Times Quick Cryptic No 1358 by Pedro

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I crept in a few seconds under my target but I was slow to get going today, only getting 6 of the acrosses on a first read through (1,6,8,10,17,19). It was a case of gradually piecing things together, so I didn’t find this an easy puzzle. I liked a good number of the clues, and there were a few lesser-seen clueing techniques, such as 2d and especially 9ac, which I always like whenever I see it, however much it trips me up. Good quality puzzle, much enjoyed – many thanks to Pedro!

Across
1 Blooper: it ruined low-quality novel (9)
POTBOILER – anagram (ruined) of BLOOPER IT. Derives from the earlier phrase “to boil the pot” or “to make the pot boil”, i.e., to provide a livelihood. So, a potboiler is a work where this (occasionally rather pressing) motive trumps any more rarefied concerns of artistic quality.
6 Small operation that’s offered as a concession (3)
SOP – S(mall) OP(eration). I’ve copied-and-pasted the following a few times now, and see no reason to stop: “Sop” cropped up in a puzzle I blogged a month or two ago, where I learnt the phrase: “a sop to Cerberus”. A sop is a piece of soaked bread, and a drugged one was given to Cerberus to allow safe passage to the underworld, hence its meaning as a bribe/placation/concession.
8 Disturbance leading to cheers after receiving first of cream cheese (7)
RICOTTA – RIOT (disturbance) leading to TA (cheers) receiving C (first of Cream)
9 Proactive pair opening company? (3-2)
CAN-DO – the pair [of letters] opening/starting the word “company” are C AND O. And an excellent surface to boot!
10 Deduce number will escape fire (5)
INFER – NO. (number) to escape from INFERNO (fire)
12 Inform if Tony is out of sorts (6)
NOTIFY – anagram (is out of sorts) of IF TONY
14 Joke company’s merchandise? It’s easily ridiculed (8-5)
LAUGHING-STOCK – cryptic(ish) definition of the stock of a joke company.
16 Still disturbance to radio reception (6)
STATIC – double definition
17 Following ocean currents, it turned and boy turned (5)
TIDAL – reversed (turned) IT and also LAD (boy)
19 Topic most of you and me will deliver (5)
THEME – THE (most of THEE (you)) and ME will deliver the answer.
20 Rage about men at sea being left over (7)
REMNANT – RANT (rage) about an anagram (at sea) of MEN
22 Chap’s curtailed expression of disapproval (3)
HIS – HISS (expression of disapproval), curtailed/dock the last letter.
23 Plant to burgeon around ocean, on reflection (9)
SPEEDWELL – SWELL (burgeon) goes around the DEEP (the ocean) reversed/on reflection.

Down
1 Page with press piece — something from the Large Hadron Collider? (8)
PARTICLE – P(age) with ARTICLE (press piece).
2 Movement perceived in previous answer? (3)
TIC – TIC is seen/perceived in the letters of 1d (the previous answer)
3 Excessive sign of hesitation in river creature (5)
OTTER – OTT (Over The Top = excessive) ER (sign of hesitation)
4 As experienced by those with a bent for education? (8,5)
LEARNING CURVE – cryptic definition, with a slender pun on bent/curve and bent/inclination, but a nice clue, which also works as an &lit.
5 Reads aloud about big towns, forgetting second one (7)
RECITES – RE (about) CITIES (big towns), forget/ditch the second “I” (one)
6 Exotic frog I found in dunes? No great excitement here (9)
SANGFROID – anagram (exotic) of FROG I, found inside SAND (dunes)
7 Power group scheme (4)
PLOT – P(ower) LOT (group)
11 Flusters wildly about newspaper in vain (9)
FRUITLESS – anagram (wildly) of FLUSTERS about/around I (Independent). Edit: see Jack’s point below about “i” vs “Independent”.
13 Last leek cooked, with no meat on bones (8)
SKELETAL – anagram (cooked) of LAST LEEK
15 Talkers losing head? They’re traditionally mad (7)
HATTERS – CHATTERS (talkers) losing head = ditch the top letter. Very minor quibble with this one: a chatterer is a talker; a chatter for a talker is either too colloquial to be included in any of the usual sources, or archaic (the only entry I could find is marked as obsolete in the OED). Still, it’s pretty obvious what’s going on here, I reckon we can avoid losing our own head over it!
17 Fearful and dull, it turned up (5)
TIMID – DIM (dull) IT reversed/turned up
18 Pain when running, having to lose stone? That’s an irritation (4)
ITCH – STITCH (pain when running) to lose ST (stone)
21 Had a meal at end of game (3)
ATE – AT (at) E (“end” of gamE)

40 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1358 by Pedro”

  1. 27 minutes in the middle of the night, but 6 were spent on my LOI SPEEDWELL. Wasted minutes, as I had typed SKELETON for 13D after carefully checking the letters in the anagram and thinking SKELETAL, but eventually the penny dropped.
    Apart from that I enjoyed what was an excellent puzzle.

    Brian

    Edited at 2019-05-23 03:38 am (UTC)

  2. Careless day. A good chunk of my 18m taken up by trying to fit 23a around skeleton not skeletal, only spotted when I really couldn’t think of anything to fit the checkers. Once corrected SPEEDWELL spotted in a nanosecond. But most annoyingly I’d stuck rampant in for REMNANT having previously failed to get remainder in there and having being beaten by the cryptic definition despite what now seems like pretty clear clueing. Another day tomorrow!
  3. 12 minutes. I lost time having confidently written PLAN at 7dn* which left me stumped at 9ac until I had corrected my error.

    One minor point re 11dn, the ‘i’ is not the Independent. They were sister-papers originally but are now, er….independent of each other. It’s actually printed, unlike the Independent which is available only online.

    *P (power), LAN (group – Local Area Network)

    Edited at 2019-05-23 04:38 am (UTC)

    1. I had to read this twice to realize that I didn’t know what was going on; now I’ve Googled ‘i (newspaper)’ and all is clear.
    2. Ah ok, thanks – will correct the blog. I remember reading “i” when it first came out and vaguely remember it describing itself as a cheaper, just-the-essentials version of the Independent – I didn’t realise they’d migrated quite so far apart in the interim.
  4. A slow start and a quick finish for me. The first two or three minutes I just seemed to read clues and move on. FOI was 21d ATE. Then I got onto the wavelength and finished all correct in 12:33. For no good reason my last two were PARTICLE and TIC.
    I liked OTTER and was lucky to think of Speedwell. A good puzzle. David
  5. Like Jack, I flung PLAN in at 7d, but -_A looked suspicious, so I de-flung it, although not immediately, as I recall. I don’t see any problem with 15d. I do see a problem with CAN-DO, since for me anyway, it means ‘gung-ho’, ‘ready, willing, and able’, not proactive (a word I dislike anyway); and ODE seems to be on my side. I think I’d hyphenate SANGFROID, but. SPEEDWELL has shown up so often in 15x15s that I biffed it here. 5:21.

    Edited at 2019-05-23 06:46 am (UTC)

    1. I’d have said “gung ho” was more purely vigorous enthusiasm, whereas “can-do” and “proactive” have more to do with taking the initiative, which is how the OED and Collins describe things. I take your point about “proactive” though – it’s one of those words like “prebooking”. I just googled “prebook word inflation” and saw this fun article on the matter – pre-planning, that’s another one.

      https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-1.1216289

      Edited at 2019-05-23 08:36 am (UTC)

        1. Today alone I heard “pre-printed” and “pre-scheduled” (and that was just on last night’s 10 minute intro by Stephen Colbert on the Late Show!)
  6. 16 mins, like David I started slowly and got faster, only really struggling with can do, remnant, recites and loi speedwell.

    I liked the 2 cryptic definitions laughing stock and learning curve, which is not an &lit.

    Thanks

    Edited at 2019-05-23 08:40 am (UTC)

  7. I enjoyed this – thanks . I have been persisting with the 15 x 15 this week so I found this easier , a few days ago I might have struggled more 🙂 I share the quibble with 15d – a talker is a chatterer in my book.
  8. Liked this puzzle – felt I had a chance as not too many obscure links – thanks. Thanks also for explanations – I couldn’t understand the pair in “can do” until seeing it spelt out – clever!
    Can we have more Quick Cryptic CWs at this level please? DavidS
  9. I solved the right hand side first and made good progress overall but with a couple of strange mind blanks – such as the second word of 4d which just wouldn’t come to me. Finished in 11.42 with LOI SPEEDWELL and particularly enjoyed SANGFROID.
    Thanks for the blog
  10. ….plans of mice and solvers can aft times gang agley.

    I confidently entered plan on the same basis as Jack, and that was part of the reason that I missed my target.

    I biffed THEME and FRUITLESS. Like others I didn’t much care for (C)HATTERS. Not my best attempt.

    FOI POTBOILER
    LOI FRUITLESS
    COD SANGFROID
    TIME 5:20

  11. 12 minutes working through the puzzle, then some more going back over and fully working out (and enjoying) the cleverness of the clues.
    Loi fruitless which I worked at until it all fell into place.
  12. Very much enjoyed this. Finished in just over 15 minutes which makes this a Good Day… FOI was 1 across, always a pleasing sign for the remainder. Very much liked the long 4 down and 14 across. I couldn’t see the parsing of 8 across so thanks – as always – to the blogger. I had no problem with 1 down so that meant that 2 down was also fine, but I wonder what others think of clues which can only be solved by correctly answering OTHER clues? I’ve come across it before in the QC and luckily I’ve always got both interdependent answers but I’m sure this would be frustrating if you can’t solve the master one. Huge thanks to Rolytoly and Pedro
    1. I remember in the dim and distant past a Grauniad crossword where all the down clues were cross-referential with each other but all tangentially connected to one of the down clues (CHARLES DICKENS if I remember correctly). It seemed utterly impenetrable at first (and second, and third!) but when the penny dropped it was one of the most satisfying solves I can remember.

      As for today: count me as another PLAN, which held me up for quite a while. LOI was SPEEDWELL which I biffed without parsing. A rather sluggish (for me) 6’30”.

      My continued thanks to setters and bloggers without whom my mornings would be much duller.

      Edited at 2019-05-23 10:44 am (UTC)

        1. OMG! I read this comment without benefit of reading glasses and thought meadvale had said that, without the blog, their morning would be much FULLER – as in they would be forced to spend the entire time trying to solve the crossword. I thought it very droll and read it as a kind of inverted compliment. Only now do I see that the word was DULLER… mortified…
          1. I think the fuller/duller is a great mix-up! There’s a good clue in there somewhere, maybe something involving DNF – “D not F” – yeah, maybe not.

            As to your original question, meadvale describes a lovely sounding puzzle, but in general I don’t think I’m alone in finding clues that go “blah blah blah 10 across” ungainly and unnecessary. I thought today’s was quite well done because the clue read as a plausible sentence in its own right. So something like “three down in the final” I wouldn’t mind, as a double definition, if 3d was another synonym of “last”.

            Edited at 2019-05-23 11:46 pm (UTC)

            1. If ever a clue involving DNF turns up, I am now prepared…

              If there are lots of them, and if the pattern soon becomes clear, in one way, I guess, these interdependent clues can be quite helpful because it limits the range of answers available

    2. I agree about having to solve one clue before getting another. It always seems a bit unfair.
      Dnf but enjoyed the puzzle.
      Thanks to both setter and blogger.
      Diana
  13. I thought this was quite sticky in places and was pleased to stop the clock at 14 odd, but that was only just shy of 3 Kevins and so can only go down as a Decent Day. I was seriously delayed trying to parse CAN-DO before writing it in (the answer was obvious, since I had correctly guessed PLOT of the two possibles, but I just could not see the parsing). In the end I wrote it in unparsed and had to have it explained to me here, so thank you roly! FRUITLESS also held me up because I couldn’t believe that there was a one letter abbreviation for a newspaper – all I could think of was “T for Times? Surely not.” These new-fangled publications … the i must be a godsend to the setters.

    FOI PARTICLE, LOI FRUITLESS, COD LEARNING CURVE. Thanks to Pedro and to roly for an excellent blog unpicking it all.

    Templar

    Edited at 2019-05-23 09:42 am (UTC)

      1. Thank goodness I didn’t think of that, or I’d still be chewing my pencil
            1. Others might merge less well – a potential Murdoch one I can think of: SuX.
  14. I thought this was a good puzzle from Pedro, with a nice mix of clue types. Surprised to see Speedwell come up so soon again (just like it does in the lawn!) but apart from that and the minor Hatters quibble, this was a very enjoyable 24mins solve. Invariant
  15. I saw PARTICLE for 1d quickly, but didn’t put it straight in as I couldn’t see the parsing. The slap on the face with a wet fish came later. OTTER was my FLOI. SPEEDWELL seems to be a stock crossword plant. Liked LAUGHTING STOCK. CAN DO was my LOI and I didn’t pause to parse it. 7:51. Thanks Pedro and Roly.
  16. Another good puzzle this week. Like mendesest, I carelessly put skeleton for 13d and only revisited it after deciding that nothing would fit for 23a. Because of this, I went over my current target but I came in at well under 3K. Lots of nice clues but I particularly liked some of the shorter ones such as TIC, HIS, and ATE. My COD is SANGFROID. Thanks to Pedro and to roly, John M.

    Edited at 2019-05-23 08:33 pm (UTC)

  18. As one not even a member of the SCC, I was pleased to complete in a little under 9 kevins! (with only the occasional push of the ‘check’ button to make sure I was on the right lines – only plan caught me out..) and I managed to parse everything.

    Thanks for fhe blog

  19. I was forced to use the Times App on my mobile so my solving time of 16:11 includes a few retypes. I had no real problems other than with my LOI FRUITLESS.
  20. Having had a busy couple of weeks, I have been catching up on QCs as and when. Today I had a bit more time and brought myself up to date. I did Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s this afternoon and each took me over my 20 minute target by 2 or 3 minutes, so am VERY pleased to have just finished this one in exactly 14min 40sec. Perhaps my earlier session was good practice! Thanks to Pedro for a great puzzle and to Rolytoly for explaining the parsings I was slightly shaky on. MM

    FOI SOP
    LOI SPEEDWELL
    COD LAUGHING STOCK
    WOD LEARNING CURVE because it seems apposite!

  21. 4.2 Kevins

    FOI OTTER
    LOI SPEEDWELL (never heard of it, so many ways you could parse this)
    COD Exotic frog I found in dune? No excitement here (9)

    Straightforward but I am still slow when I get stalled.

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