QC 2855 by Oink

9:19 for me, as always with Oink: fine surfaces and vocab not too obscure.

In Mick Hodgkins Saturday blog, he welcomes our new editor, Jason Crampton, known as Asp in these parts. Asked for a favourite cryptic clue, Jason offered “I say nothing (3)”, which turned up in a slightly different form today at 3D.

Definitions underlined in bold , synonyms in (parentheses) (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, other wordplay in [square brackets] and deletions in {curly} brackets.

Across
1 China police ran amok (9)
PORCELAIN – (POLICE RAN)* [amok]

This is actually a porcine clue, although Oink may have fluked it.

According to the OED PORCELAINE comes via French from the Italian porcellana “porcelain” (13c.), lit. “cowrie shell,”. The new chinaware had  resemblance to the shiny surface of the shells. The shell’s name in Italian is from porcella “young sow,” which it was supposed to resemble.

So we have a shell that resembled a young sow. Then came this new material from China that resembled the shell material by being smooth and glossy, so they took the Italian name of the shell for the material. (Refs)

6 Briefly train for a fight in Bath? (3)
SPA – SPA{r} (train for a fight)

Maybe our Setter used a truncation device rather than a homophone, to avoid antagonising Scots and Americans who would claim SPA and  SPAR “arrrrr rrrreally differrrent”.

8 Seafood a bishop has all by himself (7)
ABALONE – A B{ishop} + ALONE (all by himself)

Another word which is just about the only survivor of a now extinct language : Rumsen, a language of northern California. In QC 2819 I identified PARKA as similar.

9 It detects movement back and forth (5)
RADAR – A palindrome [back and forth]

The word comes from the initial letters of “radio detection and ranging” . The name was suggested in 1940 by the U.S. Navy, the term in use in Britain at the time was RDF.

The AR suffix became associated with this type of tech, ASDIC became SONAR at about the same time, then LIDAR, and (um) GAYDAR.

10 Tough, like a rhino perhaps (5-7)
THICK-SKINNED – Double def

Metaphorical and literal. Usually it’s the literal that is the definition, but like many cliches the metaphorical now sounds more natural. If you were on safari and the guide said “that rhino is particularly thick-skinned” I’d be thinking he was the least sensitive of the herd.

12 Boat in which soldiers might find shelter (6)
DUGOUT – Double def

First meaning is a simple canoe made by hollowing out the trunk of a tree. Second is a roofed shelter used in trench warfare.

13 Priest, a televangelist, pockets dead man’s assets (6)
ESTATE – Hidden in “Priest, a televangelist” [pockets]

The only surface which is a bit weak today, the commas give it a clunky feel.

Although now I’ve been assigned a clue for the Christmas special I am discovering just how hard it is to make them sound smooth.

16 Love affair flourishing in Paris hotel (12)
RELATIONSHIP – (IN PARIS HOTEL)* [flourishing]

Great anagram and surface. Facebook uses “In a Relationship” as a classification, which is different from “Single”, “Engaged”, “Married” and “It’s complicated”. It is.

19 Girl giving her name to a band? (5)
ALICE – Double def, an Alice BAND is like the one Alice wears in the original drawings in Alice in Wonderland.
20 Penny having a couple of beers — of this type? (4,3)
PALE ALE – P{enny} + ALE + ALE (couple of beers)

Odd clue, not sure how to describe, or what to underline. The second ALE is fulfilling the same task in the word play and the definition which is vaguely unnerving.

22 Regularly trendy youth in the 1950s (3)
TED – T{r}E{n}D{y}

Interesting derivation:  “Teddy Boy” was coined when a 1953 Daily Express newspaper headline shortened “Edwardian” to “Teddy”, these lads were labeled “Edwardians” due to their adoption of Edwardian-era fashion styles : High waisted trousers, waistcoats, turned back cuffs, velvet lapels and watch chains.

23 Homes were wrecked at an unspecified location (9)
SOMEWHERE – (HOMES WERE)* [wrecked]

Another brilliant surface. If you need to explain what a Cryptic clue is to your nephew over the Christmas holiday, you could do worse than use this clue as an example.

Down
1 Ring friend about opening of exhibition (4)
PEAL – PAL (friend) contains E{xhibition}

This is “ring” as in a PEAL of bells.

2 Selfish driver travelled in unusual way, I hear (4,3)
ROAD HOG – Sounds like “Rode Hog”, an unusual way to have travelled.

And there’s your second porcine clue.

3 I leave after end of June (3)
EGO – {jun}E + GO (have travelled)

Has to be the shortest definition ever (yes, that I is actually underlined, with an I-dash). See my preamble on how this is one of our new editors favourite clues.

4 Declare south-east to be hostile (6)
AVERSE – AVER (declare) + SE

Northerners always say the Southeast is less friendly than anywhere else in Britain.

5 Self-obsessed youth Russians caught after disturbance (9)
NARCISSUS – (RUSSIANS C{aught})* [after disturbance]

Aren’t all youths self-obsessed?

6 State prosecutor featured in paper (5)
SUDAN – SUN (paper) contains AD (prosecutor)

“State” and “prosecutor” go well together to describe a District Attorney, but here they need to be separated.

7 Cut short a card game (7)
ABRIDGE -A + BRIDGE (card game)

A real chestnut. The word comes from the same roots as “abbreviate”, nothing to do with bridges.

11 Very many noblemen welcoming the French (9)
COUNTLESS – COUNTS (noblemen) contains LES (the French)

We don’t have the rank of Count in the English peerage, Earl is the equivalent, although his wife is still a Countess.

12 Sleeping with Rod upset male social worker (7)
DORMANT – DOR (“Rod” reversed) + M{ale}+ ANT (social worker)

Great surface, sounds like the plot of a straight-to-DVD film, DORMANT (PG) featuring Adam Sandler (Rod), Ben Stiller (the Social Worker) and Cameron Diaz (the sleeper).

14 Encourage a new partner to go round India (7)
ANIMATE – A + N{ew} + MATE (partner) contains I{ndia}

This was my LOI as Encourage=animate aren’t obvious synonyms, and AGITATE looks just as close. But the first definition of ANIMATE in the OED is “To fill with boldness, courage, spirit; to encourage. Now rare.”

15 Two Englishmen down under making a gun (3-3)
POM-POM – POM (An Englishman Down Under) x 2

POM-POM is an early word for any automatic gun, presumably from the sound of the slow rate of fire of early guns. As for the use of POM in Australia, there are many blogs on its etymology, and whether its use is offensive or not.

17 Writer embraced by fat Scottish landowner (5)
LAIRD – LARD (fat) contains I(writer)

I thought this was just Scots pronunciation of “Lord”, but it is subtlety different, it’s a rank, below a baron and above a gentleman.

There’s plenty of scams selling of tiny plots of Scottish land and a claim of a “LAIRD” title to go along with it. On this one, you get the title of LAIRD on heavy-weight, acid free paper, with a gold foil seal which is “stamped for authenticity”. Only £55. Call me Laird Merlin of Avalon from now on.

18 Announcement of top dog (4)
PEKE – Homophone for [Announcement of] “peak” (top)

Short for Pekinese, the dog which was supposed to have been introduced to the west from Peking. Should it now be called the Beijingese?

21 At heart, clown is quite sad (3)
LOW -{c}LOW{n}

I always think the canonical clown looks sad, even when smiling. My daughter is terrified of them. 5% report an extreme fear of clowns, which is higher than many other more famous phobias, such as heights (2.8%) closed spaces (2.2%), and flying (1.3%).

88 comments on “QC 2855 by Oink”

  1. 6.41 for me which is way below my average. Held up by LOI PEKE.
    A rarity for me in that I did this at the end of my day rather than the start. I was just giving the salmon I cured at the end of last week another couple of hours in the smoker and gave in to the temptation of a cheeky post midnight QC whilst nursing a modest sized glass of a rare Lagavullin that I picked up on a summer fact finding tour of all of the distilleries of Isla- it’s going to be a bleak day tomorrow/ later when I get up and remember I’ve also done the 15×15.

    Anyway great puzzle I thought. I’m going to nominate RELATIONSHIP as COD as tried all manner of more complicated approaches before the penny dropped on an elegant clue.

    Great stuff Oink and thanks Merlin for a magic blog.

    Cheers

    Horners

  2. Merlin you have outdone yourself today my friend. I thought the dissertation on PORCELAIN was worth the price of admission alone, then at ABALONE I learnt about the Rumsen language and at DORMANT I go to the movies with Adam, Ben and Cameron Diaz. Excellent! I also liked the sound of the home-cured salmon plus rare Scotch mentioned above by Jonathan. I think I need to get out more. 6.22 for me, nice puzzle.

  3. 8:13. Great blog, Merlin; I particularly liked the comments on the origin of the word PORCELAIN (new to me), the Rumsen language (also new to me) and that instant LAIRD lurk.

    Lots of good clues from Oink today, my favourites being the surface for RELATIONSHIP and for LOW.

    [BTW Merlin, sorry to be such a pain, but even though our esteemed new crossword editor may well get us into a many a pickle during his time at the helm, his name is Jason Crampton].

    Thanks again to Merlin and to Oink

  4. I seem to have biffed RELATIONSHIP and forgot to parse it. The late Dorset Jimbo (see ‘past bloggers’) would have been pleased to see Teddy boys characterized neutrally; setters would always make them troublemakers or delinquents, and he invariably protested. 5:44.

  5. Loved the blog. I’m also struggling with making my Christmas clue’s surface sound unclunky!

    Zoomed through this, then got caught up with both PEKE and ALICE. spent way too much time trying to find a girls name that was also a music band. I DNF, I feel silly now because I have Alice bands in pretty much every colour.

  6. 6’08” a recent record for me but only really worthy of noting here because I wanted to thank Merlin for, and congratulate him on, an absolutely outstanding blog. Pure class. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

    Thanks Oink too for the puzzle. Nice to see ABALONE reappear – I haven’t seen it on the menu for a while. No doubt there’ll be a run of them now.

  7. A typical Oink puzzle – lots of lovely surfaces and not too testing.

    A top to bottom solve, except for my LOI, as I started with PORCELAIN (I never would have guessed that online blogs could be so educational before joining this community) and finished with PEAL in 4.56. COD to SUDAN for the smooth surface.

    Thanks to Merlin and Oink

  8. What a treat to spend 20.01 solving an excellent puzzle then almost as long enjoying Merlin’s blog and the comments so far.

    We were only really held up at the end by road hog/dugout crossing as we were convinced of the porcine reference already found in porcelain so had stopped looking for piggy references. We needed Merlin’s help to see “rode” hog.

    COD to radar, always like a palindrome.
    Nice one Oink.

  9. I spent far longer on reading Merlin’s excellent blog than I did on solving the puzzle, where only two clues failed to yield on the first pass. My first sub-3 minute solve for a few months.

    FOI PORCELAIN
    LOI RELATIONSHIP
    COD ALICE
    TIME 2:57

  10. 07:24 but WOE, fat fingering LLW. Maybe I’ll have to give up phone solving, but what would I do with my commute?

    Terrific puzzle, I do love an Oink. COD ALICE. Many thanks Oink and Merlin.

    1. You could buy a paper and use a pencil? A subscription includes online access in case your newsagent at the station has run out.

      1. Now I just need to link my paper to the Quitch and the Club leaderboard …

        I do miss the paper-based solve. For years I’d pitch up, buy the Times, read it on the train and chew my pencil over the puzzles. But the siren song of the digital solve, with its precision stopwatch and links to the Club, proved irresistible.

        1. Ah, I see. After a career in IT I am now rather inclined to avoid much computing, including anything social (apart from this blog) and rather enjoy wasting time with a pencil and rubber. I haven’t bothered with the Club but am very amused by refs to the SCC and its virtual window seats.
          We can’t now live without computers but all we need to know what we are going to do when they all become unuseable at once, so every manual item is of relevance.
          vinyl1 is right, the tablet keyboards are much superior to the phone.

  11. 7 minutes for this sparkling puzzle, and then like Busman, rather longer on the even more sparkling blog. You are setting the bar very high for the rest of us bloggers, Merlin, with etymology, anecdotes and now even a picture embedded in it!

    No problems with the puzzle, though I had to trust that an ALICE band is a thing – DK – and I also needed the checkers before I saw DUGOUT (oh that kind of boat). Our use of “Earl” for “Count” in English is a rare case where in matters to do with the nobility, the old Anglo-Saxon word (Eorl, or in Old Danish Jarl) survived the influx of the Normans; more commonly (eg Duke, Baron, Baronet) the Norman lords used the Norman words. But we do have Viscount in English …

    Many thanks Merlin for the blog and note to self, must try harder.
    Cedric

    1. I might not always say it but I am truly grateful to ALL those who undertake blogging duties. Over the years I have acquired much needed GK and spluttered my tea LOL.

  12. A very fast time for me of 4’19” left me feeling slightly disappointed that this didn’t make the brain turn over enough – but then Merlin’s excellent and informative blog more than made up for it. Thanks!

  13. Thought early on that it must be DUGOUT but CNP it so it ended up being my LOI. Surprised Oink was satisfied with the relatively unporcine PORCELAIN, but I suppose that was it? Nice puzzle, thank you Oink.
    Merlin please forgive me for being an infuriating nit-picker, but could you be so kind as to add an apostrophe somewhere in your blog for 3 down? Thank you!

      1. Of course you’re right (and as Merlin says) – how silly of me to miss that.
        And well done with your impressive PB – and beating the benchmark K!

  14. 5:36 for the solve! And a new PB! A sub-1K day! And just wow …

    I love ripping through a crossword. And first readthrough saw answers fly in although PORCELAIN held out until towards the end and wasn’t helped by trying to put OPAL (ring friend) in 1D. PEKE LOI. A few old chestnuts in there which helps muchly. I put all my solves up on Youtube so if anyone wishes to listen to my gravelly tones, it’s at https://youtu.be/a6Sfua9xmZM

    As Merlin says, in his excellent and highly informative blog, Oink’s clueing is superb. Just off the top of my head the RELATIONSHIP and SOMEWHERE were two that stood out. Need the blog to explain 2nd def of DUGOUT but bunged it in with fingers crossed.

  15. This is probably my least favourite type of crossword. All but one of the clues I had solved before I finished reading it, and then just staring at dugout for an hour

  16. Whizzed through this one finishing in 5.23 with hesitation only at my LOI ESTATE, where as usual I failed to see the hidden, not realising pockets was the direction to look within the clue. Pretty straightforward start to the week, so I expect a stinker shortly to even things out.

  17. From PORCELAIN to the unknown POM-POM (I considered tom tom while waiting for Penny’s beer to arrive) via a misspelled NARCISist in 6:47. Great blog Merlin.

  18. I put in all the correct answers in about 7 minutes but again got a pink square for one letter. This seems to be a problem with my iPad and is really annoying, as is the tendency to flip to an adjacent puzzle when I enter a letter. Anyway, still an enjoyable puzzle.

  19. My FOI was PORCELAIN (1a) and my LOI was PEKE (18d), but my route from the NW to the SE was anything but smooth or linear. Each time I thought I’d got the ball rolling it hit a divot and threw me backwards or stopped me in my tracks. However, forward progress kept being resumed and I was relieved to reach the finish line in somewhere approaching 35 minutes, I think.

    SPA was my favourite clue today, as it reminded me of the shenanigans that went on between my two sons at bathtimes, all those years ago. I presume they don’t share a bath these days as they’re both 30+ and 6’4”/6’5” and wouldn’t fit in any normal bath.

    Many thanks to Oink and Merlin.

  20. Didn’t solve 1a at first glance, so started with PEAL and carried on with the downs. Finished with ESTATE after a few passes. No particular hold ups. 6:20. Thanks Oink and superb blog Merlin!

  21. 4:17

    Among my top ten fastest, though could have been faster had my Amazon Alexa not announced a scheduled alarm 90 seconds in, which after seeing to the matter, put me off my stride somewhat. Several bunged-in not fully parsed – ho-hummed at DUGOUT (from checkers) and the unknown POM-POM – did like ROAD HOG, NARCISSUS and PALE ALE. LOI PEKE

    Great blog Merlin, and thanks for the puzzle Oink

  22. 12 today COD Abalone – seen on a menu in California when I used to do business there.
    Failed to spot at least two anagram indicators.

  23. Darn, put Aline instead of ALICE. Very easy, I thought, but Pride comes before a Fall, as my mother would say.
    Liked lots of clues, LOI AVERSE.
    Fun puzzle. Thanks, Merlin. Great blog.

  24. A pleasant 14min stroll, with just the bump of an alpha-trawl for loi Peke along the way. Even after all these years I still hesitate mentally when I have to choose between peek/peak, but Pique and Peke are never a problem. Lots to enjoy (not least Merlin’s blog), but CoD to 20ac, Pale Ale, for revealing Penny’s favourite tipple 😉. Invariant

  25. Friendly Oink today although not all parsed whilst solving. I needed Merlin to explain DUGOUT.
    9 minutes in the end with LOI POM POM being the last clue I read.
    Lots of good clues. I smiled at PALE ALE.
    Excellent blog -thanks.
    David

  26. Held up by narcissus (defined as a flower in my Oxford English) and peke, where same dictionary did not give the short form. But clearly no other answers possible, so in they went.

    1. Narcissus was a youth according to Greek legend who spent a lot of time admiring his own beautiful reflection in a pool, so long that he turned into a flower.

      1. The term “narcissist” seems to have found its way into common speech as a term for someone who is self-obsessed. Perhaps it has come full circle, as the original term in psychology was much more defined.

    2. You’re obviously not familiar with the epic prog rock song Supper’s Ready by Genesis.

      “We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower”

      Actually, now I think about it, you’re better off keeping it that way.

      1. I’ve seen Steve Hackett play Supper’s Ready live a few times in recent years. He and his current band are simply wonderful.

  27. 4:02. I was left with just 4 of the across answers to get after my first pass through the clues. Great informative blog. Thanks Oink and Merlin.

  28. Nowhere near as quick at solving this than most of the other contributors, rather a steady effort, held up at the end by DUGOUT/DORMANT. Didn’t know POMPOM was a gun.

  29. A really nice blog today, thank you. I made relatively unruffled progress through this one until I hit PEKE with I just couldn’t see at all. Was not aware that was an abbreviation, so DNF, although luckily i’m too THICK-SKINNED for that to damage my EGO.

  30. 1a Porcelaine. I wondered whether this was pig-related. Thankyou Merlin & Oink.
    POI 11d Countless. We don’t have Counts because after William arrived with his French aides the senior ones got called a nasty name by the dispossessed Anglo-Saxons, so William adopted the Anglo-Saxon Earl title.
    18d Peke. I was tempted by peek, but could see 23a was an anagram with no Ks.
    LOI 16a Relationship.

  31. A lovely puzzle from Oink and a most enjoyable blog from Merlin. I was happy with 23m
    COD to 6d SUDAN for misleading us with the ‘State prosecutor.’

  32. 14 mins…

    Two good QC’s on the trot – no doubt lulling me into a false sense of security!

    Wasn’t sure about “animate” = “encourage” for 14dn, but the wordplay was fairly clear. Only other hold up was 12ac “Dugout” wheres I was trying to fit “GI” into the solution.

    FOI – 1ac “Porcelain”
    LOI – 12ac “Dugout”
    COD – 2dn “Road Hog”

    Thanks as usual!

  33. 14:26

    Thought our piggy clue was first one in, PORCELAIN, so delighted to follow that up with ROAD HOG. Sadly that was the end of the Oink based answers but a great puzzle. Failed to parse DUG OUT. LOI PEKE.

  34. 9:34 here. Lots to like in this one, and a bar-setting blog to accompany it. LOI was PEKE, where I took too long to separate “top dog”.

    Thanks to Oink and Merlin.

  35. DNF. All done in under 9 minutes except PEKE. I parsed the clue correctly but gave up after 16 minutes. A raspberry to the top dog but thank yous to Merlin for the top blog and to Oink for the puzzle.

    1. Almost exactly the same as me, only you’re clearly made of sterner stuff (I stared at _E_E for three minutes before giving up).

  36. 5:30. Lovely puzzle, just a pity that rushing through them doesn’t leave so much time to appreciate them (though I did have a good chuckle at RELATIONSHIP, wondered how I could make my children groan…)
    thank you both!

  37. Like others didn’t have a clue as to PEKE. Put TETE in as its French for head but was not expecting it to be correct. Apart from making a pig’s ear of that all done in about 20 minutes. Thank you Oink and Merlin – very enjoyable puzzle.

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