Quick Cryptic 36 by Joker

Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
The current link on the Times site is pointing towards last Monday’s puzzle – the correct link should be to: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20140428/141/ The link on the site is now correct.

This is Joker’s fourth QC offering, with his/her previous three falling slightly towards the harder end of the spectrum, based on the blog comments. I would guess that people will see this one as of average difficulty, as there are no obscure words or complicated constructions.

Definitions are underlined.

Across

1 Support was hard for current reversal (8)
BACKWASHBACK (Support) + WAS + H (hard, as seen on pencils). Please refer to Wikipedia if you would like to calculate the surf similarity parameter for a beach near you
5 A repeated noise from screech-owl (4)
ECHO – hidden in screECH-Owl
8 Cry quietly in a public place (5)
SHOUTSH (quietly – they are equivalent when considered as orders) + OUT (in a public place – though residents of Crosswordland are more frequently to be found in, i.e. at home). This is a good example of why the surface of a clue should be ignored for solving purposes, as in this case it misleadingly suggests the weeping meaning of cry rather then the yelling one.
9 Again cover inner surfaces around cold lounge (7)
RECLINERELINE (Again cover inner surfaces) around C (cold, as seen on (some) taps), with lounge being used in the verbal sense. Almost any verb can be given the prefix re to indicate that it is being done again, but RELINE is sufficiently important to merit its own entry in Chambers
11 Trap teen nun that’s gone wild, showing no remorse (11)
UNREPENTANT – anagram (that’s gone wild) of TRAP TEEN NUN. Though I do like a good surface reading, I don’t think it’s possible for nuns (at least in the Catholic Church) to be teenagers.
13 Stupidly grin at sailor (6)
RATING – anagram (Stupidly) of GRIN AT
14 Character left better after the bishop’s gone (6)
LETTERL (left) + bETTER (i.e. better after the removal of the B (bishop’s gone))
17 Acquire direct current warmer as a protection against the climate (11)
WINDCHEATERWIN (Acquire) + DC (direct current, as in the kind of electricity produced by, say, a battery) + HEATER (warmer). As I think I’ve mentioned before, for some reason I get a thrill from words that can be broken down into a sum of other words, like here.
20 Rather slow article by Italian poet (7)
ANDANTEAN (article – specifically, the indefinite article) + DANTE (Italian poet, best known for the Divine Comedy). Andante is usually described as walking pace though Chambers has it as “moderately slow”. Other tempos/tempi commonly found in Crosswordland are (in order of increasing speed) lento, largo, adagio, allegro, and presto, with andante fitting between adagio and allegro. Note that ABBA’s “Andante Andante” was performed closer to adagio than andante – I suppose the lyrics just scanned better.
21 Pursue legal action around hospital (5)
CHASECASE (legal action) around H (hospital)
22 Was acquainted with contemporary sounds here (4)
KNEW – homophone (sounds here) of new (contemporary)
23 Avoid eating fare such as hamburgers, etc (4,4)
FAST FOODFAST (Avoid eating, especially for religious reasons) + FOOD (fare)
Down
1 Wager about second finest achievement (4)
BESTBET (Wager) about S (second), with BEST being used in the nounal sense
2 Cross with quest, losing every second game (7)
CROQUETCROss + QUEsT, i.e. the words CROSS and QUEST but with every S (second) removed. Usually, a device like “losing every second” would mean that alternate letters should be removed from the word(s) – it’s quite rare (but welcome) to see it used in a different way.
3 With which to revive plants wanting care badly? (8,3)
WATERING CAN – anagram (badly) of WANTING CARE. I suppose the question mark is to indicate that there will be some plants that will need more than a mere watering to return to health. A nice surface.
4 Band is small and rubbish (6)
STRIPES (small) + TRIPE (rubbish)
6 Feature on a country (5)
CHINACHIN (Feature) + A
7 Upset open vessel filled with tea? (8)
OVERTURNOVERT (open) + URN (vessel filled with tea?) The question mark tells us that some, but not all, urns contain tea
10 Link I severed with American state (11)
CONNECTICUTCONNECT (Link, as a verb) + I + CUT (severed) The middle C is silent. Though this is another clue like that for WINDCHEATER, it doesn’t give me the same buzz because when I look at the word CONNECTICUT my brain already breaks it down to CONNECT I CUT, so seeing it clued that way isn’t a novelty.
12 A problem what to do if model’s facing the other way? (8)
DRAWBACK – though an artist would normally draw a model from the front, if the model was facing away from the artist then the artist would have to “draw back”
15 Rent difficulty creating a storm (7)
TORNADOTORN (Rent, as in the past participle of rend) + ADO (difficulty)
16 Information on age for distinct groups of animals (6)
GENERAGEN (Information) + ERA (age), with “on” being a valid connector because it’s a down clue. Genera is the plural of genus, the biological classification between species and family
18 Germany’s leader entering naked jog (5)
NUDGEG (Germany’s leader, i.e. the first letter of Germany) inside (entering) NUDE (naked). A surface that conjures up a mental image I’m unlikely to ever have again
19 Flex with black finish (4)
BENDB (black, as seen on pencils) + END (finish)

12 comments on “Quick Cryptic 36 by Joker”

  1. Yes, all of Joker’s previous puzzles took me over 15 minutes – the first was actually 20 – so I was pleased to polish this one off in 12. Lost time thinking ‘sunscreener at 17ac. Nice puzzle.
  2. … Dante twice in one day.

    I thought the clue for WINDCHEATER was great.

    On another note, when I go to the Times site each day to look at the Quick (which I don’t always do), I’m told that I’m logged in on another device — which I’m absolutely not. Then they log me out of that supposed device. Anyone else getting this error?

  3. I agree that Joker sets some of the harder puzzles. Took me a while to get started but, once I got going, I finished this reasonably quickly and enjoyed it.

    I think the QC must be doing its job because I finished the Sunday main puzzle in one sitting yesterday and I can’t remember the last time that happened.

    Tidy blog mohn2!

  4. A little over 30 minutes (quick for me) most enjoyable and, always interesting to read the blog.
    One error. I had Lead = Flex for 19dn as in electrical cable and to black lead (finish) a fire place.

    Eurc.

  5. Particularly good puzzle. Good range of clue types, no obscure GK or vocabulary, but not a pushover. Thought this was just about right in terms of meeting the stated objectives of the QC.

    Thought CROQUET was very good, as also was WINDCHEATER. Very nice blog mohn2.

  6. Steady but slow solve. Done in 2 sittings so no overall time but certainly north of 30 minutes. Liked 3d and 17a. LOI recline which took a long time.
  7. A very nice blog, helpful and comprehensive. Today’s cryptic is the friendliest in a while in my opinion, and well worth a go.

    Edited at 2014-04-28 04:17 pm (UTC)

  8. Enjoyed solving and managed to complete it on the train, so an average time for me too. Particularly liked CROQUET. Thanks for the blog!
  9. This is a genuinely useful and helpful site and thanks to all the contributors. On a technical level it often stalls on my ipad but usually works fine on my iMac. Would be wonderful if the techies could sort the ipad out.

    Many thanks to you all

    1. Hi Bryan – glad that you’re finding the site helpful. Unfortunately we are just one of tens of thousands of blogs hosted on Live Journal so we don’t really have any control over the technical side of things. Having said that, the site has been rather more temperamental than usual over the last couple of days – hopefully this is just a temporary glitch.
  10. IyDV6s A round of applause for your blog post.Much thanks again. Keep writing.

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