Quick Cryptic 490 by Orpheus

Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I found this a fairly straightforward start to the week though there are a couple of bits of General Knowledge that may not be familiar to all. 9 minutes.

Definitions are in bold italics, deletions in {curly brackets} and indicators in [square ones]

Across

7 First of tourists visiting old marshland frequently (5)
OFTEN – O (old), then T{ourists} [first of] inside FEN (marshland)
8 1950s drop-out thrashed by family from east (7)
BEATNIK – BEAT (thrashed), KIN (family) reversed [from east]
10 Serfdom in the time of 007? (7)
BONDAGE – BOND (007), AGE (time)
11 Run in a close relative for criminal activity (5)
ARSON – A, R (run), SON (close relative)
12 18th-century composer’s time in 15 – seriously (9)
EARNESTLY – ELY (15ac) contains ARNE’S (18th-century composer’s) + T (time). Thomas Arne is probably best known as composer of Rule, Britannia! though James Thomson who wrote the patriotic poem is all but forgotten.
14 Enemy of retreating English (3)
FOE – OF reversed [retreating], E (English)
15 See replays regularly? (3)
ELY – Alternate letters [regularly] of {r}E{p}L{a}Y{s}
16 Alarming beginning involving Liberal leader (9)
STARTLING – STARTING (beginning) encloses L{iberal} [leader]
18 More restrained-sounding Hindu and Buddhist concept (5)
KARMA – Sounding like “calmer” (more restrained)
20 Flat-bottomed boat / of less weight? (7)
LIGHTER – Two straight definitions
22 Relief from ceremony including telepathic communication (7)
RESPITE – RITE (ceremony) including ESP (telepathic communication – Extrasensory Perception)
23 Good to wander in small wood (5)
GROVE – G (good), ROVE (wander)

Down

1 Lookalike, one adorning bus? (6-6)
DOUBLE-DECKER – DOUBLE (lookalike), DECKER (one adorning)
2 Way trendy poet identifies fish (5-3)
STING-RAY – ST (way – street), IN (trendy), GRAY (poet). Thomas Gray – another 18th century bod – is best known for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
3 Girl left out of entry in chronicle (4)
ANNA – ANNA{l} (entry in chronicle) [left out]
4 Mind / goal (6)
OBJECT – Two straight definitions
5 One promotes change, unhappy at sly act (8)
CATALYST – Anagram [unhappy] of AT SLY ACT
6 Responsibility over seamen’s or students’ union (4)
ONUS – O (over – cricket), NUS (National Union of Seamen or of Students)
9 Early learning centre‘s unusual regard in Kent (12)
KINDERGARTEN – Anagram [unusual] of REGARD IN KENT
13 Overjoyed when City thus buries rubbish (8)
ECSTATIC – EC (city – postal district of the City of London), then SIC (thus – Latin) contains [buries] TAT (rubbish)
14 Animosity resulting from lie about king (8)
FRICTION – FICTION (lie) about R (king)
17 A prime minister once upset about son’s dozing? (6)
ASLEEP – A, PEEL (prime minister once) reversed [upset] encloses [about] S (son)
19 Reckless artist’s husband (4)
RASH – RA’S (artist’s – Royal Academician’s), H (husband)
21 Film musicians’ engagement on island (4)
GIGI – GIG (musician’s engagement), I (island). The film musical by Lerner and Lowe.

9 comments on “Quick Cryptic 490 by Orpheus”

  1. I think it took me longer to get the damned puzzle on the screen (Firefox has been sluggish for me this week) than to do the puzzle itself. I thought there were some very nice, smooth surfaces, as in 14 and 15ac, and 13 and 14d. As someone with a rhotic accent, I could have done without KARMA, but I suppose I must dree my weird. 3:30.
  2. GIGI conjured up the extremely unwelcome image of Maurice Chevalier singing “Sank heaven for leetle girls”. Eek. I think of BEATNIK as more of a fashion statement than a drop-out but I only tuned in at the tail end of the era, just when the Beatles were getting started. Today’s other cryptic might be a solver-friendly one for Quickie regulars.
  3. We seem to be heading for the lowest response ever recorded for a Quickie blog. I’m starting to get paranoid!
  4. Took me a while to figure this one out – particularly the SE corner. Eventually got the film, which was a bit before my time, but then stuck ‘glade’ into 23a which made my LOI 14d a bit of a struggle. Got there eventually though. 12a was unparsed due to my lack of knowledge about classical composers and CoD was 8a.
  5. I found a lot of the clues difficult but still finished in just over my 30 minutes – my sort of puzzle. LOI was 12a with tne unknown composer, and 13d unparsed. For some reason I keep missing City=EC even though its been up a gew times.

    Brian

  6. Completed in a few sittings due to a number of interruptions. Quite tricky. Last in ANNA after I got the parsing. Favourite for what I suspect is a chestnut but I have not seen before BONDAGE.

    Tried the main cryptic but needed to use aids several times to complete but enjoyed it.

  7. Did this in about 30 minutes, so quite quick for me. I could not parse every answer and I see from the blog I got 15a wrong. I thought it must be Eye because it “replays” i.e reads the same forward and back. I do accept that the answer to 12a is then problematic. I got it right without knowing exactly why. I think this must be the fourth recent appearance of Ely so I can’t say I wasn’t warned. David
  8. I too had problems downloading this this morning. Not sure what’s going on but it worked later.

    21 minutes here, so it can’t have been that hard. Didn’t parse everything but fortunately no mistakes.

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