Times Quick Cryptic 1996 by Orpheus

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Lots of entertaining clues in this one and I enjoyed the nearly 10 minutes it took to complete. Not much more to say so click below for the blog and let’s get going.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Small amount of study initially having importance (10)
SMATTERING – (S)tudy, having importance (MATTERING).
8 Account for former partner of homely aspect (7)
EXPLAIN – former partner (EX), of homely aspect (PLAIN).
9 Go across island, reaching Italian city (5)
TURIN – go (as in take one’s go – TURN) across island (I).
10 Not many, they say? That’s a relief (4)
PHEW – homophone of few.
11 Uncrystallised sugar produced by Missouri girls (8)
MOLASSES – Missouri (MO), girls (LASSES).
13 Mission in Paris that served travellers principally (5)
QUEST – French/Parisian of ‘that’ (QUE), (S)erved (T)ravellers.
14 Room in taxi on the left (5)
CABIN – in (IN) with taxi (CAB) to it’s left.
16 Fashionable church feature dean primarily motivated (8)
INSPIRED – fashionable (IN), church feature (SPIRE), (D)ean.
17 Photograph game (4)
SNAP – double definition.
20 Offender’s supper finally eaten by chef (5)
CROOK – suppe(R) inside chef (COOK).
21 Woman’s husband caught in fire, perhaps (7)
HEATHER – husband (H) inside fire (HEATER).
22 One-sided version of a Latin rule (10)
UNILATERAL – anagram (version of) A LATIN RULE.
Down
1 Woman with record showing farm animals (5)
SHEEP – woman (SHE) with record (EP).
2 Anxiety caused by arrest (12)
APPREHENSION – double definition.
3 Amphibian gets kicked, by the sound of it (4)
TOAD – homophone of toed. Thought this might be croc at first but it didn’t work.
4 Redemption money a children’s author talked of (6)
RANSOM – homophone of Ransome (Arthur Michell – Swallows and Amazon’s).
5 Songbird Greek character found on roofing material (8)
NUTHATCH – Greek character (NU), on top of roofing material (THATCH).
6 Politician vexed over new church stopping alcoholic drink (5-7)
CROSS-BENCHER – vexed (CROSS), on top of new church (N CH) inside alcoholic drink (BEER).
7 International organisation thus filling in agreement (6)
UNISON – international organisation (UN), thus (SO) inside in (IN).
12 Afflicted former nurse concealing subterfuge (8)
STRICKEN – former nurse (SEN) outside subterfuge (TRICK).
13 Fruit-tree one of five arriving together with Civil Engineer (6)
QUINCE – one of five arriving together (QUIN), Civil Emgineer (CE). A smile for the definition of quin.
15 Deadly obstruction originally hampering almost everyone (6)
LETHAL – obstruction (LET and hindrance), (H)ampering, almost everyone (AL)l.
18 Danger of rising anger in political extremists (5)
PERIL – anger – ire – rising (ERI) inside (P)olitica(L). COD for surface and clever clue.
19 Bridge-player missing beginning of banquet (4)
EAST – missing beginning of banquet f(EAST).

78 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1996 by Orpheus”

  1. After about a year I have actually managed to complete and parse two QCs in a row! Took me a while (10 Kevins maybe!), so I am very impressed by the times posted by the regulars. I would like to thank all of the setters and especially the bloggers, without whose assistance I would never have improved.
    2. A golfer once said ‘the more I practise, the luckier I get’. Well done for commitment and attitude – the main thing is to keep enjoying them.
  2. Rather a struggle today, with STRICKEN the last to go in. A bit frustrating to be so slow. Glad to finish.
  3. I always find Orpheus difficult. And this was no exception for me. It is as though this setter clues in a code that is different to many but is spotted a mile away by the well-versed.
    There were a few easy ones but I didn’t enter Heather — not parsed — or Molasses — slow to see MO and lasses….
    Enjoyed Nuthatch though — probably my favourite bird…it is the only bird that will climb up and down a tree — tree creepers only going up etc.
    I digress- a huge DNF for me. (<50% complete)

    Thanks all
    John George

    1. It’s funny — I used to find Orpheus one of the hardest setters to get to grips with, although I always enjoyed the results when I saw the answers, but in the last year or so, something clicked! Fingers crossed the same will happen for you 😊 Of course, I’m tempting fate now — what’s the betting I really struggle with his next outing?
  5. I finished in 38 minutes today which, for an Orpheus, is a jolly good time for me. And what’s more, I am now in credit for the first time with this setter (18 solves vs 17 DNFs). I find Orpheus, Joker and Teazel the most awkward setters to cope with.

    Today, I struggled with the top half of the grid, but the bottom half came to my rescue. My last few in were RANSOM, TOAD and EXPLAIN. I have never read Arthur Ransome and I’m still struggling to get my head around ‘homely aspect’ equalling PLAIN.

    Mrs Random cruised home just under the SCC threshold, but as we record our times only to the nearest minute it will go down as 20 minutes. She is now in the kitchen tending to the pizza dough she made earlier, as that’s what’s for dinner this evening. All good, then!

    Many thanks to Orpheus and chrisw91.

    Edited at 2021-11-02 04:59 pm (UTC)

    1. Homely is a euphemistic way of saying that someone is plain. I’ve always thought of it as more of an American usage — no doubt lots of people will now say it’s common in various British regions. So a homely aspect is a plain face 😐 Hope I’m not teaching you to suck eggs!
  6. Sorry this comment actually refers to earlier comments triggered by Arthur Ransome’s children’s novels and leading to Biggles books and somehow I’ve posted this out of sequence. Apologies

    You may well be right that my memory is playing tricks — it won’t be the first time — but I still reckon it was part of some text that was displayed at the beginning of an M & W sketch. I’ve always associated it with their script writer at the time, Eddie Braben. Whatever, it gave me a laugh!

    Edited at 2021-11-02 06:15 pm (UTC)

  7. I am not an expert by any manner of means but finished this one with ease. Being rude to people is not the aim of this blog.
    Might i suggest that if you cannot be nice , helpful or funny you go away
  8. A finish but qualified by East via ‘bEast’ instead of ‘fEast’, as mentioned above. A big effort though, it took an age. I wonder if the quicker solvers have a big advantage of acquired knowledge in these tangential clues, eg cropping words that are not there. All thanks.
  9. You could have timed me with a sun dial today. I finished but dare not admit the time it took

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