Times Quick Cryptic No 1442 by Trelawney

Author   plusjeremyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Introduction

I found this to be an easy, enjoyable puzzle, providing no major difficulties. Definitely a lot of mythology!

For those at the beginning of their puzzle-solving journey, I made a walkthrough my solve here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMNGFhmmOro. Hopefully some will find this video helpful!

Solutions

Across

1 Having less hair a bit rubbish (10)
BALDERDASH – BALDER (having less hair) + DASH (a bit)
8 One miserable smoker [is] irritating (7)
IRKSOME – I (one) + anagram of (miserable) SMOKER (smoker)
9 Goods initially carried by ancient ship (5)
CARGO – first letter of (initally) CARRIED (carried) + (by) ARGO (ancient ship)
The Argo is a ship from Greek mythology.
10 Heard two deer [and] an extinct bird? (4)
DODO – homophone of (heard) DOE DOE (two deer)
Reason for the question mark?
11 A horse with time to drink (8)
AMARETTO – A (a) + MARE (horse) + (with) T (time) + TO (to)
13 Young girl with old rope (5)
LASSO – LASS (young girl) + (with) O (old)
14 Iodine put in remedy [for] some radiation (5)
CURIE – I (iodine) in (put in) CURE (remedy)
A ‘Curie’ is the basic unit of radiation, named after Marie Curie.
16 Focuses on size: er, that’s unusual (6,2)
ZEROES IN – ON SIZE ER (on size er) anagrammed (that’s unusual)
17 Assist a wager (4)
ABET – A (a) + BET (wager)
20 Oddly, loud child [is] coherent (5)
LUCID – odd-numbered letters of (oddly) LOUD (loud) CID (child)
Cid is a child’s name, I guess. EDIT: jackkt pointed out that CID is just the odd-numbered letters in ‘child’.
21 Prohibit boy’s musical instruments (7)
BANJOES – BAN (prohibit) JOE’S (boy’s)
22 Grave fellow [and] dangerous driver? (10)
UNDERTAKER – double definition
Didn’t quite get the second definition here.  Do they mean that a stunt driver ‘undertakes’ dangerous stunts? EDIT: vinyl let me know the flavor of the second definition but I’m happy to let people who actually know the term elucidate in the comments.

Down

1 A shade / insensitive (5)
BLIND – double definition
2 Dalek I set loose on harsh northern wilderness (4,8)
LAKE DISTRICT – DALEK I (dalek I) anagrammed (set loose) + (on) STRICT (harsh)
3 Greek god found in Homer, ostensibly (4)
EROS – letters in (found in) HOMER OSTENSIBLY (Homer ostensibly)
4 Vague padre, dismissing pa and girl (6)
DREAMY – PADRE (padre) without (dismissing) PA (pa) + (and) AMY (girl)
5 Sporting competition that’s in the bag? (4,4)
SACK RACE – cheeky definition
6 What could delay a novel bowlers’ trick being used (7,5)
WRITERS BLOCK – BOWLERS TRICK (bowlers trick) anagrammed (being used)
7 Gloomy detective imprisons leader of Opposition (6)
MOROSE – MORSE (detective) contains (imprisons) first letter of (leader of) OPPOSITION (opposition)
12 Greek god [is] poisoned, unfortunately (8)
POSEIDON – POISONED (poisoned) anagrammed (unfortunately)
13 Slowly, plant covers centre of maze (6)
LAZILY – LILY (plant) around (covers) middle letters of (centre of) MAZE (maze)
15 Quick, some medication—I’m bleeding! (6)
NIMBLE – letters in (some) MEDICATION I’M BLEEDING (medication I’m bleeding)
18 Stare unhappily, [producing] weapon (5)
TASER – STARE (stare) anagrammed (unhappily)
19 Fly bite is raised up (4)
GNAT – TANG (bite) reversed (is raised up)

30 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1442 by Trelawney”

  1. There’s no need to account for CID in 20ac other than being alternate letters of ‘child’. Overtaking is passing on the correct side so presumably undertaking is passing on the inside which is dangerous in most circumstances.

    Edited at 2019-09-17 11:53 pm (UTC)

    1. Although there was Cyd Charisse. I wondered about UNDERTAKER, but fortunately didn’t need to know the meaning. Biffed 6d. 5:46.
      1. Cyd (originally Sid) was her family’s nickname for her based on her baby brother trying to say “Sis”, but failing.
    1. Some of the overtakers in my neck of the woods seem to be keen to be attended to by an UNDERTAKER.
  3. Most of this went in very satisfyingly on my first read. FOI was Lake District and then no hold-ups till my last two, Irksome and Blind (where I had tried to justify Bland). So 11:18 in the end.
    A very fair QC; COD to IRKSOME but also liked the Morse clue.
    David
  4. 11 minutes exactly.
    Would have been quicker but spent 5 on amaretto and dreamy, couldn’t get away from aperatif and Deidre.

    I though Trelawney might be a new setter but I see their first outing was 19 Aug.

    Liked amaretto and cargo, but Cod irksome as I quit the fags 6 years ago.

    Edited at 2019-09-18 08:31 am (UTC)

  6. I think I’m developing “oneacrossphobia”, with 1ac once again being my LOI. I got fixated on it meaning “having less” and since like Neil I thought the shade in 1d was going to be a colour I got royally stuck in the top left. Got there in the end for 1.6 Kevins and a Very Good Day.

    Can the LAKE DISTRICT conceivably be described as a “wilderness” any more? It may have been wild to the Romantics but centuries on it has been tamed, farmed, tea-shopped, second-homed and generally-trippered to death. No more a wilderness than Norfolk.

    FOI EROS, LOI & COD BALDERDASH

    Thanks Trelawney and Jeremy.

    Templar

    1. I think if you were on Striding Edge in a howling gale and a snowstorm, you might not regard it as tamed 🙂
  7. 8:53 but the last minute was on BLIND where inexcusably I was was assume shade to be a colour before the penny dropped and I realised I had the right answer. Otherwise a nice easy one.

    NeilC

  8. A comfortable 12m for me, with no major hold-ups. I needed all of the checkers for LOI 6d before I spotted the anagram, so make that my CoD.

    Edited at 2019-09-18 07:36 am (UTC)

  9. Forgot to say earlier re Northern wilderness = LAKE DISTRICT – What?? It won’t do much for the local tourist industry!
  10. I frequently drive in Connecticut when staying with my son. It’s legal and even encouraged to drive on any lane, over-and undertaking as appropriate.
    A rare finish for me today, 34mins. Much enjoyed – as are all the comments. Breakfast is much more interesting since I started doing the QC. I don’t get a lot better very quickly though!
    Diana
    1. Being lawful doesn’t prevent it being dangerous though. I’d say that having different driving rules in different parts of the same country actually adds to the risk.
      1. If the behaviour is expected, then so much the better, or less dangerous.

        As it is on the M25, where everyone does what the hell they like in any lane.

  12. I found this easier than Trelawney’s last offering, but it still took me over my target to 10:47. Some enjoyable stuff here. Liked WRITERS BLOCK and SACK RACE. Thanks Trelawney and Jeremy.
  13. I slowed a little towards the end and finally notched up yet another 3K. I liked DREAMY and CURIE and was fooled for a while by BLIND. Thanks both. John M.

    Edited at 2019-09-18 11:19 am (UTC)

  14. Was flummoxed by the first few and then got to dodo and things started falling into place. A bit easier than average I’d say as I came in at 32:59 with nothing unknown or unparsable once I had seen that it was only the ‘Dalek I’ that was set loose rather than ‘Dalek I set’ loose. A MER at the idea that the Lake District is a wilderness, or indeed very northern (though it is to me). I was thinking of the Arctic Tundra, or perhaps a desert somewhere if the northern was part of the wordplay. Then again, I suppose misdirection is the name of the game. With that in mind, COD goes to Cargo as I was convinced at first I was looking for a four letter word meaning ancient with a G in it somewhere. Could ‘bare’ mean ancient I wondered? Anyway, thanks Trelawney and Jeremy.
  15. ….is one definition of “wilderness” in Chambers. I’ve always found that the beauty of the LAKE DISTRICT has quite the opposite effect on my spirit !

    FOI BALDERDASH
    LOI BLIND (it was curtains for me !)
    COD IRKSOME
    TIME 4:20

  16. Distracted a bit today with some work going on in the kitchen, so I needed a second sitting to get the Gnat/Banjoes interface. Like others, Balderdash and Blind also took some thinking about. My CoD vote goes to 7d, Morose. Invariant
  19. Something strange just happened and the comment I’d written disappeared just before posting it, but it was a longer version of this:

    Straightforward and finished in 8.28

    Thanks for the blog Jeremy and nice work on the video – very interesting

  20. Weary after walking in the hills above Keswick today, which must explain why LAKE DISTRICT was LOI. Otherwise reasonably good in just over 10 mins. COD to 6D – a neat anagram I hadn’t seen before, where I read “a novel” as both anagrind and part of the definition.
  21. I think this was my easiest solve ever … must be improving over time. 1A and 8A were write ins, which is rare indeed for me. Like many, I don’t think of the Lake District as any sort of wilderness. Enjoyed SACK RACE, nice penny drop. LOI CURIE, despite being a physicist, although since I was moving round randomly it was last for no particular reason. The one I took longest to see was NIMBLE – lake many, the hiddens sometimes catch me out when they really shouldn’t. Thanks Trelawney for a very accessible puzzle.
  22. Undertaking on roads is dangerous and not permitted -meaning to go ahead of the other driver on the inside and not on the outside which is overtaking.
  23. Came very late to this bit wanted to post and say thank you to Trelawney for a nice accessible QC.

    As one who struggles, even after a couple of years on the QC, it’s encouraging to have one i can manage.

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