Solving Beings At 40 [May 30-June 4]

After an afternoon spent driving in hideous Sydney traffic through torrential rain, I was hoping the Times would be kind to me. And in the main, it has been. But the two you specifically mentioned, DA, are eluding me (along with 6dn). I know the first word of 4dn and have my suspicions about the second, but can't come up with a reason for it. As for 12ac, I feel like I've come across this word fairly recently in a puzzle but can't remember it.

Natick is a new term for me. It has an appropriately nasty ring to it.

Well, it's half a natick left for me (12ac). You'd think that would give me enough to finish on wordplay alone, but so far not...

I was thinking of taking bets that your post title today might reference ructions in the Federal Libs, but you had something a little punnier in mind.

Hi All

Got it, and must say I enjoyed this today, despite the surfeit of English references. The setter missed the chance to clue a solution involving spectacles on the bridge, something we've had a bit of here lately in Sydney, as I'm sure RK can attest. Spot it?

There's a nice deletion at 11A and I note that the TUI has a special soar and plummet flight, but it ain't the answer...

Hope I haven't blabbed too much.

Bon

Missed by one letter. Sigh. It was an eminently reasonable guess; the pronunciation was identical; and who says these words only have one spelling, anyway?!

Took forever to believe that I had 11ac, and then when I had a couple of letters, I got the wordplay. Duh.

First in was 17ac, which meant I felt like I was on top of things from the start. It's my son's birthday tomorrow, but that's just a coincidence. Only 4, so no 9! (or either 5, or 19...). He'd be ok with a 22, but I suspect we'll keep it simple.

Yesterday's Guardian crossword was set by Brendan who is known for always including themes - sometimes quite ingeniously. Yesterday's crossword didn't seem to have a theme....or did it? You had to look carefully at the end to find a hidden message. Very clever.

Happy birthday Anthony Jr. My nephew turns 1 today.

Ended up getting HIGH WYCOMBE and LUTON (I've spent enough time in airports) but WAPENTAKE eluded me. Even if I had worked out the word play, I still wouldn't have believed it was a word. Or not a British one, anyway. (Sounds more like an American summer camp.)

Thought this one had a few too many cryptic cliches in it: contents of sleeve (arm); having locks (tressed); foot (legend). I did like the LATE LIST in 13dn though.

I've been trying to work out which part of 14ac tells you to put DISC RIM inside ININATE. I feel like it needs an extra IN. Or does 'sweeping' tell you to do this, hence the exclamation mark?

I'm intrigued, JD. I'll check out Brendan's puzzle.

Maybe not in Brendan's, but there certainly is in Times 9017!

@RK - as I see it, there was no containerind necessary for yesterday's 14A. The 'by' tells you to seat DISC RIM next to INATIE less I. The IN at the start of INDISCRIMINATE is already there in the clue.

Oh, you're right, Bon. Silly me. Thanks!

@JD: I finished Brendan yesterday (after using "Check" to tell me that 5D was not ENGENDER). I still don't see the theme. Could you enlighten me, please?

I'm a lazy bum, so I just looked at the solution. Brendan's rep must be incredibly strong, because it took me a couple of minutes to find it! Crafty. I'll add him into the SWS list (setters worth solving)...

Oh, wow! Just saw it. Funny as.

@RM...should we say, there's an outside chance that you might find it with a hint?

Nope, guess it was more likely than that!

If English place names aren't your forte you probably won't enjoy Paul in the Guardian today, either.

Paul, being 'sexist' again, I guess...

On the other hand, 9017 has fallen out for me. And I shall confirm RK's initial diagnosis that there is indeed a theme, in this case holding a Kate rather than a Nina, I guess.

Nor has 9017 fallen loose either. This tie-the-knot theme (rare among Times puzzles) is proving downright knotty. Still 9 to unravel, after sushi in the autumn sun.

I have seven to go, four of which are in the south west corner. Having second thoughts about 1ac, as it's making 3dn seem unlikely. (A late sun has broken through the gloom here. Perhaps it can shed some light on my remaining answers.)

Done. There's only a handful of clues/solutions that aren't on theme. Reckon this must have taken an age to compile. Quite enjoyable.

I reckon all the clues are on theme, Bon, though not all the solutions, of course. An amazing feat.

It is a sterling construction - even an innocuous word like 27ac has a nuptial twist in the clue.

Though overall no one clue wowed, I'll admit. And among my last to solve - 6ac [wordplay] and 14ac [definition] - don't quite click. But the deal is sealed with a kiss. Pop the Veuve.

I also think it amazing that a term such as 13dn can be given the matrimonial treatment.

Re 14ac, I think the defining word in the clue is slang in the UK for the answer.

My last fill was 21dn. It's a word I am unfamiliar with, but I am trusting what I see before me.

You may have dished me in UK-isms, RK, but I can assuage you with my own scattergun vocab, that your 21dn is kosher.

25ac took some getting too. But the puzzle is now snug in its matrimonial bed.

(Aim to do that talked-about Brendan after a bit of TV therapy tonight.)

6ac does look a little odd at first, but you can 'bridge the gap' and get it to work out quite neatly.

I kicked off today with 17ac again; last in was 10ac where half the wordplay eluded me for ages, and I couldn't figure out what the defn was realy defining.

Interesting that in spite of the contortions required to achieve the theme and the Nina, the vocab was pretty tame.

Not so chuffed about how E = hand in 6ac, though it weaves in silkily with the wedding motif.

And wonderful too, that in the one week we get the two N-neologisms of crosswords, a Natick from the Times, and a Nina from Brendan.

JD is quite right: Brendan is a maestro at the gotcha theme. Though this Nina may also be Brian Greer (his real name) saying - let's just play, as sometimes serving too many theme puzzles can get slavish. I should know. I have as much fun in making a themer as a lively mishmash.

You did see the Nina in yesterday's Times too didn't you, DA?

Wow, I didn't. Thanks for the d'oh moment. Makes this nuptial jewel shine e'en more brightly. That makes this whole thing a massive achievement - all-theme clues plus a 14-letter Nina. Beats the Koh-i-noor any day.

Just to make you feel better, I didn't see it either. It was only after reading Anthony's comment that I went back for a second look. I wish I'd picked up on it while I was solving, as it would have been a great help.

Come to think of it, EMISSARIES and MISTAKE (two of my prouder gets) would have been doddles, had I twigged. Which makes me a better solver...somehow, I think.

Well spotted, Anthony. Sorry I missed your remark earlier.

Wow, just saw the Nina in 9017, thanks for alerting us to it. What a gem of a puzzle!

Working on 9018 which is a bit of a different story, European towns my pet hate.

Holy smoke, how hoard is 9018. Two honest digs, and I still have 6 to solve. This is a real test of your cryptic mettle.

(Take extra note of the apostrophe in 10ac, and go with God. This is for the true believer.)

In a word, ouch.

My whining worked: solved.

Ouch indeed! Thought the def in 1A was a bit rough and struggling to see the wordplay in 21D tho believe I have the answer. Have a tentative for 1D which was last in. Liked 6D and 2D but I query 23A since the first part of the answer does not only include those returned to office. Hardest one for quite a while.

Tricky, but certainly not the most difficult of recent times for me anyway.

I have yet to put in an answer for 1dn, but feeling pretty confident about the rest. To understand 21dn, Bon, think sci-fi. And re 23ac, I think 'returned' has a different meaning in that context. I could be wrong about that.

My first instinct when I read 1ac, having only 2 letters of the second word, ended up being correct (maybe it's a girl thing), but I discounted it initially without checking to see if it worked. It is a weird old definition though.

My faves were 5dn, 3dn and 11ac.

Ah, that doctor. Thanks RK.

Damn! Went the wrong way on the Bulgarian town and now find myself back at the gate. DA, perhaps you could make a European atlas the next prize?

Had no time all day, until it hit midnight. I'd managed EMPORIA after 8 hours, then spotted NACHO around 5pm (feeling quite pleased I'd done it from just the clue). The brilliantly camouflaged HOOVER DAM then opened things up nicely, but I fell over at PLOGDEV (same for you Bon?).

Disappointed that the defn for GULAG implied a plural, and that VASSAL came from VANDAL not VESSEL...c'mon, the two words were next to each other!

Had the letters for the anagram for 1ac sitting waiting at the top of the page, but just couldn't force them to spell either SUN LOUNGE or LEG GLANCE!

EMPORIA was my first too, Anthony. And then A-LIST, and I SPY, both with light queries.

Big break-through was PINA COLADA, which gave me RELAPSE, then VENOM [which is brilliant once you figure out the convoluted wordplay.]

Agree about the plural def for GULAG, and don't quite get how ELECTRODE unpacks. I see RE-ELECT/ED but then begin to waver.

Scored PLOVDIV via both wordplay, and a mental note some years ago - 'now that's a city that may help me escape a tight corner one working day.'

Glad to be breathing another day. C'mon 9019, whatcha got?

Strangely, my first was EMPORIA too. Then I SPY, then A-LIST. I'm kicking myself over missing AMIDST. I had this sneaking suspicion at one stage that the def could be 'in' but didn't give it serious consideration.

The way I see ELECTRODE working is 'returned to office' is the noun ELECT (as in President Elect) and 'travelled on' is RODE.

I have a question mark next to VENOM, as I didn't get the wordplay at all.

Oh, and GULAG can be a collection of labour camps.

It can be a collection, but a collection is still a singular noun - even if the defn had been 'some prison camps' it would have been better.

The wordplay is HAM becomes HAVE by +VE and no-M.

I'd picked both I-SPY and A-LIST without figuring wordplay, and with confidence low, hadn't entered them - so that's three of us with the same start. I got held up on the PINA by thinking the defn might be 'make drinks' and open with PO for officer, and perhaps URSULA for the girl... HOOVER gave me NEHRU which gave ET TU and it was a lovely feeling, albeit shortlived ;-)

9019 looks to be an interesting mix of gimmes and lovely surfaces, along with the usual esoteric obscurities. 2dn is one I'm yet to hear of and 3dn is eluding me thus far; there's still plenty to do on the right hand side. I suspect that when the dust settles, though, 1ac will be my COD.

Gday gang - on the road these next few days, hence the alter ego.

Agreed Anthony, 1ac is a snug nest. 8dn reads well, as does 25dn, as easy as both were.

Less easy - my two guesses: 2dn and 13ac, and guesses can lead to an AIRY undoing, as we all know. Feeling a li'l paranoid, esp in regards to a mysterious London club...?

Haven't yet decided what to put for 2dn. The rest was pretty straightforward. Hope you're reading 13ac the right way, DA2. If your comment truly reflects how you've approached it, then you're not quite on the right track.

Just getting back to this, but can report: I've nailed the wordplay to 2dn. When it came out it did so with sufficient clarity that you 'just know' it's right.

Yet to get 8dn - so it must read well!

Rats. Finished it, but missed 23dn. Never heard of Cavafy, so felt free to construct an answer I'd never heard of either, based on the wordplay. And quite a nice invention it was too.

Bit of a breeze today except for SW corner.

Anthony, look at 23D again and think of countries? That was my approach anyways. Could well be wrong.

Your comments re 2dn, Anthony, made me try looking at it differently and I'm pretty sure I've got it now. I had been thinking that the last part was the poet and the def was thirty seconds (maybe some kind of Cockney rhyming slang) but when I realised what 'seconds' could be and that the def could be the poet I knew I had it.

Thanks Bon - I'd already looked up the answer when I posted. I opted for ELYET (the state of being without a Spanish the!), largely because in ignorance I was guessing that Cavafy might be an obscure Welshman, so I needed a place name that might be in the UK.

Well, I think I'll claim victory for today, at least...not that that's claiming much. Has to be the easiest I've seen in weeks - only had 5 answers outstanding after running through them all twice. In Maccas. 20ac and 4dn the pick of the bunch.

Friday's puzzle obviously didn't suit me the way it did you, Anthony. I missed three - SARK, PEER and RATHER. I'm so embarrassed for missing the last two. It was the end of a big week, but even so.

I found today's easier, although I still have 17ac to enter. Perhaps my 6dn is wrong. At least I've got an extra day to ponder it.

Ah, well, there I did have the definite advantage of a hobby horse: all those drawings of Noah's Ark as a ship. It drives me nuts. The word means chest, and the description is of a rectangular prism.

It means that even worse than all the preachers' stories about how Noah's neighbours poked fun at him for building a giant ship in the middle of a desert is the fact that had they been poking fun, it most likely would have been for trying to persuade them that his 'ship' was meant to look like a gigantic shoebox.

Insanely busy day today, so haven't even opened the paper.

Perhaps now is not the best time to be doing a crossword, but I'm still up. And confident that you can be confident of 6dn, RK.

Perhaps now is not the best time to be doing a crossword, but I'm still up. And confident that you can be confident of 6dn, RK.

Does this mean I'm working double time?

That's two out in a row. Monday's is bound to be rough. 17ac probably my favourite, but on the whole too many words were obvious from the defns.

A far more civilised hour to be posting, Anthony.

17ac was much easier after a good night's sleep. I think 1ac was my fave, mainly because I just like the word and it's entertaining seeing it sitting there at the top of the grid.