Times Quick Cryptic No 2616 by Alex

U is the abbreviation for ‘universal’ in the UK to refer to a film that is considered suitable for children of any age.

Notably as of last week, the film Mary Poppins is no longer a ‘U’, having been regraded to a PG (parental guidance) due to a “then-acceptable” term used by Admiral Boom, no-longer being considered acceptable.

The question mark is not part of the definition – it’s only for surface as the clue is posed as a question to ensure that IS and I are in the correct order.

‘cross’ indicates that DOVE surrounds R

BEAVERs are the second-largest living rodents (after capybaras) and can weigh up to 50kg!

The ultimate origin of the name comes from an Indo-European word for brown and is the source of placenames such as Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire (originally Beverlac (10th century), referring to a colony of beavers in the River Hull).

In genetics, a LOCUS is a specific position on a chromosome where a particular genetic marker is located. 20 different loci (plural of LOCUS) are used in DNA tests, including one (Amelogenin) which confirms the gender of the person providing the sample.

‘U’ (upper class) and its counterpart ‘non-U’ (the aspiring middle classes), was part of the terminology of popular discourse of social dialects in 1950s Britain. The different vocabularies can often appear quite counter-intuitive: the middle classes prefer fancy or fashionable words in attempts to make themselves sound more refined, while the upper classes in many cases stick to the same plain and traditional words that the working classes use, as, confident in the security of their social position, they have no need to seek to display refinement.

The terms were first coined in 1954 by British linguist Alan S C Ross and popularised by English author Nancy Mitford.

In cricket, R (also lower case ‘r’) is the abbreviation for runs. A bowler’s innings or match performance is often listed in the order of O M R W (Overs Maidens Runs Wickets) e.g. 51.2-23-53-10 which are regarded as the best-ever bowling figures in a single innings of test cricket (Jim Laker against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956).

‘Invested’ here is for instance when a Prince of Wales undergoes their formal investiture and receives a sceptre, sword, crown, ring, and clasp for his mantle.

The word ‘invested’ and related words such as ‘investiture’ and ‘investment’ come from the Latin preposition in and verb vestire, “dress”.

ABSCOND meaning to “depart suddenly and secretly,” especially to escape debt or the law came from 16th century French abscondre meaning “to hide” and directly from Latin abscondere “to hide, conceal, put out of sight”.

The word “KALEIDOSCOPE” means “an instrument for seeing beautiful shapes,” from the Greek words kalos (beautiful), eidos (shape), and -scope (an instrument for seeing).

The KALEIDOSCOPE was invented in 1815 by Scottish inventor David Brewster and was wildly popular, selling by the thousands. However before it was patented two years later, the prototype was copied by opticians in London, so Brewster earned far less from his invention than he might have.