What a difference a week makes – the weather, the vaccination rate, the relative freedoms and a really Q C. 2 seconds under 6 minutes for this one to fly by more or less top to bottom. Held up only slightly by not spotting (6,6) at first in 8dn. Smile and COD to 21ac.
Thanks to Breadman for keeping this interesting whilst still quick – all in all a splendid QC.
Definitions are underlined.
Across | |
1 | Andrew associated with British spirit (6) |
BRANDY – Andrew (ANDY) with British (BR). | |
4 | Catch sight of small earthenware vessel (4) |
SPOT – small (S), earthenware vessel (POT). | |
9 | Snake around border with India, finding ancient kingdom (7) |
BOHEMIA – snake (BOA) around border (HEM), India (I). Most will be familiar with the ‘artist type area’ but the name came from an ancient kingdom in Central Europe surrounded by mountains roughly where Czechoslovakia now is. | |
10 | Some heathen celebrated from this time (5) |
HENCE – some of heat(hen ce)lebrated. | |
11 | African National Park‘s remarkably green site (9) |
SERENGETI – anagram (remarkably) of GREEN SITE. | |
12 | Fitting carpet regularly (3) |
APT – c(A)r(P)e(T). | |
13 | Fruit also covers rug (6) |
TOMATO – also (TOO) covers rug (MAT). | |
15 | Held in enclosure: sheep (4-2) |
PENT-UP – enclosure (PEN), sheep (TUP). What do ewe mean – you haven’t heard of a tup? | |
17 | Jolt container (3) |
JAR – double definition. | |
18 | New roadmen returning notice group of stars (9) |
ANDROMEDA – anagram (new) of ROADMEN, notice – ad – returning (DA). | |
21 | Rodent marks domestic ’abitat? (5) |
MOUSE – marks (M), domestic ‘abitat’ (‘OUSE). | |
22 | V & A visitor most uncertain (7) |
VAGUEST – V&A (VA), visitor (GUEST). | |
23 | Lout repeatedly clipped child’s toy (2-2) |
YO-YO – lout repeatedly clipped (YO)b – (YO)b. | |
24 | Briefly drink black stuff, a delicious beverage (6) |
NECTAR – briefly drink (NEC)k, black stuff (TAR). |
Down | |
1 | Barbara rings Yankee — it’s to mind infant (4-3) |
BABY-SIT – Barbara (BABS) rings Yankee (Y), it (IT). | |
2 | Hate having a house in Bangor’s outskirts (5) |
ABHOR – a (A), house (HO) inside (B)ango(R). | |
3 | Fiend started to stir and protested publicly (12) |
DEMONSTRATED – fiend (DEMON), anagram (to stir) of STARTED. | |
5 | Writer and Italian poet mostly hanging ornament (7) |
PENDANT – Writer (PEN), Italian poet mostly (DANT)e. | |
6 | English river split after junction (5) |
TRENT – split (RENT) after (T) junction. | |
7 | Beware! Large hole underground (4) |
CAVE – large hole underground (CAVE) – I’ve included the ! in the definition as Collins has ‘watch out!’. | |
8 | GI with clean house rearranged item of furniture (6,6) |
CHAISE LONGUE – anagram (rearranged) of GI CLEAN HOUSE. | |
14 | Drunk embraces copper — it may indicate warmth (7) |
MERCURY – drunk (MERRY) embraces copper (CU). Due to register highly today. | |
16 | Perhaps Band Aid record brought back tears when broadcast (7) |
PLASTER – record – LP – brought backwards (PL), anagram (when broadcast – not a homophone indicator this time) of TEARS. | |
17 | Lucky having two minutes surrounded by colourful bird (5) |
JAMMY – TWO MINUTES (MM) surrounded by colourful bird (JAY). | |
19 | Five inside exit disreputable place (4) |
DIVE – five (V) inside exit (DIE – pretty final kind of exit). | |
20 | Upright European reportedly ruined (5) |
ERECT – European (E), homophone (reportedly) of wrecked. |
(BR for British in 1 across, by the way.)
Edited at 2021-03-30 04:53 am (UTC)
Edited at 2021-03-30 06:21 am (UTC)
Pleasant, no hitches and remarkably bereft of typos.
Thank you to chrisw91 and Breadman.
Now what am I going to do with the next 30 minutes unexpectedly free? Force myself to get on the cross trainer thing I suppose.
Thanks Breadman and Chris for mental and physical work outs this morning.
I generally find my times are in the region of 9-10xK, following the scenic route of the SCC group of QC ramblers. Today’s squeezed in at <5K so positively blistering pace with hardly any time to admire the scenery.
Needed most of the checkers for CHAISE LONGUE which didnt spring to mind from the anagrist.
LOI TRENT as I couldnt immediately see what the junction was doing even though the river was poised to jump in.
Thanks Chris and Breadman
Thanks to Chris
LOI PENT UP, an alphabet trawl reveals about 200 candidates. You can add UP to just about any word to get a whole new meaning. How does anyone ever learn all our English idioms. Keep up.
I was convinced 18a was going to be Asterism, but it turned out to be another un-indicated Definition by Example.
COD MERCURY
DEMONSTRATED made me smile, as did DIE=exit. NHO CAVE so was trying all sorts on the alphabet trawl with “L” for Large and “O” for hole.
Thanks Breadman and Chris. Now for a day in the garden enjoying the sunshine.
COD probably BOHEMIA.
4:42
FOI: 4a – SPOT
LOI: 24a – NECTAR
Time: DNF
Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 22
Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 8d, 20d
Clues Unanswered: 16d
Wrong Answers: 15a
Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 24/26
Aids Used: Chambers
Another puzzle where I did well to start with, at one time thinking this was on track for my quickest ever solve. However, one clue totally bewildered me, and I got one wrong answer.
15a. PENT UP – This was my incorrect answer. I put KEPT IN. I just could not fathom the sheep reference. Sadly, I did consider PENT UP at one point, but went for my incorrect answer.
16d. PLASTER – This was my unanswered clue. I guessed that broadcast indicated a homophone.
8d. CHAISE LONGUE – This was one of my two lives used. Even with the anagram letters this did not assemble itself in my head until I referred to Chambers.
20d. ERECT – My second life used. Obvious now I see it, but I kept thinking of a word for somebody from a particular European nation.
7d. CAVE – I was reluctant to fill this one in for most of the duration of the puzzle. Large hole underground shouted cave to me, and indeed the letters already present indicated that was the answer. But beware threw me. In the end I put cave and then checked Chambers and was surprised to see cave under beware.
An enjoyable puzzle that was well on its way to being my quickest solve, but no candy bar for me today.
Edited at 2021-03-30 08:02 am (UTC)
Caveat emptor – ‘let the buyer beware’, is a warning to someone buying something that it is their responsibility to identify and accept any faults in it.
… where I started by thinking I should be looking for a word meaning Andrew made up of B + a 5-letter spirit, then saw B + Randy (as in Prince Andrew) which I dismissed as most unworthy of a Times QC, then forgot the clue, then came back to it as my LOI by which time the checkers made Brandy the only possible answer, then cogitated further to find a parsing that would not offend Our Dear Queen. Success finally but it all led to a 9 minute solve.
Such is the way my mind sometimes goes round and round in circles on these puzzles. Does anyone else suffer from such random meanderings?
That apart, a straightforward and enjoyable puzzle. Many thanks to Chris for the blog.
Cedric
Edited at 2021-03-30 09:00 am (UTC)
Good to have a quick puzzle without the cluing suffering, well done Breadman.
FOI BABYSIT, LOI MERCURY, COD BOHEMIA, time 6:49/1.7K for a Good Day.
Many thanks Breadman and Chris.
Templar
It turned out that my last two were BOHEMIA (COD for me) and CAVE. Caveat Emptor is common enough I think.
Time was 07:58.
A pleasant, nicely judged puzzle.
David
Often, when I emerge like a gibbering wreck after an hour or so’s tortuous grappling with these QC puzzles, Mrs R will say to me “It’s meant to be a QUICK cryptic, so why don’t you just solve it quickly and then get on with something useful?”. Well, I can hardly imagine going any faster than today (although I realise I’m still in the SCC), at least if I want to parse the clues as well.
My only real concern was not knowing CAVE for ‘Beware’ (Latin wasn’t taught at my school), but it just had to be the answer. I also needed all the checkers in order to get CHAISE LONGUE. Other than those, the solutions just seemed to keep coming. A novel experience!
Many thanks to Breadman and to chrisw91.
Biffed PLASTER but cd not parse.
Apparently 8d is sometimes spelt Shezlon on eBay and Pinterest.
Thank you vm, Chris.
Edited at 2021-03-30 12:45 pm (UTC)
Unfortunately, I didn’t finish — after getting through just about everything after 20 mins I couldn’t get “Vaguest”. However, that’s because I put in Chaise Lounge — so my own fault really.
Am I the only one who parsed 1ac as B = British and Andrew = Randy?
COD — 15ac “Pent Up”
Thanks as usual…suppose I better get back on my bike and carry on.
FOI – 1ac BRANDY
LOI – 14dn MERCURY
COD – as yesterday, several contenders for COD, making the choice of a single one quite difficult. Liked 16dn PLASTER and also 14dn MERCURY the best.
Lovely puzzle, lots to enjoy, particularly liked vaguest and plaster.
Thanks Chris and Breadman
FOI BRANDY
LOI CHAISE LONGUE
COD TOMATO
TIME 3:51
LOI 7d Cave
COD 13a Tomato — I saw Too but took more time since I couldn’t think of a fruit starting with To and ending in o!
19 enjoyable minutes
Was it Care or Cave — just thought of Caveat and decided Cave on balance but not heard of as “K.V.” as some earlier have posted…
Thanks all
John George
FOI: BABYSIT
LOI: PLASTER
COD: PENT UP
Thanks to Breadman and Chris.