Even with two big hold-ups, I managed a time of just under 9 minutes. Generally, then, I found the level relatively easy but there were a few unknown terms which may prove to be a problem – but I hope no one is put off – learning new terms is part of cryptic solving. My hold-ups were 13ac where, with all the checkers, it was a half intelligent guess which proved correct. Finally, I was left staring at 22ac which, in the end, wasn’t really hard at all. So thanks to Orpheus for a QC with, for me, a few learning points. I was wondering about a theme having noticed a few religious references and the author’s name at 1ac. Please enlighten me if there is.
ACROSS
1. Like some 19th-century novels, a kind since abandoned (10)
DICKENSIAN – anagram (abandoned) of A KIND SINCE.
8. Profile of Conservative leader travelling from place to place (7)
CONTOUR – Collins has contour=the outline of a mass of land – which ties with profile. (C)onservative, travelling from place to place (ON TOUR).
9. Be concerned about daughter in service unit (5)
CADRE – colins has cadre as a small group of people specially chosen and trained for a particular purpose – so cadre. Be concerned (CARE) about daughter (D).
10. Lecherous look making us stagger backwards (4)
LEER – stagger – reel – backwards (LEER). The ‘us’ seems to be filler to allow the clue to form a sentence.
11. An account giving rise to extreme distaste (8)
AVERSION – an account (A VERSION).
13. Duke introducing American composer, a rich man (5)
DIVES – Collins again – Dives is a rich man in the parable in Luke 16:19-31. Dnk this but got there thinking that Ives is the most likely composer from -V-S. Charles Edward Ives 1874-1954 ‘noted’ for his innovative use of polytonality.
14. Head of class unwell, nursing start of horrible cold (5)
CHILL – (C)lass, unwell (ILL) nursing (holding) (H)orrible.
16. Hunt a boa slithering around German motorway (8)
AUTOBAHN – anagram (slithering around) of HUNT A BOA.
17. Move domestic animals from the east? (4)
STEP – domestics animals – pets – from the east/backwards (STEP).
20. Internet pest missing start of leisurely walk (5)
TROLL – leisurely walk – s(TROLL) – missing start.
21. Go berserk – hit boy attendant (7)
RAMPAGE – hit (RAM), boy attendant (PAGE).
22. Graciously departs in old cab by Cambs cathedral (10)
HANDSOMELY – departs (D) inside old can (HANSOM), Cambridgeshire cathedral (ELY). I could see the D and ELY but struggled for the old and cab with -A-S-O- for a while until it became blindingly obvious.
DOWN
1. Like a nobleman‘s double, taking in Commons at first (5)
DUCAL – double (DUAL) taking in (C)ommons.
2. Safekeeping of satin cover on ground (12)
CONSERVATION – anagram (ground as in coffee beans) of SATIN COVER ON.
3. Winged statue thus about to be erected? (4)
EROS – thus (SO) and about (RE) erected/upwards/backwards.
4. Tried hard to get supper finally in oven (6)
STROVE – suppe(R) inside oven (STOVE).
5. Correctness of notes on church office (8)
ACCURACY – notes (A and C) on top of church office (CURACY).
6. Manage publicity initially required in small country? (12)
ADMINISTRATE – publicity (AD – vert), (R)equired inside small (MINI) country (STATE).
7. Report of senior officer – a bit of a nut! (6)
KERNEL – homophone (report of) senior officer – colonel.
12. Spanish queen, the first murder victim in one’s city? (8)
ISABELLA – original name Elizabeth Farnese 1692-1766, second wife (1714-46) of Philip V of Spain and mother of Charles III of Spain. First murder victim (ABEL) inside one’s city (I’S LA).
13. Shortage of food ultimately overwhelming planet (6)
DEARTH – foo(D) overwhelming (on top of) planet (EARTH).
15. Divided paintings briefly kept in outhouse (6)
SHARED – painting briefly (AR)t inside outhouse (SHED).
18. Shame about conclusion of padre’s godliness (5)
PIETY – shame (PITY) about padr(E).
19. Pulpit used by Uppingham boys (4)
AMBO – either of two raised pulpits from which gospels and epistles were read in early Christian churches. Well, we didn’t need to know this to see the answer in the clue – used by (in) Uppingh(AM BO)ys. For no particular reason I just checked and Uppingham school (for both sexes) is one of the leading British boarding schools and is in Rutland.
Edited at 2021-01-26 09:00 am (UTC)
All in all a gritty half an hour. LOI 22A. Thank you Orpheus and Chris for several insights and more.
Pretty sure the reference will be to (Ferdinand &) Isabella
Thanks to Chris
FOI 1ac DICKENSIAN
LOI 11ac AVERSION
COD 22ac HANDSOMELY
WOD 19dn AMBO
Edited at 2021-01-26 09:08 am (UTC)
And, incidentally, I am actually starting to take the time to listen properly to music again and not to let it be a mere background to another activity (like crossword solving).
Many thanks to Orpheus for a fine QC and to Chris for confirming my parsing (and explaining ISABELLA). John M.
Edited at 2021-01-26 10:17 am (UTC)
DNK AMBO, but had heard DIVES before, although coupling that obscure biblical reference with an obscure composer seemed a bit on thr tough side.
I thought ISABELLA was a “sounds like” for “Is Abel ‘ere”
LOI CONTOUR
COD KERNEL
Edited at 2021-01-26 09:50 am (UTC)
Found the West generally more tractable than the East, with ADMINISTRATE particularly resistant (I kept trying to get “nation” in there). But no problem with KERNEL, instantly remembering a music hall song my grandmother used to sing – “I’m Gilbert the Filbert, the Colonel of the Knuts”. (Yes, nut with a K.)
FOI DICKENSIAN, LOI PIETY, COD AUTOBAHN, time 1.9K for a Decent Day.
Thanks Orpheus and Chris.
Templar
Thanks Orpheus and Chris.
For example 13 Across –
solution=’DIVES’ for ‘a rich man’. Dives? Never heard that one before. Who has ?
Also 12 Down Solution=ISABELLA
First murder victim (ABEL) inside one’s city (I’S LA). ‘Abel’ is fair enough but-
Inside ones city = I’S LA. Ridiculous.
The winged statue in Piccadilly is now thought NOT be be Eros (probably Anteros but definitely not Eros).
I note you haven’t read the earlier comments or you would have seen I had already the point about the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus. And actually it has always been known to be of Anteros by those in the know – including the designer Alfred Gilbert – it’s just a popular misconception that it’s Eros.
12 Down: I think this is a very reasonable clue (perhaps a tad on the tough side for a QC). However, if I were to guess that the definition part of the word play is Spanish queen’, I would have been hard-pushed to think of a more likely candidate answer than ISABELLA from which to attempt parsing the wordplay. ‘In one’s city’ is fair setting.
Thanks … to jackkt and (Anonymous) re ‘Anteros’ – new knowledge to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjAzsqzT0CE
A good test. David
Otherwise, no hold ups and a swift solve at 5:13.
FOI: 16a AUTOBAHN
LOI: 2d CONSERVATION
Time to Complete: DNF
Clues Answered without aids: 12 (incl. 1x wrong answer)
Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 2 (22a, 19d)
Clues Unanswered: 10 (1a, 8a, 11a, 13a, 1d, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 18d)
Aids Used: Chambers, Bradfords
Total Answered: 14/24
Started off fairly well, but came to a grinding halt eventually.
17a PETS – I actually got this one wrong. I put RATS. My reasoning was to think of a type of domesticated animal (Rats), then I reversed RATS to become STAR. I thought this was the answer due to the phrase “star in the East”. Once I saw the answer here I realised that I had used “from the east” twice. Once as a reversal indicator, and secondly as part of the definition. D’oh!
My favourite clues were 9a, 21a and 15d as I answered this purely from working out the various parts of each clue, rather than knowing the answer first, then backwards engineering them.
19d AMBO – probably would not have got this one in a month of Sundays, as I have never heard of the word before.
So, another DNF. But who’s counting. I’m trying not too!
Edited at 2021-01-26 10:55 am (UTC)
PlayUpPompey
LOI 10A: LEER
Straightforward solve only slightly delayed by trying to parse ‘us’ in 10A (to no avail).
Thank you, chrisw91 and Orpheus.
Edited at 2021-01-26 11:12 am (UTC)
I started applying this, totally subjective, measurement of difficulty to the QC at the end of last week. The three-day run since then has been, starting with Friday, a 4; yesterday, a 1 (possibly a 2); and today, a 3.
My Exasperometer grading works like this:
5 – TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE. Lots of grinding of teeth. Probably a DNF, feeling thoroughly beaten and in a bad temper all day
4 – REALLY HARD BUT STILL DOABLE. Rather less grinding of teeth but lots of caffeine and sugar needed. Probably takes 20 to 30 minutes of grumbling.
3 – AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE. No grinding of teeth but lots of sucking of pens, less coffee needed but sugar always welcome.Probably takes 15 to 19 minutes of happy concentration.
2 – FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD. Some head-scratching but little, if any, urges to bash said head against the nearest wall. Probably takes 10 to 14 satisfying minutes
1 – GLORIOUSLY EASY.Finished almost before the kettle has had time to boil for the first cuppa of the day. Sub-10 minutes of dizzyingly fast solutions leading to a heightened sense of euphoria for the remainder of the day. A temporary condition , clearly, lost as soon as the first 3, 4 or 5 arrives.
And so, today’s 3 – an Interesting Challenge -stretched my mind a bit but not irrevocably. I was ok with DIVES from my Latin/biblical knowledge, although my first thought was that it was going to be Midas, especialy as my first letter for that clue was provided by the S of 12 down, ISABELLA, which I too, assumed was the Isabella that’s usually paired with Ferdinand. All I can say is that I’m just glad it wasn’t clued as “random girl’s name”. NHO 19 down, AMBO, but it couldn’t be anything else and at least there was no reference to Sylvester Stallone (or Eton).I liked KERNEL – for me, that was quite an unusual homophone indicator. Ditto the anagrinds, “abandoned” in DICKENSIAN, 1 across and “ground” in CONSERVATION, 2 down.These were my 2 LOIs.
Thanks , kevingregg, for the Leigh Hunt parody and templarredux for Gilbert the Filbert. Loved both.
Finally,thanks to Chris for the blog and especially for unravelling the “ives” bit of the rich man in 13 across (I was another who could only think of Burl Ives…) and the “one’s city” section of 12 down (where I could think of nothing). Thanks too to orpheus
Edited at 2021-01-26 11:15 am (UTC)
The rest went in slow but steady, with the bottom half taking the most time. 22ac took much longer than it should, but only because initially I put “Isabelle” in for 12dn. I’ve seen “Ambo” before, so the hidden word in 19dn was fairly straightforward.
FOI — 1ac “Dickensian”
LOI — 13ac — dnf
COD — 3dn “Eros” — enjoyed the clueing here
Thanks as usual
Edited at 2021-01-26 11:20 am (UTC)
I’d love to say they floated off the paper and rearranged themselves in front of me like something out of A Beautiful Mind, but they didn’t 😀
He has also cropped up in the 15×15 periodically over the years which is the only way I knew him (and the composer for that matter).
In a similar vein, however, I now recognise Ely as an answer that pops up not infrequently (as in 22A)
I have yet to come across ‘on ground’ (2D) as an anagram indicator; that it indicates something ground-up really was new to me.
A good range of question types, which made this fun, despite the set-backs !
FOI Conservation
LOI Handsomely
COD Contour
Time 10 enjoyable minutes
Thanks Orpheus and Chris
Over my 45 year career as a cabbie, I’ve driven plenty of old cabs, but never a hansom.
FOI DICKENSIAN
LOI HANDSOMELY
COD CONTOUR
TIME 3:20
Now for the 15×15, which SNITCH rates as being on the trickier side !
Graham
NOT FUN
After completing NE and most of bottom half, I looked up Profile which gave me CONTOUR. Shd have got that. Then managed to solve DUCAL and DICKENSIAN.
Looked up Graciously and so got HANDSOMELY LOI/COD. Also liked KERNEL.
FOsI. STROVE, EROS, AUTOBAHN, DIVES (!)
NHO Pulpit = Ambo, but easy to biff. Ambo is usually short for Ambassador ☺️
Thanks, Chris, as ever.
Edited at 2021-01-26 02:04 pm (UTC)
Zak
FOI: ducal
LOI: piety (but got Dives wrong so it was a DNF)
COD: handsomely
Thanks for the blog Chris – appreciate your explanation of Dives.
Not quite the nirvana of a sub-Kevin but anything under 6 mins is good for me
FOI – 8ac CONTOUR
LOI – 1ac DICKENSIAN
COD – 7dn KERNEL
Good puzzle – my thanks to setter and blogger.
Interested to see the comments on 12D Isabella. If I was asked to name a random Spanish queen I don’t think I’d have looked any further than Isabella (historical note: Isabella I, queen of Castile, became the first queen of Spain when the crowns of Aragon and Castile were joined in 1479). Indeed I am not sure I even know too many others, and for me the challenge was in parsing the answer not getting it, though eventually the penny dropped and I solved it as Chris has.
Otherwise I was mainly held up by LOI 8A Contour, partly because I wasn’t sure about profile = contour and partly because I was not happy with my initial parsing of it as Con (Conservative leader? Weak …) and Tour (travelling from place to place — also Weak, as wrong part of speech). But I suppressed my concerns, entered it and all good.
Many thanks to Chris for the blog
Cedric
Leading letter of (C)onservative, travelling from place to place (ON TOUR) – like a rock band.
Couldn’t pass 6 or 12 down so thanks to Chris for enlightenment.
Enjoyable day all round.
Newbyish
Edited at 2021-01-26 05:42 pm (UTC)
Looking back on my previous Orpheus DNFs, they are almost all down to a lack of general knowledge (about obscure classical references). Sorry to be dismal, but I am disillusioned today. Result: A 39-minute DNF.
N.B. Mrs Random had the same experience, a 40-minute DNF, coming to grief on precisely the same clue as me (we both guessed DAVIS for 13a). An early ‘yardarm’ might be called for to raise spirits in the Random household.
Thanks to chrisw91.
DNF due to Dives. Tried the 25 possible vowel combinations and nothing looked right. Glad I biffed Isabella having seen the parsing
Good puzzle and blog. Johnny
SWMBO had heard of dives fortunately
Also managed to drag up ambo from the depths.
Another Very Good Day.
Edited at 2021-01-27 03:35 pm (UTC)