Times Quick Cryptic 1001 by Orpheus

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Whilst solving, I noticed only that it was medium difficulty and that there were a lot of female names. It turns out that only three such names are present and also that there are some lovely sleights of word-play hand in here which it’s been a pleasure to unravel whilst blogging. My COD goes to one such at 10dn.

ACROSS

1. Sturdy – well-made. Chai(R) installed in workplace (STUDY).
5. Ethics – moral code. Anagram (that could be) HIS ETC.
8. Window-shopper – potential customer. One who looks though lights – which can be defined as anything that allows the entrance of light, such as a window or compartment of a window e.g. skylight.
9. Stoa – Ancient Greek portico which does crop up in crossword-land. Some of confes(S TO A)dmiring.
10. Protocol – etiquette. Promoter (PRO – Public Relations Officer – thanks jackkt. As a much weaker option, I found a pro to mean a person who argues/votes in favour of a proposal, motion, etc so someone who promotes a cause), to (TO), senior officer (COL – colonel). The ‘introduces’ is, I think, simply a padding indicating that PRO starts the answer which then carries on to TO. However it may also mean the introductory letters of PROmoter.
11. Hunter – double definition.
13. Inmate – one serving porridge (in prison). Popular (IN), ship’s officer (MATE).
15. Nineteen. A cryptic definition, I think. A garrulous speaker talks nineteen to the dozen. Well, they do in the UK – any comments from other locations?
17. Naff – inferior. Supporter (FAN) backwards, (F)ulham.
19. Constellation – stars. Trick (CON), a woman (STELLA), anagram (wrongly) of INTO.
21. Ampere – French physicist – André Marie 1775–1836, French physicist and mathematician, who made major discoveries in the fields of magnetism and electricity. Bilingual declaration of fatherhood. UK (AM), French for father (PERE).
22. Thread – theme. Republican (R) found in the publicity (THE AD).

DOWN

2. Twist – roll. Twerp (TWIT) consuming second (S).
3. Radiant – glowing. Girl (DI) and (A)shamed in (during) harangue (RANT).
4. Yew – tree. Homophone (talked of) of you – from the setter’s point of view the solver is ‘you’.
5. Ethiopian – African. Anagram (played) of THE PIANO I.
6. Hippo – thick-skinned animal. One (I) and very quietly in music (PP) entering house (HO).
7. Cheroot – cigar. Revolutionary (Ernesto – known as CHE Guevara), source (ROOT).
10. Persevere – keep going. Intrinsically (PER SE – and nothing to do with perse which is a darkish grey/blue colour) gripping always (EVER).
12. Uniform – unvarying. Higher education (UNI) class (FORM).
14. Minster – church. Cleric (MINiSTER) abandons Island (no I).
16. Ensue – follow. Girl (SUE) with English (E) and name (N). There’s an &lit quality about this one as we follow (track) girl (SUE) with English name (EN) so EN is chasing after SUE.
18. Fiona – girl. (F)rom, Hebridean Island (IONA).
20. Lot – fate. A lot in an auction may be knocked down – property is said to be “knocked down” when the auctioneer, by the fall of the hammer, or by any other audible or visible announcement, signifies to a bidder that they are entitled to the property on paying the amount of the bid, according to the terms of the sale.

17 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1001 by Orpheus”

  1. 17 mins so fast for me but carelessly had impere, in future I will start after the first coffee.

    Did not get the lot = knocked down reference so thanks for the explanation. I also thought the expression was 10 to the dozen.

    COD Persevere.

    Edited at 2018-01-09 04:33 am (UTC)

    1. I also had Impere for a little while, until I realised that given my background I should at least have heard of any physicist who would appear in a QC. I also had thirteen to the dozen rather than nineteen for a while, too!

      Still, got very close to my target of completing all the downs followed by all the acrosses in order. Thought I’d done it until 12d made me realise that I was going to have to re-think 15a…

  2. LOI, as I did not know the expression. I didn’t know there were HUNTER horses either.
  3. At 10ac “image promotor” is PRO (Public Relations Officer) and I think “introduces” is in line with your first suggestion, Chris, that PRO just comes before the other elements of the answer, TO + COL.

    8 minutes for this one.

    On 8ac, not relevant to today’s clue but it’s worth knowing that the spaces in a crossword grid to be filled with letters or words are called “lights”.

    Edited at 2018-01-09 07:55 am (UTC)

  4. I can’t recall any particular problem, other than needing time to remember ‘nineteen’; fortunately for me, ‘fifteen’ isn’t long enough. 5:29.
  6. A confidence booster after yesterday’s mishap. Started with YEW, finished with PROTOCOL in 7:45. Most thinking time spent on CONSTELLATION and NINETEEN. Thanks Orpheus and Chris.
  7. Surprised myself when the last one went in at 3.46 – a mere 11 seconds behind a certain Verlaine of this parish. On an iPad. On the train.
    Just one of those days I guess – doubt it will be repeated in a hurry.
    2. Drat! I managed 4.16 – also on iPad – which I think is a PB. I needed a second look at two clues which cost me a little, but that is a seriously fast time, well done.
  8. Our dog’s annual check-up at the vet was this morning so I took the puzzle to look at whilst we waited. Somewhat distracted by monitoring the dog whilst a cat and owner sat next to us, I glanced at the puzzle and nothing emerged until I saw 9a which I thought must be a hidden and plumped for Stoa. Weird that an unknown word is FOI -perhaps I have seen it before. After that we were called in and emerged financially poorer but guarded against kennel cough etc for another year.
    Once I got home I raced through the puzzle in about 12 minutes until 12d looked impossible.I had put Thirteen for 15a. I recalled Nineteen might be the answer. Finally I had to get 16d my LOI. All I could think of was Elsie- the Follow part of the clue was not clear to me but I was running out of time.
    So one wrong and about 20 minutes all told. David
  9. It seems I found this a bit harder than others (not for a change, unfortunately). I was on course to finish in about 30 mins, but then spent an extra 10 on my last two – Radiant, and Ensue. Wrong end of the clue issues (again) with Radiant, where I was looking for something beginning with Red, and like David above, I could only think of Elsie for ages before moving EN to the start of the answer gave me Ensue I thought Ampere would be quite hard for non-physicists, but no-one (so far) seems to be complaining, and it gets my vote for CoD. Nineteen to the dozen is an odd phrase, which a couple of references tentatively ascribe to Cornish beam engines pumping 19,000 gallons of water for every 12 bushels of coal. . . seems a bit of a stretch to me, but I can’t come up with anything else. Invariant
  10. Nearly submitted with FLORA (MacDonald) at 18dn, but saw wordplay in time – just over 7 minutes, so well within my target.
  11. I found it quite straightforward to complete the grid, which took me 14 minutes, but parsing some of the answers was a lot more difficult and a couple eventually defeated me (3d and 10d). Like some others I initially put ‘impere’ in for 21a but it didn’t look right so I revisited it and I needed checkers to remember which teen completed the expression in 15a. COD 21a
    Thanks for clearing things up chris.

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