Times Quick Cryptic 1951 by Joker

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Interesting – as I finished, I thought I could have done better than just missing my ten minute target. Having now completed the blog, I find that this was probably a good biffing puzzle – the definitions are quite reasonable – if you can see through the wonderful surfaces. How it all works is a lot trickier to work out and I think that’s where I was delayed. I think it fair to say that I’ve enjoyed writhing up the blog more than the actual solve. Let me know how you found it.

Definitions are in italics.

Across
1 Strange fatigue besetting millions — what smoking may do (8)
FUMIGATE – anagram (strange) of FATIGUE including millions (M).
5 Bird nesting in hibiscus (4)
IBIS – inside h(IBIS)cus.
8 Dismembered body is well to the east of hill (5)
TORSO – well (SO – so/well, we’d better get on with the blog then) to the east/left of hill (TOR).
9 Musician — one with a racket (7)
FIDDLER – double definition,
11 Think about complete tan when swimming (11)
CONTEMPLATE – anagram (when swimming) of COMPLETE TAN.
13 Player is among leaders of our best orchestras today (6)
OBOIST – is (IS) among (O)ur (B)est (O)rchestras (T)oday.
14 Sailor in base is capable of working (6)
VIABLE – sailor (AB) inside base (VILE).
17 An old soldier in being discharged is saying goodbye (5-6)
LEAVE-TAKING – an old soldier (A VET) inside being discharged (LEAKING). This wasn’t an obvious parse to me, but the answer was clear.
20 Talk about small herb (7)
PARSLEY – talk (PARLEY of The Black Pearl type) around small (S).
21 What holds cooking oil, very European? (5)
OLIVE – partial &lit where anagram (cooking) of OIL is part of definition and word play, very (V), European (E).
22 Fruit — penny off, the whole lot (4)
EACH – fruit minus penny – p(EACH).
23 One likely to succeed in search for gold (8)
PROSPECT – double definition – a prospect for the Gold Cup is inferred to be a good one, I think + what a gold prospector does,
Down
1 Notes what the future holds (4)
FATE – note (do re me FA TE do). On a quick dabble into solfège (for such is the name of the music education system in question), I find that most sources show the TE as TI, but as long as it rhymes with tea a la Julie Andrews (from The Sound of Music which I get confused with Mary Poppins – they came out a year apart), it’s OK with me.
2 Atlas range is here with fine leather for binding (7)
MOROCCO – hmm, where to draw the underline for the definition? I’ve separated the mountains from the fine leather for binding (Morrocan leather was used in the binding books from the 16th century) as they seem to be two distinct definitions (with ‘here’ applied to each). Equally this could be a straight crytic definition.
3 Stadium’s healthy upsurge in crowd feeling (11)
GROUNDSWELL – stadium’s (GROUND’S), healthy (WELL).
4 Sweet, one that’s rich with key energy (6)
TOFFEE – LOI as I couldn’t see ‘one that’s rich’ = (TOFF), key (E – music), energy (E).
6 A piece of cake being raised in a wood (5)
BALSA – a (A), piece of cake (SLAB – a large piece, then) all raised/upwards.
7 More aching with cold inside, queen’s a charmer (8)
SORCERER – more aching (SORER) holding cold (C), queen (ER). Couldn’t get away from seducer for too long even though it wasn’t the right length.
10 Democrat winning legal round before US two-timing (11)
DUPLICITOUS – Democrat (D), winning (UP), legal (LICIT), round (O), US (US). I remember being pleased with the sequential filling-in of the answer.
12 Everyone turned up when cutting wood in fall (8)
COLLAPSE – everyone – all, turned up (LLA) inside (when cutting) wood (COPSE).
15 Charm of funny Belgium mostly attracting English (7)
BEGUILE – anagram (funny) of (BELGIU)m (Poirrot, anyone?), with English (E).
16 Who might participate in trial with entering running relay (6)
LAWYER – with (W) inside an anagram (running) of RELAY. Excellent surface.
18 Like something valuable held by Maurice (5)
AURIC – held inside M(AURIC)e. In Crosswordland, we’re well used to gold=AU. Auric is rarer and means of or containing gold in the trivalent state. No – I didn’t know what the trivalent state meant either so I then found it means having a valency of three. No clearer there so I carried on and got lost when valency was described as ‘a property of atoms or groups, equal to the number of atoms of hydrogen that the atom or group could combine with or displace in forming compounds’.
19 Animal’s lair found by alien in street (4)
SETT – alien (ET) inside street (ST).

53 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1951 by Joker”

  1. Found this difficult, long clues do not help. Needed help to get leave taking, and failed to get propect. By the time we got to the last few clues our brains seemed to fail us. Thanks, Joker for keeping us busy on a dull afternoon outside.
  2. Got interrupted 15 mins in and had to come back to it later (which in hindsight was probably a good thing). As a result, a few clues came quite quickly after my break (2dn “Morocco”, 7dn “Sorcerer” and 12dn “Collapse”). Not sure of the exact time, but probably around 30mins in total.

    Overall a really good puzzle, although I’m not convinced that all “toffs” are rich. Oddly enough, 1dn “Fate” also works if you mix the standard musical notes of “F” and “A” with the phonetic one of “Te”.

    FOI — 5ac “Ibis”
    LOI — 17ac “Leave Taking”
    COD — 1dn “Fate”

    Thanks as usual!

    2. Some friends of ours have a lovely phrase for non-wealthy types who some may refer to as toffs – “distressed gentlefolk”.
  3. Nearly twice as long as yesterday’s at 17 minutes. I seem to be veering all over the place at the moment. Of course the surfaces are great, so hard to choose a COD. I’m afraid I didn’t parse LEAVE TAKING either.
    FOI Ibis
    LOI Prospect — that took more than 2 mins on its own
    COD Fate
    Thanks Joker and Chris

    Did you see David Parfitt’s homage to Joker in the Saturday Times feedback column? As we know, he includes a nina every day in the Times2 concise, but rarely does so in the Times2 Jumbo (hardly surprisingly!) but for the 1500th, he did. Worth reading 😊

    1. Yes, I did read the article. Very interesting, but Mr Grimshaw is fast disappearing off my Christmas card list at the moment. There’s always next time though, and Mrs R rarely has any trouble with his QCs.
      1. I agree that Joker puzzles seem to be getting harder, or at least I’m finding them so. Still super witty and clever though!
  4. I tackled this puzzle earlier in the day, but have only just found the time to post these comments.

    I threw in the towel after 70 minutes of very hard labour, with COLLAPSE and LEAVE TAKING unsolved. In fact, both of these clues have been on my mind all afternoon and I still needed to come here for their solutions. It could have been worse though, as AURIC and EACH arrived only a minute or two before I gave up.

    I think Joker may have read that I find Orpheus and Teazel the most difficult of the QC setters, as I have now failed to finish all three of his last offerings. He’s certainly winning the awkwardness prize at the moment.

    Many thanks to chrisw91 and (through clenched teeth) to Joker.

    1. Don’t worry about the lateness of the hour. All comments get read. I keep a paper version of the 15×15 to hand when out and about (very helpful when whiling away the time when Mrs C ‘pops into’ a shop or two) – in which case my comments may be days/a week or so late.
  5. This started so well with the top half going straight in but gradually slowed down until I was stuck in the SW corner for 10 minutes. Wondered if the ist in oboist referred to 1st September, but then that’s tomorrow and took forever to see leave taking.
  6. I came to this in the evening after an exceptionally full and busy day. I wasn’t really in the mood but felt I had to maintain my record of completing every QC since number 1. In the end, I staggered to the finishnline and just avoided the SCC.
    I should have waited until tomorrow. I will read Chris’s blog then to see what examples of Joker’s art I missed in my dutiful slog. Thanks both. John M.
    1. Take a medal for commitment and attitude! You’ll sleep even better now. Well worth the read tomorrow – there was a lot of art.
  7. Not fun at all. Not a puzzle for anyone starting out, and clearly only for experienced solvers. Got about 5 clues.
  8. Got the top half — apart from SORCERER — but missed 5 in the bottom half.
    Spent well over 2 hours.
    I suppose this may be quick if you can do the 15×15 in less than an hour but for the rest of us this is surely too much.
    I did yesterday’s and I can usually manage Joker but this is too much. The cluing was just too obtuse for me.
    Nick

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