Quick Cryptic 1057 by Izetti

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
A good challenge for which I wasn’t quite on the right wavelength, so found difficult. I was saved to some extent by a number of short double definitions which put a few checkers scattered around the grid. As usual from the QC, all seemed fair and fairly simple in retrospect. In my defence, I only know 10ac from solving crosswords, and I always struggle a bit with those clues where the definition part references the rest of the clue (e.g…this?). Last one in was 22dn as an example of the aforementioned. 6dn is even trickier as the definition is not at the end of the clue (something that would have surely fooled me were it not for the very generous signposting).

Having solved on my phone, I couldn’t see who the puzzle’s setter was, and I hadn’t even noticed Izetti’s (trademark?) theological reference. I had guessed by the end, however, owing to the abundance of neatly deceptive surface meanings that always lead me astray. Well played, sir.

I’ll be on holiday for the next couple of weeks, so if anybody is available for a swap that would be much appreciated. I need Wednesday 11th of April covering, and can reciprocate any time the following week. Let me know, and I’ll sort the paperwork with the men upstairs.

Definitions underlined.

Across
8 Admonish soldiers wanting to demonstrate (7)
REPROVE – RE (Royal Engineers, soldiers) and PROVE (demonstrate).
9 The fellow coming in top is worth little (5)
CHEAP – HE (the fellow) inside (coming in) CAP (top).
10 Saw commercial taking a long time (5)
ADAGE – AD (commercial) and AGE (a long time).
11 Honesty of Rob overwhelmed by compassion (7)
PROBITY – ROB inside (overwhelmed by) PITY (compassion).
12 Main store could provide this household item (5,4)
STEAM IRON – anagram of (could provide) MAIN STORE.
14 Expert touch (3)
DAB – double definition.
16 Juice the old man’s knocked over (3)
SAP – PA’S (father’s, the old man’s) reversed (knocked over).
18 People in government organising means test (9)
STATESMEN – anagram of (organising) MEANS TEST.
21 Something very hard that’s in a suit (7)
DIAMOND – double definition.
22 Dissolute men — they get into scrapes (5)
RAKES – double definition.
23 Female achieved success, collecting arts degree (5)
WOMAN – WON (achieved success) surrounding (collecting) MA (Master of Arts, arts degree).
24 Company introducing various menus — what will diners do? (7)
CONSUME – CO (company) with an anagram of (various) MENUS.
Down
1 A river running down to one American state and another (8)
ARKANSAS – A, R (river), and KANSAS (one American state).
2 Record previous evidence of road-user’s inexperience? (1-5)
L-PLATE – LP (long playing, record) and LATE (previous).
3 Anvil maybe, blacksmith’s first one (4)
BONE – fist letter of Blacksmith, then ONE.
4 Heading north, salesperson encountered anger (6)
TEMPER – reversal of (heading north) REP (salesman) and MET (encountered).
5 Miser has to get a foreign article for nothing — what he must do? (8)
SCROUNGE – SCROoGE (miser) with UN (a foreign article) in place of O (nothing).
6 Bow to convey greeting — backside becomes visible! (6)
BEHIND – BEND (bow) containing (to convey) HI (greeting).
7 Nimble agent nabbing traitor finally (4)
SPRY – SPY (agent) surrounding last letter of (finally) traitoR.
13 Music not corrected: get the number wrong (8)
MISCOUNT – anagram of (corrected) MUSIC NOT.
15 Prohibition — one sent to outhouse is ostracised (8)
BANISHED – BAN (prohibition), I (one), and SHED (outhouse).
17 Note added on charitable gifts in holy book (6)
PSALMS – PS (post script, note) and ALMS (charitable gifts).
19 Kidnap sailor on vessel (6)
ABDUCT – AB (able bodied, sailor) and DUCT (vessel).
20 Cosmetics put together (4-2)
MAKE-UP – double definition.
21 Descent from treeless upland (4)
DOWN – double definition.
22 Sound from pig not good — it being this? (4)
RUNT – gRUNT (sound from pig) missing (not) ‘g” (good).

20 comments on “Quick Cryptic 1057 by Izetti”

  1. I’d be happy to do your blog — mind you it’s not something I’ve been cleared to do before!

  2. DNF. At 8A I thought RAP=admonish, should have been on the look out for those two letter military abbreviations (AB made an appearance again today). I always struggle with substitution clues like 5d, and failed here again. COD 6d BEHIND.

    16a is the name of the company I work for.

  3. As usual attempted all the across first and only got the last one. Then tried all the downs and got all of them, accrosses then tumbled in quite easily
  5. 26 minutes, although feared a dnf at one point with probity, scrounge, behind, runt and rakes (LOI) still outstanding.

    Was focused on oink for 22d.

    Lots of good clues, (consume, L-plate, steam iron, miscount) but favourite behind which raised a smile.

  6. 17 mins, average for me. But can someone please explain why anvil maybe, is a bone? (3D)I would have thought bone is much too soft to be a useful anvil.
  7. Like Graham I went through the accross clues without a success until the last one, but unlike him I found every other clue a struggle which is how it should be.
    I was a bit surprised to finish dead on my 30 minute target, thanks to Izetti for another excellent challenge.
    Brian
  8. No problems with this puzzle. Started with BONE and finished with BEHIND. 6:41. Thanks Izetti and William.

    Edited at 2018-03-28 10:59 am (UTC)

  9. After two very fast days, that one took all the way to Charing Cross!

    DNK that an anvil could be a bone, but Mr Google confirmed the answer once arrived at. (My grandfather, a doctor, told me that he was once unexpectedly called upon to say grace at a formal dinner; he recited the Latin names of the bones of the foot and everyone solemnly said “Amen”.)

    Had also never come across DAB on its own as meaning expert, only as part of “dab hand”; it went in with a shrug and then I came here to see if it was right. The D gave me my LOI, BEHIND (clever clue).

    Izetti is definitely sets meatier puzzles than the average but it’s good to have a challenge; thanks to Izetti and William.

    COD SCROUNGE

    Templar

    1. A ‘dab hand’ means an ‘expert hand’ so the old substitution test works as an adjective,
  10. One down the clue is a river ? One state AR and then Kansas making the Arkansas river. Can’t see another as a clue ?
    1. Arkansas is a US state. Kansas is one state. Add a river, AR to it and you get the other state
  11. Not the easiest of puzzles to come back to after a few days away, and I certainly didn’t help matters by trying to make a household item out of Main Story, but I got there in the end in just over 35mins. Couldn’t parse 5d, (thanks William), and spent too long trying to get Ire into 4d, but otherwise a good ‘follow the instructions’ challenge. Invariant
  12. Definitely at the harder end of the scale I thought. One of those where I was pleased to finish at all. Needed the blog to parse SCROUNGE. Have only ever seen SAW=ADAGE in crosswords. But did have a chuckle at BEHIND. Most unusual to have the definition in the middle of the clue, but very fairly signposted.
    PlayUpPompey
    1. Wise saws and modern instances – from Jacques seven ages of man. We had to learn that at primary school with shining morning faces.
  13. 19d couldn’t be anything else, but I struggled to find a meaning of vessel rather than channel for duct – to me “kidnap sailor in Channel” would have been a much better clue with very little change to the surface. I struggled with the parsing of 9a, having “chap” for fellow I couldn’t see why “e” was top!
    1. Top is cap, with the fellow -he- in the middle.
      Lovely puzzle, than k you Izzetti.

      Diana

  14. I found this quite tricky and thought I’d finally completed it in 21.56 but my despairing ‘ring’ for 22d was incorrect. I wasn’t overly surprised as I’d stared blankly at the clue for a number of minutes and still couldn’t figure out what the setter was getting at.
    Oh well better luck tomorrow.

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