgrade (8)
	BRISBANE - anagram ('turning') of SERBIAN with B.

Down
1	Under yours truly, every king initially submissive (4)
	MEEK - ME (yours truly) + E + K
2	Booksubstitute (7)
	RESERVE - double definition
3	Popular knight, one on list for sure (11)
	INDUBITABLE - IN (popular) + DUB (knight, verb!) + I + TABLE (list). Nice
4	Revolting part, I'm hollow (6)
	ARMPIT - anagram ('revolting') of PART I'M
6	Island nation— it is secured by endless locks (5)
	HAITI - IT inside HAI(r) ('endless locks')
7	Useless designer stepped down (8)
	RESIGNED - anagram ('useless') of DESIGNER. Is 'useless' an anagrind too far...?
10	Wandering free, man and kids become buddies (4,7)
	MAKE FRIENDS - anagram ('wandering') of FREE MAN KIDS. Nice surface.
12	Listed site, heading off, is in sea (8)
	ITEMISED - (s)ITE + IS inside MED
15	Regalia manufactured for African country (7)
	ALGERIA - anagram ('manufactured') of REGALIA
16	River mammal going after river rat! (6)
	ROTTER - River mammal is OTTER, going after R for river.
18	Feature about right for old language (5)
	NORSE - NOSE outside R
19	Trainer possibly has month to improve, all concluding (4)
	SHOE - last letters of haS montH tO improvE

↧

Times 27,149: Dog Soldiers

September 20, 2018, 11:57 pm

≫ Next: Sunday Times 4814 by Jeff Pearce

≪ Previous: Quick Cryptic 1184 by Mara

A not *too* challenging Friday puzzle to round off what has felt like a fairly gentle week, but the sort of gridfill that I very much appreciate: a whirlwind tour of general knowledge taking in ancient Greek, ancient Rome, the Bible, Shakespeare, Asian and African geography, the periodic table, dog breeds and a good dose of weird and wonderful vocabulary too. Maybe it's just because 2018 has been the year that I've become obsessed with competitive quizzing, but this is definitely the kind of thing I like.

The wordplay also has a playful quality with a few standouts: I very much liked our canine chum's RINGER SPAN becoming a "double-cross", and "Gershwin against himself" in 7dn. My least favourite clue was the one I had to spend some extra time puzzling out after I stopped my timer just before 8 minutes: 8dn, where "ancient arrow" for REED is the kind of definition that I wouldn't bat an eyelid at in a barred puzzle, but seemed a bit obscure for the 15x15. I'm sure most will have just shrugged and bunged it in, but I found myself unable to shake the feeling that it might somehow be RAED (as in Raedwald, old king of the East Angles?) and if I'd had to make that call in a championship prelim at speed and fallen the wrong way, it'd have been the Devonport Debacle all over again. I'm probably overly touchy about such things as November draws ever closer, though.

Over all a very jolly puzzle though. Thanks setter (and spaniel)!

ACROSS
1 Fashion to drink whiskey where more people are around (4)
TOWN - TON [fashion] to "drink" W [whiskey]

3 Island commander packing angry wound (10)
MADAGASCAR - AGA [commander] "packing" MAD SCAR [angry | wound]

10 Made bishop stop, surprised to be overheard within (9)
ENTHRONED - END [stop], homophone of THROWN [surprised] "within"

11 Man having day to find employment (5)
USAGE - US [man, as in "the human race"] to find AGE [day, as in "this day and age"]

12 Seraphim forced to abandon second tribe (7)
EPHRAIM - ({s}ERAPHIM*) ["forced", abandoning S]. Ephraim is one of the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from Ephraim son of Joseph.

13 Bring out drug in accordance with law (6)
ELICIT - E LICIT [drug | in accordance with law]

15 Special troops when relaxed are radiant group (10,5)
PRAETORIAN GUARD - (ARE RADIANT GROUP*) ["when relaxed"]. The personal bodyguard of the Emperor in Roman times.

18 Barker having prepared speech about double-cross (8,7)
SPRINGER SPANIEL - SPIEL [prepared speech] "about" RINGER SPAN [double | cross]

21 Beard model put to work (6)
OPPOSE - POSE [model] put to OP [work]. Beard as in "to beard the lion in his den".

23 Check on heartbeat (7)
REPULSE - RE PULSE [on | heartbeat]

26 Asian city and Greek one without parking (5)
DELHI - DEL{p}HI [Greek city, minus P]

27 Getting louder? Time to exit street party! (9)
CRESCENDO - CRESCEN{t] [street, minus T] + DO [party]

28 Understand when it's e-mail that's encrypted (10)
ASSIMILATE - AS [when] + (IT'S EMAIL*) ["encrypted"]

29 Person managingexcellent Americanstud (4)
BOSS - triple definition

DOWN
1 Article on English politician in tax drama (3,7)
THE TEMPEST - THE [article] on E MP [English | politician] in TEST [tax]

2 Keep an eye onhunter? (5)
WATCH - double definition

4 Armenian toyed with European girl (4-5)
ANNE-MARIE - (ARMENIAN*) ["toyed"] with E [European]

5 Two daughters introduced to beer become confused (5)
ADDLE - D D [two daughters] "introduced" to ALE [beer]

6 Answer in contemplation for comic (7)
AMUSING - A MUSING [answer | in contemplation]

7 Row in church turning one Gershwin against himself (9)
CHARIVARI - CH [church] + reversed IRA V IRA [one Gershwin against himself!]

8 Ancient arrow's point, bloodied all around? (4)
REED - E [point], RED [bloodied] "all around"

9 Monster devouring rook and chicken part (6)
BREAST - BEAST [monster] "devouring" R [rook]

14 Notice lust with roué contrived such relationship? (10)
ADULTEROUS - AD [notice] + (LUST + ROUE*) ["contrive"], semi-&lit.

16 What might be rice and grain store up in citadel (9)
ACROPOLIS - A CROP [what might be rice] + reversed SILO [grain store "up"]

17 Taking it all in having gone around planet? (9)
ABSORBENT - ABSENT [gone] around ORB [planet]

19 Principal in Number 10 wrong about one element (7)
NIOBIUM - N{umber} 10 + BUM [wrong] about I [one]

20 Poisonous sort given shocking treatment shows face (6)
ASPECT - ASP [poisonous sort] given E.C.T. [shocking treatment]

22 Central characters in Huxley said to stand out? (5)
EXCEL - say the central characters in {hu}XL{ey}, X and L, out loud.

24 Shortening piece of verse, try peculiar vocabulary (5)
LINGO - LIN{e} ["shortened" piece of verse] + GO [try]

25 Certain characters within decide against proposal (4)
IDEA - hidden in {dec}IDE A{gainst}

↧

Sunday Times 4814 by Jeff Pearce

September 8, 2018, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: Times 27,149: Dog Soldiers

≪ Previous: Times 27,149: Dog Soldiers

9:49. Straightforward stuff from Jeff this week. I found a few of the definitions a bit loose as I solved, but they all turn out to be supported by dictionaries and/or things I hadn’t come across before. Nothing really obscure: even the plant was familiar to me, and the half-known actress came with generous wordplay. 1ac is that bugbear of some, an anagram of a foreign word, but I am more concerned with familiarity than foreignness and I would expect this word to be familiar to most people. Or perhaps not?

Not much more to say really, so here’s how I think it all fits together…

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*, anagram indicators like this.

Across
1	Barking seller paid for something to put on one of his plates?
	ESPADRILLE - (SELLER PAID)*. Plates of meat is Cockney rhyming slang.
7	Directall the actors in a play
	CAST - DD. I was hesitant about this one. The second definition is fine of course but the first seemed weak to me. However for ‘cast’ Collins has ‘to direct (a glance, attention, etc)’, giving the example ‘cast your eye over this’. I don’t really see the equivalence – you wouldn’t say ‘direct your eye over this’ – but I guess I’ll have to take it up with them rather than Jeff.
9	After driver’s test setback attempt to get a lift for little fellow
	TOM THUMB - reversal of MOT (driver’s test), THUMB (attempt to get a lift).
10	Struggle with marsupial caught for wife
	COMBAT - replace the W (wife) in WOMBAT with a C.
11	Violin’s entertaining number — String of Pearls
	STRAND - STRA(N)D. Again I wasn’t sure here but it turns out a STRAND can be specifically ‘a string of pearls or beads’ (Collins again).
13	Pulled everyone in — being covered in fat (8)
	TALLOWED - T(ALL)OWED.
14	Chorister apt to go offaccompanists here?
	ORCHESTRA PIT - (CHORISTER APT)*.
17	Climberprepared last of red salmon with bread
	OLD MANS BEARD - (reD SALMON BREAD)*.
20	Click with H?
	HIT IT OFF - HIT with IT OFF gives you H.
21	Public business initially concealed pressure to avoid responsibility
	COP OUT - slightly odd wordplay here: OUT (public) is preceded by CO to give COOUT, which then conceals P.
22	The bum’s late with the payment
	BEHIND - DD.
23	Music I love follows eloquent speech maker
	ORATORIO - ORATOR, I, O.
25	The pictures showing “Lawrence of Arabia”?
	EPIC - hidden in ‘the pictures’.
26	Titled actress has boring routine with her car
	RUTHERFORD - RUT, HER, FORD. Dame Margaret Rutherford. I had vaguely heard of her I think but needed the wordplay and wouldn’t have been able to tell you her first name.

Down
2	Guns? Small alarming things!
	SHOOTERS - S, HOOTERS. This clue could have been more controversial.
3	Ancient king drops charioteer’s gift
	ART - ART~~hur~~.
4	One shot in a full game of golf
	ROUND - DD. When solving I thought the first definition was a reference to alcohol, but of course that would necessarily be more than one drink so I think ballistics is the relevant field.
5	Throws aquatic bird endless shellfish
	LOBSTER - LOBS, TERn.
6	Cuts and runs after botched case
	ESCALOPES - (CASE)*, LOPES.
7	Oppose match being played aroundrotting vegetation
	COMPOST HEAP - (OPPOSITE MATCH)*.
8	Unable to produce tool for the auditor
	SPAYED - sounds like ‘spade’.
12	Love potion from Asia? Orchid crossed with poppy, primarily
	APHRODISIAC - (ASIA ORCHID, P~~oppy~~)*.
15	Small girl returned flipping wine and deer for chips?
	SIDE ORDER - S, reversal (returned) of DI (girl), then reversal (flipping) of RED (wine), ROE (dear).
16	Might you see one shuffling to work in Vegas?
	CROUPIER - rather obvious CD.
18	A loud guy cutting newspaper’s insult
	AFFRONT - A, F, F(RON)T.
19	Bill and Mark appearing for trial
	LINE-UP - LINE (mark), UP (before the beak). ‘Mark’ for LINE struck me as a bit vague.
21	Vermin found in church box
	CRATE - C(RAT)E.
24	Topless nob’s high
	OFF - tOFF. In the ‘gamy’ sense.

↧

Times 27,149: Dog Soldiers

September 20, 2018, 11:57 pm

≫ Next: Times Cryptic No 27144 - Saturday, 15 September 2018. A crossword from another universe?

≪ Previous: Sunday Times 4814 by Jeff Pearce

↧

Times Cryptic No 27144 - Saturday, 15 September 2018. A crossword from another universe?

September 21, 2018, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1342 - 8th September

≪ Previous: Times 27,149: Dog Soldiers

Well – where has this setter been hiding? This puzzle wasn’t easy, and had delightful originality. Unusual vocabulary, original wordplay, delicious definitions.

I gathered it was going to be a challenge when my first pass of the across clues came up empty. I did get one down clue first time through, but it eventually turned out to be wrong! It was a slow, thoughtful solve over several hours, but every clue makes sense when you see through it. If only we had a SNITCH for Saturdays, I’m sure it would be glowing red. The clue of the day was undoubtedly 29ac, with special mentions to 30ac and 18dn. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle.

Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Answers are in BOLD CAPS, then wordplay. (ABC*) means 'anagram of ABC', with the anagram indicator in bold italics. Deletions are in [square brackets].

Across
1 Finally, seeing a narrow opening illuminated (6)
GASLIT: [seein]G “finally”, A, SLIT. Apparently, GASLIGHTING is a different thing entirely these days.

4 One unknown couple, outwardly shy, becoming passionate (8)
SIZZLING: I (one), Z Z (a couple of unknowns), all inside SLING (shy, in the sense of throwing).

10 Old jacket sailor put back on board, XL (6,3)
DOUBLE TOP: DOUBLET (old jacket), P.O. (Petty Officer) backwards. The definition is XL, “forty”, the score for this throw when playing darts.

11 College head, finishing early, leaves to the right (5)
RECTO: RECTO[r].

To quibble (and why should today be different?), the RECTO definition should be “pages”, not “leaves”. Each leaf has a RECTO (right) page and a VERSO (left) page. But of course, “page” or “pages” wouldn’t fit the surface!

12 Difficulties with cryptic clue for setter (5,6)
QUEER STREET: since QUEER STREET could clue SETTER as an anagram. A quaint expression.

14 Right-wingers in reality are not all the same (3)
YET: “right wing” letters of [realit]Y [ar]E [no]T.

15 PM, once about to resign, remains (7)
ASQUITH: QUIT inside ASH.

17 Visitor from afar after lift back, certainly (3,3)
YOU BET: BUOY (as in “lift your spirits”) backwards, then ET (visitor from afar).

19 Non-imperial police forces in London, and Dublin historically (6)
METRIC: MET[ropolitan Police] from London, R[oyal] I[rish] C[onstabulary] from Dublin once. Metric units – metres, kilograms etc.

21 Girl’s portrait: it electrifies retrospective, in part (7)
LETITIA: reverse (“retrospective”) hidden answer (“in part”).

23 Exercise to improve these ratings? (3)
AB’S: exercise your abdominals, or just talk about sailors.

24 Hint not a sensible thing to share? (11)
ADUMBRATION: A, DUMB, RATION. As (dumb?) luck would have it, nearly this same clue appeared only the day before, but it’s still delightful.

26 Language perfect for putting cipher in, mostly (5)
AZERI: ZER[o] (cipher, mostly), inside AI (perfect).

27 Elaborate tent with ultimate in style for birthday? (9)
TWENTIETH: (TENT WITH E*). The final E is the ultimate in [styl]E.

29 Broadcast line containing Tango Tango Alpha Golf Bravo Juliet? (8)
ATTAGIRL: what a beautiful clue! Just put TTAG (Tango Tango Alpha Golf) inside AIR (broadcast), then add L (line).

The definition is “Bravo Juliet” … or another girl of your choice, if you prefer. Sierra, perhaps, I wondered? She is one of the usual suspects in the phonetic alphabet lineup, but you might think of mountain ranges. And, astonvilla1 reminds us that long ago there was a UK TV series titled Juliet Bravo, so Juliet is clearly la fille juste for this clue.

30 Lamb tender, also second rate, offered originally by sly butcher’s (2,4)
BO PEEP: B (second rate), O[ffered] “originally”, PEEP (sly look, from Cockney Rhyming Slang: “butcher’s [hook]”). “Also” is just a filler.

Nice definition – she did indeed tend to lambs, or at least sheep.

Down
1 Zealous bunch work with detective at the Yard (3,5)
GOD SQUAD: GO (work), DS (detective sergeant), QUAD (yard). Another quaint answer.

2 It follows good soak (5)
SOUSE: SO (it follows, as in “therefore”), USE (good, as in “what is the good of worrying?”).

3 Sick leave denied wife (3)
ILL: remove W[ife] from [w]ILL (leave, as in “leave it to your children”).

5 Warriors trained yet displaying lack of devotion (7)
IMPIETY: IMPI (Zulu warriors), (YET*).

6 Guide upset at Arthur’s ripping apartold prophet (11)
ZARATHUSTRA: A-Z (London guidebook, “upset” i.e. backwards), then (AT ARTHURS*). I needed helpers to spell this!

7 Paltry remuneration, first to last, leads to restlessness (5,4)
ITCHY FEET: TITCHY FEE, with the first T moved to the bottom.

8 Annoyed about recommendation at first that’s a little hollow (6)
GROTTO: GOT TO (annoyed), around R[ecommendation].

9 Problem for side having very little to wear? (6)
STITCH: double definition: either a pain in one’s side, or not a stitch to wear.

13 Forcing way inside fence (11)
RAILROADING: ROAD inside RAILING.

16 Hunting around like that is most uncomfortable (9)
QUEASIEST: AS (like) and IE (that is), inside QUEST.

18 Tools placed on skip a security concern (8)
PAWNSHOP: PAWNS (tools) on HOP (or skip or jump). The definition is a security concern, in that you pawn something as security, they lend money. Cute.

20 One doing my job sober gets in a mess! (7)
CLUTTER: the setter is a CLUER, and TT (sober) gets inside.

21 Improviser dispatching poster for campaigner (6)
LIBBER: AD-LIBBER beheaded. “Women’s libber” for example - thanks, Isla, for the definition.

22 Staff collected anecdotes for some future time (6)
MAÑANA: MAN (staff), ANA (collected anecdotes).

25 Periodically debrief suit about foreign department (5)
ISÈRE: alternate letters of “debrief suit”, read from right to left. A department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France, named after the river Isère.

28 What’s needed for match as well as broadcast (3)
TWO: sounds like (“broadcast”) TOO. Definition as in “it takes two to tango”

↧

Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1342 - 8th September

September 21, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Sunday Times 4816 by David McLean - breaking news

≪ Previous: Times Cryptic No 27144 - Saturday, 15 September 2018. A crossword from another universe?

Hello all. I found this an entertaining and somewhat educational Jumbo, with some lovely wordplay and an eclectic mix of general knowledge - some of which was beyond my ken, but the wordplay was generously helpful when needed. There was one that defeated me, though, and I had to resort to aids for my LOI. That the puzzle contains no less than 2 semi-&lits and 1 &lit bears witness to the level of cleverness on display here. Nothing too hard, though, as I finished in less than 40 minutes. I enjoyed the death of DIOGENES, the motmot bird in the wordplay for TOMATO, LEARNING, BREVIARY and the French letter, but my favourite was the clue for ONGOING. What fun! So thanks to our setter for a lovely crossword to solve and to blog. How did you all get on?

Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1	Like a desert island clothed, say, in rolling dune (11)
	UNINHABITED - If you are clothed you might be IN a HABIT. Insert into [rolling] (dune)*
7	Bottom’s tender— essential having a doctor over to look at daughter (11)
	MUSTARDSEED - MUST (essential) A RD (Dr "over") SEE (look at) D (daughter) getting one of the four fairies who attend Bottom in A Midsummer's Night Dream.
13	What uses moving trail icon for craft? (3-7,7)
	AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROL - (trail icon for craft)* [moving]. The trail of an aircraft is, I guess, shown as an icon on an air-traffic control screen. Semi-&lit.
14	European whiskey is on board (5)
	SWISS - W (whiskey) IS inside SS (a ship) [on board].
15	Returning bird loses minutes eating a fruit (6)
	TOMATO - Tricky one this.The bird is a MOTMOT. Lose the first M (minutes), insert [eating] A and reverse [returning].
16	Is game of football pursuing male conflict? (8)
	MISMATCH - IS (Is) MATCH (game of football) after [pursuing] M (male).
17	Sudden change of opinion about English marine artist (7)
	VERMEER - VEER (sudden change of opinion) outside [about] E (English) RM (Royal Marine). Living from 1632-1675 Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialised in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life.
19	Florentine family, note, nearly all like a lot of drugs (9)
	MEDICINAL - MEDICI (Florentine family) N (note) [nearly] AL{l}.
21	Assistant ref’s backing nothing — means one needs to replace (8)
	LINESMAN - LIN (nil = nothing) [backing] + (means)* [one needs to replace]. Interesting anagrind.
23	Try second dose of drugs (4)
	STAB - S (second) TAB (tablet or pill).
25	Finally put sword in mobile cover (5)
	TEPEE - {Finally] {pu}T EPEE (sword). That's a sneaky definition for a tent!
27	Very pretty trim, easy to remove small area (6)
	CUTESY - CUT (trim) E{a}SY (removing the a = abbreviation for [small] area).
28	Scientist has info to quote over mist obscuring motorway (10)
	GENETICIST - GEN (info) ETIC (cite = quote [over]) {m}IST leaving off [obscuring] M (motorway).
30	Old Greek perishes after eating melon (8)
	DIOGENES - DIES (persishes) including [eating] OGEN (melon). Diogenes was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. There are conflicting accounts of Diogenes' death. He is alleged variously to have held his breath; to have become ill from eating raw octopus; or to have suffered an infected dog bite. Or eating a melon. Don't believe all you read here, as a cynic would rightly say.
31	Lift high frequency in faster military jet (7,7)
	STEALTH FIGHTER - STEAL (Lift) HF (high frequency) in TIGHTER (faster, as in more secure).
34	Weird set of images apt with a Ngaio Marsh novel? (14)
	PHANTASMAGORIA - (apt a Ngaio Marsh)* [novel]. Dame Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. All 32 of her detective novels feature Chief Inspector Alleyn (later Chief Superintendent) of the Criminal Investigation Department, Metropolitan Police (London). No I've not read any of them.
35	Act offensively in an instance of shooting wild rams (4,4)
	TAKE ARMS - TAKE (instance of shooting a film) + (rams)*.
38	Unusually phallic tie, perhaps related to something on French letter? (10)
	PHILATELIC - (phallic tie)* [Unusually]. Like a stamp. French letter? Very clever.
40	Select sweets over the telephone (6)
	CHOOSE - Sounds like CHEWS.
41	Sunflower’s head — healthy source of oil (5)
	SHALE - S{unflower's} [head] HALE (healthy). The oil being extracted using fracking, perhaps. Or maybe not. How would you frack a sunflower?
43	Precipitate of arsenic introduced to rhodium (4)
	RASH - AS (chemical symbol for arseneic) inside RH (chemical symbol for rhodium). Nice misdirection with the definition in the surface being the noun not the adjective. I wonder if you would get a rash if you put Rhodium Arsenide on your skin?
44	Key European manuscript with character is a precious jewel (8)
	GEMSTONE - G (a musical key) E (European) MS (manuscript) [with] TONE (character).
45	Consul messing about with you hurtfully (9)
	NOCUOUSLY - (Consul + you)*. Not a word I've ever heard, seen or used, although I know of the opposite.
48	Bringing in the end of teaching when the head is away? (7)
	EARNING - {l}EARNING (the objective of teaching) with it's leading letter (head). Nice surface.
49	Book followed by clergyman, one with key lines? (8)
	BREVIARY - B (Book) [followed by] REV (clergyman) I (one) [with] A (another musical key) RY (railway lines). An &lit clue. Very neat!
50	Headless hag gets tons horror-stricken (6)
	AGHAST - {h}AG [headless] + HAS (gets) T (tons). As might happen around here at Scaresville, for example.
53	Milling corn gerbils ate regularly (5)
	GRIST - Alternate letters of GeRbIlS aTe [regularly]. What do you feed your gerbils?
54	Utter greatness resulting in star quality (8,9)
	ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE - ABSOLUTE (Utter) MAGNITUDE (greatness). "The magnitude (brightness) of a celestial object as it would be seen at a standard distance of 10 parsecs".
55	Runs into educator leading Oxford University’s two-timing (11)
	TREACHEROUS - R (Runs) [into] TEACHER (educator) + OU'S (Oxford University's). I'm a Fenland Poly (as some of those two-timers might call it) man myself.
56	Organising tea for US vice-presidential candidate (7,4)
	RUNNING MATE - RUNNING (organising) MATE, the traditional South American drink, known to me from a Mephisto clue, I think.

Down
1	Minced tuna enticed? Not tried (11)
	UNATTEMPTED - {minced] (tuna enticed)*. I flake my tuna rather than mince it.
2	What’s initially sported by Islamic haji residing at Mecca? (5)
	IHRAM - First letters of [initially] Islamic Haji Residing At Mecca. Another semi-&lit clue
3	Non-orthodox call for attention gets habitual response (7)
	HERETIC - HERE (call for attention) TIC (habitual response).
4	Rejection, but not concerning enthusiast (4)
	BUFF - The rejection is a {re}BUFF and you remove the re (concerning). We're all crossword buffs here, right?
5	Attempt holding one small container — it’s a tiny thing (10)
	TRIVIALITY - TRY (Attempt) [holding] I (one) VIAL (small container) and IT.
6	Anomalistic die needs reworking for conversion to metric (14)
	DECIMALISATION - (anomalistic die)* [needs reworking]. The word applies not just to what we did to our pounds shillings and pence in 1971.
7	Second, not first number is samey (8)
	MONOTONE - MO (second) NOT ONE(first number).
8	Keep quiet about your area’s grape variety (5)
	SYRAH - SH (quiet) [about] YR (your) A (area). The grape variety aka Shiraz.
9	Relax, with everything mostly consumed around six (9)
	ALLEVIATE - ALL (everything) EATE{n} (mostly consumed) [around] VI (six).
10	Lust is urgent outside English society (6)
	DESIRE - DIRE (is urgent) [outside] E (English) S (society).
11	Famous Australian statesmen offering title for Lytton Strachey (7,10)
	EMINENT VICTORIANS - Double definition. I'd never heard of the author or his book and had to resort to aids to find out. My LOI.
12	Designer including small and short homage for wholesaler (11)
	DISTRIBUTOR - DIOR (designer) [including] S (small) TRIBUT{e} (short homage).
18	Footballers, say, introducing new underpants (8)
	KNICKERS - Footballers might be KICKERS. Insert [introducing] N (new).
20	Tactful beginning of play ‘The Ambassadors’? (10,7)
	DIPLOMATIC SERVICE - DIPLOMATIC (Tactful) SERVICE (Beginning of play in a tennis or squash rally)
22	Direction: the French must replace old Maigret? (6)
	SLEUTH - The direction is SOUTH. Replace the O (old) with LE ('the' in french).
24	Like rugby side that’s lost player, unable to leave the ground? (8)
	WINGLESS - Double definition. The Rugby side in question being the Penrith Emus, perhaps?
26	Concluding race unable to be seen regularly (8)
	EVENTUAL - EVENT (race) + alternate letters of UnAbLe [regularly].
29	Volume of church in French capital, hard to take in (6,8)
	PARISH REGISTER - PARIS (French capital) H (hard) REGISTER (take in).
32	Northern company is after light dance music (8)
	FLAMENCO - The light is a FLAME. Add N (Northern) CO (company) [after]. I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing some of this on my walking holiday to Marbella soon.
33	British species of tree — little ones (6)
	BABIES - B (British) ABIES (species of tree). Abies is the Genus of Fir trees. No I didn't know that, but I do now!
34	Decorative glass item? Mirror, perhaps, with a number (11)
	PAPERWEIGHT - PAPER (Mirror, perhaps) W (with) EIGHT (a number).
36	From CI on a reading to east, you agree? (3,3,2,3)
	SEE EYE TO EYE - SEE EYE (sonds like CI) [on reading] TO E (East) YE (you).
37	One rural noble managed without my backing (10)
	COUNTRYMAN - COUNT (noble) RAN (managed) outside [without] YM (my going backwards [backing]).
39	Elder gave out in flooded marsh (9)
	EVERGLADE - (Elder gave)* [out]. As in the largest sub-tropical wilderness in the USA.
42	Month before girl’s producing short stories (8)
	NOVELLAS - NOV (month) ELLA'S (girl's).
46	Continuing with ringing sounds after bishops leave (7)
	ONGOING - {b}ONG {b}OING. Ringing sounds. Ha ha.
47	Heartless sectarian in charge of life (6)
	BIOTIC - BI{g}OT (sectarian) [Heartless] IC (in charge). This one had me puzzled for a while with only I T and C as checkers.
49	Black, like house poet (5)
	BASHO - B (Black) AS (like) HO (house). I hadn't heard of him. Matsuo Basho was "the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku." "The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers."
51	Capitals in Africa built up just as Nigerian one (5)
	ABUJA - Initials [Capitals] of Africa Built Up Just As. Another unknown piece of general knowledge for me. It's the capital of Nigeria.
52	Fruit bought online needs unwrapping twice (4)
	UGLI - We do the unwrapping by taking the outer letters off boUGht onLIne. I don't think I've ever eaten one. Do they taste nicer than they sound?

↧

Sunday Times 4816 by David McLean - breaking news

September 22, 2018, 5:00 pm

≫ Next: Mephisto 309 - Tim Moorey

≪ Previous: Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1342 - 8th September

DNF. I whizzed through most of this, then got completely stuck on two clues: 12ac and 2dn. I eventually figured out 12ac but couldn’t get anywhere near 2dn. It was only thanks to a hint from TfTT regular mytilus2000 that I realised how it was supposed to work.

Now this may just be sour 5ac but I am not particularly happy with this clue. Wordplay usually consists of instructions to do things with words or collections of words before inserting them in the grid: mix up the letters, split them apart, turn them around, insert them into one another and so on. In 2dn the words ‘after a break’ look like they are doing that, but in fact they are a rather vague instruction to amend the clue in order to make it solvable. This strikes me as not quite cricket. Will we see setters inserting random words to help the wordplay, followed by an instruction to remove them to make a solvable clue? 25dn for instance could be ‘remaining men support women’s lib after first couple removed in violent row’.

Ah well like I say it’s probably just sour grapes. What did you think?

Other than that, straightforward stuff. A rather strange verbed adjective in 27ac, a couple of slightly Mephistoish abbreviations, and some unusual indications in 23dn 24dn for instance, but we’re used to that sort of thing from this setter, who was voted ‘most likely to push the envelope a bit’ in crossword school. No complaints from me though, it makes his puzzles fun to solve which is the important thing.

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*, anagram indicators like this.

Across
1	Note fish in sea abroad seem diseased
	MALINGER - MER (sea abroad) containing A, LING.
5	23 scoffing slice of Roquefort and these?
	GRAPES - G(R)APES. Vague definition based on the fact that you’re reasonably likely to eat them with your cheese. The best thing to consume with Roquefort is Sauternes. This combination also works well if you leave out the Roquefort.
10	I slate bed, awfulbit of furniture
	SIDETABLE - (I SLATE BED)*.
11	Accountant with a job in a bank?
	CAPER - CA (Chartered Accountant), PER (a). ‘A crime, especially an organised robbery’ (Collins). I wasn’t sure of this definition. It’s a definition by example (since a CAPER can take place elsewhere), which is indicated by the question mark.
12	Leading side in cup round play away
	CHEAT - Cup, HEAT (round, in a competition). To play away is to be unfaithful.
13	What I meet whizzing aroundTurkey?
	WHITE MEAT - (WHAT I MEET)*. Another DBE.
14	Possibly grey and tired top lavvy salesperson?
	OLD-LOOKING - or OLD LOO KING, geddit? ‘Tired’ for OLD here seems a bit loose, but it’s close in the sense of hackneyed or stale.
17	My word is very good around hospital
	GOSH - reversal of SO, G, then H.
19	Unknown vehicle reversing is blue, close to Oxford
	NAVY - reversal of Y, VAN. Oxford blue and NAVY blue are both dark shades.
20	Play about beginning of universe …
	RECREATION - RE (about), CREATION. ‘Beginning of the universe’ needs a question mark if you ask me.
22	… a certain success? Certainly!
	SURE THING - DD.
24	Instruments other than flipping accordions suck primarily
	TUBAS - reversal of BUT (other than), A~~ccordians~~ S~~uck~~.
26	Pork pie eaten by AN Other
	ALIEN - LIE (pork pie) contained in AN. Nice use of ‘AN Other’.
27	Capitalise on pressure to back dons in court action
	UPPER-CASE - RE, P (on pressure) reversed inside (dons in the sense of wearing) UP (in court), CASE (action). They say there ain’t no noun that can’t be verbed, it seems you can do it with adjectives too.
28	Might one burn a little rat
	SINGER - two definitions, one mildly cryptic based on the fact that a SINGER can be someone who singes as well as someone who sings.
29	Storms a sailor’s radioed in
	ASSAULTS - sounds like “a salt’s”

Down
1	Something nice that comes from cans?
	MUSIC TO ONES EARS - the second, slightly cryptic definition plays on the fact that ‘cans’ means ‘headphones’.
2	After a break, remove bottom of bookshelf
	LEDGE - LEDGEr. As mentioned in my introduction, the first three words are telling us to insert a break somewhere in the clue to make it solvable. The resulting clue is ‘remove bottom of book shelf’.
3	People consuming books in symbolic representation
	NOTATION - N(OT)ATION.
4	One bent on drinking pints of beer?
	ELBOW - CD.
6	Dodgy business support lacking breadth
	RACKET - bRACKET. B for ‘breadth’ struck me as a bit Mephistoish. It’s in Collins but shown as an American usage so I’m a bit surprised it was allowed.
7	I reopen app for an update, but there’s not a sausage
	PEPPERONI - (I REOPEN aPP)*.
8	He neglects sorts ordered to take a hike?
	STRETCH ONES LEGS - (HE NEGLECTS SORTS)*.
9	Knight tucks into gin-infused brew for starter?
	BEGINNER - insert GIN into BEER to get BEGINER, then insert N into that.
15	Amusement papers served up with subjective account
	DIVERSION - reversal of ID (papers), VERSION.
16	Continue the good work as 3 can be seen to do?
	KEEP IT UP - because NOTATION (3dn) contains a reversal (which is up, since it’s a down clue) of IT.
18	Bugs bit ear badly, a Charlie admitted
	BACTERIA - (BIT EAR)* containing A C.
21	With expert circling, “abrupt” Blair’s on the spot
	AT ONCE - here ‘abrupt’ is telling us to cut TONY (Blair) short. This seems like a slightly odd way of indicating that now but it didn’t bother me when solving. Insert the resulting TON into ACE (expert).
23	Training with a gas mask is widely spread
	GAPES - another slightly odd indication here: training (PE) is wearing a mask of, i.e. is contained in, GAS.
25	Support women’s lib in violent row
	BRAWL - BRA (support), WL. I can’t find WL for women’s lib in any of the usual dictionaries. Perhaps we’re supposed to take them separately – W for women’s, L for liberal – but then L for liberal isn’t in Collins or ODO either.

↧

Mephisto 309 - Tim Moorey

September 23, 2018, 6:36 pm

≫ Next: Times 27151 - A dragonfly flew by, perhaps....

≪ Previous: Sunday Times 4816 by David McLean - breaking news

Sorry about the late blog, I had a call time moved yesterday and that took away the time I had reserved for this. Im hoping I can get it up in time so that it is not out of order on the blog, though the date is going to be correct. I'm going to post and edit it, so do not be alarmed if you are reading just this section, the rest will be here soon.

I found this one pretty tricky, and there's one clue where I think I have the correct wordplay, but I could be missing something.

First definitions are underlined...

Away we go...

Across
1	Horse and dog in residence rejected (6)
	STAGER - TAG(dog as in follow closely) inside RES(residence) reversed
6	Beetle, small vehicle on Autobahn (6)
	SCARAB - S(small), CAR(vehicle), AB(Autobahn)
11	Abnormal growth coming from earth in part of garden, by gum! (8)
	BEDEGUAR - E(earth) in BED(part of garden) and GUAR(gum)
12	Old pub fitter is a serious smoker (7)
	INHALER - IN(form of INN), HALER(fitter)
13	Foxtrot turned out quick and slow in some places (4)
	LASH - remove F(foxtrot) from FLASH(quick)
14	Cut down unknown number of same-aged lambs? Yes, cruelly (5)
	FELLY - double your wordplay! FELL(cut down) and Y(unknown) then FELL(number of same-aged lambs), Y(yes)
15	Language being recalled, nothing in it (7)
	SLOVENE - ENS(being) reversed, containing LOVE(nothing)
17	Most of lunch including religious education is forbidden (5)
	TREIF - the lunch is a TIFT, remove the last letter in insert RE(religious education)
19	Drink retailers lacking space become cloth workers (10)
	TEASELLERS - the drink retailers are TEA SELLERS, the space you have to remove is the one between the words
22	Following lines on abandoned site, enter from the east for Welsh town (10)
	FFESTINIOG - FF(following lines), then an anagram of SITE, and GO IN(enter) reversed
27	Cheese in perfect condition, primarily upmarket Dutch one (5)
	GOUDA - GO (in perfect condition), then the first letter of Upmarket, D(Dutch), A(one)
28	Where to find Mephisto that’s uncommonly tough (7)
	INFAUST - Mephisto would be IN FAUST
29	Australian forward seen in public once (5)
	APERT - A(Australian), PERT(forward)
30	One’s content to share cat and dog (4)
	MONG - short for MONGREL - the middle (content) of oNe inside MOG(cat)
31	French philosopher thrived on European corruption (7)
	DIDEROT - DID(thrived), E(European), ROT(corruption)
32	Support for a card game that can be spoiled? (8)
	LOOTABLE - the card game could be played on a LOO TABLE
33	Poet’s lauded extract that's familiar (6)
	EXTOLD - EXT(extract), OLD(familiar)
34	Look inside inner Scottish room, furnished in old style (6)
	BESEEN - SEE(look) inside BEN(inner room)

Down
1	Modest housing provided on time? Dubious (6)
	SHIFTY - SHY(modest) containing IF(provided), T(time)
2	A number on ecstasy prevalent in part of Spain (8)
	TENERIFE - TEN(a number), E(ecstasy), RIFE(prevalent)
3	English felt hat’s too tight — common complaint with trilbies (12, two words)
	ATHLETE'S FOOT - anagram of E,FELT,HAT'S,TOO. Trilbies are feet
4	They’re keen to save energy while around railway siding (7)
	GOALIES - GO(energy), AS(while) around LIE(railway siding)
5	Go off elders, say when leader’s put down (5)
	REEST - the elders are TREES, move the T down
7	Small spot about to be taken up in intestinal area (5)
	CELOM - MOLE(small spot), C(about)
8	American opened plant in Mexico (5)
	AGAVE - A(American), GAVE(opened, yielded)
9	Operation embodied in false surrender eg concealing cover of squadron (12, three words)
	RUSE DE GUERRE - anagram of SURRENDER, EG containing S~~(quadron)~~
10	Menswear in Scotland commonly second-rate and stinks (6)
	BREEKS - B(second-rate), REEKS(stinks)
16	Armstrong perhaps on the way up? Right (4)
	LIEN - reversal of the astronaut NEIL Armstrong
18	What Catholic activists may do for sign of coming disease (8)
	PRODROME - the acfivist may PROD ROME
20	Son no longer active, ends computer games (4)
	SIMS - S(son) instead of A(active) in AIMS(ends)
21	A drilling can end in distress for caterpillars (7)
	LOOPERS - PER(a) inside LOO(can, toilet), ~~(distres)~~S
22	Nice daughter wraps a soft material (6)
	FAILLE - FILLE(daughter in French), containing A
23	Conservative politician last to sleep when the news is on (6)
	PATTEN - ~~(slee)~~P and the news is AT TEN - I guess this is Chris PATTEN?
24	Too much wallop and said Lord passes out! (5)
	TANTO - TAN(wallop) and TOLD(said) missing LD(lord)
25	Bone up initially on lady supporting Judge (5)
	JUGAL - U(up), GAL(lady) under J(judge)
26	Unit set up intensive campaign on the radio (5)
	STILB - a unit of brighness - and sounds like BLITZ reversed

↧

Times 27151 - A dragonfly flew by, perhaps....

September 23, 2018, 6:59 pm

≫ Next: QC 1185 by Teazel

≪ Previous: Mephisto 309 - Tim Moorey

Time: 63 minutes
Music: Magic Lady, Mandy Morton and the Spriguns

Yes, a bit of a shock for a Monday puzzle. This should not really have been as difficult as I made it, but the general level of the puzzle had me reaching for complexities that were not there. If the puzzle had been even more difficult, I might have done better. But you certainly will have to throw away your biffing pen, and pay careful attention to what is going on in each clue, if you want to finish.

What always amazes me about these more difficult puzzles is that the answers are perfectly ordinary words and phrases, and there is nothing that should be unfamiliar to a moderately well-educated solver. When answers like 'never' and 'Athens' give you a lot of trouble, and the clues are completely easy and natural, you know the puzzle must be of very high quality.

If anyone is curious about tonight's music, the whole album is available on YouTube. It's not for everyone.....

Across
1	I don't know where ship may be heading, or what passenger may need? (8)
	PASSPORT - PASS + PORT. My STLOI, believe it or not; although I had 'port', I could not imagine what the first element must be.
5	Correspondence course's leader wearing a tie (6)
	ACCORD - A (C[orrespondence]) CORD
10	No way in, game finally remarkably short (5)
	NEVER - [i]N [gam]E + VER[y], as indicated, quite tough.
11	Out of shape, seeking familiar place — working out (9)
	FATHOMING - FAT + HOMING, which I think I've seen before.
12	Painting clasped, an original (9)
	LANDSCAPE - anagram of CLASPED, AN.
13	Chiefs formerly cross, by the sound of it? (5)
	EXECS - sounds like EX X.
14	Orange-yellow salve initially applied to slight cut (7)
	SAFFRON - S[alve] + AFFRON[t].
16	Old fogey, eighty-one perhaps? (6)
	SQUARE - double definition, the second being 9 x 9.
18	Huge hole right behind box (6)
	CRATER - CRATE + R.
20	Ultimately, glamour all there is about it: flash Italian resort (3,4)
	SAN REMO - SAN([glamou]R)E + MO
22	Completely covered in straw, a shed (5)
	AWASH - hidden in [str]AW A SH[ed]
23	Asian giant oak's last big acorn cracked (4,5)
	KING COBRA - [oa]K + anagram of BIG ACORN.
25	Aged don is awfully determined (9)
	DIAGNOSED - anagram of AGED DONE IS.
26	Decency in good people (5)
	GRACE - G + RACE.
27	Negligent fail again? (6)
	REMISS - double definition, one jocular.
28	Bottom Irish number, reportedly? (8)
	DERRIERE - sounds like DERRY AIR, the only chestnut in the puzzle, and one I had a hard time remembering with the unpromising crossers.

Down
1	Optimist’s carpet acquiring shine (8)
	PANGLOSS - PAN + GLOSS, my LOI. I spent some time on 'panelist' and 'penalise' before seeing the obvious. Curiously, I had though of and dismissed Candide at the beginning of my solve.
2	All dwarfs, small and equal (5)
	SEVEN - S + EVEN, another one that required far too much though.
3	Swine bagged first in physics, gold mark in college (4,11)
	PORK SCRATCHINGS - P[hysics] + OR +K(SCRATCH)INGS. I thought for a long time that 'college' was the literal, and I'll bet you did too!
4	Stop the music (7)
	REFRAIN - Double definition.
6	Conservative icon gets Labour rattled, almost (5,3,2,5)
	CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR - C + anagram of ICON GETS LABOUR, with a brilliantly hidden literal.
7	Large plant as it happens in books, always coming up (5,4)
	OLIVE TREE - O(LIVE)T + EER backwards.
8	Process like the litmus test ends (6)
	DIGEST - DIG + [th]E [litmu]S [tes]T
9	Capital letters reading across from left of keyboard? (6)
	ATHENS - A, THEN S. I'll bet this one kept many solvers guessing, even if they biffed it.
15	Strong stocking material with a safety device (4,5)
	FIRE ALARM - FI(REAL + A)RM.
17	Observe something other than a buzzer outside initially needed (4,4)
	NOTA BENE - NOT A BE(N)E, our first Latin phrase.
19	Libertine in cap of khaki, one covered in spots (6)
	RAKISH - RA(K[haki], I)SH.
20	Work I need is yet to be rescheduled (4,3)
	SINE DIE - anagram of I NEED IS, the second Latin phrase.
21	Run, don't walk beneath it! (6)
	LADDER - Double definition.
24	A pair to hold up (5)
	BRACE - Double defintion.

↧

QC 1185 by Teazel

September 23, 2018, 11:06 pm

≫ Next: Times Cryptic 27152

≪ Previous: Times 27151 - A dragonfly flew by, perhaps....

This was medium difficulty for me, about 10 minutes, although I cannot be exact as I have just been all over the place the past couple of weeks with too much going on and not being able to find any time to sit down with a few minutes to myself. I haven't even been able to do that many QCs and this is the first one I have looked at for days.

I don't know about you, but for me the 15 x 15 is my therapy. It is my daily reassurance that all is right with the world. I can have any number of pressure situations going on, but if I can get some time to work happily through the 15 x 15 then somehow all the wrinkles of the universe are ironed out and serenity comes over me in the same way that it apparently does for people who contort themselves into painfully impossible shapes with yoga, or who grind themselves into the dust with gruelling road runs, or who fill the holes in their heads with multicoloured mantra stuffing. I know that if I can take on the 15 x 15 and finish it then nobody is going to be able to get to me for the rest of the day.

Well two weeks ago my serene solving bubble was punctured. On one or two days it took me a lot longer to finish than normal and overall I was struggling. It felt like I had lost the 'knack'. Got the yips as the sportspeople like to say. I thought about giving up these silly games. What was the point?

But the phase passed, and last week normal service was resumed. I came to look upon the previous week's endeavours as a learning experience. It hadn't killed me; it had made me stronger. But it had definitely thrown my rhythm out and made me dispense with the QCs for the time being.

Anyway, tackling this entertaining offering from Teazel has, I feel, got me back on track. Rebooted my software so to speak. Rehabilitated me.

Not too difficult with some straightforward double definitions and anagrams forming the main structure. FOI was the obvious 9A, and LOI was 8A as I had not met the concept in that form before (see blog comment below). COD is difficult to choose as I felt some of the surfaces were a little strained but probably 5A is the most economical and pleasing. Many thanks to Teazel.

Definitions are underlined and everything else is explained just as I see it as plainly as I can manage.

Across
1	More short argument the following day (6)
	MORROW - MOR (MORe 'short') + ROW (argument.
5	Tax cut (6)
	EXCISE - double definition.
8	Single interval in plays to demonstrate skill (4,4,5)
	SHOW ONES PACES - ONE SPACE (single interval) inside SHOWS (plays). I don't think I had met the exact phrase before but I had obviously heard of 'putting someone through their paces', and the cryptic leaves little room for doubt.
9	Out of custody without charge (4)
	FREE - another double definition.
10	Replaced a grim, long-established flower (8)
	MARIGOLD - anagram of A GRIM ('replaced') + OLD (long-established).
11	Scarf, new, taken by thief (6)
	STOLEN - STOLE (scarf) + N (new).
13	Falsely said marine put down weapons (6)
	DISARM - anagram of SAID ('falsely') + RM (Royal Marine)
15	Comfortable seat for such a critic? (8)
	ARMCHAIR - another double definition.
17	You will scream (4)
	YELL - YOU WILL contracts to YOU'LL. If you use the dialect form of YOU as in YE (although this is not indicated in the cryptic it is pretty standard to substitute YE for YOU in Crossword Land) then you get YE'LL.
19	Top technician reviewed cigarette substitute (8,5)
	NICOTINE PATCH - straightforward anagram of TOP TECHNICIAN ('reviewed').
21	Guard southern way in (6)
	SENTRY - S (southern) + ENTRY (way in).
22	Improvise to attend party (4,2)
	MAKE DO - to improvise is to MAKE DO, and cryptically if you manage to get to a party you can be said to 'MAKE' the "DO'.

Down
2	Different parent, not married (5)
	OTHER - parent = MOTHER. Remove the M ('not married') and there you have it.
3	Poor bargain for untreated wood? (3,4)
	RAW DEAL - RAW = untreated, DEAL is a type of wood.
4	Now from the bottom, finished first? (3)
	WON - reverse NOW ('from the bottom' in this down clue) and you have WON!
5	Duck taking in a second year film (4,5)
	EASY RIDER - EIDER (duck) 'taking in' A S YR (a second year) gives us this classic road movie.
6	Good to support family, sound as a bell (5)
	CLANG - CLAN (family) 'supported by' G (good) making a sound as a bell [does].
7	Witch, perhaps, one dictating letters? (7)
	SPELLER - a witch casts spells, so could cryptically be seen as a 'SPELLER', with the straight definition being someone who spells out the letters of a word when dictating.
10	Lying to get candy item changed (9)
	MENDACITY - another straight anagram, CANDY ITEM 'changed'.
12	So-called ant: call it eastern (7)
	TERMITE - TERM (call) + IT + E (eastern) gives TERMITE, a 'so-called' ant. Termites are not ants, and evolutionarily are not even very closely related, although they do behave similarly and live in colonies and so on. Thus they could get called ants by people who can't tell the difference.
14	Singer’s TV fun (7)
	SKYLARK - SKY (a digital TV provider) + LARK (fun).
16	Add to committee foolish person who welcomes power (2-3)
	CO-OPT - COOT (could be a foolish person as well as a type of bird) 'welcoming' P (power).
18	Regularly flout detectives, that’s clear (5)
	LUCID - fLoUt 'regularly' gives LU. Add on CID (detectives) and the case is solved.
20	Wood used in pelmet (3)
	ELM - hidden word: pELMet.

↧

Times Cryptic 27152

September 24, 2018, 6:00 pm

≫ Next: Times Quick Cryptic No 1186 by Joker

≪ Previous: QC 1185 by Teazel

Solving time: 35 minutes. Mostly straightforward. There was one clue that presented some problems in the parsing but the explanation suddenly revealed itself to me whilst I was writing the blog. Another clue is one of the most feeble I have seen in a Times crossword.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
1	The wrong character, perhaps, to race on motorway (8)
	MISPRINT - M1 (motorway), SPRINT (race)
6	Fruit headmaster initially introduced into French school (6)
	LYCHEE - H{eadmaster} [initially] contained by [introduced into] LYCEE (French school). The fruit can also be spelt 'lichee' so knowledge of more than basic French is required to avoid an error on the first unchecked letter and some may consider this a little unfair, especially as the most common French word for 'school' (école) is not the one required here. However 'lycée' is listed in all three of usual English source dictionaries, and that's the yardstick I tend to use if I have doubts about the inclusion of foreign words.
9	Scam involving grandad’s first bill for drink (6)
	COGNAC - CON (scam) containing [involving] G{randad's} [first], AC (bill - account)
10	Precision recognised in a key church office (8)
	ACCURACY - A, C (key- music), CURACY (church office). 'Recognised in' simply facilitates the surface reading.
11	Decline verbally, showing brief togetherness (4)
	SYNC - Sounds like [verbally] "sink" (decline). 'Brief' indicates the answer is an abbreviation (for 'synchronism' / 'synchronization' etc).
12	Part of skeleton of second animal maybe one found across river? (10)
	BREASTBONE - BEAST B (second animal maybe - geddit?) + ONE containing [found across] R (river). I had extreme difficulty parsing this one and thought I would have to post the blog and ask for assistance, but then I suddenly spotted the 'Beast B' device.
14	Disproof concerning what Jeeves would do, we hear (8)
	REBUTTAL - RE (concerning), BUTTAL sounds like [we hear] "buttle" [what Jeeves would do]. 'Buttle' is a back form of 'butler'. I was going to write a further comment about this but then found exactly what I wanted to say on Wikipedia so I shamelessly reproduce it here verbatim: "Jeeves is a valet, not a butler; that is, he is responsible for serving an individual, whereas a butler is responsible for a household and manages other servants. On rare occasions he fills in for someone else's butler."
16	Reportedly one who was bound to explore the internet (4)
	SURF - Sounds like [reportedly] "serf" [one who was bound]. 'Bound' in the sense of 'restricted'. SOED has 'serf' as: a person in a condition of servitude or modified slavery, in which the powers of the master are more or less limited by law or custom; spec. a labourer not allowed to leave the land on which he works, a villein.
18	Suggestion made by husband in jest, ultimately (4)
	HINT - H (husband), IN, {jes}T [ultimately]
19	Condition recognised by chemists first of all in 1811-20? (8)
	REAGENCY - A{ll} [first] contained by [in] REGENCY (1811-20). This was the period after George III had been diagnosed as 'mad' and his son ruled by proxy before taking the throne himself as George IV. I take the definition on trust.
21	Small picture in vessel, one next to a shrub (10)
	POINSETTIA - INSET (small picture) contained by [in] POT (vessel), I (one), A. The name may not be familiar but I imagine there are few who would not recognise the distinctive red pot-plant with dark green leaves that is a popular decoration at Christmas time.
22	In Idaho, a rare type of frost (4)
	HOAR - Hidden in {ida}HO A R{are}
24	Bonanza wife and daughter dipped into in autumn (8)
	WINDFALL - W, D (daughter) contained by [dipped into] IN + FALL (autumn). A little music to enliven the day
26	Legal right— what a woman may fight for, not a man (6)
	EQUITY - EQU{al}ITY (what a woman may fight for) [not a man - Al]. Random man.
27	Boy catching large fish (6)
	BLENNY - BENNY (boy) containing [catching] L (large). Random boy.
28	Female by chance catching tail of crested duck (8)
	SHELDUCK - SHE (female), LUCK (chance) containing [catching] {creste}D [tail]. Oh dear, 'duck' defining a duck that has 'duck' in its name! One for intervention by the editor perhaps? Or maybe it was a double bluff intended to make the solver think it couldn't be that easy.

Down
2	Smooth youth leader’s gentle mockery (5)
	IRONY - IRON (smooth), Y{outh} [leader]
3	Emergency device working in cap, though not when raised (5,6)
	PANIC BUTTON - Anagram [working] of IN CAP, BUT (though), NOT reversed [when raised]
4	Brood at home, worried about youngster (8)
	INCUBATE - IN (at home) + ATE (worried), containing [about] CUB (youngster)
5	Cashiers least disposed to swallow most of party’s tall stories (10,5)
	TRAVELLERS TALES - TELLERS (cashiers) + anagram [disposed] of LEAST, containing [to swallow] RAV{e} (party) [most of]
6	Stripper has old Charlie gripped by lecherous desire! (6)
	LOCUST - O (old) + C (Charlie -NATO alphabet), contained [gripped] by LUST (lecherous desire)
7	Vehicle taking armoured troops to north (3)
	CAR - RAC (armoured troops - Royal Armoured Corps) reversed [to north]
8	Oddball caught with little money in Morecambe (9)
	ECCENTRIC - C (caught) + CENT (little money), contained by [in] ERIC (Morecambe). The late comedian may not be widely known across the pond but he's turned up here several times before.
13	In spring she sat rocking family pet, perhaps (6,5)
	BASSET HOUND - Anagram [rocking] of SHE SAT contained by [in] BOUND (spring)
15	Leader’s time going over report of Oxford college (9)
	EDITORIAL - TIDE (time) reversed [going over], ORIAL sounds like [report of] "Oriel" (Oxford college)
17	Practical joke involving a nurse once upset certain Asians (8)
	JAPANESE - JAPE (practical joke) containing [involving] A then SEN (nurse once) reversed [upset]. SEN stands for 'State Enrolled Nurse' a qualification that appears to have been withdrawn in the mid-1990s. I'm not a great fan of having words like 'once' or 'old' etc in clues when there's a reference to something that has changed its name or ceased to exist. If it's something in ancient history then perhaps it's needed, but not for comparatively recent things like this one. We still get TA for 'volunteers' at least once a week although it ceased to exist under that name some years ago, and I don't think I have ever seen it clued as 'old volunteers' .
20	One’s left, for example, in flimsy clothing (6)
	LEGACY - EG (for example) contained by [in... LACY (flimsy)...clothing]
23	Greek screen with ends cut off (5)
	ATTIC - {l}ATTIC{e} (screen) [ends cut off]
25	Study conclusion of Iliad in French (3)
	DEN - {ilia}D [conclusion], EN (in, French)

↧

Times Quick Cryptic No 1186 by Joker

September 24, 2018, 8:59 pm

≫ Next: Quick Cryptic 1187 by Orpheus

≪ Previous: Times Cryptic 27152

Happy to be doing a guest blog on an off night. Just came from rehearsal for my barbershop quartet, so my mind was a bit distracted, but nevertheless I finished in 11'40" while simultaneously discussing with my wife how to better persuade our 2 1/2 year old to eat actual food — which, thankfully, he loves. An enjoyable puzzle with several answers unknown to me, and some really excellent wordplay.

Across

7	Boyfriend outside university runs office (6)
	BUREAU - BEAU ("boyfriend") around ("outside") U ("university") + R ("runs")
8	A sunny land (6)
	ALIGHT - A ("a") + LIGHT ("sunny") Delightfully misleading. One of my last in.
9	London borough losing billions [in] income from tenants (4)
	RENT - BRENT ("London borough") without ("losing") B ("billions") Didn't know the borough, but it was easy enough to get from the definition.
10	Girl[’s] troubled life before London, perhaps (8)
	FELICITY - anagrammed ("troubled") LIFE ("life") + ("before") CITY ("London, perhaps") I always enjoy interesting names being worked into crossword puzzles.
11	Consecrated building that’s large and outstanding (8)
	HALLOWED - HALL ("building that's large") + ("and") OWED ("outstanding") Speaking of outstanding, this was one of my favorite clues. Wonderfully hidden definition.
13	Good fortune daring to sacrifice pawn (4)
	LUCK - PLUCK ("daring") without ("to sacrifice") P ("pawn")
15	Error starting the yearbook’s print output (4)
	TYPO - first letters of ("starting") THE YEARBOOK'S PRINT OUTPUT ("the yearbook's print output")
16	Large hat [with] dark brow lacking covering (8)
	SOMBRERO - SOMBRE ("dark") + BROW ("brow") without first and last letters ("lacking covering") Didn't get the wordplay until typing up the blog. Of course, the US spelling is 'somber'.
18	Better public school around West African city (4,4)
	CAPE TOWN - CAP ("better") + ETON ("public school") outside ("around") W ("west") Also didn't get the wordplay while solving, although I suspected Eton.
20	Some metal creates fine powder (4)
	TALC - letters inside ("some") METAL CREATES ("metal creates")
21	Stand lazily round during fencing thrust (6)
	LOUNGE - O ("round") in ("during") LUNGE ("fencing thrust")
22	An idiot backed hard bathroom sponge (6)
	LOOFAH - A FOOL ("an idiot") reversed ("backed") + H ("hard")

Down

1	Amusing time on railway marking those passing? (8)
	FUNERARY - FUN ("amusing") + ERA ("time") + ("on") RY ("railway") Didn't know this word but I knew it had to start FUN--.
2	Have nothing to do [in] strike? A WC needs sorting out (2,2,1,5,3)
	BE AT A LOOSE END - BEAT ("strike") + A ("a") + LOO ("WC") + NEEDS ("needs") anagrammed ("sorting out") Didn't know this expression. Boy I must seem pretty dumb.
3	Not many will follow dog when one’s told to stay in (6)
	CURFEW - FEW ("not many") after ("will follow") CUR ("dog")
4	Everything’s thrown into awful song (6)
	BALLAD - ALL ("everything") in ("'is thrown into") BAD ("awful")
5	Spot old Liberal interrupting record speech (13)
	DISCOLORATION - O ("old") + L ("liberal") in ("interrupting") DISC ("record") + ORATION ("speech") This must be a chestnut, but I found it delightful.
6	Small and crudely built house [is] closed (4)
	SHUT - S ("small") + ("and") HUT ("crudely built house")
12	For instance, Oscar [is] a big personality (3)
	EGO - E.G. ("for instance") + O ("Oscar", in radio alphabet)
14	Computer-aided design incorporates art, see, [in] large amount (8)
	CARTLOAD - CAD ("computer-aided design") outside ("incorporates") ART ("art") + LO ("see") I'm a 'buttload' sort of guy, myself.
16	Years attached to shop floor (6)
	STOREY - Y ("years") next to ("attached to") STORE ("shop") US spelling is 'story'.
17	Blend mix of gin and lemon? That’s not on (6)
	MINGLE - anagram of ("mix of") GIN ("gin") + ("and") LEMON ("lemon") without ("that's not", that has not) ON ("on")
19	Article with no name? [Then it’s] this (4)
	ANON - A ("article") + ("with") NO ("no") + N ("name") That is, 'anonymous'.

↧

Quick Cryptic 1187 by Orpheus

September 25, 2018, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Times 27153 - mostly 27a but more fun than shopping.

≪ Previous: Times Quick Cryptic No 1186 by Joker

I found this a real slog, taking over twice as long as normal to complete it, and still having to look up some of the vocabulary before blogging. On top of this ignorance (4ac, 9ac), a few clues are quite whimsical cryptic-y definitions (which I always find tricky), and so I didn't really get a foothold in any quarter. Also found it very difficult to provide straightforward this + that parsing, so apologies in advance if it doesn't make sense.

On the other side of the coin, I enjoyed the rather easy 14dn, and especially 21ac, which gets my vote for COD. Hope I'm having a slow day, and that you fared much better.

Definitions underlined.

Across
1	Lucky creature heading off for racecourse (5)
	ASCOT - mASCOT (lucky creature) missing the first letter (heading off).
4	Provide funding for track skirting quarters (7)
	SPONSOR - SPOOR (track) surrounding (skirting) N and S (quarters (of the compass)). In case you have the same blind spot, Chambers defines 'spoor' as, "a track or trail, especially that of a hunted animal".
8	In Montmartre, a clear, sticky substance (7)
	TREACLE - hidden in (in) montmarTRE A CLEar.
9	Drunk crossing Channel Islands? It’s legal (5)
	LICIT - LIT (drunk) surrounding (crossing) C.I. (Channel Islands). A double whammy for me, as I did not know this particular slang term for 'drunk' (how many are there!?), and the answer didn't come to mind as easily as the antonym 'illicit' would have.
10	Female army chaplain, perhaps? (12)
	SERVICEWOMAN - cryptic definition. I hope I've got this right: a female army officer is a woman who serves, and a female chaplain is a woman who delivers service, both of which could be whimsically described as a 'servicewoman'.
12	Pot being knocked over, family finds clothing protector (6)
	NAPKIN - PAN (pot) reversed (being knocked over) and KIN (family).
13	Light eater primarily tucking into cured meat (6)
	BEACON - first letter of (primarily) Eaten inside (tucked into) BACON (cured meat).
16	Swede possibly travelling in Canada is extremely vain (12)
	SCANDINAVIAN - anagram of (travelling) IN CANADA IS and outside letters of (extremely) VaiN.
18	Flag horribly at first, like Oscar Wilde? (5)
	IRISH - IRIS (flag, and crossword chesnut) and first letter of (at first) Horribly.
20	He abandons the Russian currency, creating difficulty (7)
	TROUBLE - take 'he' out of (he abandons) The, with ROUBLE (Russian currency).
21	Go off at a tangent about son in lodgings (7)
	DIGRESS - RE (with regard to, about) and S (son) in DIGS (lodgings).
22	Err, but remain outside right (5)
	STRAY - STAY (remain) surrounding (outside) R (right).

Down
1	Skilled worker’s twin primarily lives in 18 islands (7)
	ARTISAN - first letter of (primarily) Twin, then IS (lives), inside (in) ARAN (a group of islands belonging to the answer to 18ac).
2	Choosing the best person for harvesting fruit? (6-7)
	CHERRY-PICKING - Is there a definition of 'cherry-picking' as choosing the best person, as opposed to just choosing the best? If not, this is another whimsical definition that I can't decide how to underline.
3	Planner’s course of action Italian painter talked of (9)
	TACTICIAN - sounds like (talked of) "tack" (course of action) and "Titian" (Italian painter).
4	Almost stop before going in to get sound unit (6)
	STEREO - ERE (before) inside (going in) all but the last letter of (almost) STOp.
5	Bird of prey’s plaintive cry mentioned in Albert Square? (3)
	OWL - hOWL (plaintive cry) as it might be pronounced in the East End of London (setting for "Eastenders', the Albert Square soap opera).
6	Mountaineer supporting party — an uppish type? (6,7)
	SOCIAL CLIMBER - CLIMBER (mountaineer) underneath (supporting) SOCIAL (party). Again, the defintion is playful, referring to one who is moving up, rather that one who is literally uppish.
7	Woman’s tedious routine held up by husband (4)
	RUTH - RUT (tedious routine) above (held up by) H (husband).
11	Employees in exchanges, or in certain theatres? (9)
	OPERATORS - cryptic definition. Those who work in telephone exchanges, or surgical theatres.
14	Athlete losing head in New York convent (7)
	NUNNERY - rUNNER (athlete) without the first letter (losing head), inside NY (New York).
15	In break, shout greeting in our direction (6)
	HIATUS - I wasn't sure if 'shout' was necessary at first, but I've convinced myself. HI AT US, as opposed to 'hi to us', suggests that the greeting was shouted in our direction.
17	Chicken, possibly, served in can? (4)
	BIRD - double definition, the first by example, indicated by 'possibly'. The rhyming slang term 'bird-lime' for 'time' is shortened to 'bird' (i.e. that served in can). Thanks to Kevin for the gen.
19	Shade regularly displayed in house (3)
	HUE - every other letter from (regularly displayed in) HoUsE.

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