The Times 27829

[TioMateo]

Just two niggly parsing issues :-

By now cryptid must be finally dismissed (3) Y?T. It's not exactly rocket science to arrive at YET(for By now as the definition), but the wordplay....? I've no idea what "cryptid" means and can't find it in Chambers. I have noticed that the last letters of "must be finally" spell YET backwards, but so what?

Old soak needs small operation (3) S?P Again, SOP is looking pretty obvious. Small (s) plus operation (op) is fine for the cryptic bit, but that leaves "Old soak" for the definition. "Soak" on its own would give SOP, so what is "Old" doing there? There is no no indication in Chambers of obsolete or archaic usage for either "Soak" or "Sop".

[shoota]

cryptid
/ˈkrɪptɪd/
noun
an animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.

[dannyk13]

1. Yet(i)
Cryptid,an animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.

[TioMateo]

Thank you both. If I had troubled to google it, I would have been wiser sooner.

Any comments re the superfluity of "old" in the other clue?

[dannyk13]

Might be some help here:-
https://www.crosswordsolver.org/clues/o/old-soak-needs-small-operation.457746

[Mamyalynne]

Sop is also a term for a drunkard, an 'old soak'.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/sop#:~:text=n.,tell%20him%20to%20beat%20it.

[ichkeria]

Probably going by the Oxford Dictionary.

[Mamyalynne]

or

archaic Wet thoroughly; soak.
‘the dews … bemoistening sop his harden'd shoes’

https://www.lexico.com/definition/sop