Times Quick Cryptic 1481 by Oink

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

13 minutes – so not easy for me – with the left hand side going in a lot faster than the right. LOI 4dn. I enjoyed the short, sharp clues (8ac, 11ac, 20ac and 1dn) the most with COD going to the first.

ACROSS
1. Tamarins, playful creatures not of this world (8)
MARTIANS – anagram (playful) of TAMARINS.
5. Action taken to reverse temper tantrums (4)
STEP – temper tantrums (PETS) reversed.
8. Marijuana shop? (5)
GRASS – double definition – the second as in to tell on someone.
9. Get Democrat locked up (7)
SECURED – get (SECURE), Democrat (D).
11. Occasionally thwart bowler? (3)
HAT – t(H)w(A)r(T).
12. Barrel-maker had to join forces (9)
COOPERATE – barrel-maker (COOPER), had (ATE – I had cereal).
13. A little something singer got teeth into (6)
TITBIT – singer (TIT), got teeth into (BIT).
15. Chap from ancient city demanding immediate attention (6)
URGENT – a chap/gent from the ancient city of Ur would be an (UR GENT).
18. Represent naughty boy’s smile (9)
SYMBOLISE – anagram (naughty) of BOYS SMILE.
19. Jack perhaps leaving daughter an old banger? (3)
CAR – jack the playing card leaving daughter/d (CAR)d.
20. Here’s a gift (7)
PRESENT – double definition.
21. Court welcoming north Italian poet (5)
DANTE – court (DATE) welcoming north (N). I got tied up with court=CT.
22. Some horribly etiolated creature found in mountains? (4)
YETI – some horribl(Y ETI)olated.
23. Music producer is fashionable in red (8)
CLARINET – fashionable (IN) inside red (CLARET).

DOWN

1. Photo of an idiot? (7)
MUGSHOT – the definition is photo=mugshot. A photo can also be a shot and an idiot=mug so a photo of an idiot is (MUG SHOT).
2. Criticise a Society in decline (5)
ROAST – a (A) and society (S) inside decline (ROT).
3. Fussy eater disturbing novices’ rite (11)
INSECTIVORE – anagram (disturbing) of NOVICES RITE. I suppose an animal which eats only insects can be considered fussy. Also – as insects tend to be rather small – one definition of fussy is ‘to be excessively concerned over trifles’.
4. One not turning up to eat? That hurts! (2-4)
NO-SHOW – eat (NOSH), that hurts (OW).
6. Row of houses supplied by foreign caterer (7)
TERRACE – anagram (foreign) of CATERER. This anagram indicator had me completely fooled.
7. Asleep, a dream possesses army chaplain (5)
PADRE – in (possessed by) aslee(P A DRE)am.
10. Supporter of revolutionary ruler imprisoning Her Majesty (11)
CHEERLEADER – revolutionary (CHE – Guevara) and ruler (LEADER) imprisoning (holding) Her Majesty (ER). Ruler=leader didn’t come easily to mind.
14. Storm encountered on way up — a pain (7)
TEMPEST – encountered on way up (TEM), pain (PEST). I think the additional ‘a’ simply makes the clue read better.
16. Agony at first over Royal Marine in shelter (7)
TORMENT – at first over=(O)ver, Royal Marine (RM) all inside shelter (TENT). As we’re so used to over=O, the ‘at first’ held me up.
17. Half of police carrying first gun (6)
PISTOL – half of police (POL) carrying (holding) first (IST – 1st).
18. Sentimental work penned by MI6 man? (5)
SOPPY – work (OP) penned by MI6 man (SPY).
19. Clerical gentleman’s weapon in speech (5)
CANON – homophone (in speech) of weapon – cannon.

55 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1481 by Oink”

  1. Raised an eyebrow over INSECTIVORE, but I suppose Chris’s explanation will do. LOI SYMBOLISE. 5:55.
  2. 14 minutes after struggling to get started. I can’t remember now which was my FOI but I know I had to read at least 5 or 6 clues before an answer leapt out at me. I also struggled with parsing a couple, e.g. CAR where additionally I was distracted by ‘old banger’ as the definition.

    Oink’s last previous puzzle was tricky too and took me 15 minutes and I suspect a deliberate raising of his level of difficulty since he came out as easiest of all the setters in the League Table I compiled in July – not that it would have stood up to any serious statistical scrutiny as it was based entirely on my own solving experiences.

    Edited at 2019-11-12 05:03 am (UTC)

  3. Hi, what do LOI and FOI stand for? I appreciate someone who enjoys crosswords should probably be able to work this out. I worked out COD…
          1. I’ve often wondered about this – I am logged in but don’t have “Links” at the top of the page, so have never found the Glossary. Is there another route to it?

            Edited at 2019-11-12 03:27 pm (UTC)

            1. It could be at the bottom of the opening page. On my Kindle, I have to scroll right down past all the recent blogs before I get to the links, glossary, calendar etc. Hope that helps.
              1. Ah, brilliant, thank you! I’ve never been able to find the Snitch link on my phone and that’s why – it’s at the bottom instead of at the top, which is where it is on my PC. Very useful, thanks. (I’ve discovered that the Snitch is a great way of telling me whether it’s worth having a crack at Big Puzzle on any given day.)
                1. My pleasure. Am quite glad to know it’s not just my quirky tablet! Have a go at the biggie – it took me a while to get going but then it all fell into place 😊
  4. 18.37, under target and strangely about the same as Friday for what I thought was a more difficult puzzle. I had no across answers until 15A URGENT and 22A YETI, but I speeded up with the down clues and some helpful checkers – it makes such a difference when they are consonants and not vowels. LOI was INSECTIVORE which I got by realising it was some sort of -vore and shuffling the remaining letters.
    Thanks to Oink and to Chris for the blog.

    Brian

  5. I found the RHS a bit tricky and was becalmed for a while until I saw SECURED and then, eventually, CHEERLEADER leading to URGENT and TORMENT as my last 2 in. Like Chris I had trouble seeing LEADER for “ruler”. I also raised an eyebrow at the definition “Fussy eater”. 6:30.
    1. Chris explains it in his blog; a pet is a temper tantrum. (Actually, I’ve always thought ‘tantrum’ is going too far; ODE for instance defines ‘pet’ as ‘a fit of sulking or ill humor’.
      1. I have heard of a pout being described as a petted lip so I suppose a sulk could be a pet but agree that temper tantrum is going a bit far!
  7. Happy to finish in just under 20 mins.

    Started quickly but slowed down by a number of clues which looking back don’t seem hard:
    Secured, step, insectivore, grass, cooperate, clarinet and LOI canon. Grass especially should have been easy.

    Cod no show.

  8. I was slow to get going with this one too. After 5 minutes I had a few scattered entries around the grid. However I then got into the flow with CHEERLEADER helping to open things up and finished with TITBIT in 12:21. I also raised an eyebrow at INSECTIVORE for fussy eater. Thanks OINK and Chris.
  9. My 17m felt longer. I did spend a few seconds at the end looking for a reference to Oink, but came up blank. FOsI were the two 1s, so I made a good start. COD goes to GRASS.
  10. I quite enjoyed this becoming totally immersed and frustrated by a couple of clues – INSECTIVORE which needed all the crossers and still didn’t really fit the definition and STEP (I have never heard of a pet as a tantrum). I liked quite a few including MUGSHOT, NO SHOW, CHEERLEADER, TORMENT and there were some good anagrams, including TERRACE. In the end, I reverted to my 3K time. Thanks to a disappointingly pig-free Oink and to Chris. John M.
  11. Done and dusted in 2.25K so just over target but any day when I beat Jack goes down as a Good Day! I agree that Oink is getting tougher and this one was a pen-chewer in places. Did anyone else put “joint” at 8ac at first, or was it just me?

    Sorry to hear that URGENT is a chestnut because it got my COD.

    Thanks Oink and Chris.

    Templar

  12. Harder than yesterday. FOI was GRASS and I went quite quickly until I had to slow down and write out all the letters to get INSECTIVORE; needed most of the checkers there.
    I finished in the NE with SECURED and STEP.
    A good puzzle. COD to TITBIT.
    Time:16:06.
    David
  13. I think this was borderline ‘too tricky for a quickie’. I’ve come across ‘pet’ for a sulk before but unless it’s a regional thing I expect it’s only ever in a dictionary now – certainly never heard anyone say it. Insectivore is a difficult anagram and I think the clue was loose. Plenty to enjoy though – thanks!
  14. Has Oink gone vegan ? Maybe his swine have become INSECTIVOREs, taken to eating GRASS (or even smoking it !), or are enjoying a chestnut ROAST. However, despite the odd chestnut, there was no danger of becoming “boared” with this enjoyable offering.

    I was within my target, but my clean sweep fell down at what eventually became my LOI.

    FOI MARTIANS
    LOI SECURED
    COD MUGSHOT

  15. I needed two or three visits to this but well worth the effort. Lots to enjoy, especially INSECTIVORE which took some untangling.
    PlayUpPompey
  16. 24:03 and a difficult puzzle for me.

    As mentioned before I was held up by having JOINT entered at 8ac for a long time.

    COD 1dn – which surprisingly had me staring like a mug not knowing the answer for a while.

    Thanks!

    RC

  17. 27:28. Had most of it done inside 20 mins but SECURED, CHEERLEADER and NO SHOW held me up. Annoyed I didn’t at once remember that the revolutionary is invariably CHE, but on the other side I straightaway got UR as the ancient city of crosswordland.
      1. It was a trademark to have some reference, hidden or otherwise, but these seem to have dried up in the last few.
  18. So YETI is clued with a question mark, but MARTIANS are not. What are you trying to tell us, Oink? Do Martians really exist but not the yeti?
    I was kind of hoping it would be the other way around.

    7’20” so we’ll above target today. Much to enjoy in this puzzle.

    Many thanks to Chris and Oink.

  19. FOI MARTIANS and LOI INSECTIVORE and I’m not happy with the use of fussy either. I was wondering whether the clueing for CO-OPERATE was missing a hyphen but I gather in the US that COOPERATE is the preferred spelling. I tried all the vowels before settling on E for STEP with pets = tantrums vaguely ringing a bell. Just over 2K but less than 1 jackkt so a marvellous day.

    Edited at 2019-11-12 12:05 pm (UTC)

  20. Still getting used to Oink’s style (well that’s the excuse I’m using), so I wasn’t disappointed with 28mins for today’s puzzle. I had Martians and Hat on the first pass, but the rest of the NW remained blank until the end. Grass, Mugshot and Roast only jumped out once I eventually worked out Insectivore. An enjoyable solve, with several candidates for CoD, but for me 4d was just ahead of 23ac at the line. Invariant
  21. 5:12 for me.
    FOI-martians.
    LOI-insectivore.
    Seemed easy enough to me, surprised to see that my time was so competitive. Sub Kevin no less.
    For once no typos either, the bad thing about using a phone.
    Thanks to Oink for the puzzle, which went well with a handful of nuts and Chris for the blog.
  22. Definitely a harder one today. I only finished with the help of aids – 3d, for example. I couldn’t get the answer but the definition was very unhelpful. Deserves a golden raspberry, imho..

    About half an hour in total, but that included two or three where I had to ‘research’

  23. I really enjoyed today’s puzzle and chuckled over several of the clues-URGENT ( new to me), 13a, 23a, 16d. I knew a barrel maker was a cooper but it took me a while to see why it was OK to add ate. Like others I was grateful not to have to try to remember what ‘etiolated’ meant. Thank you Oink and Chris
    Bluestocking
  24. I don’t know what happened today but I simply couldn’t see cheerleader, even though I was sure leader was part of the answer. How did I miss crosswordland’s most frequent revolutionary? That messed up secured, so DNF today. But weirdly I finished the big one. The brain is a strange thing!

    Oink is definitely getting tougher – and I miss the piggy references. They always raised a smile 😊

  25. Just within our 30m target. We also had not come across pet for temper tantrums, so had stop for the answer, appropriate but we could not parse it. Some good challenges, more difficult than yesterday, but enjoyable. Thanks Oink.
  26. 12 minutes

    I assumed that ‘fussy’ were larvae and so no MER hereabouts at 3dn INSECTIVORE. My COD.

    FOI 1ac MARTIANS

    LOI 5ac STEP

    WOD 1dn MUGSHOT

  27. I didn’t finish this today, getting a couple wrong in the SE corner. However, it took about 45 mins to at least get that far.

    I was convinced the court in 21ac was DOGE (which I had seen used previously), and just guessed that DOGNE was an Italian poet. As a result, I couldn’t get 19dn “CANON” which in hindsight was pretty straight forward. I also didn’t get 15ac “URGENT” – not having heard of “UR” (although that’s no excuse for not seeing the answer).

    I had a few issues with some of the clues:

    fussy eater = “INSECTIVORE” (really?)
    decline = rot
    had = ate

    Maybe these are stock definitions/descriptions in crossword land and I’d better just add them to my list.

    Other than that – very enjoyable.

    COD = 23ac “CLARINET”

    1. decline = rot
      had = ate – these are pretty normal but insectivore=fussy eater isn’t.

      Even if in the wrong direction, I like your thinking on Doge – went to Venice for the first time last year and the Doge’s Palace is amazing,

      1. I thought as much for “decline” and “had”.

        Re: Doge – nothing worse than over thinking something, feeling satisfied with your own perceived flash of inspiration, then being brought firmly back to Earth when you realise you have it wrong 🙂

  28. FOI 11a as I struggled to get on the wavelength. LOI 16d. COD 10d. Had to spend 50 minutes on this one! West went in easier than East. Had forgotten 5a pet means temper tantrum (surely UK regional dialect?). Good puzzle so thx to Oink and our blogger and contributors for an entertaining read too.
  29. A mixture of the straightforward and the rather tricky today. I needed most of the checkers for INSECTIVORE and like others thought the definition was a bit of a stretch. It took me an age to realise that 18a was an anagram but that eventually led to TEMPEST and finally TITBIT, where I got a bit too clever for myself by thinking that singer referred to burning in some way.

    Finished in 13.27 with my COD going to COOPERATE as it brought back memories from when I thought I’d finally completed my first QC having answered a similar clue with ‘cooperage’, only to find out it was wrong.
    Thanks for the blog

  30. DNF but still enjoyed this puzzle, needed this blog to understand pet and missed the bird/ singer, started confidently with 1A but downhill after that. Thanks to Oink and chrisw91 both.
    1. I was swithering between tidbit and titbit so then got that the singer would be a bird therefore tit fitted

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