Times Quick Cryptic No 278 by Grumpy – Double (definition) Trouble

Author   macavity123Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Hello all

Thanks to everyone for covering for me for the past few weeks. OU Residential School and hospital appts have hijacked my Thursdays.

Now fitted with my hearing aids once more, I can now cope with things a little easier.

This was a nice puzzle, very much at the softer end of the scale, There wasn’t too much to trouble you today, other than a couple of slightly obscure words. Many of the clues today were of the double definition type.

Thanks to Grumpy for an enjoyable challenge and I should be back to normal next week!

Across
1 CARAMELS – AR (ARE- mostly) inside CAMELS. Definition is sweets.
5 SCOW – Boat is the definition. S (initial letter of SEAMEN) + COW (to put down or intimidate).
8 RETAINER – A double definition clue. A word that means a faithful old servant also means money paid upfront.
9 FRAU – Definition is German woman. FRAU(D) swindle curtailed, i.e. last letter missing.
11 CADGE – Sponge is the definition. CAD (Bounder) + GE (EG reversed, put back).
12 ESSAYED – Hidden in COLLEGES SAY EDUCATION is a word meaning attempted.
13 ELIJAH – Prophet is the definition, EH? (what?) around an anagram (break) of JAIL.
15 LEAN-TO – I suspect this might be the one to cause trouble today. Sort of shed is the definition. LENTO (musical instruction meaning (play) SLOWLY) around A.
18 ARSENIC – Poison is the definition. An anagram (mess) of SCARE IN.
19 SLATE – Adouble definition. A type of roofing material is also a word meaning to criticise.
21 GUYS – The name of a famous London hospital is also the name of effices burned every November 5th.
22 HAVE-NOTS – Poor people is the definition. OT (old testament) inside HAVENS (sanctuaries).
23 ROUT – Decisive defeat is the definition. R (resistance) before OUT (dismissed).
24 SENTENCE – Another double definition. The utterance of a judge is the same is a word for a group of words.

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Down
1 CORACLE – Small boat is the definition. CO (abbreviation for County) + an anagram (at sea) of CLARE.
2 RATED – Highly valued is the definition. Hidden (indicated cleverly by “bears”) inside EXTRA TEDDY.
3 MAIDEN AUNT – Another lovely surface reading here. A (area) inisde an anagram (indicated by Ground) of MAN UNITED. This gives the name of a relative.
4 LIEDER – The name (of German origin) for songs is a homophone for LEADER (principal violinist).
6 CARRY ON – Another double definition. A phrase that means to continue is also one which means to make a fuss.
7 WOUND – And another double definition! Something that means twisted is also something that may require a dressing or plaster.
10 ASSESSMENT – This held me up longer as I had written in ASSESMENTS!! Appraisal is the definition and it comprises ASSES (fools) plus MEN (people) inside ST (street).
14 I ASK YOU – This time a double definition with one part cryptic. What a questionmaster may say is his job description is the same as an expression that means “Really!”
16 OVERSEE – A word meaning supervise is made up of VERSE (poetry) inside OE (Old English).
17 SCRAPE – And another double definition! A word meaning to grate or scratch is the same as one that means a pickle or spot.
18 ANGER – Wrath is the definition. ANGLER (fisherman) minus L(losing line).
20 ADORN – Decorate is today’s final definition. A DO (a celebration) + RN (sailors, Royal Navy)

7 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 278 by Grumpy – Double (definition) Trouble”

  1. Yet another 12 minutes for me. I seem to be stuck in a rut at the moment with my Quickie timings.
  3. Quiet on here today. An enjoyable puzzle and was flowing for it quite nicely until I got to my final clue – 22a, which took me an age to figure out.
    COD for me was 15a, as I managed to figure out a musical term.
    Thanks for the blog
  4. Grumpy by name and (I will be) grumpy by nature if the slide towards obscure words persists! Lieder I actually knew, but initially rejected thinking it was too obscure for a QC, but scow? 14d ! 😃 Apart from that, quite a nice QC, with 18ac and 3d bringing a smile, albeit after playing around with Old Trafford for some time. Invariant
  5. Several particularly good clues in this one, I thought. Standout was the 2d hidden, and 12a was a decent hidden as well.

    SCOW was unknown, but a pretty safe punt based on the clue and the cross checkers – which I think makes it fair game in the Quickie.

    Indeed, I’d venture to suggest that gaining the confidence to put in unknown words that “must be right” based on the wordplay / other elements of the clue together with helpful cross checkers is a necessary part of learning the ropes in Crosswordland.

    What I think should probably be off limits in the Quickie would be an obscure answer coupled with a really tricky clue.

    1. It’s true, Nick, that there have been far worse examples than scow recently, but I am still of the view that it’s possible to have good clues that don’t require obscure answers. Invariant
      1. Scow isn’t an obscure word, though. It’s far less obscure than some of the flower names we have had in the last 10 months.

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