Times 27543 – tasty turkey, with a few chewy bits

Author   pipkirbyPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
This is my sixth year of Wednesday blogging but the first in which Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday, so I was quite surprised to find I didn’t get a day off and there was a puzzle to tackle (thanks vinyl1 for alerting me). At first I thought this was going to be a fast and simple job, (not that I ‘do’ fast very well), but it turned out to have quite a few vague definitions and chewy words that held me up. I was fortunate to know 18a, although those not familiar may be able to guess correctly from the wordplay. 14d may prove tricky for overseas friends if the acronym for a banknote dispenser is different elsewhere, and I had a MER at the definition. The witty and elegant 28a gets my CoD award, closely followed by 5d.

Across
1 British city Metro, not entirely something you’d expect to fill with water (7)
BATHTUB – BATH the city, TUB(E) the Metro not entirely.
5 Symbolic child — I’m in church, making a return (7)
TOTEMIC – TOT = child, I’M inside CE (church) all reversed.
9 Chap coming back without a tree (3)
ELM – MALE reversed loses an A.
10 Other great plays gripping one, ultimately? (7-4)
THEATRE-GOER – (OTHER GREAT E)*, the E from end of ONE.
11 His luck failed with English and similar subjects (8)
SUCHLIKE – (HIS LUCK E)*.
12 Mysterious quantity of film probing most of region (6)
ARCANE – CAN (q. of film) inside ARE(A).
15 Fool expected to seize power (4)
DUPE – DUE (expected), insert P.
16 There’s a wavering around most of back lighting effect on the moon (10)
EARTHSHINE – insert HIN(D) = most of back, into (THERES A)*
18 Satisfy school about European Union contribution to French newspaper (10)
FEUILLETON – FILL (satisfy), insert EU, add ETON. Gettable from wordplay if you didn’t know, it’s the name for the chatty magazine add-on bit to a French newspaper, which the French love to read.
19 One targeted by Cupid’s weapon, we hear (4)
BEAU – Sounds like BOW as used by Cupid.
22 Story provided by the Schubertian songs (6)
LIEDER – LIE (story) plus DER the German for ‘the’ as spoken by Schubert.
23 Backed some police operations involving men with guns now and then (8)
SPORADIC –  CID OPS  = police operations, reverse all and insert RA = men with guns.
25 Journalists going after fraudulent money-making in sports equipment (6,5)
RACKET PRESS – RACKET = fraudulent money-making, PRESS = journalists. I haven’t see a racket press since I played badminton as a teenager, with a racket made of bamboo or similar which warped if not kept in a press.
27 Time for one area to be recalled (3)
AGE – E.G. = for one, A + area, reverse all.
28 Sun now, perhaps — then rain? (7)
MONSOON – Well, if it’s Sun(day) today, it’s Monday tomorrow, or MON SOON.
29 European problem in speech reflected on Greek character (7)
EPSILON – E, LISP reversed, ON.
Down
1 Given good things? Not so much in the plant area (7)
BLESSED – LESS (not so much) in BED (plant area).
2 Version of a simple and cute set of messages for the future (4,7)
TIME CAPSULE – (A SIMPLE CUTE)*.
3 Rubbish story not involving a rabbit (6)
TATTLE – TAT = rubbish, T(A)LE = story not involving A.
4 Rest on quality item on beach (10)
BREAKWATER – BREAK = rest, WATER here means quality. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-thesaurus/of-the-first-water
5 Carry sixteen letters uphill (4)
TOTE – E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T, or E TO T, reversed.
6 One conjectures eggs will turn up in this nest ultimately (8)
THEORIST – ROE reversed inside THIS, add T = nest ultimately.
7 Sound in a particular field? Not entirely unresolved (3)
MOO – MOOT = unresolved,, so MOO = not entirely unresolved.
8 Activity leading to funeral: sense upset in the heart (7)
CORTEGE – GET = sense, reverse and insert into CORE = heart.
13 Represented as an edible line in confectionery (7,4)
ANISEED BALL – (AS AN EDIBLE L)*, where L = line.
14 Feel source of money in this place is keeping son in work (10)
ATMOSPHERE – Well I struggled to see this, hung up on using MINT somehow. But the source of money is an ATM (is this called something else in USA / AUS?) so we have ATM, O(S)P (son in work), HERE (in this place). A bit of a loose definition IMO.
17 Ultimately false number in singer’s equivalent figure (5,3)
ALTER EGO – Another somewhat dodgy definition, IMO. ALTO is our singer, into which insert E (ultimately false) and REG (registration number).
18 Pivotal point thoroughly reduced? A little reduced (7)
FULCRUM – Now that’s a clear definition. FUL(L), CRUM(B) = thoroughly reduced, a little reduced.
20 Most of vague sermon ultimately not suitable for ceremony (7)
UNCLEAN – UNCLEA(R) = most of vague, add N the end of sermon.
21 Mostly decisive about island emergency (6)
CRISIS – I think here we have IS for island, not the usual I. So IS goes inside CRIS(P) = mostly decisive.
24 Sporting contest in progress, involving physical exercise (4)
OPEN – ON = in progress, working; insert PE into that. OPEN as in golf, tennis, etc.
26 Stop work on prison (3)
CAN – Double definition, CAN being US slang for prison.

​

26 comments on “Times 27543 – tasty turkey, with a few chewy bits”

  1. It’s ATM in the States, too, Pip. I never did get TOTE, my LOI. I count 4 clues using ‘ultimately’ (10ac, 6d, 17d, 20d); a bit much, it seemed to me. COD to MONSOON.
  2. 30 mins with croissant and the unsurpassed Gin&Lime marmalade from Lewis and Cooper.
    Mostly I liked: Dupe
    Thanks setter and Pip and Merry Christmas
  3. Tricky enough I thought. 28 min and 30 secs. LOI: BEAU. COD: THEATRE GOER.

    I have compiled a political cryptic xword which is published today on http://www.politicalbetting.com. If Tfters have the time, please have a look. (Apologies to our blogger and setter if this isn’t the right place to mention this).

    Merry Xmas to all. 😀

  4. 19:57, with an amazingly stupid error. I constructed 23 so carefully and confidently from the wordplay that I didn’t even pause to notice that SPARODIC isn’t a word. I got up early this morning to remove the turkey from its brine so I’m a bit dopey.
    Ah well, happy Christmas Pip, setter and all.
      1. No, we’re at home in London this year so I had to make lunch for 23 people: only a massive (8kg) turkey will do the job! We alternate between London and Canada, where a turducken from the excellent butcher in Peterborough has become something of a tradition.
  5. Merry Christmas all, especially Pip for service above and beyond the call. Evening here, deciding if a swim is in order or not.
    Very quick, no problems as feuilleton known, though might have spelt it wrongly without help. Missed the MON of monsoon, and carelessly saw OPS, OR for men, CID in sporadic and stopped looking, conveniently ignoring the guns. Racket presses suggested by Bjorn Borg, who came up in a party game today.
  6. 24:08 … a nice chewy puzzle for Christmas morning. Thanks for blogging it today, Pip.

    Very satisfying to arrive at FUEILLETON after suspecting it would beat me.

    Joint CODs to MONSOON and FULCRUM.

    Merry Christmas to all

  7. Nice chewy start to Christmas Day, giving my mind a bit of a workout before it gets pickled. I see some of those I biffed were particularly cunning – TOTE and MONSOON. Like Sotira I was satisfied to work my way through my LOI, FEUILLETON.

    Merry Christmas one and all!

  8. Attempted before bed but gave up with barely a quarter completed. Continued the struggle this morning and got there eventually with most time lost over the wretched French rag.

    Thanks for explaining WATER which I’d given up on after thinking it was just a reference to the expression ‘water quality’ which I think is in fairly general use but possibly not listed as a dictionary term.

    I assumed ‘unclean’ / ‘not suitable for a ceremony’ is something religious and then found this in SOED: unclean (of an animal) regarded as impure, unfit to be eaten; gen. ceremonially impure. ME.

    No problem with ATMOSPHERE for ‘feel’ as one may talk about the ‘feel of a room’ as in an atmosphere of hostility or benevolence when addressing an audience for example.

    Edited at 2019-12-25 09:43 am (UTC)

  9. Merry Christmas all! I was also surprised to find myself with a puzzle to do this morning, but being a creature of habit the surprise was very welcome.

    I took an hour and five minutes on this one, nearly managing to scupper myself on several occasions from start to finish.

    For my FOI at 5d I very nearly put in ATOP (A to P is also 16 letters, and it could mean “uphill”, at least…) but corrected myself at the last second.

    I also had to write over my enthusiastic attempt to stretch EARTHRISE into 16a. We should draw a veil over the number of times I tried to put in RACING BIKES instead of RACKET PRESS, despite having owned one as a child (presumably modern tennis rackets don’t need such assistance to stay flat? I imagine they’re all made of carbon fibre now…)

    I don’t know in which French lesson the scary M Caille drummed FEUILLETON into us, but apparently she did, as I recognised it fairly readily…

    LOI 6d THEORIST. WOD ARCANE, which I finally tried after giving up on OPAQUE and OCCULT…

    Anyway. Off for my customary Christmas Day walk with friends. Have a good one, whatever you’re doing.

  10. My only hold-up was a hesitation at seeing “can” twice (12a and 26d) although with different meanings – but then as Kevin says we got “ultimately” several times and “not entirely” twice. No complaints mind you – a very nice one indeed. I didn’t know the exact meaning of FEUILLETON but it seemed plausible as a page in a French newspaper. Does Le Monde have them? I can hear someone getting up so it’s time to say Merry Christmas! 20.19 P.S. “Water” meaning the tops appears in Georgette Heyer (wouldn’t you just know it) to describe an exceptionally beautiful young woman – a “diamond of the first water”.

    Edited at 2019-12-25 01:13 pm (UTC)

  11. I’m happily ensconced at the elder daughter’s house with the presents all opened, a bevy of happy grandkids playing with the new Nintendo Switch, which elicited a scream of delight from young Ed, and a glass of Sauv Blanc at hand, after a breakfast of crumpets and venison pate, and mozzarella cheese and fruit. In this benevolent environment, the puzzle flowed nicely with ELM and BLESSED going in first, followed by BATHTUB. I entered BREAK confidently at 4d but waited for checkers for the confirmation of the faintly understood WATER. Liked MONSOON and EARTHSHINE. No problems with ATMOSPHERE, ATM repair being one of the less pleasant duties of my working life for several years, and the FEEL of a situation oozing into mind. The unknown FEUILLETON was easy to construct from wordplay and checkers. An enjoyable 21:26. Thanks setter and Pip for a commendable devotion to the blogger’s art. Happy Christmas to all.
  12. Hard to complete today with competing demands for attention. Am now completing this stuffed with nut roast and Yorkshire pudding. Was expecting a nice easy Xmas day solve, but DNKs like FEUILLETON held me up. &lit THEATRE GOER COD.
  13. We should draw a veil over the number of times I tried to put in RACING BIKES instead of RACKET PRESS,
  14. I didn’t know what was going on there, but that was the only one, and I got ’em all right. Didn’t even notice all the “Ultimately”s, which must mean my nearly two-week vacation from copy-editing (if nothing momentous happens) has begun.
  15. Well done on doing Christmas duty, Pip. As I recall, Sherlock Holmes refused to eat while on a case, on the ground that the digestive process diverted the vital blood supply from his brain. If that’s true, I’ve clearly done well to solve this one so soon after a slightly excessive Christmas lunch. Hope everyone is having a good one, however you spend this time of year.
  16. 43:09. A chewy affair made harder to solve by coming shortly after a large Christmas dinner and a few glasses of wine. Pleased to get through eventually.
  17. 22:05. Done this morning before anyone else here was up… and the sun for that matter. Christmas Day excesses now done and dusted so a chance to come here and see how everyone else got on. I had to trust to the wordplay for the French newspaper item, but everything parsed and correct. Some lovely clues… I liked BATHTUB, ATMOSPHERE and, most of all, MONSOON. Great stuff. Thanks setter and Pip for the overtime shift on the blog.
  18. Sorry to be so lAte but Christmas …. ‘can’ as definition of of prison yes; but ‘stop work on ‘ as second definition I do not get, Please help someone.
    Barry J
    1. If you can something, it means you put an end to it, give up on it, or you dismiss someone from their job, see Collins ‘British English ‘ entry 14 and 15.

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