Teazel provides us today with a neat Quick Cryptic that is a bit tricky in parts. It took me about 7 minutes, which is a couple of minutes over my target. Nothing unfair though – I may just have been a bit slow today. Thank-you Teazel. How did you all get on?
Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Phil’s turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword here. If you are interested in trying our previous offerings you can find an index to all 104 here.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Dark-skinned couple making a bow (5,3) |
| BLACK TIE – BLACK (dark-skinned) TIE (couple, the verb). Well that was a bit tricky to start. | |
| 6 | Fixed time in animal lair (4) |
| SETT – T (time) in SET (fixed). The animal being a badger. | |
| 8 | First course perhaps is very revolting (4) |
| SOUP – SO (very) UP (revolting). | |
| 9 | Fetches book and phones home (6,2) |
| BRINGS IN – B (book) RINGS (phones) IN (home). | |
| 10 | Huge performance by worker in charge (8) |
| GIGANTIC – GIG (performance) ANT (worker) I/C (in charge). | |
| 12 | Police force is back for support (4) |
| STEM – MET’S (police force is) reversed -> STEM. | |
| 13 | Work over travelling round EU (6) |
| OEUVRE – EU in (over)* [travelling]. | |
| 15 | Father fast making highest church office (6) |
| PAPACY – PA (father) PACY (fast). I got held up with this one thinking “father” =” pop” leading to something like “popery”. | |
| 17 | Old musical that needs regular cutting? (4) |
| HAIR – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. The musical “Hair” dating from 1967, but still on tour in 2019, was a notorious and genre-defining rock musical. “The work reflects the creators’ observations of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, and several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. The musical’s profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy“. | |
| 19 | Sensitive girl, Clea, all of a muddle (8) |
| ALLERGIC – (girl Clea)* [all of a muddle]. Not the most helpful of definitions and how many girls called Clea do you know? Personally, none and I can’t recall anyone with that name in the media etc. | |
| 21 | Alcohol I consumed at food counter in a frenzy (8) |
| DELIRIUM – DELI (food counter), I in RUM (alcohol). I frowned at this initially but Chambers has as the second definition for delirium “Wild excitement, happiness or wild enthusiasm”, which sounds like a frenzy to me. | |
| 23 | Married, rolling back years, appearing so fresh? (4) |
| DEWY – WED (married) reversed -> DEW, Y (years). | |
| 24 | Island incorporated hotel (4) |
| INCH – INC (incorporated) H (hotel in the phonetic alphabet). | |
| 25 | Comprehensive, even if approximate (8) |
| THOROUGH – THO’ (even if) ROUGH (approximate). | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Like a cat, boy with that many lives? (7) |
| LEONINE – LEO (boy) NINE (that many lives). A cat has 9 lives, as we all know. “It has been suggested that the idea of cats having nine lives has its roots in Ancient Egypt. The sun god Atum-Ra was said to take the form of a cat so he could visit the underworld. Atum-Ra was said to have given birth to eight other gods. As a result, some people have linked the saying of cats having nine lives with this myth—the eight gods, plus Atum-Ra, equal nine lives.” | |
| 3 | Rejecting some cappuccino for tea (5) |
| CUPPA – Reverse hidden [rejecting some] in cAPPUCcino. Lovely surface. My COD. | |
| 4 | Backed some debate that is key on computer (3) |
| TAB – What? Another? Yes a second reverse hidden in a row. Hidden in deBATe. | |
| 5 | Opening special broadcast is work of bishop (9) |
| EPISCOPAL – OP (opus; work) in [opening] (special)* [broadcast]. | |
| 6 | Commits to notices being displayed (5,2) |
| SIGNS UP –SIGNS (notices) UP (being displayed). | |
| 7 | Point of fork catching wife’s thread (5) |
| TWINE – W (wife) in TINE (point of fork). | |
| 11 | One offering treatment, the first to include music (9) |
| THERAPIST – RAP (music, allegedly, but not to me), in THE IST (1st; first). | |
| 14 | Make oneself scarce, grabbing right topcoat (7) |
| VARNISH – R (right) in VANISH (make oneself scarce). | |
| 16 | Punch comedian and gossip (7) |
| CHINWAG – CHIN (punch) WAG (comedian). | |
| 18 | Wife finally opening a can, enjoyed home cooking? (3,2) |
| ATE IN – Last letter of wifE in A TIN (can). Another lovely surface, but it doesn’t happen in our house – I do all the cooking and I can’t remember when my wife last opened a can. | |
| 20 | Didn’t get on a horse evidently for cattle round-up? (5) |
| RODEO – RODE O – Rode nothing… hence didn’t get on a horse. Geddit? | |
| 22 | Frame of mind almost low (3) |
| MOO – MOO{d} (frame of mind) [almost]. | |
More agony…
I had a go at the big crossword again (final day off work so have the time).
Three hours later – missed it by 2 clues! I spent an hour looking both clues and had one of the answers immediately but couldn’t parse so didn’t put it in! ☹️☹️
And, of course, it was easy to parse when I read the blog.
I must have done something bad in a previous incarnation because I am being tortured in this one. That’s just under 4 hours of cryptics today and I’m still not on it.
Glad it’s the end of the week and I can escape cryptics for 2 days.
Gary A. Sir. Mate. Ol buddy Ol pal
You did a FRIDAY biggie and you only had two clues left? FRIDAY!
I hope you try the biggie again on Monday and see that maybe you will or will not finish it but it will be MUCH smoother sailing
FRIDAY! I’m SO IMPRESSED
Thanks Tina 😊
For 5d, I believe the definition is “of bishop” (and not just “bishop”) to get the right tense.
Your are right. Thanks. Blog amended.
A day late, but my comments might just be read by someone.
Teazel is my nemesis and I was fully expecting to be hung, drawn and quartered (as is usually the case with this setter). However, it was so nearly a very special performance.
I started well and completed the top half of the grid in double-quick time. The lower half presented a few more problems, but I managed to arrive at my final clue (_E_I_I_M) with three minutes in hand before being gently, but firmly ushered into the SCC. Unfortunately, I speculated that the solution would end in ISM and that miscalculation rendered most of my five minutes of alphabet trawling useless. I got there in the end, but I missed a golden opportunity to escape the SCC with this setter. Time for a CUPPA.
Total time = 22 minutes.
Many thanks to Teazel and John.
Bad luck Mr R but still a decent time for the setter. 👍
Done late but finished Ok
Generally hard but put coup for 8ac thinking that a coup is a revolution