QC 1945 by Hurley

Author   astartedonPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

An almost completely sequential solve for me, the good walk spoiled by just a couple of shots slicing off into the rough. Many thanks to Hurley for a gentle start to my holiday week (although I’m only going as far as Yorkshire – I’m not ready to tackle the administrative obstacle course of going abroad just yet).

Because of said holiday trip I don’t have time to say much except:

FOI 1A
LOI 19D
COD 11D

COD as usual was difficult to choose in a QC where the clues don’t vary a lot in difficulty. 11D for me had the most interesting moving parts of the devices on display.

I am a little surprised to see 21A in a QC as I don’t think it is a word that falls into most people’s everyday usage. It certainly turns up every now and again in the biggie though and as soon as I saw the definition it went straight into the grid. The cryptic is pretty straightforward and once the checkers were in place I suppose for those who didn’t know it it was just a question of deploying the Ps and Rs in the right combination to produce what sounded like a real word. But maybe I underestimate your vocabularies and you bandy the word about with gay abandon on a daily basis. Apologies if so.

Definitions are underlined and everything else is explaind just as I see it as simply as I can.

Across
1 Excellent outlay including pound I’d added (8)
SPLENDID – SPEND (outlay) ‘including’ L (pound) + ID (I’d added).
6 Get rid of outhouse (4)
SHED – double definition.
8 Organized trip in historic French town left unfinished (4)
TOUR – TOURs (historic French town ‘unfinished’).
9 A club riot in retrospect — shambles! (8)
ABATTOIR – A BAT (a club) + TOIR (RIOT ‘in retrospect’).
10 A fence I’d altered leading to opposition (8)
DEFIANCE – straight anagram (‘altered’) of A FENCE I’D.
12 In Chile, a perfect spring (4)
LEAP – hidden word: ‘in’ ChiLE A Perfect.
13 Like dog’s home, stick around! (6)
CANINE – IN (home) with CANE (stick) ‘around’.
16 Nonsense, being forced to replace name with learner (6)
DRIVEL – DRIVEN (forced) replacing N (name) with L (learner).
17 Falterer on regular basis? Run away (4)
FLEE – FaLtErEr ‘on regular basis’.
18 After review Serb pays possible witness (6-2)
PASSER-BY – straight anagram (‘after review’) of SERB PAYS.
21 Referring to river bank rain pair recollected (8)
RIPARIAN – another straight anagram: RAIN PAIR ‘recollected’.
22 Dreary poet returns (4)
DRAB – BARD (poet) backwards.
23 What must be paid, lavish, expensive, vexes you at outset (4)
LEVY – Lavish Expenses Vexes You ‘at the outset’ (i.e. initial letters).
24 Fail to develop stage, involving nationalist just briefly (8)
STAGNATE – STAGE ‘involving’ NAT (nationalist, but ‘just briefly’).
Down
2 Writing supporting southeast (5)
PROSE – PRO (supporting) + SE (southeast).
3 Make mistake in The Star Chamber finally (3)
ERR – thE staR chambeR ‘finally’ (i.e. last letters).
4 Tired and tied (5)
DRAWN – double definition. (If a match is drawn it is tied).
5 Demanded changes after Mike leaves cul-de-sac (4,3)
DEAD END – anagram of DEmANDED (‘changes after Mike leaves’).
6 Coming from Lufthansa, tell it exactly, “Sputnik was one” (9)
SATELLITE – hidden word: ‘coming from’ LufthanSA TELL IT Exactly.
7 Move abroad, good to go, coming to this country? (7)
EMIRATE – EMIgRATE (move abroad with G (good) ‘to go’).
11 Unfortunate inertia over railway travel plan (9)
ITINERARY – anagram (‘unfortunate’) of INERTIA ‘over’ (i.e. ‘above’ in this down clue) RY (railway).
14 The whole prison sentence, unsurpassed up to now (3-4)
ALL-TIME – ALL (the whole) + TIME (prison sentence). If you are the all-time greatest crossword-solver then you are unsurpassed – up to now anyway.
15 English politician secures bottles maybe (7)
EMPTIES – E (English) + MP (politician) + TIES (secures).
19 This girl’s relative edges round Iowa (5)
SONIA – SON (relative) + I and A (edges round IowA).
20 Snake on street? Exaggerated statement maybe (5)
BOAST – BOA (snake) ‘on’ (i.e. ‘above’ in this down clue) ST (street).
22 Lecturer’s indication of agreement written about (3)
DON – NOD (indication of agreement) ‘written about’, i.e. reversed.

45 comments on “QC 1945 by Hurley”

  1. ….as I somehow managed to type in aal-time and not see it in the proofreading. I did have to think a little to get riparian, and nearly put in Kinia before stopping and thinking again;.
  2. I had a tip-of-the-tongue moment with RIPARIAN, but it came to me once I had the I’s. An MER at SPLENDID; ‘outlay’ is a noun, corresponding to ‘lay out’, while SPEND is a verb. 4:47.

    Edited at 2021-08-23 12:34 am (UTC)

    1. Rightly or wrongly, spend is used as a noun, too, these days. ‘My annual spend on….. is…’.
      That’s how I rationalised it, anyway.

      Edited at 2021-08-23 08:24 am (UTC)

      1. I rather assumed there was something like that going on. Mind you, I’ve lived the last 40+ years in Japan, hence not necessarily up on changes in English.
  3. At the 5 minute mark I suddenly lost the ability to think, and the SONIA / STAGNATE crossing took me a full two minutes! Didn’t do much better on the main, I’m afraid.
  4. 10 minutes. I agree that RIPARIAN may be a little much for a QC, but some may associate it with Mrs Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) in the sitcom ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ who was fond of organizing ‘riparian’ events such as picnics.
  5. …so I’ll retrospectively set myself a target of 5 minutes. Success!

    Would agree that RIPARIAN is at the obscure end for the Quickie. I only knew it from its appearances in the non-quickie, despite having had a very riparian upbringing. Nice word.

  6. Also had a tongue twisting moment with RIPARIAN. Knew the word perfectly well but needed the checkers to the letters in the right order.

    Otherwise straightforward enough but nothing wrong with that on a Monday.

    Thanks Hurley and Don

  7. Geography O level to the rescue! No problem with RIPARIAN, I saved my struggles for EMIRATE and ABATTOIR — shouldn’t have to dig so deep to see what ‘shambles’ is doing by now. A fast start with eight going in on the first pass before ending up all green in 12. Pretty good. Fingers crossed for groynes, aretes and drumlins tomorrow.
  8. I didn’t know that shambles could mean ABATTOIR so that slowed me a little even when the clue was clear. CANINE also eluded me briefly as I failed to split the clue up correctly, but all eventually resolved just seconds into SCC territory.
    1. Very very late to visit tonight but just to say there us a lovely street in York called the Shambles. You can guess what the main business used to be there. There is a lane outside Quorn in Leicestershire called Flesh Hovel Lane — truly yucky😅
      So late that I haven’t read everyone ele’s comments yet — now know that others have mentioned York.

      Edited at 2021-08-23 10:51 pm (UTC)

  9. FOI: 12a. LEAP
    LOI: 13a. CANINE
    Time to Complete: 52 minutes
    Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 24
    Clues Answered with Aids: 2
    Clues Unanswered: 0
    Wrong Answers: 2
    Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 24/26
    Aids Used: Chambers

    I started with just three 4-letter answers and thought that this was going to be a tough one. However, though it was not easy, I did not find it as tricky as I thought I would. My last two in were 9a. ABATTOIR and 13a. CANINE (I was convinced that “stick around!” was the definition). I could not answer these two without the help of chambers. A shame as I thought I was going to complete this one without aids.

    My favourite clue was 21a. RIPARIAN is a word I learned from Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet, of course) in Keeping Up Appearances. In one episode she was inviting people to her “waterside supper with riparian entertainments.”

    Just before I pressed “Post Comment”, I saw that jackkt was on the same wavelength as me on this one.

  10. A swift solve until running into the buffers with EMPTIES, SONIA and the unknown RIPARIAN, which eventually went in with fingers crossed. Dredged the shambles/ABATTOIR link from the depths and I think it’s one of those words I’ve learnt via cryptic crosswords. Finished in 9.26
    Thanks to astartedon
  11. Fairly straightforward- I managed to dredge RIPARIAN from the memory banks- but DRIVEL held me up, as I read the clue as containing the word ‘leaner’ rather than learner. Once the caffeine had reached my optic nerve, I saw the answer to the clue
  12. ….as I biffed “appended” at 1A without even attempting to parse it. A fully deserved triple pink !

    COD DRIVEL (nice to see the somewhat arcane RIPARIAN)

  13. I did not know ABATTOIR = shambles but the word play was straight forward. My LOI was the unknown RIPARIAN once all the checkers were in play. 8:06
  14. A good puzzle with one or two trip wires. RIPARIAN fell out (though I would need to think before I could define it without the clue — my memory of Mrs Bucket didn’t include the word). I jumped around looking tor easy pickings and gradually filled the grid, ending up in the NW with PROSE and TOUR which I had missed along the way. ABATTOIR was a biff and then I remembered The Shambles in York (where the butchers shops used to be). I liked DEAD END and EMIRATE, ALL TIME, DRIVEL, and SONIA. It always takes me longer when I jump about and I was half a minute over target. Thanks to Hurley for a good start to the week and Don for a good blog. John M.
    1. I think some comments get lost in longer posts so I will just repeat my comment on The Shambles in York (where the butchers shops used to be). This connection might make it easier for the word (and its Medieval connections) to ‘click’.
      I first met the street description growing up in Manchester. There are many other towns and cities in UK where a street bears this name.
      I have just looked it up using Wikipedia and was interested to read more of the origins of the word. Perhaps others might find it useful. John.

      Edited at 2021-08-23 09:38 am (UTC)

  16. About twelve minutes for this friendly offering from Hurley. FOI shed, LOI stagnate, COD empties, four Peronis and two Banks’s bitter here this week. Some nice clues to ruminate on. Thanks, Don, and Hurley. GW.
  17. No problem with RIPARIAN but I put ALL LIFE at 14d thinking it seemed odd. Time was 08:08 to there.
    Mostly this was pleasant and straightforward. My LOI was SONIA as I left it till I had all the checkers.
    David
  18. A solid 11 minutes this morning …
    … as while never overtly difficult, I found this needed care. Although 9A Abbatoir was very clear from the cluing, I NHO Shambles as an alternative name for a slaughterhouse, so one to store away.

    Also too clever by half with 19D Sonia — I know a good number of the the 2-letter codes for the 50 states (why, as an Englishman? No idea …) so assumed “Iowa” gave the IA and then could not work out what the “edges round” was doing in the clue.

    LOI 15D Empties — got the wrong end of the stick here and needed an alphabet trawl on EMP-I-S. Fortunately not many candidates …

    Many thanks to Don for the blog
    Cedric

    Edited at 2021-08-23 08:54 am (UTC)

  19. 25 mins for me, mainly held up at the bottom with 19dn “Sonia”, 15dn “Empties” and 21ac “Riparian” the main head scratchers.

    NHO of “abattoir” = shambles nor the before mentioned “riparian”, which was a guess in the end (pirarian could have equally fitted)

    Once had a nice stop over in Tours on the way back from the south of France.

    FOI — 3dn “Err”
    LOI — 21ac “Riparian”
    COD — 15dn “Empties” — been caught out by this before, and it did it again!

    Thanks as usual!

  20. 10:42 for me for a good start to the week. I think I once knew a ‘dead-end’ Sonia! RIPARIAN was a bit of a stretch, and that meaning of shambles was either unknown or forgotten, although now the Shambles in York has been mentioned, I think the latter. Thanks both.

    Edited at 2021-08-23 09:05 am (UTC)

  21. 13 minutes, about my average for a straightforward, enjoyable solve. I recollect RIPARIAN from somewhere, but SHAMBLES as an abattoir was new to me.
  22. EMPTIES was the one clue that I did not winkle out today. My alphabet trawl did not try s “T” in that position. Was thinking that “bottles maybe” was signifying bottle=”losing courage”.

    But was pleased to get ABATTOIR as was looking for other shambles such as “fiasco”.

    When 21a came up my first thought was LITTORAL, another geography word I only know from crosswords (see also “ria”).

    Some great clues today EMIGRATE, but COD to 13a for the misdirection of “dog’s home”.

  23. Having spent time working in the drainage department of a northern borough, I had no problem with riparian. I must be one of the few that have used it in real life… Also remembered shambles from a guided tour of York — but we also have one in Worcester, where I’m sitting in a café having brunch.

    Not too bad for me but I couldn’t see stagnate, even with all the checkers.

    Edited at 2021-08-24 07:22 am (UTC)

  24. Started quickly and thought this was going to be a comfortable sub-20, especially as Abattoir/Shambles was a write-in — my wife comes from York. However the nho Riparian and Sonia combination put paid to that idea, abetted by an alphabet trawl for Drawn (I knew Drain was wrong, but couldn’t get it out of my mind). CoD to one of the early answers, 13ac Canine, before limping over the line after 23mins. Invariant
    1. I lived just outside of York for many years and used to walk up the Shambles regularly – but still didn’t know it was synonymous with Abattoir. I’m guessing it’s one of those things you learn as a kid if you’re from the local area (or from a guided tour).
  25. 5:40 this morning and a little above target.
    Didn’t feel that this was too difficult in retrospect, so it was down to me and a little Monday sluggishness. 9 ac “abattoir” and 21 ac “riparian” took a little bit of digging out but otherwise no major issues.
    LOI 19 d “sonia”, once I realised eventually that the “edges” referred to “Iowa” rather than “relative”.
    COD 15 d “empties” — quite appropriate for a regular Monday morning chore.
    Thanks to Don and Hurley.
  26. Strange that RIPARIAN caused such difficulty. Living in an area crisscrossed by five rivers and lots of feeder streams, we hear it used it all the time — usually in relation to the ownership of property that includes a stretch of river bank. Certainly not arcane (in rural Wiltshire at least!).
    1. RIPARIAN was easy, being brought up by a fisherman.

      Do I guess you’re from somewhere near Salisbury too?

      NHO ABATTOIR as something to do with shambles. What’s the etymology of that?

      Diana

        1. Ah, Tks. Really though, it’s
          a totally obsolete term, but obviously beloved by Setters, if not the solvers.
  27. I did know RIPARIAN as in riparian rights, but NHO ABATTOIR = shambles. Got that from the clueing and crossers. Thanks , Oldblighter, for explanation. On second thoughts, maybe I had heard of the Shambles in York.
    Had to think about EMIRATE despite the fact I think we have had it recently. LOI DRIVEL.
    Liked DRAB, PROSE and many others.
    Thanks for helpful blog, Don. Enjoy yr hols.
  28. Our blogger suggests that, for him, this was a “sequential”” and “gentle solve”. Well, for me it was anything but. I normally find Hurley the most accessible setter, but I had to really graft today, more-or-less the whole way through.

    Eventually, I crossed the line in 49 minutes, but with my fingers tightly crossed for RIPARIAN, ABATTOIR, and DRAWN (I never saw the sporting connection).

    So, now I’m off to procure the ingredients for, and then to cook, a birthday dinner for Mrs Random. It will be accompanied by a bottle of our all-time favourite wine — Chateau Musar (from the Lebanon).

    Many thanks to Hurley and astartedon.

    1. Enjoy the Musar. One of our all-time favourites, too (for decades). It is nice to know we have a fellow Musar fan amongst the solvers.
      We have 20 vintages going back to the late 80s (plus a few vintages of older Musar Blancs). They are never too old and are always worth opening well in advance. Even the older bottles develop wonderfully over a few hours (or a day) after opening. I knew Serge Hochar well and used to meet him every year until his untimely death. Lovely man. I still know his brother, sons and the winemaker, Tarek and try to overlap when they are at wine fairs in London.
      Happy birthday to Mrs Random. John.

      Edited at 2021-08-23 04:54 pm (UTC)

      1. Dear Mr Blighter,
        Mrs Random thanks you for your birthday wishes and is looking forward to the Musar. It’s a 2009 and was opened a couple of hours ago. Unfortunately, we don’t possess any more — perhaps I should invest and build up a small collection.
        We encountered Chateau Musar first in the late ’80s, at a restaurant called The Hungry Monk in Jevington, East Sussex. Sadly, the restaurant is no more, but it’s claim to fame was that it was where Banoffee Pie was invented.
        Good luck with tomorrow’s QC.
        Mr R.
        1. Thanks. Hope you enjoy the 2009. It is still quite young (in Musar terms). We liked our last bottle and it opened and changed with time in the glass. We thought it even better next day — richer, more complex, but still very very long.

          Edited at 2021-08-23 07:09 pm (UTC)

  30. 15m. Same as invariant, going well until sonia and the unknown riparian.
    COD empties
  31. That’s good to know, as we have finished our evening still with one-third of the bottle left.
    I agree with you about its length, as I can still taste it more than half an hour after my last sip.

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