Times Quick Cryptic 1091 by Rongo
Greetings from your newest blogger, Jeremy. I'm a long-time solver (more like 'attempter') living in New York City, and quite pleased to be giving back to the blog that has given so much to me!
I thought this puzzle had wonderful surface readings and (therefore) a deliciously tricky bent to the wordplay. Accordingly it took me 14 satisfying minutes to solve. A random observation: I noticed a lot of question marks in the clues, not all of which seem strictly necessary.
Across
| 1 | It’s turning into ursine creature unknown [in] animal book (8) |
| BESTIARY - ITS reversed ("turning") into BEAR ("ursine creature") + Y ("unknown") | |
| 5 | Anglicans primarily marry in a state of wonderment (4) |
| AWED - A ("Anglicans primarily") + WED ("marry") | |
| 8 | Tin not fashionable [for] muzzle (5) |
| SNOUT - SN ("tin", on the periodic table) + OUT ("not fashionable") Which came first, the muzzle or the muzzle? | |
| 9 | Accurately detailed exotic recipes (7) |
| PRECISE - anagrammed ("exotic") RECIPES | |
| 11 | English River Test keeping both sides of river connected to land (11) |
| TERRESTRIAL - TEES ("English river") + TRIAL ("test") containing ("keeping") first and last letter ("both sides") of RIVER Here, neither 'English' nor 'River' stand for their usual abbreviations. | |
| 13 | Outsiders from ailing European company, one that supplies temps? (6) |
| AGENCY - first and last letters ("outsiders") from AILING, EUROPEAN, and COMPANY | |
| 14 | Farm vehicle attached to box (6) |
| CARTON - CART ("farm vehicle") + ON ("attached to") Here, 'vehicle = CAR' is a red herring. | |
| 16 | Deceitful NI party allowed contents of house (11) |
| DUPLICITOUS - D.U.P. ("NI party") + LICIT ("allowed") + middle letters ("contents") of HOUSE | |
| 18 | Broadcast boss, one who’s simple-minded (7) |
| AIRHEAD - AIR ("broadcast") + HEAD ("boss") | |
| 19 | Expect an ounce, say, to be announced? (5) |
| AWAIT - A WEIGHT ("an ounce, say") changed into a homophone ("to be announced") My reciprocal version of this clue: Release a weight, say? (8) | |
| 20 | Boy with yen [for] peeress (4) |
| LADY - LAD ("boy") + ("with") Y ("yen", currency abbreviation) | |
| 21 | Require to enter hold, flooded above calf height? (4-4) |
| KNEE-DEEP - NEED ("require") in ("to enter") KEEP ("hold") |
Down
| 1 | Attempt to criticise party (4) |
| BASH - triple definition For newer US solvers: 'attempt = BASH' is chiefly British. | |
| 2 | Irascible stepmother strangely embarrassed? (5-8) |
| SHORT-TEMPERED - STEPMOTHER anagrammed ("strangely") + RED ("embarrassed") | |
| 3 | Bury law? I have, responding to input (11) |
| INTERACTIVE - INTER ("bury") + ACT ("law") + I'VE ("I have") | |
| 4 | Sword [in] poor repair (6) |
| RAPIER - anagram of ("poor") REPAIR And not, for example, ROPINO, ROPOIN, etc — that is, a 'repair' of 'in poor'. D'oh! | |
| 6 | Vigorously train to prepare egg whites for meringues, maybe (4,4,5) |
| WHIP INTO SHAPE - double definition Here 'train' is transitive in the answer. Technically, you do more beating and folding with egg whites, but that's just cleaving hairs on my part. | |
| 7 | House Democrat experiencing an upward surge? (8) |
| DWELLING - D ("Democrat") + WELLING (experiencing an upward surge) And not the House of Dreeling, as I initially thought. | |
| 10 | Additional circular shape in dish to make projections (11) |
| EXTRAPOLATE - EXTRA ("additional") + O ("circular shape") in PLATE ("dish") | |
| 12 | Feel unwell after hospital, a new doctor [giving] support for unsteady walker? (8) |
| HANDRAIL - AIL ("feel unwell") after H ("hospital") + A ("a") + N ("new") + DR ("doctor") | |
| 15 | Part of orchid denied [or] concealed (6) |
| HIDDEN - middle letters ("part") of ORCHID DENIED How delightfully self-referential! | |
| 17 | Prevent post getting broken (4) |
| STOP - POST being anagrammed ("getting broken") |
