Quick Cryptic No 216 by Hurley

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I found this considerably more difficult than yesterday’s – with the crossing clues at 5dn and 8ac causing particular problems. Going over the clues again, post solve, they all hang together well – so good stuff and thanks to Hurley – but I just didn’t ‘get into’ this one. Lack of humour? Not on the right wavelength? When I got to 2 dn I started to think I was just a bit grumpy! Let me know how you got on.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
4 Blemish Church rarely encountered (6)
&nbsp &nbspSCARCE – Blemish (SCAR), Church (CE – Church of England).
7 Speech from husband leading to quarrel about article (8)
&nbsp &nbspHARANGUE – Husband (H), quarrel (ARGUE) about article (AN).
8 Cloth container very big? Not entirely (6)
&nbsp &nbspCANVAS – Container (CAN), very big (VASt) without the last letter (not entirely).
9 Turn made in new way not imagined (8)
&nbsp &nbspUNDREAMT – Anagram (in new way) of TURN MADE.
10 Dad’s time finished (4)
&nbsp &nbspPAST – Dad’s (PAS), time (T).
12 Fighter moved fast before road rebuilt (8)
&nbsp &nbspTOREADOR – Moved fast (TORE), anagram (rebuilt) of ROAD.
15 US city to sell leading lady aromatic plant (8)
&nbsp &nbspLAVENDER – US city (LA), to sell (VEND>, leading lady (ER – the Queen).
18 Just the one fish? (4)
&nbsp &nbspSOLE – Double definition.
20 Film (U) let out when game’s over (4,4)
&nbsp &nbspFULL TIME – Anagram (out) of FILM U LET.
22 Fabric used in Umbria home on return (6)
&nbsp &nbspMOHAIR – The answer is in the clue (used in) but backwards (on return) umbRIA HOMe.
23 Girl meets upper-class supporter at recurring intervals (8)
&nbsp &nbspANNUALLY – Girl (ANN), upper-class (U), supporter (ALLY).
24 Cook crossing old street lacking enthusiasm (6)
&nbsp &nbspFROSTY – Cook (FRY) around (crossing) old (O), street (ST).

Down
1 Agrarian regularly in profit (4)
&nbsp &nbspGAIN – The answer are the even letters (regularly in) of aGrArIaN.
2 Painter friend admits toughness (8)
&nbsp &nbspMAGRITTE – Friend (MATE) around (admits) toughness (GRIT). For those, like me, who wasted their youth on such things as football and cricket and so did not spend sufficient time memorising every artist from cave painters onwards – René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images that fall under the umbrella of surrealism.
3 Stunned seeing silver has tarnished (just starting) (6)
&nbsp &nbspAGHAST – Silver (AG), has (HAS), first letter (just starting) of Tarnished.
4 Dry hill area (6)
&nbsp &nbspSECTOR – Dry (SEC – as in sherry), hill (TOR).
5 Jack abandons outing for Sally maybe (4)
&nbsp &nbspAUNT – Jack (J – as in playing cards) taken off (abandons) outing (jAUNT). Aunt Sally is a traditional English throwing game in which players throw sticks or battens at a model of an old woman’s head. Nice.
6 Fuel — one cleaning firm overlooks a litre (8)
&nbsp &nbspCHARCOAL – One cleaning (CHAR), firm (CO), a (A), litre (L).
11 Food industry feature from Rabat to Iran (8)
&nbsp &nbspABATTOIR – The answer is in the clue (from) rABAT TO IRan. Food industry feature as in a Michelin starred restaurant features a toilet.
13 It’s painful at end of splurge to be in debt (3)
&nbsp &nbspOWE – It’s painful (OW), last letter (end of) splurgE.
14 Animal alas ain’t reformed (8)
&nbsp &nbspALSATIAN – Anagram (reformed) of ALAS AINT.
16 Arrange payment for fish — fed up at first (6)
&nbsp &nbspDEFRAY – Fish (RAY), FED backwards (up) at the front.
17 In charge of Twickenham sport, heads for London investigating new guidelines (6)
&nbsp &nbspRULING – Twickenham sport (RU – rugby union), first letters (heads for) London Investigating New Guidelines.
19 Singer of inferior quality, it’s said (4)
&nbsp &nbspBASS – Homophone (it’s said) of base.
21 Spy revealed by birthmark? (4)
&nbsp &nbspMOLE – Double definition.

20 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 216 by Hurley”

  1. I also had a few problems getting properly started on this one with odd answers scattered around the grid for a while, but I finally came home in 12 minutes.
  2. Must have been having a lucid interval, as I managed to get through this one pretty much unscathed. MAGRITTE held me up for a while (odd as I have always been a big fan of his) – for some reason I was focusing on “admits toughness” as the definition.

    MOLE was a nice clue. Thanks for the blog Chris, and to our setter for an enjoyable puzzle.

    PS: Re. Aunt Sally, this is often used in UK business circles as a term for a rough model / idea that is tabled as a start point for people to rip apart (in the anticipation that in the course of doing so, something better will emerge). The US equivalent is a Straw Man: many a transatlantic meeting started with mutual bewilderment when a Brit announced he was going to bring out an Aunt Sally, or a Yank said it was time for him to bring on his Straw Man. I can’t help but think Magritte may have enjoyed the notion of a Straw Man meeting Aunt Sally…

    Edited at 2015-01-06 08:44 am (UTC)

    1. In academic circles straw man and aunt sally are more or less synonymous. They are seen as the erecting of an argument or point or example that is apparently similar to one the writer wants to debunk but in fact is either fallacious or has deep hidden differences. The aunt sally/straw man is then easily knocked down with the writer claiming to have defeated the original. Often they are so cunningly disguised that it is hard to see the fallacy. In academic writing this the aunt sally is seen as a cardinal sin. am afraid though it is a technique often used in political debate (if that is not an oxymoron)

      Edited at 2015-01-06 09:25 pm (UTC)

  3. Similar tale for me with regards to a scattered start. CANVASS and AUNT held me up at the end, the latter being a complete guess.

    A good medium-hard puzzle all the same.

    Thanks for the explanations Chris.

  4. Required two goes at this with the top half more difficult than the bottom. After a short break all became clearer. Managed to get the (unknown) painter from the cryptic which pleased me. Thanks for the blog.
  5. Thought this was a very tough clue, I was trying to start the word with AC (jACk with outing removed. Eventually remembered Aunt Sally from the Worzel Gummidge TV show, played by Una Stubbs with John Pertwee as Worzel. Anyone else remember this programme, which to my memory went out on a Sunday teatime on ITV.
    1. Only a vague recollection, I’m afraid. It is surprising what can help in solving cryptic crosswords though.
  6. I didn’t think of canvas as a cloth (or mohair as a fabric), but that’s just because I’m ignorant of these things. This made getting CANVAS all the harder, and AUNT was another tricky one. But good practice, as this type of clue (though relatively rare), where you have to look for an example of the target word – or actually a component of a target phrase – does crop up from time to time in the senior cryptics, and so it’s good to get the practice.

    Similarly, it’s not uncommon for two tricky clues to cross, and the time spent considering different options and embarking on alphabet runs pays dividends in the long run, even if it can waylay you for ages and appear to ‘ruin’ a good solve. 10 minutes, and my compliments to the setter – not forgetting the blogger.

    Edited at 2015-01-06 02:54 pm (UTC)

  7. Two days in a row I was one off finishing,which is pretty good for me, but still frustrating not to finish them off. Must remember fry for cook as I ended up with crusty for 24ac trying to fit a ‘C’ in for cook, which even to me sounded a bit desperate. COD for me was 15ac which I was quite proud of myself for working out. Thanks for the blog/explanations, which were excellent as usual.
    1. Completing is a good feeling, which you’ll get more and more often if you keep enjoying the journey. – a bit cryptic that for me – sorry!
  8. 40 minutes preparation without writing anything in and I was then able to solve this one in a further five minutes. Last one in was Margritte
  9. Definitely at the harder end of the Quickie spectrum. Just under 16 mins for me. I liked HARANGUE for its mix of wordplay and relevant surface read.
  10. I guessed 5d was Aunt from the reference to Sally, but had no idea how Jack was involved until I read the blog, so thank you for the explanation. Invariant
  11. I must have been on Hurley’s wavelength as I thought this was a very gentle offering and at the same sort of level as yesterday. Thought a couple of clues were a bit cumbersome, for example 20ac and 3dn, but otherwise only one other caught my eye.

    There are some who would take great exception to 14dn if, as I presume, ALSATIAN is meant to mean the dog breed. It seems German Shepherd Dog owners can be very touchy on this subject and dislike the use of Alsatian for the breed. Apparently, it was only coined after WW1 because of anti-German sentiment. But German Shepherd Dog is now the accepted name of the breed.

  12. Hi All,
    Having lurked previously, I wanted to say hi, mainly to thank all of you for the blogs and postings. As a total novice, but learning fast, I’m really enjoying all the explanations and comments provided here. Personal best was one of Joker’s, with 4 lines to complete, but I will get there! 😉
    1. Welcome! If you ever have any questions on the clues or the attempts to explain them then do feel free.
  13. Too hard for me, I’m afraid
    🙁
    Yesterday’s was a treat but I had to look up several answers to finish this one… and I’m here because I *still* didn’t understand how to get the answers from the clues!
    What would I do without you all?!
  14. On a first read through over breakfast my heart sank after completing yesterday’s ‘easier’ crossword. Got stuck in this evening and enjoyed the struggle to a surprising complete solution. Lots of lovely teasers today – too many to single any out. LOI 5d aunt, but figured out why it had to be. Ok, it took a couple of hours on and off but a great feeling of two consecutive completions of two very different levels (for me). It’s great to have the blog to check out reasoning as well as the answers. Off to bed happy! Comeuppance tomorrow?!

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