Times Quick Cryptic No 1262 by Oink

Author   plusjeremyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Finished this one in 11’40” while looking over paint choices for a new apartment. Several hidden words and a lot of anagrams, so not a lot of trouble here. I was held up mainly by words I’d never heard of. I stand by my opinion that obscure vocabulary is not the way I prefer seeing Quick Cryptics get more difficult!

Across

1 £1000? [That’s] good money in Soweto (5)
GRAND – G (“good”) + RAND
Rand is the currency of South Africa.
4 Rotten old kipper. Have it for lunch? (4,3)
PORK PIE – anagram of O (“old”) + KIPPER
8 Painter has returned with article of desert origin (7)
SAHARAN – [ RA (“painter”) + HAS ] reversed + AN
9 Be sure about Her Majesty wearing this? (5)
BERET – BET around ER (“Her Majesty”)
A bit of a weak definition, no? Though I can’t deny a beret is something to wear.
10 Scornful [of] detective inspector’s letter (10)
DISMISSIVE – D.I.’S + MISSIVE
14 Thug crossing river channel (6)
TROUGH – TOUGH around R (“river”)
15 Part of joint actually undamaged (6)
INTACT – hidden letters in JOINT ACTUALLY
17 Girlie mag out of place on Papa[’s] religious trip (10)
PILGRIMAGE – GIRLIE MAG anagrammed next to P (“Papa”)
A bit of radio-alphabet-ese I did not know, but an easy definition with nine of ten letters.
20 Thieves, [and] the places they end up in? (5)
NICKS – double definition
The first is a form of the verb ‘thieve’, not ‘thief’; and the second is a slang term for prison.
22 Italian gent introducing knight to drunken orgies (7)
SIGNORE – N (“knight”) in anagram of ORGIES
23 Without a cap on … [or] (without) a lot else? (7)
TOPLESS – double definition
The first, like a bottle; the second, like a person with nothing on their upper half.
24 Panic after head resigns? [It’s] a mistake (5)
ERROR – TERROR without the first letter

Down

1 Fight for breath when restrained by medic (4)
GASP – AS inside GP (“medic”)
2 Pain for which Swansea chemist has the answer (4)
ACHE – letters inside SWANSEA CHEMIST
3 Small pistol socialist turned on lookalike (9)
DERRINGER – RED reversed + RINGER
4 Dad grabbing an old woman[’s] hat (6)
PANAMA – (PA outside AN) + MA
5 Polish food? Avoid the starter (3)
RUB – GRUB without the first letter
6 Freedom fighter wounded in Sparta (8)
PARTISAN – anagram of IN SPARTA
I didn’t know this synonym of ‘guerilla’.
7 French in agreement, [making] earnest request (8)
ENTREATY – EN + TREATY
11 They say wickedness excited Jewish congregation (9)
SYNAGOGUE – homophone of SIN + AGOG
12 Get a move on after bungling set point (4,2,2)
STEP ON IT – anagram of SET POINT
13 Paper headgear jester wears? (8)
FOOLSCAP – FOOL’S CAP
Threw this one in last, on a wing and a prayer.
16 Diverts less than half of hippopotamuses (6)
AMUSES – 6/14ths of HIPPOPOTAMUSES
18 North African [needing] accommodation on way up (4)
MOOR – ROOM reversed
19 Bluebeard occasionally [has] lascivious look (4)
LEER – every other letter of BLUEBEARD
21 Take action against / this woman (3)
SUE – double definition
A beret is worn, and Sue is a woman.

38 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1262 by Oink”

  1. I thought I was heading for a fast time as the top half flew in, but I was brought back to earth when I reached the SW corner. PILGRIMAGE was no problem, but I had to extract the rest like teeth. NICKS took an age until I switched to verb mode for thieves. I was then left with _O_LC_P, which also took an age, with a likely CAP at the end, I resorted to an alphabet trawl and then spotted the paper size. Just over my target at 10:15. Thanks Oink and Jeremy.
    1. Rather I was remarking on the similarity of these weak definitions.
  4. An easy one for a change, although FOOLSCAP may be unfamiliar; it was replaced, I believe, by A4 (except in the metrically challenged US). I associate PARTISANS particularly with Russia after the Revolution; I remember seeing the Kirov (or was it the Bolshoi?) doing a number honoring them, the dancers all in floor-length capes so it appeared they were skating on ice. First time in a long long time to get under 4′: 3:41 specifically.
  5. Fast for me at 10.24 but yet again a dreaded red square. Not a typo or deficiency in spelling this time, just a wrong answer. Left with S_E for “this woman” I bunged in SHE thinking I’ll look at that later and then didn’t. I was still mystified after doing a post-submission alphabet trawl. So thanks to Jeremy for the answer, I now feel a little sheepish and am sure I’ll be the sole victim of this clue!
  6. Not having the disadvantage of not knowing the words, this one was good. My COD was Foolscap.
  7. Similar to others it seems: a fast start in the NW finishing with a longish look at 13d. Had FOOLSCAP started with a Z my time would have been much longer. The word is very familiar but not one I’ve heard recently. 13:17 today. David
  8. Thought I was going to finish in under 10 minutes but it took me a while to get foolscap. Should have got that quicker – it was the paper size preferred for formal documents in my early days as a junior lawyer. Thank goodness all that nonsense disappeared years ago. 10:46.
  9. Back at work, a bit jetlagged.
    Below 15 again but with a silly typo in pilgramige!

    Last 2 moor and trough.

    Cod pork pie

    Thanks

  10. Had no trouble with foolscap – maybe an age thing. Took some time at loi 21dn – I had to argue with myself that ‘she’ couldn’t be justified until doh. 6:45 – very quick for me – although only just within two Kevins.
  11. ….at an image of Her Maj fully attired in her pomp, but topped off with a BERET.

    Easy enough puzzle, but an enjoyable solve with some smiles along the way.

    FOI GRAND
    LOI NICKS
    COD RUB
    TIME 3:34

  12. Good form continues with third ever sub 10. 8.22! Enjoyed 4ac. LOI 14ac which I thought was going to stymie my speedy solve till I read it out to Mrs soj and then got it before she did.
  13. SCC again. But satisfying nonetheless as Mon & Tues were DNF (rinB a bell) and a blog peek for ‘highly strung’. 28 mins Frankyanne.
  14. This flew in for what was for me a very fast time, but like Chris I then discovered that even at 6:42 I had only just broken the 2 Kevin barrier. Sigh. But still – a Very Good Day!

    More to the point, I thought it was an excellent puzzle, full of witty sparkle. I do like Oink’s puzzles, (s)he is a terrific new setter. (And I’m not just saying that because I was fast with this one, other ones have caused me a lot of head-scratching!) Thank you Oink, and thank you Jeremy. Do they have Farrow & Ball in the States?

    BTW, why is “bet” “be sure”? I am never sure of any of my bets, usually with good reason! Is it from phrases like “you bet”?

    Templar

    2. You can bet on it / You can be sure of it

      Edited at 2019-01-09 02:13 pm (UTC)

  15. 12 minutes and very small change for me this morning, with no real difficulties. Dragged DERRINGER up from somewhere – it must be 60 years since I last used the word, but the clueing was generous. I wasn’t unhappy with BERET – if one bets on something, it is good to be sure about it, although one wouldn’t make that deduction watching my usual performance on those rare occasions that I go to the races. Thanks Oink and Jeremy.
  16. Enjoyed today’s puzzle. Took me 18 minutes so I’m happy with that. I don’t know Oink’s clueing well enough to know if there is always a porcine reference to be discovered (or possibly 2 references if 14 across can be seen as such! ). LOI for me was 9 across which I agree is a startling image but also a weakish clue. Very much liked 20 across and 13 and 21 down. Thanks, Jeremy, for the super blog and thanks, Oink, for a fun start to Wednesday
  17. Thought I was going to finish in under 10 minutes but it took me a while to get foolscap. Should have got that quicker – it was the paper size preferred for formal documents in my early days as a junior lawyer. Thank goodness all that nonsense disappeared years ago. 10:46.
  18. Nothing much to say about this one, polished off in 8:18. I thought 16d was a bit weak. Thanks to Oink and Jeremy.

    Adrian

    Edited at 2019-01-09 11:22 am (UTC)

  19. This went in without too much trouble right up to loi 7d, where I could see Entreats but couldn’t quite get the parsing. Gave up after a couple of minutes in order to finish sub-20, and then saw why it didn’t quite fit when I looked at Jeremy’s blog. I enjoyed 3d along the way, having only recently listened to the R4 Dead Ringers Christmas specials, but my favourite today was 13d Foolscap. Invariant
  20. Pork pie – oink oink. Nose to the trough indeed. Over Christmas and before, I’ve enjoyed working slowly through the excellent Times Quick Cryptic book compilations – back in 2014/2015 at the minute – and always good to match with this great journal site….
    Today was slow – 31 minutes – struggling with trough and entreaty particularly – but very enjoyable. Yesterday’s 14 minutes was a shock for me, so it is coming together.
    Thanks all,
    John George
  21. First time ever under 10 minutes for me. If this becomes a more regular occurrence then I’ll have to start engaging with seconds as well – as it wasn’t that long since I could time my efforts with a calendar I tend to not bother with that.

    Having got a bit too over-excited at the under 10′ prospect I nearly blew it by mistakenly putting Trench for 14 ac but having corrected that mistake got Foolscap (which I’d heard of) and the LOI Derringer (which I hadn’t) to just sneak over the line at 9 minutes something.

    Only in cryptic crossword land could I (half) convince myself that a Tench must be some archaic synonym for a Thug……

    COD Foolscap

  22. Heading for PB territory until a momentary hesitation with my LOI, FOOLSCAP. I had it in my head, for no meaningful reason, that it was spelt ‘fullscap’.
    Thanks to setter and blogger.
    3’45”
  23. FOI 6d PARTISAN, a write in for me, and LOI the very clever 13d FOOLSCAP with only a little hesitation in between over the spelling of SYNAGOGUE and SIGNORE.

    I have been ‘solving’ the QC for just over two years but only in earnest since April 18. I started out with the paper copy and would pick it up and put it down throughout the day with maybe a third of the grid solved. I cannot now remember how I discovered this blog but I do remember I used to visit as a guest and found (and continue to find) it invaluable. A huge thank you to all the contributors but particularly to the bloggers who put in the hard graft unravelling the clues.

    Two years ago I was a DNF. Today 6:55.

    Edited at 2019-01-09 01:26 pm (UTC)

  24. A piece of trivia about foolscap: apparently, the name originated from the watermark (of a dunce’s cap). Haven’t used that paper size in over three decades now.

    Good puzzle. Thanks Oink and Jeremy.

    1. I agree re the use of the paper but I still file my A4 size papers in Foolscap Box Files.
  25. Thought I was going well after a quick start but had most of the difficulties mentioned in the posts above. SCC time of 19.23. I’m sharper early in the day – shouldn’t have waited until pm. Nice puzzle, though, thanks Oink. John M.

    Edited at 2019-01-09 02:29 pm (UTC)

  26. Nick (s) is used more frequently in slang to refer to a police station , “ You’re nicked “ Same sense, easy one for me
    1. Prison is equally referred to as the nick. “I’m in the nick for a five-stretch, spend most of the time banged up in me peter, matter of fact.”
  27. Many thanks to plusjeremy for the blog. Thanks also to all who’ve commented. Great to get your thoughts on the puzzle.

    @louisajaney
    Wish I’d been clever enough to think of sprinkling the puzzles with porcine references. All unintended, unfortunately.

    Wonder if TROTTERS might make an appearance at some point 🙂

  29. Very similar experience to yesterday’s solve with all bar one clue going in with barely a thought and then getting stumped on the last one. Today it was FOOLSCAP but fortunately the hold up wasn’t as stubborn today and I crossed the line in 9.16.
    Thanks for the blog
    1. Great! There’s nothing like completing your first, I still remember being amazed I’d finally done one.
  31. Hi

    Finished this in just over 18 minutes which is possibly my personal best. Struggled with beret though until the checkers were in place.

  32. Encouraging to hear of others progressing to fast times. I’m still in the SCC, but definitely improving with experience despite doing the QC only occasionally. Thought I might be on for a record time today, but then got held up in the SE, where I wasn’t sure of the spelling of SIGNORE, approximating it with SEGNIOR instead, which then made MOOR and LEER impossible. Took a long time to realise that _R_R wasn’t going to work, so ended up with 32 minutes, average for me but a bit disappointing. I guess the lesson is to be quicker to question less-than-certain answers. Nonetheless an enjoyable puzzle with many nice clues, my favourites being NICKS and SYNAGOGUE.

    Edited at 2019-01-09 09:39 pm (UTC)

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