Times Quick Cryptic 1521 by Teazel

Author   chrisw91Posted on Categories Quick Cryptic

A swiftie today – I clocked in just less than 7 minutes so that must make a K a very small number indeed. All very accessible and easily clued – but that is simply my take on it. Anyone new to all this and/or who struggled then let us know as your experience may chime in better with other solvers.

ACROSS

1. Making pencil unusable is the last straw (8,5)
BREAKING POINT – double definition.

8. Prosecutor with impassive face, a silk (6)
DAMASK – prosecutor (District Attorney – DA) with impassive face (MASK).

9. Take a risk on unknown woodland plant (6)
BETONY – dnk this plant  with a spike of reddish-purple flowers, formerly used in medicine and dyeing: family Lamiaceae. It was easily clued as take a risk (BET), on (ON), unknown (Y) so I entered with confidence.

10. Bullets a millimetre round (4)
AMMO – a (A), millimetre (MM), round (O).

11. Tree chap’s seen in front of spinney (8)
MANGROVE – chap (MAN) is seen in front of spinney (GROVE).

12. Reversible canoe (5)
KAYAK – readable from either end. I’m always surprised when I hear my father in law (from London) ask for one of these with his afternoon tea.

13. Direction from town, or thereabouts (5)
NORTH – from tow(N OR TH)ereabouts.

15. Syrup army doctor’s given girls (8)
MOLASSES – army doctor (MO), girls (LASSES).

17. Insect wasn’t loud? (4)
WASP – wasn’t loud = WAS quiet (P).

19. Fruit-tree thus gripped by curse (6)
DAMSON – thus (SO) gripped by curse (DAMN).

20. Needlewoman holding end of thick pin (6)
SKEWER – needlewoman (or man) holding end of thic(K).

21. Awfully sloppy replies the start of a dangerous decline (8,5)
SLIPPERY SLOPE – anagram (which didn’t really seem to need solving) of SLOPPY REPLIES.

DOWN

2. Bring up millions and prepare for war (5)
REARM – bring up (REAR), millions (M).

3. Loving Conservative confession? (7)
AMATORY – conservative confession (AM A TORY).

4. It gets one’s writing to flow? (3)
INK – about the easiest cryptic definition I can remember.

5. Become crazy, having turn with fruit (2,7)
GO BANANAS – turn (GO), fruit (BANANAS).

6. River creature is warmer, but not at first (5)
OTTER – warmer but not at first h(OTTER).

7. Ancient city crossed by ninety-nine vehicles (7)
NINEVEH – inside (crossed by) ninety-(NINE VEH)icles. The ninety isn’t strictly necessary but it would have been just too easy without.

11. Sound reasonable, disguising a meekness (4,5)
MAKE SENSE – anagram (disguising) of A MEEKNESS.

12. Wise-guy king has no protective barrier (4-3)
KNOW-ALL – king (K), no protective barrier (NO WALL).

14. Untreated wood a poor bargain (3,4)

RAW DEAL – I think that, rather than a double definition, this is untreated (RAW) and wood (DEAL) – but feel free to disagree.

16. A model pops up for fabulist (5)
AESOP – of fable fame – a (A) then model – pose popping upwards (ESOP).

18. Ooze across back of barrel and drop off (5)
SLEEP – ooze (SEEP) across back off barre(L).

20. What may be blue in South Kentucky (3)
SKY – south (S), Kentucky (KY) but this also feels an &lit of some sort.

37 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1521 by Teazel”

  1. Definitely an easy one. I even sort of knew BETONY; at least it popped into my head once I read the clue. My LOI was NINEVEH, which I biffed without remembering the clue; sure enough, it was a hidden, and I hadn’t noticed until after submitting. Assuming, Chris, that your father-in-law doesn’t actually want a kayak, what does he want? 3:30, maybe a pb.
    1. Accents of all sorts are fascinating – in this case the ‘a’ can sound like an ‘i’ so cake becomes cike. When heard for the first time, my brain at least, latched onto the nearest sounding word I knew of i.e. a squashed up version of kayak. He’s game for anything and has even tried QCs – I’ll pass today’s his way and see how he gets on.
  2. 17 minutes with about half stuck on betony (DNK), mangrove, and LOI Nineveh (also dnk).

    As time was ticking I was feeling miffed that the vehicles had been clued so poorly, UR with some strange version off 99 around, why couldn’t Teazel have used a hidden, then I saw the hidden!

    Liked damask and damson, COD wasp.

    The kevin unit will have to be replaced if he keeps getting faster…

    Edited at 2020-01-07 07:34 am (UTC)

  3. 7 minutes. Didn’t know BETONY although I had a vague idea there is a plant called ‘bethany’ so I came close to writing in ‘betany’ and hoping for the best, but in the end I decided to trust to wordplay and got the right answer.

    BETONY appears to have come up only once before (22 February 2008) in the thousands of Times puzzles published since TfTT began, so it probably doesn’t belong in a QC. I didn’t know it then either!

    Edited at 2020-01-07 07:40 am (UTC)

  4. Very close to a PB after a stumbling start with SNAPPING POINT for 1A, quickly changed to BREAKING POINT. I remembered BETONY although I wouldn’t recognise it if I saw it. I liked WASP best. 3:05.
  5. I’d say middle of the road rather than easy though I forgot to time it. But as it took from Raynes Park to Earlsfield on the stopping train I’d say about 9 mins. I didn’t know DAMASK but clear from wordplay, ditto BETONY but I did contemplate BETONN and BETONX before deciding Y looked most plausible – but maybe was just me questioning this. I also didn’t like 2D to which the answer is ARM surely not REARM. Should say “prepare for war again” maybe? But all in all a fun 9 minutes

    NeilC

  6. I started slowly with INK FOI. I had looked at 2d and 8a blankly and moved on; in the end they were my last two.
    But once I got going I was quick; skipped through the unknown BETONY having got all the checkers and finally worked out REARM from the cryptic and finally DAMASK. On the clock 08:22. I was surprised I was that quick given my parsing pauses.
    Another vote for WASP as COD.
    It helps if you know Deal = Wood in crosswords (sometimes) and have got used to unknown plants (most of them are for me).
    David

    Edited at 2020-01-07 08:24 am (UTC)

  7. Grateful for one pitched at my level – 22:08 which is swift for me – and after a slow start with none of the first few acrosses going in until I got the downs.
    LOI DAMASK which had led me up the QC path.
  8. Like davidivad, I found 2d and 8a were my LOsI, indeed I just couldn’t get going in the top left (or most of the top right tbh) and had to jump around looking for easier entries. Once finally awake and moving, I found this pretty straightforward but it is reassuring that I am not the only one to ditch the K scale. Thanks, flashman! I deduced BETONY but had to look it up to be sure. I quite liked AMATORY, MANGROVE, SLEEP, and DAMASK. Thanks to TEAZEL for an easier offering and to Chris for the blog (and for parsing REARM correctly for me). John M.

    Edited at 2020-01-07 09:25 am (UTC)

  9. I must have missed the bus to the wavelength shop for this one. NHO BETONY, so constructed it. Totally missed the hidden and biffed NINEVAH. Saw it after I saw my pink square. 9:25 WOE. Congrats to Kevin and John. Stellar times! Thanks Teazel and Chris.
  10. Although it took me twice as long as yesterday’s offering. I’m not sure why – just a wavelength thing, perhaps. I always expect to find a puzzle hard if I can’t fairly immediately solve the first across clue : it seems to set a pattern for me. Today, I couldn’t see any answers until I’d got to the very straightforward 6th clue – 12 across! DNK “betony” but it had to be right. Liked 17 across, and 3 and 14 down. Less keen on 2 down, my LOI, which I made a bit of a meal of, partly because of “millionS” which led me to believe I was looking for a plural “k” or “m” and also because I was looking to reverse “up” . I knew I was wrong on all counts but couldn’t seem to get past it. I also agree with others here that the “re-” part of the answer is a bit misleading. Thanks very much, Chris, for the blog, and thanks, too, to Teazel.
  11. Second day of the week at the lower end of the Rotterometer @ 11 minutes, with everything going pretty much straight in, after breaking point, which I saw straight away. Held up momentarily by NINEVEH and BETONY.
  12. A sub 10 finish today (2.6K doesn’t sound so good) with LOI NINEVEH. I also guessed BETONY from the wordplay and suspect I would have been quicker if I had solved BREAKING POINT sooner. COD AMATORY. Thanks Chris and Teazel.
  13. There are things to get on with so threw in the towel with 3 left at 20 minutes. Didn’t see Mangrove even after assuming Man start. Not heard of and didn’t spot hidden Nineveh, and had forgotten Damask.
    But pleased with Molasses, Betony, Amatory.
    Enjoyable challenge. Must stop procrastinating!
    Thanks all
    John George
  14. ….I finished in under three minutes. The bad news is that I fouled up 9A to become a DNF. I didn’t know BETONY and translated the surface as leading to “bet any”.

    FOI DAMASK
    COD/LOI BREAKING POINT

  15. Probably in a minority – but whilst I found the bottom half of the puzzle fairly straightforward I got bogged down in the top half, so probably not on the right wavelength.

    Took an age to see 1ac “Breaking Point”, 3dn “Amatory”, 8ac “Damask” and 11ac “Mangrove”. On 8ac, was trying to come up with some convoluted legal position which obviously did not exist.

    DNK 7dn “Nineveh” (tried to fit Norwich in thinking 99 was the roman numeral “IC”) nor 9ac “Betony” which was completed through parsing alone.

    FOI – 10ac “Ammo”
    LOI – 8ac “Damask”
    COD – 7dn “Nineveh” (for keeping me distracted)

  16. Life’s normal rhythms finally resumed today after two weeks of either family commitments or long work hours. Back to QC with morning coffee and 15×15 with bedtime cocoa.

    Nothing to worry about today. A few write ins, chestnuts and biffs with just the occasional disturbance of the grey matter.

    A belated HNY to all and my thanks as ever to setter and blogger.
    4’20”

  17. Agree with everything written. Under 30 mins, so good result for me. Thanks to all.
  18. …fat fingers and a smartphone screen.

    4:20, but would have been quicker on paper.

    NHO BETONY, but wordplay was fair. Didn’t spot that NINEVEH was a hidden, bunged it in from N and H. LOI was KNOW ALL, which did have me hovering for double digit seconds at the end.

  19. As I gradually improve on the long journey to cryptic mediocrity I fell by the wayside today exacerbated by most folks findIng it a doddle. Hey ho – I’ll use the wavelength excuse to hide my inadequacies. Didn’t help missing 1a (no excuse) and struggled with 8a, 9a, (didn’t know them) 3d and must learn 16d – Aesop which to me is All Employee Share Ownership Plan that I was Once part of.
    Graham
    1. We’re all on the same journey – some of us started sooner is all. I hope the blog provides the roadside assistance required.
    2. Whilst I’ve found some setters genuinely do have a certain style, the wavelength excuse does come in handy when you haven’t the foggiest…
  20. Like Jack, I was all for BETANY, but that’s BOTANY for you!

    Ruined my time of 5 minutes and 55 seconds.

    FOI 21ac SLIPPERY SLOPE wasn’t that in yesterday’s 15×15?

    LOI 15ac MOLASSES

    COD 7dn NINEVEH (Masefield’s Quinqueremes etc)

    WOD 9ac BETONY

    Widely reading books and plays is the best way to improve one’s vocab. But not dictionaries! The 20thC. writers who have journeyed a bit and have a love for words. Orton, Wells, Conrad, Wesker, Sayers, Bryson, Wodehouse, Maugham, Gallico, Charteris and Palin. Poets like Betjamen, Frost, Kipling, Larkin and Hardy.

    It has to be enjoyable.

  21. After completing the puzzle except for 3d, in 20m which is quick for us, we could not sort the clue. Dnk amatory, but failed to see the fairly obvious wordplay, stuck on con from the crossing o from 10a.
  22. An enjoyable range of clues and vocab today, I thought – and a surprising number of Ks in the grid! Fortunately it didn’t take 6K to complete, although I didn’t find it as easy as some. 1a was most frustrating as I could see clearly what was going on, but couldn’t come up with the correct first part to the clue 😕 I must have spent the best part of a minute trying to fill .r.a.ing! More brain fade…

    Damask, betony, molasses, Ninevah – all are lovely words.

    FOI Ammo
    LOI Breaking point
    COD Wasp
    Time – a smidge under 11 minutes

    Thanks Chris and Teazel

  23. Pretty much a write in for me with the exception of BETONY, and LOI NINEVEH, which lurked somewhere in the back of my mind, but had to be dredged up. Fortunately it was a hidden or I’d probably have spelt it with an ‘a’ instead of the second ‘e’. Finished in 5.48, which is PB territory for me.
    Thanks for the blog
  24. Took until 10a to get started and the bottom half went in easily. By then had some crossers to get restarted in the op half. DNK 9a Betony but the cryptic was very clear. Some entertaining cluing eg 15a 17a 21a. One of my faster solves at an untimed sub-30 minutes before my Costa got cold. That’s a completed Friday 15×15 and two easier QC’s – could even begin deceiving myself that I had these licked! Comeuppance tomorrow? Enjoyable anyway so thx to hazel and our Blogger.
  26. Hi, I’m new to this but I noticed there were an unusually lot of K in the answers to this crossword and then there are some references to K in some of your comments. What is the observation about K’s? Also what does LOI and COD etc stand for?
    1. Sometimes there is a hidden message (a nina) in the letters of the grid. Whilst there were an unusual number of Ks I can’t fathom any message so think it’s just a coincidence. As for ‘K’ in the blog comments – bloggers and regulars post their times for completion as the only way of indicating the ease or difficulty of a puzzle – it’s never the same for everyone. When you get used to say jackkt’s times you know a 7 minute solve means a pretty easy puzzle and 14+ minutes means very hard. As Kevin tends to be the first poster and has consistently low times he’s become the benchmark and a sort of target (I’ve been faster than him only twice in all these years). So a ‘K’ is the time he took to do the puzzle and his 3.30 on this one shows an easy puzzle. Today at 7 minutes I was 2K which means I was equally, relatively and expectedly, quick.
      1. Ha, so it was just a coincidence that I saw a lot of K’s, happened to look on this blog for any mention of a reason and then read about the K as a standard.
        Thanks also to hopkinb for the short glossary and for pointing me to the glossary in the menu.
        Love doing these but have only completed 10 of them in the last year, but gradually getting better
    2. LOI is last one in.
      COD is clue of the day i.e. the clue that solver liked best.
      WOD is word of the day.
      FOI is first one in.
      NHO never heard of.
      DNK did not know.
      Biff derives (i believe) from BIFD, or bunged in from definition, where the solver either doesn’t bother to parse the cryptic, or is unable so to do.
      I think there might be a glossary somewhere, though I am relatively new here, having lurked for several years whilst becoming semi-competent, at least at the QC.
      1. Thank you – I omitted to decrypt as requested. FYI there is a glossary – at the top of the page on the right under links.

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