Times Quick Cryptic No 1622 by Joker

Author   plusjeremyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Introduction

15:59. Took longer than I’d hoped to but got tangled on 8 Down and 9 Across, where I had a wrong letter at first so nothing made sense. A hearty, enjoyable challenge.

Solutions

Across

1 Determined to listen to Edward on strong beer (5-7)
STOUT-HEARTED – HEAR + TED next to STOUT
Took me awhile to get STOUT as I’m more a whiskey man!
9 Lots [of] young men around ring (5)
LOADS – LADS around O
Should have come more easily. On first pass I think I ruled out the OA combination as not being right.  This usually happens when I solve online (ie in my head) vs on paper.
10 A disturbance when not starting sale (7)
AUCTION – A + RUCTION withou the first letter
11 Friend comes around in time finally [for] early show (7)
MATINEE – MATE around IN + last letter of TIME
12 Some wood elves do a lot of digging (5)
DELVE – hidden in WOOD ELVES
13 Street rodent seen round one narrow passage (6)
STRAIT – ST + RAT around I
14 Bury an indefinite number put in prison (6)
INTERN – INTER + N (an indefinite number)
17 Fool cutting exercise out? (5)
PASSE – ASS (fool) in P.E. (exercise)
19 Account for cross appearing in strange alpine (7)
EXPLAIN – X in anagram of ALPINE
Held up on this one for longer than I should of, because I was using T for ‘cross’.
21 A more acceptable helper (7)
ABETTER – A + BETTER (more acceptable)
To ‘abet’ is in particular to help in some wrongdoing.
22 Frequently melt missing shillings (5)
OFTEN – SOFTEN without S (shillings)
23 Close obscene broadcasting, [offering] redundancy (12)
OBSOLESCENCE – CLOSE OBSCENE anagrammed

Down

2 Vehicle taking another one up hill (7)
TRACTOR – CART reversed + TOR (hill)
3 Before ten, mail unfortunately not dispatched? Tough (13)
UNSENTIMENTAL – before TEN MAIL anagrammed, UNSENT (not dispatched?)
I love clues like this where you think, ” ‘Not dispatched’ ? What word could possibly start with UNSENT? Ohh!”.
4 Strike by footballer? / It tops the page (6)
HEADER – double definition
5 Liable to slip up [with] account I had open, rent going astray (8-5)
ACCIDENT-PRONE – ACC (account) + I’D + OPEN RENT anagrammed
6 Test of divisions in society – not British (5)
TRIAL – TRIBAL (of divisions in society) without B (British)
The ‘of’ is key here. I overlooked it and couldn’t see past CASTES, which doesn’t have a B.
7 Waste a long time [in] underground prison (7)
DUNGEON – DUNG (waste) + EON (a long time)
‘Waste’ as in fecal matter.
8 Thin gooey stuff, almost (4)
SLIM – SLIME without the last letter
I had GRIM(E) here without thinking through it.
13 Singer [of] rap soon out of order (7)
SOPRANO – RAP SOON anagrammed
15 Variable beer served up with a lot of abuse (7)
ELASTIC – ALE reversed + STICK (abuse) without the last letter
Original I thought ERRATIC was going to work.
16 Tries to have little time [in] suit (6)
HEARTS – HEARS (tries) around T (little time)
18 What will help one see small particles on the air (5)
SPECS – SPECKS replaced by homophone (on the air)
Is someone trolling me?
20 Number taken from sixty (4)
NINE – hidden in SIXTY (IX, that is!)
Very cute!

51 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1622 by Joker”

  1. I thought ERRATIC would work, too; worse, I didn’t notice what it did to EXPLAIN, giving me 2 errors. I liked PASSE. 6:37, but.
  2. 12 mins held up by trial, slim, loads, hearts, and LOI tractor, which went in unparsed as ROT CART, missing the hill.

    COD dungeon.

      1. Yes but yes but yes but…if the setter had used the one Hilary prefers it would have been a sub 10 Pb for me!!
        Grrrr
        1. It would only work if “more acceptable” could possibly be BETTOR….
  5. When I couldn’t get any of the first four I thought things were going to be tough but ended up with seven acrosses on the first pass. After the downs the top of the grid still looked a bit sparse. LOI was UNSENTIMENTAL where I’d worked out the IMENTAL bit but was sure the clue was asking for an anagram of BEFORE TEN MAIL – even though teh first word wasn’t needed at all. I clung to that belief until STOUT HEARTED presented itself – when it became biffable and went in unparsed, so thanks Jeremy. I’m impressed you started with UNSENT! Also never knew cross could be T – something else to try to remember. All green in 14m, so one of my better mornings.
  6. If you fancy a go at the main cryptic, today’s is very easy.. there are a couple of unfamiliar words but the wordplay is very helpful
    2. Indeed, it’s undoubtedly the easiest 15×15 for many a moon. It only took me 50 seconds longer than the QC !
    4. Thx Jerry. I took your advice. Best ever attempt. All but 2 clues in 40 mins and those stumped others. Thx to Covid I’m doing the QC every day so improving enormously. Nearly always finished in 25. Bit like learning a language I suppose. Johnny
    5. Many thanks for the tip. I managed a PB for the ‘biggie’ at just under 40 mins which gave me some satisfaction even though the regulars do it in under 10. John M.
  7. After glancing at 1a I thought I was in for a lengthy solve. I skipped to 8d SLIM and gained momentum. Of the long clues UNSENTIMENTAL held out until near the end. My POI was TRIAL and my LOI was NINE and very much a guess. Thanks Jeremy for explaining NINE which I am awarding my COD. Sub 10 minutes for a good day.
  9. My FOI was STRAIT trying to find an easy entry point. Finding this not easy overall I managed to get to two left after 13 minutes :20d and 17a.
    I got NINE quickly but without parsing; it seemed better than None. 17a was a different matter as I wasn’t sure about the definition. PE seemed right for exercise but I alphabet- trawled until PASSE emerged. So all correct in 16:11.
    David
  10. I found this unsettling and moved erratically around the grid after only seeing HEADER in the north. It gradually came together and felt longer than my 2.6K. LOI was NINE which was my only biff – thanks to Jeremy for explaining this one – very clever. The long anagrams dropped out easily without resorting to pen and paper once a few crossers had emerged. I liked TRACTOR, ELASTIC, and DUNGEON but thought HEARTS was odd at first (hear = try took me a while!) and I am never sure about answers which really need an accent (PASSE). A good test and a very helpful blog. Thanks to both. John M.

    Edited at 2020-05-27 08:45 am (UTC)

      2. Thanks for that – could see it must be hearts, but not why. Couldn’t at first see at first why hears = tries even when I saw answer. Wasn’t being lateral enough!
  11. All correct in 1.1K so I’m grading this as an Excellent Day. Plus I might bunk off work and go fishing in the evening, the prospect of which has put me in high spirits.

    I thought that that was a really fun and clever puzzle, with some neat and witty clues. PASSE, TRIBAL and NINE particularly fine.

    FOI STOUT-HEARTED, LOI OBSOLESCENCE (like the Rotter I had to take great care over the spelling), COD PASSE.

    Many thanks Joker and Jeremy.

    Templar

    1. The excellence is enhanced by Kevin having errors. I shall measure my time in Templars today !
  12. FOI SLIM after I drew a blank on 1a. Fairly quick overall for me at 15:19 although I still had NINE unparsed when I submitted – definitely my COD after finding out how it works. Would have liked to get this done in around 12 minutes as it seemed easy enough
  13. 12.04 m for me, but it felt longer. I was held up slightly at the end trying to check the spellImg of OBSOLESCENCE. I could see the answer but needed to refer back to the anagrist to ensure that I didn’t have too many Ss, too few Os and the right number of Cs. TRACTOR was FOI, and it was steady thereafter, without ever feeling like it was quick and easy. Thanks both.
  14. … but don’t really know why. Heatstroke? Some excellent clueing as always with Joker who is one of my favourite setters. I quite enjoy the challenge of long anagrams and the 2 very lengthy ones today were no exception. Some fun mind-messing going on here, too, as in eg 3 down, UNSENTIMENTAL, where the directional instruction of “before” was very sneaky! My LOI was 17 across, PASSE, and, even when I’d answered it, I stared at it for ages, trying to work out why that was the answer. Best clue of the day IMO, is 20 down, NINE, even though it was the single answer that I couldn’t parse until I read Jeremy’s blog – for which, many thanks. And thanks, too, to Joker, for a great puzzle
    1. Yup, 20D is a truly great clue (even though I didn’t parse it pre-blog).
      1. How does he even think of them?! (BTW, I learnt the other day that “?!” is called an “interrobang “. What a brilliant word! )
            1. tricky…
              if you’re using Word, then type 203D followed by alt-x
              if you’re using Excel, then use the formula =UNICODE(8253)

              or set up an autocorrect for it so that whenever you type !? it’s replaced with ‽

  15. Was slow off the mark, with DELVE my FOI. I then proceeded in a clockwise direction, leaving a couple of gaps before returing to the NW and then finishing with OBSOLSECENCE. NINE went in unparsed. 8:54. Thanks Jeremy and Joker.
  16. Quite new to cryptic crosswords and this took me a little over an hour to solve.The Times Quick Cryptic feels accessible for beginners. I found this blog whilst searching for the meaning behind a couple of clues I’d guessed the answer to but hadn’t fully understood. Good work, and thanks for the explanations. I will no doubt be visiting this page more often!
    1. Welcome, suinotna. Glad you find the blog useful. Please make yourself at home.
  17. Held up a little by Stout and the other long anagrams, though Accident Prone was easy. Don’t know why LOI was pasee.
    Could not parse Hearts or Nine so thanks all round, as ever.
  18. A fine puzzle from Joker. STOUT-HEARTED went straight in, but, when I tried the Down clues from there, I couldn’t immediately solve the first four that I attempted, so TRIAL set me off in the NE, and a relatively smooth clockwise solve brought me to the NW last. I was another to consider “erratic” but my love of IPA quickly led me to write “ela” and then consider the rest of the clue separately.

    FOI STOUT-HEARTED
    LOI SLIM
    COD NINE
    TIME 0.58 Templars

  19. Was cruising towards another 20 min finish when I got bogged down in the SW corner with 17ac “Passe”, 18ac “Specs” and, for some inexplicable reason, 16dn “Hearts”. No idea on the final one, as I initially went through all of the card suits and still missed it! In the end, came in at a disappointing 45 mins.

    Not sure if this has been discussed before, but does a header in football really count as a “strike”? If you strike the ball, you hit it with your foot in my book.

    Missed the clever parsing of 20dn – but couldn’t see what else it could be.

    FOI – 8dn “Slim”
    LOI – 16dn “Hearts”
    COD – 2dn “Tractor”

    Thanks as usual.

    1. Hmm, I see what you mean, but then a forward in football is usually called a “striker” and isn’t limited to feet only! And if you type eg “struck with a header” into Google you get lots of football match reports. So fair enough, I think.
      1. I did think of your second point, as “struck with a header” is commonplace, but it just felt different to “strike by” which gives the impression of it being an actual strike (ie. with either of the feet) rather an actual header.

        Anyway – just being pedantic.

  20. Not a good morning for me I’m afraid. I wasn’t on the right wavelength today. I was beaten by several – beginning with stout-hearted, then abetter, ( not a word I use very often), even slime had me foxed. Must do better.
    Loved nine, though.
    I’ll try the main one later.
    Thank you, Jeremy for making it all clear.
    Diana.
  21. Slow to start but a steady solve after getting FOI 11ac. Didn’t parse 5dn but it had to be once I’d got a couple of crossers. Took me a while to parse 20dn – a very neat clue

    FOI 11ac Matinee
    LOI 17ac Passe
    COD a toss up today between 3dn Unsentimental and 20dn Nine.

    Nice puzzle all round. Thanks to setter and blogger.

  22. Slow today, especially after my eight minutes with Izetti yesterday, but fun. I’m with Louisa – Joker is one of my favourite setters too. Ther’s always something to make you smile.

    For some reason, I was very slow to pick up on AUCTION and TRIAL, and I never did see how 20d worked so thanks, Jeremy, for the explanation. It should be COD, I suppose, as it is very clever, but since I didn’t get it, I’m not sure if it counts.

    FOI Loads
    LOI Trial
    COD Soprano – a lovely surface and reminds me of ELO’s Rockaria. Now there’s an earworm!
    Time 15 mins GOT (give or take)

    Thanks both the Js 😃

    I’m always wary of recommending the biggie, but have a go today – it only took me four minutes longer than this one!

  23. Thanks Joker – we really enjoyed your challenge today. Some truly lovely clues – we took 18 minutes – could have possibly been slightly faster if we hadn’t been cooking lunch in parallel 🤗.

    FOI: loads
    LOI: hearts
    COD: specs (😂)

    Thanks for the blog Jeremy

    Ps thanks to all for the heads up on the 15×15

  24. Managed to squeeze this in over porridge for lunch (a first for me) and found most of it at the gentler end of the spectrum. My LOI was AUCTION for some inexplicable reason and I think I quadruple checked the spelling of the long one at the bottom (not going to risk trying to spell it correctly again). I never did parse NINE so once I saw the explanation it joined my over two favourites; PASSE for the brevity of the definition and SOPRANO for the mental image of a rapper in opera garb. Finished in 10.34.
    Thanks to jeremy for the excellent blog
  25. Took a longer than usual 8 mins 20 secs.

    HEARTS was last in, mainly because I forgot about it. Biffed NINE – too clever for me! Thanks for shining a light on that!

  26. about 10 minutes, with passe LOI, just after obsolescence was unraveled.
    thanks blogger and setter
  27. … as I whizzed through all but one clue in under 9 minutes but then stared at 17A Passé for ages before a letter trawl gave me the answer, and then another age as I didn’t see the parsing. All is so clear when I read Jeremy’s blog, so even more frustrating/baffling. Final time a rather sad 20 minutes – don’t think I have ever spent more time on one clue than all the rest put together!

    COD, nay clue of the year so far, to 20D Nine. What a brilliant clue, and not a clue style I’ve met before.

    Thanks to Joker for the puzzle and Jeremy for the blog.

    Cedric

  28. …but I found this to be a very satisfying QC from Joker.
    Like others, I was slow to start but the long anagrams helped me to get going.
    I loved ELASTIC and OFTEN and I thought that ABETTER was a nice touch too.
    Quite a few went in unparsed so thanks to Jeremy for the explanations.
  29. Came to this very late in the day, and with foi 11ac Matinee I feared I was set for a very long solve. However, the brain slowly clicked into gear and I eventually returned to the top of the grid, spotted Stout for strong beer and polished off my last couple, 3d and 4d, as the clock reached 24mins. I then spent another four or five trying to parse 20d, Nine, before finally seeing IX… sneaky, but impressive. Invariant

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