Times Quick Cryptic 1816 by Joker: times_xwd_times

Times Quick Cryptic 1816 by Joker

You wait for a solve exactly 9 seconds over taget and two come along in a few weeks. Some of this was spent mulling over 12ac - let me know if I'm missing something here. Hats off to the two long definitions at 9 and 16dn with 9dn winning COD - 16dn had a rather simpler cryptic.

The definitions are underlined.

Across
1	Finish getting runs in place for batsman (6)
	CREASE - finish (CEASE) containing runs (R).
4	Tart and custard isn’t desirable in courses — just starters (6)
	ACIDIC - (A)nd (C)ustard (I)sn't (D)esirable (I)n (C)ourses.
8	Extensive notes showing how much policemen are indebted? (7)
	COPIOUS - notes showing indebtedness (IOUS) of policemen (COPS).
10	Share out a fee for passage on the way back (5)
	ALLOT - a (A), fee for passage _ toll - on the way back (LLOT).
11	Writing on the wall round gents (4)
	OMEN - round (O). gents (MEN).
12	Left gold for respected poet (8)
	LAUREATE - left (L), gold (AU), for (RE). I can't make ate=respected so have to conclude that the definition is respected poet and there isn't any parsing for 'ate'. Ususally in these situations someone points out to me the blindingly obvious which I've missed. Bernchn has come to the rescue - gold (AUREATE - meaning golden, gilded).
14	Theatre operative attaching end of arm to leg (9)
	STAGEHAND - end of arm (HAND) attached to leg (STAGE).
18	Spot calcium used in cosmetic cream (8)
	LOCATION - calcium (CA) in cosmetic cream (LOTION).
20	A taxi passenger’s last to be dropped some way away (4)
	AFAR - a (A), taxi passenger (FARE).
22	What’s in creel? Very small fish (5)
	ELVER - inside cre(EL VER)y.
23	Your setter has a completely confident step (7)
	MEASURE - your setter (ME), a (A), completely confident (SURE).
24	Walk street and go from side to side (6)
	STROLL - street (ST), go from side to side (ROLL).
25	Just book early for a change (6)
	BARELY - book (B), anagram (for a change) of EARLY.

Down
1	Safeguard two companies working (6)
	COCOON - two companies (CO CO), working (ON).
2	Former print media, say (7)
	EXPRESS - former (EX), media (PRESS).
3	Son has sexy photograph (4)
	SHOT - sone (S), sexy (HOT).
5	Conservative shock with chap meeting leader (8)
	CHAIRMAN - conservative (C), shock (HAIR), chap (MAN).
6	Letter of thanks after getting shown the way up (5)
	DELTA - thanks (TA) after getting shown the way - led - upwards (DEL).
7	Crufts regularly allowed meat on the bone (6)
	CUTLET - (C)r(U)f(T)s, allowed (LET). As far as I know, a cutlet doesnt have to be on the bone - but certainly can be.
9	Where Queen may entertain government or set up Order of Merit (9)
	STATEROOM - government (STATE), or upwards (RO), Order of Merit (OM).
13	Ground patrols round a country (8)
	PASTORAL - anagram (ground - as in coffee) of PATROLS around a (A).
15	Mostly disagree about us lacking concentration (7)
	DIFFUSE - mostly disagree (DIFFE)r about us (US).
16	What help one get a grip resolving perils (6)
	PLIERS - anagram (resolving) of PERILS.
17	Queen carried in pretentiously refined vessel (6)
	ARTERY - Queen (ER) carried in pretentious (ARTY).
19	Caught beyond fielding position (5)
	COVER - caught (C), beyond (OVER).
21	Give a long involved story (4)
	SAGA - give (SAG), a (A).

12ac: L. AUREATE

brnchn

February 23 2021, 02:26:51 UTC 1 month ago Edited: February 23 2021, 02:28:41 UTC

New comment

Chambers has:

aureate /öˈri-ət/ adjective
Gilded
Golden
Floridly rhetorical

Not a word I recalled, but it seemed plausible.

Fell in the DEFOCUS trap

Anonymous

February 23 2021, 03:06:17 UTC 1 month ago

Putting in DEFOCUS then confirming it with AFAR made the other crossings impossible. Of course now that I think about it I couldn't really explain where the O comes from...

kevingregg

February 23 2021, 03:09:47 UTC 1 month ago

brnchn has parsed it right. (Or at least it's how I parsed it!) I think it was ARTERY & BARELY that took me a while. 8:16.

jackkt

February 23 2021, 05:17:45 UTC 1 month ago Edited: February 23 2021, 06:06:37 UTC

10 minutes, so another only just within my target time.

I noted in the margin that I had never heard of AUREATE but on searching TfTT I find it has come up 4 times in the 15x15 including twice in 2018 and once in 2019, and I've never expressed a problem with it before. The answer LAUREATE was pretty much biffable today and made easier with some checkers in place.

mendesest

February 23 2021, 07:25:14 UTC 1 month ago

Struggled today. Held up for a long time in the SE by SAGA, ARTERY and BARELY. I couldn't parse LAUREATE — left wondering if 'reate' meant 'respected'. I was well misdirected by CHAIRMAN and unravelling that gave me my best moment. All green in 22.

eurcon

February 23 2021, 08:03:07 UTC 1 month ago

A slow but enjoyable solve.
FOI: COCOON
LOI: SAGA
WOD: AUREATE Which lead to my first contender for COD although there are many including 8ac and 6dn. My favourites 23ac and 17dn.
COD to 23ac.

johninterred

February 23 2021, 08:14:35 UTC 1 month ago

Not easy but not unfair. Held up at the end by ARTERY. Knew AUREATE so no problem with 12A. I liked the juxtaposition of COPIOUS and ALLOT. 6:35.

Blimey!

slackercracker

February 23 2021, 08:16:17 UTC 1 month ago Edited: February 23 2021, 08:50:10 UTC

That was a toughie for yours truly. LOI was 5d CHAIRMAN, but only after I finally twigged 10a ALLOT.
A bit of a struggle but I managed to complete it in about 50 minutes. A slow solve, even for me!
Today’s favourite was 1d COCOON.
Thanks Joker. A taxing but satisfying puzzle.

kapietro

February 23 2021, 08:28:25 UTC 1 month ago

13:24. A pretty steady solve. Stopped on 5dn wondering if HAIR came from hairy. No. Saw it easily enough. A satisfying completion. COD ARTERY

plett11

February 23 2021, 08:34:54 UTC 1 month ago Edited: February 23 2021, 09:52:08 UTC

Tough going today with my main struggle being to identify/understand the definitions, particularly in the SE. DIFFUSE, MEASURE, ARTERY and BARELY felt like they had to be pried out with a crowbar after much head scratching. With hindsight they were all fairly clued but I was just slow in working out what was going on. Finished in 16.19 with LAUREATE unparsed and my CoD going to COPIOUS.
Thanks to chris and Joker for the workout.

Good puzzle I thought

hopkinb

February 23 2021, 08:46:28 UTC 1 month ago

Bottom right was a bit sticky.
ARTERY, MEASURE, BARELY (I put in RARELY to begin with, but couldn't place the R) - never parsed LAUREATE, so thanks for "AUREATE", which as per Jack, will be filed away, and no doubt forgotten!
7:45.

Tough but tasty fare - no joke, though

oldblighter

February 23 2021, 09:36:19 UTC 1 month ago Edited: February 23 2021, 09:37:14 UTC

A good puzzle but, like others, having sorted out ALLOT, LAUREATE (biffed), and then CHAIRMAN, I came up against the SE corner. SAGA, DIFFUSE, BARELY, and ARTERY were all clever clues but tough enough to take me well into the SCC. I don’t think I’lll be alone today. Many thanks to Joker and to Chris. John M.

Lost in the SE

plymouthian1

February 23 2021, 09:52:04 UTC 1 month ago

20A I had as FARE, being the taxi passenger, with FAR (some way away) + E (last (of) to be). That didn't really involve "dropped" and didn't quite feel right, but seemed likely enough. That then made all the others impossible and I got too annoyed to work it through. Oh well...

cryptic - hidden meaning or difficult to understand

February 23 2021, 10:04:46 UTC 1 month ago

Am i alone in thinking 16D was beyond the pale? Without an s at the end of help the clue was impossible to construct into anything. Am i supposed to alter each word slightly to make a phrase and see if that might work, and if it doesn’t move on to alter another? That is just tedious. Perhaps i should have solved the anagram and then parsed it but i wasn’t confident it would be an anagram either. Some of the other clues were similarly unhelpful as remarked by others. I was pleased to finish the top half. Thanks Chris for explanations. DavidS

Re: cryptic - hidden meaning or difficult to understand

chrisw91

February 23 2021, 10:27:09 UTC 1 month ago

It’s the cryptic-ness of cryptics which make one clue really hard for some but easy for others. It’s how the clue is looked at - I find that I often get clues really easily after having put a puzzle aside for a while and gone back to it. I think it’s just a viewpoint thing.

PLIERS

1 month ago

cedricstatherby

gcook52

February 23 2021, 10:08:49 UTC 1 month ago Edited: February 23 2021, 13:08:44 UTC

I found this hard but I'm wondering if I stymied myself by attacking the 15 x 15 first. I breezed though the left of the main one, then tried to tackle the quickie and hit a brick wall. Finished in the end but it was a real struggle. Aureate is a bit obscure for a quickie in my view but no real complaints. Thanks setter and blogger.

Post a new comment
69 comments

Log in