Quick Cryptic 555 by Orpheus

Author   mohn2Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I seem to blog an inordinate number of puzzles where hyphens are conspicuous by their presence/absence and today’s crossword doesn’t disappoint in that regard, however I’m getting sufficiently used to such shenanigans that I wasn’t thrown off the scent and was able to complete the puzzle with a minimum of fuss. A pleasant Quick Cryptic, with one definition each in 3D and 5D possibly not in all solvers’ general knowledge.

The puzzle can be found here if the usual channels are unavailable: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20160425/15077/

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Rod’s workforce (5)
STAFF – double definition
7 City crest, one Lee devised (9)
LEICESTER – anagram (devised) of CREST + I (one) + LEE
9 Brahmin, possibly, contributing to growth industry (5)
HINDU – hidden in (contributing to) growtH INDUstry. A Brahmin is a member of the highest caste in Hinduism.
10 Pintsize worker’s system of writing (9)
SHORTHAND – SHORT (Pintsize) + HAND (worker). All the usual online references hyphenate “Pintsize”.
11 Engine originally in operation for a very long time (3)
EON – E (Engine originally, i.e. the first letter of the word “Engine”) + ON (in operation)
12 Cheek only encountered in pub and church (9)
INSOLENCE – SOLE (only) inside INN (pub) + CE (church, i.e. Church of England)
14 Cargo ship about to be protected by military aircraft (9)
FREIGHTER – RE (about) inside (to be protected by) FIGHTER (military aircraft)
16 Initiators of parish enterprise with position in church (3)
PEW – first letters (Initiators) of Parish Enterprise With
18 Old poems about Queen’s supervisors (9)
OVERSEERS – O (Old) + VERSES (poems) about ER (Queen)
20 He collects books left in lodging-place (5)
HOTEL – HE around (collects) OT (books, i.e. Old Testament) + L (left)
21 Up to prior, oddly, to provide source of fragrance (3-6)
POT-POURRI – anagram (oddly) of UP TO PRIOR. All the usual online references give this as one word, not hyphenated.
22 Function as political group? (5)
PARTY – double definition, the first a noun even though it’s a verb in the surface reading
Down
1 Field of activity some pursue primarily in this place (6)
SPHERE – SP (some pursue primarily, i.e. the first letters of the words “some” and “pursue”) + HERE (in this place)
2 Declaration nun once meant to be broadcast (12)
ANNOUNCEMENT – anagram (to be broadcast) of NUN ONCE MEANT
3 Going red in Netherlands port (8)
FLUSHING – double definition, the second the English name for Vlissingen, (per Wikipedia) a port in the south-west of the Netherlands that was the main harbour for ships of the Dutch East India Company. The port also gave its name to an area of Queens in New York City, part of which will be known to tennis fans as the home of the US Open, i.e. Flushing Meadows. I didn’t know the port by any name, hence had to rely on the first definition only, but I see that it had its moment in the crosswording sun in 2008 when it cropped up twice in the Guardian cryptic.
4 Under eighteens — those working underground, we hear (6)
MINORS – homophone (we hear) of MINERS (those working underground)
5 Analyse water flowing through Hampshire (4)
TEST – double definition, the second referring to the River Test, which I think I only know from crosswords. It’s apparently good for trout fishing.
6 Card game — pontoon, perhaps? (6)
BRIDGE – double definition
8 Instructs maker of ceramic vessels to get anorak? (5-7)
TRAIN-SPOTTER – TRAINS (Instructs) + POTTER (maker of ceramic vessels), with the definition being (Chambers) “Someone who follows a pursuit or interest that is regarded as dull and unsociable (informal)”. I can’t see this hyphenated in any of the usual online sources – it’s either one word or two – but I doubt this will stop solvers from getting the answer.
13 Status of peer in cricket ground greeting page? (8)
LORDSHIP – LORD‘S (cricket ground) + HI (greeting) + P (page)
14 Limp insect nibbling head of orchid very quietly (6)
FLOPPY – FLY (insect) around (nibbling) O (head of orchid, i.e. the first letter of the word “orchid”) + PP (very quietly, i.e. pianissimo)
15 Conservative to accept governor’s hypothesis (6)
THEORY – TORY (Conservative) around (to accept) HE (governor, i.e. His/Her Excellency). We usually get HE referring to ambassadors in Crosswordland, but it can be applied to governors, heads of state, and assorted other big cheeses too.
17 Completely pure in heart, so to speak (6)
WHOLLY – homophone (so to speak) of HOLY (pure in heart)
19 Give away retail unit (4)
SHOP – double definition, the first a slang term meaning to betray or inform against

17 comments on “Quick Cryptic 555 by Orpheus”

  1. My rule of thumb for some time has been, If I hyphenate, the setter doesn’t, and vice versa; not that that has been of any help. I didn’t realize there was a Flushing in the Netherlands, and was wondering how they came up with that name–impossible in Dutch. I had no idea where the Test runs (or the Ouse, or the Exe, or…), but hardly needed to here. 4:33.
  2. A nice, gentle start to the week. Re 9a, hiddens are always harder when they’re tucked in across a line break.

    A compound adjective may, I think, incline towards a single word when used in the attributive position, i.e. before a noun. A quick Google reveals several examples of this type in published work, including this example: ‘There, in my pintsize bathtub, slumped the gallon-size hulk of Thomas “Fats” Waller…’

    Three compound items in the space of one part of a sentence, and one measure word treated differently from another (‘pint’ v ‘gallon’). An editor’s nightmare! (And should it be ‘size’ or ‘sized’?)

  4. Straight in NE to SW LOI 17d, nothing stands out for COD but then nothing to complain about.
    Brought up in N Staffs and spotted at Norton Bridge in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The memory of a Duchess at full bat pulling up out of Stafford for the straight run to Crewe still brings a lump to the throat. Last one spotted, in 1964 I think, a dirty filthy Princess Royal pulling the Palethorpes sausage wagon (the lowest of the low). Put my book away, got on my bike, never went back. I did see her again at Bressingham, she was a beauty. IMHO if the Duchesses had worked the East coast main line nobody would remember the Mallard.

    Edited at 2016-04-25 06:58 am (UTC)

  5. I quietly enjoyed this gentle start to the week. For non-Hampshire Hogs the River Test runs into Southampton Harbour.
  6. Today’s main cryptic is on the easy side and hence worth a shot for Quicky solvers.
  7. Nothing too tricky here. My only hold up was 1d where for some reason I decided to bif school which then made 11a a challenge. Fortunately I saw the error of my ways pretty quickly and completed in around 20 minutes. Particularly enjoyed 10a and 6d.
  8. That went in, without too much trouble, just north of 30 mins. In fact, I was only the port element of Flushing away from a full house, so thankyou Mohn for the detailed explanation. Invariant
  9. 16:54 – quick for me

    LOI was 18a OVERSEERS, which I couldn’t see for 3 mins or so.

  10. A very enjoyable and doable start to the week. Improved my knowlege of geography re Hants rivers and NL ports along the way.

    Chris

  11. No real problems today and done in just over 11 minutes -very fast for me. This was despite initially putting in Shed for 19d -in commercial property they often are, out of town.
    So I had time to look for a hidden theme – football perhaps. If Leicester win at The Bridge there will no doubt be a hotel party afterwards. OK I agree, rather far-fetched. David
  12. A lovely start to the week. Thank you Setter. And to the bloggers for clarifying some of the phasing. Seemed to recall 3D flushing from my O or A levels.
  13. I didn’t look at this until this evening after a day on family duty. 8 minutes for me and I couldn’t resist commenting after the update nclusion of Leicester in the grid. Excellent win yesterday, great result with PFA player of the year and Spurs kicking off soon. My cup run neath over.
  14. A good start to the week at around 30 mins. Initially had BLUSHING until I couldn’t find an answer at 1a.

    Edited at 2016-04-26 03:22 am (UTC)

    1. The age of majority differs between countries but in the UK (excluding Scotland) it’s 18. Chambers has for its third definition of hypothesis: “A theory to be proved or disproved by reference to facts” – sure, you might be advised not to go to a maths conference and use the two terms interchangeably, but in general use they are equivalent.

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