Times Quick Cryptic No 1398 by Tracy

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I found this easier than yesterday’s, which I did just beforehand, but I was aware of that nice experience, notable by its rarity, where for a good number of the clues the first thing that sprang to mind ended up being the correct answer. I don’t know if that’s wavelength or luck – I suppose the flitting mind is subject to a degree of chance – or perhaps it’s more to do with well-crafted nudges from a setter in a generous mood. Anyway, I was a bit over 10 minutes for yesterday’s and a bit under 6 for this, which is about as quick as I get. So obviously I found this a most pleasant solve – many thanks to Tracy! Oh, and you’ll be pleased to have the Rotter back this time next week.


Across
1 Wintry weather in south at present (4)
SNOW – S(outh) NOW (at present)
4 View of country importing gold (8)
PANORAMA – PANAMA (country) importing/bringing in OR (gold)
8 Dwelling of a French girl in Cockney area (8)
BUNGALOW – UN (“a”, French) GAL (girl) in BOW (cockney area)
9 Beginning to describe strange percussion instrument (4)
DRUM – D (beginning to Describe) RUM (strange)
10 Wrong about grand gesture (4)
SIGN – SIN (wrong) about G(rand)
11 Islamic symbol in curved street (8)
CRESCENT – double definition
12 Fellow cut rent for ski lodge (6)
CHALET – CHAP (fellow), cut [the last letter]; LET (rent)
14 I’m sadly having to go back for a highly seasoned sausage (6)
SALAMI – IM, ALAS (I’m, sadly) going back/returning
16 Food sent back, and, for Fritz, last of barley wine (8)
BURGUNDY – BURG (grub = food) sent back, UND (“and” in German/for Fritz) Y (last in barleY)
18 Thin fog may be avoided, we hear (4)
MIST – we hear the same as MISSED (avoided)
19 Help retired head of lyceum to make call (4)
DIAL – DIA (aid = help, retired/returned) L (head of Lyceum)
20 Target of ridicule in genuine denial (8)
REBUTTAL – BUTT (target of ridicule) in REAL (genuine)
22 Displaced persons, finally, receive an answer (8)
RESPONSE – anagram (displaced) of PERSONS, E (“finally” receivE)
23 Fine Hungarian wine needing no introduction (4)
OKAY – TOKAY (Hungarian wine) without the introductory letter. I had a cheapish bottle of Tokaji furmint not so long ago and remembered the name, but I hear the Tokay or Tokaji region does produce some rather fine wine.

Down
2 Initially, neither of us is hard to feed (7)
NOURISH – N (“initially” Neither) OUR (of us/belonging to us) IS H(ard)
3 Joker aboard truck (5)
WAGON – WAG (joker) ON (aboard)
4 Comrade, drink up! (3)
PAL – LAP (drink) up/reverse
5 Very recently made top state (3,6)
NEW JERSEY – NEW (very recently made) JERSEY (top)
6 Extremist spoke about start of communism (7)
RADICAL – RADIAL (spoke) about C (start of Communism)
7 Medical Officer on vessel gets to wear black, perhaps (5)
MOURN – MO (Medical Officer) on URN (vessel)
11 Escape quickly after seeing copper close to flat with ladder (3,3,3)
CUT AND RUN – CU (copper) T (“close” to flaT) AND (with) RUN (ladder, in tights, etc.)
13 Members cheek fielder (3,4)
LEG SLIP – LEGS (members/limbs) LIP (cheek). Slightly odd sounding surface, meaning: [club] members [give] cheek [to] fielder.
15 A blemish covered by mother’s cosmetic (7)
MASCARA – is A SCAR (a blemish) covered by MA (mother)
17 Join squad, English (5)
UNITE – UNIT (squad) E(nglish)
18 Saw bishop out of bed, having risen (5)
MOTTO – take B(ishop) out of BOTTOM (bed), and reverse it (having risen). Saw/axiom/adage/etc.
21 Extra purchase, reportedly (3)
BYE – sounds like (“reportedly”) BUY (purchase) – an extra in cricket.

18 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1398 by Tracy”

  1. A quick Quickie. I wasted a bit of time mis-parsing CHALET (AL in CHET? what’s a chet?). 4:22.
  2. 10 minutes with time lost trying to parse NOURISH as N{either} O{f} U{s} [initially], IS, H (hard) and then wondering how to account for the missing R.

    Knew TOKAY originally as the title of a song from Noel Coward’s ‘Bitter Sweet’ sung here by Nelson Eddie in the 1940 film version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ypLbEirW4A

    Edited at 2019-07-18 04:34 am (UTC)

    1. I thought it was just me looking for that extra R 🙂 I didn’t know tokay and this made me realise how seldom I write okay rather than Ok. I wrote it off because I didn’t know the wine but it should have been easy.
  3. FOI, SNOW, LOI, RESPONSE. Tokay rang a very faint bell. Took a little while to see the parsing of MOTTO. 6:35. Thanks Tracy and Roly.
  4. The presence of LEG SLIP, CUT AND RUN and BYE made me wonder whether there was a cricket World Cup Nina to be found, but if there is it’s too well hidden for me! Like Roly I found this one full of correct first thoughts, and finished it in 6:33 for exactly 1.5K and a Very Good Day. It’s a very neat and witty puzzle.

    FOI SNOW, LOI MOTTO, COD BURGUNDY (which really made me chuckle – and that’s two German words this week!)

    Thanks Tracy and Roly.

    Templar

  5. I managed a steady solve today with just a wobble at the very end with 23a OKAY and 18d MOTTO. I’ve never heard of the Hungarian wine so biffed OKAY from the one checker I had. Then MOTTO as a saw came to me and I biffed that, parsing after completion. 8:07 and a big improvement on yesterday’s DNF. Thank you Roly and Tracy.
  6. A careless DNF in what was (or should have been) a straightforward solve. A misspelt BURGANDY proving my downfall. Disappointing, but I occasionally need to be reminded of the old adage about haste and speed.
    Thanks for the blog.
  7. Almost all of the top half went in very quickly but I slowed down disappointingly. Going back over it I couldn’t see why. No problem with TOKAY or BURGUNDY and the cricketing references soon became a feature. I liked RADICAL and CHALET. Like roly, I found this easier than Wurm’s quite challenging offering yesterday and a number of answers came to my mind pre-parsing too. I ended up a bit quicker than my recent average (but still over 3K). Thanks to both. John M.
  8. She wore a brand NEW JERSEY. That’s going to be an earworm this morning I fear.

    Only problem was parsing CHALET post-solve.

    FOI SNOW
    LOI OKAY (I knew of the wine)
    COD BURGUNDY
    TIME 3:12

  9. Cockneys are those born within the sound of the bells of St Mary le Bow, Cheapside, which is not related to Bow, a district in East London. Doesn’t invalidate the clue, but upsets my sense of pedantry.

    Colin R

  10. An excellent puzzle that I did in a good time for me; a nice mix of straightforward answers that assisted in the solution of the others. I put in Motto as LOI as I had all available letters. However, as a fairly newish solver is Bed, in crossword world, always an indicator for Bottom, as I needed the excellent blog to explain the solution?
    2. I came here to find out how that clue worked. I got MOTTO but then looked at OTTOM and swirled ottoman around in my head but couldn’t see how bishop gives AN
      1. Rolytoly explains how the clue works. Take the B (bishop, in chess notation) out of BOTTOM (bed, as, as John says, seabed); that leaves OTTOM. Reverse it (having risen), and Bob’s your uncle.
        1. I could see the construction, but struggled with motto for saw – I can’t think of a context where they could be exchanged.
          Paan
          1. This from Collins:

            Synonyms of ‘motto’

            saying, slogan, maxim, rule, cry, formula, gnome, adage, proverb, dictum, precept, byword, watchword, tag-line, saw (old-fashioned)

  11. Perhaps it’s just me. thought qc was to bring in new solvers. This one seems even more dated than usual. I work in a global English speaking department and I haven’t heard anyone say GAL RUM BUTT CHAP Medical officer or had a run in their stockings for at least 25 years. As for 18d still can’t get my head round it (21st century expression you may not have come across)
  12. Bottom for bed and tokay wine exercised me in anger today. Thnx

    Crossworder

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