Finished this one in 11’40” while looking over paint choices for a new apartment. Several hidden words and a lot of anagrams, so not a lot of trouble here. I was held up mainly by words I’d never heard of. I stand by my opinion that obscure vocabulary is not the way I prefer seeing Quick Cryptics get more difficult!
Across
| 1 | £1000? [That’s] good money in Soweto (5) |
|
GRAND – G (“good”) + RAND Rand is the currency of South Africa. |
|
| 4 | Rotten old kipper. Have it for lunch? (4,3) |
| PORK PIE – anagram of O (“old”) + KIPPER | |
| 8 | Painter has returned with article of desert origin (7) |
| SAHARAN – [ RA (“painter”) + HAS ] reversed + AN | |
| 9 | Be sure about Her Majesty wearing this? (5) |
|
BERET – BET around ER (“Her Majesty”) A bit of a weak definition, no? Though I can’t deny a beret is something to wear. |
|
| 10 | Scornful [of] detective inspector’s letter (10) |
| DISMISSIVE – D.I.’S + MISSIVE | |
| 14 | Thug crossing river channel (6) |
| TROUGH – TOUGH around R (“river”) | |
| 15 | Part of joint actually undamaged (6) |
| INTACT – hidden letters in JOINT ACTUALLY | |
| 17 | Girlie mag out of place on Papa[’s] religious trip (10) |
|
PILGRIMAGE – GIRLIE MAG anagrammed next to P (“Papa”) A bit of radio-alphabet-ese I did not know, but an easy definition with nine of ten letters. |
|
| 20 | Thieves, [and] the places they end up in? (5) |
|
NICKS – double definition The first is a form of the verb ‘thieve’, not ‘thief’; and the second is a slang term for prison. |
|
| 22 | Italian gent introducing knight to drunken orgies (7) |
| SIGNORE – N (“knight”) in anagram of ORGIES | |
| 23 | Without a cap on … [or] (without) a lot else? (7) |
|
TOPLESS – double definition The first, like a bottle; the second, like a person with nothing on their upper half. |
|
| 24 | Panic after head resigns? [It’s] a mistake (5) |
| ERROR – TERROR without the first letter |
Down
| 1 | Fight for breath when restrained by medic (4) |
| GASP – AS inside GP (“medic”) | |
| 2 | Pain for which Swansea chemist has the answer (4) |
| ACHE – letters inside SWANSEA CHEMIST | |
| 3 | Small pistol socialist turned on lookalike (9) |
| DERRINGER – RED reversed + RINGER | |
| 4 | Dad grabbing an old woman[’s] hat (6) |
| PANAMA – (PA outside AN) + MA | |
| 5 | Polish food? Avoid the starter (3) |
| RUB – GRUB without the first letter | |
| 6 | Freedom fighter wounded in Sparta (8) |
|
PARTISAN – anagram of IN SPARTA I didn’t know this synonym of ‘guerilla’. |
|
| 7 | French in agreement, [making] earnest request (8) |
| ENTREATY – EN + TREATY | |
| 11 | They say wickedness excited Jewish congregation (9) |
| SYNAGOGUE – homophone of SIN + AGOG | |
| 12 | Get a move on after bungling set point (4,2,2) |
| STEP ON IT – anagram of SET POINT | |
| 13 | Paper headgear jester wears? (8) |
|
FOOLSCAP – FOOL’S CAP Threw this one in last, on a wing and a prayer. |
|
| 16 | Diverts less than half of hippopotamuses (6) |
| AMUSES – 6/14ths of HIPPOPOTAMUSES | |
| 18 | North African [needing] accommodation on way up (4) |
| MOOR – ROOM reversed | |
| 19 | Bluebeard occasionally [has] lascivious look (4) |
| LEER – every other letter of BLUEBEARD | |
| 21 | Take action against / this woman (3) |
|
SUE – double definition A beret is worn, and Sue is a woman. |
Finished this in just over 18 minutes which is possibly my personal best. Struggled with beret though until the checkers were in place.
Edited at 2019-01-09 09:39 pm (UTC)