Weekend Quick Cryptic 78 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's Sawbill's turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here. 

LONDON MEETING. We are planning another London get together on Saturday 24th June from 11:30 at The George, Borough High Street, Southwark, Greater London, SE1 1NH. All are welcome. Your Weekend Quick Cryptic Compilers and several TfTT bloggers and regular commenters will be there. We are also expecting Mick Hodgkin, the Times Puzzles Editor, Richard Rogan, Times Crossword Editor and Pete Biddlecombe, Sundays Times Crossword Editor and founder of Times for The Times to drop in. The George no longer allows tables outside to be booked so some of us will arrive earlier at 11:30 to bag a couple of tables. There should be about 20 of us in total. Do come along if you can.

Before looking at the answers, if you would like some additional help, click the label below.

Hints...

Some hints and tips:

• How are your Italian greetings and farewells?
• The fish has been smoked.
• The engineer is perhaps best remembered for his designs for the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.

And click on this label to get the solution.

Solution and explanation of the answers...

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc,  {deletions} and [] other indicators.

Across
1 US President used to be nothing special (10)
WASHINGTON – WAS (used to be) (nothing)* [special].
7 Right now I am extremely nonchalant holding bomb (8)
IMMINENT – I’M, [extremely] N{onchalan}T,  [holding] MINE (bomb).
8 Rent's increased, we hear (4)
HIRE – Sounds like, [we hear], HIGHER (increased).
9 Negative response to gym being cancelled? (4)
NOPE – NO PE (gym being cancelled).
10 Sense from man before a group (7)
HEARING – ME (man) A RING (group).
12 Turned up and cooked rice for so long (11)
ARRIVEDERCI – ARRIVED (turned up)  (rice)* [cooked].
14 Sculpture embodying right quality (7)
STATURE – STATUE (sculpture) including , [embodying], R (right).
16 Very dark in Indiana and Kentucky (4)
INKY – IN (Indiana) KY (Kentucky).
19 Forget nothing when Timothy returns (4)
OMIT – O (0; nothing), TIM [returns] -> MIT.
20 Plain or new dairy confection (8)
ORDINARY – OR, (n (new) dairy)* [confection].
21 Picks someone up front before ballots (10)
SELECTIONS – S{omeone} [up front], ELECTIONS (ballots).
 
Down
1 Mature females without mature males (5)
WOMEN – W/O (without) MEN (mature males).
2 Captain's beginning to sell fish (7)
SKIPPER – [Beginning to] S{ell} KIPPER (fish).
3 Couple I encountered on the way up (4)
ITEM – I, MET (encountered) [on the way up] -> TEM.
4 Prepare to earn money? (3,5)
GET READY – Double definition the second a cryptic hint.
5 Different hero evolved over time (5)
OTHER – (hero)* [evolved] T (time).
6 Famous engineer in the end replaced by one in country (6)
BRUNEI – BRUNE{l} (famous engineer) with the last letter replaced with I (one).
11 All of us in England extremely concerned with etiquette at first (8)
EVERYONE – E (England) VERY (extremely) ON (concerned with) E{tiquette} [at first].
12 Fall in Mississippi (6)
AUTUMN – Cryptic definition.
13 Met on train by arrangement (3,4)
RAN INTO – (on train)* [by arrangement].
15 His Lordship, say, is frequently strict with the French (5)
TITLE – Alternate letters, [frequently], of sTrIcT, LE (the in French).
17 Battle many presaged to a degree (5)
YPRES – Hidden, [to a degree], in manY PRESaged.
18 Change as tide rises? (4)
EDIT – TIDE [rises] -> EDIT.