Times Quick Cryptic 1857 by Hurley

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I had a feeling I’d get hung up at the end, which turned out to be the case, because each clue seemed to hold out until the moment before I moved on to the next. Would have been a good time if not for 17dn (bunged in from wordplay), 25ac, and my LOI 20dn.

Definitions underlined.

Across
3 Talented following religion, not half trustworthy (8)
RELIABLE – ABLE (talented) after (following) half of (not half) RELIgion.
7 Coiffure that’s surprising at Irish party (6)
HAIRDO – HA! (that’s surprising), next to (at) IR (Irish), and DO (party).
8 Strange new Roman lab (8)
ABNORMAL – anagram of (new) ROMAN LAB.
9 Featured in choir, perhaps, part of diocesan group (4)
SANG – hidden in (part of) dioceSAN Group.
10 Skip journey (3)
HOP – double definition.
11 A cent tip? Outrageous! (8)
PITTANCE – anagram of (outrageous) A CENT TIP. In addition to the whole clue being wordplay, the whole clue is also the (somewhat offbeat) definition – it’s an &lit. (and literally) clue.
13 Drink with king in wood (4)
TEAK – TEA (drink) with K (king).
15 Excitement as female friend returning (4)
FLAP – F (female) then PAL (friend) reversed (returning).
17 Certain to accept surprisingly nice, attractive post (8)
SINECURE – SURE (certain) containing (to accept) an anagram of (surprisingly) NICE. A job that requires no work but pays well. There’s probably a reason I didn’t know this word…
19 Era of silver finally gone (3)
AGE – AG (silver, periodic table) and the last letter of (finally) gonE.
22 Colour proposal — is not keen initially (4)
PINK – first letters of (initially) Proposal In Not Keen.
23 No credit unfortunately for set of beliefs (8)
DOCTRINE – anagram of (unfortunately) NO CREDIT.
24 Needleworker brings in cook’s last item used to prepare food (6)
SKEWER – SEWER (needleworker) containing (brings in) the last letter of (…’s last) cooK.
25 Newly independent guy has hesitation about me at first (8)
EMERGENT – GENT (guy), with ER (hesitation) containing (about) ME put at the front (at first).

Down
1 Magnificent leading couples from Paris, lavish times always! (8)
PALATIAL – first two letters from each of (leading couples from) PAris LAvish TImes ALways.
2 Clever bishop? Correct (6)
BRIGHT – B (bishop) and RIGHT (correct).
3 Stick round a thoroughfare (4)
ROAD – ROD (stick) containing (round) A.
4 Coming from South, Noel tours a French church, getting meal (8)
LUNCHEON – reversal of (coming from south) NOEL containing (tours) UN (a, French) and CH (church).
5 Curt, put bar off (6)
ABRUPT – anagram of (off) PUT BAR.
6 Boy welcoming English guide (4)
LEAD – LAD (boy) containing (welcoming) E (English).
12 Reportedly is familiar with disreputable bar — it will get you down fast! (4,4)
NOSE DIVE – sounds like (reportedly) “knows” (is familiar with), then DIVE (disreputable bar).
14 A roadie at outset called Queen’s musician (8)
ARRANGER – A, first letter of (at outset) Roadie, RANG (called), and ER (Queen).
16 Dad’s high point, becoming vicar (6)
PASTOR – PA’s (dad’s) and TOR (rocky hill in the West Country, high point).
18 Coin word for policeman? (6)
COPPER – double definition.
20 Surf for missing Romeo, American (4)
FOAM – FOr without the ‘r’ (missing romeo), and AM (American).
21 Cosy place, extremely nice, on street (4)
NEST – first and last letters from (extremely) NicE, then ST (street).

45 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1857 by Hurley”

  1. Much the same as William’s experience, other than that I knew SINECURE (17ac). I was doing all right–not whizzing through the clues, but all right–but came to a halt with EMERGENT and FOAM. Couldn’t make head or tail of either until I finally saw EMERGENT. 9:13.
  2. 7 minutes for me. Don’t remember any problems. I knew SINECURE. My loi was EMERGENT too, although “newly independent” seems a bit of a stretch for a definition.
  3. After a particularly troublesome day I thought I would take a quick look at the QCC to clear my head before going to sleep but to my surprise whizzed through and finished in just over 2K for another below par completion.
    Needed all the checkers to get NOSE DIVE (COD) but no problem with SINECURE or PITTANCE. Both tend to be said quite often these days in the same context.
    Don’t think I have seen “leading couples” before but no problem putting one and one together to make two.
    LOI FOAM. Just didn’t equate the two together as I picture surf to be a bit further off the shore than foam, and couldn’t work out the cluing.
    Thanks Hurley and William.
  4. Held up in the SE by EMERGENT and FOAM and even DOCTRINE where I just couldn’t see what to do with the anagrist! All green in 16 including brief pauses to stop the dog from chewing wellies. Only four on the first pass of acrosses (inluding SINECURE) but the downs let me in so good progress made until the SE needed to be prised out. Very relieved to see SANG was only a hidden because my early fear was that I was going to have to know about Diocesan groups. Enjoyed NOSE DIVE for the groan. Good one!
  5. 8 minutes. I knew SINECURE in its ecclesiastical context. If I was slightly delayed along the way it was due to the parsing of PTTANCE and working out the answer at 20dn.

    Will, I think you mean 17ac in your intro.

    Edited at 2021-04-21 06:35 am (UTC)

  6. I found this fairly chewy throughout, but enjoyable, so I was happy with my 34 mins solving time. 1D had me tied up for a while, I haven’t seen that device before but the cluing showed something a bit different was going on. 11A was very neat. 23A took too long for an obvious anagram, even with a few checkers in. EMERGENT didn’t emerge easily either. NOSE DIVE gave me the best smile of the day.
  7. After a steady solve I came to a grinding halt with 20d and 25a outstanding. Much head scratching ensued but I eventually managed to piece together the necessary wordplay for EMERGENT which then revealed the deceptively simply FOAM – for some reason I always forget that American can be abbreviated to AM, rather than US.
    Finished in 12.05, with my favourite being DOCTRINE.
    Thanks to william
  8. 15:09 – top half acrosses were a blank, but downs flew in. LOI PALATIAL where the “couples” device was a new one for me. The “from Paris” was sneaky misdirection as I went through various French words that might fit. Did not parse until seeing the blog. Always happy to see a new clue type, though.

    Agree that EMERGENT seemed clumsily defined. NOSE DIVE made me smile, although I had the Nose part for some time before seeing the second part. I was worried that it might be another “Toll Bar”

    COD the &lit clue PITTANCE. I think a clue like this is the highest form of the setters art. Well done Hurley, a real beauty.

  9. FOI: 19a. AGE
    LOI: 15a. FLAP

    Time to Complete: DNF

    Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 18

    Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): Nil

    Clues Unanswered: 7a, 11a, 17a, 25a, 1d, 2d, 12d, 14d

    Wrong Answers: Nil

    Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 18/26

    Aids Used: Nil

    I found this one to be difficult with 8 clues unanswered, resulting in a DNF. There is not much I really want to say about this one.

  10. Nice puzzle, fast time …
    … as my hot streak continues with all done in just under 10 minutes. I too tried to work US into 20D, but the hitherto unknown word Fous never seemed likely.

    My main holdup (and LOI) though was 14D Arranger. The wordplay was clear but I just didn’t think of an arranger as a musician. It’s not a use of the word I’m familiar with — would an arranger be what I call a composer?

    I am pleased that yesterday’s unwelcome interloper has been banished (both the spam blogger and the proposed soccer Super League …). Thanks to whoever arranged that!

    Many thanks to William for the blog
    Cedric

  11. EMERGENT was one of my LOsI too, but I think it is a reasonable definition in regard to, say, countries or, er, insects. Final one in was ARRANGER.
    I was very fast on top RHS, and initially felt rather smug, but stuck on the above along with FOAM.
    SINECURE sprang to mind immediately, fortunately. Liked NOSE DIVE, PITTANCE. PALATIAL very clever too. Lots of PDMs today.
    Thanks all, esp William.
  12. For 25 ac tried reticent for definition of hesitation and then got stuck because of that . Recent for newly and I for independent to come up with reticent
  13. Same story as some others; different hold-ups. After 8 minutes I just needed two. At 8a I tried to anagram NEW ROMAN and needed all the checkers to put me right. Then I had to sort out PALATIAL where I just needed to read the instructions slowly.
    10:05 in the end. COD to NOSE DIVE.
    David
  14. DOCTRINE, FOAM, EMERGENT were my last ones in. I just about managed to not have to write out the anagrist for DOCTRINE – I couldn’t get CREDITON out of my head, even though I know it’s a town in Devon.

    I very much liked PITTANCE, and would gratefully accept a SINECURE.

    6:03

  15. I had to write out the anagrist to find DOCTRINE and needed EMERGENT to see my last one in, FOAM. I managed to write TRIP in the space for 9A not realising I was trying to solve the 3 letter 10A. I liked PALATIAL, but COD to PITTANCE – lovely &lit. 4:59.
  16. As always, Hurley provided me with a challenge. Quite a few gaps as I moved around the grid picking off the easy ones prior to filling in the rest steadily with the help of crossers (without which lots of clues would have been unanswerable, of course).
    I took 3 mins over target but any disappointment was offset since it was a second or few within 2K, as yesterday.
    I thought PALATIAL (leading couples — wow!) and PITTANCE were brilliant clues. FOAM caused no trouble once the M from EMERGENT emerged. The DIVE caught me out after thinking of NOSE early on. ARRANGER was good — and yes, an arranger is most definitely a musician IMO. Thanks to Hurley and William. John M.

    Edited at 2021-04-21 09:48 am (UTC)

  17. All in in just under 28 mins, with 25ac last in – just couldn’t get the wordplay right. Also stumbled on 12dn – “sounds like” clues always cause me trouble – and 14dn NHO, but the wordplay spelled it out after a bit of head scratching. Also don’t think I’ve come across AM for American in 20dn before.

    Otherwise relatively straightforward, with come cute wordplay. Particularly liked 1dn, first time I remember coming across “leading couples” as a wordplay indicator.

  18. No holdups for me in this one, apart from, like Johninterred, needing to write out the anagrist for DOCTRINE. LEAD was FOI. ARRANGER was LOI. 7:02. Thanks Hurley and William.
    1. I almost always have to write out the anagrist but that didn’t help a great deal with 22ac. Only once I had some crossers, did it finally succumb. Even my better half, who can normally do anagrams in her head, struggled with it. Of course, having CREDO in the letters didn’t help either.
  19. Only just inside target time at 15:01, but with a phone interruption. Like Cedric, I am delighted that the ESL has collapsed, potentially leaving the mutineers weaker and poorer. I liked this puzzle, and suffered the same issues as many others with LTI FOAM and EMERGENT. HAIRDO was topical after my first cut for 6 months yesterday, making it an ABNORMAL event. PITTANCE had nothing to do with the procedure though, unfortunately.

    Thanks both.

  20. As many others have noted above my solve was slowed down by considering whether an ARRANGER is a musician and my final two. I saw FOAM before my LOI EMERGENT. 8:30
  21. Steady progress around the grid, but after 20mins I came to a halt at the Emergent/Foam intersection. I guessed a gent was involved, but was reluctant to keep all the letters together and went through various options (including reversals) to allow the G to wander far and near… Three or four minutes later I gave in, and a reunited —gent allowed Emergent to appear. Foam was then an obvious loi. CoD to the initially (😉) baffling 1d, Palatial. Invariant
  22. Raced through this in 11 mins, to my huge surprise — may be my fastest time ever? Love PALATIAL.
  23. A good, tricky puzzle even though I DNF. After 30 mins was still struggling with 25ac “Emergent” and had to admit defeat. It looks like I got 17ac wrong as well as I put in “Senicure”, having NHO of the definition.

    Enjoyed 1dn “Palatial” once it eventually twigged, 12dn “Nose Dive” and 4dn “Luncheon”.

    FOI — 6dn “Lead”
    LOI — 25ac dnf
    COD — 11ac ”Pittance”

    Thanks as usual!

  24. and then two come along at once!!

    I saw FOAM immediately but my goodness it took a long time for EMERGENT, err, to emerge. It came only once “gent” occurred to me and even then it was painful parsing. SINECUREs, by contrast, I knew from school history lessons.

    FOI HAIRDO, LOI EMERGENT, COD PITTANCE, time 08:43 for 0.9K and another Red Letter Day.

    Many thanks Hurley and William.

    Templar

  25. An early comment from me today… FOI 3a Reliable, starting with -able. LOI 1d Palatial – not parsed but couldn’t seen another option and had it faint connections, so will look out for this type of clue in future. COD 17a Sinecure – well known word but never experienced! No problems elsewhere. Liked 4d Luncheon, 25a Emergent and 11a Pittance. Thx to Hurley for an enjoyable half an hour and to William for explaining 1d.
  26. Lots to enjoy in this QC. But, oh, how we struggled with 1D – took us ages to biff the answer as we completely missed the “leading couple” clue! Never mind, we’ll know next time. We came in at 13 minutes.

    FOI: RELIABLE
    LOI: PALATIAL
    COD: PITTANCE

    Thanks to Hurley and William.

  27. Some easy clues, some very tricky clues and some original wordplays. I was all finished in 15 minutes except for 1dn and 14dn, over which I spent a further fruitless 6 minutes before resorting to aids. Thanks to Hurley for a challenging puzzle and to William for the explanations.

    FOI – 3ac RELIABLE
    LOI and COD – 1dn PALATIAL

  28. Fastest time for many a day, had a small delay to work out the roadie clue, we knew the word but not what they did. Word play very helpful. Thanks Hurley and for the blog.
  29. ….I came down to Earth with the proverbial bump, and was well over target. Never on Hurley’s wavelength today, and biffed EMERGENT only parsing afterwards

    FOI ABNORMAL
    LOI EMERGENT
    COD SANG
    TIME 6:16

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