Times Quick Cryptic 1071 by Pedro.

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Spoiler alert. If you’d prefer to solve the grid with no thematic hint then please press the reveal button only after completion.

Thank you, Pedro, for this well appreciated reminder of the wit and wisdom of the great Douglas Adams and the question of Life, the Universe and, well, just Everything (5, 8, 11). Our ‘star’ Arthur Dent (18, 16, 19) makes his appearance (perhaps appropriately) toward the bottom end of the grid.

The number of the puzzle – 1071 – translates to 42F in hexadecimal. I’m sure HHGTTG fans will find plenty to think about in that. Actually, this is as irrelevant as what anyone had for dinner a week ago – but do enjoy whatever you do (without harming anyone else).

Improbably, all this became clear only after completing the grid which took 12 minutes and felt like I was making heavier weather of it than I should (which made me REALLY depressed – brain the size of a planet and I miss the 10 minute target). There doesn’t seem to be much which is obscure – except maybe the word play of 13dn but the definition was clear, and the clever hidden at 11ac. The experience of others would be interesting.
Cod to 8ac for first making me realise the connections.

So long and thanks (in advance) for all the comments.

ACROSS

1. Mea culpa – it’s my fault (‘We apologise for the inconvenience’). Copper (CU) interrupting dinner, say (MEAL) with secretary (PA).
5. Life (don’t talk to me about it) – biography=life story/life. Story (LIE) encompassing fine (F).
8. Universe – a lot of space – ‘Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space’. Place to study (UNI), poetry (VERSE).
9. Wing – faction of party. Success (WIN), (G)overnment.
11. Everything – all. In the clue (ingredients of) som(E VERY THIN G)ruel.
14. Lariat – cowboy’s accessory – a rope used as a lasso or for tethering. US city (LA), lowlife (RAT) carrying one (I).
15. Newton – scientist. Fresh (NEW) measure of mass (TON). Measure of mass works for me but if there are any doubts it also means a freight ton which is often taken as 40 cubic feet, 1 cubic metre, or 1000 kilograms.
17. Popularity – mass appeal. Anagram (crazy) of PLAY I TOUR containing power (P).
20. Hoop – ring. Hard (H) work (OP) containing old (O).
21. (Agatha) Christie – crime writer. Vica(R) in church (CH), is (IS), restriction (TIE).
22. Dark – sinister. Vessel (ARK) pursuing daughter (D).
23. True Grit – John Wayne movie. Time (T), to regret (RUE), stones (GRIT).

DOWN

1. Maul – (loose) scrum. Ponder endlessly (MUL)l around a (A).
2. Arid – (a description) of desert regions. Area (A), free (RID).
3. Unenviable – in no way admired. Anagram (working) of IN LAB VENUE.
4. Pastry – some baking. Father’s (PAS), attempt (TRY).
6. Initiate – make a start on. One (I), idiot (NIT), I (I), took in (ATE).
7. Engaging – double definition.
10. Streetwise – in tune with the city. Is (IS) surrounded by an anagram (various) of TWEETERS.
12. Slipshod – taking little care. Quietly hands over (SLIPS), brick carrier (HOD).
13. Trap-door – area of stage. Elevated (upwards) of cross (ROOD – a crucifix, esp one set on a beam or screen at the entrance to the chancel of a church) and section (PART).
16. (King) Arthur – regal figure. Craft (ART), almost injured (HUR)t.
18. Star – big name (in the movies). Debut cut short (STAR)t.
19. Dent – evidence of collision. (D)riv(E), (N)o(T) – both disheartened.

27 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1071 by Pedro.”

  1. Naturally, I didn’t notice the theme; it’s been years since I read the books, and I’d forgotten the name of the hero. Is this our first Quicky Nina? I only now realized that I’d biffed TRAP-DOOR and never parsed it; rather a tricky clue for a Quicky, maybe, although checkers and the hyphen should do the job (they did for me!). 5:58.
    1. Not sure that I have them all noted, but we have had at least three prior to today:

      QC300 & QC540 both had a ‘Star Wars’ theme and were set, appropriately enough, by Palpatine, a compiler who has only graced us with his presence on those two occasions.

      QC357 by Noel was a pangram apart from having no L (geddit?).

      Today’s nina was lost on me despite recently having completed a themed puzzle on the subject published in The Oldie to mark the 40th anniversary last month of Adams’s creation.

      Solved in 8 minutes.

      Edited at 2018-04-17 04:40 am (UTC)

  2. Last one in was the four-letter MAUL. An extremely quick-ie otherwise. So there’s a theme, eh?… Well, I hitch-hiked across the US of A and back twice in my much younger days, but I’ve never read the Douglas Adams classic.

    Edited at 2018-04-17 01:04 am (UTC)

  3. Not sure scrum is a maul. The ball is on the ground so is it not more like a ruck ?
    1. The dictionary describes it as a loose scrum. If you accept that there are two versions of rugby they’ll probably have slightly different definitions. There’s also the non-rugby usage – a scrum or maul at shopping sales.
    2. In Rugby League, an act of mauling or tackling a player. In Rugby Union, a loose scrum in which the ball is off the ground (opp. ruck). M19.
  4. I would never have spotted the theme without you. In fact when I read your warning I then had a little think about what a theme could be before pressing reveal, and still missed it! (I thought it might be Agatha Christie.) Gosh I’m thick sometimes. Yet another example of how marvellous this blog is at bringing light to the heathen masses like me.

    Anyway. Fast time on the puzzle, only delayed (and then not for long) by TRAP-DOOR. I’ve always wondered why a rood screen is called a rood screen.

    Thanks to Pedro for the wit and to Chris for patiently explaining it.

    Templar

  5. 18 minutes, not 42. Noticed a science/space theme but not hitchhikers.

    Took a while to parse trap door and streetwise.
    Lariat seemed probable. Also dnk true grit.
    LOI engaging.
    COD trap door.

  6. DNF because of STREETWISE. I was chasing a couple of plausible parsings: The City =EC surrounded by two birds, meaning in tune with. I figured there would be a least one bird I didn’t know, so pressed on.

    Did not see the Nina, but I never have.

  7. Didn’t parse TRAP=DOOR, not knowing that a ROOD is a cross. And certainly didn’t spot the Douglas Adams theme, but not something I have ever read. Otherwise I found it all very straightforward. Easy week so far.
    PlayUpPompey
  8. possibly a PB for me, not that I’m there with a stopwatch, but within the 20-30 min mark for me.
    I couldn’t fully parse 6d & 13d though.
    thanks to blogger and setter.
    Carl
  9. Back down to earth with a bang after yesterday’s high. Didn’t spot the theme and trap-door unparsed. Just under 20 mins.
  10. Thanks Pedro for the great Nina, and thanks Chris for pointing it out! Adams is someone I aspire to be: locked in a hotel room, food and drink on tap, until he’d finished his novel…all paid for by his publisher. Now that’s writing.
    Another good day for me, approx 15 mins. I’m definitely improving! Even finished Saturday’s, which I usually struggle with. A lot of it is down to this blog, so thanks again to all contributors.
  11. If I had spotted the theme, I wouldn’t have been held up quite so long with 16d, but even so, 24mins puts this one into the straightforward category. The HHG is up there (with Augustus Carp, Esq) as one of the funniest books I have ever read. Thank you, Pedro and Chris, for the reminder. Invariant
  12. Screwed this up in 11:13, by using MUSE instead of MULL for 1d. I have to hang my head in shame, as I just spent a week on MULL!! I missed the Nina too despite having read the book. Nice puzzle though. Thanks Pedro and Chris.
  13. 13 minutes, after being held up in NW by having UNLOVEABLE at 3dn (hadn’t checked anagram) and also thinking of MUSE at 1dn. With 8ac therefore being LOI, failed to see the Nina, as only rechecked for typos finally.
  14. Thanks for the spoiler alert Chris. It prompted me to look back at the grid and spot the theme… yes I’m another who hadn’t noticed. Well spotted on the hexadecimal… I was wondering if, perhaps, this was Pedro’s 42nd outing for the QC.
    As for the solving… quite a quick one, coming in about 2 minutes below average. Apart from the clever theme, UNIVERSE my favourite. Thanks Chris and Pedro.
  15. Thank you so much for drawing my attention to the nina. (Remind me, why is it called a nina?) I am sure that I would never have picked up on it myself despite being a fan of the trilogy… in five parts!!! In fact my cousin (Martin Smith of Croydon) is referred to in the first book. He and Douglas Adams were college friends.
    Really enjoyed this puzzle though hardly a quickie for me at 34 minutes. I got there in the end and sometimes that’s satisfying enough.
    FOI 1a LOI 1d Favourite 11a – so clever. How do these setters think these things up? MM
    1. How do they think these things up? Well, they must be pretty clever – I’ve tried setting a few myself – couldn’t believe how hard it is to just fill the grid with decent answers (always end up with t!h!z or such like so have to rewrite all the answers) let alone set good clues.

      A Nina is: The word comes from Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), American caricaturist, who was famous for hiding his daughter’s name “Nina” into his drawings. it’s usually a hidden message in the letters in the grid which don’t cross with another clue – so they’re not ‘checked’ by another clue (called the unchers). I think today’s was a theme rather than a Nina but I’m still learning.

      As for Douglas Adams – congratulations on the reference (although it’s a bit sad that your cousin didn’t get to date Trillion). As for me – I was dragged up in Norfolk not long after Douglas Adams had gone through the school system there so may well have gone through the same school books.

      Edited at 2018-04-17 07:24 pm (UTC)

      1. Thanks for explaining Nina and now I have a new term to learn “unchers”. Definitely haven’t heard that one before!
        (There is/was a cartoonist who always included his wife’s head in his pictures. We used to love spotting her.) MM
  16. Came to this late today and completed it in 12.28. Never having read HHG the theme passed me completely by, but having said that it probably would have done so even if I’d just finished the book as I don’t tend to spot these things.
    Excellent blog chris91
  17. Been a bit behind after a break which I thought would clear my mind a bit, I was sadly mistaken.

    When looking at the clues I looked forward to solving the crossword, until I got to 23 across.

    At a young age, I didn’t know any John Wayne films.

    I only got 4 down and 17 across.

    Thank you to the blogger.

    Edited at 2018-04-17 09:51 pm (UTC)

    1. Keep at it, it will get easier – honest – and keep using the blog to see how the clues are solved. Invariant
  18. Sad to say, we had to look up the reference to the HHG as we had no idea what this was about! Eldest son was hooked on it but we managed to avoid reading or hearing it altogether. We must be getting long in the tooth!

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