Times Quick Cryptic 2962 by Pipsqueak

Author   KittyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Hi everybody.  An enjoyable start to the quickie week – thanks Pipsqueak!

Definitions are underlined in the clues below.  In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.  For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.

Across
1a Group backing US city’s electric car (5)
TESLA — SET (group) reversed (backing) + LA (US city)
7a Doctor not masked? I’ve no idea (4,3,2)
DONT ASK ME — Make an anagram of (doctor) NOT MASKED
9a Philosopher quietly left at end of concerto (5)
PLATO — P (quietly) + L (left) + AT + the last letter of (end of) concertO
10a Bald Cockney is so stuffy (7)
AIRLESS — A bald person is hairless; a cockney who is so might drop the aitch and be ‘AIRLESS
11a Stormy rains engulfing America from land west of Alaska (7)
RUSSIAN — An anagram of (stormy) RAINS surrounding (engulfing) US (America)
12a Loves anecdotes one collects (5,2)
DOTES ON — A hidden: anecDOTES ONe holds (collects) the answer
15a Increasingly irritated with scruffy attire, right? (7)
RATTIER — An anagram of (scruffy) ATTIRE + R (right)
18a Helpful purchase for the climber? (7)
TOEHOLD — A cryptic definition.  The intended first reading of the clue is something helpful a climber might buy.
I’m so well adapted to look for alternative meanings that I often see them first, as might you, but if we were to ask a normal person their thoughts on the clue as if it were a straight crossword I’m sure it would pass the test
20a Sounds like con man spotted cat (7)
CHEETAH — Sounds like CHEATER (con man)
22a Still time for meeting (5)
EVENT — EVEN (still) + T (time)
23a Unknown person going round lake, a killer perhaps (9)
STRANGLER — STRANGER (unknown person) going round L (lake)
24a Ready to drop, tried pushing Republican back (5)
TIRED — TRIED moving the R (republican) to the left right (pushing … back)
Down
1d Grass up gutless editor, a drunkard (5)
TOPER — POT (grass) reversed (up, in a down entry) + EditoR without the middle letters (gutless …)
2d Clicks on recent photograph (8)
SNAPSHOT — SNAPS (clicks) on HOT (recent)
3d A Mafia boss is a handsome chap (6)
ADONIS — A + DON (Mafia boss) + IS
4d What might persuade a couple of Romeos into bed? (6)
CARROT — A and R R (couple of Romeos) go into COT (bed)
5d Island broadcaster’s announcement (4)
SKYE — A soundalike (announcement) of SKY (broadcaster)
6d Nice to get rid of large worker on the land (7)
PEASANT — P[l]EASANT (nice) taking out (to get rid of) L (large)
8d Ancient relative’s northeastern heartland destroyed (11)
NEANDERTHAL — NE (northeastern) + HEARTLAND anagrammed (destroyed)
13d Boat sure to be wrecked — by me? (8)
SABOTEUR — BOAT SURE is to be anagrammed (wrecked)
14d Summary going over everyone’s head? That’s correct (7)
PRECISE — PRÉCIS (summary) above (going over) Everyone’s initial letter (head)
16d Keen camper sleeping here (6)
INTENT — IN TENT (camper sleeping here)
17d Go AWOL in the Sahara perhaps (6)
DESERT — Two definitions
19d Old-fashioned duke had died (5)
DATED — D (duke) + ATE (had) + D (died).
My first thought, PASSED, just would not fit!
21d Nobleman in good time? Not quite (4)
EARL — EARLy (in good time) without its last letter (not quite)

91 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 2962 by Pipsqueak”

  1. 8 minutes. I looked twice at ‘keen / INTENT’ but then thought of being ‘keen / intent on doing something or other’.

  2. Slow for a Monday, just above my target 10-15 minutes. Up late watching the “rollercoaster” Masters with McIlroy finally triumphing and awake at 5! LOI: TOEHOLD, needing a quick alphabet trawl.

  3. No problems. The R in ‘tried’ is pushed right, toward the back (end) of the word. 6:04.

  4. Same same re TOEHOLD, I overcomplicated it and lost the best part of a minute to finish in 6.18. A fun puzzle, I especially like DATED, thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty.

  5. Biffed ‘trellis’ instead of TOEHOLD thinking purchase/grip for climbing plants, but soon fixed when DATED went in. Everything else was pretty easy and COD to SABOTEUR.
    Thanks Kitty and setter.

  6. Quick until hitting the TOEHOLD blockage.
    Finished in 6.29.
    Thanks to Kitty and Pipsqueak

  7. 8:35 for the solve! TOEHOLD LOI

    Nice puzzle from Pipsqueak with a good mix of old chestnuts, good anagrams, generous defs and enjoyable surfaces.

    Thanks to Kitty for the blog.

      1. Thanks #5 – definitely on a roll – 43 of last 45 puzzles successful 👍

  8. A fun QC – back on track after Fri and Sat? I was a bit dopey this morning but still managed it in a relaxed 14 mins.
    No particular favourites but TOEHOLD was neat.
    Thanks to both.

  9. 19 mins. Quick for me.
    An enjoyable QC.

    I had to smile at surface for 1d and 11ac.

    Thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty

    (Disappointing that setter’s name still not given in the revamp. Amongst other gripes with revamp and puzzles.)

  11. A very rare sub 10 for me 8:03. Lots of half parsed answering helped by a very generous supply of chestnuts. Snapshot and toehold took a minute to figure out and I had to leave the acrosses at the bottom of the grid until I had checkers but Dated Plato following instructions with ease!
    Nice start to the week.
    Thanks Pip and Kitty

  12. Thank you, Pipsqueak, for another friendly one. Liked DON’T ASK ME. LOI PRECISE.

  13. First thought TRELLIS until got DATED. Being picky, DOTES ON is barely hidden, but otherwise an enjoyable QC with some great surfaces. Thanks Kitty and Pipsqueak.

    1. Proof that everything’s subjective as I took a while to spot DOTES ON was hidden 😆🫣

      1. 🤣 but I do agree on everything being subjective. Some clues I struggle with are the FOIs for other solvers.

  14. Only my second ever sub-six, racing to 5.40. All the first five went straight in but then only added CHEETAH to give six on the first pass before doing better on the downs. Comparatively slow to PEASANT and STRANGLER but still the fastest of 2025 by miles! Must be the relaxed mindset – about to drive off for three nights in the Quantocks.

  15. A very quick start to the week, still had some coffee left by the time my LOI TOEHOLD went in.

  16. 7:25
    I saw “land west of Alaska” and biffed SIBERIA. When the down clues did not fit, I had to go back and read the clue properly.

    Thanks Kitty and Pipsqueak

  17. 24 mins…

    Got oddly held up in the NW corner after putting in “Tarer” for 1dn and then struggling with the 9ac philosopher. The rest went in fairly steadily and was probably simpler than I was making it.

    FOI – 1ac “Tesla”
    LOI – 1dn “Toper”
    COD – 18ac “Toehold”

    Thanks as usual!

    1. I started to write in Tarer as well, but decided to check with 9ac first where quietly/p left little doubt as to what the intended grass was.

  18. Very quick beginning, and then much slower. I also had passed, somehow lose the duke and you have passe = dated. Took a while to realise it was never going to work. I think we have had it before, but I still don’t see how still = even, I biffed it straight away but still spent a while trying to parse it.

    1. The best I can do is that a still surface (of water) would be even. Not sure that works though.

      1. They can both be used with comparatives for emphasis. For example:

        While much has been achieved, there is still / even more work to be done…

  19. After a late night watching the brilliant Rory Mcilroy finally achieve his destiny, I expected to underperform having woken early, with a body still topped up with adrenaline I guess from watching the roller coaster performance. As it turns out, I performed better than average finishing in 7.12, although it was perhaps on the easy side of average. My only blip was quickly biffing PIANO for 9ac, where the mere mention of quietly and concerto in the clue was enough to lead me down a musical dead end. Fortunately I reassessed it and the answer was obvious.

  20. Finished correctly in 40 minutes. Hooray ! First success for quite a while.

    Some may say it was too easy. I say that it was a good QC to start the week. .

  23. A comfortable sub-20 and a welcome antidote to Pedro’s teaser on Saturday. Snapshot needed all the crossers and the parsing of Precise took longer than it should have, but otherwise a fairly straightforward top to bottom solve. CoD to 4d, Carrot, for the amusing surface. Invariant

  24. 4:54

    Another here who’s immediate thought for 18a was TRELLIS – took a few downs to force a rethink. TOPER surely these days, never heard of outside of crosswords. Nothing else too tricky though – nice Monday puzzle.

    Thanks Kitty and Pipsqueak

  26. A straightforward two pass start to the week. Thanks Kitty and Pipsqueak.

    FOI TESLA
    LOI NEANDERTHAL
    COD TOEHOLD
    TIME 4:06

  27. Like Goldy, still have coffee to spare – very unusual! LOI RATTIER. Another to try a tentative ‘trellis’ before DATED put pay to that. Only know TOPER from crosswords – never knowingly heard in real conversation. COD TOEHOLD (very nice) but also liked surface for DONT ASK ME. Thanks kitty and Pipsqueak.

  28. Very pleasant start to the week. No particular problems, but some ingenious clues.

    COD to TOEHOLD after I had gone via trellis

    Many thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty

  29. Fewer than 14 relaxed minutes – very pleasing in our world.
    Much enjoyed on a train to Cornwall.
    A happy Monday moment (or nearly 14 of them).
    Thank you Pipsqueak and Kitty

  30. Corner shop time – 7:11. Very pleasant start to the week, for once no hold-ups and hardly even a pause for extended thought.

    Many thanks Kitty for the blog.

  31. I fairly whizzed through this, only losing the best part of a minute while tackling the clue that did not give me a helpful purchase! A nice start to the week, and another more approachable crossword with some lovely surfaces. CARROT made me smile and I liked DON’T ASK ME and NEANDERTHAL too. We’ve seen variations of the INTENT clue before, but I thought this was a very neat version.
    7:14 FOI Tesla LOI Toehold COD Russian – bearing in mind that the crosswords are set well in advance of publication, I thought the surface for this one was particularly timely (if disturbing).
    Thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty

    On edit: congratulations to everyone who got PBs today 👏🔥🏆

  32. Clearly not on the wavelength today. Took ages to get TOEHOLD and then PRECISE and LOI SNAPSHOT. Ended up on 31:42. Not a great day at the office, so a good thing I’m a teacher and never have to set foot in one. Thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty.

  33. I’m trying to decide between the sharp agony of a DPS and the dull ache of spending 30 seconds proof reading. Today I proofread, found no errors and was mildly peeved. I’m sure that I’ll soon revert to “submit and hope” until the next outbreak of agony!

    Fun puzzle, COD CARROT, 06:33, Very Good Day. Many thanks Pippers and Kitty.

          1. Oh of course 🙄 I even checked the glossary but it’s not there – yet.
            I’m still analogue and use P&P. The square may not be pink when I get it wrong, but I still know!
            Thanks

  34. It was going swell until I came to a grinding halt with Toehold made worse because I got “dated” wrong. Have seen it many times before but missed “ate” for had. I just wasn’t having something to eat.

  36. Enjoyable QC. Slow to get going then sped up, slow again on LOI TOEHOLD.
    Liked CARROT, DON’T ASK ME, RUSSIAN, PRECISE, among others.
    TOPER is an old-fashioned word – not heard it since the 50s.
    Thanks vm, Kitty.

  37. A quick time by my standards of 12 minutes. Couldn’t parse dated – I always miss had = ate. My only hold-up was at 11ac where I managed to confuse east and west and started thinking of Canadian provinces. I agree that dotes on was barely hidden but it still took me a little while to spot it.

    FOI – 1ac TESLA
    LOI – 4dn CARROT
    COD – 18ac TOEHOLD

    Thanks to Pipsqueak and Kitty

  38. DNF with 3 clues today. TOEHOLD I didn’t get, but looking at the blog it’s a wonderful clue. Still confused with 13d, understand that SABOTEUR is an anagram of boat sure, but don’t see how that fits with “by me”? Any explanation to help me out would be appreciated. Thank you for the blog, lots learnt, especially the word precis 😁

      1. Thank you for that! Spent a while looking at the blog trying to figure out what I was missing 😆

        1. Actually I think the clue means that the setter is the one that made the anagram ie ‘boat sure’ was wrecked (anagrammed) by me, the setter

          1. That’s one way of thinking of it, but I think Hector has it absolutely right. It’s what I call a ‘riddle clue’ or ‘riddle definition’ in which the solution is treated as if it were a person. You get this sort of thing in riddles that begin e.g. ‘My first is in a but not in b’ etc. The last line of the riddle is usually ‘What (or who) am I?’ Sometimes the answer is an inanimate object and requires a little more lateral thinking than today’s clue in which ‘me’ is the SABOTEUR.

  39. 14:07

    Raced through this and nearly finished in 10 before grinding to a halt and requiring an alphabet trawl for LOI TOEHOLD.

  40. 6.53 A gentle start to the week ending with TOEHOLD. Thanks Kitty and Pipsqueak.

  41. For once, solving somewhat early in the day didn’t lead to getting stuck, so it must have been a well-pitched QC. A fun 12:44 solve, with smiles at RUSSIAN, TOEHOLD (groan, and LOI), CARROT, and NEANDERTHAL.

    Thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty.

  42. 10:23. CARROT and SABOTEUR were favourites. I didn’t think ratty=irritated but have learned participating here not to totally rely on my own experience with language!

  44. 10 mins to get everything except toehold, and that took another 5.

    Oh well, COD Toehold.

  45. My first for a week or so (travelling) and what an enjoyable return. Took 15 minutes or so with LOI the ingenious CARROT. Otherwise the bottom half fell swiftly and the middle slightly less so: P G Wodehouse vocab suggested TOPER and the mafia component of ADONIS was neat and fun! Thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty!

  46. 5.02 no dramas.
    LOI Was Snapshot, I didn’t equate snaps with clicks, still not sure I do to be honest.

    Thanks Kitty and Pipsqueak.

  47. 6.04

    Just squeaked in the top 100. Nothing to add – also delayed by TOEHOLD at the end.

    Liked the clue for RUSSIAN

    Thanks Pipsqueak and Kitty

  49. 8:07 here, fast for me but held up slightly by trying to overthink TOEHOLD. The top half seemed much easier than the bottom half.

    Thanks to Pipsqueak and Kitty.

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