Times Quick Cryptic 1890 by Oink

80 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1890 by Oink”

1. I did spend a lot of time comparing my spelling of moccasin to the letters in the anagram, and got it right after several attempts. I was worried that twelfth night might be some UK thing I’d never heard of, but then I saw it.
2. Not at all easy for me, but I can’t say why.
3. I only realized when coming here that I’d never parsed TOP-DRAWER. I thought of SCARCE at 4d, and, following
   Gresham’s law of crosswords, that stopped me from thinking of the right word until I got PORK PIE. 5:21.
4. I do wish one could get PORK PIES in China. British meat is not allowed in the PRC – ever since BSE. Here we make ‘Moon Cakes’ and then fill-’em with everything except… pork! They have even been known to contain a Rolex!

   FOI 10ac LUCIFERs from Bryant & May

   LOI 9dn EXASPERATING!

   COD 8ac PORK PIE

   WOD 14ac BAP – remind me of The Nelson at Stockport

   Time 7:30

   1. I haven’t chimed in in quite a while. But the mention of Bryant & May made me do it. Somewhere around this house is a half-used box of them, a souvenir of a 1973 trip to see some sights and the final round of the News of the World darts championship.

      Thanks to everyone. I like coming here.

      1. Oops! Make that 1983.
         1. Nice to hear from you again vefatica, please don’t leave it so long next time. BTW, since you have a Live Journal account you can edit your own comments if you notice a mistake you want to correct. The means may vary according to the device you are using, but there should be a pencil [edit] icon somewhere – on a PC it’s alongside the user name and you have to hover the mouse pointer to expose it. This won’t work after somebody has already replied to you using the ‘Reply’ function, so 1973 above can’t be changed now.

            Edited at 2021-06-07 05:12 am (UTC)

5. All my problems were of my own making, with the SE corner causing me trouble on the way to being all green in 12. Wanted tin to be SN but couldn’t persuade myself ‘slesn’ or ‘sunen’ were words, took too long to realise ‘chess player’ meant colour rather than piece, wanted ‘beau’ for BOW despite not fitting the clue before I saw what was going on and needed the checking O from BOWL OVER to get SELL OUT — the successful show in the clue made me want to put in ‘hit’ at the end. Biggest groan came when I realised what ‘extremely clever’ was doing. Apart from all that, pretty good, seven on the first pass of acrosses and never totally stuck.
6. A testament is not a proof, surely?
   1. SOED:
      4 A witness, a testimony; evidence, proof.LME.

      Collins:
      If one thing is a testament to another, it shows that the other thing exists or is true.

      2. a proof, attestation, or tribute

      1. A testament is proof until the testator is proven to be lying (under oath). United States of America v Michael T. Flynn.
7. A lot to enjoy with this one, as usual with Oink’s puzzles, but nothing to hold me up unduly. Although my inability to spell twelVth nearly resulted in a pink square as I only picked it up when spellchecking. I was unaware of (or had forgotten) the other meaning of LUCIFER but the answer couldn’t have been anything ese. As with life in general I thought PORK PIE and PASTRY were particularly good. Finished in 6.17 with LOI EXASTPERATING
   Thanks to Jack

   Edited at 2021-06-07 07:20 am (UTC)

8. The General Knowledge Crossword gets no mention hereabouts, but it is a useful way of quickly building up one’s GK.

   Today I knocked it off in 13 minutes and all QCers should try it, rather than heading for today’s 15×15 which is on the tricky side.

   My WOD of the day was ‘fianchettoed’ (Don’t worry Jack, it is part of a clue!)

   Edited at 2021-06-07 07:53 am (UTC)

   1. The SNITCH of (currently) 69 suggests the 15×15 is on the easier side so I wouldn’t dissuade people here from giving it a try.
      1. I’ve just finished the 15×15 in just over 20 minutes, so would endorse John’s comment. Have a go — you might be pleasantly surprised.
         Now, what am I going to do with this bonus time?
         1. … you certainly will be surprised when you fluke 25ac
            1. I was confused, because I’d seen the word with a Y / IES ending before but not in that form, so just trusted the wordplay!
   2. Two short. NHO that Hungarian dog. And I am sure Democritus was the original Greek philosopher who developed the theory of atomism. A couple of guesses panned out, which always makes the Monday GK a bit of a challenge as there’s no way to double check an answer.
9. 
   FOI: 10a. LUCIFER
   LOI: 16a. TOP-DRAWER

   Time to Complete: 43 minutes (Av: 69, PB: 32)

   Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 24

   Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): Nil

   Clues Unanswered: Nil

   Wrong Answers: Nil

   Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 24/24

   Aids Used: Nil

   I found this one to be quite gentle, which was a nice Monday treat.

   10a. LUCIFER – I was 99% sure Lucifer was the answer. I recall the lyrics to the song “Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag”, which contained the word lucifer. I was puzzled by the “once” in the clue, but I assume it refers to a match being one time use.

   16a. TOP-DRAWER – This was my last one in. I managed to get DRAW for raffle but was a little stuck for boozer. I have never heard of TOPER meaning boozer, but as this was my LOI, and I had not used any lives so far, I wanted to complete this one without the use of any aids. TOP-DRAWER seemed the only logical answer, and so that is what I entered.

   1. I think once is referring to lucifer being an archaic term. And well done today! I was bamboozled by moccasin ….
      1. Ah yes, once meaning archaic makes more sense than my one. Thank you.
         1. And jackkt has also advised – missed his post!
10. Quite a good morning today. My IPad put ? In front of “COS” in 2d which completely bamboozled me, but I got most of the rest.

    Stupidly I forgot to look for Oink’s usual, at 8a, but got it anyway.

    Thank you, Oink and Jack

    1. It’s a reference to LUCIFER being an old word for ‘match’. Nobody uses it in that context any more. In the 15×15 it might not be necessary to qualify it in this way, and even some QC setters might not do so, but Oink was being kind to us.
11. An excellent QCC, thanks Oink. I do wish the setter’s name appeared on my Android Times app when solving but guessed it might be Oink when PORK PIE appeared. Like Mendesest I wondered if BEAU and boyfriend and front of ship were somehow clued cleverly together but soon settled on BOW. Similarly had an embarrassing moment of indecision over spelling of 12th. Whatever next I wonder.
    A few minutes deliberation here and there kept me just in the 20 minute club, but nothing too cryptic for me and a 3 on my scale of ease.
    COD TOP DRAWER for reminding me of Toper, a word I haven’t used for a long time but comes to the fore after a couple of bottles of excellent Pouilly-Fuissé enjoyed yesterday in a friend’s garden to celebrate a first escape from lockdown. Thanks Jack and all.

    Edited at 2021-06-07 07:55 am (UTC)

    1. Steakcity, you could choose to solve the puzzle viewing the newspaper in a browser rather than an app. That way you would see the setter’s name. I checked it on my Android tablet and it works fine. In fact I don’t even have the app loaded.
       1. Thanks… but, regardless of whether I use the Times app on my android phone, or use chrome on my phone to browse to thetimescouk/puzzles/times quick cryptic No 1890 etc, neither show the name of the setter at the top of the page, or the puzzle number, just the puzzle and its clues and ability to complete online with the usual menus of choices.
          When browsing to the page on my PC it shows both setter and puzzle number as would be expected.
          I just put this down to another mystery of the media and obviously it is not universal. There is probably an explanation somewhere but it seems obscure.
          1. Thanks, steakcity. I no longer have an android phone to check this out, so I can only report re android on my tablet.
          2. I have exactly the same difficulty, whichever way I view it, no setter’s name.
             1. My Android tablet shows the setter every time.
                1. Thanks for your comment — I’ll try mine.
12. I was triumphant at a very rapid time of 834, in the Dark Ages in my scoring system. However a little pink square at NUN/NAN ruined what was a very pleasing solve. This type of clue can be ambiguous, although on re-reading carefully I see that NAN was fairly clued.

    Also, my grandmother’s name was NAN (Annie), but unlike most Northerners, we actually called her “Granny”. We were a BAP household, though.

    Good tip on the GK, horryd, I will try that next, and avoid the 15×15. Had success with the Cryptic Jumbo over the weekend.

    COD PASTRY

13. I started with BEEF, and like Kevin, needed a PORK PIE to disabuse me of the unparsable SCARCE at 4d. BOWL OVER and TOP DRAWER were my last 2 in. A quick proof read revealed that by some quirk TWELFTH had become TEWLFTH and WHOLE had become EHALE!! No idea how that happened. 7:49. Thanks Oink and Jack.
14. Jack, I was puzzled over how BOWL OVER worked. I saw BOW and LOVER, but I didn’t understand how “boyfriend at front of ship” indicated that BOW came first. Oh – in typing that I think I see the idea – is it that if you’re my “BOW LOVER” you’re my lover located in the bow, like if you’re my “Norwich lover” you’re my lover located in Norwich? Ah-ha. Sorry to be thick. I’m going to leave these musings in just in case they help anyone else!

    FOI TWELFTH NIGHT, LOI CLEAN, COD PASTRY, time 06:28 for 1.2K and an Excellent Day.

    Many thanks Oink and Jack.

    Templar

    1. Exactly that. ‘Norwich lover’ in your example could be another matter entirely!
    2. …. 🙂🚶🚶🙂 (smile, boys, smile)

       Edited at 2021-06-08 03:43 pm (UTC)

15. A most encouraging puzzle. Zoomed through without stopping. FOI TOASTER and that SW corner which luckily gave me TWELFTH NIGHT.
    Liked BOWL OVER, PASTRY and, of course, PORK PIE.
    Must have been on the wavelength for a change.
    Many thanks, Jack.
16. Well done Oink, indeed! An actual QC to start the week. I failed to finish in less than 10 mins by a few seconds but it was good to be in that time-frame again. Like Diana, I had ?cos in the 2d clue on my iPad; without this confusing hiccup, I might have broken the 10min mark. Some very nice clues and the long anagrams dropped out nicely. Thanks to Oink and Jack. John M.

    Edited at 2021-06-07 08:34 am (UTC)

17. 14 minutes, so fairly straightforward. DNK TOPER but got it anyway. . Enjoyable — thanks, Oink.
18. … but no less enjoyable, as Oink’s puzzles usually are. All done in 8 minutes and Porky reference duly spotted!

    I did wonder if “ecstacy” in the clue for 4D was yet another anagrind (my reasoning being that it meets Statherby’s First Law, ie “any word in the English language can be used to indicate an anagram”), and spent a fruitless few moments trying to scramble the letters of Argues, until the P of Pork Pie put paid to that.

    Many thanks to Jack for the blog. The week is off to a good start.
    Cedric

    1. I like the idea of Statherby’s First Law, but would ‘unadulterated’ comply?
       1. The exception that proves the rule….
          1. I’ve never really understood what that meant.
             1. Good point, so I looked it up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule
19. PB for me today, matching Merlin exactly in 8:34, except, thankfully, I chose the right middle letter in 15a. My previous best was 9:58 so that’s a whopping 12% improvement, although it was definitely on the easier side. Glad I remembered LUCIFER matches from a previous crossword, though on this occasion it would have been gettable from checkers anyway. FOI WHOLE, LOI ANTIDOTE, COD BOWL OVER. Thanks Jack and Oink.
    1. Well done on the PB, and a sub-10 to boot.
    2. Well done!
20. Well under ten minutes today. FOI Lucifer, LOI sparse as needed pork pie to avoid scarce which wouldn’t parse. COD antidote. Thanks, Jack, and Oink. GW.
21. After FOI DONNA I made quick progress to LOI WHOLE in 07:42.
    A high quality QC with no particular issues for me.
    COD to TWELFTH NIGHT.
    David
22. Good to get an anagram for MOCCASIN as I’ve spelt it wrong in a puzzle before. I always find Oink’s puzzles quite tractable and whizzed through in one of my fastest times. 3:12
23. Lovely confidence-builder this morning, few troubles and a time of 12:52 with which I’m very pleased.

    NHO Toper but 16a could be little else, and DNK Twelfth Night was traditionally when you take your Christmas decorations down – but Shakespeare got me through there, as with so much in life!

24. I think, though I don’t keep records anymore.

    The surface for TWELFTH NIGHT made me smile, as it is always a drama putting it all away again!

    No real hold ups apart from correcting some typos on the way to 3:38.

    Edited at 2021-06-07 09:16 am (UTC)

25. At last I have broken the 15 min barrier! Although how anyone can type it all in in less than 10 mins is a mystery to me. Thanks for the blog, I wasn’t sure why Lack was the right answer.
    1. Well done!
    2. I too used to wonder how anybody could do these in under 10 minutes. It used to take me about that time just to read through the across clues, and if I was lucky I’d have written in two or three of them by then. It’s taken me a few years to get to the point where I have a reasonable chance of not being a member of the SCC (this was only my 11th sub-15, but I get under 20 maybe 30% of the time). I can now understand how people can manage sub-10 or even sub-8, perhaps 7 at a push, but I’m still in awe of all those who regularly post times under five minutes. One day perhaps.
26. I normally find Oink’s puzzles both enjoyable and fairly straightforward, but today I really struggled and for ages could get nowhere with the NW corner. Finally, a few pennies dropped and I completed it somewhere in the region of a poor 30 to 45 mins.

    As usual, when a clue has a number of possible answers I manage to forget the obvious. So whilst I ran through my repertoire of devilish names, “Lucifer” passed me by — at one point even thinking it was an anagram. I’d NHO of the “match” link.

    Think I’ll have to forget this one quickly…

    FOI — 6dn “Span”
    LOI — 10ac “Lucifer”
    COD — 14dn “Blow Over”

    Thanks as usual!

27. All correct in 21 minutes today, which is very fast for me, although had I spotted what was going on with SPAN (my LOI) a little sooner, I would have broken into my fastest five solves. BTW, Mrs Random has just asked me what I plan to do with all the spare time I now (unexpectedly) have – “Something useful, hopefully!”, she said.

    Remembering that Oink often (always?) includes a piggy reference in his QCs helped me firm up on PORK PIE and, even not getting 1d (TWELFTH NIGHT) until I had most of the checkers didn’t seem to slow me down.

    I hope louisajaney does this crossword, as 9d (EXASPERATING) reminded me of her “Exasperometer”, although I think that today’s puzzle would score much more than a 1-2 on her scale.

    Many thanks to Oink for easing us into the week, and to jackkt, with whose “quite straightforward” assessment I concur.

    1. Correction: “… although I think that today’s puzzle WOULDN’T score much more than a 1-2 on her scale.”

       P.S. Mrs Random has just finished in 14 minutes. Whilst not a PB, this is still very quick for her. Her comment, before dashing out of the room, was “I have a lot to do today, so I did it quickly”.

28. …but then got going. My best time today (under 25 mins) but, like pearlygate, DNK toper — yet another new word for me! Love the GK and always do this with hubby. May try 15×15 but sense still way out of my league! Day off today and enjoyed QC in garden with coffee and birdsong — bliss
29. Started with 1d and all the offspring and wondered if a sub-10 would be possible (spoiler: No). Exasperating and Moccasin, where I needed most of the crossers to help with the anagrams, and Clean, where I started thinking Sn was involved, put paid to any ideas of a PB. Loi 4d, Sparse, was a pdm that pushed me out to 14mins. A very friendly Monday QC. Invariant
    1. Still getting used to all the terminology — what’s a pdm?
       1. Penny Drop Moment! Something I have frequently 😅 Penny
          1. Thanks Penny and invariant — hoping for a few more of these!!! 😆
       2. . . . a penny drop moment 😉
          1. Thanks 🙏
30. Sooo frustrating! I knew it was NAN but in my haste put in nun 😡 I was going so well and finished in 7 minutes. I always like Oink’s puzzles a lot — this was on the gentle side, I thought, but such fun. Not only did we have the usual piggy reference, but there was BEEF, plus BAP and PASTRY and a couple of mentions of booze along the way. It is bbq weather at the moment … NAN is often put up as a bread-related clue too, although I always spell it naan. What with the toaster as well, there seem to be some Breadman links here too!
    Hard to choose a COD today — GRAND, MOCCASIN and BOWL OVER were all in the running.
    FOI Pork pie
    LOI Top drawer
    COD Exasperating
    Thanks a usual to Oink for the entertainment and Jack for the usual informed and clear blog
    1. Thanks for your kind comment about my blog. I try my best!
31. Quick time for me. TWELFTH NIGHT straight in then worked round anti-clockwise from there finishing with SPARSE

    As always Oink delivers a very nice puzzle. Thanks to him/her and Jackkt

32. ….from Oink. I see Verlaine broke the 2 minute barrier again.

    FOI WHOLE
    LOI CREDITOR
    COD BEEF
    TIME 3:16

33. 4:07. As others have said, a gentle start to the week from Oink, with no real issues, so not surprised to see some scorching times on the Club leaderboard.
    COD 2dn Moccasin which I’ve just misspelt twice in typing this sentence!
    Thanks to Jack and Oink
34. I have only ever achieved a sub 5 minutes solve once before in my 4 years of trying. I could have been quicker had I not had to think about the spelling of TWELFTH and MOCCASIN but not much! LOI 9d in a not at all EXASPERATING 4:48. Thanks Oink, it has been a rare pleasure.
    1. Oh wow! Well done!
       1. Thanks!
    2. Super time — congrats 😃
       1. Thanks!
35. Very happy with a 16m solve today with no real holdups. Thanks Oink and for the blog.
36. Begun in the SE corner and moved around from there. FOI Pastry since many others looked tricky on first view.
    But all good LOI Top Drawer NHO Toper for boozer like some others.
    Lucifer a dim recollection.
    Thanks all
    John George
37. I agree that this was a nice, approachable QC. And enjoyable because of it. No time as I did it on the physical edition but all done and parsed (without aids) in what could easily have been under 20 mins, which is good for me.

    Thanks to Oink for a pleasant experience and to Jack for a well constructed blog, as always.

38. Quick it said and quick it was, but an enjoyable Monday starter that teased the brain nicely. Sub ten minutes over my porridge. FOI WHOLE at 7ac, LOI MOCCASIN at 2d. Did I have a COD? Not really.
39. No problems today – a steady solve.

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