Times Quick Cryptic 1710 by Jalna

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

My solving time was 15 minutes for all but 7dn but I needed another 8 minutes to come up with the missing answer. I discovered later that my problem was a wrong checker supplied by the answer at 19ac although I had solved that clue correctly in my head.

I approached this puzzle under the impression that Jalna was a first-time setter but my records later advised that he/she has given us two puzzles previously in August and October 2019. My solving times on those occasions were 13 minutes and 18 minutes respectively, so with today’s total of 23 minutes it appears I am fighting a losing battle of wits against Jalna.

I was excited  to see a new font in the title of the print version of the puzzle and hoped this might be the result of someone at last taking notice of complaints about the ‘r n / m’ problem and doing something about it, but looking at ‘turns’ in 8dn it doesn’t seem to have made any difference.

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 Walk, run, climb using this (4,6)
STEP LADDER : STEP (walk), LADDER (run – as in stockings)
8 Covers ring with one large layer of earth (7)
TOPSOIL : TOPS (covers), O (ring), I (one), L (large)
9 Vehicle reversing by a line of boats (5)
NAVAL : VAN (vehicle) [reversing], A, L (line)
10 Drugs reportedly provide relief (4)
EASE : Sounds like [reportedly] “E’s” (drugs)
11 One willing to try schedule after turning back (8)
TESTATOR : TEST (try), ROTA (schedule) reversed [turning back]
13 Call for nurse before onset of tummy trouble (6)
ENTAIL : EN (nurse – Enrolled Nurse),  T{ummy} [onset of…], AIL (trouble)
14 Plenty of dogs free from lead (6)
OODLES : {p}OODLES (dogs) [free from lead]
17 Contemptuous father going back inside shabby bar (8)
DERISIVE : SIRE (father) reversed [going back] contained by [inside] DIVE (shabby bar)
19 Some asparagus needed for Italian sauce (4)
RAGU : Hidden inside [some] {aspa}RAGU{s}. This was the one that caused my problems with 7dn as I saw RAGU straight away but my pen wrote RAGA.
21 Complete power stripped from club (5)
UTTER : {p}UTTER (club) [power stripped from…]
22 Made beastly noise, tangled in hedge (7)
NEIGHED : Anagram [tangled] of IN HEDGE
23 Sports fans drink beers (10)
SUPPORTERS : SUP (drink), PORTERS (beers)
Down
2 Work as printer in family firm (7)
TYPESET : TYPE (family), SET (firm). Do typesetters still exist?
3 Support for piano (4)
PROP : PRO (for), P (piano)
4 Untruth maintained by Capone’s associates (6)
ALLIES : LIE (untruth) contained [maintained] by AL’S (Capone’s)
5 Gift provided by party people (8)
DONATION : DO (party), NATION (people)
6 Drive-thru screens are fascinating (5)
RIVET : {d}RIVE-T{hru} hides [screens] the answer
7 Extremely safe medical scan (10)
ULTRASOUND : ULTRA (extremely), SOUND (safe). My LOI as explained above.
8 Huge demo turns nasty around the middle of Whitehall (10)
TREMENDOUS : Anagram [nasty] of DEMO TURNS contains [around] {whit}E{hall} [middle]
12 Where to take off and dry football kit (8)
AIRSTRIP : AIR (dry), STRIP (football kit)
15 Study finishing early without the material (7)
LEATHER : LEAR{n} (study) [finishing early] contains [without] THE
16 Despite that 50/50 bet, nothing! (4,2)
EVEN SO : EVENS (50/50 bet), 0 (nothing)
18 Artist put up prices (5)
RATES : RA (artist), then SET (put) reversed [up]
20 At first, my intention’s not truthfully to make money (4)
MINT : M{y}, I{ntention’s}, N{ot}, T{ruthfully} [at first]

40 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1710 by Jalna”

  1. I thought I was heading for a pb until I remembered I was doing a Quickie; as it is I went over my goal of 6′. Slowed down a bit by not knowing STRIP, and by not seeing how LEATHER worked. And in fact, does it? LEARN≠study, alas. 7:32.
    1. It’s possible to argue a case but since this is first entry under ‘study’ in Collins I think we can take it as okay for crossword purposes: If you study, you spend time learning about a particular subject or subjects.

      1. I’m learning French / I’m studying French? My LOI and a head-scratcher, but I think it does work.

        Cedric

  2. I put in 19ac RAGU but mistook my U for an O. Thus 7dn was a complete mystery until the end which was 19 minutes and slower than my 15×15 time!!

    FOI 1ac STEPLADDER

    LOI 14ac OODLES (bloody poodles!)

    COD 12dn AIRSTRIP

    WOD 7dn ULTRASOUND

    I would recommend the ‘Biggie’ today over and above the QC!

    Edited at 2020-09-28 04:31 am (UTC)

    1. Thanks for that (not). I enjoyed the challenge and there were some great clues but it took over an hour of my day! John M. 😉
      1. Oops. On my phone and not logged in. That was my comment on the 15×15.

        Edited at 2020-09-28 03:20 pm (UTC)

        1. Apologies ‘old blighter’ – it’s the taking part that matters! I owe you an hour.
  3. Seems to be a day for wonky entry as entering tates for RATES made DERISIVE very hard indeed, the recent flurry of sires helped unpick that self-inflicted wound. The NE was my big problem area: ULTRASOUND, TESTATOR and even DONATION caused me difficulties but not as many as RIVET where I missed the hidden but thought of the word through ‘riveting’ but couldn’t persuade myself that ‘fascinating’ defined RIVET. Not a puzzle I enjoyed greatly, so grateful for 15×15 tip off Horryd.
  4. Accomplished during wakeful small hours, on two occasions dozing off then waking as an answer surfaced from the subconscious. I say “accomplished”, but It was a red-letter day (or night) thanks to my insertion of “entric” in 13a. Obviously this was a biff with no parsing – a trap for new players. But many thanks to Jalna and to Jack.
  5. I also couldn’t remember Jalna but I should now as I was right on the wavelength. 8:23 being only just over 1K today. FOI stepladder, last two were oodles then entail. I vote airstrip COD.
  6. DNF after 45 mins

    Not a good start to the week, was able to parse most of the 5 (Five) clues that I missed today, but could not come up with the answer. On seeing the solutions, it was fair to DNF rather than further bang my head against the wall.

    22A was a mess for me, as I though ‘hedge’=ER.

    I now see (thanks, jack) that 15A uses ‘without’ as an indicator for a “contains” clue which seems a bit obscure for the QC. I know there’s a church in London which uses it in this way, and the hymn “There is a Green Hill far away”. I recall as a chorister having it explained that “without a city wall” means outside, but that was just about the last time I heard it used that way.

    COD : EVEN SO

    Edited at 2020-09-28 08:15 am (UTC)

  7. Some chewy clues but also a lot to enjoy. I stared blankly at LOI TESTATOR for a couple of minutes before realising that rota backwards fitted nicely into the end of the clue and then had a very satisfying penny drop moment when finally understanding the definition.
    I also thought that AIRSTRIP, DONATION and ULTRASOUND were particularly good. Finished in 12.55 with the hope that Jalna appears more regularly.
    Thanks to Jack
  8. Thanks setter and blogger – just one hitch for me Ragu is clear enough in asparagus but I can’t find it in OED or Chambers
    1. It’s in Collins and Oxford online (Lexico), the two main sources of reference for Times cryptics. It’s also in printed Chambers if not the free on-line version.

      Edited at 2020-09-28 09:09 am (UTC)

      1. Thanks – especially for the tip about which dictionaries are favoured. My edition of Chambers is getting on a bit (1999 reprint) though it is a substantial dictionary and it it isn’t in there but that’s the lottery I suppose!
        1. My latest Chambers is 2011, which is where I found RAGU, but I have an older edition (2003) and it’s not in that.

          I’ve given up buying new dictionaries as they come out because Collins and the Oxford (Lexico) are available on line and kept up to date. But Chambers I would consider getting a new copy some time because the free on-line version has loads of stuff missing, like RAGU, despite its having been in the printed edition for at least 9 years.

  9. Wasn’t happy with my time of 25:41 (I have an SCC target of 20) until I came here and found that it wasn’t a straightforward Monday offering after all. Quite pleased with myself now! I enjoyed this despite slight panic setting in when I arrived at 19a before I managed to enter an answer. I rarely have the opportunity to tackle the QC in the morning so I rarely comment but I do check out this site every day and thoroughly appreciate all the help and insight given. Thanks today to Jackkt and Jalna. MM
    FOI 19a RAGU
    LOI 7d ULTRASOUND
    COD 22a NEIGHED
  10. Wow, welcome to the week from Jalna – that was tough and I began to wonder if I’d forgotten my espresso as the grey cells creaked their way to a 13 minute solve. Misery loves company so delighted to see the great and the good have laboured over this too (except for Chris – top work!).

    Didn’t help by getting fixated on “unite” for 21ac (“complete” = unite, and then I convinced myself that D was an abbreviation for power as in Direct Current and so if you took D from UNITED which is a club then … I know, I know).

    FOI STEP LADDER, LOI ENTAIL, COD TESTATOR, time 1.75K for a Just About OK Day.

    Thanks to the two Js, Jalna and Jack.

    Templar

    Edited at 2020-09-28 09:03 am (UTC)

  11. Good fun. All completed in 22 minutes – would have been faster if I hadn’t put DERISORY in at 17 across – I couldn’t parse it of course so knew it had to go. Very much liked STEP LADDER, TESTATOR (great clue ) and DONATION. Thanks, Jackkt for the blog and thanks, too, to Jalna.
  12. A tough start to the week which took me half an hour. Some very good clues but, like others, I took a while to fill my gaps as I tiptoed round and round the grid. LOI was ENTAIL (I totally missed EN for enrolled nurse – is that, like SEN, rather dated usage?). Jalna had me seriously off balance – I was even slow with NAVAL; TESTATOR stretched me, even when I was convinced about reversed ROTA to finish it. SUPPORTERS made me smile when it finally clicked and I liked AIRSTRIP, LEATHER, and EVEN SO. I’m afraid ULTRASOUND took me ages. Thanks to Jalna for a workout and to Jackkt for a crisp and helpful blog. John M.

    Edited at 2020-09-28 09:20 am (UTC)

  13. … and limped home in 20 minutes, my slowest for a while. And that was with aids!

    I share the view above that fascinating is not a good signpost for rivet – riveting maybe, but not rivet. And while I know SEN and SRN as old (now I think very old) titles in the nursing profession, I’m not sure I’ve ever come across just EN.

    That apart, some very good clues and no complaints at my time or Jalna’s setting – just a rather unexpectedly tough workout for the start of the week! COD 1A Step ladder – very clever surface!

    Thanks to Jack for the blog
    Cedric

  14. I thought this harder than normal for a Monday. And I haven’t seen Jalna as a setter before. It took me a few answers to get into his(?) style of setting.

    Got held up with ENTAIL as I wasn’t sure about EN for a nurse. There was a dim memory, but I’m more used to en being clued as “dash”! Anyway after a little pondering I went with ENTAIL and was happy to finish correctly.

    FOI NAVAL
    LOI ENTAIL
    COD STEP LADDER

    H

  15. Not a good way to start the week. A very slow solve, with far too many biff first parse later answers, indicating that I was never on the same wavelength as Jalna. Testator (in a QC?} took ages, and I must have looked at loi 13ac E*t*i* for the best part of 5mins thinking I was looking for a call, before I resorted to aids. I don’t think I have seen EN for nurse before, and it will probably be quite a while before it comes up again. CoD to 1ac, Stepladder. Invariant
  16. ….but completed within target. I would have preferred “ships” to “boats” at 9A, but that’s a minor quibble.

    FOI NAVAL
    LOI ULTRASOUND
    COD AIRSTRIP
    TIME 4:01

  17. I found this hard at first go, but gradually got the hang of the clues although it took me a while. LOI TESTATOR.
  18. Can’t think why I couldn’t get Airstrip. Quite difficult in parts, most parts actually.

    FOI Oodles. Also liked Utter and Ultrasound
    LOI Entail (looked up) and dnf Airstrip, as I said.

    Had to look up Rates too. Thanks for blog as couldn’t parse e.g, Testator though guessed it.

  19. Bang on 30 mins, but 10 mins of that was trying to sort out 13ac. Thought it had something to do with “entrails” – got the right answer in the end, but the wrong approach.

    Wondered about 6dn “rivet”, especially in terms of tenses, but couldn’t see what else it could be and once again the ubiquitous “oodles” took me longer than it should have for 14ac. Lots to like though.

    FOI – 3dn “Prop”
    LOI – 13ac “Entail”
    COD – 15dn “Leather”

    Thanks as usual.

  20. …but so glad I persevered and finally got there in 18 minutes – not as bad as I first thought.
    I didn’t parse STEP LADDER, ENTAIL or LEATHER so thanks to Jackkt for the helpful blog. My husband who worked in the newspaper business says that typesetters are indeed a rare breed these days other than for print jobs such as wedding invitations where embossing may be required.
    I knew ‘ragu’ from the French ‘ragoût’ and smiled at UTTER, SUPPORTERS and AIRSTRIP. My COD goes to ULTRASOUND for its logical definition.
    Thanks to Jalna for the challenge – I’ll be ready next time!
  22. I found this quite tricky, despite STEP LADDER going straight in. I had to apply the spare neuron to work my way round, and was held up at the end by TYPESET and finally ENTAIL. Was pleased to only just exceed my target time. 10:30. Thanks Jalna and Jack.
  23. This we found tough on our old brains and took us well over our target. Enjoyed some of the clues eg 14a and 11a. Thanks Jalna for a tricky start to the week.
  25. I think these days typesetters spend most of their time converting and coding content in a word processing format for output in a format that will render properly on to an online platform. A lot of the work has been outsourced to South Asia or Southeast Asia. And a lot of these suppliers now do some editing mark-up work too, increasingly using AI and machine learning, with little or no human intervention. Thus we are getting a lot more typographical howlers and nonsenses in the content. What are the publishers doing to maintain quality of content and its presentation, is what should now be asked! But I would say that, being a retired publisher who remembers the days of ‘hot metal’!
  26. Still not convinced about rivet. I feel there is a much better definition that doesn’t jar with the grammar. I too had never heard of just EN for nurse.

    Edited at 2020-09-30 09:22 pm (UTC)

      1. I was sure the EN was just my ignorance. I learn many new things and new words doing the cryptic.
  27. We stuck with it and happily completed a very challenging puzzle in around 25 minutes (so many interruptions meant it was hard to keep track of the time). Some great and unusual clues made for a very satisfying solve – even if it was 4 days later than everyone else (exceedingly busy week). Thanks Jalna.

    FOI: prop
    LOI: entail
    COD: ultrasound

    Thanks to Jackkt for the blog and for parsing “leather” which we had biffed.

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