Times Quick Cryptic No 703 by Orpheus

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Having been on holiday for a couple of weeks, this was my first QC in a while, and a very nice one it was too. Average-ish difficulty I suppose, but with lots of satisfying clues and a few good bits of misdirection that kept me over my target ten by three minutes. It might be easier just to change my target to 15 minutes, but then who wants to be self-satisfied just for the sake of it? It doesn’t guarantee leadership of the free world, but it certainly helps. Quite a lot of double definitions (seven), but in the main they were imaginitively clued – my favourite being 22ac for its lovely, slightly mysterious/seedy surface image. So yes, a very enjoyable puzzle, many thanks to Orpheus – and indeed also to the Rotter for last week.

Across
1 Bulgarian capital one’s sunk in upholstered seat
SOFIA: I (one) is sunk/dunked in SOFA (upholstered seat)
8 One who claims to be a senior academic?
PROFESSOR: double definition.
9 Show astonishment about king’s understanding
GRASP: GASP (show astonishment) about R (king)
10 Like big cat, one injured in row?
LEONINE: anagram (injured) of ONE goes inside LINE (row)
11 Delay serving prisoner with porridge?
TIME-LAG: or giving time (porridge) to a lag (prisoner)
12 A harsh-sounding accumulation
ACCRUAL: sounds the same (-sounding) as a cruel = a harsh.
16 See why a revised version is nonsense
EYEWASH: anagram (revised version) of SEE WHY A. Well disguised anagram fodder here.
17 Mountain regularly climbed the day before others?
EVEREST: EVE (the day before) REST (others). I liked the misdirection of the “regularly climbed”.
20 German composer embracing old truck-driver
WAGONER: WAGNER (Gernam composer) embraces O (old).
22 Person making obeisance in shady recess
BOWER: double definition, as in someone bowing, and a shady covering of branches. I fancied the shady recess might be related to the boughs of a tree, but no, it’s much nicer: of Germanic origin, with a bauer being a birdcage in modern German, and thus very descriptive of a covering of branches, although its original meaning was a small dwelling or inner room.
23 Dee can run all over the place, showing staying power
ENDURANCE: anagram (all over the place) of DEE CAN RUN.
24 Lecturer welcoming the old senior member
DOYEN: DON (lecturer) welcomes in YE (the, old-style)

Down
1 Vision? It’s an eyesore!
SIGHT: double definition.
2 Dull ship’s officer, one sharing accommodation
FLATMATE: FLAT (dull) MATE (ship’s officer)
3 Horrify a friend, seizing power
APPAL: A PAL (a friend) seizing P (power).
4 Absent-mindedness associated with sheep-shearers?
WOOL-GATHERING: a semi double definition. I’m tempted to ask for a semi double espresso at the next opportunity.
5 Exult about Irish writer, so to speak
REJOICE: RE (about) JOICE = Joyce, spoken.
6 It’s a set-up offering white wine
ASTI: the letters of IT’S A reversed, or set-up.
7 Well-behaved hospital attendant
ORDERLY: Double definition.
13 Where subterranean passages may be in process of construction?
UNDER WAY: another semi double definition.
14 Pip describes wonder identifying kelp, for example
SEAWEED: SEED (pip) describes/writes about AWE (wonder)
15 Hear that woman’s entering leather-worker’s establishment
TANNERY: TRY (hear) that ANNE (woman) is entering. I was a while parsing this.
18 Firmly fix half of them, initially backing press chief
EMBED: EM (half of them) B (initially backing) ED (press chief).
19 Autumn activity for stags up in Italian city
TURIN: RUT (Autumn activity for stags, reversing/going up) IN.
21 Gallery displaying supernatural beings
GODS: displaying our seventh double definition.

22 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 703 by Orpheus”

  1. Welcome back, Roly.

    Yes, a very enjoyable puzzle that came in on target (but only just) at 10 minutes

  2. I originally put 10ac (LOI) as LIONOISE but was deemed ‘unlucky!’

    LEONINE went straight in and I was home in 9.38

    COD 21ac GODS WOD Horrify

    1. Contributors- like your good self – occasionally recount that a mistake is reportd as “unlucky” – often enough to make me wonder if you are using an online service that chides if you get it wrong.

      Is there such a portal, or am I the subject of misdirection?

      Philip

      1. Phillip, I use the paper version, but I understand the online members version does give feedback. Mind you, I would have used a stronger word than unlucky for using eight letters in a seven letter answer. 😊 Invariant
        1. It doesn’t give feedback as such, but if you complete the crossword incorrectly online it comes up with the message “unlucky” after you have put the last letter in. In other words – “wrong, you idiot!”
  3. All done in 40 mins except for 12a accrual and 13d under way.

    Ran out of time at work so cheated and looked up synonyms of accumulation.

    Struggled to parse:
    15d, 22a.

  4. A DNF for me as I had put ACCRUED for 12ac, thinking crude = harsh-sounding. This left 7dn impossible to get. Anyone else have this problem? I’m not quite sure I understand the gods/gallery connection. Gribb
    2. The Gods is the highest balcony/section in a theatre, because that’s where the gods would have been, looking down on everybody.
  5. 20 minutes to complete this one, the last four of which were spent staring blankly at my LOI, 7d, where I couldn’t get porter out of my head. Once I worked out it probably started with a vowel inspiration struck. COD 12a
  6. 35 minutes today, with the 5d/10ac pairing holding me up a bit at the end. A few slightly unusual words to contend with, but fairly clued. My thanks to Roly for explaining 15d, which I just couldn’t see. Invariant
  7. COD ACCRUAL, and thanks for the info on BOWER. Thought I might be on for a sub-5, but was convinced that 10ac must involve TIER and hence TIGER somewhere. 5’14”. Welcome back roly, and thanks to you and Orpheus.
  9. Fourteen minutes for me today. I wonder if I will ever get around to learning the capitals of the world? On the plus side, BOWER went in quickly—UWE’s arts faculty is in Bower Ashton, just down the road from me. As it’s basically nestled on the edge of woods, I assume that its name comes from a similar route…

    LOsI the crossers of ORDERLY and ACCRUAL, which took at least a minute of staring each. WOD LEONINE.

  10. Welcome back partner. I hope your holiday was good. Nice blog. I also finished this in 13 minutes and found it enjoyable. FOI 2d, LOI 7d.
  11. Stuck with bier in my mind for 22a which slowed the sw corner until the light dawned, had not heard of wool gathering for absent minded. A pleasant puzzle, thanks to setter and blogger. Elin and Ian.
  12. I’m quite an amateur at crosswords. In awe of people who can get it done in less than 10mins! I don’t always complete the concise in that time. I finished within 40 mins, which I am happy with. I can occasionally beat 30 mins, but not often. I had to look up to see if there was a word “Bower”, and was happy that it meant shady place. Also checked if there was an Irish poet called Joyce/Joice, and of course, there was. FOI 1a, LOI 10a.
    1. I am fairly sure that this came up about 6 months ago, and stumped me then. Once bitten. . . Invariant
  14. I thought this was pretty straightforward until I came here and found that I got 10a wrong.I put in Lionise without thinking through the parsing : One is in there but not much else related to the clue.
    Enjoyed the puzzle. Favourite 2d. No time recorded due to another train-induced sleep. David
  15. I think this was another easier puzzle – after yesterday I was bracing myself for a struggle. Certainly less than 30 minutes waiting for the car to recharge en route to the northwest of England. COD 18d embed.
  16. “Ye” is not the old form of “the” that would have been “Pe” (I have used “P” in place of the character “Thorn”. It’s fine to use “Ye” for old “you”.

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