Quick Cryptic 649 by Hurley

Author   galsprayPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Morning all.  A pleasant offering from Hurley today.  Nothing too obscure in the grid, although BROUHAHA is a word you don’t write down every day.

There’s the usual number of “crossword standards” in the cluing which will be immediately recognisable to most of you.  But some people use these blogs to help get started on their cruciverbal journey, so I’ve made a list….

Page = P
Drink = RUM (if it’s not TEA or ALE)  (or SUP or LAP, as jackkt points out)
Time = T
Short time = MO
Clubs = C
American = US (or AM)
Posh = U
Resistance = R
Copy = APE
Guy = STAY (or ROPE if it’s not KID or TEASE)
Supporter = ALLY (sometimes BACKER, most commonly BRA) (or TEE, thanks Kevin G.)
Right = R

That’s ten clues today where the semi-experienced solver has an instant headstart over the beginner.  The good news for the beginner is that you quickly learn these (and a few hundred others) just by doing lots of crosswords!

Anyway, thanks Hurley, let’s get started.  Clues are reproduced in blue, with the definition underlined.  Anagram indicators are bolded and italicised.  Then there’s the answer IN BOLD, followed by the parsing of the wordplay.  (ABC)* is shorthand for “anagram of ABC”.

Across
7 Page, reserved initially, I am finding formal (4)
PRIM – P (PAGE) + R (reserved initially) + IM (I am)
8 Reformed lady trio’s great devotion (8)
IDOLATRY – (LADY TRIO)*
9 Drink belonging to us? Hearsay (6)
RUMOUR – RUM (drink) + OUR (belonging to us)
10 Stick round beer cask, spherical (6)
ROTUND – ROD (stick) round TUN (beer cask)
11 Large amount of service fliers before time (4)
RAFT – RAF (service fliers) + T (time)
That’s the “other” meaning of raft, as in “a raft of promises made before the election”.
12 Sees press officer carrying drink (8)
ESPRESSO – Hidden in (seES PRESS Officer)
15 Precious stone perhaps I ordered (8)
SAPPHIRE – (PERHAPS I)*
17 Short time at defensive ditch (4)
MOAT – MO (short time) + AT
You’d think cluing AT with “at” would be obvious, but it can be cunningly deceptive.
18 Clubs do something with American plant (6)
CACTUS – C (clubs) + ACT (do something) + US (American)
21 Dress: rate it poorly (6)
ATTIRE – (RATE IT)*
22 Lose sympathy of stranger, at ease initially? (8)
ALIENATE – ALIEN (stranger) + AT + E (ease initially)
There it is again…”at” means AT!
23 Bring up last part (4)
REAR – Double definition
Down
1 Brother put on posh sound of laughter — uproar results (8)
BROUHAHA – BRO (brother) + U (posh) + HAHA (sound of laughter)
U and non-U were terms coined by British linguist Alan Ross in the 1950’s, U standing for “upper class”.
2 Meaning to buy goods from abroad (6)
IMPORT – Double definition
3 Prime Minister is anti Lear’s ideas being raised? Partly (8)
DISRAELI – Reverse hidden in (antI LEARS IDeas)
Today’s assignment:  Why did Cream call their classic second album “Disraeli Gears”?
4 Odd bits of plot, ours, disappointing (4)
POOR – The odd letters of (PlOt OuRs)
5 Free tablet in Waterloo? (6)
BATTLE – (TABLET)*
This is a DBE (Definition By Example), as Waterloo is an example of a battle.  Frowned on by some, but the question mark gets the setter off the hook.
6 Cereal prohibition blocked by resistance (4)
BRAN – BAN (prohibition) blocked by R (resistance)
13 Public Relations copy written up, brightly-coloured, done beforehand (8)
PREPARED – PR (Public Relations) + EPA [APE (copy) ‘written up’] + RED (brightly-coloured)
14 Series of steps from guy absorbing atmosphere with wife (8)
STAIRWAY – STAY (guy) ‘absorbing’ AIR (atmosphere) + W (wife)
16 Glib talk as regular arrangement not completed (6)
PATTER – PATTERn (regular arrangement, not completed)
17 Adult companion grabbing usher’s outside (6)
MATURE – MATE (companion) ‘grabbing’ UR (usher’s ‘outside’)
19 Supporter right to leave political gathering (4)
ALLY – R (right) to leave RALLY (political gathering)
20 Quiet in morning not what it seems (4)
SHAM – SH (quiet) + AM (in morning)

25 comments on “Quick Cryptic 649 by Hurley”

  1. COD BROUHAHA WOD CRUCIVERBAL!

    Helpful advice for novices from Galspray and the formally correct nomenclature ‘Anagram indicators’.

    I was slightly longer than necessary at 8.40 with 18ac CACTUS and 22ac ALIENATE holding things up.

    Derailleur gears are a variable-ratio transmission system commonly used on bicycles, consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another (OED)

    Apparently EricClapton was discussing with Ginger Baker buying a new bike. Roadie Mick Turner advised him to get one with ‘those Disraeli gears!

    horryd Shanghai

  3. Good idea listing those standards, Galspray; I hope other bloggers join in. ‘Supporter’ also can be TEE; and I (like to) think that the BRA use is on the decline. I started off at a mile a minute, and thought I’d be getting a new PB; but 5d and 12ac brought me to a halt. I just couldn’t see that ‘free’ was the anagrind (pace Horryd), and was even worse than my usual in spotting the hidden, making 12 my LOI. 5:24.
  4. Thank – you Sir – I don’t think the rest of the class is awake just yet. The CREAM conversation occurred in Mick Turner’s Austin Westminster – those were the days!

    I also know all about Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street sax intro.

    A (classic) tent has ‘guy’ropes fixed by metal rods or stays.

    I think they can be dispensed with these days!

    horryd Shanghai

  5. Sometimes seeing the grid about to be completed well within target time can be an obstacle to finishing off the last couple of answers, and so it proved today. After 8 minutes I had only 16dn and 22ac to solve and I ground to a halt with P?T??? and ?L???ATE outstanding. 3 minutes later I spotted PATTER and then took another minute or so for ALIENATE to dawn on me, making a total of 12 minutes, missing my target by 2 and giving me my worst solving time since Hawthorn’s puzzle last Friday (also 12 minutes).

    It only affected me re 22ac but today’s grid is not a helpful one as there are 6 Down clues (top) and 6 Across clues (LH) where the first letters of the answers are “unches” (unchecked letters).

    I like the list of crossword standards, Galspray, and would recommend that solvers who think of themselves at the start of their cryptic journey might like to make their own list and add to it each day. Could I suggest that the entry re “Drink” – RUM (if it’s not TEA or ALE) might also include SUP and its variants?

    RAFT in the sense of “large amount” came up here or in the 15×15 only a couple of days ago so was fresh in my mind, otherwise it would probably have taken longer to retrieve from the recesses of my mind.

    Edited at 2016-09-02 05:31 am (UTC)

    1. Thanks Jack. Funny, I thought of SUP at the time, but was trying to limit the size of the list. But you’re right, it’s worthy of inclusion given the frequency with which it occurs.
  6. I thought I had finished this very quickly for me (20 mins) but I put VAST instead of RAFT, hoping VAs was some army division. Also, Disraeli is certainly a popular clue for these setters. Pops up many times.
  7. 37 mins for me today so not too bad.
    Thanks for the very helpful blog, Galspray. I always forget about posh being U.
    I’d be interested to hear Horryd’s Baker Steet story. I didn’t know the history of the Disraeli gears title.
  8. A DNF for me as for some reason I got 19D wrong. I had MARCH without thr M instead of RALLY without the R as the clue made clear, which meant I didn’t get 22A, even though I had worked out the correct answer from the wordplay.
    As someone just out of the beginner stage (I think), I remember how frustrating this type of grid was and I still think it should be banned (or discouraged) from the QC.
    Brian

    Edited at 2016-09-02 10:36 am (UTC)

  9. I also had VAST instead of RAFT despite the fact it wouldn’t really parse because I just didn’t think of ‘a whole raft of things’. The SW corner seemed particularly difficult but having done the Quickie from its start I am now getting a lot of the abbreviations like ANT for worker and GI or TA soldiers etc
  10. Thought I might be sub-5 today but missed it by a second. May I add FAN to the list of supporters, and GIN and ALE to drinks? Also I note that as well as DISRAELI gears, we have RUMOURs, and also STAIRWAY to heaven…
  11. Thanks Galspray for the blog and the list of hints.

    One question for the pros, in 22a is the final question mark necessary or adding anything?

    1. I’m guessing the setter just thought it improved the surface reading Chris. Not performing any other role as far as I can see.
  12. Whizzed through in 10 minutes so now I have no excuse not to go outside and replace my dead summer potted plants for autumn ones. Sad. Thanks for very helpful blog. I can certainly confirm from my experience that grasping the standards makes a huge difference to the ease and therefore pleasure of cryptics.
  13. I thought this was quite tough, especially the SW corner, and struggled over the finish line in 26 minutes, including a second sitting for 19d and LOI 22a. The alien/stranger link is one of those standards I always forget, so need to add to my mental checklist. COD 1d, just for being a fine word.
    Thanks for the blog
    1. Think the Ten Commandments – the ‘stranger that is within thy gates’ refers to the ‘resident aliens’ who lived with a different tribe in the ancient Middle East.
  14. I agree this a very entertaining puzzle but a tough SW held me up. Probably took me under an hour over two sittings – good for me! Missed several e.g. 12a expresso as a hidden word, but happy to deduce the correct answers none-the-less. Very helpful blog for newbies, and I hope the discipline can be kept up.

    1. 20 Quiet in the morning not what it seems (4)
      SHAM – SH (quiet) AM ‘morning ‘

      Hope this helps

      Sybar Kiwi

      1. Thanks Anon and Sybar. I wrote a program for pulling the clues into the blog without having to manually enter them all. Looks like you’ve exposed a bug.

        Fixed now.

Comments are closed.