Times Quick Cryptic 810 by Orpheus

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
9 minutes

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

Across
1 Period pieces in France that will divide opponents (8)
ANTIQUES – QUE (in France, that) contained by [will divide] ANTIS (opponents)
5 Girl’s short rope with noose (4)
LASS – LASS{o} (rope with noose) [short]
9 Sebastian’s twin sister’s instrument? (5)
VIOLA – Two definitions, the first with reference to characters in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
10 Soldier’s rejected report about start of offensive (7)
TROOPER – REPORT reversed [rejected] containing about O{ffensive} [start]
11 Determined / group (3)
SET – Two definitions
12 Exciting object straddling stream (9)
THRILLING – THING (object) containing [straddling] RILL (stream)
13 Expedient — type employed by army corps (6)
RESORT – RE (army corps), SORT (type)
15 Seize a short piece of music (6)
SNATCH – Two definitions
17 Without initiative, lacking a period of work (9)
SHIFTLESS – SHIFT (period of work), LESS (lacking)
19 Egg supplier hoteliers employed naturally at first (3)
HEN – H{oteliers} E{mployed} N{aturally} [at first]
20 One who mocks a greedy eater? (7)
SCOFFER – Two definitions
21 Admitted / being possessed (5)
OWNED – Two definitions
22 Upper room originally let frequently to a poet (4)
LOFT – L{et} [originally], OFT (frequently to a poet)
23 Short-lived naval force in entrance to Gulf (8)
FLEETING – FLEET (naval force), IN, G{ulf} [entrance]
Down
1 Consultant’s commercial shown on screen (7)
ADVISOR – AD (commercial), VISOR (screen)
2 Racehorse spy eating river fish (5)
TROUT – TOUT (racehorse spy) containing [eating] R (river)
3 Old stout pole 25% of workforce used? (12)
QUARTERSTAFF – QUARTER (25%), STAFF (workforce). Not sure I actually knew this word but the wordplay was clear enough once I had a checker or two in place. SOED defines it as a stout pole, six to eight feet long and frequently iron-tipped, formerly used as a weapon especially by the English peasantry used?
4 Steer madly for compound (5)
ESTER – Anagram [madly] of STEER. That it’s an organic compound is all I need to know.
6 Assign a parking place? (7)
APPOINT – A, P (parking), POINT (place)
7 Season throwing out new shoot (5)
SPRIG – SPRI{n}G (season) [throwing out new]
8 Nomadic type that doesn’t gather moss? (7,5)
ROLLING STONE – A figurative definition with a cryptic reference to an old saying
14 Short trip cancelled? That’s the incidental result (4-3)
SPIN-OFF – SPIN (short trip),  OFF (cancelled)
16 Suspend setter, perhaps, being downcast? (7)
HANGDOG – HANG (suspend), DOG (setter, perhaps). Having a dejected appearance.
17 Getting up, 5 consumes first of its fibre (5)
SISAL – LASS (5 – Across) reversed [getting up] contains [consumes] I{t} [first]
18 Loner forced to join up (5)
ENROL – Anagram [forced] of LONER
19 Language used by rajah in Didwana (5)
HINDI – Hidden in [used by] {raja}H IN DI{wana}

18 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 810 by Orpheus”

  1. Ta. A pretty normal QC I thought, to start the week. I did Twelfth Night for O Level and it often comes in handy! FOI ADVISOR LOI SPIN-OFF COD HANGDOG
  2. Didn’t know the 12th Night reference, but a 5 letter instrument starting with V didn’t make me pause for long. Sailed through this one in 8:55, with ANTIQUES and QUARTERSTAFF giving me the key to a reasonably quick solve. An enjoyable puzzle. Thanks Orpheus and Jack.
  3. I was a bit surprised to see VIOLA here, although as John says, with an initial V … Not noticing where my hand was, I typed in ‘ebril’ for ENROL, then made the mistake of trying to correct each letter separately, getting a repeat ‘Unlucky’ sign; one needs to erase all the wrong letters and then type in the right ones. 5:16.
  4. 22 minutes.

    Haven’t read Twelfth Night, we did Romeo and Juliet for GCSE and that put me off reading any more.

    Dnk sisal and wasn’t sure resort = expediant.
    14d I had slip off before spin off.

    LOI 12a thrilling.

    COD 185d enrol.

  5. QUARTERSTAFF: now there’s a word I haven’t heard in decades since watching Little John wield one in Robin Hood.
  6. Six and a bit minutes for this mostly straightforward puzzle. Slow to get ANTIQUES which would have made QUARTERSTAFF easier and I also had to look twice at resort/expedient.
  7. Not too tricky today but my last two in (13a and 14d) held me up for couple of minutes at the end.I didn’t know who Sebastian was in 9a but the answer was clear. Completed in 14 minutes.
  8. I was going along very quickly until I span off the road. 13a, 14d and 17a caused my problems.
    I was not sure that Resort = Expedient (I’m still not).
    Even with the starting S, I took a long time to think of Spin off.
    It took me an age to get my LOI – Shiftless.
    So 13 minutes for most of this and at least the same again for the last three.
    And now I’m going to look up Resort -and the past participle of Spin- span sounds right but so does Spun. David

    1. I FORGOT TO MENTION ADVISOR.
      I prefer the Adviser spelling which does not fit the clue.
      You see both frequently.
      David
    2. Are you a northerner? Spin-span-spun clings on as the correct conjugation in the north (It’s certainly what I was always used to, growing up), though spin-spun-spun seems to have become the standard form.

      Edited at 2017-04-17 04:13 pm (UTC)

      1. Yes Spin Span Spun for me.
        From Preston -latterly.
        David
        PS what do the cricket commentators say?
  9. A slow start but eventually it started to flow more easily than I first feared. 45 minutes with a lot spent over the SW 13a 17a 14d and 17d. FOI 11a. LOI 14d. COD 23a. Pleased to complete at the start of the week. Thx Orpheus and all bloggers.
  10. Could one of you clever souls give a sentence where ‘resort’ and ‘expedient’ are interchangeable please? Like of couple of folk here I just don’t see how it works. Thanks. Pexiter.
    1. The meaning of Expedient used as a noun is “a means to an end” Therefore the last resort is equivalent to the last expedient
  11. DNF as I didn’t know Sisal. The fact that there was a ‘5’ in there threw me as I didn’t realise it related to another part of the crossword.

    I also struggled with resort = expedient

    Otherwise – the rest wasn’t too bad

    DR31

  12. Well I found this extremely hard. Four days at least. Didn’t know Twelfth Night. never heard of a quarterstaff. Didn’t know Ester. So there seemed to be a bit of knowledge in this that I didn’t have.

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