Quick Cryptic No 28 by Joker

Apologies for the brevity of this blog- am very rushed today. Not the easiest quick cryptic I thought, I struggled a bit to blog it, hopefully my explanations are clear. Worth trying the Times Crossword qualifying puzzle today- probably a little easier than the standard cryptic (although a bit more challenging than past qualifying puzzles have been in my opinion).

Across
1 BUSINESS CARD – a concern can mean a BUSINESS (as in going concern) with CARD being the substantial paper. Def = hand-out for executive.
8 APART – an out of work actor would welcome ‘ A PART’ which also means divorced. A neat double definition
9 MARIMBA – ‘RI’ is right one, inside (stuffing is a containment indicator) ‘MAMBA’ (a highly venomous snake) to give ‘MARIMBA’ (a percussion instrument). RI is often clued as ireland (republic of ireland) or less commonly Rhode Island (a US state)
10 EWE – ‘E’ is the end of the linE, followed by WE. Def = creature
11 EASTER EGG – EASTER EGG is an anagram of ‘gets eager’. The anagrind is ‘excitedly’. My kids have been given 4 already, which will mostly be consumed by their parents. Def = gift of chocolate
13 PIANO – a hidden clue within ‘EthioPIAN Orthodox’.’Used by’ suggests that the clue is part of the phrase. Def = musical instrument
14 STAVE – I thought this was another musical term, but actuallly it refers to a barrel stave ( a wooden strip that forms part of the sides of a barrel). Vats are the ‘large tubs’ reversed (returned) to give ‘STAV’ next to (by) an ‘E’ (European). Def = part for barrels
16 THEREFORE – ‘THE REF’ is ‘the referee’ followed by ‘O’ (round) and ‘RE’ (concerning) to give ‘THEREFORE’ (So). I suppose the ‘finds a’ in the clue refers to ‘THEREF’ finding ‘ORE’ to give ‘THEREFORE’. Not the easiest clue to justify, but hopefully you buy it. Def = So
17 ICE – ‘IE’ is Id Est (‘that is’ in Latin) ‘containing’ ‘C’ , the first letter of Calcium (‘primarily’). A nice clue with misdirection, Hard water here is solid water rather than water containing a lot of minerals. Def = Hard Water
19 INFLICT – to ‘INFLICT’ can mean to lay upon or visit (as unwelcome relatives might). Here ‘flint’ is rearranged (‘moving’ is the anagrind) to give ‘INFLT’ which is placed ‘around’ ‘IC’ (in charge) to give ‘INFLICT’. Def = Visit
21 PLACE – ‘PACE’ is to ‘step’ around (‘across’) ‘L’ to give ‘PLACE’. A place in an Olympic event is a position in the top three or a medal. Def = position in
22 UNDERCURRENT – UN and DER are the German articles followed by ‘CURRENT’ (‘present’). Def = Latent Suspicion

Down
1 BRAKE – ‘B’ (bishop in chess notation) followed by ‘RAKE’ (libertine). Def = slow down
2 STALEMATE – ‘STALE MATE’ is the partner who’s past their best, and also an indecisive position in chess. Def = position on board
3 NOT BEFORE TIME – A dual definition. Committed drinkers don’t stop drinking until NOT BEFORE TIME, which can also mean None too Soon
4 SAMOSA – ‘SAMOS’ is a Greek Island, followed by ‘A’. Def = type of fried pastry
5 CARPET SWEEPER – An anagram of ‘scrape pewter’ and ‘e’ (symbol for energy) to give ‘CARPET SWEEPER’. Def = cleaner
6 RUM – ‘RU’ is Rugby Union followed by ‘M’ (‘twickenhaM’s ultimate’ – ie it’s last letter) to give seamen’s favourite tipple. Def = spirit
7 TANGLE Tons (T) try to catch fish ‘ANGLE’ (try to catch fish) gives ‘TANGLE’ (a coarse seaweed)
12 ERADICATE – ERADICATE is an anagram of ‘date’, ‘rice’ and ‘a’. Mixture is the anagrind. Def = finish off
13 PUTRID – ‘DIRT’ (filth) followed by ‘UP’ (at university) to give DIRTUP which is then reversed (‘on the rise’) to give ‘PUTRID’. Def = Very unpleasant
15 COPTIC – ‘COP’ is the Policeman, followed by (leading to) ‘TIC’ (‘a habitual response’) to give an Egyptian language.
18 ERECT – ‘ERE’ is before, combined with ‘CT’ (Court). Def = being upstanding
20 FUN – ‘FUND’ is to pay for, chopped off (endless) gives ‘FUN’ (amusement)

8 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 28 by Joker”

  1. 16 minutes for this one, which is more or less my average time for Quickies so far (15.6 minutes actually). I think I might tackle them after the main cryptic for a while to see if it has any effect.

    This was Joker’s 3rd outing. STAVE of a barrel didn’t come readily to mind but I think it was hiding there somewhere. The wordplay was clear enough anyway.

    I’m sure your explanation of 16 is correct Allan, at least it’s the same as mine though I lost time trying to make it a partial anagram.

  2. Thanks Allan. Of course the Qualifying Puzzle is easier than the standard cryptic. Have to maximise those £15 entries.
  3. Finished in a reasonable time and as usual enjoyed the puzzle. Noticed that – 9ac is Marimba and 10ac is missing…

    Eurc.

  4. 6 mins. I found this puzzle a little trickier than some QCs, and INFLICT was my LOI after PUTRID.
  5. Thanks for the good blog, Allan. 25 mins so my longest solve thus far. Thanks for explaining THEREFORE. My LOI was TANGLE. It took me an age to get it.
  6. Nice blog, Allan. Many thanks. re 16ac. I thought So meant therefore which is then made up of the ref o re.
    LOI and COD was 2dn, stalemate which Z8 ain’t. 🙂 His contributions are further lessening but I’m still too chicken to try tightrope walking without a safety net. 22mins appears to be my sort of standard solving time at present.
  7. Enjoyed this one. Particularly liked STALEMATE (very droll) and NOT BEFORE TIME.

    THEREFORE worked fine for me, but I was less happy with CARD as “substantial paper” – bit odd, I reckon. Anyway, overall a very nice puzzle and good blog – thanks Allan.

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