Quick cryptic No 773 by Orpheus

Author   TheRotterPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Good puzzle with some nice surfaces.  I don’t have an accurate time, as I got up at 3:00 am to get this done before heading north on the M1, and wasn’t awake enough to remember to look at my watch, but it didn’t take long.

There is a nice mix of clue types, a little general knowledge required, but nothing too demanding.  Thanks to Orpheus, who like his namesake, has charmed us with his art.

Across
1  Continue to bivouac, having secured right climbing aid (7)
CRAMPON – To continue to bivouac would be to ‘CAMP ON’, insert R{ight}.  A CRAMPON is a traction device used by climbers during ice climbing, or when traversing snow fields, glaciers, etc.
5  Old bloke in Arabian territory (4)
OMAN – O{ld} and MAN
7  Teacher initially trying to stop retreating rabble (5)
TUTOR – The rabble is a ROUT, reversed (retreating) and containing (to stop) T{rying} (initially)
8  Convincing action of informer? (7)
TELLING – Double definition, the first as in a ‘telling intervention’, the second what an informer is doing
10  Manage to compete in race (3)
RUN – Another double definition, as in to RUN a company, or to RUN in a race
11  Traveller given brandy and old game (5,4)
MARCO POLO – The Venetian merchant traveller whose story bought tales of the greatness and wealth of China and described other Asian wonders to Europeans, eventually resulting in Horryd setting up there (in China) amongst other things.  On edit – sorry I forgot to parse – thanks to those below who were more on the ball than me.  MARC is a type of brandy (made from grape skins and other grape refuse).  O{ld} and POLO is the game.
13  Foot doctor in Iowa, America (6)
IAMBUS – I[ow}A with MB for doctor and US for America.  Foot in this case is a division of a line of poetry, and IAMBUS is a particular foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long, or an unstressed followed by a stressed.  I was vaguely aware of IAMBUS from iambic pentameter, and even vaguer about foot in this context, but managed to get it anyway.
14  Solvent officer originally occupying an apartment (6)
AFLOAT – A FLAT is the apartment, insert O{fficer} (originally)
17  Pet food and joint provided in moored vessel (9)
LIGHTSHIP – LIGHTS are offal often used to feed pets, and the joint is the HIP.  A LIGHTSHIP is a ship serving the purpose of a lighthouse, and is necessarily moored in a fixed position when serving that purpose
19  Sailor gets deserter brought back (3)
TAR – The deserter is a RAT, reversed (brought back).  A bit of an old chestnut this.
20  One who makes a whooshing sound stealing cattle (7)
RUSTLER – A RUSTLER steels cattle (other kinds of rustler are available), and makes a noise, although I wouldn’t necessarily equate it with a whooshing sound.  They are usually seated behind me in the cinema.
22  Mixed paint is not suitable (5)
INAPT – Simple anagram of [PAINT] with ‘mixed’ as the indicator
23  Shout disapproval – and finally get sack (4)
BOOT – To BOO is to shout disapproval, with {ge}T (finally) added
24  Carry infection at the front?  It’s a nightmare! (7)
BUGBEAR – To carry is to BEAR, preceded by (at the front) BUG (infection)

Down
1 Provide food and support for butterfly larva ()
CATERPILLAR – To CATER is to provide the food, and the support is a PILLAR
2  Not many at sea? It means the opposite (7)
ANTONYM – Anagram, clued by ‘at sea’ of [NOT MANY]
3  Most important soldier on horse, possibly? (9)
PARAMOUNT – The soldier is a PARA (abbreviation of paratrooper), and one type of MOUNT could be a horse, although other types exist, hence the question mark
4  Wildlife, etc, at old city in north-east (6)
NATURE – N{orth} E{ast} containing AT (at) and UR (ancient city).  We often see UR in crosswords, and in case you wondered, it is an ancient city-state in southern Mesopotamia
5  Bird’s plaintive cry in East London (3)
OWL – The plaintive cry is a HOWL, but in East London where Setters imagine that everyone drops their aitches, it would be an ‘OWL
6  Friend has a turn crossing motorway (5)
AMIGO – The turn is A GO, which crosses (or contains) the infamous M1 motorway, which I shall be driving up later today
9  Does one contain the spirit of someone else’s words (5,6)
GHOST WRITER – The whole clue forms the definition in a question, with spirit giving a further hint to the first part of the answer
12  Children belonging to start of fruitful season? (9)
OFFSPRING – belonging gives OF (as in OF this world), followed by (start of) F{ruitful} and the season referred to is SPRING.
15  Not in fashion?  It’s a scandal! (7)
OUTRAGE – If one isn’t ‘in’, one is OUT.  Fashion is RAGE.
16  Youngster a woman’s adopted – an angelic being (6)
CHERUB – The youngster is a CUB, containing (adopting) HER (a woman’s)
18  Relish: some giving us toothache (5)
GUSTO – Hidden answer clued by ‘some’, {givin}G US TO{othache}
21  Abraham’s nephew’s destiny (3)
LOT – Double definition, this time the first being Uncle Abe’s nephew who famously fled the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah whilst his wife turned to a pillar of salt (does anyone remember her name? – she seems always to be referred to as ‘Lot’s wife’), and the second meaning destiny – it was Lot’s wife’s LOT to end up as a table condiment.

31 comments on “Quick cryptic No 773 by Orpheus”

  1. Found some of this tricky.

    Iambus…

    And how do you parse Marco Polo. Polo is the old game bit? And…

    Whilst we got nature ur as an ancient city… I love the way crosswordland teaches me new and obscure things.

  2. With 1d surprisingly LOI, bit of a blind spot, trying to get GRUB in there.

    Was pleased to get IAMBUS, from its more common adjective ‘iambic ‘. Although I’ve still never heard of an MB as opposed to an MD for doctor, it’s a bit like EP for ‘record’ which is more common in crossword land than LP.

    Blogger, can you give a bit more help on MARCO POLO? Is MARC a kind of brandy?

    COD 3D, and a very pleasing QC all round, thanks Orpheus.

    1. In the UK the most common medical degree is an MB BCh/BS for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, It is the Americans who give their medics an MD automatically. In the UK you generally have to earn it by further research.
    1. Thanks. I just looked it up. Marc = Pomace Brandy…. Yet, more crosswordland gen to fill my loaf 🙂
  4. Among the military standbys–OR, GI, RE, RA, TA, …–PARA is the one I always forget, and I think it took me a pass or two through the downs to remember it this time. I should have double-checked before typing my LOI (NATURE), since I had a typo, which took a few seconds to find (after taking a few seconds to have the ‘Unlucky!’ sign appear and then return to the grid). So I could have shaved a few seconds off my 5:40 if I’d been a bit more careful typing.
  6. Now edited, thanks for pointing out my omission. I got carried away with the bio of the traveller and forgot to do my job, which is parsing the clue!
  7. Came in at 18 minutes in the end, but would have been quicker had I not got stuck on 17ac, 15dn and 24ac. I have never heard of lights meaning pet food, and was convinced the word started with “leg” (joint). A very pleasing crossword to finish. gribb.
  8. 7 minutes, so my best of the week to date. The usual sources mention pet food under “lights” but I can’t say I’d ever come across that aspect before. I knew “lights” as “lungs” and ate them myself on one occasion, though to be honest I didn’t know what they were until afterwards or I probably wouldn’t have.
  9. Yes, Marc is a particularly fine brandy indeed – also a dog with a speech impediment.

    Mr. Rotter, Sir – – ‘among other things.’!? What do you know? How much money do you require?

    5.21 beat my PB by 18 seconds or so. Orpheus be praised. Will I ever break 5 mins? I doubt it.I think there should be one or two cracking times in the offing.

    COD 9dn my LOI GHOST WRITER – which I bunged in yesterday’s 15×15 carelessly, instead of GHOSTBUSTER! Curses!

    WOD GUSTO

    Where’s Galspray – watching the cricket no doubt.

    1. Here. Yep, was watching the cricket. One of those days where we don’t know who’s winning until the other team bats, but I fear the worst.

      4:44 for the puzzle. Nice time Horry, you’re closing in on us.

  10. About 40 mins with plenty of time spent on 13a iambus, 17a lightship, and getting the spelling right for 2d antonym.

    Didn’t know marc = brandy or lights = pet food.

    Some funny surfaces today (17a, 20a, 23a, 15d,18d)
    but my COD goes to 9d.

  11. Well that’s me down to earth with a bump after the week’s earlier successes. I could have spent all day trying but Marco Polo, Lightship and Offspring were never going to come to mind.
    Tomorrow is another day.
    CSky
  12. 6.0 and a bit having carelessly bunged in HERALD for 16d which made 17 and 24a interesting for a while. Otherwise straightforward. I have some interesting memories of MARC, including one flavoured with chilli in Italy. Of others I have no recollection at all…
  13. Never heard of MARC or IAMBUS or of LIGHTS as petfood. So all in all a fair bit of biffing required. COD GHOST WRITER. Enjoyed that.
    PlayupPompey
  14. I found this difficult and certainly not something I could have attempted at 3am -respect to The Rotter. Is there much traffic at that time of night?
    I had trouble parsing Tutor and Iambus (took a while to get away from a metatarsal type of answer).Lightship was another -my LOI; did not know the pet food bit despite having a golden retriever on hand. So 25 minutes in total. This felt like a mini main cryptic apart from 2 or 3 very easy clues. Favourite 1a. Congrats to those who sped through it. David
  15. I found this fairly gentle, despite the unknown lights and marc, and completed it in 12 minutes. It helped that I spotted the anagrams relatively quickly today – something that’s turned into a bit of a blind spot recently. LOI 17a, COD 1a
  16. I always try to parse as I go along. Usually that’s fine – a slower time but more enjoyment. Occasionally, like today, it causes problems when a word or part of a word just doesn’t make sense. How on earth offal became lights is a mystery. However, 9d was so good I am happy to let it pass (as I do with offal on the menue). Invariant
    1. always had ‘lights liver and lungs’ from our butcher. These days it all comes in cans for the little ‘snowflakes*’.

      *When will that word enter Crosswordland with its new meaning from the Bannon Brigade?

  17. Zipped through this one in 6:04 so probably a PB. Only unknown was LIGHTS as offal, but it didn’t hold me up. Enjoyable puzzle. Thanks Orpheus and Rotter.
  18. What is or are th Bannon Brigade please. Found the puzzle slow going but enjoyable and got there in the end. We are of the age to remember our parents giving lights to pets amongst other foul smelling fish for the cat. Elin and Ian.
    1. We must be the same ages! Also a couple doing the crossword together – over lunch and, today, supper as well.
  19. I found this a slog. I got there in the end, but well over an hour, but in several shifts. Learnt some new “crossword words” on the way, though, so all is good. “MARC” and “UR” were new to me. I think “TAR” was one of my first crossword words I learnt, from my Granny many years ago, before I really “got” cryptics.
  20. Have just googled the above and got:
    “Buy Fish tank lighting products from Pets at Home, the UK’s largest pet shop, with fast delivery and low prices. Part of our innovative pet supplies …
    USB Rechargeable Pet Collar LED Flashing Light Band Dog Safety Collar Waterproof Pet Collar(Blue)”

    I’ll try again to find the food. David

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