Quick Cryptic No 162 by Tracy

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Tracy – thanks – this was great fun. If you like anagrams then you’ve come to the right place. A couple of longish ones pushed my time up to 18 minutes – I ended up not being able to do them ‘on screen’ so spent some time searching for pen and paper (‘treeware’ – thank you Sotira) to do letter circles. The old ways are often the best. Once these were out of the way this proved a highly pleasant solve with more nautical references than you can shake a boat hook at – which kept yours truly happy.

Definitions are underlined.

O

Across
1 Sluggish? It could be the garlic (9)
&nbsp &nbspLETHARGIC – An anagram (could be) first out of the bag to set the scene of THE GARLIC?
6 Popular new tavern (3)
&nbsp &nbspINN – Popular (IN), new (N). In yesterday’s 15×15 this was 25 ac – ‘trendy new place to eat, drink and sleep’.
8 Let it stand next to boy’s hat (7)
&nbsp &nbspSTETSON – Let it stand (STET), boy (SON).
9 Fend off a check pinning rook (5)
&nbsp &nbspAVERT – A (A), check (VET) inside which (penning) is rook (R). Properly used in fend off danger – improbable use in nautical terms ‘please avert that boat we’re about to smash into due to the temporary lowering of my usual helming standards, there’s a good chap’.
10 Large public school gave the game away (3,2)
&nbsp &nbspLET ON – Large (L), public school (ETON).
12 Sturdy vehicle showing external decay (6)
&nbsp &nbspROBUST – Vehicle (BUS) inside (showing external) decay (ROT).
14 Bishop arrested by nervous Lancashire PC in police department (7,6)
&nbsp &nbspSPECIAL BRANCH – No 2 anagram (nervous) of LANCASHIRE PCI with bishop (B) inside (arrested by). This one had me reaching for the treeware.
16 Mourn the French soldiers taken at the front (6)
&nbsp &nbspLAMENT – The French (LA), soldiers (MEN), first letter of (at the front) Taken.
17 Article by team’s leader, a Greek character (5)
&nbsp &nbspTHETA – Article (THE), first letter (leader) of Team, a (A).
19 Some popular enactments here? (5)
&nbsp &nbspARENA – The answer is in the clue (some) populAR ENActments and ‘here?’ is the arena where they’re performed.
20 A tendency to do nothing at home I rate badly (7)
&nbsp &nbspINERTIA – At home (IN) plus no 3 anagram (badly) of I RATE.
22 Extras bowled disregarded, of course (3)
&nbsp &nbspYES – 2 cricket terms in one clue – an unusual delicacy for those of us who like such things – extras can be byes then disregard the B for bowled leaving yes of course.
23 Very attractive person met abroad in resort (9)
&nbsp &nbspDREAMBOAT – No 4 anagram (in resort) of MET ABROAD. Not a term I come across in my usual literature – although Yachting Monthly has references.

Down
1 Lean minor lacking energy (8)
&nbsp &nbspLISTLESS – Lean (LIST), minor (LESS). Congrats to Tracy for keeping up the boating theme.
2 Secure line? Not completely (3)
&nbsp &nbspTIE – A line could be a row which is a tier – not completely means chop off the final letter. What would Tracy use to secure a line? A cleat hitch?
3 Fire-raising clergyman beheaded (5)
&nbsp &nbspARSON – Clergyman (PARSON) without the first letter (beheaded).
4 All-out action? (7,6)
&nbsp &nbspGENERAL STRIKE – Nice clue – a cryptic definition but maybe also an &lit as well as all=general and out action=strike.
5 Check colour in room (7)
&nbsp &nbspCHAMBER – Check (CH in chess), colour (AMBER – as in nectar).
6 Nice surprisingly keeping German city at bottom (2,7)
&nbsp &nbspIN ESSENCE – No 5 anagram (surprisingly) of NICE within which (keeping) is the German city (ESSEN).
7 Do, perhaps, brief correspondence (4)
&nbsp &nbspNOTE – This is a wonderful double definition clue IMHO. Why is ‘Do’ a double definition? Because it’s the note as in do re mi fa so.
11 Score not yet attained by this youth group (9)
&nbsp &nbspTEENAGERS – Score as in twenty – you’ll get the drift.
13 Rustic ringing foot of heath bird (8)
&nbsp &nbspPHEASANT – Rustic (PEASANT) around (ringing) last letter (foot of) heatH.
15 One about to touch down in European republic (7)
&nbsp &nbspIRELAND – One (I) about (RE) to touch down (LAND).
17 Husband entering word for a unit of heat (5)
&nbsp &nbspTHERM – Husband (H) entering word (TERM).
18 “Woman” — song about daughter (4)
&nbsp &nbspLADY – Somg (LAY) about daughter (D).
21 Short stole? Very (3)
&nbsp &nbspTOO – Stole (TOOk) without the last letter (short).

22 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 162 by Tracy”

  2. 5:40, but once again too many were gettable from checkers; eg once I saw ‘s_e___l’ I had enough for 14ac. Liked LISTLESS & AVERT, had no idea how YES worked, having no idea how cricket works.
  3. Hi there!

    I discovered the Quick Cryptic serendipitously on Day 1 and I’ve been doing it ever since. I found this blog not long afterwards and it has been absolutely invaluable. Many many thanks! Usually my time zone is behind yours, and when I’m ready to comment you’ve all gone home. Today, for a change, I’m ahead of you and can finally express my gratitude.

    I really enjoyed today’s offering. But I’ll *never* be able to compete with Mr Five-Minutes Borrows — he seems to know every obscure piece of vocab the compilers can come up with. Alas, the archaic words and cricketing terms defeat me every time.

    Thanks to Mrs Z8 for being here, so that I’m not the only person who takes, shall we say, rather longer than five minutes.

    And thanks to Nick the “Novice” for his occasional stories — such fun to read — is it time for an updated nickname, Nick?

    The Main Cryptic still overwhelms me, even after 160+ QCs. But I’m always grateful when someone suggests giving it a go because a specific offering is easier than usual. I live in hope…

    Thanks again to all the dedicated bloggers and commenters — on behalf of all the silent novices!

    1. Welcome to the forum – and please contribute when you can. Like you I find it difficult to comment as normally I get home too late and everyone else has long signed off. I’d be talking to myself.
      Anyway, comments on the quick cryptic seem to be more exclusive, they’re fewer of us, and of course it’s quality not quantity that counts.
      As far as the main cryptic is concerned, still keep giving it a go – they do vary in difficulty (yesterday’s was fairly gentle, today’s is medium) and also with compilers – a bit like the quickie.
    2. I echo deezzaa’s welcome. Something not always known is that, as you have a free live journal sign on, any replies are notified to your email inbox. The same applies to bloggers – so any comments, at whatever later time or even day, do get read.
      As for the times and Mr. F-M Burrows et al – for those interested they provide a yard stick to provide some level of comparison to the experts of the 15×15 who go in for the annual competitions where 3 15x15s are completed within an hour. I (and Nick-the-not-so-novice) used to require a calendar rather than a clock but it is surprising how the time reduces as you get more experienced. So whilst I’ll “never” get to that level I find it interesting to see how my own times compare both in Quick and 15×15.

      Edited at 2014-10-21 08:13 am (UTC)

    3. Welcome aboard, and thanks for your kind comments!

      The graduation from the QC to the main cryptic is challenging, as I am still finding. (My novitiate status is regularly reinforced to me when I have a crack at the main offering – hence retention of my moniker…)

      That said, I’ve personally found the weekend cryptics usually seem a bit more attainable than the weekday offerings – or maybe that is just because I’ve got more time and am less exhausted than at the end of a usual working day. Either way, you might want to see if you can carve out time at the weekend to have a good bash at the Sat / Sun Times offerings.

      In any event, good luck and enjoy!

  4. 8:58 for a nice stretch without too many pitfalls.
    13d reminded me of the preface to “1066 and all that” by Sellars and Yeatman, the spoof English history primer: “for Pheasant read Peasant throughout”.
    LOI 7d for which I can only say “Doh!”
  5. More of a challenge than recent puzzles, but a very enjoyable one. The shortened words were my main hold up; TOOk and bYES becoming clear only after entry, and TIEr was still baffling me until I read your explanation. Also new to me, LAY and STET.
  6. Good puzzle, thanks to Tracy.

    Couple that went in on a wing and prayer as I could not parse them – NOTE and LADY – so thanks to Chris for very clear and enjoyable blog.

    I cannot pass without observation over Chris’ comment re. Yachting Monthly having references to “dreamboat”. Not being familiar with this august organ, I am envisaging a dating section for lovelorn yachties: “Conradian hero type (with expansive beard) looking to get hitched seeks Dreamboat. Must have own outboard motor. (Please send pic of motor)…”

    1. Perceptive as usual! As this thread definitively has the potential to get out of hand, I’ll just say that, rather than a separate section, the whole publication is a series of glamour pics of desirables! Other areas of interest have similar publications but dreambike, dreamfashion, dreamholiday, dreamcar, dreamfish, dreamkitchen don’t have the same connotation as dreamboat.
        1. Snap on the cuffs, officer. I confess to being partial to photos of a well trimmed ketch.
  7. Another pleasant QC, IMHO. 4 mins. One of the reasons I am able to post decent times is I have the ability to unravel anagrams quickly and I almost never have to write down the fodder. This is something I have become better at over the years. Having said that, I didn’t immediately see 1ac as an anagram clue today and LETHARGIC was my NTLOI before LISTLESS. I also confess that SPECIAL BRANCH went in once I had a few checkers without me bothering to unpick the anagram fodder. I almost went for Iceland at 15dn before I realised there was nothing in the clue for the E if “about” was C rather than RE.
  8. No problems : 7minutes ….surely any time below 10 minutes is super quick for a cryptic. How people manage 3 minutes I will never know. If I had the solution in front of me it would take 3mins to write it into the grid.
    1. There is a write up of the Time Crossword competition, held over last weekend, on the times for the times site below this blog. Worth a read – it also explains how the diminishing time taken does not diminish the enjoyment. I simply raise my hat in respect and admiration.
    2. Well there are minutes and Mexican minutes. I agree it seems to do a puzzle in 3 minutes it is not a puzzle and you are just writing in answers as no puzzling is required. In which case why bother with something that is not even remotely a challenge. Still for those who can I am in awe since I cannot and rarely even finish a puzzle.
  9. As usual I’m probably the last to contribute, so likely talking to the ether. But anyway, I thought this was quite tough. I didn’t solve too many on first pass and the checkers didn’t yield as many answers as usual. Got there in the end in a disjointed solve over preparing dinner, eating, washing up and feeding the various pets. Thanks to chrisw91 for parsing STETSON and LISTLESS.

    It’s always good to see new contributors so welcome jcf_kiwi.

    1. Never too late on this blog. Quite a multi-tasking achievement today by the sounds of it!
      1. Not too much multi-tasking involved, but it seemed every time I tried to give myself a little time to look at the crossword, I had to jump up and do something else. Should have started a little earlier or a little later….
  10. I threw the towel in after 40 mins & having read Chris’s super blog am now virtually kicking myself.

    I missed out on PHEASANT (which I can scarcely believe, as Z8 & I frequently refer to the birds as yokels when we drive past), I got the GENERAL but missed the STRIKE – mind you 1926 was before my time – was nowhere near DREAMBOAT but didn’t realise it was an anagram, and missed TOO.

    COD was TEENAGERS – lovely clue

    Still – onward & upward! Aux armes, citoyens!

    1. Well, Aux stylos maybe? Coming back to half competed grid often has surprisingly good results…
      1. Wise words, mon capitaine bloggeur! I should have not yielded so fast – experience is all 🙂 Thank you for your encouragement 🙂

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