Times Quick Cryptic 1110 by Tracy

Author   jackktPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

This pleasant offering from Tracy  took me 11 minutes. I think it’s mostly straightforward but there are a couple of tricky items so I shall be interested to read others’ opinions.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]

Across
1 Some avoid lectures, spend time doing nothing (4)
IDLE – Hidden in [some] {avo}ID LE{ctures}
4 Rebellious at university, elected members (2,2,4)
UP IN ARMS – UP (at university), IN (elected), ARMS (members). I’m not sure if  ‘up’ for ‘at university’ will be familiar to all QC solvers but ‘down’ in the expression ‘sent down’ for students expelled for misdemeanours may be better known.
8 Appropriate number, jazz number (4,4)
TAKE FIVE – TAKE (appropriate – in the sense of ‘steal’), FIVE (number). For those who don’t know it or need reminding, here it is.
9 Record of Hungarian composer broadcast (4)
LIST – Sounds like (broadcast) “Liszt” (Hungarian composer)
10 China with crack, not worth considering (6)
PALTRY – PAL (China – CRS china plate = mate), TRY (crack – have a crack at this)
11 A nun ordered a large yearbook (6)
ANNUAL – A, anagram [ordered] of NUN, A, L (large)
12 Novel and Biblical book don read, excited (6,7)
DANIEL DERONDA – DANIEL (Biblical book) anagram [excited] of DON READ. It’s a novel by George Eliot. A little stretching for a QC methinks.
16 Very protracted farewell (2,4)
SO LONG – SO (very), LONG (protracted). Memories of The Sound of the Mucus Music.
17 Heading for farm, more unusual cattle feed (6)
FODDER – F{arm} [heading], ODDER (more unusual)
19 Family joined by grand royal personage (4)
KING – KIN (family), G (grand). After solving cryptics for many years one tends to accept certain things are the way they are without questioning them so it’s sometimes useful to step back and ask, why? I had completely forgotten (if I ever knew)  that g = grand, specifically in the context of $1000.
20 Woodwind instrument popular in Bordeaux (8)
CLARINET – IN (popular) contained by [in] CLARET (Bordeaux)
21 One who wrote stories about boxer’s trainer (8)
CHANDLER – C (about), HANDLER (boxer’s trainer). Raymond Chandler (1888-1959).
22 Little boy‘s donkey, lacking name (4)
EDDY – {n}EDDY (donkey) [lacking name]. I’ve no idea how ‘neddy’ came to mean a donkey, but it goes back many a century apparently.
Down
2 Tot before a play (5)
DRAMA – DRAM (tot), A
3 Instrument played in large concert, I suspect (8,5)
ELECTRIC ORGAN – Anagram [suspect] of LARGE CONCERT I
4 Harmony or division close to boundary? (5)
UNITY – UNIT (division), {boundar}Y [close]
5 Repeat? Learned line removed (7)
ITERATE – {l}ITERATE (learned) [line removed]. An odd word. If it means what it means why does the word re-iterate exist?
6 Soon enough exhausted, pleasure-seeking (3,2,4,4)
ALL IN GOOD TIME – ALL IN  (exhausted), GOODTIME (pleasure-seeking – as in Goodtime George Melly
7 Dirt involving top player? Hot stuff! (7)
MUSTARD – MUD (dirt) containing [involving] STAR (top player)
10 Protective guard in residence (3)
PAD – Two meanings
13 Get rid of dreadful boils in a hospital (7)
ABOLISH – A, anagram [dreadful] of BOILS, H (hospital)
14 Serving soldier in pub is only to be expected (7)
LOGICAL – GI (serving soldier) contained by [in] LOCAL (pub)
15 Simple tune from couple dispensing with piano (3)
AIR – {p}AIR (couple) [dispensing with piano]
17 Natural ability shown by Labour’s leader in the course of charity bazaar (5)
FLAIR – L{abour} [leader] contained by [in the course of] FAIR (charity bazaar)
18 Duke giving support to English soldiers? Correct (5)
EMEND – E (English), MEN (soldiers), D (duke)

23 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1110 by Tracy”

  1. I also started fast, getting all the acrosses until DANIEL DERONDA (probably the least read of George Eliot’s novels). LOI EDDY–I had no idea ‘neddy’ was a word for ‘donkey’, but couldn’t think of any other boy. 3:56, a very rare sub-4′.
  2. 26 minutes. Held up by take five, up in arms where I had mps in mind for elected members, mustard, paltry, pad, and LOI Daniel Deronda, which looked vaguely familiar.

    Had a question mark over eddy, I presumed gee up neddy referred to a horse.

    Liked paltry and mustard, but COD to abolish.

    Thanks Jack and Tracy.

    Edited at 2018-06-11 07:13 am (UTC)

  3. Sub-average, but not as quick as Kevin today! I don’t suppose there will be many quicker. Held up mostly by the almost unknown DANIEL DERONDA and needed both checkers to remember NEDDY was a word for a donkey. A bit of a musical flavour today with Take Five, Liszt, (Thea) King (Clarinet), Electric Organ and Air.
  4. Got to be impressed by 11 minutes! If like me you are not into Jazz or George Eliot you might struggle. China = mate is common enough and mate = pal is equally common, but maybe leaping from china to pal is a little tough??. Not sure why Eddy is a little boy – I have men friends called Eddy or am I missing something
    1. I think there’s a general convention, or tendency anyway, to use ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ when nicknames are clued. Why ‘little’ here, I don’t know.
      1. Might it be that some names are informally converted into diminutives by abbreviating and adding a Y, especially for children.

        Susy, Ricky, Rosey, Charley etc

        Philip (aka Philly . . .)

      2. Might it be that some names are informally converted into diminutives by abbreviating and adding a Y, especially for children.

        Susy, Ricky, Rosey, Charley etc

        Philip (aka Philly . . .)

  5. Held up by DANIEL DERONDA, and my LOI CHANDLER, taking me to 10:25. I’ve come across D.D. once before in a 15×15, so I eventually twigged once I’d lifted and separated the Biblical book and the anagrist. Nice puzzle. Thanks Tracy and Jack.
  6. There were three clues that I had to guess today at 8a, 12a and 22a, unfortunately for me I guessed wrong at 12 with Redonda. So a DNF in 21.42. Apart from that it was relatively straightforward and I particularly enjoyed paltry and Chandler.
    Thanks for the blog
  7. Four and a half Kevins, what a start to the week.

    My hold ups were DD, CHANDLER (in four decades as a fight fan I have never heard a “boxer’s trainer” being called a “handler”!) and LOI ITERATE (rather generous definition of “learned”; I’ve known plenty of literate people who were not at all learned).

    Liked MUSTARD and PALTRY very much and had no problems with EDDY (isn’t it “little” simply because it’s a diminutive? IE a shortening of Edward?)

    Thanks to Tracy and jack

    Templar

      1. True, but this also works: Handler (Boxing) A person who trains and acts as a second to a boxer. E20. SOED

        Edited at 2018-06-11 10:47 am (UTC)

  9. Thought this was on the tougher side. Never heard of TAKE FIVE. Could have easily as been TAKE NINE, but five sounded more likely. ITERATE is used in computing meaning repeat again and again and… Whereas reiterate tends to be used for a single repetition eg “I reiterate”. Best dictionary definition I saw for ITERATE was “see iterate”.
    Wonder whether “BOXER”S HANDLER” refers to the fighter or the dog?
    PlayUpPompey
  10. Pulled stumps as the hour mark approached with about 4 left, including the completely unknown Daniel Deronda. I take some comfort from getting both 10 and 21ac, but I wouldn’t call this one straightforward. Invariant
  11. Missed a few days recently and seem to be rusty. NE caused me troubles, couldn’t think of a 5 letter word beginning with U (although fairly clued) and that held up Take Five (looking for a number as the first part but not the second, now not sure why – and it wouldn’t have taken long to get to 5), paltry and pad.

    Hope this has cleared the cobwebs for improvement for the rest of the week.

  12. I was up early and tried to solve online for the first time. I was a bit slower as the anagrams I’m sure are easier on paper but I managed to finish correctly in about 22 minutes.
    I have no notes but LOI was 5d and 3d also held me up as I did not really organise the anagram fodder.
    Have not read Daniel Deronda but knew the title and have not read Chandler but knew the author. In these cases a little knowledge was a big help. David
    PS today’s 15×15 is mainly do-able.
  13. Thanks for the link to the Take Five number which I am enjoying listening to whilst reading the blog. Guessed at Take Five so am pleasantly surprised I recognise the melody. Crawled home in 22 mins with LOI Daniel Deronda, another guess from the word play.
    1. I thoroughly enjoyed the jazz too and know it well. How on earth then did I manage to put in TAKE NINE? So I have to admit to a DNF because of that stupid error. It took me about 28 minutes – a rather slow solve any way. MM
  14. I liked the bits that I could do but not the bits that I couldn’t. (I guess no surprise there).
    I thought that Paltry, Daniel Deronda, Emend and Chandler were too difficult but I liked Clarinet when I saw that. Does anyone use Emend as opposed to Amend? Or is Emend a digital correction….
    John George
  15. A couple of wrong un’s today – 7 d as ‘and’ rather than ‘all’ set me to 9a ‘disc’. Should have known better! So frustrating. Struggled with 12a but eventually worked it out from the crossers – not a work or author in my usual orbit. Pleasantly surprised to see 8 as another bit of GK present today. Had the pleasure of hearing the man himself play this – an updated version – at The Stables in Wavendon a few years back – they did so with all the verve and attack of a fresh piece – very stimulating. Also struggled with 18d but biffed successfully on a hunch I had seen it elsewhere since starting the QC a couple of years ago. FOI 1a LOI 21a on pure deduction COD 14d. Usual slow time over a couple of sittings.

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