Quick Cryptic 438 by Hurley

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
It’s nearly 1PM and there’s no sign of the Quickie. If there’s no news of it by 1:30 I shall post an emergency blog. I have disabled comments so if it appears in the meantime I can just delete this thread.

Okay it’s now 1:30 so here goes:

This one took me 10 minutes and I’d rate it as of moderate difficulty, but please feel free to differ. As I’ve bunged this together in a hurry there are no clues today but I have added definitions. Comments are now enabled so any queries, please ask.

{deletions} [indicators]

Across
1 CRYSTAL PALACE – Anagram [broadcast] of CLEARS PLAY ACT. Def: in London area
8 ACTIVE – A (area), CT (court), I, ‘VE(have). Def: busy
9 RACILY – RA (artist), CI (Channel Islands), L{ovel}Y [extremely – first and last letters]. Def: with spirit
10 BRAG – B (bishop), RAG (charity event – think university rag week). Def: card game
11 CARTLOAD – Anagram [worked out] of ACTOR LAD. Def: vehicle’s capacity
12 BYRON – BY(alongside), R (river), ON (working). Def: poet
13 DECOY – DE (of, French), CO (firm), Y{ou} [initially]. Def: lure
15 CONSPIRE – CON (argument against), SPIRE (church feature). Def: act together
17 MASK – M (1000), ASK (request). Def: protective covering
19 CANINE – CA (not exactly – circa = about/around), NINE (square – 3×3). Def: tooth
20 PLANET – PLANE (aircraft), T (time). Def: Jupiter, say – by example
21 GET THE PICTURE – GET (fetch), THE PICTURE (Gone With The Wind, perhaps). Def: understand

Down
2 RECUR – RE (engineers), CUR (scoundrel). Def: again happen
3 SNIGGER – Anagram [ contrived] of GINGER’S. Def: laugh
4 AYE – Hidden in [inner part of] {l}AYE{r}. Def: yes
5 PARTRIDGE – PART (separate), RIDGE (crest). Def: flier
6 LOCAL – Hidden [in] {Os}LO CAL{m}. Def: somewhere to drink
7 CALGARY – CAL (California), GARY (Cooper, perhaps). Def: city
11 CENTIPEDE – Anagram [ruined] of DECENT PIE. Def: insect
12 BROCADE – Anagram [adapted] of BARCODE. Def: fabric
14 COMPACT – Two definitions: concise / agreement
16 SKIRT – SKI (runner), RT (right). Def: avoid
18 SPEAR – S (small), PEAR (fruit). Def: pierce
20 PHI – P (pressure), HI (welcome). Def: Greek character

15 comments on “Quick Cryptic 438 by Hurley”

  1. Well done Jack for stepping into the breach – which is why I’ve awarded you a star.
    Actually I found this the easiest of the week so far, but it’s always horses for courses.
    I would most definitely quibble with 11d – since when has a centipede (with a number of legs up to 100) been an insect (a creature with 6 legs)? Completely different sub-phyla.
    1. Thanks, it’s a long time since I had a gold star award!

      Yes, the loose definitions are creeping in – earlier in the week I had to blog ‘settee’ for ‘chair’ and I couldn’t find any excuse for that one. But Collins provides a ray of hope for our setter today as, following the strict definition of ‘insect’ they offer: (loosely) any similar invertebrate such as spider, tick, or centipede.

      I can hear the howls of anguish already but one rule around here is that if it’s in one of the source dictionaries the setter’s off the hook and complaints should be aimed in the direction of the dictionary compilers.

      Edited at 2015-11-12 02:09 pm (UTC)

      1. Well I think this definition is beyond the pale. I got insect as I am sure we all did but from the of suspected it. In all definitions I have seen there are at least two requirements for an insect. As mentioned the three pairs of legs, but also well defined segments of head, thorax, abdomen. A centipede satisfies neither. I am pleased to say the dictionary that I am an editor f (encarta world English) is not fooled but does allow the term insect-like to be applied to spiders and centipedes.

        Otherwise a good puzzle at the easy end of the scale for me.

      2. Well I think this definition is beyond the pale. I got insect as I am sure we all did but from the of suspected it. In all definitions I have seen there are at least two requirements for an insect. As mentioned the three pairs of legs, but also well defined segments of head, thorax, abdomen. A centipede satisfies neither. I am pleased to say the dictionary that I am an editor f (encarta world English) is not fooled but does allow the term insect-like to be applied to spiders and centipedes.

        Otherwise a good puzzle at the easy end of the scale for me.

  2. Gentle puzzle but took some time over my last in SKIRT. In my paper after the ? there is a lower case r in right so wondered if there was a misprint.

    Favourite GET THE PICTURE.

  3. While I’m not a lexicographer I guess dicts will base their entries on usage (so their dict readers will understand when thy hear a word used) though it may not be fully technically correct.
    1. Indeed! It’s a while since we had the old arguments about engineer/mechanic/fitter so I expect they’ll be due for an airing any time soon.
  4. No real problems today. I too wondered about centipede being an insect, but I will bow to the authority of the dictionaries.
    Thanks for filling in Jackkt, it’s greatly appreciated.
  5. Notwithstanding the loose definitions, I must have been on the right wavelength – I flew through this one, held up only by missing reading the 16d clue and putting SPEAR there instead of 18d. Even that didn’t stop me knocking 30s off my fastest time.
  6. 437 down and I’ve cracked the 15 min hurdle on 438. Finally I might be getting the hang of this. (The depressing thought is the 437 x 45-60 mins spent learning … that’s the better part of 3 weeks without sleep ……..)
    Thanks to all bloggers for help!
  7. I flew through this until I was down to two clues: 19a and 16d. Eventually I got Canine through parsing; about =C or Ca and then I saw that Square could be mathematical.The lower case r in 16d did throw me a bit, as noted by a previous commentator and I was fooled by Runner for a bit. Enjoyed the challenge as ever. David
  8. 16d and 19a likewise; thought it must be canine but couldn’t see why, so thanks for the explanation in the blog. It wasn’t the lower case r that threw me – just couldn’t do it!

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