Times Quick Cryptic 1470 by Tracy

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

My run of disastrous solves continues with this one that took me 18 minutes which is well into ‘red’ territory (15+ minutes) yet again. I haven’t achieved my 10 minute target since Tracy’s last appearance on 18th October, yet at the turn of the month I had a run of 10 consecutive ‘green’ solves.

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 Reckless forward, first to be dismissed (4)
RASH : {b}RASH (forward) [first to be dismissed]. ‘Forward / brash’ in the sense of vulgarly self-assertive.
3 Object, with annoyance, to risk (8)
ENDANGER : END (object), ANGER (annoyance)
9 Bird‘s down (7)
SWALLOW : Two meanings, the second as in ‘drink’
10 Another win following ace (5)
AGAIN : A (ace), GAIN (win)
11 Greek character dealt deviously (5)
DELTA : Anagram [deviously] of DEALT. The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.
12 Ring and point out choice (6)
OPTION : O (ring), anagram [out] of POINT
14 There may be rhyme but no reason in it (8,5)
NONSENSE VERSE : Cryptic definition
17 Newspaper chief travelled back to cover it (6)
EDITOR : RODE (travelled) reversed [back] containing [to cover] IT
19 Search in part of Earls Court (5)
SCOUR : Hidden in [part of] {earl}S COUR{t}. The world famous exhibition centre and concert venue was demolished in 2017. Confusion reigns as to whether this district of West London  should take an apostrophe; the tube station has had one since 1951 and street names on most maps, but street signage omits it, as did the exhibition centre in its day.
22 Crazy about tango feat (5)
STUNT : NUTS (crazy) reversed [about], T (tango – NATO alphabet)
23 Introduce irrelevant matter of US soldier returning wearing frock! (7)
DIGRESS : GI ( US soldier) reversed [returning] contained by [wearing] DRESS (frock)
24 A rent got reviewed, according to plan (2,6)
ON TARGET : Anagram [reviewed] of A RENT GOT
25 Ring everyone after onset of chickenpox (4)
CALL : C{hickenpox} [onset], ALL (everyone)
Down
1 Occupant let team inside (8)
RESIDENT : SIDE (team) contained by [inside] RENT (let)
2 Delay beginning to seem unlikely (5)
STALL : S{eem} [beginning], TALL (unlikely – as in ‘a tall story’)
4 Toy owls entranced cuckoo (7,6)
NEWTONS CRADLE : Anagram [cuckoo] of OWLS ENTRANCED. More of a scientific device perhaps, but is certainly often marketed as executive toy.
5 Not living together may be a factor (5)
APART : A, PART (factor)
6 Allure of grand old Hollywood actress (7)
GLAMOUR : G (grand), LAMOUR (old Hollywood actress). Dorothy Lamour (1914-1996) is perhaps best remembered for the series of Road films she made with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Here she is singing Thanks For The Memory in 1938. I certainly wouldn’t mind having more clues about Hollywood goddesses and fewer about Greek ones!
7 Complete row (4)
RANK : Two meanings, the first as in ‘rank outsider’
8 Like appeals close to umpire (6)
PLEASE : PLEAS (appeals), {umpir}E [close to]. If you like / if you please.
13 Rare slip somehow results in act of retaliation (8)
REPRISAL : Anagram [somehow] of RARE SLIP
15 Surely agree bout fixed (2,5)
NO DOUBT : NOD (agree), anagram [fixed] of BOUT
16 Very wise person saving one’s face (6)
VISAGE : V (very) + SAGE (wise) containing [saving] I (one)
18 Coach tour rearranged around end of August (5)
TUTOR : Anagram [rearranged] of TOUR containing [around] {augus}T [end]
20 Ring a theatre company set up to produce musical drama (5)
OPERA : O (ring), then A + REP (theatre company) reversed [set up]
21 Endless industrial action in Norwegian port (4)
OSLO : {g}O SLO{w} (industrial action) [endless]

37 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1470 by Tracy”

  1. In my case, I’d never come across Newton’s Cradle, and finally resorted to writing down the anagrist.
    1. Hi Kevin, why is it a dnf if you have to write down the anagrist?

      Edited at 2019-10-28 05:03 am (UTC)

  2. On tracy’s wavelength today.
    13 minutes with about 5 of those please, option and LOI rank.

    Cod option.

    1. Hey Flash! Cod option! Is this your lunch order from the chippie? My option is the haddock with mushy peas and ketchup.

      As per LOI all caps., should not it be COD option (see Glossary).

      A very good time, by the way!

      LOL

      1. Unfortunately, there are no decent chippies in the middle east, have to wait until summer and xmas to get my fill, sausage, chips and curry sauce!
  3. To save executive time, I took ‘Toy’ to be the anagram indicator, then toyed with OWLS ENTRANCED – wrote down NEWTONS CRADLE (no apostrophe being required) and simply ignored the rest of the clue. But we’re all different!

    I was done in just under 13 minutes, which meant it was nearly as tricky as the Big One. I can recommend today’s 15×15, as I was right on Kev’s tail.

    FOI 4dn NEWTONS CRADLE

    LOI 8dn PLEASE

    COD 14ac NONSENSE VERSE

    WOD DOROTHY LAMOUR

    Excellent intro Jack.

    Edited at 2019-10-28 06:35 am (UTC)

  4. I thought this was difficult, even for a Tracy. I tend to lose patience after 30 minutes and recorded a DNF with ENDANGER and RANK still to go. I should really have seen the ‘end’ bit of 2A, but ‘complete’ for ‘rank’ was too obscure.
    Thanks to jackkt for sorting it out.

    Brian

  5. A slow start to the week for me. FOI was ON TARGET ( I generally wasn’t today). 21d had to be OSLO (I was thinking there’s probably another Norwegian port) but I couldn’t parse it so left it to the end. 9a had to be SPARROW (the only bird I could think of for a while) but I couldn’t parse it so left it to the end. Similarly 6d, which Hollywood actress are we looking for? I do remember Dorothy Lamour; the younger generation may not,but they are probably all at work.
    Perhaps a relief to have finished all correct in 19:18.
    LOI was STUNT after OSLO ;I finally thought of GO SLOW, an apt description of how I did this puzzle.
    Well done Tracy, a good tester.
    David
  6. I drew a blank in the NW and didn’t solve a clue until I got to 10a. I then worked in a clockwise direction, still with a few blanks in the NE, and eventually solved all but the NW. A concentrated burst with some checkers saw me submit at 10:47 with STALL my LOI. No problem with NEWTONS CRADLE, but I did write the anagrist out. Unlike Kevin, I consider that a fair tactic whether it’s the QC or the 15×15. Thanks Tracy and Jack.
  7. Well Jack, I took an extra minute and finally gave up at 19 minutes with 7d RANK outstanding. I couldn’t see the double definition. I struggled with NEWTONS CRADLE probably because I was fixated on the idea of a child’s toy. I also failed to parse STUNT so thank you for the explanation. It is obvious when you see it.
  8. Finished, but Rank took a while and went in with some trepidation, the toy didn’t come easily and Oslo had to be, but the why of it took much longer. Otherwise steady, so a solid start to the week for one of the “happy to finish” brigade.
    Plymouthian.
  9. It was a relief to move to the QC after (half) listening to the gloom and tedious politicians on Today and I managed it in 17.09 (sorry, I can’t quote a K time). Some nice clues – I liked STUNT and GLAMOUR and got NEWTONS CRADLE only after writing down CRADLE and seeing what was left. I have no problem writing down an anagrist if a minute or so thinking fails to release the anagram. I biffed RANK, my LOI. Thanks to Tracy and Jack. John M.
  10. Struggled over the line in 16 minutes. As usual, the clues I got stuck on look easy on review. My last two were Oslo and stunt – can’t see why now.
  11. First one completed inside my target time of 10-15m for ages, and only just at that. RASH was my LOI because I just couldn’t see the brash / forward link for the longest time. I had no problems with Newton’s Cradle, having owned one, and NONSENSE VERSE just appeared in my head when I first read the clue, but I took a few seconds to convince myself that it was correct. Thanks Jackkt and Tracy.
  12. I enjoyed this though it was definitely tricky. Crazy about needed you to find a word for crazy and then find an anagram that that gave stunt – a slightly obscure application of feat. I only got it because I had s ^ o ^ t. Not complaining though. I do think that Lamour, lovely as she was is unlikely, to be known by anyone younger than 60 or 70.
  14. ….is, of course an OSLO RESIDENT.

    I had a bit of a battle with this before finally spotting SWALLOW which gave me all the crossers for my LOI, the W showing that to me immediately. For the first time in a while, I went back and did it again online, pressing submit to match the time of my paper solve. As I suspected, I’m behind Verlaine, but my current position of 11th indicates a tough puzzle to me – especially as a lot of the scores on the leaderboard seem to show errors by those concerned.

    FOI ENDANGER
    LOI NEWTON’S CRADLE
    COD OSLO

  15. Glad it wasn’t only me! Not a good start to the week, struggling with the same ones as everyone else – rank and endanger, and couldn’t parse Oslo, so thanks Jack for the clear explanations. Got Newtons cradle after i realised that the anagrind was cuckoo and not toy! You do toy with things after all!
  16. Some tricky clues in here but mainly due to lack of GK, so I was pleased to finish within target in 13.45. The actress was way before my time so needed all the checkers for her and I have a very vague recollection of getting stuck on NEWTONS CRADLE once before in a QC so I had to dredge it from the depths. I had no problem with rank as for me it frequently precedes ‘bad shot’ on the the golf course. Needed an alphabet trawl for LOI PLEASE for some reason. COD to OSLO.
    Thanks for the blog

    Edited at 2019-10-28 11:16 am (UTC)

  17. This took me up to the wire of when I generally give in, at about the half an hour mark. I never seem to get into Tracy’s head and today was no different. I could not see “brash” for 1 across, nor “go slow ” for 21 down and although I put in “rank ” for 7 down, I just could not see how it fitted the first half of the clue. Thank goodness for Jackkt’s super blog. Still don’t like 7 down, though, and am awarding it my own personal Golden Raspberry. I parsed 4 down as “owls entranced” without knowing whether I’d end up with a toy or a cuckoo. Oh, dear. It seems to me that “crazy” nearly always means “nuts” so 22 across was a shoo-in. Thanks, Jackkt, for the helpful blog and thanks too to Tracy.
  18. I must have been on Tracy’s wavelength today as I had little difficulty, only really hesitating for any time over NEWTONS CRADLE.

    My thanks as always to setter and blogger.
    4’40”

  19. Struggled today, although most of it went in okay, and ended up with a DNF in 58:14, having written ‘rung’ in for 7d. Never parsed Oslo but I figured I didn’t know any other four letter Norwegian places anyway so I might as well chance it. The ones that really held me up were 3a, 4d, 6d and 7d. I never considered cuckoo might be an anagrind. It looked like the toy was going to be what was being defined and when an alphabet trawl revealed cradle, I finally got it and realised what was going on. That enabled me to get endanger (I’d already thought the danger bit might be there) and to see that my ‘glamour’ was probably right although I’ve never heard of Dorothy Lamour. That left 7d and I considered ring, but settled on rung. Didn’t see how it meant complete, but I’m glad I gave up then because I think I’d have been there a while before getting rank.
  20. A case of nearly, but not quite. I found the top half much more difficult than the bottom, so I started in the SE and worked clockwise around the grid. I really didn’t t like Tall (2d) for unlikely – Tall Story, yes, but Tall by itself? Not in my book. Anyway, after about 30 mins I just had 6 and 7d remaining, but it took so long to get Rank that I lost the will to trawl through even my limited list of old Hollywood actresses, and pulled stumps. Not a good start to the week. Invariant
  21. ..that’s the norm for me and still enjoyed this offering. NE corner stifled my progress with Endanger, Glamour and Rank illusive. However the rest gradually revealed itself so for me that’s a green solve..
    Graham
  22. Glad to see I wasn’t the only one to struggle with this. Eventually done in 16:49, never parsing OSLO or getting why RANK could be complete. A sticky dog of a puzzle. Thanks Tracy and Jack.

    Templar

  23. Found this for the most part to be pretty straightforward and (by my standards) was racing through it. A gentle Monday workout then got caught up in NEWTON’S CRADLE, which took an age but unlocked 2A and 7D for 12:02. The toy has to be my COD, edging out OSLO – beautifully clued, slow to parse, but easy to write in. Thanks Tracy
  24. We found this tricky but got there just over our target. Knew Dorothy Lamour, parent kept hens after the war, and named them after actresses, cannot remember the others. Thanks to Tracy and the other helpful contributions.
  25. We found this quite uneven and strange, some answers seemed too simple to be likely and others required a significant stretch. Didn’t like “rank”, but biffed on the basis that an alphabet trawl only turned up even more unlikely words. “Please” doesn’t mean like, although you might like something pleasing. Despite this probably slightly under average time to complete, but left with a mild sense of dissatisfaction!
    On another front, is it just me or has “out” suddenly become a fashionable anagrind? To me it isn’t a particularly good one
  26. I quite enjoyed this and it’s probably the first Tracy puzzle that I’ve completed fully. However, there were a couple of answers I didn’t parse (Glamour, Oslo) so not sure if that really counts.

    I couldn’t see the wood for the trees with 17ac, so convinced was I that “ed” had to be somewhere. Similarly, I biffed “address” for 23ac before I realised it didn’t work. Spike Milligan came to mind for 14ac, whilst I was with a few people (I think) on trying to invent a new species of cuckoo for 4dn.

    It took me about an hour, but time isn’t a big thing for me. Thanks for the blog.

  27. Hello all. Been doing these on paper or my phone since the QC started.

    8:11 for me on the phone, which i consider a par score. I think i was even slightly distracted by a colleague. Prompted to join and post by the fact that this seems to be a quickish time. No real problems.

    I rarely find the time to do the 15×15 since i moved jobs a year or so ago, but 20 mins is a good time for me there.

    Look forward to contributing to the discussion in future.

    Thanks to Jackkt and Tracy.

  28. Back up to date with last week’s backlog resolved over the weekend. A DNF today…Set myself a target of an hour in Costa before leaving for a flu jab. Had 4d and 8d unsolved and couldn’t get further shuffling in the flu-queue. Thought 7d rather tenuous. Liked 6d 9a 14a. FOI was either 3a or 14a, LOI 9a, COD 15d. As ever, grateful to today’s blogger for sorting out my failures and to Tracy for a puzzle that I managed better than their usual fare.
  29. I didn’t find this too bad. I was disappointed not to finish in my 20 minute target time, but having read Jackkt’s blog (thank you as ever) and the comments, I am now rather pleased with 24 minutes, admittedly in two sittings. I had done all but 3 (STUNT, RASH and STALL) in 18 minutes, stared at those three for another 5 minutes but was interrupted. When I looked back a little while later the words just flew in. The subconscious brain never ceases to amaze me!
    Thanks, Tracy, I, for one, enjoyed this challenge. MM
    FOI DELTA
    LOI STUNT
    COD NONSENSE VERSE

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