Times Quick Cryptic 1116 by Flamande

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Thanks to Flamande for a puzzle in which there was a great deal to enjoy. I’d completed the grid in 8 minutes except for 12, 14 and loi 23ac, my final time being just over 10 minutes. CODs to 12ac and 1dn for lovely use of language which made me smile but there was plenty more to appreciate.

ACROSS

1. TAPING – recording. Minor hit (TAP), popular (IN), (G)oths.
4. PROBED – asked searching questions. Minot problem (PROB) with editor (ED).
9. ICED TEA – drink. Anagram (ruined) of ACE DIET.
10. MEGAN – name of female. Say (EG) embraces by male (MAN).
11. GAIN – win. (GA)mes, at home (IN).
12. SINGLETS – underwear. To celebrate (SING), why don’t we? (LETS). A clue that was too clever for me for some time – I’m not a singlets sort of person for a start so this didn’t occur to me, sing for celebrate didn’t spring to mind and then there was the clever why don’t we? Excellent.
14. GET-TOGETHER – meeting. Twice bring (GET GET) and that woman (HER) coming round to (TO). I was slow here getting rid of the idea that there were two ‘her’s in the answer.
18. MODERATE – reasonable. Cost (RATE) of fashion (MODE) gives us MODE RATE.
20. ARCH – gateway. Gateway ne(AR CH)ichester partly demolished. Normally the hidden indicator tells us what should be extracted from the clue – here ‘partly demolished’ tells us that the rest of the clue can be erased leaving only ARCH standing.
22. LINGO – language. Learner (L), I (I), note (N), to travel (GO).
23. CORDIAL – double definition. It was always going to be a double definition I just couldn’t think of cordial as a drink which of course it is – it also means warm in the sense of relations.
24. ROTATE – go round. Old (O) and London gallery (TATE) next to river (R) which is very neat because of course the Tate is next to a river.
25. STAGEY – very dramatic. Deer (STAG), you once – ye – knocked over (EY).

DOWN

1. THINGY – the name of old whatshisname escapes me. Lean (THIN), (G)u(Y).
2. PRESIDE – take charge. (P)layers, on (RE), team (SIDE).
3. NOTE – observe. Where would setters be without public school=ETON? In this case it’s upside down (on the way up).
5. RAMSGATE – UK resort. Anagram (performing) of MEGASTAR.
6. BOGIE – small truck. That is (IE) stuck at bottom of swamp (BOG).
7. DANISH – pastry. Little Daniel (DAN), is (IS), hot (H).
8. TAKING STOCK – assessing the situation. A shoplifter may take the stock of a store, a rustler takes cattle (stock).
13. START OUT – begin journey. Anagram (somehow) of AT TOURS, (T)oulouse.
15. EARRING – piece of jewellery. Being mistaken (ERRING) clutching a (A).
16. SMILER – a happy-looking sort. Sister (SR) covering more than a kilometre (MILE).
17. CHILLY – cold. Homophone (according to reports) of part of South America (Chile).
19. DONUT – American spelling of this cake. Prepare (DO), fruit (NUT).
21. BRAT – naughty child. (B)ehaviour (R)eally (A)ntagonises (T)eacher.

21 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1116 by Flamande”

  1. A nice, easy one, made easier by LETS having been similarly clued recently in a 15×15, as SING for celebrate didn’t leap to mind. I liked the different treatment of a hidden clue at ARCH; I don’t think I’ve seen that before. 4:02.
  2. 20 minutes, last few were preside, once I remembered RE for on, taking stock and cordial.

    COD Ramsgate, which reminded me of Britney playing in Scarborough.

  3. 9 minutes with time lost over my last two in, the intersecting 19dn and 22ac. For the 5-letter language beginning with L I of course wanted to biff ‘Latin’ but resisted writing it because in QCs I don’t usually allow myself to move on until I’ve seen the wordplay which was not forthcoming on this occasion. The O-checker from 13dn provided food for thought and I eventually came up with LINGO as the correct answer. The N-checker now in 19dn prompted me to think of DONUT as the American cake; prior to that the clue had me stumped.

    Edited at 2018-06-19 04:45 am (UTC)

  4. 1 minute under average time for me, so quite gentle. Held up only by SINGLETS, my LOI. Very neat puzzle, I thought. I liked the french journey at 13d best.
  5. As a Man of Kent (not a Kentish Man), ny sheer delight at discovering that RAMSGATE is an anagram of MEGASTAR had to be witnessed to be believed.

    Similar to the above – wanted two HERs, nearly biffed LATIN but thought of jack and didn’t, LOI was CORDIAL, COD was SINGLETS. Quite easy but very elegant puzzle, completed in a little over two Kevins so well within target.

    Thanks Flamande and Chris.

    Templar

  6. I thought this would be a record for me at first but I slowed down in the southern half. Some very nice clues. I biffed many of them on sight but took longer checking the parsing so it finally took me a little over my average time. Thanks to Flamande and Chris.
    John
  7. Just under 7 minutes, so a gentle but entertaining stroll. SINGLETS was fun, good surface readings (especially for TAPING) a credit to Flamande.
  8. Also enjoyed Ramsgate. Found the SW to be tricky. All the LOIs down there with rotate LOI having been fixated with 13d ending with OFF and therefore missing that it was an anagram – unforgivable!

    Log in trouble – so don’t be too hard on the anonymous crew!

  9. Just inside 11 m for me, so definately at the easier end of the Rotterometer. No particular hold-ups, and 2d LOI only because I didn’t see it first time around, and came back to it last.

  10. TAPING was my FOI and I worked my way through the grid from top to bottom, with a pause at 14a looking for 2 HERs, and with DONUT, my LOI, needing all the crossers and some furrowing of the brow. 7:17. Nice puzzle. Thanks Flamande and Chris.
  11. For me, this was even more straightforward than yesterday, with only 12ac holding things up and stopping a sub 20 finish. It’s funny how starting with 1ac and 1d can give so much confidence, but that was again the case today. Would probably have struggled with 23ac on its own, but the crossers were very helpful, likewise with 20ac, as I couldn’t see the hidden at first. Invariant
  12. Took me a little longer than yesterday, but not much and only because I was stuck on CORDIAL for a while. Enjoyed TAKING STOCK. A sort of triple definition.
    Does STAGEY really = “very dramatic”? Over dramatic maybe.
    Came across SING for “celebrate” somewhere else recently.Don’t like it though.
    PlayUpPompey
  13. Not as quick as yesterday. 11:50 with quite a lot of ham-fisted typing from being too eager. I had Marsgate instead of RAMSGATE initially. My LOI was the final clue 25ac STAGEY so no dramatic hold ups elsewhere.
  14. I did not think it was as easy as yesterday and got a bit stuck on the bottom part of the puzzle. Still a perfectly reasonable QC.

    Nakrian kikiat

  15. A steady solve for me today with no particular hold ups. I was sure that 16d was going to have a ‘k’ in so needed all the checkers before seeing what was going on. LOI the very pleasing 12a with my CoD going to 1d. Completed in 16.35
  17. I think the parsing is ‘of’ (RE), then you put ‘players principally’ (P) on, then ‘team’ (SIDE).
    On is not RE.

    Sorry for anon, can’t log in.

    1. Inside with flashman here.

      Take charge of players, principally, on team (7)

      Preside=take charge of.

      Word play – players principally – (P)layers, on is RE (concerning, about, on), team (SIDE).

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