Times Quick Cryptic 931 by Mara

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Very enjoyable QC with good surfaces throughout – 22dn, 17ac and COD 2dn to mention a few. There’s quite a high anagram count, some write ins and an odd flower part.

ACROSS

1. Redbreast – robin. Anagram (wrongly) of ARRESTED implicating (involving) (B)atman.
6. Cad – knave. (CA)r(D) without king (R).
8. Respect – value. Anagram (extraordinary) of SCEPTRE.
9. Swede – root. Daughter (D) tucked into sugary (SWEE)t endless (without the last letter).
10. Cabinet maker – Chippendale – 18th century carpenter – also known (slang) as chippy – I wonder if the origins of the term come from Mr. Chippendale. A prime minister is the one who forms a cabinet.
12. Trip – double definition.
13. Toot – honk horn – palindrome.
17. Potter’s wheel – where ceramics are made. Anagram (deployed) of WETTER SLOP HE.
20. Drake – double definition – both a great Elizabethan and a water fowl.
21. Overeat – gorge. Open (OVERT) containing d(EA)d.
23. Sip – drink. Is knocked back (SI) and (P)ints.
24. Totaliser – calculator. Collins dictionary has totaliser being the same as totalizator – the machine that records bets and works out odds, pays out winnings, etc. I presume this is where the term ‘The Tote’ comes from. Anagram (misused) of ARISTOTLE.

DOWN

1. Rare – double definition.
2. Despair – lose heart. Anagram (wounded) of AS PRIDE.
3. Roe – eggs. Neve(R) to(O) lat(E).
4. Anther – pollen container. For anyone interested this is the terminal part of a stamen consisting usually of two lobes each containing two sacs in which the pollen matures. Different (AN)o(THER) with nothing (O) extracted.
5. Test match – sporting event. Try (TEST), to go together (MATCH).
6. Check – examine. Homophone (broadcast) of European – Czech.
7. Dreary – flat. Without leaks (DRY) accommodates listener (EAR).
11. Implement – carry out. Anagram (converted) of IN TEMPLE plus (M)issions.
14. Openers – double definition. First players in to bat and door openers.
15. Spades – 13 cards in a suit. Anagram (around) of PASSED.
16. Escort – conduct – the bouncer conducted the unruly chap to the door. Anagram (poor) of SECTOR.
18. Tramp – vagrant. Mouth (TRAP) full of (M)arshmallows.
19. Star – celebrity. To begin (STAR)t shortly – without the last letter.
22. Eel – fish. Eaten by (inside) th(E EL)ephant.

19 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 931 by Mara”

  1. Biffed ANTHER and forgot to parse it after. 5:14, which I thought was OK, until I saw that Jason did it in 2:11! Granted, he’s one of the fastest solvers around, but still.
  2. 7 minutes. When the answer at 1ac didn’t leap out at me I cherry-picked 3- and 4-letter words around the grid before going back to tackle the longer ones. I remembered ANTHER from General Science lessons at school.

    Edited at 2017-10-03 04:10 am (UTC)

  3. Was going well until the final few (overeat, totaliser, openers, escort) but shot myself in the foot stupidly putting rump for 1d, making LOI respect difficult until corrected.

    Done in-between interruptions at work so no accurate time, should have been about 30 mins, more like 50 mins.

    COD redbreast

  4. So I liked this puzzle – 8 of them! Result: finished just after Orpington, jolly fast.

    Two nice cricket references ahead of the Ashes. My COD was SPADES, very witty.

    I so hoped that the Chippendale was going to be a stripper … alas.

    Yesterday DOSSER, today TRAMP – PC terms for the homeless obviously haven’t hit the QC department yet.

    Thanks Mara and Chris.

    Templar

    1. Not sure what’s happening, Templar, but this message keeps re-posting. So far I have deleted two duplicates that appeared at 4 hour intervals.
  5. I’d like to see Jason perform on TV at 2.11! He must be online I suppose. It ain’t natural, I says! Did his Mum set it?
    I bet he’s a fast eater as well!

    I was at Mach4 (7.46) and felt fairly whizzy!

    So COD 4dn ANTHER

    WOD Jason

    Flashman, Verlaine et al on your bikes!

    Decent puzzle Mr. Mara but there’s always someone who can finish it faster than you can set it!

  6. DNF : ANTHER. I know stamen and pistil, both good crossword clues but not this one. Was convinced clue structure was “A”-[different], so looking for a 6 letter word…

    COD CABINET MAKER

  7. An enjoyable puzzle. I started with RARE and progressed steadily round the grid, coming back to 1a when I had some crossers. ANTHER constructed from wp, but known as part of a plant anyway. I’m sure we’ve had it in other puzzles. Liked CABINET MAKER and DRAKE. 10:12. Thanks Mara and Chris.
  8. Didn’t know ANTHER, but the clue allowed nothing else that I could think of. SPADES had me puzzled for quite a while until the penny dropped. And I play bridge!! And yes, “Tote” does come from totalisator (sign of a miss-spent youth!).
    Much enjoyed. Thank you.
    PlayUpPompey
  9. Got through it all in 7:40 which makes it a good day for me. I knew ANTHER was a word, but only dimly that it was vaguely botanical. The wordplay made it clear though, so in it went. Thanks Mara for a fun crossword, and chrisw91 for the blog.
  10. Just back from Rochester, a Medway town. Getting there was no ordeal.
    I am still reading Bleak House so I visited the Dickens section of the Guildhall Museum. The display is mercifully short unlike the book where I keep turning the pages and seem to be no nearer the end, like Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
    I completed the puzzle in 25 minutes on the way home. LOI was 21a. I got Anther (unknown) from wordplay. David
  11. 9:13, so rather better than I’ve been doing recently! And an actual crossword where the crossword should be on the club site did help…

    FOI 1d RARE, LOI the unknown-with-fingers-crossed 4d ANTHER. I worked the anagrams out in my head, too, which was a fair bit of extra practice today. COD 10a the CABINET MAKER, who took me too long to see.

    Now I may attempt to tackle today’s 15×15, which I gave up on after about fifteen minutes this morning with barely an answer entered! Thanks Mara & Chris.

  12. A similar experience to yesterday whereby all bar two went in quickly and then I came to a complete standstill with 4d and 21a (LOI), where I was looking for canyon type words. After a long break I came back to it and saw the light, just on the point of giving up.
    Lots of excellent clues especially 1a and 10a
    Thanks for the blog
  13. 2 down – Despair was filled in without emotion. Cabinet maker is an outstanding clue.
  14. I am fully aware that there are some remarkable people out there but that crossword could not be solved in 2.11

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