Quick Cryptic 847 by Pedro

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Solved in spare moments and blogged in a hurry, hence the later-than-usual post, so it’s even more difficult for me to judge its difficulty.

I thought I was getting bored of all the anagram practice, but the setter’s creative indicators ensured I stayed entertained. On quick reflection, I’d say 13dn was my favourite – simple, readable, funny, and indicating a somewhat unfamiliar word – my COD.

Definitions underlined.

Across
1 Returning dog will accept rumpled warm bed, nothing more (8-5)
HOMEWARD-BOUND – HOUND (dog) around (will accept) an anagram of (rumpled) WARM BED with O (nothing more).
8 Countryside views seen — cry uncontrollably (7)
SCENERY – anagram of (uncontrollably) SEEN CRY.
9 I was a competitor clad in green? (5)
IVIED I and VIED (was competitor).
10 The sneaky tricks archaeologists indulge in? (12)
SKULLDUGGERY – cryptic definition.
12 Join assault after King’s lost horse (6)
ATTACH – ATTACk (assault) without the ‘k’ (after King’s lost), then H (horse).
14 Bad luck loves to follow gangster (6)
HOODOO – OO (loves, tennis) after HOOD (gangster).
17 Seaport bustling more than expected (2,5)
TO SPARE – anagram of (bustling) SEAPORTS.
19 Sweet topping, very tempting — first three portions gone (5)
ICING – entICING (very tempting) missing the first three letters (first three portions gone).
20 Broadcast medium hosting promotion in Brazilian city (5)
RADIO – AD (promotion) in RIO (Brazilian city).
21 Sprinter, perhaps, allowed in running heat (7)
ATHLETE – LET (allowed) inside an anagram of (running) HEAT.
22 Isolated amount advanced, we hear (8)
LONESOME – homophone of (we hear) “loan sum” (amount advanced).
23 Hill-dwellers, when disturbed by National Trust (4)
ANTS – AS (when) surrounding (disturbed by) NT (National Trust).
Down
1 Organiser of party — lots of people (4)
HOST – double definition.
2 Take me abroad to capture river mammal (7)
MEERKAT – anagram of (abroad) TAKE ME surrounding (to capture) R (river).
3 Make circular motion with part of foot (5)
WHEEL – W (with) and HEEL (part of foot).
4 Translation of Hardy located around one Arab city (6)
RIYADH – anagram (translation) of HARDY around I (one).
5 Reveal girth, bolting frenziedly (5,2,5)
BRING TO LIGHT – anagram of (frenziedly) GIRTH BOLTING.
6 Join a Parisian welcoming computers etc. (5)
UNITE – UNE (‘a’ in French, Parisian) surrounding (welcoming) IT (computers etc.)
7 Insect lands doggedly after turbulence (5-4-4)
DADDY-LONG-LEGS – anagram of (after turbulence) LANDS DOGGEDLY.
11 Beethoven symphony in historic exam? (8)
PASTORAL – PAST 9historic) and ORAL (exam).
13 Company is importing meat — antelope (7)
CHAMOIS – CO (company) and IS, surrounding (importing) HAM (meat).
15 Daughter torn about island allowing vehicular access (5-2)
DRIVE-IN – D (daughter) and RIVEN (torn) around I (island).
16 Doctor holding delicate fabric up still (6)
BECALM – MB (doctor) surrounding (holding) LACE (delicate fabric) all reversed (up)..
18 Movable chair some used anywhere (5)
SEDAN – hidden in (some) uSED ANywhere.

20 comments on “Quick Cryptic 847 by Pedro”

  1. All done in just over 30, but was slowed down immensely by my LOI, IVIED. I just could not think of a word for compete, and the “clad in green” threw me. There were a lot of anagrams in this one. Hats off to 22ac. Gribb.
  2. Lots of interruptions but I guess around 40 mins.

    Last 2 were the unknown chamois and the devilish ivied which I got from the I was a competitor bit rather than the clad in green definition.

    Wanted to put voodoo for 14a, and toyed with drive on for 15d, but saw sense eventually.

    COD 13d chamois.

  3. Thanks, Pedro, that was terrific fun. Clever and witty.

    Like Gribb IVIED was my LOI … much pen-chewing and again reduced to running through the alphabet in my head!

    SKULLDUGGERY was both FOI and COD for me.

    I always thought the CHAMOIS was a goat … Wiki calls it a “goat-antelope” though.

    Templar

  4. Pedro had me invested for 13.07 with 2 minutes on my LOI 10ac SKULLDUGGERY WOD and COD! Hon. ment. to 9ac IVIED!

    7ac DADDY-LONG-LEGS (I have also noted as Danny-Long-Legs)

    1ac HOMEWARD-BOUND inspired by Simon & Garfunkle?

    A decent QC from Pedro.

    Edited at 2017-06-07 09:34 am (UTC)

  5. This took me ages to get going – FOI wasn’t until RADIO, but then I was off. Loved SKULLDUGGERY and enjoyed the anagrams. I thought it was just on the right side of tough for a beginner like me; hard enough to teach me new ways of cluing, but doable in around 30 mins. Thanks Pedro and William.
  6. 12 minutes. Held up at the end by 12ac for some unknown reason. Had to go back later to parse 1ac.
  7. Like Jack, I had to go back to 1ac–after I finally biffed it from checkers–to figure it out; tricky. IVIED went right in, VIE being fairly common. I knee-jerkily thought AL when I saw ‘gangster’; nice to have a change. 7d was a nice clue, but the enumeration was a giveaway. 6:56.
  8. Gah, all these long anagrams – 2 yesterday and 3 today- almost make me lose the will to live! So I gave up today, instead.

    However, being an amateur archaeologist, all was splendidly redeemed by the excellent 10a and the laughter it brought when the penny dropped.
    That’s definitely one for the lab. board. (Fully attributed, of course Pedro).
    Thanks Pedro and William.

  9. An enjoyable puzzle which kept me busy for 9:31. FOI was HOST and LOI BECALM which I didn’t see until I got LONESOME despite having typed in _ecal_ as soon as I saw delicate fabric up(and already had the A & E crossers). Liked SKULLDUGGERY and HOMEWARD BOUND. Thanks Pedro and William.
  10. Took about an hour with interruptions but I don’t care because SKULLDUGGERY made me laugh out load and I’m still smiling now! Pexiter.

  11. DNF because of IVIED, cycling through the alphabet didn’t find it. Eventually plumped for ILIAD.

    Loved SKULLDUGGERY.

  12. This felt tougher than my completion time would indicate. Like Templar I’d always thought that Chamois was a goat and therefore it didn’t figure in my mental list of antelopes, but the word play finally revealed itself after a couple of minutes of head scratching.
    COD 10a, LOI 13d, completed in 18 minutes
  14. Took a while to get going but then it all fell into place nicely – helped by the anagrams it has to be said. Probably 20 mins.
    Needed a few checkers for CHAMOIS – if antelope isn’t kudu or eland I get stuck! Always assume Africa too.
    In fact I saw chamois in the Carpathians a few years back but had thought they were a type of goat.
    Anyway another enjoyable puzzle, thanks Pedro.
  15. Tackled this late in the day, and it turned out to be a very bitty solve, with nothing really standing out. Like others, 9ac was my loi, pushing me north of 30 mins. Invariant
  16. A good puzzle from Pedro. It took me a while to get going as well, but the top half slotted in place fairly quickly with FOI 4dn. However 9ac had me stumped. I then struggled quite a bit on the SW corner.

    Enjoyed the anagrams today but 10ac was my COD.

    Is MB a standard term for doctor? I went through all the various connotations, but didn’t think of this…

    DR31

    1. Yes it’s Batchelor of Medicine.
      MB ChB or MBBS
      Batchelor of Medicine and Surgery. This is the standard qualification each medical student is awarded after 5 years of University Training. Although the students are officially recognised as ‘doctors’ at this stage, they require a further one year’s experience as a junior house officer in a hospital post before they become fully qualified doctors in the eyes of the General Medical Council
  17. Shouldn’t the clue be Parisienne? Otherwise it would be un not une 😉
    1. Hi Anon, “a Parisian” can be un or une regardless of whether the person using it is male or female, as the article’s gender is decided by the noun it accompanies.

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