Times Quick Cryptic 996 by Pedro

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Many thanks to Pedro – I found this a medium difficulty puzzle which was entertaining and challenging whilst still living up to the ‘Q’ in QC.
Newcomers to this strange and pleasant land may find amusement in 2dn (which the old hacks will glide over with practised ease). I particularly liked the still thematic 14dn and the word play of 15dn.
We love to hear from people on this site (especially first time posters) so, if some explanations are too brief, do feel free to post and we’ll be very happy to clear up any doubts as to why the answers are the answers.

ACROSS

1. Comet – something to excite astronomers. This writer (ME) is in bed (COT).
8. Ignorance – lack of awareness. Good number raced (G NO RAN) in frosty conditions (ICE).
9. Baton – something a conductor wields. Continue to play cricket.
10. Hairpin – sharp bend. Not quite all of risky (HAIR)y and long (PIN)e.
11. Athlete – runner say. Allowed (LET) in an anagram (running) of HEAT.
12. Fiancée – intended. Scotsman (IAN) and caught (C) inside (blocking) payment (FEE).
16. Anxious – concerned. Article (AN), anagram (relocation) of SIOUX.
17. Trumpet – double definition. To trumpet the news (tell everyone about) and the musical instrument.
20. Turmoil – revolution. Homophone (we hear) of time at school (term-TURM) leading, later in the answer, to fuel (OIL).
22. Still – double definition.
23. Substance – material. Beneath (SUB), opinion (STANCE).
24. Tie-in – sponsored product which is provided along with the purchase of another item. That is (IE) in can (TIN).

DOWN

1. Cobra – snake. Swan (COB), artist (RA – Royal Academy).
2. Matchbox – place for strikers. Game (MATCH), to participate in sport could be many things, in this case it’s pugilism (BOX).
3. Tinge – shade. Found in pigmen(T IN GE)neral.
4. In the fast lane – occupying winning track. I note (I N), anagram (getting excited) of 11ac’s – ATHLETES and FAN.
5. Artisan – workman. Displaying preference without the first letter p(ARTISAN).
6. Snip – bargain. Haberdashery, being small items for sewing, includes pins which when held up forms PINS. Funny word, haberdashery – any theories as to its origins would be interesting to hear.
7. Meander – ramble. This was my LOI as ‘mender’ took a while. Repairman (MENDER) around a (A).
13. Campsite – outdoor holiday venue. Anagram (adapted) of cold (C) and PASTIME.
14. Fantasy – dream. COD. Anagram (comes unstuck) of SANTA between roo(F) and chimne(Y).
15. Toronto – Canadian city. Layers upon layers in this clue. Also (TOO) around (suppressing) corruption (ROT) which itself is around northern (N).
18. Upset – trouble. At university (UP), fixed (SET).
19. Talon – claw. Foo(T) with trimmed (not the final letter) of single (ALON)e.
21. Ruby – precious stone. Midlands town without grand (G) – RUgBY.

19 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 996 by Pedro”

  1. This felt sluggish at the time, although I don’t recall a particular stumbling block. I think MEANDER was my LOI, too. I hesitated over TRUMPET, since the one meaning is simply a metaphorical extension of the other, which seemed rather weak. I got 21d all right, albeit wondering if there were a town in the Midlands called Gruby. 7:54
  2. I usually finish the 15×15 first, so this is like going downhill after biking up a slope. My favorite clue is the Santa who has just gotten out of the chimney and can now head back to the North Pole till next year.
  4. New year’s resolution to contribute more and learn more from this site. Having followed the QC and its bloggers for quite a while now I am getting more proficient and am hoping to progress more successfully to the 15×15 this year.
    So a huge thank you to all the setters and bloggers of the QC for getting me to this point.

  5. 5d did not see, was sure it ended -MAN. Thanks blogger for parsing HAREPIN, and IN THE FAST LANE, which were both fairly easy biffs, but much harder to parse.

    My 2017 times seem to have plateaued— with typically 1 or 2 DNFs in a week, 1 or 2 in 20-30 mins and maybe one <20.

  6. A very Mondayish feel for a Tuesday. Nothing to frighten the horses today but still a very enjoyable solve.

    A quick internet search suggests ‘haberdashery’ can be traced back to Norman-English to mean the purveying of small wares, as in pins, needles, threads etc, whereas ‘mercery’ was the sale of the more substantial items such as bolts of cloth, etc.

    Many thanks to setter and blogger and a HNY to all.

    5’15”

    1. My etymological dictionary says it’s from the Anglo-French hapertas, meaning small/petty wares. Hours of fun reading this, you quickly get lost down the linguistic wormhole!
      1. There are worse places to get lost! Thanks for the Anglo-French/Norman-English research. I wonder if happe (caught?) and tasse (cup?) [items small enough to be collected/sold in a cup] could be relevant.
  7. A pleasant offering which didn’t cause me any trouble. In fact a top to bottom solve in 8:14. Liked 2d. Thanks Pedro and Chris.
  8. I thought this was a good QC, with a nice selection of clue types and the right level of difficulty – a few easy ones to get started and nothing too obscure. I was worried that my loi (7d) was going to be another time burner, but mender came to mind for a generic workman after just a short pause, and hence meander. At 24mins, my quickest time for several months, with 5d and 23ac my favourites. Invariant
  9. this turned out to be about average for me too. Held up by 5dn which, like others, I was convinced had to be some sort of man, and 7dn (LOI) where mender took a long time to come to mind. Enjoyed TORONTO. I was chuntering about it being a Southern Canadian city until I saw the parsing. Very neat.
    PlayUpPompey
  10. A lot of fun clues I thought. My favourites were 20a and 24a.
    I made good progress but came to a halt with 5d and 13d left after about 16 minutes.I tried Artisan at 5d but it did not fit Finance at 12a.
    I had not parsed Finance as it went in; it felt like the right ingredients.
    Anyway it took me several minutes more to unravel my error and correct things.
    Very enjoyable -thanks as always to setter and blogger. David
  11. No hold major hold ups so I completed it in a spritely 14 minutes with LOI 7d. Lots of entertaining clues with a particular mention to 14 and 2d.
  12. Really enjoyed this one. Thx Pedro! Lots of lovely clues – 20a, 2d, 7d, 14d included. Nothing really very difficult, but fun avoiding the mis-direction. I’m sure we’ve had 5d with very similar clueing pretty recently, ditto 6d. Pleased be well under an hour, again. Just about right for my evening Costa. Helpful blog too, so thx to Chris as well. FOI 1a LOI 8a COD – possibly 14d but hard to choose. Had time to finish off yesterday’s puzzle too.
  13. Glad I wasn’t the only one held up by 5d. Just under 11 minutes in the end, but nearly half of that was spent on ARTISAN…

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