Quick Cryptic 1554 by Breadman

Author   CuraristPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
So 8 minutes for me. Compound anagrams are the theme of the day, plus some well-disguised hidden words. LOI 11 ac, which I spent an age staring at for no good reason. Overthinking it again, I suppose.

Across
1 Travel pioneer, one who doubted worker in galley? (6,4)
THOMAS COOK – (doubting) THOMAS + COOK
8 Curious, like returning top-class Japanese fighter once (7)
SAMURAI – RUM AS backwards + AI
9 Reportedly, those people in that place (5)
THERE – sounds like THEIR.
**EDIT** I agree with the comments, the homophone should be THEY’RE
10 It’s a strange sort of wine (4)
ASTI – anagram (‘strange’) of IT’S A
11 I’m off food completely (8)
FAREWELL – FARE (food) + WELL (completely)
13 Wart uncovered in feline voicebox (6)
LARYNX – WART ‘uncovered’ is AR, inside LYNX
14 One of five children initially offered a substitute for rice? (6)
QUINOA – QUIN + O + A
17 At work, Sue, Ned and Edward like some grapes? (8)
UNSEEDED – anagram (‘at work’) of  NED SUE with ED on the end
19 Wicket in children’s game is part of branch (4)
TWIG – W inside TIG
21 Musical composer left note inside organ (5)
ELGAR – L + G (note) inside EAR
22 Smart alec in work now allegedly (4-3)
KNOW-ALL – hidden word: worK NOW ALLegedly
23 Rosy person who photographs Atlantic foodfish (3,7)
RED SNAPPER – self explanatory
Down
2 Rodent the rams disturbed (7)
HAMSTER – anagram (‘disturbed’) of THE RAMS
3 Extra mushroom left out (4)
MORE – MOREL minus L for left
4 Mum, on air, drunk on unknown wine (6)
SHIRAZ – SH (mum, as in ‘keep mum’) + anagram (‘drunk’) of AIR + Z (unknown)
5 In Piedmont, her uncle’s trying to avoid capture (2,3,3)
ON THE RUN – hidden word: PiedmONT HER UNcle
6 Vegetable pulled up, with energy, somewhere in Staffordshire (5)
KEELE – LEEK backwards plus E for energy
7 Underworld slang broadcast absorbing European ruffian on bike (5,5)
HELLS ANGEL – HELL + anagram (‘broadcast’) of SLANG with E added in
8 Former slapstick comic scattered ants on bay tree (4,6)
STAN LAUREL – anagram (‘scattered’) of ANTS plus LAUREL (the bay tree is also known as the bay laurel)
12 In French earth, duke is buried (8)
INTERRED – IN + TERRE + D
15 Experimental type of music regenerated wife on avenue (3,4)
NEW WAVE – NEW (regenerated) + W + AVE
16 Idiot wearing jacket with sleeves missing (6)
JERKIN – JERK + IN (wearing)
18 Half suck garish sweet substance (5)
SUGAR – SUCK + GARISH
20 Sound of dove above quiet animal enclosure (4)
COOP – COO + P

58 comments on “Quick Cryptic 1554 by Breadman”

  1. An 8 minute solve restored things to normal after yesterday’s aberration on my part.

    I note we would have a pangram but for a missing B.

    Re 17ac I think our setter may be confused about UNSEEDED as that’s to do with (e.g.) tennis players or it can refer to land which remains ‘unsown’. It has nothing to do with grapes which if they come without pips are said to be SEEDLESS.

    I also have doubts about the homophone at 9ac. Surely ‘those people’ are ‘they’ or ‘them’ neither of which sounds like THERE? I’d have thought we needed something meaning ‘their’ or ‘they are / they’re’ to clue the sound-alike.

    Edited at 2020-02-21 07:39 am (UTC)

    1. From ODE: UNSEEDED (of a grape) not having seeds.‘Seeded grapes are not as appealing as unseeded grapes.’
      Regardless, I would see seedless and unseeded as synonyms, if only on the banker = river sort of analogy

      Edited at 2020-02-21 08:11 am (UTC)

      1. Thanks for the ODE reference which I no longer have access to (cutbacks at the library) and I note it’s also in the OED though not in COED or the two-volume SOED. Also not in Chambers or Collins as far as I can see. It still seems wrong to me but I agree the setter is off the hook on that one.
          1. I think we’re at cross purposes, Jerry, due to the confusing titles given to their dictionaries by Oxford and my inability to read your first message properly which clearly referred to ODE rather than OED. As far as I can work it out the main ones are as follows:

            Concise Oxford English Dictionary (COED), the smallest of the hardback editions – the one I used in my schooldays and for a long time one of the standard sources for Times Crosswords.

            Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE), somewhat larger than the Concise, but still only one volume. This the one that I think corresponds with the Lexico online dictionary (ODO) that you posted a link to and IIRC either Richard R or Peter B, or possibly both, have confirmed is the Oxford dictionary favoured by Times crosswords these days. It’s also the one used by the Oxford lexicographer Susie Dent in her position as resident adjudicator on the TV game-show Countdown and as a fan of the programme I never fail to be amazed at the everyday words she disallows because they don’t appear in it, so I don’t regard it as the most reliable of sources.

            The dictionary that I no longer have access to is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) consisting of 20 volumes with the most detailed examples of usage and etymology imaginable. My county council used fund access on-line via the library system but this was withdrawn a couple of years ago.

            Edited at 2020-02-21 09:50 am (UTC)

              1. .. because google is not a dictionary. The results may be authoritative, or they may be totally flaky. With an Oxford dictionary, we know where we are 😉
  2. I could have been a bit faster if I hadn’t had a senior moment and failed to come up with COOK’s first name; as it was I needed the H. Bunged in QUINOA from the wordplay, while not knowing what quinoa was. I had the same doubts as Jack about UNSEEDED and THERE. In the first case I just shrugged and figured maybe the Brits say it instead of ‘seedless’; in the second, I paused a little longer, then figured the hell with it. But I don’t see how the clue can be saved. 5:39.
    1. I think ‘Reportedly, those people are in that place’ would have worked, sounding like “they’re”.
  3. parsed me by. I was far more interested in 14ac QUINOA which is toute le rage and

    my FOI THOMAS COOK the finally failed travel agency, so this isn’t really advertising! Thomas came from Evington, Leicester, and was good buddies with E. Phillips Oppenheim, and Sax Rohmer – the subject matter of my latest book. He died many a yonk ago: it was his two sons who made the business it is was it was just a few weeks ago.

    LOI 11ac FAREWELL my lovely.

    COD 7dn HELL’S ANGEL

    WOD 4dn SHIRAZ

    12 minutes – a bit chewy like 14ac

    Edited at 2020-02-21 08:35 am (UTC)

  4. Difficult from Breadman today I thought; particularly if the required GK does not come to mind quickly.
    FOI was KEELE, a place I know well. My first thought was Leek which is a town in Staffs; not sure if this was a deliberate trap.
    After that steady progress,but thinking this was quite hard. After 15 minutes I needed two. Evenetually I got KNOW-ALL and LOI was JERKIN; just couldn’t think of the name of the jacket. 18:55 in the end.
    COD to FAREWELL. David
  5. 10.45 today, and 9 times out of 10 when I put a cross next to a clue because I think the clue is wrong I come here and discover I’m the one that’s wrong. But today I’m holding is the 1 in 10 as the clue for THERE is grammatically wrong as others have said. Shame as otherwise liked the puzzle.

    I’m still not sure why completely means well either in 11ac.

    NeilC

  6. Both ‘well’ and ‘completely’ can be used for emphasis:

    She has a close group of friends who are well / completely aware of what she has suffered.

  7. 17 minutes, with delays for LOI SHIRAZ where I couldn’t see what was going on, and 9a which is a bad clue IMHO. I also did a scan for a pangram within my time, to reach the same conclusion as Jackkt – B for Breadman is AWOL. I would usually say seedless, but I’m not upset by UNSEEDED. COD to HAMSTER for reminding me of Manuel in Fawlty Towers. Thanks C.

    Edited at 2020-02-21 08:42 am (UTC)

  8. I’m with Neil on this. I came with crosses for both 9 and 11ac.
    9 just doesn’t work.
    11. I agree that both well and completely can be used for emphasis. But they mean different amounts.
    I was well on the way there. I was completely there.
    It was well known. It was completely known.

    Alan

    1. My children would agree with you – “It was well good” means “It was very good”, not “It was completely good”. I think the sense is the same in Matthew 3:17.

      Edited at 2020-02-21 09:34 am (UTC)

  9. 24:38 which is pretty quick for me and a relief after yesterday’s hopeless DNF. Nevermind UNSEEDED and THERE, what the hell’s tig, which I guessed from the rest? Didn’t spot KNOW-ALL for ages, and was trying to summon up gilet when faced with the delightful JERKIN. Thank you Breadman and Curarist.
    1. “Tig” is another word for “tag”: “a game in which the player who is ‘it’ chases others and tries to touch one of them who then becomes ‘it’.”
          1. I grew up in Coventry playing tig, especially off-ground tig. If you were off the ground, you couldn’t be tigged.
            1. First 300 references in google do not have tig as a childerens game I got Twig instantaneously but rejected it as my children, my grandchildren ani have never heard of it
              1. Last year the NYT ran a quiz that guessed where you grew up based on certain dialect options (e.g. tea vs dinner vs supper). Tig vs tag vs it was one of them.
              2. As mentioned by Jerry above, Google is not a dictionary so there’s little point in consulting it to check the existence or meanings of words. Generally speaking Collins and the Oxford Dictionary of English (both available free online) should cover any word or meaning you are likely to need for a Times crossword and TIG for ‘tag’ is in both of them. And also in Chambers for good measure.
  10. I started well from the top (for a change) and got a third of the way down before I was halted by FAREWELL and LOI HELLS ANGEL (good clues). In the end, I was a little over 3K but it seemed much quicker. I liked the (well) hiddens plus JERKIN, and LARYNX. An enjoyable end to the week. Thanks to both. John M.

    Edited at 2020-02-21 09:42 am (UTC)

  11. Very fast through most of this, pausing to award a coveted Golden Raspberry to 9ac, and then a shuddering halt for my last two, JERKIN and FAREWELL. With JERKIN I spent ages thinking the fool was a “berk” rather than a jerk”, and it’s only while I’ve been typing this that I’ve realised why “in” = “wearing”! So that was self-inflicted. But as per the debate above, I think “completely” for “well” doesn’t really work, so I’m mer-ing that one. In the end it was 2.8K which has to go down as an Indifferent Day.

    FOI & COD THOMAS COOK, LOI FAREWELL.

    Thanks Readman (no B) and curarist.

    Templar

  12. Same view as others as regards THERE. I’ll grudgingly accept UNSEEDED and FAREWELL.

    However my biggest beef is with 15D. Something new is generated. If it’s then regenerated it has ceased to be new surely !

    Finished within target with a great sense of dissatisfaction.

    FOI THOMAS COOK (not James of that ilk)
    LOI UNSEEDED (to me, it infers seeds have been removed)
    COD HELL’S ANGEL (ruffian may be pushing it)

  13. Raced through two thirds of this, but then slowed to a crawl with Jerkin, There and Hells Angles, before finally coming to a halt with just 11ac remaining. Kept on trying alphabet trawls on *a*e*e*l, but needed a cup of tea before eventually seeing what was going on. Not the friendliest of cluing, but should have seen Farewell sooner. Invariant
    1. ‘They’re’ would fit with ‘those people are’ but the clue just has ‘those people’.
  15. I’m well stuffed and I couldn’t eat another thing.

    I don’t see this has anywhere to go as it’s arguing over semantics and the dictionaries support the setter.

  16. 11ac LOI – apart from that would have had clean sweep, so a near-best time of under 6 minutes. Seeing JQXZ neatly grouped round centre meant I thought we had a pangram, seeing KV&W but didn’t notice missing B. For 6ac I was OK with the grapes, and took “those people” to be “they’re”, but didn’t think much about parsing clue, being on track for a personal best.

    I’ve not tried to use it for a while, but I found that it was possible to join the Manchester public library even if you weren’t a resident, on the strength of membership of your local one, so giving online access to OED and other major references.

  17. As others, I was less than happy with 9a, although the answer was plain enough given the crossers. THOMAS COOK was my FOI, JERKIN too a while to see and FAREWELL needed staring at for some time before it became my LOI. 8:09. Thanks Breadman and Curarist.
  18. About 30 mins for me – main hold up being my LOI 11ac “Farewell”.

    I quite enjoyed this, although I do share the iffiness about 9ac “There”. Can’t get too excited about the difference between Unseeded and Seedless to be honest – I thought it was fair.

    FOI – 2dn “Hamster”
    LOI – 11ac “Farewell”
    COD – 4dn “Shiraz” – took a while to get the Mum reference

    Thanks as usual.

  19. In enjoyed the serendipitous mention at 12D, even though it’s not my Friday this week. I agree 9A seems to be missing an “are” and came here to check I hadn’t got one wrong when I couldn’t find the B to complete the pangram. 5:58.
  20. Finished in 6:58.

    The travel agent went in first, and FAREWELL was my parting shot.

    None of the clues that bothered others held me up, nor even elicited a twtching eyebrow.

  21. Having succumbed to a cold virus I happily biffed quite a few of the clues that others have queried i.e. NEW WAVE, THERE, JERKIN. I did wonder how the IN in the latter meant wearing but just went with it. I misread galley as gallery so the COOK part of 1a took some time to solve. I also never heard Tag called Tig so trawled the alphabet to be sure. My biggest bugbear was my LOI 11a FAREWELL. Not withstanding dictionary entries I just couldn’t see how WELL meant completely. Hopefully I will remember this going forward. Home in a sluggish 14:22.
  22. Nice end to the week – we finished in 10 minutes – our fastest ever time. Bit of a relief after the last 2 days which were much more challenging.

  23. I managed most of this over lunch on paper (so no proper time – well over 30 mins) but got totally stuck with 11ac and 7dn. Couldn’t even guess at the answers (except that ‘angel’ would fit in 7dn) so no chance of biffing and post-parsing. Eventually got there by dint of trying a few letters in the online app and eventually the penny dropped.

    Couldn’t parse 1ac or 8ac either, so thanks Curarist for the enlightenment..

  24. About 15 mins, but a bit of a dull experience
    Lots of Crosswordland only stuff and/or donkeys years out of date
    Stan Laurel – my dad was a fan otherwise would never of heard of him
    Terre – ok for me but what about anyone who did Spanish or Chinese at school
    Unseeded – agree with comments above Never mind what it has in dictionary- it doesn’t mean that now
    QC was supposed to be designed to bring in new solvers, I am 64 and I find it very dated -speak up -is anyone under 60 even vaguely interested?
    I can’t help feeling that QC is an opportunity missed, you certainly won’t get any 20 somethings rising to this bait
    1. I’m 47 – ok, probably on the wrong side of young now, but I quite enjoy some of the old (dated?) expressions. I’ve learned quite a lot from doing these crosswords and that’s partly the appeal.

      Contrary to what you’ve said – I’ve seen quite a few modern expressions used.

    2. I’m 35 and I must say some of the clues are massively antiquated and essentially unsolvable for someone new to this my age and under. Not so much today, but in other quizzes. Oddly, I got Stan.

      Can anyone tell me why Z means unknown? Thanks

      1. The typical algebraic equations use x, y and z as the unknown values to be determined. Any of these can equate to “unknown ” in the wacky world of cryptic crosswords .
        1. Thank you! I’d have got that with “x” but had not heard of “y” or “z” before. Thanks.
      2. A nodding acquaintance with mathematics is required where x, y and z are the three unknown or variable quantities.
    3. I’m 55 but the QC has been instrumental in getting all my three sons (oldest 24) hooked on cryptic crosswords so it’s definitely done its job in my family!
  25. Looked very daunting at first, but after a few clues solved I plodded through and managed to finish when FAREWELL at last cam to mind. Like many others I did not like THERE (THEY’RE) and not keen on UNSEEDED rather than SEEDLESS. Don’t often see unseeded grapes in Tesco!
  26. So a satisfactory day for me. Same main issues as above, but not slowed by them, and generally enjoyed this. Liked Shiraz, once I’d unbottled it. Plymouthian
  27. I enjoyed this one. I agree 9a needed an ‘are’ so the homophone was they’re, doesn’t work as it is. Took a long time to get farewell but I think it works ok. Not started timing myself yet as I am a beginner and to be honest I think it will loose some of it’s appeal if/ when I can do it as quickly as most of you! My husband always called it tig by the way while I knew it as tag!
  28. Must have been on Breadman’s wavelength today, as I whizzed (for me) through this in a second best ever 18:01. By the time I’d gone through all the clues (I try not to use the checkers too much before I’ve had a go at solving all the clues from scratch) I only had four left, but unfortunately only about 8 seconds to get a pb. 11a, 14a and 17a went in straight away when I looked again at them with the checkers in place, which left only JERKIN which took a while as I had only very vaguely heard of it. As nobody seems to be saying it was dead easy, I am well/completely pleased.
  29. I’m getting to these very late in the day as a result of my husband’s insistence that we visit lots of Jerez bodegas…. Anyway, I found today’s puzzle fairly straightforward until I came a cropper on FAREWELL. That puts me in the unhappy gang who find “well” and “completely” far from the same thing. I also see the issues with the homophone in 9 across although it didn’t stop me from solving it. Lots of nice clues today, also, though–my COD is 23 across which I happen to like both metaphorically, as here, and gastronomically, as I may well encounter sometime this weekend. Thanks so much to blogger and setter.
  30. Like desdeeloeste I read gallery instead of galley at 1a so spent a long time considering whether THOMAS TATE might have existed. The ‘o’ from 5d just confused me even more. The rest of the puzzle went in fairly quickly despite a couple of iffy clues before I ended up back in the NE. Fortunately I rediscovered the ability to read and COOK led to KEELE before I finished with that rather uninspiring food stuff at 14a. Finished in 10.55.
    Thanks for the blog
  31. … in 12D, and not a language I speak well, so I think I need a French dictionary as well as the OED! One accepts the articles and words like en for in, but am I wholly alone in thinking that a knowledge of French nouns of 5 letters, as terre is, is asking a bit much in an English language QC?

    Otherwise one of the results of solving late is that others have already explored whether 9A is a good clue (I join the doubters) and whether well is the same as completely. I see the majority verdict on the latter is that “Yes it is”, to which I can only reply “Completely I never”.

    That apart a nice puzzle and a 9 minute solve. Thanks to Curarist and Breadman, and a good weekend to all.

    Cedric

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