Quick Cryptic 1604 by Teazel

Author   CuraristPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
This was a somewhat odd concoction. Heavy on the double definitions and with quite a few clunky parsings. Can’t say I found it easy at 11 minutes.

Across
1 Packed, to be on the safe side (2,4)
IN CASE – double definition
4 Charm of mummy’s bed (6)
MASCOT –  MA’S + COT
8 Maybe phrase looks wrong on page (7)
PERHAPS – anagram (‘looks wrong’) of PHRASE added to P for page
10 Communist rejected by town (5)
DERBY – RED backwards + BY
11 Leading, and winning by this margin? (5)
AHEAD – A horse can win a race by a head.
12 Meat cooking in ovens (7)
VENISON – anagram (‘cooking’) of IN OVENS
13 Tomb’s dreadful curse — help! (9)
SEPULCHRE – anagram (‘dreadful’) of CURSE HELP
17 Pressure by chief barrister presenting case (7)
PLEADER – P + LEADER
19 Stop running and stand in the market (5)
STALL – double definition
20 Opens mouth, but runs out of fruit (5)
GAPES – G[r]APES
21 A bit depressed, having inflammation (7)
WHITLOW – WHIT + LOW. A fingertip infection usually caused by Herpes Simplex I
22 Large fish seen in Gibraltar pond (6)
TARPON – hidden word GibralTAR PONd
23 Not so bad, I’ll wager (6)
BETTER – double definition

Down
1 Given a role, still on the field (2,4)
IN PLAY – double definition
2 Cleaner, one in tears after reprimands (6,7)
CARPET SWEEPER – CARPETS (reprimands) + WEEPER
3 Such a comic not suitable for sitcom? (5-2)
STAND-UP – Not sure how to describe this. A weak pun.
5 University opens a study for poet (5)
AUDEN – A DEN with U inside
6 Dancers lie at first in bed, pectorals rippling (5,2,6)
CORPS DE BALLET –  anagram (‘rippling’) of BED PECTORALS with L inside
7 Judging is exasperating (6)
TRYING – double definition
9 Son has a nasty argument: he may be suited here (6,3)
SAVILE ROW – S + A VILE ROW. Street in London famed for its tailors
14 Hotel is extraordinarily unfriendly (7)
HOSTILE – anagram (‘extraordinarily’) of HOTEL IS
15 Bung soldier up into position (6)
SPIGOT – GI backwards inserted into SPOT
16 Blossom beginning to fall down (6)
FLOWER – F + LOWER
18 Party food is cold? Not entirely (5)
DISCO – hidden word: fooD IS COld

58 comments on “Quick Cryptic 1604 by Teazel”

  1. A clean sweep of over 20m solves this week. All green in 21, or 5.9Ks! Amazing time Kevin, I needed pretty much your whole solving time to get SEPULCHRE’s letters in the right order. Thought I was on for a reasonable time but got gummed up badly in the SW, partly because I had agape rather than GAPES for too long, in turn my fault for not spotting CARPET SWEEPER quicker, but also due to never having heard of WHITLOW and not really knowing that meaning of WHIT, so held up by both definition and part of the clue made things difficult. Any moans about obscure word obliterated by my admiration for the crossing hiddens – NHO a TARPON but thought it must be but DISCO took ages to spot and what a great groan when it finally revealed itself. I’ll give my brain a rest by doing the Telegraph prize tomorrow and see you all here again on Monday. Have great weekends.
    1. Thanks; but I’m impressed by your speed in getting my time 6 seconds before my message was posted!
  2. Biffed CORPS DE BALLET & SEPULCHRE, parsed post-submission. Surprised by STAND-UP; I actually spent a moment looking for something I missed. 3:41.
  3. Pleased to finish in 25 minutes after a couple of DNFs this week. Knew WHITLOW from someone having one on his spinning finger and having to miss a Test years ago. Biffed a couple of the long ones and enjoyed the double definitions as I’m usually so slow getting these.
  4. I found this a bit chewy in places but feel better educated for having solved it. SEPULCHRE was one of those words I was aware of but never really knew what it was, so the anagram took some untangling and I’d also NHO the dancers or the inflammation. Finished in 12.40 with LOI IN PLAY.
    Great time Kevin although it leaves me grateful I’ve never used the K scale for my timings!!
    Thanks to curarist
  5. I think that newcomers will find this quite hard. I managed to keep going and had two unknowns -TARPON and WHITLOW (sounds like a firm of local solicitors).
    FOI MASCOT; LOI and COD PERHAPS. 1d caused me problems; could not get In Lead out of my head.
    I finished after 13:30 but the the computer said UNLUCKY. At 7d I had put TOYING meaning to come back to it. So one wrong today.
    A clever puzzle with a different feel. David
    1. Dear Sir,
      The law firm of Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub (Beaumont, Texas) has been providing legal representation since 1929. How can we we help?
  6. As rotter says, this needed a fair bit of GK or, as in my case, deep dives into fuzzy memory for words like TARPON, WHITLOW, SPIGOT. I moved clockwise round the grid and ended up slowly filling in the SW but managed to finish just a few seconds over target (and inside rotter’s time – he is always a marker for me). Lots of double definitions. I liked AUDEN, SAVILE ROW, and CARPET SWEEPER. Not a bad week for me – no great heights but none of the previous week’s depths. Thanks to Teazel and curarist. John M.
    1. I also use the rotter’s time as a marker and today I pipped it by 35 seconds!
      This was a crossword of two halves for me – the first seven clues all went in straight away but then I spent a long time on WHITLOW, SPIGOT (didn’t know either word) and CORPS DE BALLET as I missed the anagram.
      An enjoyable solve though to round off the week nicely.
      1. Rotter’s fame is clearly spreading! I’ll be interested to see how we all get on next week, not that I would want to make the QC any more competitive than it is. 😎
      2. Rotter’s fame is clearly spreading! I’ll be interested to see how we all get on next week, not that I would want to make the QC any more competitive than it is. 😎
  7. Good morning everyone! I haven’t looked at the crosswords or your posts yet (don’t want to see any spoilers) but must report to those of you who don’t see the paper that the first item on p3 refers to a disgusting hangover cure that Jeeves used to make for Bertie Wooster, also known as a prairie oyster, thus answering my own question yesterday. Coincidence or what! See you all later 😊
  8. 16 minutes exactly, held up by the SW where I also went initially for AGAPE at 20a – great minds Mendesest! There was a fair bit of GK needed for this, which luckily I had – perhaps TARPON was least well known in my case, but it was there, buried somewhere in the mess that is my memory. I can imagine that WHITLOW, SPIGOT, SEPULCHRE, SAVILE ROW and even CORPS DE BALLET may also catch a few out. Great time Kevin. Thanks Teazel and Curarist.
  9. 7 minutes. Only TARPON unknown to me although I now find it turned up once before, about three years ago in a 15×15 when I also didn’t know it.

    Edited at 2020-05-01 08:25 am (UTC)

    1. I’m quite surprised that this is only TARPON’s second outing. It strikes me as one of those words that offers setters endless options.

      No real issues today, just a little glue-brain – 5’10”.

      My thanks to setter and blogger.

  10. I’ve done it! The true clean sweep AT LAST! Every single clue, in order, starting with 1ac and finishing with 18dn. All the acrosses, in order, then all the downs, in order. I AM SO HAPPY! I had to hold my nerve to enter the unknown WHITLOW but by then I was so close to finishing the acrosses that it seemed worth the risk.

    It took 5:52 which is certainly in my top 5 times and yet is still 1.6K …. how on earth do Kevin, Phil, Verlaine and the other Time Lords manage these speeds?!

    Obviously I thought it was a great puzzle, though WHITLOW isn’t even in my 2 vol Shorter Oxford so must be fairly obscure. FOI IN CASE, LOI DISCO, COD VENISON.

    Thanks Teazel and curarist.

    Templar

  11. After a bit of a week, I swept through this one in just under 18 minutes! Hurrah! And I began with 1 across which is by no means the norm for me. My LOI was 15 down, SPIGOT, which I’d heard of but didn’t know the meaning of. I’d never heard of the TARPON fish but it was clearly clued. I parsed 18 down DISCO, by DO = “party” plus ISC = “IS Cold? Not entirely “. I like double definition clues so I was pleased to see so many of them here. My COD is 4 across, MASCOT .. or 11 AHEAD. But I also liked STALL and WHITLOW. I think STAND-UP was quite neat. Thanks so much, Curarist, for the blog and thanks, too, to a confidence-restoring Teazel!
    1. Reply to self…. Re 18 down : look out more carefully for the hiddens!
  12. Undone by 1d – and I was going so well! I was belting along but simply couldn’t see IN PLAY. I got stuck with IN POST, which meant AHEAD wouldn’t go in – so obvious too! If only I hadn’t dotted around the grid so much but followed Templar’s practise and just followed the clues in order 😢 Oh well …

    FOI Stand up
    COD Perhaps
    DNF

  13. I completed just over target with LOI the unknown WHITLOW. Post submission I googled images of the inflammation and then wished I hadn’t! TARPON was my other new word for the day.
  14. I thought this was on the easy side and I finished fairly quickly (can’t post a time as I never time myself). My only real pause was 21ac – whitlow – which I’d heard of but wasn’t quite sure of whether or not it was an inflammation.

    FOI – 1ac in case
    LOI – 21ac whitlow
    COD – liked both 2dn (which I needed a lot of the crossers for) and also 3dn which gave me a chuckle.

  16. ….before the penny dropped. No other problems.

    FOI IN CASE
    LOI PERHAPS
    COD STALL
    TIME 1.06K

  17. … as this was much more my cup of tea than yesterday’s from Breadman! Most enjoyable from Teazel and done in just under 10 minutes, with only 21A Whitlow a guess – NHO the word but clueing was very fair.

    Hard to pick a favourite but COD in the end to 9D Savile Row – clever construction of the answer when you see it but took me a while. I had a suit from Savile Row once – very comfortable, and lasted a long time. Would probably still be with me if my waistline hadn’t grown out of it.

    Thanks to Curarist for the blog and a good weekend to all.

    Cedric

  18. Raced through then stuck on SW corner. Once I solved DISCO and SPIGOT, I was able to guess PLEADER. Actually I thought spigot was a tap, but now know it is a stopper too. Fancy that.
    Guessed TARPON earlier.
    Liked IN CASE and IN PLAY, and STAND UP

    Thanks all round again.

    1. I’ve never heard of ‘spigot’ as a stopper either. It’s a tap or the end of a pipe as in ‘socket and spigot’ joint. But I see it’s in my vintage COD.
      1. Real ale fans will know spigot as the small wooden stopper for the vent hole of a cask. Cheers!
        1. And just reading Ed Conway in today’s op-ed pages, he refers to Saudi Arabia opening the spigots!
  20. I thought this was going to be a bit of a b*******r. I couldn’t get started until 19a but, once I’d got a few of the lower down clues, the others started to fall into place. Under half an hour, which is pretty good for me, especially as that included pausing to get my lunch gathered together. I managed to spot 22a as a hidden and dredge up tarpon as a likely candidate. I did look it up to be on the safe side – but I’ve been struggling to see hiddens recently – 18d, for example, eluded me until I biffed the answer. I also raised my eyebrow at spigot for bung as I’d never come across that before.

    Another MER at 23a. “I’ll wager” is not the same as “better” .

    Thanks to Teazel and Curarist for a BETTER end to the week – I’ve made a lot of use of aids until today

    6d reminds me that I’m looking forward to seeing ‘A Winter’s Tale’ streamed free from the ROH this evening.

    Edited at 2020-05-01 12:29 pm (UTC)

    1. “I’ll wager” refers to a person who will wager (namely, “me”), i.e. a better; no problem. This sort of locution (“I …”) shows up from time to time, so should be kept in mind. (Similarly, “who …s” or “that …s”, neither of which would work here.)
  21. One of our fastest times. But, more importantly, we really had fun with Teazel’s clever and amusing clues. Tarpon wasn’t a challenge for us as spent a very happy hour feeding them during a visit to the Florida Keys a couple of years ago. It’s been a tough week and it’s nice to finish on a high note.

    FOI: in play
    LOI: whitlow
    COD: in case

    Thanks Teazel and Curarist

  23. Yes, I’ve had a 21dn but no problem with it today.

    FOI 3dn STAND-UP I prefer sit-down comedians, if you get my drift.

    LOI 16dn FLOWER – northern stand-up’s mode of address.

    COD 13ac SEPULCHRE

    WOD 6dn CORPS DE BALLET (I also like the word SEPULCHRAL)

    Time 11.30 mins.

    Please do try the ‘Monthly Club Special’ – Lord Verlaine notes it’s getting easier. And already 4 takers!

    Edited at 2020-05-01 05:15 pm (UTC)

  24. Far better than I usually do on a Friday and much enjoyed. Spigot eluded me, somehow I thought there was an h in it.
    Thanks all.
    Diana
  25. Happy with 2K with an almost Templar-like clean sweep. LOI dnk whitlow – got from parsing.
  26. Oh well, continued in my “DNF” manner this week by struggling on 15dn and 17ac. NHO of the first, and didn’t much like the clueing of the second. The rest all went in around 30 mins.

    Disco = Party? Not in my book, but it’s used so I can’t really complain.

    With regards to Whitlow, I’d heard of a Wicklow – is that the same thing or something totally different?

    Hopefully next week will prove a little better.

    FOI – 4ac “Mascot”
    LOI – DNF (again)
    COD – 9dn “Savile Row”

    Thanks as usual.

    1. I absolutely agree with you about disco=party and have moaned about it in the past! To me a disco is a place you used to go to for a bop / boogie (showing my age here!) However in the current lockdown my husband and I have been having at-home Saturday night discos, so I guess they are parties now!
    2. Wicklow is a place in Ireland, after which the Wicklow Cheviot breed of sheep is named I think, but as far as I know isn’t a word.
      1. Oddly, it’s in the “Urban Dictionary” – defined as piece of skin between your fingernail and the top of your finger that becomes sore and slightly loose – which is always what I thought it was (and was used by my Mother).

        Maybe it’s just one of those regional things or something misheard and passed down generations.

  29. I was IN PLAY from the off, as 1d was my FOI. IN CASE took a bit longer, but arrived after the CARPET SWEEPER. Then a steady roam around the grid found me all done in 7:02. Thanks Teazel and Curarist.
  30. Finished in 19m which is good for us , except spelling spigot wrongly. Nice to have a quicker solve, we were thinking that the lockdown was also locking down our brains. Thanks to Teasal for a good end to the week.
  32. And so another month begins. Held up today by misreading the V I had written at the start of VENISON as a U, leading to some head scratching for 9D. LOI WHITLOW, a word I didn’t know, but I trusted to the wordplay. I liked the Tomb’s curse at 13A. Thanks Teazel and Curarist. 4:19.
  33. What a lovely end to the week! Thank you Teazel! I zoomed through this with lots of chuckles until I was left with just four clues, 10a and 7d, 2d and 17a. They took me a while to work out but I still finished in 15 minutes for A Very Good Day. I didn’t know tarpon and I had to look up spigot in the dictionary to check it could mean bung but the clueing meant they had to be the answers.
    FOI 1a
    LOI 17a
    COD 13a
    Blue Stocking
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