Times Quick Cryptic 710 by Tracy

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
For this I needed 9 minutes, my first QC solve within my target 10 since Joker’s offering last Monday.  Today’s grid was particularly helpful with 4 x 6-letter words each having only 2 unchecked letters. There are one or two slightly out-of-the-ordinary words or shades of meaning but the wordplay is generally helpful so I think everything is very fair.

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

Across
7 Undeveloped picture, say, found in local (8)
NEGATIVE – EG (say) in NATIVE (local)
8 German song / told a story (4)
LIED – Two definitions leading to different pronunciations
9 Agent put away? Say again (6)
REPEAT – REP (agent), EAT (put away)
10 Prepared to study conclusion in essay (5)
READY – READ (study), {essa}Y [conclusion]
11 Eccentric old theologian (3)
ODD – O (old), DD (theologian – Doctor of Divinity)
12 Recent changes for resort (6)
CENTRE – Anagram [changes] of RECENT. As in: ski resort / ski centre.
14 Fruit from orchard’s first row (6)
ORANGE – O{rchard} [first], RANGE (row). SOED tells me that this meaning of “range” is now rarely used.
16 Phlegmatic, firm about termination of contract (6)
STOLID – SOLID (firm) about {contrac}T [termination]
18 Reason to propose holding it back (6)
MOTIVE – MOVE (propose) holding IT reversed [back]
19 Regret game ending in melee (3)
RUE – RU (game – Rugby Union), {mele}E [ending]
20 Sauce: favourite covering small duck (5)
PESTO – PET (favourite) covering S (small), 0 (duck)
21 Conjecture made by those people importing gold (6)
THEORY – THEY (those people) importing OR (gold)
23 Travel document carried by Chekhov is auctioned (4)
VISA – Hidden in [carried by] {Chekho}V IS A{uctioned}
24 Venomous creature seen in house, located by noon (8)
SCORPION – SCORPIO (house), N (noon). Signs of the Zodiac are called “houses”.
Down
1 Strong macho types kept in check (8)
VEHEMENT – HE-MEN (macho types) in VET (check)
2 Obese English lot (4)
FATE – FAT (obese), E (English)
3 Advice to leader of expedition — proceed with caution (6)
TIPTOE – TIP (advice), TO, E{xpedition} [leader]
4 I rowed out to find queer fish (6)
WEIRDO – Anagram [out] of I ROWED. For those who also do the 15×15, this answer and exact definition came up in #26574 blogged by Andy (linxit)  last Saturday; the wordplay then was WEIR (dam), DO (discharge) which, fittingly, is perhaps a little more difficult than today’s.
5 Amiable agricultural labourer bagging fifty (8)
PLEASANT – PEASANT (agricultural labourer) containing [bagging] L (fifty)
6 Reject, years after study (4)
DENY – DEN (study), Y (years)
13 Endless chat is fellow’s charm (8)
TALISMAN – TAL{k} (chat) [endless], IS, MAN (fellow)
15 Some coming over normally to find boss (8)
GOVERNOR – Hidden [some] in {comin}G OVER NOR{mally}
17 Wordy novel about society may make one sleepy (6)
DROWSY – Anagram [novel] of WORDY about S (society)
18 Unusually remote shooting star (6)
METEOR – Anagram [unusually] of REMOTE
20 Friend carrying one bucket (4)
PAIL – PAL (friend) carrying I (one)
22 Catch sight of eastern agent (4)
ESPY – E (eastern), SPY (agent)

24 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 710 by Tracy”

  1. Followed some wrong leads, or created some wrong leads to follow, as for instance thinking that ‘eccentric’ was the anagrind for ‘old’, or that ‘recent’ was the definition and ‘resort’ the anagrist. It didn’t help that I can never, but never, remember how to spell ‘weird’. 6:02.
  2. I found the 15×15 compatatively a shade easier than this QC today 8.45mins so look out!

    1dn VEHEMENT held me up as did 24ac SCORPION (House!)

    COD 15dn GOVERNOR (hard to spot) WOD WEIRDO

  3. 47 mins. I had most finished in 20 mins except 8a, 16a, 1d and 5d.

    Is he-men a word?

    Struggled to parse a few, 3d: I had toe=leader of expedition, 4d: not sure how weirdo relates to fish, for 5d I had peas being agricultural!

    Did not know stolid or lied for german song.

    1. Note that the definition, as Jackkt indicates, is ‘queer fish’ not ‘fish’; and a queer fish is an odd person. Keep ‘lied’ in mind; it shows up from time to time.
  4. Sub5 today, helped by the recent, and previously unsolved, WEIRDO. Also memories of ESPY and LIEDER, dnk LIED as such. Liked VEHEMENT. Thanks jack and Tracy.
  5. Pretty straightforward I thought, although struggled with some of the parsing. Totally forgot that SCORPIO is known as a “house”, and I am a scorpio – for heaven’s sake!!
    I liked VEHEMENT as well. LIED for a German song is always a gimme in crosswordland.
    PlayupPompey (didn’t on Saturday though)
  6. A nice change of pace after last weeks battles. Completed in 15 minutes but with 24 unparsed – I forgot about that meaning of house. Would have struggled more with 8a if I hadn’t remembered it from previous QCs and also had to mentally check the spelling of 4d. LOI 8a, COD 1d.
  7. Nothing too bothersome today. Not entirely convinced by ‘centre’ as a synonym for ‘resort’ but wordplay and checkers precluded anything else – 4’30”
    GeoffH
  8. Rattled through most of this in about 25 minutes, but then came to a complete halt with 16ac/1d left. I eventually got 16ac, but even then just couldn’t think of vehement – not a word I use everyday. First DNF for some time. Invariant
  9. 14m so inside my new target time. Interesting that Chekhov makes an appearance in both cryptics today, part of the clue here and an answer in the 15 x 15. Good blog as always Jack, and thanks to Tracy for a nice challenge.

    I didn’t know that meaning for range, and I think I’ve only come across PAIL for bucket in ‘Oor Wullie’

  10. 12:30 for me; LOI DENY, but only because I’d carelessly put READT in and was wondering how to fit my answer into _E_T for a while! D’oh. My real LOI should probably have been SCORPION, which I needed all the crossers to see.
  11. 1d did for me, as was stuck on ‘test’ for ‘check’ which left the highly plausible TE-E-EST for strong. Did not go back to revisit that assumption. LIED was a new one on me, and I dislike words such as this which appear so frequently in crosswords and so infrequently in real life. LAY for song another peeve. 5d COD.
    1. “Lied” and “Lieder” are common enough to lovers of classical music and “lay” is one of the oldest English words for song. If they keep cropping up in crosswords, surely the best thing to do is remember them for next time?

      Edited at 2016-11-28 02:01 pm (UTC)

  12. Quick today,finished in 12 minutes; not far off a PB.
    LOI was 12a as I wanted all the letters to confirm the less than ideal Centre. 1d caused a slight hold-up as did 24a. David
  14. Thankfully getting back towards the easier end of the spectrum, though this was far from a gimme. FOI FATE LOI STOLID COD VEHEMENT
  15. Struggled to get the measure of this one but eventually got started in the SE, and then the E came fairly easily. LOI 1d vehement and had to come to the blog to see why. Still, all done over one large Costa and a muffin. FOI 18a motive and COD 7a negative.
    1. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

      Phlegmatic: 2 …not easily excited to feeling or action; dull, sluggish, apathetic; stolidly calm, self-possessed. L16.

      Stolid: Dull and impassive; not easily excited or moved; lacking or concealing emotion, animation, etc.

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