Times Quick Cryptic 1741 by Orpheus

Author   chrisw91Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Another speedy solve – not in the same league as my unusually rapid solve of yesterday, but swift nevertheless at 6:38. Yesterday, the long answers flew in but today my LOI was 4dn – a thirteen letter answer for which I needed checkers. To me the setters recently have been coming up with some corking puzzles which I’m thoroughly enjoying. I find I’m not doing every day as I have other things on – so maybe I’m just luckily coming across those that blow wind into my sails.

ACROSS

1. Grub Street journalist‘s worn-out horse (4)
HACK – double definition.
3. Very clean place where the French sought at first (8)
SPOTLESS – place (SPOT), ‘the’ plural in French (LES), (S)ought.
9. Rice dish originally taken by drunkard in Brazilian port (7)
RISOTTO – (T)aken next to drunkard (SOT) all inside Brazilian port (RIO).
10. Blow up, being rather uptight? Not entirely (5)
ERUPT – not the entirety of rath(ER UPT)ight.
11. Calm-sounding composition (5)
PIECE – homophone (sounding) of calm – peace.
12. Fashionable girl meeting an inhabitant of Mumbai, perhaps (6)
INDIAN – fashionable (IN), girl (DI), an (AN).
14. Futility of free spinet lessons? (13)
POINTLESSNESS – anagram (free) of SPINET LESSONS.
17. Female artist engaging quiet Nepali mountain guide (6)
SHERPA – female (SHE), artist (RA) engaging quiet (P).
19. Haggard equestrian? (5)
RIDER – here’s the one which took some pause. I thought this might have been a double definition – the equestrian is obvious plus some sort of meaning of haggard including care-ridden. However, having looked up for the blog, it turns out that Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction set mainly in Africa. A touch naughty for a QC? Still – in it flew and I carried on.
22. Woman‘s lines, penetrating even for a poet (5)
ELLEN – lines x2 (LL);penetrating the poetic version of even (EEN).
23. Godless little devil with evidence of debts (7)
IMPIOUS – little devil (IMP), evidence of debts (IOUS).
24. Distant object, a coin of low denomination once (8)
FARTHING – distant (FAR), object (THING). Award for longest definition of the day?
25. One who habitually drinks at home, without going outside (4)
WINO – at home (IN), without (WO) going outside.

DOWN
1. Dance requiring two wind instruments (8)
HORNPIPE – two wind instruments (HORN PIPE).
2. Class teacher initially involved in court action (5)
CASTE – (T)eacher inside court action (CASE).
4. Rapid growth of port airline being developed (13)
PROLIFERATION – anagram (being developed) of OF PORT AIRLINE.
5. Be inclined to accept start of recent craze (5)
TREND – be inclined (TEND) to accept (R)ecent.
6. Teach Europeans about old Continental coin (7)
EDUCATE – Europeans x2 (EE) about old Continental coin (DUCAT).
7. In the Kent area it’s where builders may be working (4)
SITE – inside Kent area (SE – South East), it (IT). If my calculations are correct, this definition equals the number of characters in 24ac – so a joint award.
8. Certify where cricket enthusiasts may be? (6)
ATTEST – cricket enthusiasts may be (AT TEST match).
13. Coffee English journalists dipped into thus (8)
ESPRESSO – English (E) then journalists (PRESS) inside thus (SO).
15. Breathing device provided by popular, healthy king (7)
INHALER – popular (IN), healthy (HALE), king (R).
16. Take clothes off before beginning to enter bar (6)
STRIPE – take clothes off (STRIP) before (E)nter. Decent advice depending on the sort of parties you go to perhaps?
18. Acted as administrator of church farm (5)
RANCH – acted as administrator of (RAN), church (CH).
20. Garment worn when sweltering in the outskirts of Delhi? (5)
DHOTI – a long loincloth worn by men in India. I’d heard of this – but not in relation to 16dn. Sweltering (HOT) inside (D)elh(I).
21. Part of meadow flower, primarily? (4)
LEAF – as in a page of a book or part of a table, perhaps. Meadow (LEA), (F)lower.

44 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1741 by Orpheus”

  1. You know it’s a fast solve when you clock in under 5 minutes and Kevin is nearly a minute faster. I didn’t understand SITE and RIDER and forgot to go back and check them, so I’m lucky I didn’t make an error.
  2. H. Rider Haggard wrote “She” (the “She who must be obeyed” of Rumpole et al.), giving setters a chestnut. ‘novel’? SHE (unless, of course, it’s an anagram indicator). (Similarly, ‘poem’? IF.) This might be a bit naughty for a QC, but any regular solver would get this in a second. 3:58.
  3. 7 minutes.

    Apart from “She” the other very famous title by Rider Haggard is “King Solomon’s Mines” which when I were a lad was pretty much required reading for boys of a certain age, and those who didn’t read the book probably saw the 1950 film starring Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger. The generation before us had watched Paul Robeson and Cedric Hardwicke in the 1937 version.

    This from Wiki on Grub Street (1ac): Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London’s impoverished Moorfields district…It was pierced along its length with narrow entrances to alleys and courts, many of which retained the names of early signboards. Its bohemian society was set amidst the impoverished neighbourhood’s low-rent dosshouses, brothels and coffeehouses. Famous for its concentration of impoverished “hack writers”, aspiring poets, and low-end publishers and booksellers, Grub Street existed on the margins of London’s journalistic and literary scene.

    Edited at 2020-11-10 05:34 am (UTC)

  4. Just a few seconds faster than yesterday for a second successive day under 10. Seven on the first pass of acrosses which is good and then a fair showing on the downs to leave some hopping about to fill the grid ending with HACK then ATTEST . Unlike yesterday which was fast followed by a standstill, there were very few write-ins today but also nothing that totally stumped me. I enjoyed IMPIOUS – couldn’t see what it was so filled in IOUS and then found it practically solved after the downs just having to add the missing M. Wasn’t 100% on DHOTI but knew they were something so trusted the cryptic, enjoyed FARTHING and had to take a second look at ELLEN, didn’t know what the Grub Street reference was doing – thanks jackkt – and didn’t know HACK for worn out horse (thought it was a ride) so filled it in on the strength of ‘journalist’ alone. Good one.
  5. Another speedy solve, starting with the 1s and working my way down the left hand side. The long anagram at 4d opened up the right hand side and, unlike yesterday, there was no sting in the tail. My only real stumble was that I’d always assumed that Mr. Haggard’s name was spelt RYDER for some reason (maybe it’s a golf thing), but the wordplay made the correct spelling clear.
    Finished in 5.53 with LOI ELLEN with my favourite being WINO.
    Thanks to Chris

    Edited at 2020-11-10 08:54 am (UTC)

  6. Another easy one, coming in a little faster than yesterday at 7:17. Enjoyed ELLEN and WINO. Didn’t know the Haggard reference until I came here
  7. A sub ten minute solve with steady progress throughout. LOI ERUPT, when I though EXULT was the only word that fitted, and is close to “blow up”

    RIDER is tough GK for the QC, but the definition of “Equestrian” and good crossers left little doubt.

    DHOTI an obscure word, pulled from the recess of the memory, as I recall that Churchill did not approve of Gandhi wearing it.

    COD: FARTHING, a write-in, but still a tidy clue

  8. A quick solve for me too with HACK first in, although I didn’t know the Grub St reference(thanks Jack), then nothing to hold me up and finishing with PROLIFERATION in 6:27. Thanks Orpheus and Chris
  9. Just inside my upper target of 15 minutes, so not so quick for me, although that may be because I’m not solving in my usual environment, but sitting in my car outside a dentists while Mrs Rotter gets subjected to some remedial work. Strangely, FARTHINGs appeared in a dream I had last night, first time they have entered my subconscious mind for many a year. DHOTI came quickly to mind, but HORNPIPE dallied. Nice puzzle, thanks Orpheus and Chris.
    1. I’ve just come back from the dentist myself! Broke the cusp off a molar last week. The dentist has filled it, but couldn’t use a drill, so I’ll have to wait and see if it lasts! Fingers crossed it lasts at least until the vaccine is widely distributed and we get back to a semblance of normality:-)
      1. Cracked an old root canal filling over the weekend, so had my tooth taken back to the brick (as it were) and rebuilt with a new post this morning. Going back in a fortnight for the crown. Mine used his drill – got fully gowned and masked up to do so. Looked like Darth bloody Vader – I hate the dentist at the best of times, so that did not make it any easier!
  10. A very good, enjoyable puzzle. I was immersed, yet again (I never start the QC these days until my wife switches off ‘Today’ at 9am). Seemed quicker than my actual time but I was within 15 mins all parsed. I enjoyed the long anagrams and also RIDER, IMPIOUS, ATTEST, and ESPRESSO (which so many people still mis-pronounce). My LOI was ELLEN even though the crossers shouted ‘een’. Many thanks to Orpheus and Chris. John M.
  11. A solver friendly puzzle from Orpheus I thought; and the fast times above prove that. My LOI was ERUPT which I needed a couple of looks at. Because I had a fast time going, I tried HELEN at 22a; reversing that added many seconds to my time but I was still home in 06:32.
    Another vote for WINO as COD.
    David
  12. Enjoyed this offering from Orpheus. A bit of GK needed, eg recognising Haggard as a novelist, Grub Street as a place where hacks might be found, and dhotis as a garment. Some nice archaic (?) nods, too, with HORNPIPE and FARTHING. Still all done and dusted in 10 minutes with everything parsed but ELLEN, my LOI, for which I needed Chris’s super-helpful blog. Thanks also, Chris, for the background detail about Grub Street – so interesting. Lots to like in the clueing but my CODs are, I think, HACK, RIDER and INHALER. Such great surfaces today – it made choosing favourites a hard task! Thanks once again, Chris, and thanks, too, to Orpheus.
    1. I’m sure you mean to thank jackkt for the reference. Grab Street journalist was a straight solve for me, being familiar with it from somewhere, so I didn’t expand for the blog. The10 minute times keep coming, I see. Onwards and upwards.
      1. Oh, goodness, yes, I did mean to thank Jackkt for the Grub Street detail! Thanks for pointing out my error and,sorry, Jackkt and thanks once again.

        And I really appreciate your noticing, Chris, that I have had a string of (well, ok, three)ten-minuters. So encouraging.

  13. Could not parse Ellen, so stopped in doubt, looking in vain for a poet.

    I am familiar with the Fleet St meaning of Hack ( e.g. Private Eye used it often) but a hack is normally a riding horse as opposed to a hunter or race horse. Worn-out horse is a secondary meaning, I see, but then crosswords are full of secondary meanings, alas. (Interesting to know about Grub Street)

    Liked Wino, Farthing, Attest (we may have had this recently). Knew Rider Haggard so no problem there.

    Yes, feel faintly irritated when I pronounce Espresso correctly and am corrected.

    Thanks all, as ever.

    Edited at 2020-11-10 10:29 am (UTC)

  15. Having been on for a sub-15 yesterday, which ended in a DNF in over double that, I thought I was on for one again today, but sorting out PROLIFERATION ended up taking me over. 16:35 is still my 4th fastest ever though so I can’t complain. RIDER went in easily as I started reading my son King Solomon’s Mines just a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I didn’t get very far as he still wasn’t engaged after a couple of chapters. Nor was I to be honest, so we went back to Anthony Horowitz. Don’t know where I’ve seen DHOTI before (probably on here), but somehow it came to me straight away too, even though I wouldn’t have had a clue what it was if you’d asked me beforehand. LOI 4d, COD 6d. Thanks Orpheus and Chris.
  16. I thought I was a bit on the slow side of average today and, sure enough, the early posters above confirm that 23mins could have been better. No real excuses, as I knew Haggard from KSM and Lea for field/meadow. A bit slow with the long anagrams (no change there), and a hard to spot hidden at 10ac meant that the 20min barrier was comfortably breached with a couple in the SW outstanding. Ironically, given that I use one almost daily, my loi was 15d Inhaler. Invariant
  17. Well I wasn’t slow but I wasn’t fast either. I thought that maybe 1a was a triple definition with hack meaning grub, street journalist and worn-out horse but that is because I had NHO the Grub Street Journal. My FOI was RISOTTO. Both the 13 letter anagrams required quite a few checkers to solve. I struggled with the random ELLEN probably because EEN for even was unknown to me. IMPIOUS took longer than it should have and my LOI because I just wasn’t on wavelength was ATTEST. 9:45 Thanks Orpheus and Chris.
  18. A satisfying 19 mins to complete. Had a little hesitation around the SE corner (I DNK the Haggard reference nor what a Dhoti was) but everything went in fairly straightforward from the wordplay. Only other hesitations were 1dn “Hornpipe” which has caught me out before and 22ac “Ellen” which I nearly out as “Evlen” thinking it was an obscure poet.

    FOI – 1ac “Hack”
    LOI – 23ac “Impious”
    COD – 25ac “Wino”

    Thanks as usual.

      1. Perhaps. But what is “primarily ” doing then? I parsed it as Chris did, with “part” the definition and meadow=lea + f the construction, though part = leaf caused me a moment’s hesitation, I confess.

        Cedric

        1. Leaves are one of the primary components of flowers, aren’t they? Not perfect, but it certainly makes more sense than ‘Part’ being an extremely vague definition for a page or table flap/extension. By that logic it could define almost *anything*.
  20. Brisk business here too. I do love it when a 13 letter anagram just somehow breaks the surface of one’s mind after looking at the anagrist; I’m sure that the practice helps patterns emerge subconsciously. I’ve just finished reading “Plain Tales from the Raj” so DHOTI went straight in!

    FOI HORNPIPE, LOI ESPRESSO, COD IMPIOUS, time 1.7K for an Excellent day.

    Many thanks Chris and Orpheus.

    Templar

  21. After yesterday’s PB, I was just over my target today at 16 minutes.
    I’m not sure what took so long as the two 13-letter anagrams really helped with checkers and there was nothing too tricky in any of the wordplay.
    I enjoyed the straightforward FARTHING, ATTEST and INHALER – and my COD has to be IMPIOUS for its humour.
    Thanks to Orpheus for a great puzzle – and to Chris and Jackkt for the explanations.
  22. … as the GK was all familiar and the anagrams cooperated. Clock stopped at 6 minutes for one of my best for a while.

    Not much more to add; LOI 4D Proliferation, like Chris’s, and many thanks for the blog.

    Cedric

  23. AT 4:22, so dipped under 5 mins both days so far this week. Though the doorbell rang, and I pressed back on the browser button then went back in – never sure if that interrupts the time properly. Anyway, I think ERUPT was last in.
  24. We were definitely on for a very fast solve until we hit 22A and 23A. Eventually, after much (and I mean much) thought we worked out impious but Ellen went in as a complete biff. Thanks to Orpheus for a thoroughly enjoyable challenge which we completed in 17 minutes.

    FOI: hack
    LOI: impious
    COD: farthing (very amusing)

    Thanks to Chris for the blog and for explaining Ellen.

  25. On first read I despaired, but on working through slowly I got all but LEAF and ELLEN.

    I had to look up DHOTI, and thought 25a was VINO to start with.

    So a good way to spend a sunny lunchtime. Thank you, Orpheus and Chris.

    Diana

  26. ….can be truly dismissed as futile, so how do I enrol for my spinet lessons ?

    Straightforward puzzle, but that doesn’t detract from Orpheus’s beautifully crafted clues.

    FOI HACK
    LOI ELLEN
    COD POINTLESSNESS
    TIME 2:56

  27. 4:39 for me, which might be a p.b., I can’t quite remember! All went in on a first reading apart from PROLIFERATION and ELLEN for which I needed a few checkers. Could I ever beat 4 minutes on the iPad? Dunno! Could I do it with pen and paper. Also, dunno! I write so little these days that it’s possible I might type nearly as quickly (though far less accurately).

    H

  28. I think I’ve spotted the theme on account of the fact that I didn’t sit down to do this till 4pm UK time watching the the IPL cricket between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals (12ac and 20dn). Note also the answers Indian, Sherpa and Dhoti.
    Sorry for the delay. Minor domestic crisis so didn’t see the end of the game and have only just picked up QC. Congrats to MI.
    DNF in SE. Can’t believe I didn’t get Wino! Johnny

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