Times Quick Cryptic 890 by Wurm

Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
This is only Wurm’s  second outing as our setter, his (?) first appearance being on 21st June this year when I completed the puzzle in 7 minutes. I needed 17 minutes to finish this one, although a good proportion of that time was spent on a single clue, 1dn, a double-definition which even now I am not 100% sure that I have understood completely. A nice puzzle though.

After all the trials and tribulations over at the revamped Crossword Club it’s a  pleasant relief to spend time in QC-land where nothing has changed with the basic puzzle, but those who wish to do so can now participate in QC leader-board rivalry with other solvers. For myself, I doubt I shall ever bother with this as I don’t like solving on line one little bit..

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
3 Arterial route in China or Taiwan (5)
AORTA – Hidden in {Chin}A OR TA{iwan}
7 Branch installing new vault (6)
SPRING – SPRIG (branch) containing [installing] N (new)
8 Metal to conduct (4)
LEAD – I think words like this that are spelt the same but pronounced differently depending on their meaning are called heteronyms
9 Cute and rare wild animal (8)
CREATURE – Anagram [wild] of CUTE RARE
10 Wounded Romeo put inside cabin (4)
HURT – R (Romeo – NATO alphabet) contained by [put inside] HUT (cabin)
11 Handed over dollar and avoided duty (6,3,4)
PASSED THE BUCK –  Two meanings with PASSED suggested by ‘handed over’ and BUCK by ‘dollar’
15 Scottish king worried about old country seat? (8,5)
SHOOTING STICK – Anagram [worried] of SCOTTISH KING containing [about] O (old). A somewhat uncomfortable temporary seat that’s often associated with country pursuits.
16 Character from SW? (4)
TONE – A straight definition and a cryptic hint – ‘from SW’ = ‘to NE’
18 Former tie broken in WW1 battlefield (8)
SOMETIME – Anagram [broken] of TIE in SOMME (WW1 battlefield). This answer appeared little more than a week ago in the main puzzle clued as “Former leaders of European triumvirate inevitably going into battle (8)”
20 So far, one mythical hairy creature (4)
YETI – YET (so far), I (one)
21 Some girls have nails closely cut (6)
SHAVEN – Hidden [some] in {girl}S HAVE N{ails}
22 Edna turned south for the mountains (5)
ANDES – Anagram [turned] of EDNA, S (south)
Down
1 Deal with / proposal (8)
APPROACH – Two definitions. I took a long time to think of a single word that would fit all the checkers here as neither definition leapt out at me. I think the meanings work in these examples: How would you approach/deal with such-and-such? My approach/proposal would be to do so-and-so,
2 Most famous listed building here? (4)
PISA – A classic chestnut of a cryptic clue relying on ‘listed’ being interpreted as ‘leaning’
3 Silver used in renovated Christian emblem (5,3)
AGNUS DEI – AG (silver), anagram [renovated] of USED IN. The symbol of the Lamb of God has appeared through the ages as an emblem of the Christian faith.
4 Rough diamonds in Parisian street (4)
RUDE – D (diamonds – cards) in RUE (Parisian street)
5 Does it store all the letters one writes? (8)
ALPHABET – A more original cryptic clue than 2dn, in the form of a question
6 Hot wind causes shock (4)
HAIR – H (hot), AIR (wind)
12 Lost son alive in the country (8)
SLOVENIA – Anagram [lost] of SON ALIVE
13 Mum boards tall ship for solemn celebration (4,4)
HIGH MASS – MA (mum) is contained by [boards] HIGH (tall) + SS (ship)
14 Two coppers, married, live on river — it’s cool! (8)
CUCUMBER – CU+CU (two coppers), M (married), BE (live), R (river), with reference to the saying ‘as cool as a cucumber’.
17 Sign from ladies losing weight (4)
OMEN – {w}OMEN (ladies) [losing weight]
18 Potato small and sweet (4)
SPUD – S (small), PUD (sweet)
19 What’s changed in warmer weather? (4)
THAW – Anagram [changed] of WHAT

21 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 890 by Wurm”

  1. Dnf, ran out of time and need to do some work! I thought it was too hard for a quickie.

    Didn’t like lost as an anagram indicator.
    Haven’t heard of shooting stick.
    Also 16a, 1d tricky.

    1. I also wondered about ‘lost’ as anagrind but it’s in the list of such words in Chambers 12th edition.Then I thought of it in terms of ‘lost in the woods’ (as Hansel and Gretel were, for example) where it can mean wandering around, and it made more sense. I then checked SOED which has ‘lost’ as: Having gone astray, having lost the way; fig. bewildered, puzzled.
    2. I actually own a shooting stick, although I rarely need to use it since I’ve had my knee joint replaced. It was quite useful and doubles as an umbrella/walking stick as well as a less than comfortable seat.
  2. 15 minutes for this excellent offering (I took 19 minutes to do the 15 x 15 today). SHOOTING STICK my COD. Very concise clues. I took the second meaning of APPROACH to be “make an approach/proposal”.

  3. Although this grid format is my least favourite, I thoroughly enjoyed today’s QC.

    So many entertaining clues and particularly liked 11a, 3d and 14d.

    Thanks to Wurm and Jackt

  4. I thought my 16 minute time was due to trying out the tablet ‘online’ version where 90% of the grid is obscured most of the time. I usually use the safari online version which is easier. Anyway – looking at some of the times here it all seemed to go pretty well. Angus Dei took a while as did cod Tone. I didn’t have a problem with lost as an anagram indicator. A small typo in 1dn.
  5. 25 mins today, but technically a DNF as I had no idea about 16a. Having reached -o-e it really could have been anything and the cryptic eluded me completely. Thanks, Jack, for illuminating me.
  6. Quite a different feel with Monday’s puzzle by Wurm. I thought many clues were valid for the main puzzle. I think your explanation for 1d is correct. My time of around 12minutes had a couple of minutes pondering 16a before I saw it. Watching the test match and seeing people lying in bed eating – I’d prefer a glass of champers. Thanks setter and blogger and hope to have some more Wurm soon
  7. Admitted defeat on 16ac – over a hundred possibles to fit checkers, many of which could be some sort of character, so thanks for explanation.
  8. 12:08 for me. I was bowling along quite nicely and was surprised to notice the clock tick past 10 minutes with several clues still to solve. A sign of a good puzzle that had me entertained while keeping me thinking hard. I was fortunate to remember a recent instance of seeing the clue for 16a, so after an initial burst of panic, it was a write in. Nice puzzle. Thanks Wurm and Jack.
  9. Agree that there are too many words -O-E for 16ac. I plumped for COVE as being a character and also a seaside bay found in Cornwall which is in the SW.
    1. You are not the only one ! Spent 10 minutes looking at *o*e before sticking with my initial thought – same reasoning as you. Invariant
      1. Count me as another odd COVE. Which means I found this tougher than today’s 15×15… I think there were also fewer unknowns in the main puzzle for me today, too. NHO AGNUS DEI. Bah. (Baaa?)

        No time for me as I had to split this up into a few sessions.

  10. How does TONE mean Character?? Thought this clue and several others were too obscure for a QC.
    1. TONE refers to the quality or character of something. A piece of music for instance.
  11. This was a tough start to the week and I was defeated by 16a. Even an alphabet trawl clearly wasn’t going to help with those checkers. Plenty of entertaining clues today so an enjoyable puzzle despite the DNF.
    Thanks for the blog jackkt.
  12. 6:34, so just over average time for me. Nice puzzle, thanks Wurm – it is good get a slightly different style to get to grips with. TONE my LOI too.
  13. A nice puzzle with some intriguing clues. I too DNF because of 16a, which I think verged on unfair. COVE certainly fits the clue better (not that I thought of that, either).

    Though not a speedy solver — I don’t enjoy treating the crossword as a time trial — it is rare indeed for me to be DNF with the QC. Can’t remember when I last didn’t finish it.

    Treesparrow

  14. Had ADGE not TONE – character from SW, Adge Cutler and the Wurzels – and thus DIET for ladies losing weight
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