Quick Cryptic 1017 by Corelli

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
This puzzle was as much fun in the unpicking as it was in the solving! It took me a bit longer than average, owing mainly to the handful of clues where my general knowledge was not secure enough. So I found myself figuring out how the clue worked (often noting it was an anagram and locating the fodder), but unable to recall the correct solution on first attempt. 5dn and 8ac were unfamiliar vocabulary for me and were a bit of a punt; 3dn and 17ac highlighted my general ignorance, this time of Mediterranean islands.

Having been relieved to get the “Congratulations” message, I thought the completed grid had an unusually dark theme, with the perimeter solutions having an accusatory or suspicious tone. It turns out our setter was not yet finished goading me for the gaps in my education! Literary folk will probably have picked up on the theme by about 1dn, so apologies if this seems patronising, but if you have no idea what I’m talking about, go back to the grid (noting the setter’s nom de plume) before reading on…


I have never read Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and before today couldn’t tell you a simple plot synopsis, so all of what follows is lifted from the internet and will no doubt benefit from the collective expertise of the blog regulars. The more obvious references to the book include CAPTAIN ANTONIO CORELLI, the eponymous character, and his MANDOLINS (especially the one he left with his lover). Attention turns to the unusual anagram fodder in the clues, DR IANNIS, PELAGIA, and MANDRAS all being prominent figures.

The rest is highly speculative and I may be reading more into this than the setter intended.

I have read that the novel (or its adaptations) have since been criticised, some arguing that it is an unfair portrayal of the Greek communist resistance forces (PICKS ON ARMY) that were involved in fighting against the Italian, German, and later British and American invasions. There are commentators who believe that de Bernieres’ depiction of events is DISCREDITED, and those who conceive that the novel, or the story which forms a major part of it, was PLAGIARISED from the real-life account of an Italian artillery captain and/or from an earlier novel by Marcello Venturi. Perhaps the accusations alone are enough to ensure that this work will be suspiciously EYED FOR GOOD.

Across
1 Digging implement boy singles out, unreasonably? (5,2)
PICKS ON – PICK (digging implement) and SON (boy).
5 Soldiers crazy, writing off leader (4)
ARMY – bARMY (crazy) without first letter (writing off leader).
7 According to head of advertising, salesmen returned (2,3)
AS PER – first letter (head) of Advertising, then REPS (salesmen) reversed (returned).
8 Mandras repaired roof (7)
MANSARD – anagram of (repaired) MANDRAS. A type of four-sided roof with each side becoming steeper halfway down.
10 Girl of 14 (3)
IDA – girls name hidden in the answer to 14ac, mIDAir.
11 Instruments musician initially on island played (9)
MANDOLINS – first letter of (initially) Musician, then an anagram of (played) ON ISLAND.
13 Organised party, married, in no particular order (6)
RANDOM – RAN (organised), DO (party) and M (married).
14 Note prosecutor, Irish, involved in sort of collision? (6)
MIDAIR – MI (note, from the sol-fa scale), DA (district attorney, prosecutor), and IR (irish).
17 Dr Iannis: a strange person from Mediterranean island (9)
SARDINIAN – anagram of (strange) DR IANNIS A.
19 Touch nothing removed from hopper (3)
TAD – ToAD (hooper) without the letter ‘o’ (nothing removed).
20 Doctor keen on eating last of black toast (5,2)
DRINK TO – DR (doctor) and INTO (keen on) surrounding (eating) last letter of blacK.
22 Queen meeting new street artist from Germany (5)
ERNST – ER (queen), N (new), and ST (street). Reference to Max Ernst, German artist and poet.
23 I had to be listened to and watched (4)
EYED – homophone of (to be listened to) “I’d” (I had).
24 Permanently in favour of rectitude (3,4)
FOR GOOD – FOR (in favour of) and GOOD (rectitude).
Down
1 Pelagia, losing energy, rides, strangely lifted (11)
PLAGIARISED – PeLAGIA excluding the ‘e’ (losing energy) then an anagram of (strangely) RIDES.
2 Military officer to beat volunteers with it (7)
CAPTAIN – CAP (to beat), TA (territorial army, volunteers), and IN (with it, i.e. fashionable).
3 Sort limbo dancing in Mediterranean island (9)
STROMBOLI – anagram of (dancing) SORT LIMBO.
4 No good hiding old African dictator’s designation (6)
NAMING – N (no) and G (good) surrounding (hiding) AMIN (old African dictator).
5 Bristles angrily when nagged, first of all (3)
AWN – initial letters from (first of all) Angrily When Nagged. The stiff bristles on the ear of barley, etc.
6 I wound up in US resort (5)
MIAMI – I, then MAIM (wound) reversed (up).
9 Record Republican amended proved to be wrong (11)
DISCREDITED – DISC (record), R (republican) and EDITED (amended).
12 Map-reader who runs east, always (9)
ORIENTEER – ORIENT (east) and E’ER (always).
15 In Hunstanton I organised The Merchant of Venice (7)
ANTONIO – hidden in hunstANTON I Organised. Shakespeare’s title character.
16 Scam involving rent not on (3-3)
RIP-OFF – RIP (rent) and OFF (not on).
18 A little sunshine outside home? Not if this? (5)
RAINY – RAY (a little sunshine) surrounding (outside) IN (home).
21 Sort of gloves, perhaps, to have on (3)
KID – double definition.

19 comments on “Quick Cryptic 1017 by Corelli”

  1. Very impressive, William! As one with an almost perfect record of not spotting Ninas in the Concise puzzles, I was certainly not about to notice anything here. And I’d never heard of the novel, so nothing in the clues gave me pause to think. STROMBOLI was a famous (at the time, anyway) movie starring I forget who–Sophia Loren? I know, I could look it up. On edit: I did, and it was Ingrid Bergman. AWN shows up all too frequently in the NY Times puzzles. 5:51.

    Edited at 2018-01-31 05:47 am (UTC)

  2. 11 minutes wih some unusual answers and I can see why they aroused your suspiscions, Will, but I’m afraid, even having been alerted by your intro, the setter’s efforts were completely wasted on me, casting his pearls of wisdom before this particular hog, so to speak. Well done, Will, and thanks for unravelling it all.

    It’s good to see some occasional setters turning up again, what with Breadman yesterday (only 5 puzzles in 4 years) and Corelli today who has set 14 but contributed only 2 puzzles last year.

  3. 7:47 for me, although completely missing the theme. I’ve not read the book but I have seen the movie, but not recently. I just thought there seemed to be a lot of European connections: the islands, Paris is famous for the mansard roof (apparently a tax dodge), the merchant of Venice, etc
    1. Time-wise this crept into my ‘tricky’ category but, whilst nearly stuck in several areas there was always something which clued me to an answer which led to others. A really enjoyable challenge. Then we come to our blogger’s great reveal – hats of to William and, of course, Corelli.
  4. Well spotted William. As usual, any suggestion of a nina totally passed me by. I found myself rushing to get in just under the 10 minute mark and as a result failed to notice I’d typed AS PAR instead of AS PER. Drat and double drat! Having done this just before retiring to bed, I now find I can’t remember where I started or finished. I think I enjoyed it though apart from my silly typo. 9:35. Thanks Corelli and William.
  5. Same here, harder than the usual fare, with the long anagrams remaining opaque for far too long in my case, This took me two minutes over the 20, well outside my target of 15, so 50% more difficulty by my yardstick.

    Like others, I completely missed the theme until I read the blog – well spotted William – I’m not sure that I would have picked it up if I were blogging.

    Edited at 2018-01-31 11:54 am (UTC)

  6. Although I know of the relevant book, I had no idea of its plot or characters: thought there seemed to be something to be going on, I could ignore that and complete in my usual quickie time (8:30 ish)
  7. Excellent work by our blogger today – as usual I was oblivious to ‘anything extra going on’ in the puzzle.
    This was felt a lot tougher than the previous QCs this week and I completed it in 21 minutes with LOI 2d, where the parsing took a bit of figuring out. 3d would have proved a lot more tricky without a vague memory of volcanoes in school geography lessons, which I always knew would come in handy one day!

  8. Thank you William. Completely missed the nina even though I read the book when it came out while on holiday in Cephalonia (along with every other British tourist there). Just remember it had a poor ending.
    I completed the crossword in 5 minutes and was thinking what an awful clue MANSARD was. Now I realise it was clever.
    Thanks to the setter.
  9. You can, of course, add me to the list of swine exposed by Corelli today. Having never read the book, nor seen the film, my idle curiosity at the choice of Mandolin for the instrument in 11ac only rang a small bell, and certainly not one large enough to help with the other clues. Given the theme’s constraint, the anagram surfaces are significantly less tortured than I imagined, and even helped make this was one of the more interesting QCs. My CoD vote goes to 13ac, which I initially thought was yet another anagram, just ahead of 4d. For those who like to know solving times (sorry, Sal) today’s was 26 mins, so a bit quicker than normal. My thanks to Corelli and William. Invariant
  10. I read the book and enjoyed it but, at my level of ability, I am incapable of viewing the QC at a strategic level so missed any theme. A slow 42 minutes today mainly owing to anagram difficulties. Whilst it would seem churlish to nitpick about such a magnificent blog, isn’t the solution to 1d Pelagia without the e followed by an anagram of rides, rather than an anagram of both?
    1. Quite right. I can see now that I solved it by unnecessarily jumbling and then unjumbling the letters! I’ve edited the blog.
  11. Like others today.
    Seemed harder than usual.
    Missed the book references despite reading it, albeit a long time ago.
    Thought 8a a poor clue -but now see why setter did it.
    FOI 4d and LOI 12d. COD to 11a.
    Time 21 minutes -like plett11.
    David
  12. I can now see from the blog that Corelli was being “clever”, but personally found it very unpleasant with such poor surfaces, clunky clues, and a personal bete noir, clues that reference the answers to other clues (although in this instance I biffed 10a from the checkers and used that to solve14a!). Such a contrast to the elegance of yesterday.
    1. I agree, I find clues that you can only get the answers for after you’ve solved another one rather unfair.

      Diana

  13. 16:30, that’s three good times this week. I never spot a Nina, once a clue is in, I forget it.

    I thought there were some good clues, Awn was a guess, as was MANSARD. I was a bit doubtful because anagrams usually don’t start with the same letter as their anagrist.

  14. Being an architect ‘mansard’ was easy – but the rest was pretty difficult. A dnf after two completions this week.
    Andrew
  15. Completely missed the theme—I’ve read and enjoyed several of de Bernieres’ novels, but not this one, unfortunately. A smidge over 14 minutes, handicapped by being both on holiday and (almost inevitably, therefore) ill. I’m sure the three glasses of Californian Chardonnay have nothing to do with it.

    FOI 5a ARMY, LOI 1d PLAGIARISED. One day I’ll actually spot a theme in a puzzle without having to be told about…

  16. Pretty tough for me today, but then it was a late night effort, unusually for me. I’m kicking myself for not spotting the theme as I have read the book twice and loved it – even thought of it when I solved the ‘mandolins’ clue but still didn’t cotton on, as I was so fixed on parsing each individual clue. Thanks so much for enlightening us!

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