Quick Crossword 534 by Mara

Author   emu66Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Lots of double definitions this week, along with some enjoyable surface readings; favourites at 15a and 7d, and the anagram at 8d. Found 2d difficult to parse as had RUE at first coming from regret and then couldn’t fit the rest around it. In terms of difficulty – easier than last Friday’s, I think, but still at the trickier end.
Thank you to Mara

Across
1 Atrocity with a war scene: CRIMEA
Atrocity = CRIME, a = A
5 Vatican office quick to accept a prophecy, initially: PAPACY
Quick = PACY, including a = A, initial letter of prophecy = P
8 Wandering tribe rehoused in Scottish islands: OUTER HEBRIDES
Anagram (wandering) of TRIBE REHOUSED
9 Socialists abandoned: LEFT
Double definition
10 Fat wad ultimately wonderful: DRIPPING
Last letter (ultimately) of wad = D, wonderful = RIPPING
11 Upping sticks is emotional: MOVING
Double definition
13 Pub in sweltering island capital: HOBART
Pub = BAR, in sweltering = HOT
15 Fraudulently bogus, I am in more than one union: BIGAMOUS
Anagram (fraudulently) of BOGUS I AM
17 Flower was a climber: ROSE
Double definition
19 Fifteen cents in total, of little importance: NICKEL-AND-DIME
Double definition
21 Sliding compartment where prize put back: DRAWER
Prize = REWARD, then put back
22 Moderate irritability: TEMPER
Double definition; moderate in verb form

Down
2 Thrashing ending in remorse, that’s the way: ROUTE
Thrashing = ROUT, last letter (ending) of remorse = E
3 Interpretation of satire beyond a thousand great performers: MAESTRI
A thousand = M, anagram (interpretation) of SATIRE
4 Wood remains: ASH
Double definition
5 Ships blue after redesign issues: PUBLISHES
Anagram (redesign) of SHIPS BLUE
6 Biting lip, very quiet groom: PRIMP
Very quiet = PP, including lip = RIM
7 Spoon finally found in mixed cereal, better washed: CLEANER
Spoon finally = N (last letter), in anagram (mixed) of CEREAL
10 Clerical item putting good company in the money: DOG COLLAR
Good = G, company = CO, in money = DOLLAR
12 Thespian – West End show embracing one: OLIVIER
West End show = OLIVER, including one = I
14 Tedium – good time to drink wine: BOREDOM
Good time = BOOM, including wine = RED
16 Misaligned, like botanic gardens: ASKEW
Like = AS, botanic gardens = KEW
18 Millions consumed in a certain battle: SOMME
Millions = M, inside certain = SOME
20 Barrel up-ended for fanatic: NUT
Barrel = TUN, then up-ended

16 comments on “Quick Crossword 534 by Mara”

  1. 30 mins, so another good time, and my first week of five solves. Very slow start until saw the two 13 letter clues. MAESTRI certainly a tough word, but the clue was fair. I see we had another 1WW battle again, to go with LOOS yesterday, nice surface read in 18d as well. LOI 11a and COD 12d.
  2. Enjoyed this crossword.. I do like a clue with a good surface reading, and this has a lot.

    Maestri is a word I am reasonably familiar with, despite never once having seen it or heard it used, outside of crosswordland!

    1. Listen to Radio3 , classic FM or watch some music programmes on BBC 4 and you’ll see it’s used quite a lot!
    2. Could I ask what ‘a good surface reading’ for a clue means? I’ve learnt so much from this blog but that’s a phrase I don’t understand yet!
      I usually struggle with Mara but found this one fairly straight forward. Just luck probably but also maybe an indication of progress in learning the tricks and traps of cryptic clues. Tomorrow is bound to be a DNF now!
      1. Each clue is a phrase or sentence in its own right. It has a surface meaning, which usually is meant to be misleading and thus nothing whatever to do with the solution! The more natural and unforced this surface reading is, the better. Good examples today include 11, 13 & 17ac, 3, 7, 16 dn.
        Part of learning to solve cryptic clues involves learning to ignore the surface reading, to the point where many rapid solvers hardly notice them at all.
        (Jerry W not logged in)
        1. Thank you! Without knowing what it was called I have certainly learnt to appreciate such clues, usually leading to a quiet chuckle when I’ve solved it – or a groan when I’ve had to consult this blog for enlightenment.
  3. A very pleasing puzzle solved in exactly 10 minutes. I agree with Jerry’s comment about MAESTRI but I’m so used to it now I hardly notice.
  4. Nothing too tricky and completed in around 25 minutes. LOI was 1a and 14d was unparsed, so thanks for the clarification emu. COD was 19a.
    Plett11
  5. Well, 30mins for everything bar 3d, which then gave me my first DNF for some time. Not to be picky, but m can be a thousandth but not a thousand (k). Should still have recognised the partial anagram though. 21ac my favourite today. Invariant
    1. Roman numerals frequently occur in crossword land so it is worth being familiar with them:
      I = 1
      V = 5
      X = 10
      L = 50
      C = 100
      D = 500
      M = 1000
      GeoffH
  6. I got stuck half way through after 15 minutes, then came back and filled the rest straight in apart from 15a where to my shame I missed the anagram indicater, so a DNF.
    By the way M is 1000 in Latin numerals
    Brian
  7. I think Merlin and I must be at very similar stages in our solving journey. For me this is also the first week when I have solved all five puzzles in less than an hour and that, together with a sub 20 min PB yesterday, is very satisfying. I struggled with 3D and 6D which took me to 35 mins today. I worked 3D out fully in the end but took ages to get to PRIMP even though I thought pp had to have something to do with the answer.
    1. Yes, sounds like we are on a similar road, I just know I am due some DNFs next week, probably due to some inside crossword jargon that hasn’t come up yet. M for thousand is fair play, though.
  8. A satisfying end to a good week for me. Not without a struggle today but that makes it all the more enjoyable. Have we had a generously easier week I wonder? COD 10d dog-collar. LOI 6d primp.
  9. This was certainly a grown-up challenge and required my full attention. But a long journey on the underground turned out to be a good place to solve it -in all just over 20 minutes.
    Early on looking at 18d Crimea occurred to me because of the M. Obviously wrong there, but a coincidence that it should turn up at 1a. I liked a lot of these clues particularly 14d. LOI was 6d; the precise clueing was helpful. D

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