Quick Cryptic 3284 BY Cheeko – Times for The Times

Quite a fun mid-level puzzle, with some write-ins as well as some stiffer clues. I was interrupted mid-solve, but I reckon 6 minutes

Across
1	Composer from New Harlem (6)
	MAHLER – anagram (‘new’) of HARLEM
4	Starts to alter bus route in a foreign country (6)
	ABROAD – A[~~LTER~~] + B[US] + ROAD
8	Dull Head of Theology cut gospel (7)
	MATTHEW – MAT (dull) + T for Theology + HEW
10	Clean seats returned around back of stage (5)
	SWEEP – PEWS backwards around E
11	Pound pinched by rebuked infant (5)
	CHILD – CHID with L inserted
12	Criminal harm that primarily involves old British chemicals company (7)
	ILLICIT – ILL (harm) + T[~~HAT~~] with ICI inserted.
13	Gloomy, small, unnaturally pale bird (5,4)
	BLACK SWAN – BLACK + S + WAN
17	Element extracted from half of Cava? (7)
	CALCIUM – half of Cava is Ca, the chemical symbol for calcium
19	Spear second fish (5)
	SPIKE – s + PIKE
20	Smutty pair of ducks kept in pen (5)
	SOOTY – OO (pair of ducks) inside STY. Smut originally meant soot, before the other meaning arose.
21	Section of Arctic or, better, Scottish mountain (7)
	CORBETT – Hidden word. A corbett is a mountain between 2500 and 3000ft. Over 3000ft and it becomes a munro. I don’t make the rules.
22	Friends divided by extremely naïve juries (6)
	PANELS – PALS ‘divided’ by N[~~AÏV~~]E
23	Fool shortened her dress (6)
	CLOTHE – CLOT + HE[R]

Down
1	Several Roman cardinals Saint copies (6)
	MIMICS – M,I,M,I,C are all Roman cardinal numbers. Add S for saint.
2	Bahrain lot worried about toilet in light craft (3-3,7)
	HOT-AIR BALLOON – anagram (‘worried’) of BAHRAIN LOT around LOO
3	Chained wild animal (7)
	ECHIDNA – anagram (‘wild’) of CHAINED
5	Herb’s son protected by legal security? (5)
	BASIL – S with BAIL outside
6	Find cover note somehow cocky (13)
	OVERCONFIDENT – anagram (‘somehow’) of FIND COVER NOTE
7	Stores discontinued, having no heart to make a comeback (6)
	DEPOTS – STOPPED with its ‘heart’ (middle letter, i.e. P) removed, reversed
9	Drink — it beats “YMCA” dancing (6,3)
	WHISKY MAC – WHISK (‘it beats’) + anagram (‘dancing’) of YMCA. Scotch with ginger ale, short for Whisky Macdonald
14	Spendthrift wife alerts Dicky (7)
	WASTREL – W + anagram (‘dicky’) of ALERTS
15	Behaves badly in court after a drink (4,2)
	ACTS UP – CT (court) after A + SUP
16	Irritate weed (6)
	NETTLE – double definition
18	Off and on, fiddly lines in picturesque scene (5)
	IDYLL – Alternate letters of fIdDlY + LL (lines)

96 comments on “Quick Cryptic 3284 BY Cheeko”

What *is* the nina for Cheeko puzzles?

Also, what on earth does ‘dicky’ mean that could make it an anagram indicator?

jackkt says:

25 April 2026 at 12:13 AM

Dicky can mean upset as in having a dicky tummy.

Reply

96 comments on “Quick Cryptic 3284 BY Cheeko”