Times Quick Cryptic 1361 by Orpheus

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Hat off to Orpheus here – I was led blundering around the grid by a lot of guile and a couple of unknown terms. Having now written it all up I can’t help but think I made heavy weather of it. 15 minutes finishing in SE. LOI 15dn. Lots of good clues but my COD goes to 18dn.

ACROSS

1. UNASSAILABLE – secure. Anagram (redeployment of) ALL IN A US BASE.
9. RUN IN – arrest. Fa(N) and at home (IN) after game (RU).
10. TESSERA – piece of mosaic. Only now that I look at it does it ring a faint bell – a small square tile of stone, glass, etc, used in mosaics. Girl (TESS), a long time (ERA).
11. LIGHTER – double definition.
12. INEPT – awkward. Popular (IN), record (EP), (T)hough.
13. PANAMA – hat. Harshly criticise (PAN), a (A), graduate (MA).
14. MEMBER – arm, for example. Male (M) and doctor (MB) binding (containing) English (E), Queen (ER). Took a long time to get this easy clue.
17. RAVEN – big bird. A(A) and archdeacon (VEN – Venerable) found by river (R).
19. ELAPSED – passed. Mistake (LAPSE) visiting (in) editor (ED).
21. OUTCOME – result. Not in (OUT), business (CO), (M)iserabl(E).
22. LONER – recluse. Regularly taking drug (ON E), inside (L)eiceste(R).
23. MARKSMANSHIP – skilled shooting. Scars (MARKS), fellow’s (MAN’S), joint (HIP).

DOWN

2. NONAGON – figure. Horse (NAG) appearing middle of day (NOON).
3. SANCTIMONIOUS – smug. Anagram (dreadfully) of I COUNT SIMON AS.
4. ALTARS – tables. Homophone (reportedly) of changes – alters.
5. LES MISERABLES – musical. Tightwad (MISER) showing skill (ABLE) inside man’s (LES’S).
6. BREVE – note. Notes (B and E) welcoming vicar, perhaps (REV).
7. EXACTOR – one making extortionate demands. Former (EX), thespian (ACTOR).
8. ORAL – examination. Homophone (so to speak) of ‘of the ears’ – aural.
13. PERFORM – act. For each (PER), class (FORM).
15. BASENJI – dog. Dnk – a small smooth-haired breed of dog of African origin having a tightly curled tail and an inability to bark. Home (BASE), one (I) to the south of (after in a down clue) New Jersey (NJ).
16. GENEVA – Swiss city. Senior officer (GEN – general), woman (EVA).
18. VOTER – person who makes one cross electing 14dn (member). Excellent! COD.
20. DART – double definition. Any of various tropical and semitropical marine fish (dnk) and Devon river.

18 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1361 by Orpheus”

  1. Straightforward, although I needed all the checkers for LOI 1ac, as I do the anagrams in my head, and the anagrist was not helpful; as it was with 3d, where a glance at the anagrist was enough. I was glad that the wordplay in 7d didn’t require me to choose between -OR and -ER, where I’ve chosen wrong in the past. (Now that I think of it, it seems that all -ct verbs take -or: factor, inspector, ejector [got that wrong the other day], proctor, doctor, …] 4:21.
  2. A rare sub-5 for me, finishing, like Kevin, with a biffed 1a. TESSERA from a youth exploring various Roman remains, typically under duress.
  3. 17 minutes, way over my target 10, held up by the long anagram at 1ac which I needed to work out on paper, the wretched dog at 15dn whose breed I can never remember, and doubts as to whether there is a fish called DART which I don’t recall meeting before but undoubtedly must have done.

    Also ‘big bird’ at 17dn had me searching my mind for something in ostrich or emu territory rather than merely an oversized crow.

  4. Some of this was quite tricky and I was delighted to finish in 13 minutes, only for the computer to tell me it wasn’t quite right. I had ALTERS at 4d.
    Otherwise I was very pleased to get TESSERA and some others. I knew the dog and the river and assumed that almost any combination of letters can be a fish.
    David
  5. I think this was good overall – thanks! For me it pushed the boundaries a little with a couple of obscure terms (tessera and basenji) and a less common uses eg run in for arrest and base for home.
  6. A slow start but I was pleased to make steady progress and surprised when my iPad told me I was a couple of minutes under 20. Doesn’t time fly when one is enjoying oneself? I liked BREVE and VOTER but needed the crossers for SANCTIMONIOUS. My LOI was UNASSAILABLE and my COD was NONAGON. John M.

    Edited at 2019-05-28 08:36 am (UTC)

  7. 25 mins with fingers crossed for the unknown tessera and basenji.

    Cod outcome.

  8. No problems, except that, like others, I needed all the crossers for 1a, which was my penultimate entry before BREVE. TESSERA remembered at last! Nice puzzle. 7:02. Thanks Orpheus and Chris.
  9. Is what it took me to finish this – very enjoyable – puzzle. I did know “basenji” but am ashamed to admit that I did NOT know “nonagon”… nor, but less shamefully, had I ever heard of “dart” to mean a fish. I was pretty puzzled for ages by 17 across, wondering at first if “Aswan” could possibly be the answer before realising that 18 down had to be “voter “. This then led me to scratch my head over whether there might just exist a bird ending in “avon”. No. There doesn’t. The answer to 13 down, once it arrived in my head, kicked that black bird into touch. I wasn’t able to parse all of my answers, including 22 across. Thanks, Chris, for the super blog and thanks, too, to Orpheus for a great crossword.
  10. I was surprised to read of others having difficulty with this one. I might even have made it into the SCC, with a little under 6 kevins.

    I struggled a bit with 10a, sure it had something to do with tessalated..

    I almost always have to write down the anagrist and find it hard to believe that some people don’t (except ‘eclair’ yesterday) so I worked on 1ac after getting 2d. When I thought it might start with ‘un’, the answer came straight away.
    Others I biffed and am grateful for the explanations (17a, for example).

    No problem with the dog but was sure that 6d should have an ‘i’ in it, so thst was my LOI.

    Thanks Chris for the blog and to Orpheus for half an hour of enjoyment.

    1. With the 15x15s, I virtually always write down the anagrist; here, I decided some time ago not to, just to give myself a handicap, as it were. It’s a useful (and in my case, rare) bit of self-discipline.
  11. ….and in my case can break down anagrist of Jumbo proportions in seconds flat 98% of the time. Yet, in spite of that, I can write down “Genvaa” and only realise I’ve done so when the V totally fouls up 21A. But for that, I might just have broken three minutes today.

    FOI UNASSAILABLE
    LOI OUTCOME
    COD MARKSMANSHIP
    TIME 3:26

  12. Found the long clues helpful which gave a fast time for us of just over 20m. Final clue put in carelessly, 4d as alters. We have a dog so no problem with basenji, despite ours being a lab cross. Enjoyable solve.
  13. Hats off to Orpheus for bamboozling me today, I couldn’t work out whether it was very tricky or I was just being a bit dim. Spending a couple of minutes being stumped by a musical with that numeration (if that’s the word) leads me to think it was the latter.
    Despite my struggles I thoroughly enjoyed it and finished in 20.26 with LOI 23a – another that should have been straightforward. CoD to VOTER.
    Thanks for the blog
  14. Struggled with this one but I thought I had finished only to discover that DORY was incorrect. I should have considered it for longer as the fish is a John Dory and there is evidently no river in Devon called The Dory. (Sometimes it is so tempting to make things up along the way and then forget to go back to look for the correct answer!) It was a good puzzle though and I was pleased to fathom out the more unusual words. Thanks for the blog, Chris, I certainly needed it for the parsing of one in LONER. That had delayed me, even though I was sure it was right, as I was busy trying to take regular letters from various words… including opium! MM
    FOI LIGHTER
    LOI BASENJI
    COD VOTER (even though it depended on another clue and I don’t usually like those).

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