Times Quick Cryptic 941 by Izetti

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Thanks to Izetti for a puzzle which I found surprisingly accessible today – until a small stutter in the NE and then loi 16ac. Even then the clue clearly indicated an anagram and with all the checkers there seemed only one way of filling the letters in. A time of 8:57 could be a record for me for Izetti. I enjoyed a few pertinent references to my travels bouncing along the south coast of France into Spain this week – which may preclude early responses to questions.

ACROSS

1. Deckhands – crew members. Pack (DECK), sets of cards (HANDS).
6. Mot – witty remark. From the French presumably – Tom backwards.
8. Vitamin – health supplement. Very (V) with it (IT), former dictator (AMIN).
9. Offer – present. Box c(OFFER) not opening.
10. Chimneystack – may release smoke. Anagram (disastrously) of YMCAS KITCHEN.
11. Marina – location for yachts (e.g. Vieux Port, Marseille). Ruin (MAR), in a (IN A).
13. Bryony – girl. This looked at first sight harder than it turned out. Of a skeletal nature in 4 letters could only be (BONY) with (R)eall(Y) inside.
16. Dombey and son – Victorian book. Novel by Charles Dickens, published in monthly parts from 1 October 1846 to 1 April 1848 and in one volume in 1848. Its full title is Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. Anagram (silly) of NO BOY DEMANDS.
19. Cargo – load. Vehicle (CAR), to travel (GO) (this week by TER/TGV).
20. Account – report. A (A), cold (C – on a tap), nobleman (COUNT).
22. Lay – double definition.
23. Tea garden – outdoor refreshment venue. Anagram (terrible) of GREED AT AN.

DOWN

1. Dive – disreputable den. Daughter (D), I’ve (IVE).
2. Catcher – grabs something moving. Animal (CAT), about (C – circa), on top of the lady (HER).
3. Ham – double definition. Even if you didn’t know the biblical reference (Noah’s son who was the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan) there could be no mistaking the answer with the two checkers.
4. Nantes – French Port but on the west coast. Stake (ANTE – in betting) between two Bridge card players (NS).
5. Sponsored – given external funding. Anagram (somehow) of DO PRESS ON.
6. Mafia – criminal outfit. COD to this one as I was going down the lines of dress (e.g. mufti) until realising the meaning of outfit. Mother (MA) entertaining a (A), female (F), one (I).
7. Turnkey – old gaoler (archaic) – the newer term is an adjective meaning something seemingly different – denoting a project, as in civil engineering, in which a single contractor has responsibility for the complete job from the start to the time of installation or occupancy. Maybe the whole project is ‘locked up’ away from the customer. Some number (N – often used in maths) imprisoned inside country (TURKEY).
11. Mangetout- a vegetable (with a French name). Fellow (MAN) by (next to) exit (GET OUT).
12. Medical – examination. Award (MEDAL) inside which is one (I) and a hundred (C).
14. Orotund (WOD) – pompous. Old (O), big-bellied (ROTUND – too many croissants?).
15. Panama – country. Going upwards (after revolution) a map (PAMA) includes a new (A N).
17. Marry – combine harmoniously (e.g. Fitou and Camembert). Month (MAY) in which we see king and queen (RR).
18. Stun – shock. Gimmicky performance falls short (STUN)t.
21. Cha – drink. Included in lun(CH A)lways.

19 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 941 by Izetti”

  1. Unlike Vinyl, I seem to be sticking to my old strategy of not even looking at what I typed: So I submitted without noticing that my keyboard had done one of its double-lettering numbers, so that OFFER became OFFFE, 2 errors for the price of one. And I spelled the name Briony for some reason as well. 5:33, not that it matters.
  2. 8 minutes, so my run of sub-10 minute solves continues unbroken into its second week. I’m glad that 13ac proved a little more difficult than the other clues and was therefore my LOI or I might not have paid such close attention to wordplay, in which case I would have bunged in ‘Briony’ as the only spelling of the name that I have encountered before. Both are valid, as is ‘bryonie’, but it has to be spelt with two y’s today. It may be useful to remember that like so many other girl names it’s also a plant.

    Edited at 2017-10-17 04:44 am (UTC)

  3. Fairly straightforward until the last 4.

    Dnk Dombey and Son or Orotund.
    Medical
    Marry – couldn’t get away from merge, apart from GE didn’t fit king

    Also dnk ham for Noah’s son. Starting to think my RE lessons in the 90s were deficient!

    COD 11d mangetout.

  4. 30:00. Also did not know DOMBEY AND SON or OROTUND. Seem pretty obscure for the QC.

    I liked the so-called chestnuts, which I don’t recall ever seeing before. Esp TURNKEY and MANGETOUT.

    Not thrilled with BRYONY, which I only vaguely recall, and then with an ‘I’. Whenever I see ‘random girls name’ I shudder.

  5. I also didn’t know Orotund but I put it in as that’s what the wordplay was leading me to and then duly forgot about it till I read the blog. My second sub 15 minute solve in a row at 14:33.
  6. Pleased with myself today. Izetti normally makes my heart sink! I got DOMBEY AND SON straight away (being a CD fan is often an advantage). Got NANTES as a guess, didn’t know NS for bridge players so will have to remember that. And tried BONNIE at first for 13a — the correct answer was my LOI.
    And learnt a new word: OROTUND.
    COD: 10a, if only for the lovely image of a fire in a kitchen full of dancing builders, cops etc 🙂
  7. A puzzle of two halves for me today. The top went in fairly quickly and then I really struggled with the bottom, in particular the unknowns at 16a and 14d and LOI 13a. I wanted to put Briony in but couldn’t make the word play work so spent a good few minutes trying to find another name with alphabet trawls. I came back after a break and it fortunately fell in into place.
    Finally completed in around 30 – 35 minutes.
  8. Definitely at the harder end of the spectrum for me. OROTUND was new to me, although it had to be. 16a took a long time to figure out until I spotted the AND SON. Is there another novel with “and son” in the title? I am another one who has not come across BRYONY with 2 Ys. So all in all I was quite happy to finish at all.
    PlayUpPompey
  9. 14:38 but with a (possibly Freudian?) typo at 10a where I entered CHUMNEYSTACK.

    Thanks blogger and setter.

  10. Started off at a gallop in the NW then slowed down, finishing in 11:16. 1a was my FOI, and PANAMA my last after noticing that, after hitting submit, I was informed that the puzzle was only 97% complete. Hadn’t come across MANGETOUT(in a puzzle) before(I think). I typed in BRIONY before realising the WP didn’t fit. DOMBEY AND SON needed pen and paper. OROTUND needed a bit of thought and the U_D at the end before the penny dropped. Nice puzzle. Thanks Izetti and Chris.

    Edited at 2017-10-17 11:50 am (UTC)

  11. … and I’ve never completed an Izetti before. 1a was easy for me of course! Only 40 minutes, while watching grandchildren on trampolines . They’ll be hungry for sausages and bacon for lunch now. Diana.
  12. A nice puzzle from Izetti, which as people have mentioned, was not too difficult.
    The clear clueing helped me get Bryony and Orotund (vaguely familiar) but I got lazy and wanted to put March for 17d even though it did not fit the clue properly. I corrected that as 22a was a problem -and became my LOI.
    About 18 minutes. David
  13. My understanding of the modern meaning of this word is that the project is 100% complete so all the client has to do is show up and turn the key and it will run.
  14. How beautiful that MARCH also fits the clue for 17dn. The word MONARCH, which can mean both king and queen, is an instruction to combine itself harmoniously: M on ARCH makes MARCH, a month.

    Sadly this ruined my chances with 22ac.

  15. I also had March for ages, but fortunately didn’t think of the Monarch parsing, so dropped it as soon as 22ac became difficult. Nice puzzle (as usual) from Izetti, with crossed fingers for 7d and 14d but all was well in the end. Just short of 30 mins (sorry Merlin) fully parsed. Invariant
    PS I would go for Minervois with Camembert, Fitou with Brie. 😊
  16. Found this very hard. Took about three hours and missed orotund
    A turnkey project is so called because the client, supposedly, need do nothing until the keys to the front door/ gate are handed over by the design/ build contractor at its conclusion.
    Nick

Comments are closed.