Quick Cryptic 3041 by Bjorn – an itsy bitsy teenie weenie bit tricky

Author   BletchleyRejectPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

 

I found this a bit on the harder side as indicated by my time of 12:55. Better than my last Bjorn effort when I was well into the SCC. A number of interesting clue constructions to start off with and some less common words, eg 20a and a bit of UK-centric knowlege required, eg 17a. I wasn’t sure what 20d (On edit: Apologies, I meant 19d – thanks MartinG) was referring to and had to look it up only after getting the answer from wordplay. The six anagrams did help to get a few answers in and the double defs weren’t too hard.

I liked the surfaces for 11a and 23a.

There’s a little stocking filler in the grid, which would have helped had I picked it up sooner. As always in retrospect, not hard to spot, but if you still can’t see it, click on the button below.

Spread across the centre of the grid is… CENTRE SPREAD and down the middle column is… MIDDDLE COLUMN.

 

Thanks to Bjorn

Definitions underlined in bold, deletions and letters in wordplay not appearing in answer indicated by strikethrough.

Across
1 Silly, mardy, sad old men playing soldiers (4,4)
DADS ARMY – Anagram (‘Silly’) of MARDY SAD

No problem with the TV programme (still being shown on repeats here) but I didn’t know ‘mardy’ which Oxford Dictionaries gives as “Northern English: in a petulant bad mood; sulky or grumpy”. The whole clue could also be seen as the definition.
5 Fungal blight infesting farmer’s cabbage (4)
SCAB – Whole clue as definition and a hidden (‘infesting’) in farmer’S CABbage’

I knew SCAB can be a skin disease in animals, but not being a gardener, I didn’t know that SCAB is also a fungal disease of plants.
8 Cornish river southeast? That’s wrong (5)
FALSE – FAL (‘Cornish river’) SE (‘southeast’)

‘That’s wrong’ referring back to ‘southeast?’ as the location of Cornwall. Another clue for which the whole clue is a non-cryptic definition.
9 Loot piled so high? (7)
DESPOIL – Anagram (‘high’) of PILED SO
11 Very attractive, the Spanish goalie — he’s bedded plenty (11)
HOTELKEEPER – HOT (‘Very attractive’) EL (‘the Spanish’) KEEPER (‘goalie’)

Maybe on obvious one, but still my COD. A whimsical def and not the sort of ‘bedded’ the surface suggests.
13 Cross netball player (6)
CENTRE – Double definition

Centre for ‘cross’, usually seen in a sporting sense
14 Before stuffing down blanket (6)
SPREAD – PRE (‘Before’) contained in (‘stuffing’) SAD (‘down’)

Not the expected ‘down’ as a noun.
17 Change for Waterloo Stn, where there’s a runaway train (5,6)
ALTON TOWERS – Anagram of (‘Change for’) WATERLOO STN

I’d just heard of this. A historic estate, theme park and “resort complex” in England (Staffordshire) which has a roller coaster called the “Runaway Mine Train“.
20 Bikini top reportedly outlawed? Oh … (7)
BANDEAU – Aural wordplay (‘reportedly’) of BANNED (‘outlawed’) and of OH

I didn’t know this term. According to the OED, first used in this sense (earlier senses were as a hair band or eye bandage) in 1915.
21 Fabulous writer regularly made a scoop (5)
AESOP – Alternate letters (‘regularly’) of mAdE a ScOoP

‘Fabulous’ possibly in two senses, but I think the “given to fabling” rather than the “wonderful” one is primarily intended.
22 Taking lead from smallest bridge player (4)
EAST – Deletion of first letter (‘Taking lead from’) LEAST (‘smallest’)
23 King wearing exotic panties in disorderly house (5,3)
SNAKE PIT – K (‘King’) contained in (‘wearing’) anagram (‘exotic’) of PANTIES

Don’t even try to make a mental image of this! I think of a SNAKE PIT as an environment in which everyone is at each other’s throats, rather than a ‘disorderly house’ but Chambers has as sense 2: “A place, or circumstances, characterised by disordered emotions and relationships” so ‘disorderly house’ seems OK.
Down
1 Weak-minded Democrat behind (4)
DAFT – D (‘Democrat’) AFT (‘behind’)
2 Very intelligent individual with no DPhil, strangely (7)
DOLPHIN – Anagram (‘strangely’) of NO DPHIL

Not the human ‘individual’ I was expecting.
3 Spy called in extremely offensive chemical weapon (5,6)
AGENT ORANGE – AGENT (‘Spy’) then RANG (‘called’) contained in (‘in’) OffensiveE (‘extremely offensive’)
4 Male, lazy, nursing onset of drinker’s belly (6)
MIDDLE – M (‘Male’) then IDLE (‘lazy’) containing (‘nursing’) Drinker’s (‘onset of drinker’s’)

‘Belly’ for midriff, or MIDDLE part of the body, or for the central part of eg muscles.
6 Loudly munch cutlet after eating starter of melon (5)
CHOMP – CHOP (‘cutlet’) containing (‘after eating starter of’) Melon
7 English pounds accepted by second-rate European capital (8)
BELGRADE – E (‘English’) L (‘pounds’) contained in (‘accepted by’) B GRADE (‘second-rate’)
10 High-level worker wrecked Jeep’s tackle (11)
STEEPLEJACK – Anagram (‘wrecked’) of JEEPS TACKLE
12 Scratch word game (8)
SCRABBLE – Double definition
15 Popping tablets into each drink relaxes (5,2)
EASES UP – ES (‘tablets’) contained in (‘(popping…) into’) EA (‘each’) SUP (‘drink’)
16 File article for newspaper (6)
COLUMN – Double definition

My last in. I spent too long with A, AN and THE.
18 African city last to shut universities (5)
TUNIS – shuT (‘last to shut’) UNIS (‘universities’)

In the past, UNIS for ‘universities’ would have been regarded as very non-U.
19 Catch sight of 40 on board heading north (4)
SPOT – Reversal (‘heading north’) of TOPS (’40 on board’)

TOPS is the double twenty (=40) scoring area at the top of the darts board. This term is perfectly logical, but there is plenty of other darts jargon that isn’t.

76 comments on “Quick Cryptic 3041 by Bjorn – an itsy bitsy teenie weenie bit tricky”

  1. Got stuck, like many, on BANDEAU and COLUMN. Please can someone explain why COLUMN = FILE?

    3. I think that in the military term “rank and file”, the ranks are the soldiers in the rows while the files are the columns.

  3. I found the top of the grid mostly straight forward but I had hesitations a plenty from the CENTRE onwards. I have worn BANDEAU bikinis so that wasn’t an issue but I did query the wordplay for SCRABBLE, CENTRE and my penultimate solve COLUMN. I liked the wordplay for SPOT though. My LOI was the elusive anagram ALTON TOWERS. 9:15 Thanks BR

  4. I don’t do the QC every day, but this was the hardest I’ve done in a while – I would say right at the edge of QC difficulty – though others will disagree! Not often we get a darts reference, and I couldn’t parse SPOT. Some great clues though, and I enjoyed 1a, 11a, 17a, 23a, 2d, 4d, 5d. Grateful thanks as ever.

  5. Slow throughout and gave up at my self-imposed 30 minute limit with 2 outstanding. Yes, you’ve guessed them – COLUMN and BANDEAU. I was too fixated on a word ending in ‘an’ to get to COLUMN and with BANDEAU (vaguely heard of) I was looking at the wrong end of the clue for the definition. I had to consult Mrs PF for netball positions and even then didn’t get the ‘cross’ bit (the cross reference you might say). 19dn had to be SPOT but I completely failed to understand the darts reference. 4-0 to Bjorn today I think.

    FOI – 1ac DADS ARMY
    LOI – DNF
    CODs – loved the hot Spanish goalie and the runaway train.

    Thanks to Bjorn and especially to BR for making sense of this.

  6. 39:08
    Only 2 clues solved in the first 8 mins and I feared I was going to have a repeat of yesterday’s DNF.
    Pleased others struggled as my little QC solving confidence would have taken another battering.
    Seeing DADS ARMY on the 3rd pass of the crossers landed a little ray of light, and taking pen to paper for the anagrams helped. Though the majority of clues were still very slow to see.
    Further held up in the SW corner with last 2 in COLUMN and then BANDEAU (Bikini top suggesting a ‘B’ to me rather than the actual answer).
    Too much of a struggle for me to enjoy but I accept there were some very fine clues. However, I do agree with others that CENTRE and SPOT were not Bjorn’s best.

    Thanks to Bjorn and BR

  7. I found most of this fairly straightforward until I got to what turned out to be COLUMN and (NHO) BANDEAU. Parsed both of them completely wrongly and spent probably five minutes staring at them, before the former popped into view and gave me enough letters to take a stab at the latter.

    17:05 in all, and thank you for the blog!

  8. Found this very tough. Breezeblocked for ages on BANDAU and COLUMN. All in vain as apparently there isn’t a netball team called the Canaries. 16,15 WOE. Thanks Bjorn and BR.

  9. 12.41 The bottom half was much harder than the top, though CENTRE for cross was the only unknown. LOI COLUMN. Thanks BR and Bjorn.

  10. 28:44 Should have given up but persevered and finally entered ALTON TOWERS( I was leaning towards AFTON WATERS), BANDEAU, and SNAKE PIT.

  11. 19 mins…

    But I can see why people struggled. If you don’t know Dad’s Army or Alton Towers, it would probably be quite difficult. The ones I struggled with: 16dn “Column”, 12dn “Scrabble”, 13ac “Centre” and 20ac “Bandeau”, whilst obtainable, left an element of doubt.

    FOI – 1ac “Dads Army”
    LOI – 20ac “Bandeau”
    COD – 14ac “Spread”

    Thanks as usual!

  12. Dno BANDEAU, COLUMN/file bit abstruse for me at the time(see it now)apart from that worked through balance, albeit quite slowly, for some reason SNAKEPIT held me up even with K and P as checkers. Overall slower than usual before admitting defeat

  13. I loved this – I chuckled my way through it, and didn’t find it any harder than yesterday’s (well only by a few seconds). As ever, I spent too long on my LOI, as I didn’t equate file with COLUMN, but then realised that it could be like a line of soldiers – maybe Capt Mainwaring’s lot in DAD’S ARMY?
    I was a bit flummoxed by cross = CENTRE, not being very up on sport speak, but it seems fair enough based on the various examples offered here. Mardy is very common in the East Midlands – it really is a very useful word. Jamie Vardy was often described as mardy, although it’s not a footballing term 😂
    Lols went to HOTELKEEPER, SNAKE PIT, and MIDDLE, and ticks to AESOP and STEEPLEJACK, and overall I thought the whole thing was terrific.
    10:33 FOI Dad’s Army LOI Column COD (by a whisker) Alton Towers
    Many thanks to Bjorn and BR – thanks for spotting the nina – it’s a good one!
    And hooray! I never thought I’d be so glad to seem some rain ☔

  14. Only managed to get to this post lunch, and clearly the late start doesn’t suit me. I’m pretty sure this is my slowest ever time for a correctly completed QC at 27.58. Just about 10 minutes had been expended by the time I got to my last two, which not surprisingly were BANDEAU and finally COLUMN. Sheer bloody mindedness gripped me into not giving up, and I at least get some satisfaction from finishing. The main problem was my blinkered view that 16dn had to finish AN with an obscure name for a file or perhaps rasp, giving an obscure foreign newspaper perhaps. Too many obscures perhaps!

  15. 20:10 here, very much enjoyed. I spent a while trying to bring the lyrics of “the runaway train went over the hill and she blew, she blew” to mind in the hope that there would be a place name in there. I didn’t get the darts reference for SPOT, I thought there might be some connection to the Top 40 for music and moved on. COD to HOTELKEEPER.

    Thanks to Bjorn and BR.

  16. I spent 12 minutes on this before having to catch a train to London. I’d done most of it by then thinking tricky and maybe a little loose in places.
    I then travelled through Waterloo station twice, out and back, without solving the anagram. Eventually I twigged Alton Towers, near London Bridge on my return journey.
    BANDEAU (NHO) also held me up a lot.
    So, lots of time in the end.
    Overall a good challenge but I thought HOTELKEEPER contrived as a word.
    David

  17. Had to work away at this and needing inspiration on some clues but only finished after looking up BANDEAU.
    Some very enjoyable clues such as TOPS, DOLPHIN and HOTEL KEEPER.
    I’ve only just realised why ES means ‘tablets’. Blimey.
    Thanks Bjorn and BR. Spotted the Nina thanks to your hint.

  18. I thought this was a bit quirky and I liked it a lot. BANDEAU was a write-in for this female solver 😁 and I always appreciate a homophone so it gets COD today. Biffed CENTRE from ‘netball player’ but wasn’t sure about ‘cross’. Really liked the surfaces for SPREAD and SNAKEPIT. LOI, predictably, was COLUMN (doh). Many thanks BR and Bjorn.

  19. A not very enjoyable struggle to DNF, missing SNAKE PIT (NHO), COLUMN and SPOT.

    Surprised at the lack of nods to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where DOLPHINs are indeed very intelligent (so long, and thanks for all the fish!).

  20. ‘Dad’s Army’ – the Home Guard – were absolutely NOT ‘playing’ soldiers!

    Brave volunteers who were ready to do their duty with little chance of survival.
    We all owe them to at least be respectful of their memory.

    1. Good evening. I compiled this puzzle and the reference to “playing” in the clue for DAD’S ARMY relates to the actors performing their roles in the television programme. Had the required entry been HOME GUARD I would agree with you.

  21. 48 minute DNF.

    Could not get BANDEAU (despite having first 5 letters!!!) or COLUMN. Spent over 30 minutes staring at these clues and saw nothing. How bad is that?

    Enjoyment – nil
    Sense of achievement – nil
    Self-confidence – nil

    Why can’t I do this? Where am I going wrong? I am so frustrated and angry at my lack of ability and failure to improve. I wish I knew the secret to this, but I don’t think I ever will. I am so envious of the rest of you.

    I’m too fed up to even think about looking at the 15 x 15. ☹️

  23. DNK the darts lingo, I thought TOPS was referring to Top 40 on the (Bill)board charts! The definition was clear so I didn’t think about it too hard.

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