Times Quick Cryptic 1660 by Wurm

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

My solving time was 9 minutes for all but 1ac, which after a further 5 I abandoned hope and resorted to aids as I knew it was a word I would never come up with from the definition and I was getting nowhere with any element of the wordplay. It turned out to be one of two answers where I wondered about their suitability for a Quick Cryptic but we all need to be stretched occasionally or we never learn anything new.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.

Across
1 Prehistoric creature complete in hollow place (10)
DIPLODOCUS : DO (complete) contained by [in] DIP (hollow) + LOCUS (place). It turns out this creature is my bête noire as here’s some of what I wrote on its last outing in the main puzzle about two years ago:

Dinosaur’s decline complete in the vicinity (10)

DIPLODOCUS – DIP (decline), DO (complete) contained by [in] LOCUS (vicinity). One of the two clues I failed to solve today. A search through TftT history reveals that I claimed not to know the word in 2009 and more recently in November 2016, but at least on that second occasion I managed to arrive at it because it was plainly clued as an anagram.
8 Inventor terribly snide about nothing (6)
EDISON : Anagram, [terribly] of SNIDE containing [about] 0 (nothing). Not the most pleasant of characters if his portrayal in the film The Current War is to be believed but it seems to be the fashion of our times to denigrate national heroes. Apparently he was not averse to stealing ideas off other inventors and taking all the glory  (and riches, of course) whilst the other bloke died unrecognised in poverty and squalor in his garret. Or something like that.
9 Disastrous   as many a dramatic production (6)
TRAGIC : A definition and a cryptic hint
10 British boxer comes to island (4)
BALI : B (British), ALI (boxer)
11 Nun holding in evil (8)
SINISTER : SISTER (nun) containing [holding] IN
12 Good learner in store to circulate (6)
MINGLE : G (good) + L (learner) contained by [in] MINE (store)
14 Live on the edge (6)
RESIDE : RE (on), SIDE (edge)
16 Sit one lecturer in ship that capsized (8)
POSEIDON : POSE (sit), I (one), DON (lecturer). With reference to the film The Poseidon Adventure (1979) and various sequels.
18 Troubled king coherent, losing head (4)
LEAR : {c}LEAR (coherent) [losing head]
20 Sweet drink to hand when holding court (6)
NECTAR : NEAR (to hand) containing [holding] CT (court)
21 His leg chewed in transport with dogs (6)
SLEIGH : Anagram [chewed] of HIS LEG. Mush!
22 Wounded Praetorian getting redress (10)
REPARATION : Anagram [wounded] of PRAETORIAN
Down
2 Home help sent up country (5)
INDIA : IN (home), AID ( help) reversed [sent up]
3 Surviving the French swindle (7)
LASTING : LA (the, French), STING (swindle)
4 Daughter at home making noise (3)
DIN : D (daughter), IN (at home – again)
5 Stop filming with single light out (3,3,3)
CUT AND RUN : CUT (stop filming), AND (with), RUN (single – cricket). I’m not familiar with ‘light out’ meaning ‘depart quickly’, but it’s in Collins.
6 Steamship round river doesn’t leave (5)
STAYS : SS (steamship) containing [round] TAY (river). The river is the subject of a poem by the world’s worst poet, William McGonagall:

Beautiful silvery Tay,
With your landscapes, so lovely and gay,
Along each side of your waters, to Perth all the way;
No other river in the world has got scenery more fine,
Only I am told the beautiful Rhine,
Near to Wormit Bay, it seems very fine,
Where the Railway Bridge is towering above its waters sublime,
And the beautiful ship Mars,
With her Juvenile Tars,
Both lively and gay,
Does carelessly lie
By night and by day,
In the beautiful Bay
Of the silvery Tay.

Beautiful, beautiful! silvery Tay,
Thy scenery is enchanting on a fine summer day,
Near by Balmerino it is beautiful to behold,
When the trees are in full bloom and the cornfields seems like gold –
And nature’s face seems gay,
And the lambkins they do play,
And the humming bee is on the wing,
It is enough to make one sing,
While they carelessly do stray,
Along the beautiful banks of the silvery Tay,
Beautiful silvery Tay, rolling smoothly on your way,
Near by Newport, as clear as the day,
Thy scenery around is charming I’ll be bound…
And would make the heart of any one feel light and gay on a fine summer day,
To view the beautiful scenery along the banks of the silvery Tay.
7 Dope stashed in order for engine part (3,3)
BIG END : GEN (dope – information) contained by [stashed in] BID (order)
11 Pad, pre-set, tripped where boy racer nabbed? (5,4)
SPEED TRAP : Anagram [tripped] of PAD PRE-SET
13 One or two coming into Irish compound (6)
ISOMER : SOME (one or two) contained by [coming into] IR (Irish). Another unknown, but the wordplay was friendly.
15 Conspicuous way to involve stranger (7)
SALIENT : ST (way – street) contained by [to involve] ALIEN (stranger)
17 Some Aberdeen terriers go inside (5)
ENTER : Hidden in [some] {Aberde}EN TER{riers}
19 Trouble as wrecked Argo ships gallons (5)
AGGRO : Anagram [wrecked] of ARGO G (gallons)
21 Gentleman’s address? (3)
SIR : Cryptic definition

45 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1660 by Wurm”

  1. Enjoyable puzzle with FOI INDIA, LOI SIR, and COD SINISTER. As a child, I had a board game on a driving theme where one of the penalty squares said something like “Big end went”, which puzzled me for many years. May have missed this in the above comments but there’s a famous (?) DJ/producer whose stage name is Diplo, from a youthful interest in dinosaurs. Thanks Wurm and Jack.
  2. Really enjoyed it – some great clues. Thank you very much!

    (I can’t seem to post comments on the blog itself)

  3. We ended up completing this one is 26 mins but it took 2 sittings. Some tricky clues provoked some head scratching and we stopped the first session with 3 gaps (reside, big end, isomer) which we quickly polished off on our return. Thanks to Wurm for the workout.

    FOI: diplodocus
    LOI: isomer
    COD: lasting (made me smile)

    Thanks to Jack for the blog.

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