Times Quick Cryptic No 1818 by Teazel

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I found this rather tricky, and at three-or-so minutes over target took fully twice as long as yesterday’s done just beforehand. No particular hold-ups, but I only got five of the acrosses on a first read through (6,9,19,20,21), and continued on in a similar vein, eventually sticking in 12d and 13ac with an unparsed shrug and finally having to write out the anagrist for the forgotten 1ac. A quirky puzzle with lots of good quality misdirection – many thanks to Teazel!

Across
1 Terrier in shame lay twitching (8)
SEALYHAM –  anagram (twitching) of SHAME LAY. Not many options after all the checkers are down.
6 Noticed far side of lawn is cut (4)
SAWN – SAW (noticed) N (“far side” of lawN)
8 Very desirous to get article out of the country (6)
HUNGRY – take A (article) out of HUNGaRY (country)
9 Nothing in priest and lieutenant to inspire disgust (6)
REVOLT – O (nothing) in REV (priest) and LT (lieutenant)
10 Nobleman’s free pardon partially reversed (4)
PEER – fREE Pardon “partially, reversed”
11 After small mistake, travelled it’s said in exit lane (4,4)
SLIP ROAD – after SLIP (small mistake) ROAD = RODE (travelled, when said)
12 Indian perhaps back with uniform (5)
HINDU – HIND (back) with U(niform)
13 Out of practice, well-behaved prisoner loses head (5)
RUSTY – a TRUSTY is apparently a well-behaved prisoner, ditch the head.
15 In foreign parts manages to be heard (8)
OVERSEAS – is heard the same as OVERSEES (manages)
17 English sailors without a feeling of discontent (4)
ENVY – E(nglish) NaVY (sailors, without A). I suppose there are many varieties of discontentment, of which envy is one.
19 God posed beside vase (6)
SATURN – SAT (posed) beside URN (vase)
20 Power of special constable to intercept drug smuggler (6)
MUSCLE – S.C. (special constable) to intercept MULE (drug runner). I remember finding the seemingly endless, random things that can be reduced to initials quite frustrating when I started cryptics. You grow to accept it. (Or you could actively embrace it, and write an entire novel using just the initial letters found in Chambers.)
21 Letter school returned (4)
NOTE – ETON (school), returned
22 Staff that protect rebuilt city? Sure (8)
SECURITY – anagram (rebuilt) of CITY SURE

Down
2 Avoid duel, moving east (5)
ELUDE – anagram (moving) of DUEL ; E(ast)
3 Restraint of Roman soldiers suppressing resistance (3-4)
LEG-IRON – LEGION (Roman soldiers) suppressing R(esistance)
4 Horse always gets fodder (3)
HAY – H(orse) AY (always)
5 Carnival route initially appears in complicated diagrams (5,4)
MARDI GRAS – R (Route “initially”) in an anagram (complicated) of DIAGRAMS
6 Cut is almost serious (5)
SEVER – is “almost” SEVERe (serious)
7 Inept type engaging a black Aussie native (7)
WALLABY – WALLY (inept type) engaging A B(lack)
11 Nurses’ tea enlivened by a bottle of this? (9)
SAUTERNES – anagram (enlivened) of NURSES TEA. The strict definition is just “this”, referring back to the enlivened tea, with “a bottle of” providing an extra hint. I trust they weren’t pouring it into their tea.
12 Tackle a criminal? Just try! (4,1,2)
HAVE A GO – double definition, the first completely unknown to me: when a member of the public tackles a criminal. The clue echoes the OED’s earliest citation, from 1965 in the Daily Mail: “Mr. Ranulph Bacon, Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner for Crime, yesterday gave this advice to the public if they saw gunmen carrying out a raid: ‘If you can have a go, have a go.’” Wow, isn’t that some magnificently bad advice from Mr Ranulph Bacon? (Yes, surname Bacon, stop tittering at the back.)
14 Poet in first half of sermon about writers (7)
SPENSER – SER (first half of SERmon) about PENS (writers)
16 Red wine: rogue has good drop (5)
ROUGE – ROGUE has the G(ood) drop from 3rd to 4th
18 Jeeves, for example, introduces Glen to tango (5)
VALET – VALE (glen) introduced to T(ango)
20 Man in charge at first speaking into this? (3)
MIC – Man In Charge “at first”. (The strict definition is just “this”)

53 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1818 by Teazel”

  1. I needed all the checkers to work out the terrier, but It vaguely rang a bell when I saw it. I was tempted by AYLESHAM to start with, but fortunately didn’t fall for it. FOI SAWN. LOI SEALYHAM. COD to MARDI GRAS for the excellent “complicated diagrams”. 4:54.
  2. Finished within our target for a change. Knew the dog but had to check the spelling. Carelessly put seen for 6a, so the aussie animal took longer until it was corrected to sawn. Pleasant puzzle, thanks Teazel and for the blog.
  3. ….and I found this the easiest QC of the week so far. MER at 20A however. If SC intercepts MULE, surely that gives us “smulec”. I bashed on regardless.

    FOI SEALYHAM
    LOI ROUGE
    COD SAUTERNES
    TIME 3:19

  4. A much improved time today as I managed everything in 18 minutes, as opposed to the 20+ or even 30+ I have registered every other day this week. Although not a dog person I had heard of SEALYHAM (I’ve no idea where). Also knew that a well-behaved prisoner was a Trusty, so no problems there either. I was tempted to enter evade at 2dn but as I couldn’t parse it I left it and it became obvious once 8ac had fallen. A thoroughly enjoyable crossword with the only weak clue IMO being 12dn.

    FOI – 6ac SAWN
    LOI – 2dn ELUDE
    COD – 19ac SATURN

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  5. Not being very good at anagrams , I had to use an aid for 1a (it was a bit chicken and egg, as I was stuck on most if the relevant downers). A bit miffed as I did know the breed. Otherwise, it was a bit of a slog going round the grid, gradually filling in the blanks. I did manage the other anagrams, though.

    Couldn’t parse rouge, so thanks for the explanation- rather obscure, IMHO!

  6. A one course gentle QC today.
    Did like leg iron.
    If they used a different school we would have to work it out!
    Thanks all round

  7. Like others, I had to guess SEALYHAM but not helped by struggling with HAY. Can someone give me examples of where you’d abbreviate horse to ‘h’ and always to ‘ay’?

  8. I thought this a pretty gentle offering from Teazel. My first thought for 1a was Bedlam but insufficient letters set me thinking and Sealyham was remembered (I’m on my fourth Irish Setter so smaller dogs take some exercising of the brain cells). No problem with 12d Have A Go as Wilfred Pickles, with Mabel, made this such a memorable catch-phrase as ‘Have A Go, Joe’ even before the red-tops picked it up so much later. I had ‘mule’ in mind for 20 but was looking for the full parsing for a while. By know I’ve come to consider 21a Note/Eton as fairly lazy setting (sorry, Teazel) but as commented above, it does save us having to work it out! A pretty quick solve for me broken into parts but mainly completed while sitting in the car waiting for someone undertaking a quick hospital screening. I’d estimate a total of about 35 minutes.
    I’m continually surprised by the difficulties some experience with what I regard as standard GK, and my own failings where they forge ahead and I stare into a blank page. Today, for example, several have expressed trudging through the NW, whereas I sailed through. I suppose its a good job we are all different!
    FOI 6a Sawn, LOI 22a Security, COD 17a Envy. Thanks to Teazel and our blogger.
  9. crispb sums up my experience too.
    But after 25 minutes I had four in the top NW incomplete….Sealyham NHO but clearly many have so I cannot complain…..Hungry- not seen from the definition — Hay — not familiar with Ay = always… and Leg — I got the iron but without letters couldn’t see the first part. Legion not thought of.
    Thanks all
    John George
  10. Found this a challenge, especially NW corner since NHO SEALYHAM. Once I discovered this with help, the rest fell into line OK, so Igot there in the end.
  11. 10 minutes and a few seconds, so I found this one easy enough, helped by seeing 1a and 6a straight away. SEALYHAM known only from watching Crufts, but I think they are quite nice looking dogs. Like others, I remembered HAVE A GO heroes, which helped justify 12d. I thought MARDI GRAS a good clue, but COD to LEG IRON. Thanks Roly and Teazel.
  12. …Apart from 1A which I DNK, 12D which I couldn’t parse for the life of me and AY which I also DNK. I need to read more… Spenser?

    10A FOI
    1A LOI
    COD for me 11D

    Thanks to Teazel and RolyToly
    Cheers,
    Woodspiral.

  13. Sealyham terriers are lovely dogs and it’s such a shame that they are now so few that people haven’t heard of them. They used to be very popular in the UK and are one of the old breeds that are dying out as new mixes become popular.
    So now you know folks, spread the word!

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