TIMES QUICK CRYPTIC NO 684 by Hurley Friday 21st October 2016

Friday 21st October 2016

“And every one of them words rang true…”

The more blogging I do, the more I realize how difficult the setter’s art is. Consider the fantastic surface meanings of 9ac, 16 ac, 19 ac, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d and others in today’s offering from Hurley (who outed himself recently as a very famous person, from Cork and then Millwall, and most memorably Sunderland). Some solvers never look at the surface, and immediately try to deconstruct and then parse the clue; they are missing out. About average for me today (8 minutes, I’d be faster on paper).

By the way, this weekend is the 15×15 National Championships. Rather like the Olympics, best not to compare yourself with those who are there, but to watch, admire and learn.

All comments and feedback are most welcome.

ACROSS

1. A purist’s worked out on the first floor? (8)

UPSTAIRS – an anagram (worked out) of ‘A purist’s’. This may be news to our American cousins, where the first floor is what we call the ground floor.

6. Small fuss over drink (4)

SODA – Definition is ‘drink’, in the UK an addition to spirits usually, in the US a general term for soft drink. S = small + ADO (fuss) backwards (over)

8. Ineffective person with island politician (4)

WIMP – an ineffective person, ‘with’ = W, + ‘island’ = I, + ‘politician’ = MP

9. Sailor, southeastern, at a distance, I hesitate to say (8)

SEAFARER – Definition is ‘Sailor’, ‘southeastern’ = SE, + ‘at a distance’ = AFAR, + ‘I hesitate to say’ = ER

10. If coming back, dwell where it’s warm (8)

FIRESIDE – FI (if coming back) + RESIDE (dwell), a FIRESIDE is warm. All together now: “You can knit a sweater by the fireside, Sunday morning go for a ride….”

11. Cutting pastry (4)

TART – a TART remark can be cutting, a TART is a pastry. My LOI (last one in), short words are often harder and even then need careful parsing.

13. Replace pro? Ire develops in vehicle (6, 7)

PEOPLE CARRIER – An anagram (develops) of ‘Replace pro? Ire’. One of those odd expressions which has a specific meaning. One could argue that all cars are ‘people carriers’ but these are specifically seven-seaters, more seats and the vehicles would be minibuses and be allowed in bus lanes. Cue complicated discussion about MPVs, SUVs and the said PEOPLE CARRIERs.

16. Advanced just before Easter (4)

LENT – as in ‘advanced’ money. The forty days before Easter are a penitential season in the church calendar.

17. Flatter senior citizen after newspaper in call for help (4-4)

SOFT SOAP – an old expression used by my parents’ generation to mean ‘flatter’ (big up, not less steep). Newspaper (FT = Financial Times) in SOS = ‘call for help’, followed by OAP = senior citizen.

19. Cheapest tickets were here in the main (8)
STEERAGE – The word ‘main’ should trigger thoughts of the sea. Wikipedia says it all: “Steerage is the lower deck of a ship, where the cargo was stored above the closed hold. During the early 1900s many immigrants were too poor to travel on the upper decks, with wealthy passengers, so they were stuffed in converted cargo spaces which provided the lowest cost and lowest class of travel. The living conditions on the steerage deck were often horrible, with no bathroom facilities besides pots and pans. These horrible conditions caused many deaths due to unsanitary and cramped quarters. Gradual improvements to steerage class after the arrival of ocean liners led to its replacement by Third Class cabins.”
21. Get tree branch (4)
TWIG – To ‘twig’ means to understand or ‘get’. I always thought a twig was on a branch, but maybe this means something that branches off a tree.
22. Regularly consult old King (4)
CNUT – Danish king of England who is erroneously believed to have tried to turn back the tide. From CoNsUlT (regularly, every other letter). Sometimes Anglicised as CANUTE.
23. Fish move with difficulty (8)
FLOUNDER – Double meaning, a FLOUNDER is a fish and the verb means to move with difficulty.
DOWN
2. Resolved gripe about shameful unfair advantage (9)

PRIVILEGE – An anagram (resolved) of GRIPE about VILE (shameful) = PRIVILEGE (unfair advantage). An easy word to misspell, and to argue about.

3. Cree petitioner carries up old shelter? (5)

TEPEE – This is a down clue, so ‘carries up’ indicates a reversal. Nice surface here, a Cree is a Native American, and some Native Americans lived in TEPEES (variant spellings).

4. Instigate one new church feature (7)

INSPIRE – = ‘instigate’, ‘one’ = I + ‘new’ = N + ‘church feature’ = SPIRE. Some churches have towers, the Ordnance Survey still distinguishes in symbols between those with spires and those with towers, useful for navigating.

5. Put money aside to acquire old Italian wine (5)

SOAVE – SAVE (‘put money aside’) including (‘to acquire’) O = old. SOAVE is a white Italian wine, which my wife drinks.

6. Ultimately vacuous glib talk in splash (7)

SPATTER – ‘Ultimately vacuous’ = S + ‘glib talk’ = PATTER, SPATTER = ‘splash’.

7. Party supported by English female (3)

DOE – ‘Party’ = DO, above (supported by, this is a Down clue) E = English. A DOE is a female deer, start singing now: “Let’s start at the very beginning…”

12. Ask further questions about old article on pit (2-7)

RE-EXAMINE – Definition is ‘Ask further questions’; ‘about’ = RE + ‘old’ = EX + ‘article’ = A + (on, this is a Down clue) ‘pit’ = MINE.

14. I entered into clear understanding (7)

PATIENT – ‘I’ in PATENT (clear), one who is ‘understanding’ is PATIENT.

15. Some fly-half, redoubtable Spaniard perhaps (7)

ALFREDO – the Spanish name, in the clue (some) fly- h{ALF, REDO}ubtable.

17. Evidence of damage on female neckwear (5)

SCARF – SCAR (evidence of damage) + (on, this is a Down clue) F = female = SCARF (neckwear)

18. He’s sinful, awfully tempting and nefarious first of all? (5)

SATAN. Very good surface here, see introductory comments above. It’s the first letters of the words (first of all), plus the whole clue gives a definition, this is what some call an ‘&lit’.

20.Number brunette’s holding up (3)

TEN. This is a Down clue, so ‘brunette’upside-down includes the word TEN.