Times Quick Cryptic No 1228 by Orpheus

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Sorry for the late posting – unforeseen circumstances not entirely unrelated to alcohol. Anyway, all good, and good puzzle, a bit on the trickier side. I did this straight after Tuesday’s QC and took pretty much the same time – a bit shy of 11 minutes. Not held up by anything in particular; found it an enjoyable, evenly-pitched puzzle a notch or two harder than the average. I’m going to nurse a sore head and say thanks to Bacchus and Orpheus!

Across
3 Stealthily pursue long-legged wader in sound (5)
STALK – Sounds the same (with a nonrhotic accent) as STORK (long-legged wader)
7 Feel remorse, being shut up again? (6)
REPENT – if pent is shut up, re-pent is shut up again. More familiar as “pent up“, pent means “shut up” in and of itself; same idea as “penned”, as in an animal pen. The OED has a good quote from Martin Eden by Jack London: “All the beauty and wonder that had been pent for years behind his inarticulate lips was now pouring forth in a wild and virile flood.” He wrote it while sailing around the South Pacific in a self-designed boat, and in a self-inflicted bad mood. Looks quite good – might give it a go.
8 Sacred image — basic one, to some extent (4)
ICON – hidden (to some extent) in the letters of basIC ONe
9 Meet first of campers on side of road (8)
CONVERGE – C (first of Campers), ON, VERGE (side of road). I couldn’t get “converse” out of my head
10 Grand shelter giving rise to delight (4)
GLEE – G(rand) LEE (shelter)
11 Putting up with condition for bank arrangement (8,5)
STANDING ORDER – STANDING (putting up with) ORDER (condition)
15 Infuriating, like a leftist paper on the farm? (3,3,2,1,4)
RED RAG TO A BULL – A leftist paper could be called a red rag; on a farm it could be a red rag to a bull. I checked to see if a bull could be a word for an especially right-wing person, but it isn’t really, beyond connotations of aggression and overt masculinity, so there’s arguably a degree of overlap.
16 Charge for crossing river? It’s gratis (4)
FREE – FEE (charge) crossing R(iver)
18 Woollen material and money found by lake (8)
CASHMERE – CASH (money) found by MERE (lake)
20 Heroic narrative linking South America and Georgia (4)
SAGA – link SA (South America) and GA (Georgia)
21 Went ballistic about girls initially being teased (6)
RAGGED – RAGED (went ballistic) about G (Girls, initially)
22 Woman in US city, one looking after children (5)
NANNY – ANN (woman) in NY (US city)

Down
1 Exile left canoe finally in river (8)
DEPORTEE – PORT (left) E (canoE, finally) in DEE (river)
2 Fuel — the German variety, originally (4)
DERV – DER (the, German) V (Variety, originally). An acronym for Diesel-Engined Road Vehicle, apparently.
3 Getting moving and causing trouble (8)
STIRRING – double definition
4 Skin condition in London area, might Cockneys say? (4)
ACNE – sounds, to a Cockney, like HACKNEY (London area). Good not just to have a five-lettered London area lacking an aitch.
5 Crustacean loose in KGB car (4,4)
KING CRAB – anagram of (loose) IN KGB CAR
6 Big wave, a wearisome thing (4)
BORE – double definition. Another word for “eagre” which we had on Tuesday.
12 Wisdom, possibly, securing quarters for Viking (8)
NORSEMAN – NORMAN (Wisdom, possibly) securing SE (quarters on a compass)
13 Deficiency in eg Cooper’s list of terms? (8)
GLOSSARY – LOSS (deficiency) in GARY (Cooper, for example)
14 Freely land gear that’s increased in size (8)
ENLARGED – anagram (freely) of LAND GEAR
17 Short man astride a horse (4)
ROAN – RON (man, short for Ronald) astride A. A reddish-grey horse, or simply that colour of horse, which was its original meaning.
18 Prison accommodating large family (4)
CLAN – CAN (prison) accommodating L(arge)
19 Wise men primarily involved with periodical (4)
MAGI – I (“primarily” Involved) with MAG (periodical)

41 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1228 by Orpheus”

  1. I had a few problems finishing this one off but just managed to complete it a few seconds within my 10-minute target. One of my problems was picking the wrong river at 1dn and making up the word EX(PORT,E)E which made 7ac impossible to solve until I had spotted my error and corrected it.

    At 6dn my first thought was another type of wave which obviously didn’t fit, but having it in my mind came in very useful a little later as it appears as an answer in the main puzzle. As Roly has noted, the wave required here is another name for the EAGRE which turned up in Izetti’s Tuesday puzzle (clued as BORE) so that may have helped some QC solvers today.

    On a point of grammar, I think the answer at 15ac requires ‘A’ or ‘LIKE A’ in front of it to mean ‘infuriating’ – not that there’d be room in the grid!

    1. Well spotted. I can only think that a typo has crept in, with the intended clue being “Freely lend gear that’s increased in size”.

      This error passed me by completing as a flew through this one in a PB, only briefly held up by the slightly tricky wordplay at 1d.

      Thanks as always to setter and blogger.
      3’35”

  3. I didn’t pause to untangle LAND GEAR and just biffed the obvious ENLARGED. One for the Editor! I also didn’t pause to think long enough at 3d, with a biffed STARTING giving me an error. I was thinking along the lines of causing someone to start as in giving them a fright. Drat and double drat! Otherwise I rampaged through the puzzle like a bull who’s been shown a red rag in 6:56. Thanks Orpheus and Roly. Good luck with the recovery!
    3. I’m afraid I too just wrote in ENLARGED without bothering to check the anagram. Well spotted!
  4. As I raised in the CC comments, I think STARTING is perfectly acceptable at 3d, to the point that if it were to come up in the championship, it could be successfully challenged
  5. Someone on the forum proposed–no doubt, entered–STARTING, but I don’t think it will work. Then again, does STIRRING? As opposed, say, to STIRRING UP? Another one to miss the LAND GEAR problem. I could have done without STALK, but I’m resigned. 5:11. On edit: Aha, Mike was the someone! Hadn’t thought of your example [on another edit: Ron’s–not in my idiolect–but I’m coming around; then again, the clue wouldn’t have been in a championship puzzle to be challenged.

    Edited at 2018-11-22 11:30 am (UTC)

  6. Well, I spent several minutes trying to make 14d work before concluding it must be a typo. I wish I had been similarly diligent with 3d, where a quickly biffed Starting was allowed to stay on the basis of a tenuous ‘don’t you start’ link to causing trouble. So, 25 mins with one wrong. All forgiven however because of the reference to Gary Cooper – I expect to be contentedly humming ‘Do not forsake me’ all day. Invariant

    Edited at 2018-11-22 11:36 am (UTC)

  7. A very similar experience to yesterday. I had this done in 15 minutes bar 3a. I could not think of the bird;finally I got Stalk and submitted and the machine politely told me I had a small error. I had not been completely happy with STARTING but it just about fitted. I corrected to STIRRING and got my Congratulations for 21:41. So another TKO in favour of the setter.
    I think STIRRING is a better answer but are we going to have another racy navy blue letter to the editor?
    David
    PS also missed the Enlarged error.
  8. One of my quicker times – 11 min – and it all went in very easily. I wrote in ENLARGED without noticing the error, and STIRRING was my first thought too. I wrote NORSEMAN in without knowing why – but of course! Thank-you!
      1. Thank you! First time on there, and the leaderboard suggests people are completing the quick cryptic in sub 2 minutes…. does that sound reasonable?!
        1. Yes. Believe it or not there are those among us who can solve and type that quickly. Verlaine, aphis99 and Mohn2 of this parish are among them! There are, however, a sub group of solvers known as neutrinos who solve elsewhere and then just shove the answers in as quickly as they can type. Looking at today’s Leaderboard, I would guess that perhaps aphis99 might be the quickest genuine result.
          1. Well consider me well and truly impressed. I guess i’ll aim for 2 minutes in the future 🙂
    2. I’ve just found my way into this – it’s in the main on-line Times Puzzle section, where you can also find and be part of the leaders boards.
  10. After the trials of yesterday this came as a bit of light relief as I sped through most of it before getting held up for a couple of minutes with LOI 1d. I completed it in 9.38 but was helped by not noticing the typo in 14d, not thinking of STARTING and having come across the once unknown DERV before – all of which could have potentially tripped me up.
    Thanks for the blog
  11. Almost convinced myself NORWEGAN was the correct spelling before seeing the light. I’d checked the anagrist for ENLARGED so that was LOI – standing order was second last and once that clicked it couldn’t be anything else. All green twice in a row but still slow mid 20s.
  12. I. Too would have had a pb at 7:40 but also had STARTING and NORWEGAN at 12d. DOH didn’t even spell it correctly – so much for rushing
  13. Fairly straightforward I thought. My only hold up was DEPORTEE, being unsure whether I was looking for a river or an exile, and being convinced that it must have an ‘L’ for left in it somewhere. (LOI). CODs NORSEMAN/GLOSSARY. Norman Wisdom and Gary Cooper reminded me of happy times spent in the Saturday morning kids club in the now defunct Essoldo Cinema. Not sure that STALK/STORK are homophones, but close enough.
    Thanks setter. Good fun.
    PlayUpPompey
    1. Off topic, but since you mention Essoldo cinemas this may be of interest:

      During World War II, former boxing promoter Sol Sheckman bought up cinemas nationwide and formed Essoldo Circuit (Control) Ltd, operating from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. At its height, Essoldo operated 160 cinemas. The Essoldo Circuit was very much a family concern: the name was made up from the first names of Sol’s wife, Esther, Sol himself, and Dorothy, his daughter.

      Edited at 2018-11-23 12:08 am (UTC)

  14. Just below SCC time with 13.46 but still frustratingly short of the sub ten gang despite most going in seemingly quickly. Deportee was LOI and slow to come.
    Btw brilliant crossword and blog on 15 x 15. Gave up with many unsolved but blog was very instructive reading.
  15. Just 2 scross answers (CASHMERE and RAGGED) short of a clean sweep, I finished this just about as fast as I can go. But I had STARTING too and still think, like several others here, that it’s another racy/navy clue. COD to GLOSSARY. 3:41
  16. This restored a little of my former equanimity. Just under 13 mins with Starting/Stirring the only worry. I chose exportee (!) for 1d until I realised that 8a didn’t work. Many thanks to Orpheus (who is prepared to offer a QUICK Cryptic) and Roly. John M.

    Edited at 2018-11-22 02:18 pm (UTC)

  19. 8 minutes, but thought ‘starting’ was good enough at 3dn, though agree ‘stirring’ is rather better. (I didn’t notice the typo in the anagrist at 14dn.)
  20. A post leisurely lunch solve in 15:40 mins although I managed an accidental typo before submitting. DNK BORE as a big wave (and did not remember EAGRE = BORE from Tuesday)so biffed 6d and this was my LOI. Biffed GLOSSARY also. I dithered over 7a REPENT and failed to notice the ENLARGED misprint. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

    Edited at 2018-11-22 06:05 pm (UTC)

  21. Made the same mistake? As the rest of you. I put this down to doing these online. In the old days of pen and paper and ticking off letters I would have been baffled.
    Stalk is a homophone of stork in Hackney but not if you speak RP. Johnny
  22. Unfortunately the QC has recently migrated to a level that I am unable to complete each day. This a shame and I don’t know if my brain is slowing down or whether the difficulty has ramped up. Whatever, I’ll stick with it using this blog to finish the puzzle each day. Pexiter.
  23. Stuck in the SCC this week; 4 Kevins today. ENLARGED not being a true anagram cost a few minutes and DNK BORE as a wave. I’m another who put STARTING and I agree with Johnny about stalk/stork.

    Templar

  25. Hi, how do you get to enlarged for 14down? Land gear has one e and two a’s not vice versa. Trefor
    1. It’s a good idea to read the comments before posting one’s own: The problem was noted 12 hours earlier, the 3d comment posted. Then David Millan, also not noticing the earlier posting, made the same comment at 3:18 pm, followed by an anonymous poster at 3:47.

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