A medium level difficulty puzzle from Izetti with a few trademark less common words and senses but nothing I would class as too obscure. No complaints from me that it was easier than yesterday’s toughie and I finished in ten minutes on the knocker. A perverse favourite for me was the surface for 3d; anything but in my experience!
A big thank you to Merlin for having taken up the reins and for blogging every week in my absence.
Thanks to Izetti
Definitions underlined in bold, deletions indicated by strikethrough.
| Across | |
| 1 | Paint book for learners? (6) |
| PRIMER – Double definition | |
| 5 | One group of fliers as seen on return journey (6) |
| SAFARI – Reversal (‘on return’) of I (‘One’) RAF (‘group of fliers’) AS (‘as’) | |
| 8 | Some reward ancestors for hostile gestures (3,5) |
| WAR DANCE – Hidden (‘Some’) in reWARD ANCEstors | |
| 9 | Difficult things Cockney must go through? Sorry about that! (4) |
| OOPS – From the expression to “jump through hoops” to get something done, meaning the task is a difficult one or requires many steps |
|
| 10 | Smart companion in charge (4) |
| CHIC – CH (‘companion’) IC (‘in charge’)
CH for a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, “awarded for having a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time”. Anna Wintour, Shirley Bassey, Elton John and David Attenborough are among the better-known CH’s |
|
| 11 | Support vessel heading back to something hairy (8) |
| BUTTRESS – BUT (‘vessel heading back’=reversal of TUB) TRESS (‘something hairy’) | |
| 12 | Prison festival back at end of street (6) |
| STALAG – ALAG (‘festival back’=reversal of GALA) following (‘at end of’) ST (‘street’) | |
| 14 | Daughter surrounded by birds in large groups (6) |
| CROWDS – D (‘Daughter’) contained in (‘surrounded by’) CROWS (‘birds’) | |
| 16 | Great time — it’s wicked going around! (8) |
| IMMORTAL – IMMORAL (‘wicked’) containing (‘going around!’) T (‘time’)
IMMORTAL as either an adjective or a noun in this sense |
|
| 18 | Second beer — it may come with a special offer (4) |
| SALE – S (‘Second’) ALE (‘beer’) | |
| 20 | Insect that’s beginning to feed on meat (4) |
| BEEF – BEE (‘Insect’) F (‘beginning to feed’=first letter of ‘feed’) | |
| 21 | Learner always needing time to establish strategic advantage (8) |
| LEVERAGE – L (‘Learner’) EVER (‘always’) AGE (‘time’) | |
| 23 | Look to eat very little and get very hungry (6) |
| STARVE – STARE (‘Look’) containing (‘to eat’) V (‘very little’=abbreviation of ‘very’) | |
| 24 | Idea coming when politician entertains ambassador (6) |
| THEORY – TORY (‘politician’) containing (‘to eat’) HE (‘ambassador’)
HE for His Excellency or Her Excellency as a title for an ambassador |
|
| Down | |
| 2 | Fish approached — see it getting caught here (5) |
| ROACH – Hidden ((‘see it) getting caught here’) in ‘appROACHed’
Often indicators for hidden clues are themselves almost hidden in the surface (eg 8a above or an innocuous “in”) but this one is unusually long. |
|
| 3 | Sort of test claimed to be fantastic (7) |
| MEDICAL – Anagram (‘to be fantastic’) of CLAIMED | |
| 4 | Maybe an extra sequence in the West End? (3) |
| RUN – Double definition
An ‘extra’ in cricket, not on the stage as the surface reading may have us believe. The second def refers to the length of time or number of performances eg a play remains on at a theatre, hence ‘West End?’. |
|
| 5 | Disbelieving extraordinary special act — not the first (9) |
| SCEPTICAL – Anagram (‘extraordinary’) of SPECIAL and |
|
| 6 | Food ingredient left for number to collect (5) |
| FLOUR – FOUR (‘number’) containing (‘to collect’) L (‘left’) | |
| 7 | Model clothed in crimson rested (7) |
| REPOSED – POSE (‘Model’) contained in (‘clothed in’) RED (‘crimson’)
‘Model’ here as a verb |
|
| 11 | Beautiful female hiding a gun in fluff (9) |
| BAGATELLE – BELLE (‘Beautiful female’) containing (‘hiding’) A (‘a’) GAT (‘gun’)
I can’t think why but Mae West came to mind. A GAT is an air pistol or air gun which according to Wikipedia can fire “.177 pellets, ball bearings, darts and corks”. An alternative explanation is GAT as an abbreviation for Gatling gun. ‘Fluff’ as in a piece of fluff (figuratively) or a trifle. The first time BAGATELLE impinged on my consciousness (though not in this sense) was in the lyrics for Penny Arcade by Roy Orbison. |
|
| 13 | Casual worker set off in storm (7) |
| TEMPEST – TEMP (‘Casual worker’) then anagram (‘off’) of SET | |
| 15 | See old boy wait (7) |
| OBSERVE – OB (‘old boy’) SERVE (‘wait’) | |
| 17 | Present in box unopened (5) |
| OFFER – |
|
| 19 | Drink fit for a king served up (5) |
| LAGER – Reversal (‘served up’) of REGAL (‘fit for a king’)
The hops used to make this LAGER definitely have a chestnut flavour |
|
| 22 | Tax introduced by Conservatives (3) |
| VAT -Hidden (‘introduced by’) in ‘ConserVATives’ | |
After a good start in the NW, and reasonable progress around the grid (even Bagatelle came quickly), I was well and truly breezeblocked by my last pair: Flour and Buttress. I fell head first into the 6d bear trap, and frantically searched for a food ingredient beginning with F and containing the letter ‘n’ that could be changed to ‘l’ to give something meaning to collect. Meat? no; Vegetable? no; Herb then? no! A real head slap pdm when I finally saw the simplicity of the clue. Buttress (ah, that end of the clue) then immediately followed, though by then the 30min post was, yet again, in plain sight. CoD to 5ac, Safari, for the satisfaction that comes from solving something that looked impossible. Invariant
PS Good to hear from you again, BR
8:00
I didn’t find this too bad, though I did get into a muddle at the end, having bunged in SPECTACLE at 5d without enough attention to the anagrist. Needed to fix this before I was able to see LOI IMMORTAL (which seemed an unusual synonym for ‘great’). Everything else seemed fair.
Thanks Bletch and Izetti
Disappointed to miss my sub-10 target eventually finishing in 11:48. I found this much more difficult than yesterday’s QC but I am not sure why. I didn’t encounter any major hold-ups – just slow in solving what, on reflection, were fairly straightforward clues. LOI was SAFARI.
Very, very slow but all correct in the end. Couldn’t get going at all until I saw SCEPTICAL, CHIC, TEMPEST and WAR DANCE, then I staggered along, needing pauses to solve the rest…eventually.
LOsI included SAFARI, IMMORTAL (Great -MER?). Also struggled with e.g. BAGATELLE, BUTTRESS.
Liked STALAG (actually constructed rather than biffed), THEORY (likewise), OFFER, OOPS.
Thanks vm and great you’re back, BR.
I crossed the line, much relieved, in 45-50 minutes or thereabouts. Slightly less challenging than yesterday’s Lupa, but still very difficult and hardly a QC.
I started with WAR DANCE and CHIC and finished with BAGATELLE and IMMORTAL. OOPS made me smile on the way through. Here’s hoping for a genuine QC tomorrow.
Well good! Sick! IMMORTAL! All adjectives my two sons used to use (for Great!) in their teens. However, I’m struggling to imagine Mr Manley using it like that. Perhaps he does, though …. when he’s down with the kids.
Many thanks to Izetti and BR.
Re: 11D – A “gat” is common street slang for a handgun in the UK, and I’d imagine used much more in this context than that of an air pistol. I appreciate the crossover between people packing heat and people doing the Times QC is likely to be minimal.
Another tough one for me today. BUTTRESS the most embarrassing as I’d parsed vessel as “SS” and spent a long time thinking BUTT was a very low rent clue for “something hairy” by the standards of this publication.
Thank you for making me laugh very hard, twice.
I would say this took longer than yesterday but all seemed fair in retrospect. Needed help to parse SAFARI (oh, those sort of fliers) and IMMORTAL (doh). Also failed to spot the hidden in VAT! Liked OOPS. Many thanks and welcome back BR.
In response to Halfdan’s comment above, having tried the ‘gentle’ 15 x 15 yesterday and having bombed spectacularly I can attest to the fact that this was very definitely a QC!
Strange, isn’t it? Yesterday I abandoned the quickie with three to go but finished the biggie in about 25 minutes! Wavelength strikes again 😅
Well done! It was completely beyond me 😂
As was the so-called quickie for me 😅
Dnf…
I seem to be out of step with everyone, as I found this really hard. Couldn’t get anything in the NW corner on first pass and the rest felt like moving through treacle. In the end, couldn’t get 16ac “Immortal” nor 5ac “Safari”, although with the latter I put “Bagunelle” for 11dn which obviously didn’t help. The only “Bagatelle” I know is the slightly old and worn wooden framed ball game that my Grandma used to have and that only came out at Christmas.
FOI – 6dn “Flour”
LOI – Dnf
COD – 9ac “Oops” – exactly my thought on non-completion.
Thanks as usual!
Is it bad that I went for Butt ress because it said it led to something hairy!
20:36
Indeed, nothing too obscure but a few head scratchers nevertheless. Couldn’t parse BUTTRESS, thought SS was the vessel but then the rest made no sense. Struggled in the SW with OFFER and LOI IMMORTAL.
I found it much easier than yesterday though.
Am I really the first to notice? This is Times Quick Cryptic No 2849 and NOT 2489. Thanks and HTH.
Just scrolling through to see if anyone had mentioned it! Didn’t come up on Google search for 2849 Izetti as it normally would.
That probably explains why my time is not coming up on the Quitch. My times are taken off the blog and it can’t link this one to the Quitch one.
Woops, sorry about this – I’ve just seen your post on getting up this morning, my time. I see one of my betters, to whom I’ve very grateful, has now put this right.
13:11. Steady on.
From RUN to THEORY in 8:24. Not the easiest Izetti I’ve tackled! Thanks Izetti and BR.
17:58, not a super fast time but a pleasant and non-frustrating solve, relaxing after yesterday’s challenge. Izetti’s puzzles are always a pleasure, but where is the expected clerical reference???
Liked BAGATELLE best, but many good ones. I loved the image of the daughter surrounded by the large groups of birds (Hitchcock, anyone?).
Thanks to Izetti and Bletch (I’ll drink a chestnut-flavoured lager to your return)!
Was wondering about the clerical reference myself.
I missed a trick by not writing “where is the canonical clerical reference?”. Staircase wit.
Too difficult for me. Will spare you the details.
Know the feeling.
32.16 This was moderately difficult but I was breeze-blocked by BEEF, OFFER and IMMORTAL, which more than doubled my time. I’m not sure what the “that’s” is doing in BEEF and the “on” doesn’t really fit. Welcome back and thanks BR and thanks Izetti.
I thought this was quite tough (having found the 15×15 relatively straightforward today), but completed it successfully. IMMORTAL last one in, but familiar in the sporting star context.
Thanks BR and thanks Izetti.
Slow finish over 2 sittings. The Buttress – Bagatelle combo being my LOIs.
Thanks BR and Izetti
Breezeblocked again by my LOI – the SAFARI took a circuitous route! Up to that point it had been a slowish but steady solve, but I eventually finished after about 16 minutes. I liked THEORY and TEMPEST a lot.
FOI Primer LOI Safari COD Sale – just a lovely simple and effective clue.
Thanks Izetti and BR – good to have you back, and big thanks to Merlin too!
Just one query: I noticed someone comment yesterday that we have a new crossword editor – I must have missed that piece of news. Any names / further info?
The setter Asp (Jason Crampton) is our new Crossword Editor.
Taken from over here … https://timesforthetimes.co.uk/qc-2843-by-joker
Thanks Penny for asking and ND for answering as I had also missed it. ND I followed your link but still can’t find the reference! Hardly surprising I have days when I DNF if I can’t follow a link 😂
🤣
It’s in one of the comments – a poster called Kapietro (sp?). There’s not really a lot more to it though.
Thanks ND. I’ll have another look 😀
Thanks ND – not sure how I missed those comments as I usually come back to the blog a couple of times throughout the day. I tend to agree with you about Asp’s difficulty levels – fingers crossed for a fair deal for everyone!
Not scientific proof but I usually take longer to do Izeti QC than the 15×15 of the day. Today 31 min dnf compared to 11 min.
A joyless day (is there any other type?) – 23 minutes.
Already at 69 mins for week!
Just over half on big puzzle. Tortuous.
I can’t enjoy this if I am unable to improve. ☹️
Now read blog for big puzzle. So many simple answers that I miss. I get the components of many answers but can’t fit them together.
My brain just doesn’t work in the right way for this and that drives me mad. I would give anything to possess the skills which so many of you seem to exercise so effortlessly.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds your relentless negativity – even when posting performances or completion times others would be proud of – exhausting, and dare I say disrespectful.
At various points, other regular solvers and even bloggers have attempted to encourage you. You seem immune to such efforts.
If, as seems is the case, you find only frustration in these puzzles, not enjoyment, perhaps this is not the past-time for you. Not due to your solving abilities, but due to your general demeanor.
Otherwise, perhaps you could try saying what you enjoyed about a puzzle, or a clue, instead of this tedious performance of misery every single day. Or even say what you didn’t like! I read these comments daily and have never seen you post anything but criticism of your own performance, which is ultimately extremely self-absorbed.
Regards,
A friendly onlooker
Found this easier than yesterday’s, the NW going in fairly quickly, but got breezeblocked by STARVE, OFFER and IMMORTAL at the end, until we weren’t. But we join others having a MER at Immortal = GREAT.
FOI PRIMER
LOI IMMORTAL
COD SAFARI
Thanks Bletchers and Izetti.
24.02 with no errors. Not a common thing to describe an Izetti as “easier than the. previous day’s puzzle” (which was a DNF as I’d NHO LEONINE and entered LIONISE instead). Still in the SCC though. FOI – CHIC, LOI – BAGATELLE (which I biffed from the crossing letters), COD – TEMPEST. Thanks Izetti and BR.
Only the SE quadrant was doable.