Quick Cryptic 1734 by Tracy

46 comments on “Quick Cryptic 1734 by Tracy”

1. FOI 8ac; LOI 3d; biffed (haha) 5d, 3d. About 1hr. Started in NW, but without 1ac until quite late, progressed widdershins seeing that “truck”, then “struck” belonged in 2d. I liked the level of difficulty, despite a sense of wandering in the wilderness for the first 15 minutes or so. Thanks Tracy and curarist.
   1. So pleased to see others who take an hour or so on the QC. Makes us feel much better.
2. Took a while to get on the right wavelength. No precise time but about 15 mins.
   dnk usher, but conning tower remembered from a previous puzzle.

   COD awestruck.

   Edited at 2020-10-30 08:07 am (UTC)

3. A very enjoyable end to the QC week. No major hold ups but the three clues with unknown elements required some thought – I’d never heard of ‘blackleg’, the Poe character or ROTTEN ROW (LOI). I particularly enjoyed AWESTRUCK (fortunately Artic didn’t come to mind) and CONNING TOWER, which made me smile. Finished in 8.31
   Thanks to curarist
4. Slow start, fast middle, slow finish. Took an age for WATERSHIP DOWN and AWESTRUCK to make it to my brain but also battled with PLAY WITH FIRE, TAKE PLACE and FEATHERWEIGHT – even RACEHORSE took a while. All green in 16, so pretty good despite being a bit slow to see what was going on in lots of places.
5. Could not get started on this one. Just too ridiculously difficult with several very dodgy clues. This is supposed to be a ‘Quick’ cryptic. Not quick but unplayable.
   Get a different setter – one who gives you a fair chance.
   1. Got to enjoy the process! I’ve been doing this for four years and my best time is only 24mins and I regularly go 40 mins plus. I’m in awe of the under 20 ‘minuters’ and know I’ll never match them but I can take my time and enjoy the mental exercise and the clueing.
   2. Do you understand how to get to the answers after reading the (excellent) blogs that forensically dissect them? This is a good way to begin to understand the various conventions used in cryptic crosswords. Stick at it, they get easier!

      H

   3. We are not among the fast crew, probably around the 20 min mark usually (just completing correctly is enough of a challenge for us without timing ourselves!), but found this very much at the easier end of the spectrum, probably under 15 mins with no real holdups). I can’t see why you would think this hard or unfair unless you have only just started trying the QC, in which case persevere and make use of this excellent blog to understand what is going on with the clues, or try a different crossword in another paper which might suit you better. There will always be a spectrum of abilities, and the QC does cover a range of difficulties – in fact this week has mainly been at the easy end, so anything easier is not going to be popular with the majority of the current readership.
   4. I’ve got some sympathy for this view. I increasingly find that the Times “Quick Cryptic” provides a quick solve for experienced crossword aficionados rather than a gentle introduction to the world of cryptic crosswords for novices. That’s fine of course, it’s billed as “quick” rather than “easy”, but it can make it frustrating for someone who’s trying to learn. These blogs are excellent for explaining the answers clearly – the fact that even the experienced bloggers on here have struggled with the parsing on a few clues over the last fortnight shows that it’s moved away from the “beginners” category of puzzle though.
   5. Disagree entirely. I’m new and will never compete with the sub ten minute guys, but the only one I couldn’t get today was Rotten Row as it was simply unknown to me. My second best result ever. Thanks, Tracy!!
6. A sub-15 minute solve after a mixed week.

   Thanks, curarist for the solution to “Watership Down”. I had WETS (as in moderate Tories) and was trying to make that work. And surely it is a book primarily. Indeed the first “thick book” I read as a child. Richard Adams produced this, his first ever novel after the age of 50.

   I also had penciled in FIGHTER (=boxer) at the start of 5d so had to unpick that as well.

   DNK USHER, and ROTTEN ROW feels pretty obscure as well.

   COD CONNING TOWER, not hard, and another of those words like lower, flower which are not what they seem.

   1. Oh yes – I forgot to say that, thank you Merlin. I completely agree. Calling WATERSHIP DOWN a film just because a film has been made of the book is like calling Macbeth or King Lear or David Copperfield a film. Ridiculous.
   2. To a generation of people, when they think of “Watership Down” they think of the animated film. Whether it’s annoying or not, it’s factually correct.

      Personally I get annoyed when random first names are included, but I’ve just learned to go with it and sigh occasionally.

7. I did not find this easy and some of the required GK was not at the forefront of my mind.
   FOI SCENT. Then good progress but lots of blanks in the SW. I needed PUTTER to open that up. POI and COD to AWESTRUCK a difficult but rewarding clue. I briefly thought of Artic. My LOI was RUT as I had thought RAC might be the answer as they scrutinise wheels and burst tyres.
   13:45 on the clock. Some tough stuff here, especially if the GK unknown.
   David
8. Thanks to Tracy for a good puzzle to end the week. I enjoyed this and finished well within my 15 min target. I got the first word of 1a quickly but the rest didn’t click and I came back to it as my LOI after jumping around the grid in my usual manner. I found the anagrams fun and a number of answers raised a smile. I, too, liked RACEHORSE, AWESTRUCK, CONNING TOWER, and TAKE PLACE. I biffed WATERSHIP DOWN given a few crossers. Crossers were also helpful for FEATHERWEIGHT, ROTTEN ROW and USHER (both of the latter two took time to emerge from the depths). Thanks also to Curarist for a crisp blog. John M.

   Edited at 2020-10-30 09:39 am (UTC)

9. “Hands up who spent ages trying to crowbar in the word ARTIC” – *raises hand*. Gosh that was annoying.

   This felt tough, I think mainly because I started by trying unsuccessfully to get 1ac to come to mind and then burning more time doing the ARTIC thing. But it picked up after that and was a respectable enough time in the end. The bottom felt easier than the top.

   FOI POSER, LOI FEATHERWEIGHT, COD AWESTRUCK (though I also liked RACEHORSE a lot), time 09:18 or an estimated 1.9 Kevins.

   Many thanks Tracy and curarist.

   Templar

   Edited at 2020-10-30 09:37 am (UTC)

   1. You’re too modest; I think it’s 1.7 (I was in in 5:30).
10. Or find a different hobby.
11. I thought this was a mixed bag. Certainly a lot to enjoy so thanks setter and blogger. However I can understand some of the gripes. Some of the knowledge required isn’t very general.
12. 8 minutes no problems.
13. To anon posting at 09:23 am: Which clues do you consider ‘very dodgy’?
14. 13:28 for me, so bang in the middle of my target range – meaning middling difficulty on the Rotterometer. However, there were sufficient thinking time gaps to make it feel harder than that.

    I would argue with Curarist about classing 1a as a double definition. I parsed it as PLAY (drama) WITH (and), and FIRE (shoot) – ‘drama and fire’ isn’t a real expression and doesn’t equate with the expression PLAY WITH FIRE directly. Similarly with some of the other clues classed as DDs. However, it is a small criticism of an otherwise admirably efficient blog.

    FOI SCENT, LOI TAVERN, CODs WATERSHIP DOWN and CONNING TOWER. The film for reminding me of the sign outside a local butcher’s shop which read “You’ve read the book and seen the film, now eat the cast!”, and the submarine part for the humour in the clue. Thanks Tracy and Curarist.

15. A penny dropped some time after I had finished and commented on this. Rye became a Cinque port in 1287 so I think the vintage may be fair enough, but it is an example of what I described earlier of knowledge which isn’t particularly general!
16. Like others I struggled at first, but gradually managed a few answers which gave key letters for most others, although a couple were correct guesses. 28 minutes timed, as I did it on line today. Not too bad for me for a puzzle of above average difficulty.
17. Thanks to Tracy for enabling a sub-13-minute finish.
    The only one I had to guess from the wordplay was CONNING TOWER but everything else went in fully parsed.
    I enjoyed the simple TAKE PLACE and was amused by EYESORE, PUTTER and AWESTRUCK. My COD goes to ROTTEN ROW for reminding me that this is a corruption of its original French name ‘Route du Roi’ (King’s Road).
    Thanks to Curarist for the concise blog.
18. Excellent puzzle which took me a while to get into. Finished in just under 15m. I think it is fair that there is a more difficult QC at some stage during the week and I thought this was pitched just right for intermediate solvers. COD 2d despite comments above. Thanks setter nd blogger.
19. FOsI Conning Tower (COD) , Emu, Ego, Rut, Scent
    Then Rotten Row, Take Place, Racehorse, Putter
    Then Watership Down (needed a few checkers) Featherweight. Liked Awestruck.
    Had forgotten Poe book but it was easy to guess from the clueing.

    LOI Amateur

    To me, it was one of the easier puzzles but perhaps I was on the right wavelength for a change.
    Thanks all.

    Edited at 2020-10-30 11:21 am (UTC)

20. Got off to a flyer, with all four long answers going straight in one after another. Thereafter normal progress was resumed, but a rare sub-15 still seemed on the cards. Unfortunately it took me an extra minute (via dabbling with *auto) to realise that loi 2d was proving incredibly difficult because 16ac was Take, not Took, Place. So, 16mins in total with CoD to 22ac Conning Tower. A nice end to the week. Invariant
21. Didn’t time myself but I guess this took about twenty, very satisfying, minutes. My FOI was PLAY WITH FIRE, 1 across, which is always a nice number to begin with. I didn’t see it as a double definition so much, but more as a chain of 3 synonyms leading to the answer. My LOI was THATCH because, for reasons unaccountable, I was stuck on tiles and slate materials. Even when I realised it was THATCH, I bamboozled myself with the parsing because I kept thinking of HATCH as a “cover” and then couldn’t see where “church” had gone to, nor what the initial “T” was doing there. Slaps own head…

    Thanks so much to Gillinfrance for telling us the origins of ROTTEN ROW. So interesting. I’ve often wondered about it.

    I haven’t come across RAT as blackleg before. Is this as in a strikebreaker?

    Very much enjoyed the long clues, PLAY WITH FIRE, CONNING TOWER, WATERSHIP DOWN and ROTTEN ROW.

    Thanks so much, Curarist, for the blog and Tracy for the puzzle

    1. I haven’t come across RAT as blackleg before. Is this as in a strikebreaker?

       Me neither, but I guess it works, with a rat being someone who lets the side down in a strike? I’d probably use scab (if indeed I used anything).

       H

       1. yes, me too
22. … and all done and parsed in about 12 minutes. Several clues made me smile, and not one elicited a groan, so Tracy pretty much hit the sweet spot for me.

    I particularly liked the surface for 11A Racehorse, very clever to get both hurdler and chaser in the clue. It just pips 22A Conning tower (also clever) to be my COD.

    To our anonymous poster at 9.23 – I know how you feel! 2 years ago i couldn’t start this puzzle, then I found I
    could gets some clues but couldn’t finish it, then I could finish it but only with aids, then I could finish it without aids but not understanding how every clue worked, and now more often than not (but still far from every time) I both finish and understand it. Practice – and reading the very helpful blogs – will help you.

    Thank you to Curarist for the blog and a good weekend to all.
    Cedric

23. I solved on paper today and felt close to my best – just clicked with this one I guess.

    Fave clue got to be 12 down ROTTEN ROW. Not because I knew of the London street – but because it’s the name of the hospital I was born in in Glasgow which now no longer exists.

    Thanks for the blog!

    Rc

    1. That was also where I knew Rotten Row from as well, although I was born in the Queen Mother’s.
24. Slowish on this one, 9:13. A minute or so was down to FEATHERWEIGHT. I’d got it into my mind that it was an anagram and I foolishly didn’t shift from that position very quickly. Once I had the checkers I ended up biffing the answer. Otherwise nothing too taxing (unless you’re new to cryptics of course!) so just my brain slowing me down I guess! Onto the 15×15 …

    COD amateur

    H

25. A good end to the week completed in 25 mins.

    Overall, I thought this was a good puzzle with a number of clues that needed some thought. Although there was some GK, you could still make educated guesses based on the checkers which I think is reasonable for the QC.

    Liked the long answers for 1ac “Play with Fire”, 3dn “Watership Down” and 5dn “Featherweight”. Whilst I knew Poe’s “Usher” I DNK 12dn “Rotten Row”, even though I’ve probably run along it whilst in London. Interestingly, whilst looking it up, I note there is one in Southport as well.

    FOI – 8ac “Scent”
    LOI – 22ac “Conning Tower”
    COD – 12dn “Rotten Row”

    Thanks as usual.

26. …..and finished in 13 minutes. Excellent puzzle – lots to get one’s teeth into. Thanks Tracy.

    FOI: scent
    LOI: conning tower
    COD: ply with fire (made us smile)

    Thanks to Curarist for the blog – really appreciate it.

27. I started this after my swim this morning (yes back to the ‘spa’ this week – since March – just as things are in reverse!) and finished at home – so two sessions and approximately 20 minutes. Stupidly put in Horserace at first before the film, or, as before, rather the book, corrected me.
    The clues were just about right for me.
    I started panicking over Tavern until I saw the anagram. (LOI)
    Probably Awestruck COD because I got it quickly and that gave me the greatest pleasure!
    Thanks all
    John George
28. Found this one more difficult than most people seem to have. I had pretty much the same experience as yesterday except I was spared the frustration of spending 20 minutes on a last word. I only had EMU and GIRTH after going through the acrosses and was worrying that this was going to be the day when I just couldn’t get started at all really. Then I managed to get several of the downs and things started to make sense. I was glad the “Poe character” was the only one I know (unless you count the raven). Had to get all the checkers before the CONNING part of 22a came to mind. LOI after 40:05 was 19a, COD to 3d (although I agree it would have been better to clue it as a book). Thanks Tracy and Curarist
29. I think I had 3 minutes on the clock and 4 answers SCENT, RATTY, GREEDY and EMU before I got into a rhythm. Then I remember biffing a few including the long ones WATERSHIP DOWN (memorable for the song Bright Eyes) and FEATHERWEIGHT. I too had to ditch artic as a possible component of 2d and built the word up from TRUCK once the K checker was in play. We have a ROTTEN ROW in our village so no problems there but USHER was a new one for me. LOI in just under my target 10 was THATCH. Thanks all.
30. No dramas for me solving this, although I had to skip those that didn’t come straight to mind to get some checkers. I confess to biffing WATERSHIP DOWN from the definition and checkers. FOI SCENT, LOI FEATHERWEIGHT, COD to EYESORE. 4:17.
31. I came here seeking solace after crucifying myself on today’s 15×15. Felt very much on the wavelength, thank God, and all done in 8 mins. Nice to see an old word TAVERN in play. As mentioned, WATERSHIP DOWN should surely be « book » rather than « film ». Thanks curarist for the blog.
32. Seemed to suit us today, abt 20 min which is good for us. No real holdups, a pleasant steady solve. Thanks Tracy, and for the blog.
33. All done and dusted in 17 mins, although 3dn and 5dn went in unparsed from crossers. Many thanks to Curarist for the explanations. Nice puzzle pitched at just about the right level of difficulty (for me at any rate) and an altogether nicer experience than yesterday’s, where I really struggled.

    FOI – 8ac SCENT
    LOI – 9ac AMATEUR
    COD – 2dn AWESTRUCK

34. ….although I found it very straightforward.

    FOI SCENT
    LOI AMATEUR
    COD RYE
    TIME 3:03

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