Quick Cryptic 161 by Mara

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
In case of problems accessing the puzzle it can be found here: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141020/293/

Either we have a new setter name or there is a typo in today’s heading. We’ve had many a puzzle by Mara previously but this is the first I’ve noticed by Marav. [The Editor confirms below it should have read Mara]

11 minutes for this fairly straightforward offering. There’s no obscure General Knowledge apart perhaps from an old musical instrument and a couple of biblical references that may not be familiar to some. The priest is standard crossword fare though, so needs to be learnt, and the book of the Bible is one of the more familar ones. It could be useful to swot up on books of the Bible and their abbreviated names.There are rather more double definitions than usual, I think.

Deletions are indicated by curly brackets

Across
1 Poor side in cricket going about brand new game (9)
BADMINTON – BAD (poor), MINT (brand new), ON (side in cricket)
6 Donkey covered in molasses (3)
ASS – Hidden [covered] inside molASSes
8 A silent suspect, conspicuous (7)
SALIENT – Anagram [suspect] of A SILENT
9 Smoke in garage starts to fill vehicle (5)
CIGAR – I{n} + G{arage} inside CAR (vehicle)
10 Young lady produced wine, I gathered (12)
MADEMOISELLE – MADE (produced) then ‘I’ inside MOSELLE (wine)
12 Untidy, muddled exposure (6)
NUDITY – Anagram [muddled] of UNTIDY
13 Idiot in retired nincompoop (6)
NITWIT – IN reversed, TWIT (nincompoop)
16 Any video game is unintelligible first time out (6,6)
MAIDEN VOYAGE – Anagram [unintelligible] of ANY VIDEO GAME
19 Harmful thing, priest inhaling carbon monoxide (1,4)
E COLI – CO (carbon monoxide) inside ELI (priest – in Books of Samuel)
20 Train entire cast to captivate you, finally (7)
RETINUE –  {yo}U inside anagram [cast] of ENTIRE
22 Give voice, perhaps (3)
SAY – Double definition
23 Reference the tail of an old reptile? (9)
THESAURUS – THE, SAURUS (tail of an old reptile – e.g. brontosaurus)

Down
1 Sculpture in pieces (4)
BUST – Double definition
2 Failure to inspire a couple of learners, a right dunce! (7)
DULLARD – LL (couple of learners) + A + R (right) inside DUD (failure). ‘Inspire’ is the enclosure indicator.
3 Fury, as father blows top (3)
IRE – {s}IRE (father blows top)
4 The military display a particular image on arms? (6)
TATTOO – Double definition. The question mark covers the possibility that tattoos may be somewhere other than on arms.
5 A must to build city with sense (9)
NECESSITY – Anagram [build] of CITY SENSE
6 Guardian article set (5)
ANGEL – AN (article), GEL (set). This is a definition by example as ‘guardian’ is only one type of angel.
7 Unexpected present, old instrument (7)
SERPENT – Anagram [unexpected] of PRESENT
11 Former remits corrected, having little time for zealot (9)
EXTREMIST – EX (former), anagram [corrected] of REMITS, T (little time)
12 Anaesthetists in OT book? (7)
NUMBERS – Double definition, the first being a bit whimsical
14 Vehicle’s driver departed during conflict (7)
WAGONER – GONE (departed) inside WAR (conflict)
15 A piece of poetry that’s unsympathetic (6)
AVERSE – A, VERSE (piece of poetry)
17 White substance that’s key? (5)
IVORY – Double definition, the second with reference to ivory keys e.g. on a piano as illustrated in the expression ‘tickling or tinkling the ivories’ meaning to play said instrument.
18 Canteen in awful state (4)
MESS – Double definition
21 Earl Grey? A character, they say? (3)
TEA – Sounds like the letter (character) ‘T’

19 comments on “Quick Cryptic 161 by Mara”

  1. For some reason I stayed up and can be the first to comment. I printed off the main puzzle and completed it with two not properly parsed and then did the quick cryptic on-line for the first time. Slower than my normal solves after breakfast on paper but without much difficulty. Took a while to get THESAURUS. Also noted that we have a crossover with today’s ST puzzle following couple last week.

    Edited at 2014-10-20 01:18 am (UTC)

  2. A couple of nice clues–I liked 1ac and 10ac, for instance–but a couple of over-easy ones, I’d say,even for a quickie: ‘Earl Grey’? (3), A-VERSE, IVORY. And they surely don’t still make piano keys with ivory, do they? What do they use? I think SERPENT was my LOI; all I could come up with was ‘sackbut’ until I got enough checkers. 6:20.
  3. Even so it took me time to parse dullard and find the dud. Nor could I parse the ire to find the sire. I got caught in the “fire” Nevertheless I got there I the end. I still don’t know enough of the language though. What is a gimme? My Cod was Thesaurus.

    Edited at 2014-10-20 08:20 am (UTC)

  4. 12′ – found this quite challenging, not knowing the instrument and not seeing ‘unintelligible’ as the anagram indicator for a long time. Many nutters in this puzzle, including three at 13 alone!

    The gimmes are no easier than some you find in the Main cryptic, Kevin!

    1. Well, I grant you that one man’s gimme can be another man’s huh?, but still. I’m sure we’ve had SERPENT in a somewhat recentish main cryptic, or even two, or I would never have come up with it this time; and, come to think of it, that suggests to me that it was perhaps a tad inappropriate for a quickie. But then for our musical solvers it was probably a gimme.
      1. What’s a gimme these days when 18 inch putts are not given at the Ryder Cup? (cf Nicklaus and Jacklin) I can find no mention of ‘serpent’ Googling for TffT…

        Edited at 2014-10-20 08:31 am (UTC)

        1. Actually, I hadn’t even thought of golf. The word always reminds me of the lyric (from what song I don’t know) ‘You waltz up to me with a handful of ‘gimme’ and a mouthful of ‘much obliged’. That’s odd about ‘serpent’; maybe it was a Guardian cryptic. It can’t be that I actually knew the word.
    2. I cannot resist regaling you with true story. Few years ago I was in the beautiful Cornish town of St. Ives and one of the pubs was having a trad jazz evening (local lads – probably all retired bank managers, belting out spirited renditions of Tiger Rag etc.).

      At half time, a bloke in the audience (there were about 30 of us all up) wandered over to the band and engaged in discussion. I was hanging around and overheard the conversation.

      “Can I join in for a couple of numbers? I’m on holiday here, got my instrument in the car outside…”
      “Sure – what do you play?”
      “Serpent.”
      “You what?”
      “Sort of like a tuba but bigger…”
      “B*gger me! Bring it on…!”

      And so it was. Bloke reappeared from car park clutching serpent, and provided marvellous additional brassy bass. 100% true.

  5. The setter today is actually Mara – also known, apparently, in the iPad version, as Mavlav (!). How that happened I have absolutely no idea.
    Those with the paper version will have the more familiar (and correct) version.
  6. Gimme may be in your ‘thesaurus’, SW. Its usage has moved from the golfing greens to life more generally with the meaning of something that is easy (‘gimme’ from ‘Will you give me this short putt?’)

    Edited at 2014-10-20 08:27 am (UTC)

  7. 5 mins. Straightforward and enjoyable with DULLARD my LOI after SALIENT. I needed all the checkers before I was happy to enter SERPENT.
  8. 19 minutes with a total absence of Z8! Woohoo!!! Thank you Sotira 🙂 That’s one of my fastest times ever 🙂

    I’m almost as happy as Z8 was on Saturday when he realised he’d come 22nd & earned free entry to next year’s comp!

    COD was THESAURUS & LOI was SERPENT – I guessed sackbut initially but couldn’t make it fit 🙂

    2. Well done!.. very nice to meet you on Saturday, and at this rate I look forward to seeing the first husband & wife team in the finals… 🙂

    3. Congrats munk1puz1. I hope it gives you the confidence to try a few more teetotal. I really noticed that when I forced myself to use aids only as the very, very last resort, my solving took a big step forward 🙂

      Edited at 2014-10-20 09:01 pm (UTC)

  9. At least one maiden has lost their virginity on today’s main cryptic, so if anybody fancies a go, they may find it rewarding.

    Edited at 2014-10-20 02:49 pm (UTC)

  10. I entered dimwit before parsing clue- what a nitwit..otherwise 10minutes for this enjoyable warmup
  11. I began worrying with this one when I only had one of the across clues after first pass. But the downs went in far more readily and the checkers yielded the across clues fairly quickly and led to a reasonably fast solve. All in all, a pleasant crossword with what seems at least one “old chestnut” from the main puzzle, i.e. NUMBERS, maybe also ANGEL for guardian, BUST which I’m sure I’ve seen a few times as well…..

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