Quick Cryptic No. 68 by Rongo

Author   piquetPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I enjoyed this puzzle, a mix of simple and moderately tricky clues, including (as usual) a few where the likely answer springs to mind before the derivation is worked out.

Across
1 MUSIC – MC ushers in US (you and me) I (one), M(US I)C, def. ‘notes for pleasure’.
4 CUT-OFFS – CU (copper) TOFFS (nobs), def. ‘frayed shorts’. Remember Daisy Dukes?
8 BRIGAND – BAND (group) seizes RIG (equipment) B(RIG)AND, def. ‘member of gang’.
9 PARKA – PARK (public land) A (area) def. ‘it should be waterproof’. Well, cold-proof would be more accurate. The word derives from the Nenets language in the Aleutian Islands, apparently.
10 TRANSYLVANIA – (VALIANT YARNS)*, indicated by misrepresented, def. ‘SE European region’. A bit of Romania today, once (1711 – 1867) the Principality of Transylvania, and famous for its associations with Dracula.
12 RIDGED – BRIDGED = spanned, cut off the B (head). Def. ‘with raised lines’.
13 ODDS-ON – ODD (eccentric) then SON (lad), def. ‘likely’.
16 HOUSE OF CARDS – An amusing cryptic definition. Flat pack, get it?
18 OWING – O (old) WING (part of building, e.g the West WING), def. ‘outstanding’, as in unpaid.
20 FLOUNCE – Alternative to fluid oz = Fl. ounce, def. ‘action that exaggerates’.
21 ASHAMED – A SHAM (counterfeit) ED (edition), def. ‘not proud of’.
22 SMELT – Double def., smelt are various kinds of small fish.

Down
1 MOBSTER – M (beginning to munch) (L)OBSTER. Def ‘Mafioso’.
2 SPIT AND POLISH – SPIT (skewer) AND (along with) POLISH (Eastern European), def. ‘soldier’s cleaning’.
3 CLASSLESS – CLASS (students) LESS (LESSON with the ON leaving), def. ‘with social equality’.
4 CUDDLY – Leave out the even letters, ChUm DiD pLaY, def. ‘like stuffed toys’.
5 TIP – Double def., an easier clue.
6 FIRE INSURANCE – A trickier clue to parse, if not to guess. An anagram of (FURNACE I)* with REINS (checks) inserted inside, FI (REINS) URANCE, def. ‘cover for damage…’.
7 SHAW – SAW (observed) with H (heroin) inside. George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, founder of the LSE, and only chap so far to win both a Nobel prize in Literature and an Oscar.
11 AUDACIOUS – Def. ‘bold’. Put AC (account) into AUDIO (recorded sound) and add US (American). AUD(AC)IO US.
14 NO SWEAT – Anagram of (WATSON E), indicated by mistakenly, def. ‘it’s easy’.
15 HOOFED – Deer are indeed hoofed. The first letters of Horny On Ones Feet Eg Deer, indicated by for starters.
17 COMA – CO (company) MA (mother), def. ‘unresponsive state’. A political undertone here?
19 GUM – Double definition, it’s that simple.

7 comments on “Quick Cryptic No. 68 by Rongo”

  1. I always like it when I can spot and solve an anagram without writing the letters down, although the V and Y in ‘valiant yarns’ certainly helped. 20ac misled me into looking for a metric measure (‘alternative’). As with Pip, a few of these came to me before (or without) parsing, like AUDACIOUS and FIRE INSURANCE. Somehow I managed to miss the initial-letter indicator at 15d, making it my LOI, I think. 5:25.
  2. 4 mins. I found this much more straightforward than the last couple, but still enjoyable even though I didn’t bother to parse 6dn. FLOUNCE was my LOI.
  3. Echo Pip’s sentiments – good mix of clues. Hopefully some of our newer colleagues who have been struggling of late will have found this one more approachable.

    HOUSE OF CARDS was excellent, I thought, and “notes for pleasure” as a definition of music was very elegant.

    RIDGED was LOI – took me some time, as I was going for “cutting” as the definition.

    Thanks to Rongo for an enjoyable puzzle and Pip, as ever, a very nice blog.

    Edited at 2014-06-11 09:33 am (UTC)

  4. 13 minutes including time spent parsing 6dn long after I’d written the answer in, and time wasted at 19 wondering about teeth embedded in CUD!
  5. Thanks, Pip. My comments echo yours! Also, like Nick, I thought House of Cards was very good. LOI was Hoofed. I too missed the first indicator in 15d. 17mins.
  6. As a beginner/improver I thought this was a good level and more fun to do than the brain torture of other recents. FIRE INSURANCE was an obvious fit but I added the “in” to “furnace” anagram and so was left with SRE instead of REINS. More of similar level please.
  7. Couldn’t agree more with Anonymous above about the brain torture of recent days. This one was perfect for me and I finished it in odd moments snatched throughout a busy day. All in all, it probably took about an hour and a half. More of the same, please setters…

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