A very nice puzzle by Jalna for us this morning at the more friendly end of the spectrum. It took me just 7:41, so I am expecting some fast times.
How did everyone else get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (abc)* indicates an anagram of abc, ~ marks insertion points and strike-through-text shows deletions.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Manoeuvre against part of the church? (8) |
| CONSPIRE – CON (against) + SPIRE (part of the church). Manoeuvre as a verb here. | |
| 5 | Product info should properly educate consumers first and foremost (4) |
| SPEC – Formed from the first letters of (“first and foremost”) of Should Properly Educate Consumers. | |
| 8 | Pine for the holiday season? (9,4) |
| CHRISTMAS TREE – A cryptic clue, with pine as in the tree rather than as in to long for. | |
| 10 | Panic from a Liberal member (5) |
| ALARM – A L (a Liberal) + ARM (member). “Member” for a limb of the body is another of the Crosswordland staples which one learns; it can often also imply Leg. | |
| 11 | Denounce synopsis (3,4) |
| RUN DOWN – A DD. As two word clues often are. | |
| 12 | Stylish young woman wearing corduroy on vacation (6) |
| CLASSY – LASS (young woman) inserted into (“wearing”) C~Y (corduroy “on vacation”, ie with middle letters removed).
One doesn’t see corduroy trousers (or cords) so often these days, but they were ubiquitous in my youth, and very comfortable too. I’m not sure they were ever considered that classy though. |
|
| 13 | Claim the lot, say, here at the end (6) |
| ALLEGE – ALL (the lot) + EG (say) + E (last letter of herE, given by “at the end”). | |
| 16 | Disgusting public argument possibly following outside broadcast (7) |
| OBSCENE – OB (outside broadcast) + SCENE (public argument). | |
| 18 | Police officer — one time — is to suffer punishment (3,2) |
| COP IT – COP (police officer) + I (one) + T (time).
The verb to cop is derived from the Old French caper (“to seize”) and Latin capere (“to take”) – from which we also get the word capture. It was used from the early 18th century for the action of arresting someone, and when organised police forces were established in the 19th century the person doing the arresting – ie a policeman – became known as a copper. This was later shortened to just cop, these days the more common usage of the word (and more often in the plural, as “the cops”). But the verb form of the word lives on in the British English idiom “to cop it”. |
|
| 20 | Documentary evidence of account? (4,9) |
| BANK STATEMENT – A second cryptic clue. | |
| 21 | Ruminants heading west for long grass (4) |
| REED – DEER (ruminants) reversed (“heading west”). | |
| 22 | Man pares fresh cheese with rind (8) |
| PARMESAN – (man pares)*, with the anagram indicator being “fresh”.
I think Jalna is trying to be helpful for us QC solvers by adding “with rind” – I suspect he would omit the words for a 15×15 clue – but Parmesan is far from the only cheese with a rind. |
|
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Drink companies finish off Coca-Cola (5) |
| COCOA – CO + CO (a pair of companies) + A (“finish off”, ie last letter of, Coca-ColA). | |
| 2 | Travelling in an RV around America is bliss (7) |
| NIRVANA – (in an RV)*, with the anagram indicator being “travelling”, with A (America) inserted into it.
Nirvana is one of the few words in English borrowed directly from Sanskrit, where its literal meaning is “blown out” or “extinguished”. It is use in Buddhism to describe the extinguishing of the flames of desire and delusion, and represents the ultimate cessation of suffering and achievement of liberation from human ills. |
|
| 3 | Royal Mail workers arranged mass protest (11) |
| POSTMASTERS – (mass protest)*, with the anagram indicator being “arranged”. | |
| 4 | Comment concerning swindler’s victim (6) |
| REMARK – RE (concerning) + MARK (swindler’s victim).
This meaning of Mark originated in the 18th century, when dishonest game operators at fairs and festivals would “mark” a person they could easily trick into playing a rigged game (sometimes physically with a discreet chalk mark on their back, more often just by pointing him out), to signal to other hustlers that this person was easy to take advantage of. |
|
| 6 | European city left with nothing (5) |
| PORTO – PORT (left) + O (nothing). Again Jalna has been helpful by adding the word “European” to the clue.
Porto is named after its historical position as a harbour, and in Roman times it had the Latin name Portus Cale, made up of Portus (port/harbour) and Cale, the name of the Celtic settlement located at the mouth of the Douro River. Over time, the name simplified to Portucale and eventually just Porto, with the full name becoming used for the territory the port served – the modern Portugal. Porto was the only significant port in this part of Portugal and was frequently just called O Porto (Portuguese for “The Port”) – from where the English name for the city, Oporto, comes. |
|
| 7 | Remove dirty material from lists in church (7) |
| CLEANSE – LEANS (lists) in C~E (church). | |
| 9 | Green claims about dairy product (6,5) |
| SINGLE CREAM – (green claims)*, with the anagram indicator being “about”. | |
| 12 | Belt and stuff to wear (7) |
| CLOBBER – Another DD. | |
| 14 | Old device for extracting juice fast (7) |
| EXPRESS – EX (old) + PRESS (device for extracting juice). | |
| 15 | Advanced study set up to include Virginia or another state (6) |
| NEVADA – A (advanced) + DEN (study), all reversed (“set up”) and then with VA (Virginia) inserted into it. | |
| 17 | Appreciation of some well-chosen seats (5) |
| SENSE – A hidden, in well-choSEN SEats, with the hidden indicator being “some”.
This was almost the only clue where I had to think a bit harder about the definition. But sense as appreciation is inherent in, for example, “a sense of humour”. |
|
| 19 | Little bird ahead of an enormous one (5) |
| TITAN – TIT (little bird) + AN (from the clue). | |
A straightforward solve. 7:15 for me. LOI was CLOBBER. Earlier when I only had the C and O checkers I tried to justify CLOTHES (stuff to wear) without success, obviously.
6:24
Straightforward, although I did pause for a moment at SENSE. Adding detail to the clue, like ‘with rind’, may actually make the clue harder: whether the cheese has a rind or not is irrelevant, but could lead the solver to waste time sorting cheeses, while ‘man pares fresh cheese’ tout court almost forces the solver to think (man pares)*.
I agree re. ‘with rind’ making the clue more complicated rather than less.
5:16 here, quite a cracking time!
I agree this was a friendly puzzle. My only problem was that single cream was an unknown, but the anagram letters make it perfectly clear. I actually took the time to carefully check the anagram letters before stopping the clock.
Time: 5:47
7 minutes. My best time this week. I realised on reading the blog that I didn’t think about the parsing of REMARK, just biffed it and moved on.
And another fast time here at 12.14. LOI was remark and like Jack, looked at the crossers, read the first word of the clue and bunged it in.
Liked Christmas tree, thanks Jalna
Thanks Cedric for the extra info, interesting that copper comes from cop, we assumed it was the other way around.
As others have said – gentle and enjoyable.
Started with SPEC and finished with BANK STATEMENT in 5.28.
Thanks to Cedric and Jalna
I manages it in a little over 6 despite finding that the letters were being entered in the wrong direction 🙁
I expect some might complain that it was too easy, but it was good to have a sensible puzzle – nothing daft or controversial for a change. Thanks Jalna and Cedric!
6:41. Very nice, and my third fastest recorded time ever. Joint COD to all the ones beginning with C: CONSPIRE, CLASSY, COCOA, COP IT, CLOBBER and CLEANSE.
Thanks to Jalna and thank you Cedric for the blog
3:11 which is about as fast as I can fill in the grid on paper since they made it bigger. Only CONSPIRE and REED skipped on the run through of the clues. Fun puzzle, though. Thanks. Jalna and Cedric.
Mine looks like the first of the slower times at 16.50 all parsed. I simply took a relaxed Saturday morning wander through this nice puzzle with a coffee. I enjoyed both and am glad to see Jalna back setting a real QC after his last 3 or 4 more taxing offerings (for me, at least; this goes without saying).
Thanks to Jalna and Cedric (I agree about the redundant cheese rind).
Nice friendly puzzle after a difficult week. Much enjoyed.
Liked LOI CLOBBER, CHRISTMAS TREE, CLASSY, PORTO and NIRVANA, amongst others.
Thanks vm, Cedric.
A nice puzzle for a Saturday before having to go to work. CONSPIRE and NEVADA took the longest time to solve. I was sure the answer to 15d was going to be a US state which had the letters VA (Virginia) in it.
PARMESAN – the word rind in the clue would not have helped me whether it was there or not, as I only know Parmesan as that awful smelly grated cheese that people insist on putting on their meals. How anybody could eat a meal with something smelling that bad on it I’ll never know. When I was in the Navy I could instantly tell we had spaghetti bolognese as soon as I walked into the dining rooms onboard by the stench of the cheese hitting me. 🤮🤣
First Lap: 8
Answered (no help): 24
Answered (help): Nil
DNF: Nil
Time: 29:59
At least you know what to expect. Some French cheeses eg Reblochon can easily go from delightful to stinking the fridge out in about two days.
Surely “stinking the fridge out” and “delightful” are synonymous?!
Wholeheartedly agree. In a similar vein, a Brie that is not running off the edges of the plate is not yet ready for consumption.
Couldn’t agree more! A ripe Reblochon is my favourite cheese.
I’m with you, I’ve never understood why anyone would intentionally ruin a perfectly decent spag bol by showering it in that stuff.
From COCOA to NEVADA in 6:03. A gentle offering. Thanks Jalna and Cedric.
3:53
Slightly slow to take off but all acrosses bar 1a and 11a filled in on first pass. Made filling in the downs very straightforward. Very gentle on the whole.
Thanks Cedric and Jalna
5:59 for the solve. That’s in my top 10 times and I spent a good 45secs on BANK-STATEMENT at the end misdirected by the cryptic whereas CHRISTMAS-TREE went straight in. Nice to rip through a QC after what was an otherwise slow week for me.
It also gives me my second sub-30 parksolve as I ran 23:09 this morning on a hilly trail course. Maybe the bloodflow to the brain was still pumping.
Thanks to Cedric and Jalna.
Breezeblocked by BANK STATEMENT. Just couldn’t see it, and as the clock ticked I got more and more panicked!
Got there for 07:55 for a Disappointing Day.
Many thanks Jalna and Cedric. COD to CHRISTMAS TREE.
13:10
Thought I might have been on for a rare sub 10 but came unstuck on ALLEGE and LOI CONSPIRE which added over 3 minutes between them. Otherwise nice and easy.
After yesterday’s struggle, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to a Saturday Jalna, but my concern was completely misplaced, and a steady top to bottom solve gave me a comfortable sub-20 finish.
If you ever go to Porto, I can recommend the supervised Arrábida bridge climb: perfectly safe and some terrific views from under the central span.
CoD to Classy. Invariant
Gentle one today. Paused at the end to solve ALLEGE, otherwise everything went in very smoothly. Thanks Jalna. Interesting blog Cedric – many thanks.
A leisurely late-morning solve with no issues. LOI CONSPIRE, where Manoeuvre = CONSPIRE was a bit of a stretch, I thought. Makes more sense with ‘manoeuvre against’, but that is part of the wordplay.
Lovely crossword, nothing too easy, but no long pauses. 8a caused a chuckle, but 20a? Dont get it – its a coffee time clue. Thanks to Jalna and Cedric. My memory of Porto is being summond there from Lisbon by a very senior manager, I had to take an internal Portugese flight which turned out to be a WW2 vintage Dakota. I was so scared of the flight that the meeting was a breeze by comparison. Subsequent research revealed that (if nobody is shooting at it) the Dakota has an excellent safety record, it is just too simple to go wrong.
17 mins
Agree this was very accessible without being trivial, with a range of cryptic devices used. Lovely anagram at 9d I thought.
FOI Christmas Tree
LOI Allege
COD Single Cream
Thanks Jalna and CS for an informative blog
Pigpen
13 mins…
A nice, straightforward puzzle for Saturday. Like a few above, started with “Clothes” for 12dn until I realised it wouldn’t fit.
FOI – 1dn “Cocoa”
LOI – 12dn “Clobber”
COD – 12dn “Clobber”
Thanks as usual!
11:15, possibly missed out on a sub 10 by entering ‘deer’ when I knew it was ‘reed’ and then having to work out why ‘clobber’ wouldn’t fit. Silly me.
Nonetheless an enjoyable and relaxing solve and an interesting blog.
Thanks Jalna and Cedric.
I’ll admit to 16:12
8:45, a nice pat on the head from Jalna after my week of horrors (ok, there are worse horrors than bungling a Times Quick Cryptic, I admit it). My childhood education in the names of the parts of a church interior (weird, huh?) always interferes with seeing SPIRE, so put in CON and moved on to FOI SPEC. I managed to remember that I’d seen CLOBBER once before, saving me from an insane urge to put in CrOwBaR. Not familiar with SINGLE CREAM but the CREAM part was clear. I thought CHRISTMAS TREE smooth but too obvious. BANK STATEMENT the second time this week I’ve thought “what’s cryptic about that?”, which again slowed me down, but not as much as before. “With rind” made me pause as I wondered why in the world it was there. I liked TITAN best.
Thanks to Jalna and Cedric.
Well, bucking the trend, it was our worst start for weeks …nothing on first pass until REED (which I initially unhelpfully entered as deer…) quickly followed by PARMESAN – only then did all flow at reasonable speed with no further hold up.
Grateful to whoever previously pointed out that ‘on vacation’ indicates removal of content. Very useful.
Now.. merrily in Oslo and off to an early opera – Barber of Seville.
Happy rest of weekend to all.
A speedy 6:12 for me, definitely in my top few. I know they are not everybody’s favourites, but my two CODs are the long cryptic definitions.
Thanks to Jalna and Cedric.
18 minutes which is exceptionally quick for me.
Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle!
Thanks to the setter and blogger as always.
6.11 Just crept into the top 100. I had to return to LOI CONSPIRE but the rest went straight in. Thanks Cedric and Jalna.
You might be surprised, Cedricc, to hear that corduroy / needlecord is currently having a moment, certainly in M&S’s women’s department! In fact, I have two pairs of cords; perhaps I’m just reliving my 70s youth (but without the massive flares 😂)
This was going well until I got stuck for a minute or two on my LOI. It turned out that I’d written SCENE at 17d (brain and hand not co-ordinating, because I meant to write SENSE!). So that made BANK rather tricky. Going against the grain, I really liked that clue once I got it, although I reckon the very best clue today is actually 7d in the biggie!
9:29 all parsed FOI Spec LOI Bank statement COD Postmasters – well done Jalna, and thanks
Thanks too to Cedric for the interesting blog
REMARK, CLOBBER and ALLEGE my major obstacles, but a steady solve otherwise.
Would it be excessively pedantic to point out that postmasters work for the Post Office, not the Royal Mail.
The latter was privatised in 2012, whereas Post Office Counters Ltd still a state-owned company, in which the (male) manager of a fully owned branch would be a postmaster. Franchised branches are contacted out to sub-postmasters or sub-postmisteesses.
Back when there was. General Post Office, there was a Postmaster General who ran it, but not since 1969, and even then, the Royal Mail worked for the Postmaster General, not vice versa.
How would you clue it given you will want to avoid using “Post Office” in a clue which has an answer beginning “Post…” ?
“Mail service employee” would be accurate.
Not pedantic at all, and thanks for the education 🙂
How pleasant to end a busy Saturday with an easier QQ. Plenty of very good clues, but nothing too teasing. Just what was needed for a frazzled brain and body this evening.
FOI 5a Spec
LOI 1a Conspire
COD 14d Express.
Not sure how I rescued this one, but I crossed the line in around half an hour (about average for me), despite an atrocious start. I had hardly anything entered into the grid as I approached 15 minutes. Lots of partial ideas, but very few fully solved clues. Somehow, though, it came together and I picked up pace.
Many thanks to Jalna and Cedric.
10:27 here, which is pretty speedy for me but seems fairly glacial in comparison with many of you. A very pleasant way to wind down on a Saturday evening, thank you Jalna.
And thank you to Cedric for the blog, interesting and entertaining as always!
What happened to Saturday. Lost in a shambles of builders, everyday tasks, a plumbing nightmare and what seemed like hours trying to book flights to fit overlapping family members’ schedules. Finished in 16 minutes while expecting a blocker which never arrived. Enjoyed, thanks Jalna and Cedric for a nice blog.
Now off to the driving range while there is a break in the rain.