Quick Cryptic 122 by Alconiere

Author   ianb21Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic

I’m standing in for Chris whilst I understand he is enjoying locally caught scallops in Scotland.  I didn’t have a lot of time so please excuse the brevity and inevitable errors.

I haven’t been doing the QC regularly of late because I’ve been putting more effort into the main puzzle every day. I’m therefore not sure where this is on the scale of difficulty. However, I enjoyed what I believe is a debut from a new quickie setter.  The first time I have ever googled a pseudonym and I probably would never have come across the painter otherwise. Hopefully he will come up as a solution to a clue in the main puzzle before I forget him.

Definition parts of clues underlined where appropriate.

Across
1 Fuel soldier dropped: unpleasant smell returning (8)
PARAFFIN – PARA(solidier dropped) + FFIN(niff = unpleasant smell reversed indicated by returning). At first I thought this was more complex with some kind of addition to PARA that was unpleasant and dropped off. I think I’ve been spending too long on the main puzzle.
5 Girl imprisoned in harem, maiden (4)
EMMA – hidden harEM MAiden.
9 Provide food — type of sugar but no seconds (5)
CATER – CAsTER = sugar with no s = seconds.
10 Not for nothing do PEPs get reformed (7)
OPPOSED – O = nothing + Anagram of DO PEPS indicated by reformed.
11 Note relief: extra cash finally (3)
FAH – A longer way to run. Final letters of relieF extrA casH.
12 An instant crock? (6,3)
COFFEE CUP – cryptic crockery for instant coffee.
13 Trick with wicked talk (6)
CONFAB – CON = trick + FAB = wicked.
15 Irish boy from French family (8)
DECLAN – DE = from in French (as in Brie de Meaux for example, my favourite cheese) + CLAN = family.
17 Game, putting on a face like a grandfather? (5,4)
CLOCK GOLF – I don’t know what you call this type of clue but the whole thing is both definition and wordplay. No doubt someone will explain shortly. Despite being a golfer, I’ve never played this particular type of game.
19 Save end removed from barrel (3)
BUT – BUTt = barrel with end removed. Save in the sense of except or other than.
20 Son with firm impulse: an affliction (7)
SCOURGE – S = son + CO = firm + URGE = impulse.
21 Lost, in the main? (2,3)
AT SEA – Double definition. The main is also an archaic or literary term for the open ocean. New one on me.
22 Learner excluded from the smallest point (4)
EAST – As in point of the compass. L = learner removed from LEAST = smallest.
23 Ugly person: a chef resolved to embrace one (4,4)
FACE ACHE – ACE = one inside Anagram of A CHEF.

Down
1 Peaceful account: Kipling poem framed by picture (5)
PACIFIC – AC = account + IF = Kipling poem inside(framed by) PIC = picture. The poem is one piece of my very limited arts general knowledge.
2 Make to heave coffer, etc, holding handles (5)
RETCH – Hidden, coffeR ETC Holding, indicated by handles.
3 Bangers and bananas found beneath sack (12)
FIRECRACKERS – CRACKERS = bananas beneath FIRE = sack.
4 Home cricket side’s mishap in pool? (2-3)
IN-OFF – IN = home + OFF = cricket side gives the foul of pocketing the cue ball after striking another in the game of pool.
6 Chess perhaps rendered us calm: one’s absorbed (5)
MUSICAL – Anagram of US CALM including I = one indicated by absorbed.
7 Publicity on NI political party to be consistent (3,2)
ADD UP – AD = publicity + DUP = NI political party (Democratic Unionist Party).
8 A stroll in part of Genoa or Madeira? (1,5,2,4)
A PIECE OF CAKE – Double definition. Both Genoa and Madeira are both types of cake. I have sampled neither.
14 Son once upset ultra-right wing Americans (7)
NEOCONS – Anagram of son once. I had never heard of them but nothing else would fit.
16 Eccentric? Not the “colonel” we hear! (7)
NUTCASE – Double definition, one cryptic. Colonel sounds like kernel.
17 Class group of players: 22 (5)
CASTE – CAST = group of players + E = east (solution to 22a).
18 Time, very little time, to return letter abroad (5)
OMEGA – AGE = time + MO = very little time (short for moment) all reversed to give the Greek letter.
19 No-frills airline with complaint cut short (3)
BASIC – BA = airline + SICk = with complaint cut short.  Thanks to jackkt for correcting my original parsing.

27 comments on “Quick Cryptic 122 by Alconiere”

  1. A mostly straightforward puzzle from our new setter. Completed in 9 minutes. My only query is 19dn where I’m not sure it’s legitimate to clue an 8-letter word as “cut short” in order to remove 5 of its letters. I think maybe what’s intended is “with complaint cut short” = SIC{k}.

    Edited at 2014-08-26 12:47 am (UTC)

  2. I am sensing, with both this and the real crossword, that my lack of knowledge of cake is possibly going to be a huge drawback going forward (I did get the clue but it took forever). Sadly I can’t claim lack of knowledge of dr who and I didn’t get 18D at all (the only clue I didn’t get) so I don’t know where that leaves me… 🙁
    1. Improving, like most of us 🙂

      Don’t be downhearted. I know almost nothing about the arts, flora and fauna. However regular solving helps me spot that a solution is a bit of GK I don’t know and I am often able to work out the answer from the wordplay. I no longer beat myself up for not knowing a poet, plant or animal.

      Even though I’ve only been solving regularly for a short while, I have noticed one or two bits of GK repeat themselves. Judging by the comments on the main puzzle blog, this seems to be a common experience even amongst much better and more experienced solvers than me. I would also argue that some of the “GK” is not really general at all. Some of it seems only to be used in crossword land.

  3. Well, I guess it had to happen at some stage – almost beaten by the quickie! About 5 minutes for all bar 19a and 16d and then another 7 minutes before the penny dropped re the “colonel” sounds like “kernel” homophone. (Thought of “nutcase”, discarded it, thought 19a might be “bar”{means safe but “end removed from barrel” = bar was a bit too much of a stretch – similar issue to Ian’s original parsing of 19d}. Thought there were some excellent, deceptive clues here, particularly 1a and, my favourite,17a. Many thanks to setter and blogger.
    1. I had an advantage re 19ac. Anyone involved in the recent wranglings over Times 25857 is not going to forget “butt” in a hurry! Nor “bath” for that matter.

      Edited at 2014-08-26 11:05 am (UTC)

  4. Re 17A, the type of clue where the entire thing is both the definition and the wordplay is called an &lit, but I would be more inclined to call this example a cryptic definition that plays on the different meanings of putting/face/grandfather.
    1. Thanks mohn2. It was late and I didn’t even notice the sense of putting as the golfing activity! Actually I think that makes the clue just a normal cryptic with Game being the definition and the rest being the cryptic part.
  5. 6 mins. For me this was another QC that contained several clues that were worthy of the main puzzle. NUTCASE was my LOI after BUT.
  6. Too hard for me today. Stuffed myself on the NE corner by having Coffee Pot (as in crock pot) and consequently couldn’t get 6d or 7d to work – Add it didn’t make sense! Also didn’t get 18d or the golf bit of clock golf.
    2. I’m with Ian on this – can’t see a second definition here. Game is the definition and the rest of the clue is a rather neat cryptic.
  8. Way to hard for me could not even get started. Not sure why most think this was straight forward as I though it was much tougher than the last few puzzles.
    1. Sometimes you just don’t get on the setter’s wavelength for whatever reason and other times you just fly through the clues only to discover that someone else says it was hard. I sometimes think a puzzle is a real stinker only to discover that the blog consensus is that it was easy.

      I’ve found that if I can’t get started, the best thing is just to try again later in the day. I then seem to be able to more easily stop thinking about the sense of the words encouraged by the surface meaning in the clue. Most often I get a start and everything else seems a bit easier then.

      Edit: I forgot to mention that with the cryptic ones (e.g. NUTCASE), if you don’t get them straight away then they always benefit from being left to simmer on the back burners of your mind.

      Edited at 2014-08-26 03:46 pm (UTC)

  9. Over a third of the answers contained an F – more typically about 2% of english text. Is this considered part of the gaming in cryptics?

    Philip

    1. I do believe you have spotted a part of the rather vague and absolutely obscure NINA 🙂
  10. Have to admit I struggled with this one tonight and agree with ianb21 – I just wasn’t one Alconiere’s wavelength. I guess I’ve now got used to the regular setters and Alconiere is new to the QC. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
  11. Two highly educated novices couldn’t get further than one clue on this one. Isn’t this puzzle verging on the ‘proper’ Cryptic ?
  12. An interesting diversion, with some “big brother” style clues. I don’t think I was on the setters wavelength and was left with CLOCK GOLF unsolved. The clues were mostly fair, but maybe difficult to a new solver.

    Read the explanations for clock golf, but I’m still not happy that it works well. Clock was obvious (i.e. grandfather clock) but where does golf come from? The literal is the game “clock golf”, grandfather gives you clock, but where does “golf” come into it?

    Nigel from Surrey

  13. I respect your right to privacy (as they say in America) but it would be great if you opened an account on Live Journal so we could link your contributions in our minds and enjoy a more effective dialogue with you.

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