Club Monthly 20162 March 2014 – ferrets & ducks

Author   JerryWPosted on Categories Monthly Club Special
Solving Time: I didn’t find this hard, c44 minutes in all in two sessions. It is up to the usual high standard with no real quibbles

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

ODO = Oxford Dictionaries Online, OED = Oxford Dictionary, etc.

Across

1 sesquioxide – Q(uestion) in I USES rev., + OX(h)IDE. The prefix “sesqui-” means “one-and-a-half,” eg a sesquitone is a tone and a semitone…
7 hob – HOB(O). A hob being a male ferret, as any longstanding Archers fan will know..
9 kopasetic – put out = KO + PA, + calls = CITES rev. Not a word I was familiar with. It is an Americanism of obscure origin
10 coxib – by = times by = X + I in horse = COB
11 zanjero – a duck = ZERO, containing (I guess) (G)ANJ(A), ganja being a form of marijuana or weed..
12 stamnoi – STAM(P) + NO I, ie no.1
13 mug up – vessel = MUG + UP (…before the judge)
15 klezmorim – squeeze = MILK containing (JAZ)Z in ROME, all rev., ie KL(E(Z)MOR)IM. Jewish folk musicians
17 eudialyte – *(YULETIDE + (M)A(Y))
19 ghaut – throuGH A U-Turn
20 simurgh – MUR(K) in SIGH(T). A google image search for this word is educational..
22 tressel – LESSER + (LIGH)T rev.
24 ihram – welcome = HI rev., + sign = Aries = RAM
25 laevulose – SOL(D) + U + VEAL all rev., + quarter = E(AST)
27 loy – L(IAM) O(N) Y(ARD). A narrow Irish spade
28 nodding duck – signing agreement = NODDING + drop = DUCK; I would not say these last were synonymous, but the OED has “To make a sudden descent or dive, not under water” for duck, which I guess is close enough

Down

1 suk – cd. Because Scotland and NI are N UK, so not S UK… I would spell it souk, or souq, but words translated from a different alphabet are often subject to various spellings
2 sapan – juice = SAP + A + N.
3 upsweep – I think it’s PUP’S WEE, with the first P dropped below the lower one.. or two. As to why an upsweep would be contrary, I suppose it means, contrary to the movement of the P
4 outjockey – U in OT, + about = C in JOKEY
5 incus – suffers = INCU(R)S. One of the ossicles, along with the malleus and the stapes
6 encharm – Gallic host = FRENCH ARMY, with the FRY removed..
7 hexandria – R in HEX AND I A. Class 6 of the plant kingdom, according to Linnaean taxonomy
8 babbit metal – struggled at first to parse this one. It is club = BAT containing *(ITEM) + B(YE) + B, + AL = aluminium.
11 zum beispiel – *(SUBLIME PIE + (RIT)Z). a phrase I knew, since I speak German, but it is not in use in English so far as I know – it’s not in Collins or the OED – so what it is doing in an English cryptic crossword is rather a mystery
14 god-a-mercy – zip = GO + posh car = MERC in time = DAY. Lawks
16 eleutheri – Another trick parsing job. It is religious reformer (and extreme racist) Martin LUTHER, containing E(ARLY), in E(nglish)+ I. The Eleutheri were an imaginary secret society
18 Ahriman – *(IHRAM) + AN. A Zoroastrian baddie, opposed by Ormuzd
19 geebung – GEE + sweetener = bribe = BUNG
21 halo’d – notes = DO + LAH, rev. my last one in because of a delay in interpreting “circled overhead” .. kept picturing kites, kestrels etc.
23 shoyu – sounds like “show you.” Upmarket soy sauce
26 erk – (J)ERK. Erk is an interesting word, generally meaning the lowest form of RAF life, a class II mechanic. Dictionary.com gives two meanings: 1. an aircraftsman of the lowest rank in the Royal Air force. 2. a worthless, stupid person; a jerk. This may tell us more about the intelligence of RAF pilots than it does about erks, as despite their apparent contempt for them they were totally dependent on erks in order to fly. If your plane only has one engine, and the erks look after it, you sneer at them at your peril… 😉

Author: JerryW

I love The Times crosswords..

3 comments on “Club Monthly 20162 March 2014 – ferrets & ducks”

  2. According to Collins and OED, the inventor of 8d is spelt Babbitt, therefore his metal should be too.
  3. Yes.. though both Chambers and the OED do list Babbit as a valid spelling. The OED says “Irreg.”

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