Times Quick Cryptic 1527 by Tracy

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I had a hard time getting started, flitting around the grid, and a hard time finishing, with several gaps in my knowledge. Probably my slowest solve for a few months! Hope you found it considerably closer to your wavelength or, like me, enjoyed the challenge.

Definitions underlined.

Across
1 Southwark infirmary for men only? (4,8)
GUYS HOSPITAL – cryptic definition. And (the first word was) my LOI, as I was trying to think of a nickname for the Royal Hospital for Chelsea Pensioners.
9 Anger about female bringing weapon (5)
RIFLE – RILE (anger) containing (about) F (female).
10 Do without it, as ban involved (7)
ABSTAIN – anagram of (involved) IT AS BAN.
11 Sold illicitly from sack by stage (7)
BOOTLEG – BOOT (sack) and LEG (stage).
12 Subject of article — me! (5)
THEME – THE (article) and ME.
13 Working spell without delay (2,4)
ON TIME – ON (working) and TIME (spell).
14 Dictator in regiment’s HQ receiving head of state (6)
DESPOT – DEPOT (regiment’s HQ) containing (recieving) the first letter (head) of State.
17 Wife leaving joiner for church officer (5)
ELDER – wELDER (joiner) after the ‘w’ (wife) is removed (leaving).
19 Lucky dip bishop organised, backing nevertheless also required (4,3)
BRAN TUB – B (bishop), RAN (organised) and a reversal of (backing) BUT (nevertheless). DNK this phrase.
21 One who wrote nonsense about the kid, perhaps (7)
LEATHER – LEAR (Edward, one who write nonsense) containing (about) THE. Another DNK – a soft leather and a plausible origin for the phrase ‘kid gloves’.
22 Better run island, one in the Bay of Naples (5)
CAPRI – CAP (better), R (run) and I (island).
23 Staightforward procedures involving one in poor health (5,7)
PLAIN SAILING – PLANS (procedures) containing (involving) I (one), then AILING (in poor health).

Down
2 Open University head under pressure (7)
UPFRONT – U (university), then FRONT (head) after (under) P (pressure).
3 Gain an advantage over nervous marshal at once (5,1,5,2)
STEAL A MARCH ON – anagram of (nervous) MARSHAL AT ONCE. Yet another DNK.
4 Fruit: love assortment (6)
ORANGE – O (love) and RANGE (assortment).
5 Game in which castle, perhaps, should be moved (4,3,6)
PASS THE PARCEL – anagram of (should be moved) CASTLE PERHAPS.
6 Find and copy (5)
TRACE – double definition.
7 Tolerant of knight that is breaking fast (7)
LENIENT – N (knight, chess notation) and IE (that is) contained by (breaking) LENT (fast).
8 Bed starts to creak — replace its base (4)
CRIB – first letters of (starts to) Creak Replace Its Base.
13 Partly coincide as regards circuit (7)
OVERLAP – OVER (as regards) and LAP (circuit).
15 Take undue advantage of don covering at university (3,4)
PUT UPON – PUT ON (don) containing (covering) UP (at university).
16 Peninsula in Russian region son overlooked (6)
IBERIA – sIBERIA (Russian region) with the ‘s’ (son) missing (overlooked).
18 Wee drink ahead of a play (5)
DRAMA – DRAM (wee drink) and A.
20 I must go in club that offers inducement (4)
BAIT – I surrounded by (must go in) BAT (club).

40 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1527 by Tracy”

  1. I biffed 5d, thinking (correctly, fortunately) that ‘castle perhaps’ had the anagrist. Neat clue, in that chess is a game in which the castle (all right, rook) can be moved. Demi-biffed 23ac, with the AILING secure; and biffed 15d, which I never did figure out until post-submission. 1ac (POI) took time to remember GUY’S. LOI was BAIT, where I just couldn’t think of BAT, until I did. 6:09.

    Edited at 2020-01-15 06:38 am (UTC)

  2. Another day and another target missed – 11 minutes this time – making four in a row, although I’d have made it inside 10 if I’d just biffed PASS THE PARCEL instead of insisting on parsing it before moving on.

    BRAN TUB aka ‘lucky dip’ has come up before, both in a QCand several 15x15s. Like PASS THE PARCEL it can also be a party game so I wondered for a moment if there might be a theme going on but it wasn’t to be. It’s more likely to be encountered at village fetes and fairgrounds anyway.

  3. 9.09 Started well enough but got stuck near the bottom thinking I was supposed to l know some obscure Russian geography at 16d but turns out it wasn’t. LOI LEATHER – didn’t know this meaning and likewise BRAN TUB came from the wordplay. COD to 5d

    NeilC

  4. About 20 mins.

    Guessed leather from the “the” and an alphabet trawl for the rest, didn’t twig why Lear = wrote nonsense or know kid = leather.

    Dnk bran tub but at least here the word play was ok.

    COD guys hospital.

  5. A good puzzle from Tracy. Like William, I was very slow to start and filled the NE corner before moving gradually, clockwise, around the grid. A whisker over 3K (all parsed) but it flew by because I was really absorbed. LOI was UPFRONT after I finally twigged GUYS (a good clue that requires either local knowledge, a stroke of inspiration, or a reference work). I liked LEATHER, PUT UPON and PLAIN SAILING but TRACE needed crossers. There were a few rather rarely used phrases (for want of a better description) so I sympathise with William. Thanks to both. John M.

    Edited at 2020-01-15 09:39 am (UTC)

  6. It came together for me but I thought it was verging on the 15 x 15 in places. I suppose one for example can argue that if you give a lenient sentence you are being tolerant of a crime, but I didn’t think it was necessary to use a thin definition when the clue was already a bit tricky.
  8. DNF for me as I just couldn’t get 21ac “Leather”. Shakespeare was never a strong point, so didn’t get the Lear reference. The rest went in around 30 mins or so.

    Overall, I felt it was pretty tricky and probably needed a bit of specific knowledge – 1ac “Guys Hospital” and 19ac “Brantub” come to mind. I struggled the most in the SE corner, especially on some of the parsing with cap=better being a new one on me.

    FOI – 9ac “Rifle”
    COD – 23ac “Plain Sailing” (as it wasn’t)

    Thanks as usual.

    1. On this occasion I believe the reference is to Edward Lear; English writer well know (to some at least) for writing nonsense verse such as the owl and the pussy cat. My own blank was trying to over complicate the Russian region. Hey ho. Sam
      1. That will teach me not to read the blog properly.

        However, I still wouldn’t have got it as my knowledge of nonsense verse only extends as far as Spike Milligan. Whilst I did think “kid” could relate to goat I didn’t make the connection with leather.

        1. Milligan’s nonsense verse? The only one I know is “English Teeth”, but no doubt there were many more examples.

          21ac: Handle with kid gloves?

          1. Didn’t he do the Ning Nang Nong and a few others? With regards to 21ac it did twig when I read the blog – just couldn’t see it at the time. If I’d kept at it a bit longer maybe it would have dropped…
  9. I always struggle with Tracy’s puzzles and today was no exception. There were some that I liked a lot e.g. 1 and 19 across and 16 down but there were lots more here that made my teeth ache. The main problem was 11 across which, rack my brain though I did, I just couldn’t get. Eventually, at 30 minutes, which is always when I throw in the towel, I read William’s excellent blog and had an “of course ” moment. With that one in, I could finish the remainder but it was grim work. I couldn’t parse 15 down (and now that I’ve read the explanation, I can see why) and I don’t understand why 14 across needs “regiment “. I was also irked by 2 down. On days like this, I feel that I will never ever progress to the 15 x 15. Thanks, anyway, Tracy, and huge thanks to William.
    1. I’m not one for dwelling too much on parsing, but I agree with you on 14ac “regiment”. I also wondered whether the “also required” was needed for 19ac, however I am guessing this was to give the surface more meaning.

      I DNK that “Up” could be used for “at University” so that was a knew one for me as well.

      1. I agree with your comment about 19 across. I had heard of “up” to mean “at university ” and it has occurred here before…. but I just didn’t think of it.
      2. More likely you’ve heard of being ‘sent down’ from university for bad behaviour? Being ‘up’ is sort of the opposite.
  10. I also found it difficult to get moving with this puzzle. After 7 minutes or so I had almost half the grid filled in random places. Then things started to come together and I finished in another 5. THEME was my FOI, and LENIENT my LOI. Unusually I had the bottom half completed before the top half started to reveal itself. GUYS HOSPITAL was a very late entry as I also fixated on Chelsea Pensioners. A tough challenge from Tracy. 12:28. Thanks William and Tracy.

    Edited at 2020-01-15 11:44 am (UTC)

  11. I took about 30 minutes for the third time this week. I think it is because we have three of the more difficult setters in a row, rather than ‘QCs are getting harder’ – I was around my 20 minute target most of last week. Some very tricky clues, but I spotted LEAR and got LEATHER right away.
    LOI was the hospital with an alphabet trawl needed for GUYS.

    Brian

  12. Another of Tracy’s puzzles where I wondered whether some of the clues had been corrupted, as I slowly struggled to fill in the grid. For me, the NW corner was a nightmare. Crib was actually my FOI, but how could Rage +f/w produce a weapon? and the anagram (sack) of ‘by stage’ looked tricky, even though I had the B starter and g finisher. Came back after a cup of tea and immediately saw anger was rile, and sack was boot, which tidied up everything (even Upfront – really tricky), apart from *u*s for the hospital. I know this is the Times of London, but it would be nice to do these without having to live there. In fact, it would have been a better clue without the word Southwark. Invariant
  13. Glad it wasn’t just me then! A terrible day here (crossword-wise anyway – at least the sun is out). Not sure why, because everything was fair.

    I started very quickly, and can confirm that Guy’s Hospital is also for girls (I was born there!) but oh dear, things ground to a halt very quickly. After entering a few around the grid, I slowed right down and got very bogged down in the SW corner. Definitely not plain sailing for me today, and I agree with others who have commented that it is heading towards 15×15 territory. Not that that is a problem – we need the variety – but it doesn’t stop you feeling a bit frustrated!

    I wonder what joys / horrors the biggie has in store today?

    FOI and COD Guys Hospital (obvs)
    DNF after 30 minutes

  14. 6:39. No hold ups. Put BRAN TUB together from wordplay, then finished with IBERIA. I liked GUYS HOSPITAL.

    As I do the puzzle on my phone, I don’t know the setter until I come here. Pleasantly surprised to deal with one of Tracy’s puzzles in short order.

  15. Filled in HOSPITAL in 1A and then moved on, with GUYS bubbling up through the sub-conscious about 1/2 way through the acrosses. Funny how the mind works sometimes. Otherwise it was PLAIN SAILING, even remembering BRAN TUB straight away. Like Kevin, BAIT my LOI. I liked THEME best. 4:43.
  16. A slow but steady solve for me, with UPFRONT (LOI) being the only real holdup. No problem with any of the vocab, but maybe that is an age thing. A few of the phrases used have dropped out of fashion these days. GUYS HOSPITAL (COD) was neat. Enjoyed that.
    PlayUpPompey
  17. Is my memory playing tricks, or have Lenient, Rifle, Abstain all come up very recently? I began to wonder whether a recent puzzle had been reprinted by accident.
  18. No time for me as I was interrupted half way through – probably a good thing as I was getting totally stuck. It would have been a slow time though, so relieved to see some others also thought the puzzle challenging.

    Had not heard the expression BRAN TUB, but with the B at the front it was easy enough to guess. LOI was 11A BOOTLEG – at first not really sure sack=boot really worked as in the phrase, “to sack someone”, sack is a verb, but reconciled by the time I read the blog.

    COD for me was 15D, PUT UPON. All the talk of universities in the clue well confused me and was looking for a syninym for a university don.

    Many thanks to William for the blog.

  19. I am slightly amazed that so many people have not heard of BRAN TUB! I’d guess it must be generational thing. Simple pleasures of a long lost childhood, and all that?
  20. It probably is a generational thing as I was familiar with all the words. I was slow to start but did it all in under half an hour without any aids which is good for me. I was doubtful about 2a meaning open and very unsure about 15d. I think of someone who is taken advantage of as being put upon but not the person who takes advantage. COD 22a.
    I too puzzled over Russian geography for a while with 16d until the penny dropped.
    Thank you William and Tracy
    Bluestocking
  21. For once a medical background was useful and 1ac went straight in (always a good start). Also many departments I have worked in have. Christmas bran tub only now it’s called Secret Santa (grr).
  22. I seemed to be on Tracy’s wavelength today. Unlike our blogger BRAN TUB, kid LEATHER and STEAL A MARCH ON were all familiar to me (I’m in my 50’s to put this in context). I biffed PLAIN SAILING which is a pity as it also is my COD. LOI in 1.5K was 2d UPFRONT.
  23. ….I was feeling slightly PUT UPON, but I scraped inside my limit.

    FOI ABSTAIN
    COD PLAIN SAILING

  24. My parsing of 7d took the Monty Python route. I hadn’t seen it written down so “nie” was a credible spelling!
    On the whole, my eyebrows are now somewhere around the back of my head, very iffy clues and some truly horrible surfaces eg 19a which reads like one of those instruction manuals the manufacturer won’t pay to have translated.
  25. I must have been on Tracey’s wavelength as I wasn’t held up too much until I needed an alphabet trawl for LOI, UPFRONT. BRAN TUB would have proved far more obdurate if I hadn’t been completely baffled by it in a previous QC, but I was still relieved when it popped into my head as I tend to struggle with the wordier clues.
    Finished in 11.16 with my favourite being PUT UPON.
    Thanks to William
  26. Two left after 18 mins and struggled with Despot because I fell into the trap of trying to make 15d Don wrapped around at up – which was Dat upon.
    Then convinced myself that don was a typo for son and got Sat Upon.
    Then eventually started again to get this correct and LOI Despot.
    Certainly not plain sailing! But like an earlier comment was very absorbed in this one and the time flew by.
    Thanks all,
    John George
  27. Rather late today as ,amazingly, we found a golf course that was open and we teed off after the rain stopped.
    Accordingly I was tired but happy looking at this. It took me just over 20 minutes with LOI LEATHER. I had CRIMEA at 16d for a bit which caused all sorts of hold-ups. That was a tired effort. A good puzzle. Agree not easy.
    David
  28. Unusually everything was familiar to me, so I think I’ve just given away my age. I certainly had no trouble with BRAN TUB!! I completed in 16 minutes (4 under my target). I really enjoyed this offering from Tracy and thanks to William too.

    What worries me is that, however well I do on the QC, I can rarely put more then a few words in the 15×15. I don’t often attempt it but, just occasionally when pointed to an easier one by comments here (thank you all), I have almost completed it but not very often. I thought that practice here would help but it seems to be such a step up. I am just grateful that there is a QC for me to enjoy! MM

    FOI: RIFLE
    LOI: PUT UPON
    COD: GUYS HOSPITAL

  29. First post in here. Started QC around 6 months ago and this blog has been of great value in learning the dark arts. Thanks all.

    It’s still rather rare that I complete a QC, so rather than time I think in terms of how many clues I can’t get, which today was 5 (Guys- although I did eat hospital; upfront; overlap; leather; and plain sailing) which is a bit better than usual (especially for one by Tracy which I usually struggle with.

    FOI brantub.
    LOI Bait.

    2. Welcome! I was New to cryptic crosswords when the QC started and I’m still here, looking up the explanations for the answers which I couldn’t make sense of in puzzles that I dnf. The blog is a wonderful source of wisdom and encouragement and slowly I have improved.
      My view is it’s no more fun to finish a puzzle quickly than to spend some hours mulling over a tough clue and then have a eureka moment… and so I keep coming back!
      1. Thanks. Yes it’s looking up the answers in the blog that has helped me to understand and Improve. I’m quite happy to take all day and like you say, have that eureka moment!
  30. Bran tub?! What the hell! I have never in my life heard anyone use this expression. This is the quick cryptic not a trawl through history.

Comments are closed.