Quick Cryptic 641 by Felix

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
What an excellent QUICK cryptic. It was quick – 7.47 which may be a record but also full of humour. Several stand out – my favourites being 10dn and 21ac.
Thanks for a great start to the day Felix.

ACROSS

1. Radio ham – set operator. Anagram (worked) of HAD MAORI.
5. Boob – error. (B)rought (O)ut (O)ne’s (B)riefcase.
8. Board – double definition.
9. Jabbers – double definition.
11. A pig in a poke – risky purchase. Anagram (after repair) of PIPE OK AGAIN.
13. On edge – tense. One (ONE), director general (DG), programm(E).
14. Skater – person moving on ice. Runs (R) after fish (SKATE).
16. Yellowstone – US national park (or/and what is seen in it). Chicken (YELLOW), fourteen pounds (STONE.
18. Riviera – holiday region. Anagram (excited) of I ARRIVE.
19. Froze – stopped dead. Mostly free (FRE) around Australia (OZ).
20. Turk – countryman. Se(T) yo(U) easie(R) tas(K).
21. Attendee – one present. Two hours before noon (AT TEN), by river (DEE).

DOWN

1. Ruby – gemstone. Polish (RUB), (Y)our.
2. Draw a veil over – hide. Anagram (unusually) of REVEAL VIA WORD.
3. Old King Cole. A cryptic definition – in his reign he called, as I remember, for his pipe and his fiddlers 3.
4. Adjoin – come together. (A), radio presenter (DJ), round (O), at home (IN).
6. One for the road – a final drink. Trapped in st(ONE FORT HERO AD)vised.
7. Basketry – the craft of wickerwork. King (K) inside mean (BASE) and attempt (TRY).
10. Black coffee. COD for this cryptic definition. The instant (coffee) one did not turn pale (by adding milk) so it is black.
12. Holy writ – scripture. Anagram (translated) of WORTHILY.
15. Aslant – sloping away. When (AS), left (L), worker (ANT).
17. Cede – to give way. Homophone (we hear) of top player (SEED). Anyone in doubt over which was the definition had 21ac to confirm the final ‘E’.

16 comments on “Quick Cryptic 641 by Felix”

  1. Couldn’t get cede because I’d mistakenly put in attender instead of attendee! Never mind. Good crossword.
  2. After 9 minutes I had it all done bar 17d. I thought I was on for a record time so was rushing a bit at the end. Anyway I had put Attender in for 21a and it took me four more minutes to unravel that and get Cede. So 13 minutes in total, same as yesterday. Very enjoyable. David
  3. 8 minutes for this enjoyable offering from the Times Crossword Editor. I tried solving on-line for the first time for a QC and found it less satisfying because I couldn’t mark up points of interest as I went. Glad to see you made it after all, Chris. Will monitor next Tuesday just in case.

    Edited at 2016-08-23 08:40 am (UTC)

  4. A nice QC, and , for those seeking fast times, biffable in all the long (11 and 13 letters) across and down clues. COD 10d, as noted. I never knew HOLY WRIT was an anagram of ‘worthily’. 4’10” today. Thanks chris and Felix.
  5. This one was heading for sub 5′ until I hit the buffers at 10d. This required a further two minutes of head scratching whilst nursing the remains of a – you’ve guessed it – black coffee. Thus COD must go to 10d with WOD 7d.
    Thank you blogger and setter.
    GeoffH
  6. It was indeed – PB at 5.45

    Jabber(s) in both today’s QC (ans) and 15×15 (def.)!

    COD BLACK COFFEE

    WOD RADIO HAM (It is also not raining here in Tokyo!)

    horryd Shanghai

  7. A clever crossword, finished in 10 minutes under my half hour target. LOI was CEDE, and congratulations to Felix for achieving the longest possible hidden answer in a QC.
    Brian
  8. 17 minutes. My record I think. Just the right level to keep us beginners feeling like we are making progress ! Thanks to setter and blogger.
  9. Unlike others, I found this a little harder than average but it was very enjoyable. Loved the interesting mix of vocab, and 6D was an excellent hidden.
  10. Thanks to Felix for one of the most enjoyable quick crosswords I can remember. Tons of satisfying word plays and ONE FOR THE ROAD was a terrific hidden word(s). Thanks Chris for the blog.
  11. A pleasant solve for a hot day. Missed the hidden at 6d having biffed in th answer. 17d last one in. Thanks setter and blogger. Elin and Ian.
  12. Like others have said this was a very enjoyable offering. Completed in 15 minutes and then spent another 5 trying and failing to parse 21a. I thought the n came from noon so was trying to figure out how atte could represent 2 hours before. As usual I was over complicating things. Many contenders for COD but mine goes to 6d.
  14. A really enjoyable 26 min run out, with 6d my CoD. Going through, I wondered if pig in a poke would cause problems outside the UK ? Invariant
  15. My second post 20 minute time in a row and a very enjoyable solve. I always think that when there are lots of three or four word answers it gives you a chance to spot the phrase and then fill in lots of letters which helps a lot.

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