Quick Cryptic 94 by Tracy

Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
The link on the Times site is broken yet again so here is the correct url for those trying to access today’s Quickie: http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20140717/214/

Sorry this won’t be a very expansive blog as I’m standing in at short notice, and no clues either, I’m afraid. Please post queries on anything that’s unexplained and I’ll deal with them later.  This one took me 17 minutes.

Across

1 ANTIDOTE – Anagram [poor] of DIET NOT A. Def: remedy
5 ATOM – A,TOM (male cat). Def: tiny thing
8 TOKEN – OK (pass) inside TEN (number). Def: voucher
9 REFRAIN – F (female) + RA (artist – Royal Academician) inside REIN (check). Def: hold back
11 OPEN VERDICT – OPEN (exposed), VERDI (composer), CT (court). Def: coroner’s decision
13 AGENDA – A, GEN (information), DA (District Attorney). Def: items for discussion
14 BEAGLE – B (British), EAGLE (bird). Def: dog
16 PALINDROMES – Anagram [rotten] of SPOIL Rex AND ME. Def: Perhaps Mum and Dad
18 AMATEUR – A, then anagram [struggling] of RU TEAM. Def: unpaid
19 NEARS – NEAR (stingy), Store. Def: approaches
20 EVEN – EVENt (social activity not finished). Def: yet
21 ANATHEMA – ANTHEM (song) about A, then Africa. Def: object of loathing

Down
1 ALTO – Anagram [bothered] of A LOT. Def: singer
2 TAKE ONE’S LEAVE – Double definition: say goodbye / go on holiday
3 DINNER DANCE – NERD (socially inept person) inside anagram [suspect] of CANNED I. Def: formal function
4 THRIVE – Hidden in boTH RIVErs. Def: bloom
6 TRADING ESTATE – TRADING (dealing), ESTATE (station wagon). Def: industrial park
7 MINSTREL – M (male), IN, ST (street), RE (on), L (left). Def: old musician
10 FORGET-ME-NOT – FORGE (smithy), then MEN inside TOT (count). Def: plant
12 WARPLANE – WARP (turn from correct course), LANE (channel). Def: Spitfire, say
15 DRY RUN – DRY (TT – tee-total), RUN (race). Def: practice
17 ASIA – Afghanistan, anagram [topsy-turvy] of IS A. Def: part of the world

16 comments on “Quick Cryptic 94 by Tracy”

  1. Thanks for covering at short notice. Minor emergency kept me out until 4am and then have to be at hospital for 9.

    Nice puzzle, just what the doctor ordered (‘scuse pun).

  2. Very enjoyable puzzle. Just over 20 minutes to complete.

    Joint favourites today, DRY RUN (which was my last one in) for its word play and PALINDROMES for its definition.

  3. After my travails with the main puzzle this was a nice change of pace, and I found it to be at the easier end of the QC spectrum. A little under 4 mins with EVEN my LOI. I’d seen something like the “perhaps mum and dad” definition for PALINDROMES before so it didn’t hold me up, but it was a good clue.
  4. Definitely at the easier end of the spectrum, unlike today’s big boys’ puzzle. This took me 3:52 which I think is the fastest I’ve ever done a QC.

    Nothing of particular note except maybe to flag 2d to newer solvers. In expressions like this the middle word in a Times crossword is almost always ONES rather than your. Than can often be useful knowledge to get checkers for other clues even if you can’t complete the whole expression at the time. But watch out for the rare occasions when it is YOUR!

  5. Good blog at short notice Jack. The button on the main Times site actually worked today – at least by the time I got to it which was around noon UK time. This took me about 5 and must admit I was a bit lazy about parsing after today’s workout on the ?Anax cryptic so thanks for the shortcuts!

    I’ve re-read PB’s latest on the General club Forum and still find it just a bit delphic. With Mike at NewsInt (he is very helpful) apparently not around at the moment, posting messages outside the Club Forum can feel like putting a message in a bottle. While I’m sure Peter and RR would much rather not have to be responding to wails of pain from Club members on the Forum, it’s true that they do seem to get attention (and what’s more, generate a response) in a way that other modes of complaint do not.

  6. Helpful again but I don’t get the near as stingy def. I had mean in for ages even thinking means would be approaches, as in ways and means.
    1. Bryan, they are both synonyms of miserly. NEAR is probably not used very much at all nowadays, while STINGY in the sense required is pronounced “stinjy”, if that helps.
  7. As someone who does the crossword on paper (many thanks to Waitrose for a free subscription), it’s difficult to understand how you web solvers put up with the problems you have. I’d have given up some time ago, with a few choice words to emphasis my disgust…

    Anyway, another enjoyable puzzle, with the only dissatisfaction the final one in, 20ac. Seemed a little bit too clever.

  8. Thanks Andy. Of course I am thoroughly familiar with stingy which is in common usage. However I had never heard of near as an adjective meaning miserly. I am only an editor of the Encarta world English dictionary so what do I know! So I looked it up there and I find it is there described as archaic. I think my point stands. It feels a very curious definition to use in such a clue. Enjoyed the puzzled and the blog of course
  9. This is only my second ever fully completed quickie. It took me two sittings – how strange it is how that sometimes happens. I only got halfway through on the first sitting, and was convinced I simply couldn’t make any further headway. Then when I looked at it with fresh eyes this morning the rest of the solutions just jumped out, one after the other.

    Anathema was LOI and palindromes was definitely my clue of the day – really enjoyed the definition. Completely stumped on NEAR as a definition of stingy (for a long time was assuming it was sting-y, like a nettle) but got there in the end.

  10. I had no problem with NEAR (I think it must be an age thing) but I’ve definitely heard it in conversation — “Her husband must’ve been a bit near. First thing she did when he died was have gas fires put in.” Did have problems with PALINDROMES, ANATHEMA, WARPLANE, FORGET ME NOT, and BEAGLE.

    Also, this happened half way through when I nodded off with a hand-held tablet. It really didn’t help

  11. I was thrown by this and had ‘means’. Approach to a problem could be a means. Then mean for stingy, plus s.

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