Times Quick Cryptic 1886 by Orpheus

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Ah, Orpheus again but without such a sting. 8 minutes for an interesting solve. Started slowly but then the biffometer started ratcheting up – a word to the wise here for other potential biffers  – make sure you correct the final letter of 21ac before you type the penultimate letter of 15dn – I held myself back just in time.

A little bit of geography, a bird and a mammal made this interesting and fun.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Old man’s expression of thanks for Italian food (5)
PASTA – old man’s (PA’S), expression of thanks (TA).
4 Drive shown by politician in refurbished suite (7)
IMPETUS – politician (MP) inside an anagram (refurbished) of SUITE.
8 Action of Liberal with wife in a formal outfit (7)
LAWSUIT – Liberal (L), with wife (W) inside a (A) and formal outfit (SUIT).
9 As a mountain track may be, blustery and indirect (5)
WINDY – COD to a rather good triple definition.
10 Crusty old American on container ship? (12)
CANTANKEROUS – old (O) and American (US) after container (CAN) and ship (TANKER).
12 Bird — and cat beginning to track it (6)
TOMTIT – cat (TOM), (T)rack, it (IT).
13 Talkative, and spiteful about hotel (6)
CHATTY – spiteful (CATTY) about hotel (H).
16 Investigate loud noise of birds — Swedish, possibly (12)
SCANDINAVIAN – investigate (SCAN), loud noise (DIN), of birds (AVIAN).
18 French river, one embodied in folk tradition (5)
LOIRE – one (I) embodied in folk tradition (LORE).
20 What we learn by accepting established award (7)
ROSETTE – what we (can) learn by (ROTE) accepting established (SET).
21 Explosive device briefly associated with a Caribbean state (7)
GRENADA – explosive device briefly (GRENAD)e, with a (A).
22 Monkey found in Israel or Islamabad (5)
LORIS – found in Israe(L OR IS)lamabad. Loris – a nocturnal, slow moving prosimian primate with sad eyes.
Down
1 European jazz fan, one raising quite a stink! (7)
POLECAT –  Eurpopean (POLE), jazz fan (CAT). The polecat has some aroma issues apparently.
2 Device that provides a shuttle service for a seamstress? (6,7)
SEWING MACHINE – cryptic definition.
3 Excessive praise of grown-up touring area, one on cricket side (9)
ADULATION – grown up (ADULT) touring area (A), one (I), cricket side (ON – the side that a batsman/woman would naturally hit towards – to the left for a right-hander)
4 Recent arrivals sadly eat in kitchen at first (6)
INTAKE – anagram (sadly) of EAT IN and (K)itchen.
5 Leaders of priests equipped with seat in church (3)
PEW – (P)riests (E)quipped (W)ith.
6 Would it damage part of a shoe? It’s hard to say (6-7)
TONGUE-TWISTER – something which would twist (damage) the tongue of a shoe.
7 Island involved in risky enterprise (4)
SKYE – involved inside ri(SKY E)nterprise. A beautiful place btw.
11 Tries to get into Madrid team’s practice session (9)
REHEARSAL – tries (HEARS – as in a hearing) inside one of Madrid’s soccer teams (REAL).
14 US city built by characters from Orkneys (7)
YONKERS – anagram (built by characters from) ORKNEYS.
15 Travelling is rare in a mountain range (6)
SIERRA – anagram (travelling) of IS RARE.
17 Arduous job, initially, sawing wood (4)
SLOG – (S)awing, wood (LOG).
19 Woman Caesar’s salutation upset (3)
EVA – Caesar’s salutation – ave – upset (EVA).

52 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1886 by Orpheus”

  1. An experience similar to Countrywoman and Oltoc — I was on for sub 10 minutes but finished in 13 having spent at least four minutes on LOI Rosette. But pleased to have seen it and completed.
    I have been disparaging towards Orpheus in the recent past but this was a good QC with emphasis on the Q!
    Yonkers seemed to easy that I hesitated
    Thanks all
    John George

    Edited at 2021-06-01 03:11 pm (UTC)

  2. ….and I’m delighted to scrape into the top 10 on the leaderboard. I’d love to sit silently behind Verlaine while he’s doing one of these though. 57 seconds faster than me, and I was going full chat ! He must just be a blur !

    FOI PASTA
    LOI LOIRE
    COD TONGUE-TWISTER
    TIME 2:35

    1. Blinking flip, that’s proper rapid phil. I think Verlaine exists in a quantum plane, he thinks the answers onto the page/screen..
  3. Fairly straightforward. All completed and parsed in 16 mins of which at least 3 were spent on 20ac, which for some reason proved hard to crack. Had heard of Yonkers, having once worked for a company which had an office there, and had also heard of loris, so maybe I should have been a bit quicker!

    FOI – 1ac PASTA
    LOI – 20ac ROSETTE
    COD – toss-up between 4ac IMPETUS and 11dn REHEARSAL, but lots of other lovely clues

    Thanks to Chris and Orpheus

  4. Same time as yesterday’s, which I forgot to post. Hampered by phone keyboard on both days.

    I liked SCANDINAVIAN today.

    5:14.

  5. I struggled with a few of these today. I guessed TOMTIT was the answer for 12a, though it is not listed in the index of my RSPB book of British birds. The container ship in 10a had me thinking of those huge ships piled high with metal boxes. I can never work out why they don’t roll over in rough seas. I have the same feelings about cruise liners that look like floating tower blocks. 2d and 6d went in fairly quickly, which helped with a lot of the crossers.
  6. Just noticed that my earlier post has disappeared, so here it is again:

    Straightforward enough, though I still managed to nudge into SCC territory by virtue of the NHO Yonkers combining with my effort to squeeze Est into 20ac Rosette. CoD to 16ac Scandinavian. An easier week so far. Invariant

  7. Time 8:45 mins

    FOI 1ac PASTA

    LOI 15dn SIERRA

    COD 10ac CANTANKEROUS

    WOD 6dn TONGUE-TWISTER

  8. Accessible for an Orpheus puzzle and very enjoyable with nature themes to envisage.
    Took me ‘roughly half an hour’ with all but Eva/Ave parsed.
    Thank you, to blogger and setter.
  9. Just a few seconds inside target at 14:50 with CANTANKEROUS being the main culprit. I also biffed WONKY for WINDY, but was fortunate to reconsider as it didn’t parse well (or at all). Just like me to miss the parsing when I have three attempts to get it right. Like others, YONKERS was recalled from who knows what or where, but it was there, buried, until needed. Thanks both!
  10. I’m very late in getting round to this but it’s done and dusted in ten minutes. Nothing especially challenging on the way to the finish line.

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