Quick Crytpic No 244 by Tracy

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Our blogger for today, william_j_s, is unfortunately competely tied up at work. Being on a roll after filling in yesterday, here is my latest instalment. Hoping that you aren’t getting too bored with my scratchings – here we go…

A trickier puzzle than yesterday’s but, I thought, excellent. I was staring at a more or less blank bottom half wondering if I’d complete but then made accelerating progress and finished in 14 minutes – something of a surprise.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Singer in boater, dancing (8)
&nbsp &nbspBARITONE – Anagram (dancing) of IN BOATER.
5 Pole in health resort by river (4)
&nbsp &nbspSPAR – Health resort (SPA), river (R).
8 Work out alone around five (5)
&nbsp &nbspSOLVE – Alone (SOLE) around five (V – Roman numeral).
9 Battle in extremely curious wood (7)
&nbsp &nbspCYPRESS – Battle (YPRES) in extremely (C)uriou(S).
11 Trainee in public relations accompanying old, decrepit 1 Across (11)
&nbsp &nbspPROBATIONER – Public relations (PR), old (O), anagram (decrepit) of 1ac =BARITONE. I don’t think that using other answers in word play is very common in QCs but I’m sure someone will have the details.
13 A good finish needed by a programme (6)
&nbsp &nbspAGENDA – A (A), good (G), finish (END), a (A).
14 Bird behind black dog (6)
&nbsp &nbspBEAGLE – Bird (EAGLE) behind black (B) gives us our friend Snoopy – I wonder if our friend with the Woodstock userpic is around today?
17 Form of treatment given by a copper attending flat (11)
&nbsp &nbspACUPUNCTURE – A (A), copper (CU), flat (PUNCTURE). Never seen the point of acupuncture personally. 😊
20 Girl‘s article retained by judge (7)
&nbsp &nbspHEATHER – Article (THE) inside (retained by) judge (HEAR).
21 Punch-up in foreign bar, with locals, primarily (5)
&nbsp &nbspBRAWL – Anagram (foreign) of BAR, first letters (primarily) of (W)ith (L)ocals. Foreign as an anagram indicator is also unusual I think. Here are a couple of definitions which justify its use – 1. not familiar; strange 2. in an abnormal place or position ⇒ foreign matter, foreign bodies.
22 Want massage, by the sound of it (4)
&nbsp &nbspNEED – Homophone (by the sound of it) of massage (knead).
23 I agree to try and try (4,4)
&nbsp &nbspHEAR HEAR – To try (HEAR) twice.

Down
1 Try hard to support graduates (4)
&nbsp &nbspBASH – Hard (H) under (supporting) graduates (BAS). Try as in have a go this time as opposed to try (hear) in a court of law.
2 Pearls cast before swine ultimately causes setback (7)
&nbsp &nbspRELAPSE – Anagram (cast) of PEARLS before the last letter (ultimately) of swin(E). COD for brilliant use of a well known expression which has to be picked apart.
3 Film 100m Olympic final? (3,4,4)
&nbsp &nbspTHE GOLD RUSH – Another great clue which is a humorous definition. It took me a while before I worked harder on the ‘Olympic’ part. When gold medals occurred the answer fell easily. The film is a classic silent comedy, in which the Little Tramp (Charles Chaplin) heads north to join in the Klondike gold rush.
4 Delicious drink at hand outside court (6)
&nbsp &nbspNECTAR – At hand (NEAR) outside court (CT).
6 Groom about to enter fold (5)
&nbsp &nbspPREEN – About (RE) to enter fold (PEN).
7 Kept back, being shy (8)
&nbsp &nbspRESERVED – Double definition.
10 Key issue in 1999, for example (5,6)
&nbsp &nbspPRIME NUMBER – Key (PRIME), issue (NUMBER – as in one of a series, as of a magazine or periodical; issue). More excellent deception had me wondering about the events of that year when the answer was the number itself.
12 Race mother runs with floppy hat on (8)
&nbsp &nbspMARATHON – Mother (MA), runs (R), anagram (floppy) of HAT, on (ON). Takes some working out if you don’t get the race from the definition.
15 What may cause danger if tossed on top of everybody? (7)
&nbsp &nbspGRENADE – An &lit clue where the wordplay is also the definition. Anagram (tossed) of DANGER, first letter (on top) of (E)verybody. A grenade would definitely cause danger if tossed on top of everybody.
16 Rare panic involving onset of cyclone (6)
&nbsp &nbspSCARCE – Panic (SCARE), including (involving) first letter (onset) of (C)yclone.
18 American needing time for practice (5)
&nbsp &nbspUSAGE – American (US), time (AGE).
19 Incomplete publisher’s hype leaves confused impression (4)
&nbsp &nbspBLUR – Publisher’s hype (BLURb) without the last letter (incomplete).

16 comments on “Quick Crytpic No 244 by Tracy”

  1. I got a bit held up by my inability to spell acupuncture correctly (or by typing it in badly on my iPad) but other than that, I thought this was a very straightforward, and very enjoyable, puzzle. No archaic knowledge, no names of flowers or birds etc. Just well com[osed clues. Thanks to the setter and the blogger.
  2. Well done on stepping in at the last minute yet again, Chris. Maybe we need a pool of Quickie bloggers on standby if this trend continues? I’d be happy to volunteer.

    This was very enjoyable, and my neat handwriting and lack of notes in the margins suggests that I found it quite straightforward. I did note that I completed it in 10 minutes, but only just, I think.

    Edited at 2015-02-13 02:00 pm (UTC)

  4. Hello! Newbie from Norwich here. Thanks to Chris for getting me interested in this 3 weeks ago. I’m improving and managed to finish today in about half an hour – this is good for me so far. You old stagers impress me with your times!
    1. You are very welcome janenorwich! Any questions, any time, and the assembled crew will be more than happy to help out.
  5. Started well, but over-complicating 10d and LOI 3d left me well off the pace. I also lost time wondering if 11ac involved 1ac or One Across, if you see what I mean – using the abbreviation in the clue would have been clearer. Invariant
  6. Another gentle offering today, but with some neat cluing I thought. Liked PROBATIONER and GRENADE amongst others. PRIME NUMBER went in quite quickly, but wasn’t sure quite how the clue worked until I read Chris’s blog. Many thanks for the enlightenment.

    Coffee and crossword finished, so now off to walk the dog 🐩. He’s only part poodle, which I’m sure I’ve seen in a crossword before, but I’m looking forward to the time when I see Labradoodle getting its turn 😄

    2. It’s appeared in the Guardian at least twice and the Independent at least once, with the pick of the clues being Arachne’s &lit “Adorable old mongrel (11)”, however I don’t think it’s made it into any of the Times puzzles yet.
      1. Thanks for the info Mohn – the Guardian clue was excellent, wasn’t it, the sort of clue that makes you smile. Alas, I only do the crosswords from the Times, so wouldn’t have seen them. Just hope when one appears in the Times I manage to get it OK!

        Edited at 2015-02-14 07:57 am (UTC)

  7. I thought this had some tough clues in it, but I completed it in the end. Couldn’t parse 11a so thanks for the explanation. I always struggle with clues which refer to other clues and having Pleat in 6d for a while didn’t help! 3d made me smile so it takes my COD. Pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve finished 3 in a row, so I’m feeling quite chuffed with myself at the moment.
  8. Some clever and amusing clues today and I just got there in the end. I had forgotten that the gold rush was a film. I took out the wrong article from Heather and got stuck. I laughed the most at Hear Hear and I will now be ready for more clues about Hearings.
    I get a lot of emails on a Friday and so I suppose that this leaves less time for commenting on the crossword.

  9. Haven’t had chance to complete the puzzle today, just wanted to say a huge thank you to Chris for stepping in at the last minute. I am very sorry to have let you down this morning, and very grateful for the excellent blog.

    Hope you all have a happy weekend.

    Will

  10. I have missed this one, the second recently, and it again appears to be out of order. Could someone please give me the URL or just the number in the address? Much obliged in advance

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