A proper Friday Quick Cryptic from Teazel today which has a smattering of trickier clues among the easier ones. It took me an average time for me of 5:30, but it felt harder. My favourite was the car with the adjustable seat for the neat surface. Thank-you Teazel. How did you all get on?
Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is my turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the crossword entitled “For the Benefit of All” here. Can you identify the theme and find the thematic references? If you are interested in trying our previous offerings you can find an index to all 142 here.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Not very well, following one pattern (5,1,7) |
| AFTER A FASHION – AFTER (following) A (one) FASHION (pattern). I needed checkers to see this. | |
| 8 | Step across referee: the first to go in the book? (7) |
| PREFACE – PACE (step) outside REF (referee). | |
| 9 | Not on deck, shout half-heartedly (5) |
| BELOW – BE{l}LOW (shout) with just one of the middle “l”s [half-heartedly]. | |
| 10 | Bowl in hamper, hate it to be broken (12) |
| AMPHITHEATRE – (hamper hate it)* [to be broken]. | |
| 12 | Effect of Ulster getting broken up (6) |
| RESULT – (Ulster)* [getting broken up]. | |
| 14 | Harbour with a large entrance (6) |
| PORTAL – PORT (harbour) A L (large). | |
| 17 | Lack what proverbially increases affection (7) |
| ABSENCE – Double definition, the second referring to the saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. | |
| 19 | Gain keyless access, which may be conceded (3-2) |
| TAP-IN – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint based on the footballing expression describing an easy goal. [Update. Kevin in the comments had a better explanation… It is a term also used in golf. In matchplay, when you are left with a putt that’s a tap-in (aka a gimme), your opponent might concede it without you having to putt the ball into the hole. ] | |
| 20 | Picture of wizard on island (5) |
| IMAGE – I (island) MAGE (wizard). | |
| 21 | Summary justice in the end accurate (7) |
| PRECISE – PRECIS (summary) and last letter of justicE [in the end]. | |
| 22 | Qualified people, apart from Mike, named (8) |
| ENTITLED – {m}EN (people) without the M (Mike in the phonetic alphabet), TITLED (named). | |
| 23 | Through which to view French city? (4) |
| LENS – Double definitions. | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Range displayed, not all put up (4) |
| ALPS – Reverse hidden [not all put up] in diSPLAyed. | |
| 2 | Mother’s new hot water bottle? (7) |
| THERMOS – (mother’s)* [new]. | |
| 3 | Arrive at river, heading away from sandy shore (5) |
| REACH – R (river) and {b}EACH (sandy shore) without the first letter [heading away]. | |
| 4 | Car, fine one, with adjustable seat (6) |
| FIESTA – F (fine) I (one) and (seat)* [adjustable]. | |
| 5 | Too bad there’s confused description of extinct feline (5-7) |
| SABRE-TOOTHED – (too bad there’s)* [confused]. An extinct sort of tiger. | |
| 6 | Entrance passage at home, rented (5) |
| INLET – IN (at home) LET (rented). | |
| 7 | Islanders reportedly were aware of Scandinavian filled with enthusiasm (3,10) |
| NEW ZEALANDERS – NEW sounds like KNEW (were aware) [reportedly] ANDERS (Scandinavian name, the equivalent of English Andrew) [filled with] ZEAL (enthusiasm). | |
| 11 | Full of ideas, make a fuss about four (8) |
| CREATIVE – CREATE (make a fuss) [about] IV (four in Roman numerals). | |
| 13 | Dost ache? Stretched to the maximum (7) |
| LONGEST – Double definition, the first a cryptic hint based on the whimsical equivalence of “thou dost long” and “thou longest”. Tricky. | |
| 15 | Cut two parts of cardboard box (7) |
| TOPSIDE – TOP and SIDE (two parts of cardboard box). A cut of beef. | |
| 16 | Head, in part, for sacred space (6) |
| TEMPLE – Double definition. | |
| 18 | Like many modern devices, small with minute pictures (5) |
| SMART – S (small) M (minute) ART (pictures). | |
I cannot think of any sentence where “create” could replace “make a fuss”
‘Don’t create’
‘Don’t make a fuss’
They mean the same thing
14 minutes
90 minutes on 15 x 15