Quick Cryptic No 53 by Tracy

Author   nick_the_novicePosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Significantly easier than yesterday’s offering, but not a pushover. Several that took a bit of working out. Nice puzzle, so thanks to the setter – no arcane GK, a splash of humour, and a good variety of clue types for newer solvers to get familiar with.

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Across
7 LIQUID –Fluid is the definition. Answer also derived from L (abbreviation of “litre”) with I (“one”) and QUID (English slang for “pound”)
8 OPENER -A relative rarity, the triple definition (generous setter!). An OPENER is a “key”, an opening batsman (“cricketer”) , and also a useful tool to “take off cap” of a bottle of something enjoyable
9 BEND –Corner is the definition. Answer also derived from BEN (“big clock” – Big Ben) with D (symbol for penny pre-decimalisation). On edit: thanks to jackkt for the clarification that Big ben is the bell (rather than the clock). But, given the clue is “big clock” I think the parsing stands?
10 ENTICING –Tempting is the definition. Answer also derived from ENT (anagram of “ten” signalled by “whipped up”) with ICING (“cake topping”)
11 HIAWATHA –Hero of poem is the definition. Straightforward anagram of “a wit ha-ha” signalled by “misrepresented”
13 LIST – Catalogue is the definition. Answer is also derived from “for the listener” (meaning “sounds like”) “Hungarian composer” (one of the most famous of whom is Liszt).
15 JEST –Joke is the definition. Answer also derived from the wordplay of S (abbreviation of “Son”) “on board” (included in) JET (“plane”)
16 STAMPEDE –Flight is the definition (as in a mass run away). Answer also derived from STAMPED (“impressed”) with E (“Egypt’s leader” – i.e. first letter of Egypt).
18 MENSWEAR -A nice cryptic clue. “Adult males” gives us MEN, “use four letter words” gives SWEAR, and then we have three examples of four-letter-menswear to underpin the clue. My COD.
20 INKY –Black is the definition. Answer also built from DINKY (“toy”) with D removed (“daughter lost”)
21 PIAZZA –Large square is the definition. Wordplay also giving the answer is PIZZA (“Italian dish”) “containing” A (first letter of apples – “apples primarily”)
22 CHOICE –Select is the definition (as in the adjective rather than the verb). The answer is also derived from CHOC ICE (“sweet”) minus the middle letter C (“no centre”)
Down
1 FIRESIDE -For me this was the trickiest one of the day, and LOI. the home is the definition. The answer is also constructed from F (abbreviation of “female”) with I and RESIDE (“live in”). I had not come across this usage of fireside before (as essentially an embodiment of the home itself), although I do have a (very) dim memory from Latin classes of the word for hearth also being the same word as home – but I may have got that horribly wrong and I’m sure one of the classicists amongst our good company will help us out here!
2 CUT DOWN TO SIZE -Double cryptic definition (I think that’s the correct term for this style of clue). If you put someone in their place, you cut them down to size. And the dark art of wallpaper hanging (from which I was banned many years ago after a series of displays of stunning incompetence) will, as I recall, invariably involve trimming. On edit: please see further BigTone’s learned discourse below on the specific connection between size and wallpapering. This just serves to reinforce my view that wallpapering is a field where the Novice plays at his peril. It also – more importantly – adds a bit more heft to the clue: must admit I was struggling a bit with why wallpapering had been singled out as an instance of cutting down to size – as opposed to curtain rods, trouser making or the treatment of Afro hairstyles.
3 ADVENT –period leading up to Christmas is the definition. The answer also comes from AD (as in advert or “commercial”) with VENT (“outlet”). Cleverly deceptive clue steering the unwary off course to thinking about Christmas shopping
4 PORTIA –Shakespearean heroine is the definition, with Portia being the resourceful young woman passing herself off as a male lawyer in the Merchant of Venice. (There was a good reason for this otherwise apparently aberrant conduct). Answer also derived from PA (“father”) placed around (“fencing”) ORTI (being an anagram – signalled by “unlikely”- of “trio”)
5 HERCULE POIROT –Belgian detective is our definition (how many other Belgian detectives could you name?). The answer is also an anagram (signalled by “unhappy”) of “our hotel” and “price”. I have a friend with a tame parrot called “Hercule” – geddit? (well, it passes for wit in rural NSW)
6 DEAN –Faculty head is the definition. The wordplay is A (“article” – of the indefinite type) “put in” DEN (“study”)
12 HIT -Double definition – nice and easy one
14 SIDEKICK –Close associate is the definition. The answer is also built from SIDE (“team”) with KICK (“punt”)
16 SEESAW –Swing is the definition. The answer also comes from SEE (“watch”) with SAW (“cutter”)
17 AFRICA -Another of the easier ones to give us a way in to the puzzle. Continent is the definition. The answer is also an anagram (signalled by “representation”) of “A fair”, with C included (being abbreviation of Cape)
19 EXIT –Leave is the definition. The answer also comes from EX (“former partner”) on IT (“the thing”)

28 comments on “Quick Cryptic No 53 by Tracy”

  1. Spot on, Nick. It’s an example of synecdoche. 7 minutes for me, so an easy one to match today’s main puzzle (which I still managed to foul up!)
    1. Synecdoche – now there’s a ten dollar word! I will try and slip it in to my next sales presentation…
  2. Absolutely no need for apology Jack – was not in any way on the defensive: just wanted to check I had not got something wrong.
  3. 5′, not a particularly interesting puzzle, I thought, although I first read ‘fluid’ in 1ac as an anagram indicator, which led nowhere, of course.’Belgian detective’, as Nick notes, is something of a giveaway; couldn’t the setter have just said ‘detective’? I remember lengthy explanation and discussion in junior high school English class of synecdoche and metonymy. Suffering as I do from what neurologists call Gregg’s Binary Amnesia, I never could, or can, keep them straight.
  4. Another easy one for me today after yesterday’s tricky one. I completed this in 8 minutes. Somebody has to point out that Big Ben is a bell, not a clock, so I might as well get it out of the way early.
      1. Sorry, Nick as I wasn’t commenting on your blog which parsed the clue correctly as it stood. It’s the setter I was being picky with. The error comes up regularly but not so often as ‘Eros’ in Piccadilly Circus.
  5. I feel that somehow, the parsing of 2dn should also include some reference to sizing (in the sense of applying size) which is an integral part of wallpaper hanging but I dont see it. Chambers includes this definition of SIZE : “A weak glue or gluey material used for stiffening paper or rendering it sufficiently water-resistant to accept printing ink without over-absorption, for stiffening fabric and for preparing walls before plastering or wallpapering”
    1. Interesting point – and I’d not heard of size in this sense of ‘glue’. However I’m happy that the clue parses as cutting/trimming the paper to fit the wall rather than what it sticks to on the wall.
  6. Nice easy one for a Wednesday 30 minutes (quick for me) normally around the 40 minute mark.
    As for Big Ben. I believe it is the nickname for the clock tower named after the bell…

    Eurc.

    1. True, and I might not have queried ‘clock tower’ but it most decidedly is not a clock! Anyway at least the tower has an official name now, having been designated the “Elizabeth Tower” to mark the Jubilee and this, hopefully, will stop some people referring to it as “St Stephen’s Tower” which it never was.
  7. Nick – thank you – I’ve just recovered from a fit of hysterics at your blog for 2 down. Something to do with your elegant wording and the absolute match to my own experience just set me off. As for the crossword, I again got held up in the NW (seems to be my Achilles heel of late) where I did myself no favours in thinking that ‘I’ in the clue just had to be me (as in doMEcile) rather than ‘I’ in fIreside. I then thought of every plane under the sun until I eventually got round to jet in 15ac. 14 minutes.
  8. Another example of synecdoche/metonymy, so should be acceptable to a non-prescriptive pedant!
  9. 4 mins. It took me longer than it should have done to see BEND and JEST, and after I got them FIRESIDE was my LOI.
  10. This is the first crossword I’ve managed to complete without recourse to either dictionary, anagram solver or the answers. Not in one sitting mind you, there’s too much taking place around me in the mornings but satisfying nevertheless. If this is easy then it probably explains why the others have been so hard for me. However would all you experts please refrain from boasting about how it only takes so many (few) minutes. For all of us newbies it’s a massive brain exercise for which I’m grateful at my tender age.
    1. Congrats Ian on your first solve! Nice work.

      There’s been a fair amount of comment on this site over the last few weeks regarding whether it is appropriate to state completion times. If I may attempt to summarise the debate

      – a few people have said they find it intimidating / boastful

      – a large number of people have said that they actually find it quite useful as an indicator of the degree of difficulty of that day’s puzzle: this is particularly so when you follow the site over a period and get to know the regulars (for example, if jackkt does it in 8 minutes, it is probably at the easier end: if he takes 15 it is probably a tricky one): this gives you some yardstick for measuring your own performance – e.g. I aspire to complete in twice the time of jackkt

      – the site was originally designed for those who do competitive crosswording (hence the name – times for the times): it has subsequently broadened out into a much more inclusive forum where all levels of expertise are welcome, and where the emphasis is on support and encouragement of newcomers (as I have personally found – I was a total newbie when I first came here in February): however, it would probably be unreasonable for the origins of the site to be lost sight of

      – ultimately, personal times don’t matter (unless you are intent on being a competitor): many of us here just do it for the fun of the thing. But, there is a constituency of members for whom competitive times are important, and we need to respect that.

      Hope that helps.

      Edited at 2014-05-21 12:31 pm (UTC)

      1. Perfectly put, Nick! I’m never going to “trouble the scorers” at The Times Crossword Championship as my solving times put me somewhere down in Blue Square Bet League North Division VI or similar, while to qualify for the championship you need to be Premier League. (Magoo and Jason, and some others, are most definitely, Champions’ League) However, when I first came to TftT, I became aware quickly that it was the custom to post times. I do find it helpful to compare myself with others, such as Kevin, as it gives me a target to aim at. That said, well done, Ian Campbell! When I first came to The Times Cryptic, about 11-12 years ago, I only ever attacked the Saturday (Prize) Cryptic as, sometimes, it would take me all week to solve, even with aids. Even then I often DNF.

        Edited at 2014-05-21 01:45 pm (UTC)

    2. Congratulations, Ian. May there be many more.

      There has been discussion here on and off about posting times. As you say, the times of the experts may put some people off. On the other hand, some say that knowing what to aim for is a help. And of course, the site is called Times for the Times so I do not think that there is boasting involved.. On the main Cryptic site, we all know that Magoo and Jason will come up with sub-10 minute times every day but this does not disconcert those of us who are not as good as them.

    3. Congratulations, Ian, that’s lovely! I actually found it really slow going, so added plaudits. Let’s hope the addiction grows 🙂
  11. 15 minutes – very straightforward but took me a third of that time before I got my LOI – CHOICE. No idea why!
  12. Oh dear! This was my worst solving time ever:25-26mins. For some reason I had trouble with SEESAW, FIRESIDE and INKY. In the case of the last named, I even had a collection of Dinky Toys as a lad, in preference to Matchbox Toys. I also thought that there were some very easy clues such as that involving the Belgian Detective. I did not have to exercise ‘ze leetle gray cells, mon ami’ for that one. Thank you to those who brought synecdoche and metonymy into the discussion. you have just exposed another hole in my education. Thanks Nick for such a good explanatory blog.
    Lastly, how nice to see so many comments today!
    PS…Really finally, wallpapering fascinates me. I could watch someone else do it for ages…. You’ll never get me up in one of them things!

    Edited at 2014-05-21 01:47 pm (UTC)

  13. 31 really slow for me as I had bit of Z8ery (aka husbandly hints).
    11ac horrendously contrived IMHO. MENSWEAR LOI & COD – silly really as I often make stupidly corny comments of that nature when out shopping – should have twigged so much quicker.
    Lovely blog Mr (misnamed) Novice, sir!
  14. My first finish as well, although I had never heard of fireside in such a way.

    Re times – as a newbie to these (only been going since Easter), it doesn’t bother me to see people put their times up, it does act as an indicator.

    However, what does annoy me is when describing the answers, people say ‘a trivial clue’, or ‘very easy/gift’ etc etc. Say it could act as an entrance to the puzzle, or words to that effect, but if (usually when) I haven’t got said clue, it’s rather frustrating to read others claiming it was simple.
    No problem with comments on the puzzle as a whole – that’s quite useful, as it lets me know where I stand.

    The majority of answering cribs are very helpful, and well worded, such as today’s, and this has only happened once or twice. But no, times are fine with me 🙂

    1. Well done Anonymous person on your first finish, hopefully the first of many. I finished too today, after a poor performance yesterday. A few weeks ago I was happy to get a few clues right and now I’m cross if I don’t get them all. Other people’s time don’t bother me too much, my current aim is to finish in one sitting and only after that could I ever post a completion time!

      I was interested in your comment about easy clues acting as an entrance to the puzzle and I agree that other people might perhaps view them as clues to help the novices. In today’s puzzle I got a couple of long-ish answers early on and of course that made it much easier to then solve the intersecting clues — 5d HERCULE POIROT was particularly helpful. For some reason 7a LIQUID I found insanely difficult and was my LOI (Last One In) when I’d got 1d FIRESIDE.

      And I’m seriously in awe of today’s blogger — a novice?!!

  15. I’d just like to point out that this puzzle is a pangram – something that can help with solving when one is indicated and the final letter is being sought.
  16. Sorry – just looked at my previous comment and it’s not very well worded. For those who don’t know the term, a pangram is a puzzle where the answers include all the letters of the alphabet. So it can sometimes help in the search for an obscure answer if the solver suspects that the puzzle is a pangram and is still looking for one of the more infrequent letters like q, j and z. Hope that makes better sense.
  17. Sincere congratulations to the newbies who completed the puzzle today.
    As a long-term addict, today’s puzzle should have been a complete walkover for me, but I actually found it quite tricky. This goes to show that clues that are easy for some just fail to ring a bell for others. Don’t let it bother you, and don’t worry about other solvers’ times either: as Nick has explained, there is a history to the practice, and I share his enjoyment in comparing my times with those of other regular contributors. My only fear is that Nick is getting so good that he might soon start eclipsing my performance.
    One other thought. How easy a clue, or, indeed, how difficult a puzzle is, can depend very much on the nature of the grid. If there are lots of first letters, or some very helpful crossing letters, it is often quite simple to see the answers and to understand how the clues work. For that reason, I think that it is acceptable in the Quick Cryptic for the clues to be a little more demanding if the grid is a helpful one.
    Good luck to all tyros, and thanks Nick for another sterling blogging effort.

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