Quick Cryptic No 349 by Rongo – I think, therefore…

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
This seemed a little more devious in places than the usual Friday quickie, which made it an enjoyable puzzle even if some of the clues were facile. If they were all as good as this, I’d do them every day, for a ten minute warm-up.

Across
1 CIRCA – CIRC(LE) = 2/3 of Ring, A = end of opera, def. approximately, no need to know your Wagner.
8 THEREFORE – Definition ‘so’; sounds like ‘they’re four’, because they were three before this birthday.
9 BRASS – BR = British Rail, AS = when, S = sold initially, def. money.
10 PATIENT – Double def., one literal, one meaning not in a hurry.
11 NARRATE – RAN = rushed, reversed = NAR, RATE = speed, def. tell the story of.
12 RESPITE – RE = in regard to, SPITE = malice, def. relief.
16 TIE DOWN – Insert IED = improvised explosive device, into TOWN = urban area, def. use ropes to restrain.
17 DUCHESS – DU = from the, in French, CHESS = strategic game, def. noblewoman.
20 IMPRESS – Journalist declares “I’M PRESS”; def. evoke admiration.
22 UNION – UNI = place to graduate from, ON = working, def. labour group.
23 GROVELLED – GROVE = small wooded area, DELL = another one, reversed = LLED; def. crawled.
24 EERIE – E for Energy beside ERIE a Great Lake, def. strange.

Down
1 CABIN – CAB = taxi, IN = home, def. simple wooden house.
2 ROAD RAGE – Cryptic def., where ‘driving people’ means drivers.
3 AT SEA – Double def., one colloquial.
4 PEPPER-AND-SALT – Cryptic pun.
5 DENTIST – (IT TENDS)*, anagrist ‘to vary’, def. who looks after choppers = teeth.
6 COPE – COP = police officer, E = end of phone, def. deal with.
7 HEATHEN – HEA(R) = listen to, briefly, THEN = at that time, def. irreligious person. Well, not belonging to the mainstream religions, at least.
13 INFERIOR – INFER = make a deduction, I, OR; def. lower.
14 STRINGY – RING = phone, inside STY = dirty place, def. with lots of lines.
15 LORELEI – Anagram of LOVELIER without (‘but not’) the V = very; anagrind ‘somehow’; def. seductive siren, Rhine maiden.
18 CRUDE – C = cold, RUDE = impolite, def. unrefined.
19 SINGE – Hidden word in HOU(SING E)STATE, def. slightly burn.
21 PROP – Double def.

7 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 349 by Rongo – I think, therefore…”

  1. Enjoyed this puzzle which was of medium difficulty for me. A few entries went in with a smile, notably CIRCA, THEREFORE and my favourite LORELEI.

    Last in HEATHEN.

  2. At 11 minutes this was the most straightforward Quickie of the week for me but I lost time over 17ac where the last word of the clue, the definition, got itself omitted as I cut and pasted for printing. I’ve seen IED once before but it’s a comparatively new addition to setters’ arsenal of abbreviations so is well worth remembering.

    Edited at 2015-07-10 08:34 am (UTC)

  3. I’ve been finishing them more regularly recently but this was the easiest and quickest yet, but I’m not complaining. Very enjoyable. COD was Lorelei.
  4. Undone, I’m afraid, by the unknown 15d, but otherwise a very welcome change from yesterday. 8ac was my favourite. Invariant
  5. I thought this was a very gentle Friday offering, with at least half the clues being write ins. Needed all the checkers for 15d and I was only really held up by my LOI, 5d, as I strangely missed the anagram. COD 23a.
  7. Just under average time for me, with some enjoyable clues. Scratched my head for a while thinking of operas ending in a – 1a my last one in after I finally realised I was abbreviating the real answer to just C or CA. 8a my favourite.

    Edited at 2015-07-12 10:52 am (UTC)

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