Times Quick Cryptic No 1809 by Oink

Author   JohninterredPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

A fairly gentle Quick Crossword, I think, from Oink to end the week today. I always enjoy an Oink puzzle, and this one was as fun as ever. It also includes a trademark porcine clue as we have come to expect. I don’t know whether you have found the same, but I think some several of the QCs have been a bit easier this week than of late. I fairly whizzed through this one pausing only for the clever 8D and my Last One In, 20D, for any head scratching, finishing in 3:37. Thank-you Oink. How did everyone else get on?

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is my turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the latest crossword, entitled “A Fine Romance”, here. Well it is February 14th on Sunday… Enjoy! And if anyone is interested in our previous offerings you can find an index to them here.

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 Nobleman ahead of schedule for the most part (4)
EARL – EARLy (ahead of schedule) without the last letter [for the most part].
3 Did the dishes, exhausted (6,2)
WASHED UP – Double definition
9 Lagers I ordered in north African port (7)
ALGIERS – (Lagers I)* [ordered].
10 Chap in boat having argument with Her Majesty (5)
ROWER – ROW (argument) ER (Her Majesty).
11 A large rodent rolling over where priest stands? (5)
ALTAR – A L (large)  RAT (rodent) [rolling over] -> TAR.
12 Small enough to try (6)
SAMPLE – S (small) AMPLE(enough).
14 Inclined to steal? Typist might be so (5-8)
LIGHT-FINGERED – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint.
17 Pictures of US agents holding rebellious men (6)
CINEMA – CIA (US agents) outside [holding] reversed [rebellious] MEN -> NEM.
19 Resist outcast from the east (5)
REPEL – LEPER (outcast) reversed [from the east] -> REPEL.
22 Detective sergeant drinking beer in the Valleys (5)
DALES – D.S. (detective sergeant) outside [drinking] ALE (beer). Very neat.
23 Unappreciative chap lighting fire here? (7)
INGRATE – You might light a fire IN GRATE.
24 In Leeds I arranged a second job (8)
SIDELINE – (In Leeds I) * [arranged].
25 Contradict Yankee on retreat (4)
DENY – Y (Yankee in the NATO phonetic alphabet) after [on] DEN (retreat).
Down
1 Some operas, a blessing that could disappear? (8)
ERASABLE – Hidden [some] in opERAS A BLEssing.
2 Put pen to paper, did you say? That’s correct (5)
RIGHT – Sounds like [did you say] WRITE (put pen to paper).
4 Killing of Asian saints so barbaric (13)
ASSASSINATION – (Asian saints so)* [barbaric].
5 Many concubines are kept by His Majesty (5)
HAREM – ARE inside [kept by] H.M. (His Majesty). Another nice surface.
6 Edward worried about learner, one falling behind (7)
DAWDLER – (Edward)* [worried] [about] L (learner).
7 Bit of rump or knuckle: dinner for the carnivore? (4)
PORK – Hidden in [bit of] rumP OR Knuckle. Our porcine reference of the day. Oink, oink!
8 Search bishop held by his supporters? (6)
FERRET – R.R. (Right Reverend; the title of a bishop) [held by] FEET (his supporters) ha, ha!
13 Infidelity hurt true lady (8)
ADULTERY – (true lady)* [hurt]. Nice surface.
15 Rigorously examined, as cheese might be (7)
GRILLED – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. Cheese on toast. Mmmm.
16 Bishop leaving rubbish in petrol station (6)
GARAGE – GARbAGE (rubbish) without the B (bishop) [leaving].
18 Supporter of art? (5)
EASEL – Cryptic definition.
20 Calm gym expert (5)
PEACE – P.E. (Physical Education; gym) ACE (expert). My last one in.
21 Kindness occasionally may get you a date in Rome (4)
IDES – Alternate letters [occasionally] of kInDnEsS.

62 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1809 by Oink”

  1. 7 minutes for this very pleasing puzzle from Oink. I found the SE corner a little trickier than the rest of it with INGRATE not coming to mind until I had all of its checkers in place.

    I hesitate to say anything about levels of difficulty in general in case it discourages others but the blog is here to discuss all aspects of the puzzles so the subject shouldn’t be off limits. I would agree with John that there have been a few easier ones this week and last and I managed solve them all within my target 10 minutes. The week before that I failed on 3 out of 5 with QC1798 by Izetti standing out as being particularly difficult.

  2. Well, I thought it was easy. I actually got in a few seconds faster than John, probably a first for me. 3:28.
  3. No time but all done. I looked for Oink’s signature clue, so 7d was FOI. LOI 13d. COD 14a because of the pleasant feeling when it came to mind after I had stared at it for a while. Thanks Oink and John.
  4. Yes, on the gentler side and had all but one done in around 4.30 but just couldn’t see FERRET so a PB will have to wait for another day.

    As always an enjoyable puzzle and blog

  5. Spent almost as long on 8d as the rest of the whole puzzle. Eventually pressed “reveal” and it wasn’t a PDM moment. I had eventually eliminated B for bishop, but could not remember the other abbreviations (HE? VEN? SEE? ELY? etc) I didn’t have a good candidate for “supporters”. Some clues just don’t quite satisfy.

    COD Adultery

  6. An enjoyable puzzle from Oink and very much at the gentler end of the spectrum. I would have been on for an extremely rare sub 5 minute solve had that pesky FERRET not held me up at the end. However it was nice to see bishop not being clued as ‘b’ for a change. Plenty of good clues but CINEMA and INGRATE stood out as my favourites today. Finished in 5.43.
    Thanks to John and I look forward to tackling your puzzle over the weekend

    Edited at 2021-02-12 08:03 am (UTC)

  7. FOI 1A: EARL
    LOI 8D: FERRET

    I couldn’t sleep, so this was a relatively bleary-eyed, but nonetheless enjoyable puzzle at 4am!

    Thanks to johninterred and Oink.

  8. I’m another held up by FERRET. Once I realised B was going to help I dug deep to retrieve RR which I’m certain I’ve used quite a few times in the past. Perhaps this is the time it sticks. All green in just under 9m which is definitely among my fastest times ever and I think my best of 2021, so a bit disappointing to only rank 50th on the leaderboard. New puppy is spoiling my morning routine — perhaps for the better — but doing this so close to going back upstairs to start work makes it feel a bit more pressured.
  9. Not even drinking tea stopped me shaming my SCC status today, but I allow myself the occcasional lapse. All but a couple across went straight in, everything else followed virtually in order ending at DENY. A little slow to see CINEMA for no reason, and FERRET made me smile when it clicked. Thanks to Oink for a fun fast Friday.
  10. Ahead of John by about the same as I was behind Kevin!

    FERRET LOI once I had ruled out “B” and considered RR.

    3:32.

  11. Unusually, I went down the clues in order – only missing a few out which I filled in on a second pass. I went with the flow above finishing on DAWDLER and FERRET.
    5:36 which seems to be about as fast as I’ve ever done one of these.
  12. A very good day, unusual for a Friday, and it gave me a lot of pleasure.

    I didn’t get FERRET for ages, or I might have been on for a pb.

    Thank you very much, Oink and John.

    Now for tomorrow, and I have to say that I’m finding the Saturday offerings very tricky. Luckily I have double the time to get them done before Monday.

    Diana

  13. An odd puzzle with one clue from another universe …
    … as I too found this really very simple until I met 8D Ferret which was really very difficult. All but the last done in 6 minutes — not quite PB standard but nearly — and then an alphabet trawl for the last, a shrug of the shoulder as Ferret looked the only possible answer and over to John’s blog to be told why. 9 minutes in all, fully one third on my LOI.

    COD to 12A Sample, a very elegant surface.

    Many thanks to John for the blog and in anticipation for the Saturday special.
    Cedric

  14. Yes a very gentle offering today from Oink. I would have got under 10 minutes if it weren’t for 8d that I had to have a good think about.

    FOI 3 AC
    LOI 8 DN
    COD – I liked both Light-fingered and ingrate.

    Thanks to Oink and John. Have just printed out the weekend QC to attempt.

  15. Thanks to Oink for an easy end to the week (apart from my LOI FERRET which I biffed). A smooth top half (with the one exception) so I started again from the bottom and met in the middle with LIGHT FINGERED. Even after spending time on 8dn I managed to stay a couple of minutes under target so that is OK. This will (largely) please our newer solvers and it made a nice change. Thanks also to John. John M.
    Perhaps the light-fingered amongst us risk being grilled by the pork chops? (Rhyming slang….. )

    Edited at 2021-02-12 09:58 am (UTC)

  16. An increasingly rare sub-ten-minutes for me at 9.10, and like everyone else it seems, would have been significantly quicker but for trying to fit B into LOI 8d. Only when I gave up on that aspiration did I finally see the blindingly obvious alternative. I think I went through the across clues pretty much in order, interspersed with the occasional downer to provide crossers — all very straight-forward. Thanks both.
  17. An enjoyable QC just right for people like me. I’m not nimble minded enough to complete in single digit time and this one took me 33 minutes. Perhaps a few too many answers came from first thoughts, but ferret ingrate easel and grilled needed more thought and i needed the blog to understand why repel, obviously the answer, fitted outcast. My thanks to Oink and to John. DavidS
  18. Really enjoyed. I always feel guilty if I start the crossword before lunch but it’s OK if it’s quick like today.
    Glad we got to eat a bit of PORK. FOI EARL, etc. Top across clues flew in.
    INGRATE made me laugh.
    Re IDES in Rome. ‘ Beware the Ides of March’ – ‘Julius Caesar’ is ingrained on my memory due to O level studies in days of yore.
    I did manage to parse FERRET LOI , after some thought.

    Thanks vm, John.

    Edited at 2021-02-12 10:12 am (UTC)

  20. FOI: 3a WASHED UP
    LOI: 25a DENY

    Time to Complete: 1 hr 22 mins

    Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 23

    Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 3 (19a, 23a, 8d)

    Clues Unanswered: Nil

    Wrong Answers: Nil

    Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 26/26

    Aids Used: Chambers, Bradfords

    I whizzed through the first half of this puzzle very quickly, giving me a real confidence boost. But then I got stuck on a few clues that took me a long while to decipher.

    20a PEACE – I pencilled this one in at first as I could not get the gym expert part of it. This was the penultimate clue I answered, and in the end I was convinced the answer was peace, even though I could not work out the complete clue.

    14a- LIGHT FINGERED. This also took a while before the light bulb moment struck. AT first when I read the clue I thought “Take a letter”? Obviously that did not fit in with the letter/word numbering.

    4d – ASSASSINATION. This is another clue that took me forever to work out.

    21a – IDES. I answered this one in a flash of inspiration before I realised it was a hidden clue. When it spoke of a date in Rome I quickly thought of the Ides of March.

    7d – PORK. I saw this possible reference to the setter very quickly.

    So, a great puzzle that really got me thinking. I had to use my three lives on this one, but it resulted in a completion for me, albeit at a rather sedate (though it felt frantic) 82 minutes. Oof!

  21. For me this was a quick cryptic, finishing in 07:42. It would have been much faster but for pauses to find ADULTERY and LOI DENY where I nearly went for DEFY.
    I agree with our blogger, Oink is always a pleasure to solve and this should have pleased most people.
    David
  22. DNF because of FERRET. Never heard of RR for Bishop and wouldn’t have thought of FEET for supporters. Always pleasing to learn a new “trick”, so many thanks for the blog.
    1. The same for me. I wizzed through this in 45 minutes (by far my quickest for all bar 1 clue!) but couldn’t see 8d. Thanks Oink and John.
  23. Not a fast solve but a very rare, for me, clean sweep. DENY went in unparsed and FERRET took some time.

    Thanks to Oink and John and will be doing John’s puzzle tomorrow.

  24. All done in under five minutes, mostly in order. Then sat for a minute to find the piggy clue — doh. FOI earl, LOI Ferret — biffed, then checked online. Thanks to blogger for parsing that one for us, and to Oink. Three COD’s for me — ingrate, sideline and dawdler. Have a good weekend one and all. GW
  25. If it hadn’t been for FERRET I could have had an unheard of sub 10 finish, with only one to go I was at 9:08. Then I spent time, like others, trying to fit a B in and checking my spelling of ALGIERS as I usually get the IE bit wrong. The penny finally dropped at 12.15, still one of my fastest times.
    I think both yesterday’s and today’s puzzles have been perfect QCs at either end of the hardness scale .
    Thanks to Oink and blogger.

    Brian

  26. One of my best attempts, merrily whizzing through until I was brought to a complete stop by two clues:
    17A: I failed to understand that ‘rebellious’ meant turn the word around and
    8D: where I didn’t know the RR for Bishop and so was stumped.
    Otherwise felt quite proud of myself!

    What I still don’t understand is whether the Quick Cryptic is ‘quick’ because it’s shorter AND meant to be easier than the large Cryptics, OR just shorter? The difficulty level isn’t consistent from day to day at all for me.

    Thank you for the puzzle and the explanations.

    1. The QC caters for a wide range of solvers at different stages on the learning curve so it has to vary in difficulty. If it could be done every day in 5 minutes by everyone attempting it there wouldn’t be much point to it as a learning tool and interest would swiftly dwindle. But I admit the setters and/or editors don’t always get it right

      Congrats on your successes today!

    2. Yes we get a variable level of difficulty in the Quick Crossword, but the difficulty varies for the 15×15 too. If it’s any guide, my average time for the QC over the last 6 months is about 5 1/4 minutes, but for the 15×15 is nearly 18 minutes (for those I finish). But there is an overlap. My slowest time for a QC this year is slower than my fastest time for a 15×15. For the 15×15 there is a very interesting site The SNITCH which measures the difficulty of the 15×15 from the average times of a number of “reference solvers” compared to their average times over 6 months each day. Read the “About page” to see how it works.

      Edited at 2021-02-12 11:18 am (UTC)

      1. Thanks for flagging the Snitch page. It’s great for me as I generally attempt to do a 15×15 once a week so would prefer to try an easier one (& Fridays my day off tend to be the most difficult). Interested to see Tuesdays seem easier on the whole than Mondays.

  27. Great fun today. 11:55. So many enjoyable clues. I was held up by some but mainly, like others, by FERRET. DNK RR=bishop (I do now) so it was LOI with fingers crossed. Difficult to choose but I’ll go for WOD DAWDLER and COD CINEMA
  28. Thank you Oink…I needed that. I was fast fingered today with the only real hesitations at 25a DENY and my LOI 8d FERRET which took me a good minute of my 7 minutes solve. Lovely way to end the week.

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