Times Quick Cryptic No 1639 by Izetti

Author   johninterredPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Today’s quickie from Izetti is fairly straightforward, I think,  yet still with his characteristic smooth surfaces. No less than 6 anagrams and a cryptic definition that is barely cryptic along with generous wordplay make this seem to me quite approachable and just what a quickie should be, taking me less than 4 minutes to complete. But maybe I was just on the right wavelength today – there are still one or two trickier clues that may catch others out. I liked the surface at 11A but COD from me to the simple 19D. Thank-you Izetti. How did everyone else get on?

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 Opposition of English female I encountered during social occasion (8)
DEFIANCE – E (English) F (female) I inside [encountered during] DANCE (social occasion).
5 Hints about what someone showing contempt might do (4)
SPIT – TIPS (hints) [about] -> SPIT.
9 End with Romeo in fit of temper (5)
STROP – R (Romeo in the NATO phonetic alphabet) [in] STOP (end).
10 Run out of Gold Street going after former husband (7)
EXHAUST – AU (Gold’s chemical symbol) ST (street) [after] EX (former) H (husband).
11 Older batsmen needing replaced: that can be shown (12)
DEMONSTRABLE – (Older batsmen)* [needing replaced].
13 Fruit in cold fortified wine — no starter! (6)
CHERRY – C (cold) sHERRY (fortified wine) without the first letter [no starter].
15 What sounds like vulgar series of lectures maybe (6)
COURSE – [Sounds like] COARSE (vulgur)
17 Food items with unusual gloss, as a rule (7,5)
SAUSAGE ROLLS – (gloss, as a rule)* [unusual].
20 Vents in shops? (7)
OUTLETS – Double definition.
21 Professional brings in editor: a Spaniard? (5)
PEDRO – PRO (professional) [brings in] ED (editor).
22 Difficult situation of maiden facing anger (4)
MIRE – M (maiden) IRE (anger).
23 Terrible regrets about English welcoming people (8)
GREETERS – (regrets)* [terrible] [about] E (English).
Down
1 End of day or start of day over river (4)
DUSK – [start of] Day [over] USK (river). The River Usk “rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (y Mynydd Du), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and Abergavenny after which it takes a more southerly course.” I think I knew it was in Wales.
2 Strong point favouring team — first half (5)
FORTE – FOR (favouring) TEam  [first half].
3 Got hold of suitable crossword finally (12)
APPROPRIATED – APPROPRIATE (suitable) crossworD [finally].
4 Fold your attire finally into case (6)
CREASE – Last letters [finally] of youR attirE [into] CASE.
6 Tradesman, quietly, to move awkwardly (7)
PLUMBER – P (piano; quietly) LUMBER (move awkwardly).
7 Tied up Edward around that place (8)
TETHERED – TED (Edward) [around] THERE (that place).
8 Complete hour to reconstruct temperature-sensing device (12)
THERMOCOUPLE – (Complete hour)* [to reconstruct]. If you are unfamiliar with this word, “A thermocouple is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of the thermoelectric effect, and this voltage can be interpreted to measure temperature.“.
12 Tom cries uncontrollably — it’s cold and windy (3,5)
ICE STORM – (Tom cries)* [uncontrollably]. They are pretty nasty things. Read about them here.
14 Circle round the globe (7)
EQUATOR – Cryptic definition.
16 Letter from apostle’s so righteous (6)
LESSOR – Hidden in [from] apostLE’S SO Righteous. Another word for a landlord.
18 Promise not to use top shelf (5)
LEDGE – pLEDGE (promise) without the first letter [not to use top].
19 Leader sobs when upset (4)
BOSS – (sobs)* [upset].

66 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1639 by Izetti”

  1. Not so easy for me and at 16 minutes this was my first venture into the red zone (>15) for a while other than a DNF on Thursday of last week. My downfall was the NW corner where my last three in were the intersecting DUSK, STROP and APPROPRIATED. At 9ac I had fallen for the misdirection and had lost ages trying to place R inside a word meaning ‘fit of temper’ to make one meaning ‘end’, and that was never going to work.

    THERMOCOUPLE is not something I know about although I’ve vaguely heard of the word. Of course, probably in line with most QC solvers I had immediately thought of THERMOMETER and was ready to write it in until quickly realising it was not long enough and could not possibly be made from the anagrist.

    Edited at 2020-06-19 05:35 am (UTC)

  2. Only four of the acrosses went in at the first pass but the downs went in pretty smoothly and I finished in my quickest time of the week, but with a pink square for a typo in FORTE – annoying. Really enjoyed this one, clues that seemed impenetrable gave up their answers with just enough struggle. Hadn’t heard of LESSOR but suspected it must be that on the first pass and then decided to risk it once some more checkers appeared, also never heard of a THERMOCOUPLE but once THERMO went in there wasn’t much else to do with the remaining letters. Very nearly embarrassed myself with PREDO before LEDGE made me see my silly error, giving me my best crosswording moment of the week as the penny dropped and a grin spread. LOI was SAUSAGE ROLLS as I finally realised it was an anagram – funny how often you can go to write square in S_U_A_E. Thanks all, see you next week.
    1. …is another word for a landlord (LETTER). Puzzled me as well!
  3. I wasted time on 5A with Tips rather than Spit. Can this be excused?
    1. Sometimes you get clues that can be read in two different ways. Bad luck with choosing the wrong one to start. But the “about” comes after Hints so reversing that is smoother.
  4. I thought that Izetti was on top form with this one with seemingly tricky clues revealing themselves after a closer inspection of the wordplay. THERMOCOUPLE was new to me but as mendeset said once THERMO was in place it couldn’t be much else. My favourites were DUSK and LESSOR, my LOI and I finished in 9.57, which I notice from the leader board is a sub kevin, so happy days.
    Thanks to johninterred
  5. This is a genuine question, rather than a comment. How do you manage to do these crosswords in 4 minutes? I can’t even read through the clues in that time. I know I’m in the slow bracket, but I’m genuinely interested in how you solve these crosswords so quickly. Thanks.
    1. I usually do the QC in 5 minutes and the 15×15 in 30. I have no interest in racing but want to savour and parse each clue.
      I tried to think of three tips to help anyone beginning:
      1 Keep a list of key short words. If I had a pound for every time UR was the Ancient City, I would be a rich man.
      2 Go online and search for a list of anagram indicators. There are hundreds. No need to learn them just absorb the ideas.
      3 Don’t linger over a clue. Move on and come back when you have some crossers.
      1. I was so glad to read Sawbill’s contribution about savouring and parsing each clue. I am new to this game but am beginning to finish on a regular basis. However, I am at a loss to understand the mania for fast times. If answers are written in without understanding the parsing ( is this “biffing” ? ) does this not negate the whole point of a cryptic? Please tell me if I am missing something.
        1. A few observations that may go some way to answering your question:
          ● The Blog title, Times for the Times, is a good indication that solving times carry some import hereabouts;
          ● Many of the commenters and bloggers on the site are regular participants in the national championships where accuracy and speed are king. Taking time to admire surface readings or work out all the parsings in full (during the solve at least) are counter-productive;
          ● The only sure fire way to know if your solving ability is improving (other than gut feel) is to note how long it takes to complete a puzzle (not just in absolute terms, but relative to other solvers) and measure progress over the months.

          It’s not a mania, but there is some good-natured competition.

    2. Actually, it’s not often I’m sub-4 minutes. I put it down to practice and experience, recognising the cryptic indicators and seeing words from the definition and checkers.
      1. I’d like to say thank you to all of the bloggers. I started my first ever quick cryptic crossword last June and, thanks to your explanations, I have learned how to get my head around the strange world of wordplay. This week, for the first time, I have completed every quick cryptic in under half an hour. A year ago I was counting it as a success if I got ten clues right (and that took all day).
        You’re an inspiring group of people! Many thanks xxx
        1. Many thanks for your kind comments about the blog and congrats on your progress. Please give yourself a name (real or otherwise) and make yourself known to us.
    3. I’m generally one of the quicker solvers on the QC, and am no slouch on the 15×15 either. I have the advantage of being able to read and assimilate clues quickly, and write both quickly and fairly legibly. Having done cryptic puzzles for 60 years, I sometimes think of “crosswordese” as a foreign language in which I have become fluent. Many usages appear time and again, and some clues become simple as a result.

      I always start with the first across clue, and if I solve it I take the down clues running beneath it first, then the across clues through those, and so on. If it goes to plan I will never subsequently find myself looking at a clue without at least one letter already in place.

      If I can’t solve a clue at first sight, I move on and return to it later. Most importantly, from the viewpoint of fully enjoying the puzzle, I always come back to the clues after I’ve pressed “submit” and look at them in more detail. It’s not uncommon for me to spend longer over this than I spent actually solving the puzzle.

      I hope all this is helpful – there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had, make sure you get your share !

      1. Obviously I am nowhere near yourself in terms of ability to solve accurately and quickly, but I would completely agree with you that “crosswordese” is almost like a foreign language.

        Even though I’ve been doing this for a much shorter period, you get a feel for the words, terms and phrases and the answers just sometimes appear rather than trying to completely reconstruct them. In my mind, it’s akin to playing the piano and not having to constantly look at your fingers whilst reading the music.

        1. Agree completely with jamesed46 (or Captain Kirk as I like to call you). Compared with the crossword gurus who clock up such amazing times we are newbies but I definitely think that solving cryptic crosswords is like learning a new language. The longer you speak the language the more fluent you become. We started doing cryptic crosswords when the QC was introduced and our completion times have gone from many DNFs to a recent PB of 8 minutes (I think). We take enormous pleasure from the QC and derive some satisfaction from completing it in a reasonable time but I doubt we’ll ever achieve sub 5 minute finishes – as long as we enjoy the challenge that will be reward enough.
          1. As was pointed out above – by the time I’ve put my paper down, had a sip of coffee and looked at the clues 5 minutes has normally gone.

            Today, to be fair, was an exception.

  6. I was very slow to start this – I felt that Izetti was trying to intimidate in the upper reaches of the grid. I got a couple but only made real progress when I worked up from the bottom. A slow but steady solve. The long anagrams were good and fell into place given a minimum number of crossers. I didn’t believe EQUATOR when it first came to mind and only put it in given a couple of crossers. DEFIANCE, SPIT, DUSK, EXHAUST and STROP (LOI) gave me some doh moments when they finally emerged. A few seconds over 20 mins (so probably around 2K from what plett11 writes above). I really can’t be bothered with the leader board but I always know that the QC must be tough-ish if Kevin doesn’t post here early. Thanks to Izetti for a good Friday workout and to johninterred for a clear and concise blog. John M.
  7. Felt ok for me today. Managed to get through this in 17:02 which is within the target range <20 mins for me. Tried out a different approach by going through all of the across then all the down clues, and cycling back through the ones I couldn’t get. Not sure if it helped or not, but it felt quick, probably because I left all the trickier ones to the end.

    Any thoughts on whether this is better/faster than doing the clues you have the checkers for first?

    1. That’s the method I use, skipping over those where the answer doesn’t come straight away. But others say it is quicker to get started and then build from what you’ve got.
    2. I usually do what you did today (acrosses then downs). But sometimes if the acrosses are proving particularly intractable I switch!
    3. See my long post earlier in the blog. I find that having at least one letter in place makes solving the clue easier, so I’m in the opposite camp to John. Mind you, he was quicker than me today, so there’s no “one size fits all” solution to your question !
  8. Just inside my target range at 14.22, which I am pleased with. Knew THERMOCOUPLE, but that didn’t stop me thinking thermometer first. LOI DUSK after STROP fell. Initially, I wanted 11a to be demonstratable, but that got corrected as I typed it in. Nice puzzle from Izetti as usual, and blog from John – thanks.
  9. Enjoyed this thanks setter and blogger. Lessor turned out to be even cleverer than I thought at the time. Apparently it can be a portion of scripture read out in a service (which might often be part of an apostles letter) so I went for that without even thinking about a landlord 🙂 Was it just me that found the wording ‘needing replaced’ jarring?
    1. No, I thought it was really odd, too, so much so that I assumed it was a typo… but in his blog, John says the surface in that clue is really good. So now I’m confused.
      1. thanks louisajaney – I’ve kind of accepted that I must be a bit mad to do these but I’m reassured when sensible people like you share my padded cell 🙂
          1. It was the ageism in sport that tickled my fancy, as I’m probably too old to be selected as a batsman now. I concede that “needing replaced” as an anagram indicator is a little clunky.
            1. I blame the editor – I bet Izetti had “needing to be replaced” and it was deemed too long
    2. I thought it was atypical of the usual elegance we expect of Izetti. “Replacement” would have been smoother in my opinion – but who am I to take issue with a prolific setter of such quality ?
    3. Before opening the blog I said to my wife how unusual it was to see such a bad surface in an Izetti, so I was astonished by the comment about how good it was. Not only doesn’t it make sense, it doesn’t work as an anagrind. Replacement would have solved both issues, but fortunately it was easy to biff and backparse. Shame because it was a very enjoyable puzzle.
  10. This took me a bit over half an hour, I think. But I did manage to finish without using aids, so it’s definitely a good day..

    I was rather pleased with myself when my FOI was 10a, having worked it out from the wordplay – I’m definitely improving.

    Definitely a MER (or even more) at ‘needing replaced’ in 11a. Spent ages wondering what was going on. Nor the sort of phrase that one would expect to hear in any sort of context. Didn’t realise it was supposed to be an anagrind until I’d biffed the answer and then thought it must be a typo.

    Thanks for the blog and to the Don for a doable QC.

  11. Some really great anagrams, especially SAUSAGE ROLLS which has to be my COD.
    Nice to see ‘crossword’ mentioned in a clue even though we only needed the final letter!
    I thought COURSE, MIRE and EQUATOR were all gifts but THERMOCOUPLE took me a while to work out, bringing my time to just over 18 minutes which seems to be my average for this week.
    Thanks to Izetti and John. Have a lovely weekend, all.
  12. I always expect Izetti to be really tough but, actually, this wasn’t too bad. It took me 24 minutes which is over target but not depressing. I’ve certainly had slower times this week! There were some super penny-drop moments eg LESSOR, which I thought was really clever and quite a few immediate write-ins eg SPIT, BOSS, MIRE, etc. I’m a bit puzzled by EQUATOR which doesn’t seem to be cryptic at all and also by the surface in 11 across DEMONSTRABLE which was instantly biffable and straightforward in the parsing – but “needing replaced ” sounds really weird to me. Thanks so much, John, for the blog and thanks, too, to Izetti.
    1. There’s a regional element here. It’s common in the more Celtic parts of the UK to hear, for example, “these windows need cleaned”, whereas my dialect would say “need cleaning”.

      Jim R

  13. A good workout from Izetti today I thought, with only LESSOR being unknown. My general rule is that if I haven’t heard of a word it’s probably wrong, but in this case it always looked like a hidden so I had to go with it. Came in at 39:52 so just inside my target and a relief after yesterday and Tuesday’s disasters. Also wondered about the clue in 11a. Surely ‘replacement’ or ‘replacing’ would have worked just as well and would sound smoother. Thanks John and Izetti.
  14. I really love sausage rolls. At Christmas we have a family bake off to see who can make the best (my mother always wins). And that was a wonderful anagram. Now I want to have one for lunch!

    I romped through that by my own standards, finishing in 7:52 which the leaderboard tells me was a sub-Kevin. That makes this a Red Letter Day. What the heck is an ICE STORM when it’s at home? Never heard of it.

    FOI DUSK, LOI SPIT, COD (of course) SAUSAGE ROLLS.

    Many thanks Izetti and John.

    Templar

    Edited at 2020-06-19 10:30 am (UTC)

    1. Ice storms are common in Canada and parts of the US (and not totally unknown in parts of the UK). They can be very nasty and usually lead to loads of traffic accidents because drivers brake and just slide uncontrollably on the ice until they hit something. Wiki has a detailed definition. 🙂
        1. Thanks, John. I apologise for not defining it but just picking out an example of the consequences (from experience – the memory is still sharp). I could have mentioned an incident in Montreal some years ago when the accumulated ice on power lines was so heavy it brought down the cables and many pylons leaving the power distribution system needing weeks to be restored. Friends in the area still shiver at the mention of the consequences.
    2. I had never heard of an ice storm until I lived in the US and experienced one. There is even a 1997 movie named ‘The Ice Storm’ which is set in Connecticut. The ice storm ends up causing a tragedy…..
    3. By an extraordinary coincidence I was at the butcher today when a tray of hot sausage rolls was brought out. I don’t usually allow myself impulse buys, least of all pastry, but they smelled so good I bought one, ate it on the way home … and then saw 17A in the crossword!

      Cedric

  15. ….but in a much shorter timeframe ! Once I realised that “sprat” wouldn’t catch me a mackerel, the COD light shone brightly. That came only once I’d identified the river at 1D. Those same last three clues took about 20% of my total solving time.

    FOI SPIT
    LOI APPROPRIATED
    COD STROP
    TIME 4:29

  16. As usual with Izetti, and where possible, I type in my wordplay as I am reading the clue and discover I have a definition that fits. Answers revealed this way today included DUSK (my FOI), EXHAUST, PEDRO, MIRE and DEFIANCE once the F was in place. My clue solving order very much depends on whether I have checkers in play. Generally if I rush and biff I make mistakes. Today my clangers were DEMONSTRAted, THERMOmeters, and threaded instead of TETHERED at 7d. I needed all but one checker to solve the anagram of SAUSAGE ROLLS and my LOI was EQUATOR. Thanks Izetti. I always enjoy your QCs. Thanks to John for his detailed blog. 10:45
  17. Struggled with Thermocouple but guessed from checkers.
    Delighted with Plumber when the penny finally dropped. Also held up by Dusk and Defiance for some reason. Liked Cherry too, one of FOIs.

    Thanks to setter, blogger and comments. Yes, Crosswordese is a foreign language I’m learning!

  18. Had most of this done in about 20mins, but with a lot of white squares in the NW corner. I should have stopped for a tea, but decided to push on… Strop and Appropriated fell around the 30min mark, with Defiance and loi Crease (!) a couple of minutes later. I have no idea why those last few proved so tricky, but I see that I am in very good company. I agree that ‘needing replaced’ in 11ac just has to be a misprint. CoD to the delightful 18d, Ledge. Invariant
  19. Probably a first for me, and at first run through thought another tough workout lay ahead. But helped by the plethora of anagrams got a foothold and finished with the appropriate 3D.

    Graham

  20. Not often I can say this – but I attained a personal best completing in 12 mins. Obviously I’m pleased, but being an Izetti I am particularly chuffed (not that I thought it was one of their hardest).

    What can I say? just one of those days where the clues just came one after another. Only ones that I had to think about were 8dn “Thermocouple” – ensuring it wasn’t Thermometer” – and 16dn “Lessor” which I DNK but identified fairly quickly as a hidden word.

    FOI – 1dn “Dusk”
    LOI – 7dn “Tethered”
    COD – 18dn “Pledge”

    Thanks as usual.

    4. Wow, a 12 min PB on an Izetti is seriously impressive, well done. You didn’t have Spock chipping in a few suggestions by any chance 😊?
  21. I thought, apart from the slightly clunky “needing replaced”.

    Average time for me at 7 mins and an odd second.

    LOI and probably COD was STROP, not least because my 9 year old had an almighty one this morning when asked for the umpteenth time to do her schoolwork.

    Re quicker solving – as phil says above, you don’t really read the surface, but use experience and aquired knowledge pick the clue apart as you read it and try and construct a solution on the hoof – or bung it in from definition and/or crossers. I’m no super solver, but have been doing cryptics regularly for 10 or so years, and aim for 5-7 mins for a quickie (PB 3:41), and 25-30 mins for a 15×15 (PB 12 mins & change).

    It tends to be on the 15×15 and the Guardian puzzles where I notice the elegance of a finely crafted clue, as in the quickie I’m just trying to get it done.

  22. We still want a Saturday QC!!

    19 minutes and steady after not seeing anything in the NW but, like some others, started on the right side and SE and getting into the rhythm and style.
    Held up for a while trying an anagram of ‘to move’ for 6d – so the misdirection caught me out! All of the main anagrams fell in quickly opening up where most clues were seen with only a letter or two. LOI 20a Outlets..COD Cherry only because we have a have an acquaintance of that name and I always think of Sherry.
    Thanks all
    John George

      1. I have another of my amateur efforts in progress… maybe with my next blog, if there’s sufficient interest.
  23. … with a 12 minute solve and no real holdups.

    As for solving methods, I always start by hoping to do all the across clues then all the down ones, all in order – but when that almost inevitably breaks down (I’ve completed the clean sweep just once in my life!) I move onto plan B, and I’m then with those who, if I get an early across clue, try to get the down clues leading off it. But each to his or her own and it is usually good fun.

    Thank you John for the blog and a good weekend to all

    Cedric

  24. FOI 2a split. LOI 9a scrap (!) so a DNF. COD 10a for lovely construction. I just struggled in the NW and could not see the obvious for 9a despite all the checkers. I thought there were some really easy ones from Izetti and some really hard too. I rather like consistency – all easy or all hard – it gives me a sense of what I’m up against. Again, done in fits and starts but finished by lunchtime for a change rather than starting at 17.30. Now to find something to do this evening…
  25. We really enjoyed Izetti’s puzzle and found it slightly more challenging than his usual offerings. A bit of head scratching here and there (and a couple of biffs that required correction as further checkers went in 😳) resulted in a time of 26 minutes – so outside of our target of 15 minutes. However, we enjoyed it – thanks Izetti.

    FOI: demonstrable
    LOI: ledge
    COD: sausage rolls

    Thanks to John for the blog

  26. Very late here after golf in Surrey.09:47 on the clock. LOI APPROPRIATED.
    Enjoyable puzzle which did not cause me too many problems. I waited for the checkers in the long anagrams.
    David
  27. Put it this way – for once my brain was operating at warp speed rather than using impulse engines.
  28. Izetti is a national treasure. Lessor was tough but gettable as the LOI. I have never seen a shitty clue by Izetti.

Comments are closed.