Times Quick Cryptic No 293 by Izetti

Author   macavity123Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Morning everyone!
Solving time: easy to middling.

The Don is gracing us with his presence today with a pleasant solve that one or two solvers may feel has unusual words. The usual mix of staunch cluemanship with a couple of his trademark religious references. Quite a few clue indications are for words that are longer with a letter missing and all the removals have been indicated in elegant ways.

While in Germany recently I noticed the stationery shops selling exercise books with ruled lines down the centre of each page, designed for storing vocabulary for language students. These may be useful for newer crossword solvers to store words used in puzzles that can be misleading, or unusual. Perhaps we should get a stockist over here.

Once again, thanks to the Don for today’s challenge and I’ll see you next week!

Across
1 PANORAMIC – Our first definition is all-round. PANIC (alarm) with O (old) + RAM (farm animal) inside.
6 BUS – This made me smile. We are looking for a type of vehicle and it’s a word meaning broken (BUST), without its last letter (not getting to the terminus!).
8 STRUDEL – Food is your definition. The answer is hidden in “MOST RUDE LOUTS”.
9 TALLY – Score is the deifnition. The last letter of POINT + ALLY (colleague).
10 DEGENERATION – Decline is the definition. Reverse a word for a journalist (shown by written about) + GENERATION (age group).
12 DYER – This is one of those clues where the whole clue defines the answer and also provides the inidcation. It’s a reverse hidden answer. Hidden backwards (one turning) inside GREY DARK is someone who would carry this out!
13 SAKI – The name of a famous novelist who probably now only appears in Crosswords and Only Connect quizzes. It’s also a variant spelling of a type of Japanese drink, which more often is now spelt with an ‘e’ at the end.
17 CARDINAL SINS – The definition here is “lust, anger etc.” which are all examples of these. CARDINAL (Church dignitary) + SINS (strays).
20 OMBRE – Another word that some may feel is too obscure for these sorts of puzzles. A type of card game, one I had never heard of. SOMBRE (sad), minus its first letter (surrendering spades, S). It’s apparently a trick-taking game that is a forefather of the bridge game I love. I shall ask my learned chums at the bridge club this evening if they had heard of it!
21 GAZELLE – Wild animal is the definition. The name of a horrible place – HELL, minus its first letter, perhaps how a Cockney might say it with GAZE (look) around it.
23 DOT – A shortened form of Dorothy is also another word that means point (as in a decimal fraction).
27 SURRENDER – Yield is the definition. SURER (more confident) around R (right) + END (conclusion).

Down
1 POST – A double definition clue. A word that means a pole can also mean a job or position.
2 NURSERY – Horticultural business is the definition. It’s an anagram (transformed) of SURREY + N (last letter of GARDEN).
3 RED – Looking embarrassed is the definition. RE (about) + D (daughter).
4 MULLET – FISH is the definition. MULL (scottish isle) + ET (out of this word, extra-terrestrial). Incidentally, those of you who are not used to the Chambers Dictionary (affectionately known as the Big Red Book), may be unaware of the book’s trademark quirky definitions of some words. Mullet is defined alternatively as “a hairstyle short on top, long at the sides and back, and ridiculous all round.”!
5 CATHARSIS – Purgative process is the definition. An anagram (to reform) of RACIST HAS.
6 BALTI – Cuisine is your definition. BALTIC (N European area) minus C (cold).
7 SAYING – Maxim is the definition. STAYING (remaining) minus T (the passing of time).
11 EARLINESS – “Coming before due time” is the definition. A wordsum of EARL (Lord) + I (one) + NESS (head[land])
14 KINDLED – Inspired is the definition. SORT (kind) + LED (was ahead of everyone else).
15 ACCORD – Agreement is the definition. AC (abbreviation for bill, account) + CO (company) + Rd (ROAD).
16 BANGOR – Northern Irish town (or Welsh city!) is the definition. BANG (big noise) + OR (abbreviation for Ordinary Ranks, soldiers).
18 RABAT – More geography! African capital is the definition. RA (artist, member of the Royal Academy) + BAT (club).
19 BEAR – A double definition. A word that means to put up with, withstand is also a name for a rude uncouth person.
22 ZOE – Woman (‘s name) is the definition. ZONE (region) minus N (knight in chess).

9 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 293 by Izetti”

  1. Found this tough but thought I had completed it correctly but had SAKE for 13a. Last in was SURRENDER. Did not know OMBRÉ but got the wordplay. Favourite CARDINAL SINS.
  2. No unknowns or other problems but it still took me 14 minutes to puzzle it all out, so my no means an easy solve, in my view.
  3. I really thought I was getting the hang of Izetti, but this one took most of the morning. Nothing impossible, but I thought several clues were well hidden, and of course I fell into the anagram trap at 17ac. Invariant
  4. Feeling slightly miffed with this one. I put Sake in for 13a, wasn’t entirely sure if it was spelt with an ‘e’ or an ‘i’, but I had never heard of the author so it was a guess.

    I’m not sure if I’m annoyed with myself or the setter for 20a (probably myself if I’m being honest). I worked out the answer from the word play and then didn’t put it in, because it looked wrong and when I looked it up on a free online dictionary there was no mention of it being a card game. From now on I will use a ‘proper’ dictionary website.

    Quite pleased that I got both hidden words today, esp as one was reversed

  5. I’m fairly new th the QC, but got STRUDEL from an anagram of MOST of “RUDE LOUTS”. I.e. I missed the hidden ST RUDE L. Could an anagram of MOST of the letters still count as correct parsing?
    REALLY enjoy the blog BTW, thanks very much.
    1. . . .join the club – I think you got caught out by another of Izetti’s traps. Invariant
    2. It’d be too vague, I’m afraid, and you’d need an anagram indicator, but if that’s the way you and others got to the correct answer I wouldn’t worry about it.
  6. I don’t remember my time, but I do remember being irritated at SAKI; I suppose, since in English everyone pronounces it that way, it makes sense to spell it that way, but ‘sake’ is the standard spelling still, so far as I know. I’ve never attempted to read any of Saki’s novels, but his short stories are well worth reading; perhaps not too many at one sitting. OMBRE is standard crossword fare, so obscure though it be, it’s worth remembering.

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