Times Quick Cryptic 1411 by Hurley

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
The top half went in on first glance but things changed the lower down the grid I got. This culminated with 14dn. In retrospect I’m not sure why it caused such a problem but I was aware of the clock clicking past the 10 minute target as I struggled to make it click.
Do have a look at 15ac.

As an aside (and with apologies if I missed any reference in yesterday’s blogs) I would like to salute Barrington Pheloung (obituary in yesterday’s edition). I’ve always enjoyed the Morse books/TV and now I find that the music was full of what we here would call ninas:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/barrington-pheloung-obituary-w723838q0

ACROSS

1. Players missing Robinson Crusoe? (8)
CASTAWAY – players (CAST), missing (AWAY).
5. Some marry early in twelvemonth (4)
YEAR – some marr(Y EAR)ly.
8. Clasp new trophy (5)
SCALP (to gain a scalp/trophy) – anagram (new) of CLASP.
9. Conifer from Mediterranean island, it’s said (7)
CYPRESS – homophone (it’s said) of Cyprus. On look up, there’s a Cypress Island in Washington State – not that that’s relevant here as we were looking for the homophone.
11. Frozen water decision partly reversed (3)
ICE – part of d(ECI)sion reversed.
12. Ill-will I’m into, say? Out of order (9)
ANIMOSITY – anagram (out of order) of IM INTO SAY.
13. Series of games for masseur (6)
RUBBER – a masseur could be said to rub.
15. Unique record run without partner (6)
SINGLE (a quadruple definition) – unique, (pop) record, run (at cricket), without partner. COD to a highly unusual clue.
18. Pub customer initially alone, sadly, in city (9)
BARCELONA – pub (BAR), (C)ustomer, anagram (sadly) of ALONE.
19. Narrowly defeat Greek character, quiet (3)
PIP (at the post) – Greek character (PI), quiet (P – piano).
20. Awarded thousand pounds to cover the missing horse (7)
GRANTED – thousand pounds (GRAND) to cover (go round) (T)h(E) – missing horse (h).
21. Female in from France provides lustre (5)
SHEEN – female (SHE), ‘in’ from France (EN).
22. Small piece about old, despicable person (4)
TOAD – small piece (TAD) about old (O).
23. Lady, almost better, going about career (8)
BRUNETTE (I haven’t heard this term in ages so am not sure if it’s still in vogue. Any questions please refer to COLLINS which has ‘a woman or girl with dark brown hair’.) – almost (BETTE)r going about career (RUN).

DOWN

1. Dismiss person handling money (7)
CASHIER – double definition.
2. Wise to limit temperature where plays are performed (5)
STAGE – wise (SAGE) to limit (bound/go around) temperature (T).
3. Free PE nametapes in policy of making concessions (11)
APPEASEMENT – anagram (free) of PE NAMETAPES.
4. Very cold car, it unsettled Charlie (6)
ARCTIC – anagram (unsettled) of CAR IT, Charlie (C – phonetic alphabet).
6. No time for equestrian competition late in day (7)
EVENING – no time (T) in equestrian competition (EVEN)t(ING).
7. At heart true, pen showing signs of age (5)
RUSTY – at heart t(RU)e, pen (STY – of a pig).
10. Extravagant relation in favour of excavation as well, heading off now (8,3)
PRODIGAL SON – in favour of (PRO), excavation (DIG), as well (ALSO), (N)ow.
14. Insult a painter’s girl (7)
BARBARA – insult (BARB – this was the bit I was missing for so long), a (A), painter (RA – Royal Academician).
16. Get rid of old joke, becoming trite ultimately (7)
EXPUNGE – old (EX), joke (PUN), becomin(G) trit(E).
17. Think about area of water associated with Queen (6)
PONDER – area of water (POND), Queen (ER).
18. Regularly being most intolerant, him? (5)
BIGOT – regularly (B)e(I)n(G) m(O)s(T). Partial &lit where the definition refers back to the rest of the clue.
19. Learner wearing something giving warmth — feature of dress maybe (5)
PLEAT – learner (L) wearing (inside) something giving warmth (PEAT – as in fire – assuming you can get it alight in the first place – no easy task).

34 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1411 by Hurley”

  1. Slowed down some by SCALP; the trophy sense eluded me. I’m almost sure I’ve never seen a quadruple definition before; quite impressive. 6:21.
  2. 10 minutes exactly for this one. I spotted only 3 of the 4 definitions at 15 (counting ‘unique single’ together) but parsing is in my solving times for QCs so I tend to hurry past a clue once I’ve got the gist of it. A childhood spent watching too many Westerns on TV ensured I hardly needed to think about ‘trophy/SCALP’ – all very non-PC these days of course.

    Edited at 2019-08-06 04:57 am (UTC)

      1. I didn’t mean the scalping so much as the whole “Cowboys and Indians” thing that was the mainstay of so many Westerns.
  3. 19 mins, with a big chunk spent on brunette, where I overcomplicated it and tried to think of words for better, cap, gambler etc.

    Single was good but cod to granted with shergar nowhere to be seen.

    Edited at 2019-08-06 06:15 am (UTC)

    1. Shergar always reminds me of a friend who drew him in the St.Leger sweep I was selling tickets for. It was a national event (CAMRA I think) and the winner would pick up £1,000. He was offered £250 cash for his ticket, and turned it down as Shergar simply couldn’t lose – but he did ! Totally concur re COD.
  4. Back on the computer today after a trip to Preston yesterday. FOI was YEAR and LOI was BARCELONA.
    I didn’t have any real hold-ups after a slowish start and finished in 09:55.
    No problem with Scalp, a term often used in sports journalism (think Ryder Cup etc).
    Brunette was a bit tricky I thought, but easy once all the checkers were there.
    Thanks for the tip about Barrington Pheloung. I missed the OB in yesterday’s paper. I’m a big Morse fan.
    David
  5. (Very) inexperienced solver here, at the start of their crossword journey! Enjoyed getting stuck into this one. 23a had me stumped for a while.

    I’m also amazed at the completion times on the Times leaderboard. For example, today’s shortest time is 98 seconds! Are people really able to solve this quickly?

    1. Welcome! I hope you enjoy your travels in crosswordland. Any questions, any time then do ask.

      23ac stumped me for a while too.

      As for the fastest times, there’s been some debate about whether some people have the answers and try to simply improve their typing/entry speed. However some folk do get a genuine 3-4 minutes regularly (I’m not one fo them – I’m happy to complete inside 10 minutes).

      If you get a free livejournal logon then any replies such as this get pinged to your email.

      Edited at 2019-08-06 06:54 am (UTC)

      1. Just created an account. Would like to add my thanks – over the past couple weeks this blog has been a massive help. I’ve also been using the guide by Tim Moorey, which I’d recommend to any novices. Gives you a running start.
          1. Here’s a reply just to prove you get an email notification. Let us know how you do – completions/times plus anything you’re unsure of.
    2. The 98 second fellow gets all his times under 2 minutes, regardless of puzzle; as I forget the name of the philosopher who was fond of saying it, Believe it if you can. He is one of a class of solvers known here as ‘neutrinos’, who solve offline and then type in their answers as fast as they can. No one knows what they think they’re proving, but there you are. (You will find an especially long list of neutrinos on the weekend leaderboards.) But Verlaine and the ones following are all, so far as I know, legit.
    3. Welcome to another newbie- though after about a year of doing this I probably don’t count as one any more! I really recommend the blog – I’ve gone from barely being able to solve 3 or 4 clues to finishing most days – though never in the amazing times most of the bloggers achieve.
      Carolyn
      1. Completely agree. This blog has so enhanced my completion skills and appreciation of the fine art of cryptic clues and answers. Now about 18 months in and can complete most days, albeit often with a little help for the last 1-2 clues.
      2. Welcome Carolyn (and everyone else)! It’s good to hear that the blog has been useful. Bloggers can only give their own times in the hope that it provides a clue as to the difficulty of the puzzle – although it’s a very unreliable guide! Do feel free to share your times as, I hope, it will encourage others who see 10 minutes or so as a too distant challenge.

        Edited at 2019-08-06 08:26 am (UTC)

        1. And don’t ever be discouraged by speed merchants like me ! I’m a fast reader and writer (I usually solve in the paper) and have a good eye for anagrams (despite losing my “Countdown” final by not spotting that PEPSICOLA is an anagram of EPISCOPAL).

          People get their fix of enjoyment from cryptic puzzles in different ways !

  6. A good, testing QC from Hurley. Many went in quickly but then BARBARA, SCALP, BRUNETTE, SINGLE held me up. I needed crossers for PLEAT. BRUNETTE was my LOI. I parsed all and took under 3K but I still found it well worth going through Chris’s blog to savour some of the subtleties I had glossed over in my (relative) haste to finish. Many thanks to Hurley and Chris. John M.

    Edited at 2019-08-06 08:37 am (UTC)

  7. I wanted to put ‘single’ in immediately but strangely the extra definitions put me off – made me think I was missing something – I suppose I was in a way:)
  8. 40 minutes, twice my target. A very tricky puzzle but I wasn’t helped by a few mis-typed letters and a long anagram which is a problem when solving on the phone. That’s my excuse, anyway!
    LOI was BRUNETTE, Chambers has the male form as BRUNET, so I I think the clue is OK. COD was SINGLE, I biffed it at first then spotted another definition each time I went back to it.
    I would encourage the new members to keep posting, it will help and encourage others starting the QC at the same time. The bloggers do a great job, but every post is important.

    Brian

  9. Done and parsed in 1.8 Kevins for a Very Good Day. An enjoyable puzzle, thank you Hurley. SCALP was a clever clue, I thought, the anagram hiding in plain sight, and I also liked the smooth surface for EVENING. But COD inevitably has to go to the quad definition at 15ac; round of applause!

    Thanks for the blog, Chris.

    Templar

    Ps on edit – BRUNETTE is also in today’s Telegraph (I know, I know, but I’m travelling) clued as “Dark-haired female animal circling land”. I think Hurley’s was better.

    Edited at 2019-08-06 10:57 am (UTC)

  10. Like Jack I only spotted 3 of the definitions at 15a and moved on. My FOI was STAGE, and BRUNETTE held me up slightly at the end, taking me 40 seconds over my 10 minute target. Hurley usually gives me a run for my money! Nice puzzle. Thanks Hurley and Chris.
  11. ….his brain is squirming like a TOAD (The Doors : Riders on the Storm).

    Excellent puzzle.

    FOI CASTAWAY
    LOI TOAD
    COD GRANTED
    TIME 4:27

      1. There is a link near the top of the page to the GLOSSARY, which provides meanings for FOI, LOI, COD etc.
  12. Had all of this, bar 23ac, after 20 mins and then spent another five getting Brunette, so a bit of a mixed day. Single (15ac) was indeed a well-constructed clue, but my favourite was actually 13ac, Rubber, even though I’m sure it’s a chestnut. Invariant
  13. Got this one but disagree. It’s rubbers together that form a series. Eg. A dead rubber which the final test at the Oval is likely to be.
    Speaking of which wasn’t that Morse musician a top bloke. Brilliant musician loved his cricket his wine and cryptics and uncountable sexual partners. I’d never heard of him. Some name. Can anyone make an anagram?
    Johnny
  14. Abt 20m which is good for us no real holdups, knew 23a which probably shows our age. Pleasant solve, thanks to all commenting.
  15. I found this fairly straightforward today, finishing in 8.53 with the only hold ups being BRUNETTE, where I tried to overcomplicate things and LOI BARBARA. A doff of the cap to the quadruple definition but my favourite today was GRANTED, mainly due to the clang as the penny dropped.
    Thanks for the blog

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