A middle-of-the-road Quick Cryptic from Juji today, for me, although your mileage may differ, taking me an average 5:12. LOI the overheard nobleman. Thank-you Juji. How did you all get on?
Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Sawbill’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 150 here.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions}and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | I glance around like divine messenger (7) |
| ANGELIC – (I glance)* [around]. | |
| 5 | Characters involved in kendo joined training facility (4) |
| DOJO – Hidden [characters involved in] kenDO JOined. A place where judo or karate, etc are taught or practised. | |
| 7 | Steal fruit from rugby players quietly (6) |
| SCRUMP – SCRUM (rugby players) + P (piano; quietly). | |
| 8 | In old make of car, cross English city (6) |
| OXFORD – X (cross) in O (old) + FORD (make of car). I started to write in EXETER before stopping to read the clue properly. | |
| 9 | Sharp-billed birds spooked crew at sea (11) |
| WOODPECKERS – (spooked crew)* [at sea]. | |
| 10 | Children of similar ability play on internet-enabled device (6) |
| STREAM – Double definition. | |
| 12 | Tot and this writer start to relish hot weather? (6) |
| SUMMER – SUM (tot up) + ME (this writer) + first letter, [start], of Relish. | |
| 14 | Ringing home good following argument (4-7) |
| DING-DONGING – IN (home) + G (good) after, [following], DING-DONG (argument). | |
| 17 | Bleak nobleman in conversation (6) |
| BARREN – Sounds like [in conversation] BARON (nobleman). | |
| 18 | You are entering end of chess game fully developed (6) |
| MATURE – U R (you are in textspeak) in [entering] MATE (end of chess game, if it’s not a draw, stalemate, a player runs out of time or a player resigns). | |
| 20 | Formerly working, empty chute (4) |
| ONCE – ON (working) + ChutE without the middle letters, [empty]. | |
| 21 | Fervour dancer represented with ultimate in energy (7) |
| ARDENCY – (dancer)* [represented] + last letter, [ultimate in] of energY. | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Heard flood survivor’s development of story (3) |
| ARC – Sounds like, [heard], ARK (Noah’s Ark; flood survivor). The development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme (in a novel, play, or film). | |
| 2 | Sugar from Greek island used in gum (7) |
| GLUCOSE – COS (Greek island) in GLUE (gum, the verb). | |
| 3 | Really enjoy being ahead in circuit race? (3,2) |
| LAP UP -Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 4 | Options of frozen desserts with the fourth picked out (7) |
| CHOICES – CHO{c}ICES (frozen desserts) without the fourth letter [with the fourth picked out]. | |
| 5 | Editor backed rival author (5) |
| DEFOE – ED (editor) [backed] -> DE + FOE (rival). | |
| 6 | Cheese left in pots on ice (9) |
| JARLSBERG – L (left) [in] JARS (pots) + BERG (iceberg; ice). A Norwegian cheese and one of my favourites. | |
| 9 | Recalled comic sketch set in outskirts of Hamilton (9) |
| WITHDRAWN – WIT (comic) + DRAW (sketch) in the outside letters of [outskirts of] HamiltoN. | |
| 11 | Crazy about an elevated lady in artwork (7) |
| MADONNA – MAD (crazy) + ON (about) + AN reversed, [elevated], -> NA. Did I Ninja Turtle this from ‘Allo ‘Allo? Would I admit it if I had? | |
| 13 | Wet items on ground (7) |
| MOISTEN – (items on)* [ground]. Neat. | |
| 15 | Tender calves running uphill to some extent (5) |
| NURSE – Reverse hidden [uphill to some extent] in calvES RUNning. | |
| 16 | Identified fellow climbing English peak in danger (5) |
| NAMED – MAN (fellow) [climbing] -> NAM + E (English) + first letter of, [peak in] Danger. | |
| 19 | Regularly avoided greasy fish (3) |
| RAY – Alternate letter, [regularly avoided], of gReAsY. | |
14:11 couldn’t quite scrump barren woodpeckers ding-donging in stream.
TaJAJ
Still no closer to getting back to Blighty from NZ. Might try a 9pm call to Traifinders (8am Friday morning UK) because no-one is answering or responding to our plight. Ho Hum another month in NZ isn’t that problematic.
Go east ?
I, too, like Jarlsberg, so that was a write-in. Most of the puzzle was a write-in, but at the end I could just not see withdrawn/stream for the longest time. Scrump might have given trouble in the past, but I have added it to my vocabulary.
Time: 9:07
As a bellringer, I liked 14 across. In crossword land, in = home, but in bellringing land, ‘home’ is the name given to a call where the heaviest bell stays at the back of the sequence, whereas ‘in’ refers to a call positioned such that the heaviest bell moves to the front of the sequence. Get your homes and ins muddled and you definitely end up with a ding dong!
Thank you. I love snippets like that.
12 minutes. DOJO won’t stick in my brain despite three previous appearances here.
9:36. Took some convincing that DING DONGING was a real word.
LOI STREAM where I was sure “children of similar abilities” was SET.
COD (Cheese of the Day) JARLSBERG
Grammar stream?
Another solve in the teens at 16.31, it’s been a good week here. Also fixated on set for streams but I knew there was another word. Spent a bit too long thinking the birds were some kind of cocks. Also could not see ardency from the anagrist for a very long time, even with 2 crossers. Liked scrump, bringing back memories from my childhood!
Thanks Juji and John
15.27.
Happy with that given I’d never heard of JARLSBERG. Given the multiple recommendations here I’ll have to seek some out this weekend. Was easy enough to parse so was mostly confident it was correct. Dallied a little over DING-DONGING. LOI BARREN.
Thanks Juji and John.
Mostly the same as others, going well until STREAM and WITHDRAWN but I was also slow on DING DONGING.
No major dramas but needed all the checkers before being convinced that DING DONGING was a thing.
Started with ANGELIC and finished with BARREN a smidge over average in 8.04.
Thanks to John and Juji
NHO Jarlsberg or Dojo. A lot to enjoy here but I think you had to be on Juji’s wavelength and I certainly wasn’t! Thanks though.
Perhaps I am out of step again but, for me, this was anything but a QC. I have found Juji very variable in the past – from easy to very hard – but this one was a DNF for me.
Some very good clues mixed up with some very testing (and some beyond quirky) but I could not find the energy or enthusiasm to finish it.
I didn’t enjoy it and really don’t think my detailed comments and criticisms would be at all helpful given that most posters above found this a doddle.
totally agree!
me too!
Totally agree. Some clues went beyond the bounds of reasonable. We found it difficult with no clever clues.
Completed in 12:07 but that hides a lot of biffing, umming and aahing. I saw “old car … English city” and put in OXFORD without hesitating based on the old Morris Oxford, and then of course failed to find a sensible parsing. I also biffed GLUCOSE and never parsed it, took an age to see ARDENCY, even longer to admit DING-DONGING was a word at all and finished with MADONNA (and like John with ‘Allo ‘Allo on my mind). Not really on Juji’s wavelength at any time in the solve and not my most glorious effort.
Many thanks John for the blog and I look forward to the Sunday Special.
I look forward to your comments, as always.
I hope a few of the regulars on here will give it a try. The more the merrier.
Nice one thank-you. 5:40 for me – 8A is the standout clue!
Mine too.
Thank you Sawbill, very much enjoyed. 8a made me chuckle but COD for me was 23a, excellent!
You’re very kind
17:04 for me, a really nice challenge COD was moisten I thought the anagram was well hidden and took me ages to spot. Like many I wasn’t convinced ding donging was a word, but nothing else fit or worked once everything else was there!
Thanks to Juji and John
19:26 with DOJO and DING-DONGING NHO but successfully biffed, to my surprise. Otherwise, pretty straightforward.
Leslie Phillips is still DING-DONGING somewhere, I’m sure.
On wavelength for that, though WITHDRAWN and LOI GLUCOSE required a bayonet charge to winkle them out at the end.
Fortunately the E in JARLSBERG was checked, because I wasn’t sure if it was that or a U. I can’t share the enthusiasm for it, flavourless rubbery stuff.
All done in 06:30 for a Brisk Business Day. COD STREAM, very neat. Many thanks Juji and John.
27 minutes thanks to some nice tricky clues.
NHO SCRUMP but it parsed perfectly and I assumed a link with cider as scrumpy.
Also NHO DOJO but suspected it was a hidden and Jarlsberg clinched it.
COD MADONNA for the parsing.
Thanks Juji and John
Top half very quick , but then stuck in SW. Finally needed hint for WITHDRAWN which enabled me to solve the rest. Got LOI NURSE but missed hidden. PDMs with MADONNA and STREAM. Doubtful about DING- DONGING but it had to be. Knew DOJO and the cheese.
I liked SCRUMP, OXFORD, and LAP UP among others.
Thanks vm, John.
Back inside my target time with 14:30. Either my brain is functioning at near normal levels again or I’m more on Juji’s wavelength.
Enjoyed this. Thanks setter and blogger.
Fairly straightforward for me today although biffed GLUCOSE – parsing obvious in retrospect. DNK DOJO but clear from the clue. Initial thought SET must be part of 10A until the checkers in place. WOODPECKERS great anagram. Thanks Juji and John.
9:02 for the solve. Nice mix of clueing with some straightforward defs but there were certainly some needing a bit of thought (NAMED, MADONNA, ARDENCY, BARREN LOI). NHO JARLSBERG – but it’s probably the best cheese in the world.
Decent week of QCs which would all have come in under ten mins had I not had to spend a few extra seconds on Wednesday correcting the problematic tragic heroine. And then an impatient bif yesterday for another mistake. But all done in 41mins which is my best weekday total.
Have a good weekend everybody – thanks to Juji and to JohnI for the blog and editing of Sawbill’s Weekender which I will attempt later.
4.42
Managed to see WITHDRAWN quite quickly which opened up the southern vistas. Very much with Templar on the E or U quandary. No idea what was going on with GLUCOSE but a third checker and the w/p emerged.
Thanks John/Juji
13.31 happy here and found this very enjoyable – though ARDENCY not a word we’d usually turn to.
Missed the hidden aspect of NURSE and the ‘peak’ of danger – NAMED ( now thinking of James, the little snail in danger…).
In haste now, to listen to Faure’s Requiem in a little old church – then a wander about the town.
Off to be cultured!
Happy weekend everyone – and thank you to Juji and JohnInterred
7:58
Flying start – first four acrosses right off the bat – came to nothing as I managed only three more. I found STREAM and WITHDRAWN a challenge but once settled on the unlikely DING DONGING, what else could they be? ARDENCY was also a tricky anagram, even with three of the checkers in place.
Thanks John and Juji
Very quick NE two-thirds followed by very slow SW third. all good though. Fell into the same traps as everyone else, particularly parsing the Morris Oxford, dredging up stream, arc, ding-donging, ardency and withdrawn. DNK the cheese but easy clueing, and of course immediate thought of ‘allo ‘allo. Thanks Juji and John.
I also look forward to the weekend offering to be done on Sunday.
Top half ok but really struggled with the bottom half. All done in 27 minutes with several biffed and parsed after the event. My brain cells seem to have gone AWOL this week but there’s always next week to look forward to an improvement. Didn’t like DING-DONGING (as a word – nothing wrong with the clue). Maybe I’d have liked it better if I’d seen it quicker!
FOI – 5ac DOJO
LOI – 10ac STREAM
COD – 6dn JARLSBERG. Also liked LAP UP
Thanks to J & J
I managed nine.
FoI glucose from Cos and the assumption that the first letter was G because the first three letters of 1ac were likely to be ANG…and gum is almost glue. Went back to parse angelic after that.
Old car, Morris Oxford so that was a partial bifd.
I was thinking of waders for the bird. Sharp bill whereas I think of woodpeckers having a hard beak.
Does dojo get a mention in Kill Bill?
I was trying to think of a hardware device for the internet clue, missed the streaming bit despite having been an early adopter of streaming – duh.
Thanks J^2
Not the most straightforward of QCs I thought, and I felt I was on form to finish within target at 9.39. Never heard of DOJO, but fortunately JARLSBERG confirmed it was right.
Total time for the week was 52.31, giving me a daily average of 10.54.
I rather enjoyed this one, not that I found it particularly easy but it did engage me.
I saw DING DONGING fairly early on but was not convinced that it was a word, though I have heard of an argument being called a DING DONG.
I have never heard of the cheese so that one took a while. I have never heard of ARDENCY either, but managed to guess it.
Also, I don’t think I have ever seen a clue in which YOU ARE = UR, though I did get it early on. Not complaining as I actually liked it.
First Lap: 14
Answered (no help): 22
Answered (with help): 2
DNF: Nil
Time: 28:42
15:09, struggling a bit with ARDENCY, WITHDRAWN and the D word which I’m not going to dignify by typing it.
Thank you for the blog!
Vaguely heard of DOJO so semi bifd, similarly ARC usage. Topical cheese today as I brought in some St Felicien for my lunch. Differrent in every way from that in today’s puzzle. Double bagged and in an empty take-away container it still draws unwelcome attention.
DING DONGING my COD with SCRUMPING close behind. No time as multiple interruptions.
Thanks Jalna and John
21:42
Was completely stuck in the SW corner, spending 10 minutes on the last 5. Was sure the lady in the painting would be Lisa. Obviously not!
Only when I guessed DING DONGING (whatever that is) did the checkers allow the rest to fall into place. LOI STREAM.
16 minutes. I couldn’t see the WOODPECKERS for the trees which put paid to an even half-decent time. Apart from this, no doddle for me either, especially the parsing of WITHDRAWN. I liked the appearance of the ‘old make of car’ in the wordplay for OXFORD.
Thanks to John and Juji
My thanks to Juji and Johninterred.
Well I thought this was very hard with weird clues and a few NHOs.
5a NHO Dojo. I hadn’t HO last time either.
10a Stream, very strange choice of defs IMO.
14a Ding-Donging, I didn’t think Ding-Dong was a verb.
21a Ardency, Xword-only word.
1d Arc DNK this def.
6d Jarlsberg NHO this cheese, nor the place in Norway. Had to guess the missing letters. I thought it was Jerusalem until 12a summer disqualified it; I HHO Jerusalem cheese.
9d Withdrawn biffed. I could see the fragments but couldn’t assemble them.
11d Madonna, ho ho. But a rather vague def IMO.
Agreed. I found this really difficult (about an hour) with varieties of unknown or hardly known words. Still not convinced DING DONGING is a real word (maybe something a small child would use?).
A decent enough start along the top and down the RHS, though Arc and the nho Dojo needed checkers. A mopping up operation along the bottom just left the final four: Withdrawn, Stream, and the Ding-Donging Madonna. Cue the almost inevitable breezeblock that needed a post coffee second sitting.
The irresistible (Klomp’s) Madonna was the fist to fall, quickly followed by the Leslie Phillips call sign, then some time later, Stream (not set then) and finally CoD Withdrawn.
Quite a battle for a QC and one that must have finished, fully parsed, north of 25mins in total. Overall, an enjoyable enough experience, if kept in moderation. Invariant
Sorry, busy and forgot! It was fine, even though NHO DOJO or (in this sense) ARC, both had to be. Yes, SW corner was hardest. Not sure about the over-constructed D word (agree, Wombat), but since the dictionary gives it (also) as a verb, we can’t disallow it. Similarly ARDENCY. LOI BARREN. Thanks, John.
17 mins…
A tale of two halves – the top part of the grid filling quite quickly with a steady slowing down as I got further down. Didn’t know the cheese, but it was obtainable from the clueing and checkers. 14ac “Ding-donging” brought a smile.
FOI – 1ac “Angelic”
LOI – 6dn “Jarlsberg”
COD – 9dn “Withdrawn”
Thanks as usual!
6.29 I biffed MOISTEN and took an embarrassingly long time to parse it afterwards. LOI was BARREN. Thanks John and Juji.
19 mins
Off to a flyer, then slowed considerably in the bottom half. Still this would have beaten me not too long ago, so pleased to finish an enjoyable puzzle.
FOI Angelic
LOI Stream
COD Scrump
Thanks Juji and John
As Invariant mentions, Leslie Phillips was famous for his DING-DONGING so no probs there, COD for me. NURSE took some spotting. Thanks John and Juji.
Thanks, but Templar made the link first.
Ding dong indeed, with Round the Horne and that mysterious language Polari that used to have the audience in hysterics, though with Kenneth Williams rather than Leslie Philips. Hey ho. DOJO had to be but I didn’t know it: likewise I hesitated over ARDENCY but then thought why not. STREAM and WITHDRAWN took me ages, despite having all the crossers, so into the SCC today. Clue that made me smile was LAP UP! Born in Devon, scrumping for apples was a boyhood occupation. Any link with scrumpy cider? Thanks Juji and John.
16:21
Two clues went in with fingers almost crossed – DNK that definition for Ark and NHO JARLSBERG.
Biffed GLUCOSE but wasn’t too worried as the subsequent checkers confirmed it.
Slight embarrassment after my comments on anagrams yesterday being generally easier to solve than the cryptic clues when it took so long to see MOISTEN and my LOI.
Nice QC though.
FOI: ANGELIC (saw that one straight away!)
LOI: ARDENCY
COD: WITHDRAWN
Thanks to Juji and John
10:19 for me. SCRUMP made me smile, remembering the line in Red Dwarf: “we’d go scrumping for cars”. Didn’t fully parse STREAM, my LOI.
Thanks to Juji and John.
No problems with the more unusual words but just very, very slow today. No idea why. Spent ages parsing WITHDRAWN. JARLSBERG is one of my favourite cheeses so no problems there. . LOI GLUCOSE. Really liked MATURE. Thanks both.
Normal time until I got stuck on DING-DONGING at the end. Put the puzzle down and came back to it; many minutes added.
Unknown DOJO taken on trust.
David
Do not like ‘tender’ for nurse. To nurse is to tend. A nurse is not a tender.
When solving I accepted it as standard crosswordese like flower cluing a river, but having read your comment I checked and confirmed that Collins lists tender as a person who tends.
17 minutes (really fast for me), despite never having heard of DOJO, ARDENCY or that meaning of ARC.
ANGELIC, LAP UP and SCRUMP got me started and I made good progress around the grid, using checkers as they came available. I wasn’t at all sure about DING DONGING and ARC, a calculated guess, was my LOI.
Many thanks to John and Juji.
👏
9:46 and felt lucky to finish in under 10 after a very mixed post-travel session of catching up that included a PB for the year and a visit to the Club. Thank goodness there were enough crossers to give me SCRUMP, which I still haven’t managed to learn after several encounters. Maybe some folk etymology will help–stolen fruit is sweeter, scrumped apples are scrumptious.
Several other DNKs: COS, DING-DONG as a fight, CHOC ICES, ARDENCY. Many entertaining clues, of which my favorites include DOJO and WOODPECKERS. COD to WITHDRAWN for the misdirections.
Some offbeat definitions (ARC, NURSE, STREAM) made this feel a bit like a little sister to the 15×15.
Thanks Juji and John.
Funny thing about Cos; Greek has only kappa as the K sound so it is written Kos. Why do we insist on using the wrong letter? And why do we use ph to transliterate Greek Fi/Phi (as in phone/fone?) The Germans use F why don’t we?
Indeed so many quandaries about foreign names. Lyons?
Couldn’t be bothered to time myself, but I was – as ever – embarrassingly slow. Bad end to another bad week. No improvement, no enjoyment.