Quick Cryptic No 187 by Tracy

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Went through this enjoyable offering with two freestyle skiers who were unused to cryptics. To dispel any misplaced stereotypes, they were really good! Lots of excellent clues of different types to keep you on your toes but no obscure vocabulary. Probably not the easiest but really well worth working through.
The crossword can be found here:
http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/timescrossword/20141125/360/

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Article appears after group rehearsed play (3,5)
&nbsp &nbspSET PIECE – Article (PIECE – as in newspaper article) appears after group (SET).
5 Thing I encountered upon retirement (4)
&nbsp &nbspITEM – I (I), encountered (MET) backwards (upon retirement).
9 Dread losing face making mistake (5)
&nbsp &nbspERROR – Dread (tERROR) without the first letter (losing face).
10 Defeat (not in sport) (7)
&nbsp &nbspOUTPLAY – To defeat IN sport is to outplay made up from not in (OUT) sport (PLAY).
11 Draw cup match (3)
&nbsp &nbspTIE – Double definition.
12 Obtain insurance to protect oneself (4,5)
&nbsp &nbspTAKE COVER – Double definition.
13 Daughter in other resort, very busy with calls? (3-3)
&nbsp &nbspRED-HOT – Daughter (D) in an anagram (resort) of OTHER. If the phone is ‘ringing of the hook’, as the old expression went, it could, I think, be described as red-hot.
15 Cutlery required if liver’s cooked (6)
&nbsp &nbspSILVER – Anagram (cooked) of LIVER’S.
17 Crack troops wearing alien kit (9)
&nbsp &nbspEQUIPMENT – Great deception in this one. Crack (QUIP – joke) and troops (MEN) inside (wearing) alien (ET).
19 Boy, small one, not English (3)
&nbsp &nbspSON – Small (S), one (ONe) without the ‘E’ (not English).
20 One about to be strangled by evil Italian criminal (7)
&nbsp &nbspILLICIT – Going slowly through this – one (I) and about (C – circa) inside (to be strangled by) evil (ILL) and Italian (IT).
21 Put up with fat? Not initially (5)
&nbsp &nbspALLOW – Fat (tALLOW – as in candles) without the first letter (not initially).
22 Express disapproval: union’s leader in a skirt (4)
&nbsp &nbspTUTU – Express disapproval (TUT), union’s first letter (U) makes a very short skirt worn by ballerinas, made of projecting layers of stiffened sheer material (apparently).
23 Kind of canny bagging runs, I conclude (8)
&nbsp &nbspFRIENDLY – Very nearly my COD among many good ones for deception and the mental gymnastics. Canny (FLY) holding (bagging) runs (R), I (I), conclude (END).

Down
1 Top set wear out? (7)
&nbsp &nbspSWEATER – Anagram (out) of SET WEAR.
2 To the point in letter sent (5)
&nbsp &nbspTERSE – The answer is in the clue (in) letTER SEnt.
3 On reflection, survey should include what’s fashionably old-fashioned? (2,10)
&nbsp &nbspIN RETROSPECT – Survey (INSPECT) around (should include) what’s fashionably old-fashioned (RETRO).
4 Criminal court’s top man (5)
&nbsp &nbspCROOK – Someone who does things which are 20ac – first letter (top) of Court, man (ROOK as in chess man).
6 Servant raised four in Israeli city (3,4)
&nbsp &nbspTEL AVIV – Servant (VALET) upwards (raised), four (IV in Roman numerals).
7 Civic head from Irish county close to border (5)
&nbsp &nbspMAYOR – Irish county (MAYO), last letter (close to) bordeR.
8 Merchandise no good in hosiery business? (5-2-5)
&nbsp &nbspSTOCK-IN-TRADE – This definitin of stock-in-trade is goods in stock necessary for carrying on a business – made up from the hosiery business (stocking trade) then take out the g (no good). Nice one, Tracy!
14 TT garment, close-fitting? (7)
&nbsp &nbspDOUBLET – This one gets my COD for being a word play of only two letters. TT = double T making a man’s close-fitting jacket, with or without sleeves.
16 Where plane lands carrying a fugitive (7)
&nbsp &nbspRUNAWAY – Where plane lands (RUNWAY) carrying a (A).
17 Decree cited incorrectly (5)
&nbsp &nbspEDICT – Anagram (incorrectly) of CITED.
18 Go in to register (5)
&nbsp &nbspENTER – Double definition.
19 Therefore cover is strong (5)
&nbsp &nbspSOLID – Therefore (SO), cover (LID). Now I’m in Freestyle Skier groupie mode, a solid run means a good, well executed but not overly ambitious run before attempting a more difficult (awesome) run.

22 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 187 by Tracy”

  1. Pretty tricky was this one, especially the SW, where DOUBLET (more accurately, not being able to get it) threw me into a bit of a tizwaz, making me slow to see EQUIPMENT and ILLICIT and even doubt IN RETROSPECT – and go back to parse it properly. 13 minutes of some fairly heavy lifting.
  2. 9 minutes. 14dn was COD for me too with additional happy memories of T-T kept alive here by our Rotter pal. Took an extra minute to work out how 13ac worked but then I remembered very busy telephone lines described as being ‘red hot’. ‘Ringing off the hook’ is an odd saying for phones that never stop ringing as traditionally phones stop ringing once ‘off the hook’.
  3. Finishes this in 30 mins (I am still a beginner – but 2/2 so far this week!) reading the blog, can anyone tell me what COD means?
    1. COD means ‘Clue of the day’. Other common (but not easily deduced abbreviations) include FOI/LOI (first/last one in), and (in dictionary corner) C (Chambers) and the various Oxfrod dictionaries (spearheaded for us techie lot by ODO – Oxford Dictionaries Online).
  4. That’s the second head-scratcher in a row and I thought this one even a tad more difficult than yesterdays though there were no obscure words (“inurn”? Bah!).
    I could have put 6d in without the clue – after all when you have a “v” as the ultimate and antepenultimate letters, what else could it be?
    Loved 14d. Couldn’t parse 23, so thanks Chris.
  5. Rather more difficult than yesterday I though. And probably mor difficult than anything last week either. Took me about 25 minutes but never felt like giving up. Couldn’t parse 23A (my LOI) but knew it was right because the iPad gives you a little ‘hooray’ message when you complete correctly. COD 8D
  6. Three quarters went in fairly easily, then came the south west corner – very tricky!

    Sadly had to give up as my allotted time for this ran out. First DNF for a long time. May have got there eventually, but who knows? DOUBLET, ILLICIT and TUTU all passed me by.

    Particularly annoyed at failing to spot the double T device, as these are the kinds of clues I usually really enjoy and gobble up. I went down the Isle of Man motorcycle racing line, and could not get out of it…

    Great puzzle, and well played Chris – glad this one was not on my blogging watch!

    1. Please could you explain the double T device? I expect I’m just being thick, but I can’t work it out.
      1. Hi Anonymous (if you register for free with LiveJournal you would get an email when someone responds to a comment),
        In this clue the definition is garment, close fitting – and the answer is Doublet.
        The word play is made up of just two letters – TT. Two T’s gives us double T which, when joined together makes doublet.
        The way the setter devised such a clever word play is referred to.
        Hope this helps – do sign up and join the party as all questions/comments are appreciated.
  7. Took me just over 30mins. Finished but could not parse 23a, 6d or 14d so thanks (as always) for the explanation. Definitely making progress (slowly). Won’t be troubling any leaderboards for a long time!
  8. 13.24′ with 20a LOI. Quite tricky in parts but all very fair and gettable. DOUBLET the stand out clue.
  9. 17:45 for me, but there was a conversation in the middle that lost me a few minutes and broke my train of thought. Like most, I finished in the SW corner and give my COD to 14d, but only just ahead of 8d.
  10. Another excellent blog to help me understand the clues that I could not parse. I have difficulty in thinking of the Rook as a man. I suppose that the Castle is a man as well!, I was trying to place the Rook in the Top of the trees!!
    1. Calling a Rook a Castle can be dangerous around here, though the retired colonel who used to vent his spleen on the matter seems to have moved on to the great chessboard in the sky so you’re probably safe enough!
      1. Yes. I used to call the Piece a Castle when I was a Boy and now I have learned to call the Piece a Rook. Perhaps I will learn one day to call the Rook a Man.
  11. Brilliant and unusually obtuse offering from Tracy.

    LOI Friendly – but can’t see how Canny equates with Fly. What am I missing?

    Philip

  12. I was better of with this than yesterday’s but, like Philip, can’t make the Canny-Fly connection – any help? I knew it had to be friendly but still can’t parse.

    Didn’t get Doublet but like the clue now it’s been explained. COD probably Equipment for the neat breakdown, also liked Stock-in-trade but I’m pretty sure we’ve had it in the QC before.

  13. Fly = knowing and sharp, smart (COED)
    Canny = knowing, clever, skilful; cunning, wily; (SOED)
  14. Another one at the harder end of the Quickie spectrum, with some fun clues that I rather enjoyed. Especially liked STOCK IN TRADE, DOUBLET and OUTPLAY, with DOUBLET being my COD.

    With respect to FRIENDLY, didn’t need the canny=fry connection as the “I conclude” gave IEND and, with the checkers in place, the answer being ‘kind’ went straight in. I remember one of the more august contributors to the main blog mentioning that beginners sometimes look to get the answer from the cryptic too much and should work with the definition/literal a bit more. That advice has certainly helped me with the more complex puzzles.

    Edited at 2014-11-25 07:02 pm (UTC)

    1. It’s a good tip. Another one is to completely ignore the surface reading on one’s initial approach to a clue as it’s so often designed to mislead.

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