Quick Cryptic No 271 by Orpheus

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Sadly unable to prepare this yesterday due to numbering changes, no time today. Clues broken up briefly below.

Definitions underlined, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.

Across
1 Snooty-sounding lifestyle familiar to gardeners? (12)
&nbsp &nbspHORTICULTURE – Sounds like haughty, lifestyle (culture).
9 Mountain peak one visits for example with hesitation (5)
&nbsp &nbspEIGER – One (I) in EG, hesitation (ER).
10 Crime of receiver of stolen goods (7)
&nbsp &nbspOFFENCE – OF, FENCE.
11 Work sung in prison, followed by cheers? (7)
&nbsp &nbspCANTATA – Prison (CAN), cheers – thankyou (TA) x2.
12 Horse going round back of yew tree (5)
&nbsp &nbspROWAN – Horse (ROAN) round back of yeW.
14 Toledo employer’s promise to board ship alongside island (9)
&nbsp &nbspSWORDSMAN – Promise (WORD) in ship (SS), island (MAN).
18 Woman not quite conforming to standard? (5)
&nbsp &nbspNORMA – NORMAL
20 Fish a politician accommodated in shed (7)
&nbsp &nbspHALIBUT – A politician (A LIB) in shed (HUT).
21 Traitor’s initial justification for betrayal of sovereign (7)
&nbsp &nbspTREASON – (T)raitor, justification (REASON).
23 Marsupial’s time to settle for the night (5)
&nbsp &nbspROOST – ROOS, T
24 General direction in trial causing great distress (5-7)
&nbsp &nbspHEARTRENDING – HEAR, TRENDING. TREND in HEARING (thankyou faceofboe).

Down
2 One who arranges entertainments at first in new garrison (9)
&nbsp &nbspORGANISER – (E)ntertainments in anagram (new) GARRISON.
3 Rent trouble provoking storm (7)
&nbsp &nbspTORNADO – TORN, ADO.
4 Frequently vary what one may get on paying the butcher (4,3,6)
&nbsp &nbspCHOP AND CHANGE – dd.
5 Misuse of rifle may have got him where he is! (5)
&nbsp &nbspLIFER – Anagram (misuse) RIFLE. &lit.
6 Reportedly bring in large vessel (3)
&nbsp &nbspURN – Homophone of earn.
7 They all go out on the stage (6)
&nbsp &nbspEXEUNT – cd.
8 One writing on church for little cash (5)
&nbsp &nbspPENCE – PEN, CE.
13 Orchestral instruments and how they’re played, buffeted by the elements? (4-5)
&nbsp &nbspWINDBLOWN – WIND, BLOWN.
15 Girl holding slightly leftist views? (7)
&nbsp &nbspMILDRED – MILD RED
16 Quickly seize a short piece of music (6)
&nbsp &nbspSNATCH – dd.
17 Condition of artwork university abandoned (5)
&nbsp &nbspSTATE – STATUE
19 Something useful a Hardy heroine brought up (5)
&nbsp &nbspASSET – A, TESS backwards.
22 Film a character in Athens (3)
&nbsp &nbspETA – ET, A.

11 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 271 by Orpheus”

  1. I think the explanation for 24A is trend (general direction) within hearing (trial). That was my LOI.

    I really liked this one, I thought it was going to be impossible but actually it was really good. COD exeunt, the clue didn’t need a bear! 🙂

    1. Thank you – correction made. If you ever fancy having a go at blogging you would be very welcome to my alternate Tuesday spot.
  2. A little more testing than yesterday’s puzzle and at 12 minutes it took me half as long again to solve. I wonder if EXEUNT might be a little obscure for those not familiar with stage directions in Latin and there’s no alternative way into it.

    I rather like the succinct style of today’s blog, Chris. There’s no reason to expect anything more elaborate though of course bloggers are welcome to be more expansive if they wish and they have the time to be so.

  3. Lovely puzzle. 4d especially brought a big grin. As usual there’s was one I could not parse even after the blog. I knew ‘exeunt’ from messing about with school plays and amateur dramatics but I could not cope with the ‘all’ bit. For example The direction might well read ‘exeunt Bill and Ben’ leaving the other characters on the stage. Not knowing what ‘cd’ stands for left me unaided by the (excellent) blog though my ignorance is hardly the fault of the blogger, to whom many thanks.
    1. 7dn

      You’re quite right of course, “exeunt omnes” is the direction for all characters to leave the stage.

      Re cd there’s a key to abbreviations at the end of the intro above.

      Edited at 2015-03-24 10:56 am (UTC)

      1. Also with reference to Philip’s comment below:
        As you have pointed out, if it was a simple definition the ‘all’ should have given us exeunt omnes.

        Assuming it is not a mistake – do we have a double definition here?
        1. They all go – third-person plural present active indicative of the Latin verb exire.
        2. Out on stage – A stage direction: “they leave”

        As part of this brief research I’ve found there is such a thing as the Shakespeare (programming language) which has commands #Enter, Exit and Exeunt!

        All the above sounds rather improbable for a Quickie but it was fun having a root around in the murky (to me) depths of Latin terminology. Those with far more Latin credentials than me are extremely welcome to comment.

  4. Like others I recognised Exeunt – a common direction with the Bard. But am I missing something cryptic – the clue appears to me as just a long-winded definition.

    Philip

  5. Goodness me that was hard, even by Orpheus standards. Nothing impossible, but some very tricky word play. 15d brought a welcome smile to an often puzzled face. 14ac was loi, but run close by 1 and 24ac. Invariant
  6. As others have commented this was a very enjoyable puzzle, but it looks like one of those weeks where I have one clue that defeats me each day. Today’s was 7d, I think I have heard of the word before, but it was buried deep in the back of my mind somewhere and I would never have worked it out from the clue.

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