Times Quick Crossword No 1049 by Orpheus

Author   JohninterredPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

What a delightful crossword from Orpheus. As you will see below, I had great fun with the lovely surface readings of the clues, some of which were quite witty. There were a couple of words – 10a and an unusual meaning of 16d, that may have given some pause for thought for some. Nothing too difficult though, I thought, and I finished about 1/2 minute quicker than average with a NITCH of just over 90. 3d almost my favourite, but I suspect it may be considered a bit of a chestnut. COD goes, then, to 10a for its reminder of living by the North Sea in my mid-twenties. Thanks Orpheus! How did you all get on?

Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 In search of a style, to a certain extent (5,1,7)
AFTER A FASHION – Double definition, first mildly cryptic…. sort of.
8 Police officer, one who manages to bear pressure (6)
COPPER – Hello, hello, hello. What have we here then? One who manages is a COPER. Insert P for pressure to get a collar-feeler who (q.v.) had a bit of trouble with Mr. Punch.
9 Charm a Greek character hired out (6)
AMULET – A + MU (Greek M) + LET (hired out). Now this is an interesting Greek amulet, having something in common with 20d.
10 Sea-fog initially hated at all resorts (4)
HAAR – [initially] H{ated} A(t) A{ll} R{esorts}. Yes. I used to hate them. Especially on a warm sunny summer day cycling home from work to my bedsit by the sea at Whitley Bay when ran into one of these a mile from the sea-front, leaving me chilled to the bone by the time I arrived.
11 Person who’s tested an explosive device in river? (8)
EXAMINEE – The explosive device is A MINE and the river is the EXE. Insert one into the other to get what my son and daughter will be in a couple of months time. it’s GCSEs and ‘A’ levels coming soon for the Interred juniors!
12 Twilled fabric used in looser gear (5)
SERGE – Hidden word [used in] {loo}SER GE{ar}. Not a fabric to make, say, a shift dress from, though.
13 Racecourse spy eating river fish (5)
TROUT – If someone spied on the horses and offered you a tip in return for part of your winnings, they would be a TOUT. Insert R for river to get a tasty fish. Anyone for almonds with it?
15 Eavesdrop across in this place, it’s reported (8)
OVERHEAR – OVER (across) + HEAR (sounds like here – i.e. in this place) [reported].
17 Attention needed at first to make money (4)
EARN – EAR (Attention) + N{eeded} [at first].
19 Young child in first half of Disney film (6)
INFANT – IN + [first half of] FANT{asia}. Dating from 1940, the 3rd Disney animated feature film, Fantasia was a favourite with my kids and, I’m sure, encouraged them to listen to classical music.
20 Tradesman swallowing last of coffee in cup (6)
BEAKER – The butcher and candlestick-maker’s peer, BAKER [swallowing] [last of] {coffe}E. Rub-a-dub-dub.
21 Railway guard who exposes malpractice? (7-6)
WHISTLE-BLOWER – What does the guard do to let the driver know when to move off? No I didn’t mean wave a flag.

Down
2 Plant life I’d removed from US state (5)
FLORA – The US state to remove “I’d” from is not Idaho but FLOR{id}A. What plant life might you remove from there? Well they export oranges, don’t they? Take your pick from here.
3 Sovereign setting up theatre in Italian capital (7)
EMPEROR – The theatre is REP. Insert into ROME and invert to get the erstwhile sovereign of that city and its territories. Classic!
4 Broadcast melody (3)
AIR – Double definition.
5 Material for statue obtainable from sale at bar (9)
ALABASTER – Our first anagram….[obtainable from] (sale at bar)*. Alabaster is a soft form of gypsum and perfect for carving.
6 Alluring woman I found after some time (5)
HOURI – HOUR + I. Read all about them here.
7 Stuff oneself before boarding old vessel (7)
OVEREAT – O (old) + VAT (vessel) boarded by ERE (before).
11 Basic team Ellen assembled (9)
ELEMENTAL – (team Ellen)* [assembled].
12 Flat in south, not among the first six (7)
SEVENTH – Flat is EVEN. Stick it in the slightly unusual abbreviation for south – STH, to get the first not among the first six.
14 Herb originally only relished, say, by a small number (7)
OREGANO – The recipe for this is [originally] O{nly} R{elished + EG (say) + A + NO (small number).
16 Anchorage in Greek island, by the sound of it (5)
ROADS – A road can be “an anchorage in an area of sea protected by guns“. Sounds like the Greek island Rhodes.
18 Cleric receiving East European magistrate (5)
REEVE – A historical word that seems to crop up often in crosswordland, a Reeve was “a local official, in particular the chief magistrate of a town or district in Anglo-Saxon England.“. Here it is clued by REV (cleric) [receiving] E inside + E (Eurpoean)
20 Move up and down repeatedly — up or down! (3)
BOB -[up or down] indicating this down clue is a palindrome. Can we fix it? Yes we can!

23 comments on “Times Quick Crossword No 1049 by Orpheus”

  1. 24 mins. Two words I never knew: HAAR and HOURI. Also did not know ROADS=Anchorage, but guessed based on the town of Hampton Roads.

    Spent too long on INFANT as was trying to get “Wal[ter]” in there. 11ac had trap of both “examiner” or “examined” for speed merchants who don’t read the clue carefully.

    COD 18d REEVE, another tough word.

  2. protected by guns? That’s news to me. But I believe the nautical sense of ROADS predates the current sense, as (I’m still believing here) ‘rules of the road’ first applied to how to move your ship. I knew HAAR from a 15×15, and I’m glad the clue here made the spelling clear, as I probably would have spelled it ‘harr’. 6:24.
    1. Interesting. Thanks. I never knew that about rules of the road. As for the “protected by guns” bit, I was just quoting verbatim from my Chambers dictionary
  3. Another tricky QC that took me a minute over my target 10 – now missed for the fourth consecutive day! I was okay with HAAR and HOURI but lost time over INFANT (for some reason) and took extra care at 11ac where I so nearly put EXAMINER.

    But the one that really did for me was 16dn where the answer just had to be ROADS (to sound like “Rhodes”) but nothing in my experience could verify or explain it so eventually I bunged it in, stopped the clock, checked the answer and set about looking it up. A bit tough for a QC perhaps although it’s quite gettable from wordplay and checkers even if one doesn’t know the definition.

    Those who came across Chaucer’s ‘CanterburyTales’ at school will probably remember there was a ‘Reeve’s Tale’.

    Edited at 2018-03-16 05:40 am (UTC)

    1. I wonder how many of those students remember the tale? I sure don’t. I actually typed in RHODE while thinking, That can’t be right, and then read the clue again.
      1. It’s true I don’t remember any of the tales, but many of the occupations of the pilgrims have stuck.
  4. Thought this one was a good lesson in how it’s quite possible to come up with words one’s never heard of and trust that they’re right while solving (a skill which becomes more important as one approaches the 15×15…)

    HAAR and that meaning of ROADS completely unknown to me (a sea-fog is usually a “fret” in my crossword experience so far, and I see they’re synonymous now I’ve looked them up) but they just couldn’t be anything else, so in they went. I’ll admit to a few seconds hesitation about the anchorage before clicking “submit”, but only a few!

    (I’ve never been 14th on the leader-board before! I didn’t foresee this benefit of solving first thing in the morning!)

    Edited at 2018-03-16 07:29 am (UTC)

  5. Completed in 22 mins. 10a HAAR was my first answer in but I too have lived in the northeast.
    Last in Roads as mandated by checkers and Rhodes. But confused by my own nautical knowledge that the anchor rode is the rope attached to an anchor.
  6. A thoroughly enjoyable crossword this morning. I don’t really time myself but completed today’s while drinking my morning coffee. As always, thank you for the blog. It has helped me so much.
  7. I enjoyed this one and got through it quickly for me, about 11 mins.
    I’d heard that the county magistrate, or Shire Reeve, was apparently the origin of the word “sheriff”.

    Thanks Orpheus.

    Edited at 2018-03-16 10:24 am (UTC)

  8. I think I spent more time figuring out some of the parsing than in actually completing the crossword. Never heard of HOURI, so that was a complete guess, HAAR rings only the vaguest of bells (I think it is probably more used in the North), and REEVE takes me back to O level Chaucer. I had never associated ROADS with anchorage either, although that is what they are of course. So thank you setter & blogger, quite a learning experience today.
    PlayUpPompey
  9. A bit trickier than usual, with the required meaning of ROADS unknown, and HAAR lurking somewhere in the mists of my memory. No problem with REEVE. Took me a minute or 2 to get my head round 1a and 2d. Submitted at 8:44 and then discovered I hadn’t understood 12d at all and had entered SAVANAH for a flat area. Some you lose! Nice puzzle. Thanks Orpheus and John.

    Edited at 2018-03-16 12:04 pm (UTC)

  10. Well, that was an odd one. Most of it went in without too much trouble once a few checkers were available, and the unknown Houri and Haar were just a matter of faithfully following the cryptic. I already knew Reeve from dabling with the occasional 15×15, but I have never come across Road in the sense of anchorage and so decided in the end to look that one up. Still not sure why we have the plural version, but anyway a technical DNF. Invariant
    1. I wondered about that too but I gather the idea is that an area used for anchorage consists of more than one actual anchorage so the plural can apply, and the same goes for road/roads. Collins confirms, without going into detail, that ‘road’ in this sense is often used in the plural.
  11. I guess that I have now approached about 100 of these and this was probably my quickest solve. Although some tricky words they seemed to be fairly clued and for once the checkers worked to allow me to get even the stragglers. I didn’t understand EARN so thanks for the blog and I chuckled at overhere/overhear. Nice.
    Back to 40 minutes and dnf next week but enjoying the moment.
    Thanks for the help and comments.
    John
  12. Yes, I can see thinking of it as an area would allow for a plural. Thanks. Invariant
  13. A tad under 20 minutes so it, for me, was on the easier side. Reeve seems to come up quite a lot and today was the first day I remembered it. Like others I thought the clueing was kind today, in particular I got Emperor by following the directions long before I knew the word.
  14. I have just found your very entertaining helpful programme,purely by accident.I have been quietly harassed by the wholesale changes on the crossword sites,and as a neophyte ninety year old I wander about trying to find a helpful source,like yours.I just hope that I can find you in the future!Regards Walter Daisley
    1. Welcome Walter, hope you find us again. This site has changed my crossword life and hope it can help you too.
  15. This was one of those crosswords where I hope my GK has been improved but in reality will probably forget the new words at 6d, 10a and 16d by the time they next appear in a crossword. Fortunately they were all kindly clued which helped me to finish this in 11 minutes. Particularly enjoyed 21a.
    Thanks to johninterred
  16. I agree with our blogger, this was a nice puzzle. A few challenges: Reeve I had come across before but quite rare; Houri was vaguely familiar; and my LOI Roads only went in after considering whether any other Greek islands existed which fitted these letters.
    It still only took me 13 minutes; well under my average. But I do seem to be improving with all this practice.
    COD to Amulet. David
  17. The sailors amongst you, especially those who frequent the SW, will have surely heard of Carrick Roads, the estuary of the River Fal. It is one of the World’s largest natural harbours and was in olden days protected by the guns of Pendennis and St Mawes castles.

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