Club Monthly 20147 December 2012 – Homage to Jack Vance

Author   JerryWPosted on Categories Monthly Club Special
Solving Time: About 45 minutes in two sessions, so definitely on the easier side, as the Crossword Club statistics seem to confirm (66 correct answers at time of writing) – but still no pushover! Unless you are used to it this crossword needs a different type of approach, with each clue solved being treated as a little victory. Once you are, though, it will stand you in great stead with the daily cryptics. Never again will you have to say say “I hadn’t heard of the word, so I was never going to get that clue..”

I only mentioned the great Jack Vance because of four clues that – coincidentally, I’m sure – brought him to mind. Along with Georgette Heyer, another underrated writer, he has been a gold mine of useful vocabulary for me, over the years. Oddly, Vance and Heyer themselves seem to have one or two things in common. Apart from being greatly undervalued, in both cases largely because of the genres they chose to inhabit, they both share a liking for recycling two or three favourite plotlines and themes. And with both, their stylish writing is such that it doesn’t matter a bit; they are just the framework on which their easy command of, and love of, our language is hung and displayed for our admiration. But, sorry, I digress, on with the blog.. 🙂

cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as *(–)

Across
1 kevlar – length = L in RAVE + Knitwear rev.
4 brutify – RUT + IF in away = BY – as in, I put it by for a rainy day, presumably
9 rerun – fReE aRgUiNg
10 redivivus – *(I SURVIVED)
11 meloxicam – ME + LO + XI + CAM. I was a mean punter once at Cam-bridge
12 Laius – LAIty + US. Not a hard clue, if “ruler killed by his son” makes you think “Ah, that must be Oedipus.”
13 zest – small = S in short letter = ZETa
14 car-crash tv – discharge = ARC + unwise = RASH + Tweet’s in profile = CV. A very nifty bit of cluing, if only the surface reading made some sort of sense
18 veneficous – *(FIVE OUNCES). The first Jack Vance reference, since the Master Venefices of the malignant planet Sarkovy were experts in the use of exotic poisons. They could kill you with a touch, or just by walking by you
20 acai – MarACAIbo
23 yerba – A BREw + Y, all rev.
24 succes fou – *(OF CeaUSESCU). Not many circles one can move in these days, where using a phrase like this would be considered acceptable.
25 quail call – Illinois – IL in QUACk + ALL. A cleverly misleading clue given that a quail is by no means a duck
26 meiji – English in I + JIM, all rev. Jim Callaghan being one of Britain’s most well-meaning (and least successful) Prime Ministers. Winter of discontent, anyone? The Meiji period of Japanese history is one of the more interesting, being a time of great change when Japan was forced to reform itself in order to cope with the modern world
27 icterid – I + the rest = ETC rev., + free = RID. To me this clue didn’t quite work since I thought icterid an adjective (ie “Like an icterus”) and bird, a noun. But Chambers has it as both adj. and noun, so that’s OK (mutter, mutter)
28 en l’air – ÉCLAIR, with the C replaced by name = N.
Down
1 Karamazov – *(MARK A) + (the sea of) AZOV. The reference is to the Brothers Karamazov, a novel by Dostoyevsky. I bought the 2 volume Penguin edition once, but sadly the second volume (and half the first) remains pristine
2 verglas – VERGe + LAS
3 annexe – former consort = EX in (Queen) ANNE, an easy clue to help get you started..
4 bedim – ie bed (h)im
5 unvulgar – duck = LUV + peNne in Italian sauce = RAGU, all then rev. Luv and duck both being familiar and affectionate slang terms for members of the fair sex
6 inveigh – volume = V in I + NEIGH. Chambers defines nicker as “A neigh, a snigger, a loud laugh”
7 yeses – cYESES An easy one, in the unlikely event you are aware that cyesis (pl. cyeses) means pregnancy. One of my last, in simply because I didn’t..
8 orichalc – loaded = RICH + pAL in )C = officer commanding. Orichalc(um) is a Grrek word that may well mean brass, but as this link shows it is not all that clear
15 churchly – CHURCHilL, il being “Mussolini’s the,” + partY
16 voiturier – VOId + TURfIER. Turfier? Voiturier? I was not particularly keen on this clue
17 affabler – A + F + FABLER. Presumably the “logically” is there to cover the fact that affabler is not actually a word, so far as I can see
19 nor-east – *(TENORS A). Another slightly unclear clue. A nor-Easter is a blast (wind) from that direction, so nor-East is adjectival not a noun. And why from the past? The word is still commonly used in a number of areas including sailing and mountain walking etc
21 caffila – I + L in CAFF + A. Kafila is a camel train in Jack Vance
22 hetman – Another word frequently met in Jack Vance. Usually the hero has to fight him to secure his freedom..
23 yaqui – manY A QUIzmaster – an easy clue that I spotted straight away but didn’t write in initially because I couldn’t find it in Chambers. but it seems to be in Collins, OED, ie everything else!
24 skald – when = AS containing K then rev., + lord = LD

Author: JerryW

I love The Times crosswords..

4 comments on “Club Monthly 20147 December 2012 – Homage to Jack Vance”

  1. I never attempt these on the “life’s too short” principle. I know how long it would take me. But I couldn’t help noticing your “Jack Vance” comments above. I’m another who likes his stuff. However, I always thought that only an American could title one of his best known books “Servants of the Wankh”. Imagine the hilarity at SF conventions in the UK! Cheers Ann
    1. Hi Ann. Funny you should mention that, since Jack agrees with you. Once he discovered the existence of the similar English word he changed it and in the definitive edition, the book is called “The Wannek” and there are no Wankh to be seen anywhere in it..
      1. Ha! Thanks for the link. I didn’t know that. I read it many years ago with the original title. Re that word. There’s a mountain in Garmisch Partenkirken with the same name. You can easily spot the Brits because they’re the ones taking photographs of the signs – especially any referring to the “Wankfarht” – a doubly whammy there! Cheers Ann
  2. 41:46 for me, with nearly 10 minutes at the end spent on UNVULGAR. I couldn’t see any word that fitted, but eventually plodded through the wordplay and was relieved (but at the same time slightly annoyed) to have the answer leap out at me!

    I also wasted ages on HETMAN, knowing the word but unable to understand the wordplay, and worried that there might be an alternative spelling. I finally took a chance with it and was relieved to find I was right. I came here looking for an explanation – but since you didn’t give one, I resorted to Chambers and found the unfamiliar meaning of “het” (which I should of course have sussed).

    An enjoyable puzzle, with the added bonus of being straightforward enough for experienced solvers to finish unaided.

    (I’m vaguely aware of Jack Vance, but I’m afraid to say I’ve never read any of his novels.)

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