Quick Cryptic 1027 by Rongo

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
A puzzle of average difficulty (I predict). What it lacks in cunning, it makes up for in wit – several surfaces raised a smile (14ac, 4dn and 22dn get a mention, but especially 23ac). My LOI was 9dn as I couldn’t decide if it was an arm or a leg that was required!

Thanks to our setter.

Definitions underlined.

Across
1 Profit-seeker’s hat, the thing in front of a catalogue (10)
CAPITALIST – CAP (hat) then IT (the thing) in front of A and LIST (catalogue).
7 Possibly a quotation of at the most one million (5)
MAXIM – MAX (at the most), I (one) and M (million).
8 Work history, looking after patients coming to US casualty department (6)
CAREER – CARE (looking after patients) and ER (emergency room, US casualty department).
10 Venomous creature like viper, at heart (3)
ASP – AS (like) and middle letter of (at heart) viPer.
12 Top Gear where carport is typically built? (9)
OVERDRIVE – cryptic definition; a carport is a canopy structure built over ones drive.
13 Way to follow sailor overseas (6)
ABROAD – ROAD (way) follows AB (able bodied, sailor).
14 Switch between two positions, as leg got twisted (6)
TOGGLE – anagram of (twisted) LEG GOT.
17 Touch down before team secures 50 for decisive win (9)
LANDSLIDE – LAND (touch down), then SIDE (team) surrounding (secures) L (fifty).
19 Some of clever ruses go wrong (3)
ERR – hidden in (some of) clevER Ruses.
20 Despicable person embracing Conservative is bigot (6)
RACIST – RAT (despicable person) surrounding (embracing) C (conservative) and IS.
21 Flake of hard skin almost touching soft skin on head (5)
SCALP – all but the last letter of (almost) SCALe (flake of hard skin) with P (piano, soft).
23 Float around without hearing organs in brave style (10)
FEARLESSLY – FLY (float) surrounding (around) EARLESS (without hearing organs).
Down
1 Similar approach, not finishing Bible story (10)
COMPARABLE – all but the last letter of (not finishing) COMe (approach) and PARABLE (bible story).
2 Disease often connected to small cow or chicken (3)
POX – cryptic definition; small-, cow- and chicken- are all types of pox.
3 Fair lottery excited mob a lot (7)
TOMBOLA – anagram of (excited) MOB A LOT.
4 Minion’s facial bruise with the edges not visible (6)
LACKEY – bLACKEYe (facial bruise) missing the first and last letters (with edges not visible).
5 Keep quiet on Socialist scrap (5)
SHRED – SH (keep quiet) and RED (socialist).
6 UN regime reformed foundation for Pavlova (8)
MERINGUE – anagram of (reformed) US REGIME.
9 Method of wiring limb in alternative therapy (10)
TELEGRAPHY – LEG (limb) inside an anagram of (alternative) THERAPY.
11 Maybe mother’s personal assistant hiring fee (8)
PARENTAL – PA (personal assistant) and RENTAL (hiring fee).
15 Supervise selection from Shinto verse epic (7)
OVERSEE – hidden in (selection from) shintO VERSE Epic.
16 Manage to secure short period in office when it’s cold (6)
WINTER – WIN (manage to secure), then all but the last letter of (short) TERm (period in office).
18 Perhaps react with disgust, energy and animosity (5)
SPITE – SPIT (perhaps react with disgust) and E (energy).
22 The man dismissed from Ashes is a fool (3)
ASS – he (the man) removed (dismissed) from ASheS.

15 comments on “Quick Cryptic 1027 by Rongo”

  1. Carelessly typed in ‘tombala’–a near-DNK, but I knew how to spell it–which made 12ac rather difficult. Some very nice surfaces, as in the clues William mentions; I especially liked LACKEY. 6:43.
  2. 13 minutes, missing my target by 3, and a classic example of a breeze-block (BB) solve, as one of our anon correspondents has called it. Breezing along quite happily only to be blocked at the last minute by having a complete brain-freeze over the last answer, or in this case two intersecting ones, TELEGRAPHY and SCALP.

    Like our blogger, I thought of both ARM and LEG as possibles for the ‘limb’ in question at 9dn but unfortunately I considered ARM was more likely and wasted a lot of time down that cul-de-sac before retreating and trying the alternative. Even when I eventually solved it and had the final checker at 21ac, the answer, SCALP, took some time to occur to me.

    LACKEY was the only other answer that didn’t leap out at me, but as the best clue of the day it was worth spending a little extra time on.

    Edited at 2018-02-14 06:08 am (UTC)

  3. Meetings and interruptions today so 77 minutes on the timer but more like 30.

    Got stuck on fearlessly, comparable, spite and LOI racist.

    Before I had spite, for 20a I couldn’t get ra[con]t out of my head.

    Some great clues, my favourites were tombola, parental, telegraphy and COD lackey.

    Edited at 2018-02-14 07:43 am (UTC)

  4. Some great misdirection made this medium difficulty – especially 23ac (I was trying to fit something around ‘ears’ for ‘without hearing organs’) and 8ac (work history had to be CV didn’t it? Well, obviously not). Particularly enjoyed lackey and parental. Thanks Rongo for the tangle (which I first thought was the answer to 14ac) and to William for untangling.
    1. Rongo has me on a string today, pulling me this way and that with some great misdirection I wholly failed to spot. Came in at 42 minutes and jolted me out of my recent smug complacency about my solving ability. Thanks to William and Rongo
  5. Inside my 15m target, but not by much, so I would agree William’s prediction of average difficulty. Very nice clues today with TOGGLE giving me my word of the day (WoD).

    Does anyone else do what I have found myself doing – trying to use my selected WoD as often as possible during the day in any conversation?

    Thanks setter (for an enjoyable puzle) and William for the blog.

  6. Not too difficult for me today, taking 8:26, starting with POX and finishing with TELEGRAPHY. Fortunately I had all the crossers before tackling it so I didn’t go down the ARM route. As others, liked LACKEY. I also tried going down(or across) the same route as Chris at 23a, trying to put something outside of EARS. Nice puzzle. Thanks Rongo and William.
  7. With reference to 12ac I once had an MGB GT with overdrive on third and fourth gears operated by a switch on top of the gear lever (so strictly speaking it wasn’t top gear but more like third and a half and fourth and a half. It went wrong once so that when I lifted off the accelerator instead of the expected engine braking effect it somehow ‘freewheeled’ which felt like an acceleration compared to the slowing down I expected. Got it fixed pdq! Pexiter.
  8. Agree with William’s assessment, a nice puzzle and not too hard. After 15 minutes I had one left – 18d. I just could not see it. I put the puzzle down but it still took me another 5 or so minutes to get it.
    Was not clever enough to parse Lackey -thanks for that. 6d my COD. David
  9. One day, I’ll remember that it’s more important to be careful than to be quick.
    21a, I saw hard skin + soft = head, so I put in SCARP, which seemed almost convincing, if you don’t think too hard.
    Live and learn.
  10. I started of at a canter with most of the top half going in fairly easily but found the bottom much more tricky, with 9d, 20a, 23a and LOI 18d proving particularly stubborn. Completed in 16 minutes and I’ll jump on the bandwagon for 4d as my favourite.
  11. Came to this late in the day and struggled at first before eventually tuning in to Ringo’s style. Others have mentioned the abundance of misdirection, typified by my choice for CoD: 16d. Even when I thought Winter would fit, I still hesitated until 23ac confirmed the final letter. At 40 mins, this was harder than average for me. Invariant
  12. Found this hard-going. Maybe a merry lunch didn’t help me this afternoon… Lots of pencilled answers that proved correct, but failed with 16d as I offered ‘bitter’.
    It’s a good job I have this site to visit to check out my solution.
    Too many unparsed guesses to be comfortable today. It’s nice to be right, but better to have parsed everything first!
    FOI 7a, LOI 16d, COD 9d.
    Lovely misdirections, Rongo!
  13. Took me longer than usual at 35 minutes. Managed the left hand-side quite easily and then came to a grinding halt. Enjoyed gradually sorting it all out. Lackey was brilliantly clued, I loved fearlessly too, but my favourite today has to be meringue… as I enjoy making (and eating!) them. MM

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