Times Quick Cryptic 1600 by Wurm

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Solving time: 10 minutes. A milestone puzzle but I can’t find anything to mark the occasion other than a customary excellent offering from Wurm. As I always note on these occasions (they always fall on my blogging days) this is actually the 1601st Quick Cryptic because an unnumbered puzzle was published on-line on Christmas Day 2014.

I would mention that the 15×15 may be worth a go today for those with aspirations to move up to it. There are two or three words I wasn’t familar with but the wordplay was helpful. Some of the other clues would not have been out of place here.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.

Across
1 Fortunate even then as spoilt (6-4)
HEAVEN-SENT : Anagram [spoilt] of EVEN THEN AS
7 Unknown state car carrying bishop (5)
LIMBO : LIMO (car) containing [carrying] B (bishop)
8 Run to corrupt politician making bid (2-5)
NO-TRUMP : If only! Anagram [corrupt] of RUN TO, then MP (politician).
10 It can go on spreading disease (9)
CONTAGION : Anagram [spreading] of IT CAN GO ON
12 Unrest curtailed in city (3)
RIO : RIO{t} (unrest) [curtailed]
13 Doctor taking walk round reveals stratagem (6)
GAMBIT : GAIT (walk) containing [round] MB (doctor)
15 Princess lives with elderly European (6)
ISOLDE : IS (lives), OLD (elderly), E (European). The legendary Irish princess perhaps best known now from Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde.
16 Answer given by Roman Catholic in Bow (3)
ARC : A (answer), RC (Roman Catholic)
17 Scandinavian wearing no pants (9)
NORWEGIAN : Anagram [pants] of WEARING NO. Today’s most amusing clue!
20 Call promissory notes questionable (7)
DUBIOUS : DUB (call), IOUS (promissory notes). I’ve seen those promissory notes somewhere else this morning!
22 Believer from Nazareth in dungeon (5)
HINDU : Hidden in [from] {nazaret}H IN DU{ngeon}
23 Supporter has complaint about new player (10)
BENEFACTOR : BEEF (complaint) containing [about] N (new), ACTOR (player)
Down
1 Mum stuffs chicken for Hercules (2-3)
HE-MAN : MA (mum) contained by [stuffs] HEN (chicken). Does anyone remember Steve Reeves as Hercules Unchained?
2 Love helping after a party (9)
ADORATION : A, DO (party), RATION (helping)
3 Boredom to an extent rotten nuisance (5)
ENNUI : Hidden in [to an extent] {rott}EN NUI{sance}
4 Drinker very troublesome to start with (3)
SOT : SO (very), T{roublesome} [to start with]
5 Ne plus ultra unusually dull (7)
NEUTRAL : Anagram [unusually] of  NE + ULTRA
6 Scoundrel, British, to go without protection (10)
BLACKGUARD : B (British), LACK (go without), GUARD (protection)
9 Becoming number one in France — this requires capital (6,4)
PROPER NOUN : PROPER (becoming), NO (number), UN (one in France). A definition that must be obeyed in Times crossword clues.
11 Sunshine altered temperature in shelter (6,3)
NISSEN HUT : Anagram [altered] of SUNSHINE, then T (temperature). Invented by Lt.-Col. Peter Nissen (1871–1930) a Nissen hut is a tunnel-shaped construction of corrugated iron with a cement floor.
14 Carriage cutting horse in two — that’s ghastly (7)
MACABRE : CAB (carriage) contained by [cutting] MARE (horse)
18 Jamaican sectarian overthrows an emperor (5)
RASTA : A (an) + TSAR (emperor) reversed [overthrows]
19 Victor beginning to go red (5)
INNER : {w}INNER (victor) [beginning to go]. Collins has: ‘inner’ archery –  the red innermost ring on a target.
21 United were victorious according to report (3)
ONE : Sounds like [according to report] “won” [were victorious]

47 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1600 by Wurm”

  1. Biffed a couple–NO-TRUMP, BLACKGUARD, PROPER NOUN–parsing post-submission. INNER was a problem: it took me a while to figure out the clue and remember the word, which I only knew from cryptics; and I didn’t know it was red. 5:27.
  2. I was most upset when the Right Hon. Member for Leighton Buzzard South-West added ‘If only!’ to his esteemed blog. And that Mr. Worm had used the word ‘corrupt’ in the cluing at 8 ac. Blatant politicking within the sacred confines of Crosswordland! Whatever next! Wash your mouths out with Mrs. Ingraham’s Carbolic HydrochloroQueen!

    FOI 2dn ADORATION – let’s not go there…

    LOI 21dn the special ONE…..

    COD 17ac NORWEGIAN – tee-hee!

    WOD NO-TRUMP!

    This was an excellent QC all round. The Worm has turned!

  3. 10 mins with typo Blackguaad. Blame the keyboard.

    LOI benefactor.
    COD proper noun, the wordplay reminds me of the song Bo le Lavabo by Vincent Lagaf.

      1. Dear Flash – I was just introduced to Vincent Lagaf.
        I strongly advise Jacktt not to go there. A blackguaad indeed!
        1. Well it was number 1 around the time I was on a french exchange so I remember it very well.

          Better than Garage anyway!
          Hope lockdown not too bad.

  4. Well out of my depth today. All green in a shade under 30 but if the Chambers Crossword Dictionary hadn’t come off the shelf I’d still be staring at a partially filled grid. Nothing until 8a and then only 3 acrosses on the first pass. Downs started better with four in a row but then slowed markedly and the rest were a struggle. BLACKGUARD was where the dictionary came down, never heard of it, nor of ISOLDE. PROPER NOUN was LOI, just couldn’t see what was going on – and failed to spot what N_U_ was – the PROPER bit came straightaway after that.

    Expected to come here and find others had similarly suffered, so disappointed to hear all has gone so well for you all! I’ll have to mark this one down as being off wavelength.

  5. 9 seconds over 10 minutes which was disappointing until I saw that this equals less than 2K. Very enjoyable all round – I’ve even spent a few minutes post solve searching for a comet (Heaven sent benefactor) visible in 1600 (without any success). COD to the excellent 8ac.
  6. A very nice puzzle with lots of clever and humorous clues. It all seemed to go very smoothly and I expected my time to be a bit lower. Still, I was better than 2 mins under target and pleased, like Chris, to be closer to K (in my case 2.3K which is pretty good for me on a Monday). Biffed INNER (thanks, Jack) but my favourites today were ISOLDE, NORWEGIAN, and COD NO-TRUMP. Thanks to Wurm and Jack. John M.

    Edited at 2020-04-27 08:04 am (UTC)

  7. Well we have Trump followed by Contagion. Or am I reading too much into it – must rinse with detergent. On the wavelength for this, possibly because I had my fastest time ever on the 15×15, just over 10 minutes for this. Glad to get Proper Noun as the vocabulary clues usually trip me up. Nearly biffed Mucable instead of Macabre! Good puzzle and thanks blogger.
    1. I have just joined you in having my fastest ever time on today’s 15×15. Given the larger grid, it seemed to be marginally above QC difficulty today – unbelievable. Thanks for the tip. John M.
  8. Corrupt politcian – superb clueing.

    Edited at 2020-04-27 08:24 am (UTC)

  9. 13 minutes, with lots to enjoy here. All the acrosses went straight in, in order, until I got to GAMBIT which ended up being LOI after MACABRE fell. I liked PROPER NOUN, NO TRUMP and NORWEGIAN, but was less happy with the homophone at 21d. Thanks Jackkt and Wurm.
    1. It’s interesting that you have misgivings about the homophone, Rotter. Could I ask you to expand on that please? The only alternative that comes readily to mind is that some people (northern mainly?) say ‘one’ to rhyme with “John” but then I thought they’d pronounce “won” that way too.
      1. I’m northern and I say ONE to rhyme with John, but WON to rhyme with Bun.
      1. Like John Dun, I rhyme one with John and won with Dun, or bun, whichever you prefer.
  11. Started off with SOT and kept going without holdups. Finished with PROPER NOUN. 6:52. Thanks Wurm and Jack.
  12. A clever and enjoyable puzzle. I couldn’t parse INNER for the life of me, even though I spent some happy time playing darts with my sons yesterday and they all shout “red bits!” whenever anyone needs a bullseye. And it turns out that I mis-parsed BENEFACTOR, using BEE for “complaint” (bee in his bonnet) and wondering why “factor” was “player”. Durr. Otherwise few hold ups though ISOLDE and GAMBIT both required a second visit. All done and dusted in 2K for a Decent Enough Day For A Monday.

    FOI HEAVEN SENT, LOI (by some distance) BENEFACTOR, COD NORWEGIAN (I sniggered).

    Thanks Wurm and Jack.

    Templar

  13. …. it’s gonna be”, as Len Barry sang in his 60’s hit “1-2-3”. At no stage does he pronounce the first word of the title as “won”. That clue is a blot on an otherwise excellent QC.

    8A is undoubtedly my QC Clue of the Year so far – and having LIMBO and CONTAGION either side of what many of us wish for makes for a most acceptable sandwich.

    FOI HEAVEN-SENT
    LOI GAMBIT
    COD NO-TRUMP
    TIME 0.8K

    1. A few years ago, when the Times was still running a clue contest, somebody came up with the clue of the century for TRUMPERY. I’d repeat it here if I could remember it, but do look it up if you can.
  14. I thought that this was a top quality QC, with plenty to think about but with very fair wordplay.
    I had a complete mindblank for 9d, where even with all the checkers in place, understanding the definition and the NOUN bit worked out I had to resort to an alphabet trawl before the penny dropped. I thought the surfaces were excellent and there were too many good clues to pick one out. Finished in 12.23.
    Thanks to Wurm and jackkt
  15. I groaned inwardly when I saw we had a Wurm offering today as I thought I was in for a lengthy test (i.e. over an hour), but it actually “only” took 42:43, which, given how many clues I circled (meaning I hadn’t heard of the word or wanted to check the word play on the blog) I was pleased with. Plenty of excellent clues to make one think, but nothing that held me up so long it became frustrating, so overall an excellent puzzle. I assume “No trump” is a bid in a card game. Would I be right to guess bridge? LOI 18d, COD 23a.
  16. Oh, dear…. I don’t get many of those but when I do, it’s very disappointing. Like Mendesest, I found this really hard. I was held up by so many red herrings. For instance, in 7 across, (LIMBO) , I was nonplussed at trying to find a word that contained X or Y based on “unknown ” plus B for “bishop”. I could not get beyond SCHEME for 13 across, (GAMBIT) , even though I couldn’t parse it. Led astray by “new” in 23 across (BENEFACTOR ) , I kept trying to include an anagram of “player ” into my answer, an error which was compounded by my unparsable offering of HACKNEY in 14 down – actually MACABRE – (my incorrect answer, in turn, coincided rather unfortunately with the aforementioned SCHEME of 13 across ). DNK Isolde, 15 across. Even with the crossers, I could not answer 19 down as I had no idea that INNER could mean “red “.. OMG… What a dog’s dinner I made of this. Ah, well. Tomorrow is another day… Thanks, Jackkt, for the blog and thanks, too, to Wurm even though I was utterly, totally, irrevocably defeated by you today.
  17. On paper today and on Wurm’s wavelength. Needed a long pause at the end to see GAMBIT. Other than that an enjoyable journey through some excellent clues. Finished in about 11 minutes.I thought MACABRE was tricky and I needed the M for Gambit.
    COD to Norwegian but lots of good stuff. David

  18. I thought this was all going reasonably well, even managing to get Isolde from the cryptic straight away, but after 25mins I came to a halt with 9d, 23ac and 19d still to go. I should have stopped to have a cup of tea, but carried on, reluctantly entering my initial idea of Inner for red in 19d (not a great clue). I also finally accepted that 9d had nothing to do with Pont Neuf, biffed the now obvious answer, and then saw the parsing. That just left 23ac, and a few more minutes looking at Bra and Fan before deciding that the definition must be supporter, allowing me to cross the line just short of 35mins. Tough start to the week, although mostly self-inflicted. Invariant

    PS Today’s 15×15 is indeed very approachable, with just a handful of clues where you have to trust the cryptic no matter how odd the answer looks.

    Edited at 2020-04-27 03:35 pm (UTC)

    1. I was racing along at first but then slowed down and had exactly the same 3 left after about 18 minutes. After another 5 minutes, failing to complete, I wandered away. When I returned shortly afterwards I managed 9d, then 23a and after that I had to accept that INNER which I had thought of in the first instance was in fact correct. I had no idea that red had anything to do with targets! MM

      FOI: HE-MAN
      LOI: INNER
      COD: NORWEGIAN with a nod to NO-TRUMP – I’m with you there Jacckt!

      1. I know, inner/red is a bit specialised for a QC, Wurm could have been a bit more friendly by using something like ‘central’ as the definition.
  19. A lovely way to start the week. 11 D was new to me. Have had some success with the 15 x 15 as of late. Today was only stymied by two words. Would not have been able to get there without First having spent months on the QC.
  20. I always hope that Mondays are easier but definitely not today. I’ll refrain, with some difficulty , from commenting on 8a, and say my cod was 17a (wasted time trying to work out what else he might be wearing).
    The trouble with cryptical crosswords is one is supposed, not to know a lot about a few things, but a little about a lot of things. Hence my total ignorance about anything at all to do with darts.

    Diana

  21. ps I see from my diary that I would have been in the Med as portrayed above this week. Sad.

    D.

  22. I’m afraid it was a DNF for me as well.

    What started off reasonably straightforward left me scratching me head. Spelling 17ac “Norwegian” incorrectly didn’t help!

    Put “Blackbeard” in for 6dn, grumbled about the parsing (which I obviously had wrong), then couldn’t get 13ac. 9dn just passed me by.

    Assuming the “plus” for 5dn is just a neat bit of misdirection to make it look like a bit of French.

    FOI – 7ac “Limbo”
    LOI – DNF
    COD – 5dn “Neutral”

    Thanks as usual.

    Edited at 2020-04-27 12:42 pm (UTC)

  23. What an enjoyable puzzle – nice level,of difficulty but smooth running all the way (thank you Wurm). We were on target for one of our top 10 finishes but Mrs Peel had to attend to the tumble dryer….

    FOI: heaven sent
    LOI: proper noun
    COD: Norwegian

    Thanks Jack for the blog and the heads up on the 15×15

  24. Did not get INNER or BENEFACTOR or ISOLDE, woe is me, despite racing start. Hence DNF.
    1. And had to look up BLACKGUARD as I only knew the more common spelling, Blaggard.
      1. Common spelling? I’ve never seen anything other than ‘blackguard’, although ‘blaggard’ does follow the pronunciation. It’s not in ODE, at least.
        1. I admit I should have checked a proper dictionary but it’s on Google etc blaggard. Maybe Australian spelling?!
  25. … and no major holdups for an 8 minute solve. Only real hesitation was over 19A Inner – answer was clear once I had the checkers and I assumed there was a sport somewhere where the inner part of the target was red!

    Enjoyed 22A Hindu. Of all the many rulers and cultures to have controlled the Holy Land down the centuries, I don’t think any have been Hindu.

    Many thanks to Wurm and to Jack for the blog.
    Cedric

  26. So will have a go later.

    I enjoyed today’s QC. I liked the semi-clad NORWEGIAN.

    LOI was BENEFACTOR, to bring up 8:52, for an above average difficulty puzzle for me.

  27. Was the use of “blaggard” in a letter to the editor last week a similar phenomenon, denoting a spelling that is legitimate in its context, this time Irish English, but for which no authority is to be found in the English dictionary? The letter writer was quoting his father: “Football is a gentleman’s game played by blaggards, rugby is a blaggard’s game played by gentlemen and Gaelic football is a blaggard’s game played by blaggards.”
    Countrywoman
  28. Hi all. I may be going stir crazy but was this not a Covid Nina? A contagion has turned me into a dubious sot In limbo suffering ennui affecting Norwegians Hindus et al dreaming of no Trump.
    Cheers. Johnny.

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