Times Quick Cryptic No 1473 by Izetti

Author   TheRotterPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
An example of ‘the Don’ (Izetti) being up to his usual high standard, and taking me above 20m (just!) due mostly to some thorny parsing (which is invariably included in my quoted times).  Maybe I should be revising my target range from 10-15 minutes to 15-20 minutes?

This QC requires a smattering of mild GK (general knowledge), which I was fortunate enough to possess, despite my lack of a classical education.  There was nothing unknown (for me) or unfair here, just some good clueing that demanded thought, and some neat surfaces.

FOI – PALACE, COD 13a (I’d love to know if the double duty is deliberate – see below) and WOD – DEICIDE.  Thanks Izetti.  Over to you, my dear readers.

Across
1  China has fantastic residence for ruler maybe (6)
PALACE – PAL (china, as in china plate = mate = pal from Cockney Rhyming Slang) and ACE (fantastic).
4  What to expect from member of family becoming minister (6)
PARSON – PAR (what to expect, e.g. from golf – the expected score for a hole) and SON (member of family).
8 Excuse criminal no more (7)
CONDONE – CON (criminal) and DONE (no more).
10  Like many a roof, bound to be penetrated by hail ultimately (5)
TILED – TIED (bound) containing (penetrated by) {hai}L (ultimately, last letter).
11  Tulip surprisingly bright in display? (3,2)
LIT UP – Anagram (surprisingly) of [TULIP].
12 Historian understood by you and me (7)
TACITUS – TACIT (understood or implied) and US (you and me).  Publius Cornelius TACITUS is considered to be one of the greatest of Roman historians.
13  Vehicle black and dirty, not an attractive gem? (9)
CARBUNCLE – CAR (vehicle) and B{lack} followed by UNCLE{an} (dirty) and drop the last two letters – not an.  The clue can be seen as a straight definition where a CARBUNCLE is a fiery-red precious stone.  However, the clue is cleverly (possibly accidentally) constructed to allow the words ‘not an’ to appear to be doing double duty, first as the instruction to drop the AN from UNCLEAN, and second as a part of the definition if we think about an alternative use for CARBUNCLE as an architectural monstrosity or eyesore.  I have highlighted the double duty words to illustrate this interpretation.  The word was used in this sense by Prince Charles in his ‘monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend’ speech relating to a plan for a modern extension to the National Gallery. That plan, by Peter Ahrends was subsequently scrapped and an alternative was built in 1991.
17  Sign in entrance letting number in (7)
PORTENT – PORT (entrance) containing TEN (letting number in).
19  We hear no sound from a horse (5)
NEIGH – Sounds like (we hear) NAY (no).
20  Revolutionary number left heading west (5)
LENIN – NINE (number) and L{eft} reversed (heading west).
21  Resolve to imprison one for a type of murder (7)
DEICIDE – DECIDE (resolve) containing (imprisoning) I (one).  DEICIDE is the killing of a God.
22  Second piece of open country gets protection (6)
SHEATH – S{econd} and HEATH (open country).
23  It may see some balls in nets returned? (6)
TENNIS – Anagram (returned) of [IN NETS] inside a cryptic clue.  On edit, thanks to Vinyl (see below), A simple reverse hidden (some, returned) in {ball}S IN NET{s}

Down
1  Choice the French relish (6)
PICKLE – PICK (choice) and LE (the in French).
2  I felt uncaring somehow in group of political extremists (7,6)
LUNATIC FRINGE – Anagram (somehow) of [I FELT UNCARING]
3  Hard to penetrate metal – here’s an axe (7)
CHOPPER – H{ard} inside (penetrating) COPPER (metal).
5  One about to shelter under a dry space in building (5)
ATTIC – I (one) and C (about / circa) beneath (sheltering under) A (a) and TT (dry – tee-total).
6  To discipline’s unusual: there is evidence of disagreement (5,8)
SPLIT DECISION – Anagram (unusual) of [TO DISCIPLINE’S]
7  One may barely enjoy being in a holiday camp (6)
NUDIST – Cryptic definition playing on the use of ‘barely’.
9  Handed over part of hospital that’s rotten (9)
ENTRUSTED – ENT (part of hospital – Ear, Nose and Throat department) and RUSTED (rotten).
14  I’d dance around as a character in satire (7)
CANDIDE – Anagram (around) of [I’D DANCE].  CANDIDE is the eponymous lead character in Voltaire’s satirical novella.
15  Splinters of wood in sheds (6)
SPILLS – Double definition, the first referring to the thin strips of wood used for lighting a fire (noun), the second to spill or shed something (verb).
16 Acclamation in church always before start of sermon (6)
CHEERS – CH{urch} followed by E’ER (poetic contraction of EVER / always) before (start of) S{ermon}.
18  Some patterns taken for painter (5)
ERNST – Hidden in {patt}ERNS T{aken}, referring to the German painter and dadaist Max ERNST.

38 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1473 by Izetti”

  1. ‘Carbuncle’ doesn’t mean ‘architectural monstrosity’; it means an abscess or boil. Charles was using the term metaphorically.
  2. This went quickly, with the two long down anagrams helping things (I demi-biffed these, not bothering to verify what looked to be anagrists). LOI SPILLS; a word I only know from cryptics, and I thought they were paper (turns out they can be paper or wood). 4:13.
    1. Carbuncle, in defence (defense) of The Rotter, it does mean ‘architectural monstrosity’ in Lunnon Town. Prince Charles (Kev, please note his title) brought it into our language.

      Since 2006, the Carbuncle Cup is an architecture prize, awarded annually by the magazine ‘Building Design’ to “the ugliest building in the United Kingdom, completed within the last 12 months”.

      ‘The Brothers Jonathan’ are not quite up to speed, or woke?

      Edited at 2019-10-31 07:43 am (UTC)

      1. Thanks for the defence Horryd. My Chambers app has as the fifth definition of carbuncle “An architectural monstrosity or eyesore”, but without giving its derivation. I suspect it was added after the comment by the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles in 1984.
        1. Terry,

          We comedic actors must stick together! I am ever wary of ‘The America First Brigade’ scalping the Native English Blogger simply because they don’t know their vocab. They tend to use a strongly dialectic variation (see Wilde). If only they would take pause.

          Complete shower!

          Victor

        2. I’m interested that your Chambers app has the ‘monstrosity’ meaning, Rotter, as it’s not in the their free on-line web version and I’ve never been able to fathom exactly what that version consists of. Fortunately I have two printed copies of Chambers (2003 & 2011) and they both have the entry you have quoted above.

          Whilst I’d agree that the clue works perfectly without ‘not an’ doing double duty, reading it that way does makes it potentially more amusing and diverting if one happens to know the ‘eyesore’ meaning. Unless the Don drops in we shall never know whether it was intentional or accidental but I’m glad you raised it as a point of interest.

          Edited at 2019-11-01 12:18 am (UTC)

      2. That’s all very interesting, as usual, Horryd, but I still don’t think “not an” is doing double duty in this clue.

        I have not found the architectural reference in any online dictionary, but of course it is merely a metaphorical extension of the medical sense, besides being utterly irrelevant to this clue, pace our diligent blogger.

        Edited at 2019-10-31 03:20 pm (UTC)

        1. Guy, I never mentioned double duty. I was simply correcting Kev and your remonstrations that it was not a word associated with architecture.
          1. I didn’t allege that you claimed that, but was merely adding as an aside my comment about the blogger’s idea, as I hadn’t expressed it yet.
  4. 11 minutes so another target missed, but at least I was in the amber zone today, not the red.

    A few tricky bits and pieces here including SPLIT DECISION for which I needed all but one checker in place before I was able to unravel the anagrist.

    I wouldn’t have thought this meaning of ‘spill’ was UK dialect in the sense that it’s regional within the UK, not that I’m an expert, but none of the usual sources mention that point, and its in the ‘American meanings’ section of Collins online which is extracted from Webster’s.

    Prince Charles’s metaphorical reference to a CARBUNCLE in his speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1984 gave the word a new lease of life so I’m not surprised our blogger was reminded of that particular usage.

    Edited at 2019-10-31 06:03 am (UTC)

    1. I wouldn’t have been surprised to find that it was an anglicism, but nor did I think it was; but I’ve only come across it here (in a 15×15), and needed the blogger’s explanation to understand it.
  5. My father and grandfather both made long ‘spills’ for lighting fireworks on 5 November. You could buy boxes of candle-spills for same purpose. Like Brian Kilmeade (surprisingly) on Fox & Friends, we never celebrated Haloween, only Guy Fawkes Night. Such fun! Parkin and Jumping Jacks!

    FOI 1ac PALACE (ugh!)

    LOI 22ac HEATH

    COD 2dn LUNATIC FRINGE

    WOD 13as CARBUNCLE

    1. And treacle toffee! I still have the fillings – well, most of them where the teeth remain. What larks!
      1. Treacle toffee, Everton toffee, Swift’s toffee, Kendal Mint Cake, Edinboro’ Rock all all did the job!

        Enthuse on, Dude!

        I forgot my time 7.45 mins.

  6. Like Rotter, I also needed just over 20 minutes to complete this Izetti QC but in my case I had fingers crossed as my GK is lacking. I DNK TACITUS, DEICIDE (but thought of homicide to work out the ending) or CANDIDE and needed all the checkers in play. At least I confidently wrote in ERNST. 9d ENTRUSTED also proved elusive. I got ENT straight away but RUSTED for rotten didn’t sit right with me but it had to be. I was held up a long time at the end by my last two 15d SPILLS and 22a SHEATH. The double definition of the former was another DNK and I had to guess the word despite thinking spill was a loose synonym of shed. Thanks for the blog Rotter and thanks to Izetti for stimulating some neurons.

    Edited at 2019-10-31 08:22 am (UTC)

  7. In a rush this morning so I was not pausing to parse.As a result I finished in under 12 minutes but with TORRENT at 17a and that led to STILTS at 15d.
    It would have taken me quite a while to find SPILLS I think but I do know the meaning.
    Otherwise no problems.
    David

    Edited at 2019-10-31 08:09 am (UTC)

  8. About 30 minutes. Hangover made worse by Izetti.

    Held up by sheath, portent, entrusted, carbuncle, candide (dnk), and LOI spills. We had lots of spills in chemistry, both the wooden lighters and the other kind.

    Some meanings that were crafty:
    what to expect, par
    Sheds, spills
    Entrance, port

    Heard of carbuncle but didn’t know what it was.

    Cod tennis.

    Edited at 2019-10-31 08:47 am (UTC)

  9. My experience was remarkably similar to flashman’s. Similar hold-ups and a time of over 30min. Same LOI, too. A testing puzzle but I didn’t get the satisfaction I usually expect from an Izetti. I just wasn’t on the wavelength today. My CsOD were TACITUS and DEICIDE. I enjoyed rotter’s blog.
    John M.

    Edited at 2019-10-31 09:15 am (UTC)

  10. Tough for me too, finishing all parsed in 1 Rotter, which sounds so much better than 5 Kevins … a Bad Day. Got stuck in the SW, with SHEATH and SPILLS taking up nearly half my time. I thought of SPILLS quite soon but thought it was such a weak synonym for “sheds” that I dismissed it. Finally I couldn’t think of anything else, wrote it in and came on here to see if it was right! Still don’t think it was a good clue.

    FOI TILED, LOI SPILLS, COD PARSON.

    Thanks Izetti and Rotter.

    Templar

    Edited at 2019-10-31 11:41 am (UTC)

  11. I made hard work of this but I agree it is fair enough. I didn’t know Candice but it was a reasonable guess for an anagram. Only minor quibble – china = mate = pal is maybe a little involved for a quickie but all in all very challenging but enjoyable. Thanks all!
  12. I had SPELLS for 15d, which along with SPILLS and SPELKS are splinters of wood, being misled by the concept of spelling sheds. It didn’t really matter though, as I’d mis-biffed CANDICE at 14d. 13:18 with 2 errors. Drat! Thanks Izetti and Rotter.
  13. 29 minutes, so 9 over target but within my usual 20 -30 minute range.
    I’ve really struggled with the last few Izettis, but I enjoyed this one as each answer seemed to give me one checker which led to the next answer. Tacitus, Candide and Ernst were all dragged up from somewhere, I’m not sure how! LOI was DEICIDE which took me four minutes.
    Thanks to all as usual.

    Brian

  14. A typically entertaining Izetti puzzle with most of it going in at a brisk pace. The SW brought me to a grinding halt however with PORTENT, SHEATH and SPILLS (NHO the 1st definition) accounting for the final 4 minutes of my solve. Finished in 13.55 with my favourite being TACITUS.
    Thanks for the blog
  15. ….over me this morning, and I had a SPILL…or, rather, I didn’t. I blame my mother, who used to refer to a splinter in her finger as a spell. My first DNF for some time, and I can’t blame the phone for it, although I’d have been quicker on paper (but still wrong !)

    FOI PALACE
    LOI “SPELLS”
    COD CARBUNCLE

  16. Carbuncle is such an expressive word. I often use it during my guided tours of London (eg US Embassies old and new, Southwark Crown Court, QEII conference centre, etc).

    Bit of an arm-wrestle this morning but just about came out on top.

    Many thanks to setter and blogger.
    5’10”

  17. The setter and I are way off wavelength – again. Struggle with the way most of the clues are structured – rarely know where to start, some tricky parsing, and end up just frustrated. Not the first time and will seek avoid when I have a another go next week. Good to see many others enjoy these but not for me. Thank you for the explanations.
    Graham
  18. 10:27, approx 4 mins of which was spent on deicide and sheath…I will often race through one of these, then have a complete mental block over one or two clues.
    I was unaware of the setter, as i use my phone, but it had the feel of Izetti.
    Thanks for the blog and to the setter.
  19. 3rd day in a row that I haven’t finished. Just when I think I’m getting the hang of them as well….

    For some reason I didn’t get 15dn “Spills” and 22ac “Sheath”. Whilst “Tacitus”, “Candide” and “Deicide” were slotted in, I had my fingers crossed whether they were correct.

    I also struggled with rusted=rotten for 9dn “Entrusted” and had all sorts of combinations before going with my gut.

    Strangely, it had been going quite well at the start. Loved 13ac “Carbuncle” – took a while to understand the parsing of the “uncle”, but when it dropped I couldn’t help but chuckle.

    Maybe it’s me – but I thought this was definitely on the harder side. However, I know for a fact that if I had been doing this a couple of years ago, I would probably have only got a third of the grid completed. So for anyone just starting, keep trying…!

  20. I only know what this is as a prop forward on our team had one on his neck. Spent the next 80 mins deliberately avoiding him in the rucks and mauls even if it meant facing up to the 90s equivalent of Kyle Sinckler. Johnny
  21. Thank you for your commitment to this excellent site. I find it so helpful
    I could not get 15D and had SPALTS until I read this.
    I find the double word anagrams a challenge. At 2D had a strange vision of a political extremist group ‘farting nuclei’
  22. Consistently enjoyable challenge and managed to finish in 15 mins, though I couldn’t say that all the parsing was complete (missed UNCLE(AN)but it had to be CARBUNCLE). Like some others, quite a chunk of the time was spent on last two in: SPILLS and SHEATH. Thanks to Izetti, Rotter and all contributors – I learn something here almost every day.
  23. I was feeling pleased about having nearly all of this sorted just north of 25mins, but then came to a complete halt with 15d/22ac and 4ac/7d still outstanding. Mrs Invariant, as is her wont, glanced over my shoulder and spotted my DNK 15d Spills straight away, and moreover knew why (quite a worrying development – she already beats me at Sudoku). The Parson/Nudest corner took a second sitting, mostly down to looking at the wrong end of the clue for 4ac. I gave up trying to parse 13ac, and needed to read the blog before I understood what was going on (thank you Rotter). Quite a little tester from Izetti, with perhaps 17ac Portent my favourite from a strong field. Invariant
  24. I found this quite tricky but got there in the end with the help of some aids. Back in the fifties you could buy packs of coloured wooden spills. They were very thin and about 5mm wide and 20cm long. I think they were used to light the gas in the oven or to light candles. It was often a school craft project to cover a tin with coloured paper to make a ‘spill holder’.
  25. In the 1960s my grandfather used spills to light his pipe.
    Knew spills but opted for spelks which in the northeast are splinters of wood. (Spills don’t seem like splinters to me – too smooth.) Was hoping the blog would tell me where sheds came in – and it did.
    Linda

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