Times Quick Cryptic 1216 by Howzat

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Well, that was fun. I finished just shy of 14 minutes which would indicate a difficult QC in any case, but I’m now looking forward to writing the blog to piece together the many bits I’ve missed. I must confess to some biffing around and about the grid. LOsI 21dn and 3dn. There were two stand out clever short clues (14,16ac) which together merit COD – more of those later – here we go into the details.

ACROSS

1. EYEWASH – rot. Eastern (E) couple of trees – YEW and ASH.
9. ROTOR – chopper (helicopter) blade – palindrome.
10. OWING – what outstanding bills are. Thanks to Ulaca below for the explanation – if you have ALL and this=OWING then you get admitting=ALL OWING. double definition. All this is admitting/outstanding bills are owing.
11. AVERAGE – mean. Declare how old a person is (AVER AGE).
12. INSOLVENT – bust. Rude (INSOLENT) about a small version of very (V).
14. DOT – a lady’s name. This clue has ‘Aida’ mostly in lower case which means that one can see a (DOT) on top of the ‘i’. I thought I didn’t have the prior general knowledge for these two clues until the cryptic nature of them presented itself. They make a pair and are a good example of why I do cryptic crosswords – there’s wit and cleverness – thanks to Howzat for brightening my day.
16. ADA – another lady’s name. Here we have ‘AIDA’ in upper case which means that the ‘I’ resembles a 1. So, in AIDA, we find the sought after lady (ADA) embracing one (I).
18. ARCHANGEL – Russian port. This could be seen as a double definition with church high flier – angel of the highest rank (ARCHANGEL). Until looking that up I’ve never really considered grades of angels – the different job descriptions would be interesting. It could also be seen as a split between ARCH – in the sense of chief/principal and ANGEL – flier.
21. SHAKERS – double definition. Vessel for cocktail making and an American millenarian sect, founded in 1747 as an offshoot of the Quakers, given to ecstatic shaking, advocating celibacy for its members, and practising common ownership of property – so I think I’d rather rattle and roll.
22. TASER – stunner. Posed again – re-sat. Facing the other way (TASER).
22. ALOOF – remote. Gents (LOO – we had ‘ladies’ last week) hugged by (A) and female (F).
24. EARNEST – very serious. Homophone of Ernest.

DOWN

1. SEMOLINA – pudding. Anagram (confection) of IS A LEMON.
2. REMISS – careless. About (RE), penalty failure (in e.g. football – MISS).
3. GANG – band. Associated with the name Mozart is Wolfgang – which, when halved, gives wolf(GANG).
4. PHRASE – expression. Anagram (novel) of SHARPE.
5. GREEN TEA – drink – one of which I’m aware but do not partake. Anagram (brewed) of TEENAGER.
6. STRAND – double definition. Ply – one of the strands twisted together to make rope, yarn, etc/the street in central London.
7. BRAE – Scottish bank/hill. Part of the clue – some of f(EAR B)ankruptcy. As this is a down clue then ‘coming up’ means backwards.
13. LEAVE OFF – stop. Holiday (LEAVE), cancelled (OFF).
15. TOLERATE – stomach. Anagram (upset) of ROTTE (rotten endless) ALE.
17. A MAJOR – musical key. Accountant (CA) leaving a (A) Spanish Island (MAJOR)ca.
19. CUSSED – awkward. Talked about dis(CUSSED) missing DIS.
20. GUSHER – (oil) well. Good (G), one shows you to your seat (USHER).
21. SCAM – racket (fraud). Tailless monkey (SCAM)p – as in a naughty but liked child.
22. TORE – rent. Large shop s(TORE) – not small (S).

60 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1216 by Howzat”

  1. Re angels, the most common taxonomy, following Pseudo-Dionysius and Thomas Aquinas/Dante, has nine levels grouped in three divisions (technically, spheres). Sadly the Archangels only come second in “League Two”:

    Premier League: Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones
    League One: Dominations, Virtues, and Powers
    League Two: Principalities, Archangels, and Angels

    I found this pretty taxing indeed, taking over 23 minutes to finally tease out the two 4-letter clues you mention, GANG (too much time spent on Amadeus!) and SCAM. With its figurative sense of “monkey”, the latter in particular is particularly non-congruent and worthy of a place in any Main Cryptic.

  2. Taxing indeed. I had the same trouble as Ulaca with GANG (although I didn’t get past ‘Mozart’, only thinking of ‘Wolfgang’ when I’d got GANG from the G) and SCAM, again working backwards from the def to get SCAM, and finally realizing it wasn’t a monkey I was looking for. OWING also took ages, as I couldn’t make any sense of ‘all this is admitting’. I still don’t see why the clue wasn’t just ‘Admitting what …’ 9:07.
  3. Two of my first in were A MINOR and BREAK OFF. Both fitted the clues until the crossing words refused to work!

    I still don’t understand 10ac.

    1. I had both those errors in mind and went so far as to write A MINOR in the grid which didn’t help, but it fitted the clue so perfectly. Fortunately I already had ARCHANGEL in place, which had to be correct, so BREAK OFF was never really in the running.
  4. I think the idea is that if you have ALL this (where ‘this’ stands for the answer OWING), you have ALLOWING, which means ADMITTING.
    1. Thanks for this; I’m sure you’re right. I’d actually thought of ‘all owing’, but not of putting them together.
    2. Thanks for this, Ulaca – I now understand it. I had noticed that ‘owning’ could mean ‘admitting’ which didn’t work fully of course, but it was enough to confuse the issue for me.
  5. 21 minutes. Having A MINOR at 17dn, not knowing SHAKERS as a religious sect and having only the A-checker in place at 21dn combined to send me way over my target solving time of 10 minutes yet again. I’ve now had 4 consecutive QCs ‘in the red’ (taking 15+ minutes to complete), something that has never happened to me before, and I’ve not had 3 consecutive reds since 2014.
    1. The Shakers are known in the US mainly for their furniture; google ‘Shaker furniture’ for some good examples.
    2. There’s a message here…
      Problem lies with crossword editor and not setter – is Quick cryptic becoming an oxymoron?
  6. I had finished all but 21D in my average solving time, but then spent 1 1/2 minutes on an alphabet trawl before (like ulaca) I belatedly realised I wasn’t looking for a simian to dock. I loved the Aida clues and EYEWASH but GUSHER my COD. 8:03.
  7. I think I fell into all the traps today. I had BREAK OFF, A MINOR and IDA (at 14a). All required long correction.
    I was on the right lines with Mozart but for some reason wanted to put in Wolf (a rock band I had never heard of).
    Solving online I had two left after 30 minutes, 21a and 21d. I was thinking of apes without their last letter (no doubt what Felix intended). I thought of Shakers but it did not fit A Minor. Eventually I completed after 40 minutes.
    This was a brilliant and difficult puzzle. I thought EYEWASH was COD. David
  8. DNF for me, first for a while. Undone by A MAJOR, where I was convinced that I was looking for an obscure Spanish island called A CA***. Grrr, beaten fair and square.

    One disadvantage of the “all the acrosses then all the downs” method (though I did it the other way round today so as to start with 1dn) is that the absence of checkers means that you are more likely to write in a perfectly plausible but wrong answer. Today I confidently wrote in “BREAK OFF”, which is just as good an answer as “LEAVE OFF” for 13dn. it wasn’t until I got to 12ac/18ac that I realised that it must be wrong and had to unscramble it (which makes a mess with pen and ink). So maybe I will revert to the cluster method.

    EYEWASH has come up several times recently; it feels very archaic to me.

    Shaker was a furniture brand name here for a while; they had a marvellous but ferociously expensive shop in Marylebone High Street, with lots of lovely things made by W A Mitchell in Maine.

    Thanks Howzat and chris.

    Templar

  9. I needed 22 minutes to complete. FOI was 1d SEMOLINA, which gave me false hope, and my LOI OWING which was biffed. I also biffed 14a DOT (far too clever) and 18a ARCHANGEL (a late biff as I DNK the port) once I had 20d GUSHER from the wordplay. I am used to biffing in the 15×15 but never to this degree in the QC. Very tough.

    COD to 17d A MAJOR which was an easy one for me as I am currently in Majorca.

    Edited at 2018-11-06 10:03 am (UTC)

  10. What a great crossword! Full of clever misdirections. I was totally absorbed and genuinely surprised that my time was back to 3 Kevins – it seemed quicker than that. All the interesting clues and traps have been listed above and I had a similar experience to davidivad, overall. LOsI Gang and, surprisingly, Gusher. Many thanks to Howzat and to Chris. John M.
  11. Good puzzle, but I’d imagine a bit too hard for most beginners. I read with interest the comments on yesterdays QC, and it seems there’s a bit of a game in getting the level right, despite the obvious fact that it will have to vary a bit, just as it does in the daily.

    Harder to edit than the daily? You bet!

  12. Thank you for the explanation of 10a. That one together with the structures of 14 and 16 across and the level of misdirection will have made this very challenging for beginners. I did get there in the end after 27 minutes but not without much head scratching. A great puzzle, nonetheless.
  13. Lots of empty spaces. Reading the blog I fear many would have stayed that way. Had I finished it would have been well outside the personal worst I bemoaned last week. Roll on Wednesday.
  15. Another dnf which is becoming the norm now. Sadly the settlers have lost the objectives of a QC as now the majority of these puzzles are on the very hard side. I am joining the person who said they had had enough. Note to the editor decide whether you want another version of the 15*15 or a real QC. Still have appreciated the blogs which are very helpful. It would have been nice if a few more beginners added there views about the puzzle level maybe the editor would have taken some notice.

    1. Wow that was tough. DNF for me too. Hadn’t heard of eyewash in that way and also caught out with Break Off. Thanks for the explanations.
    2. Agree that was far too difficult for non-experts. There is no point in setting puzzles which simply dispirit the majority of solvers (who don’t contribute to this blog). I can usually get close to finishing the paper version but I gave up on this one. Middle ground , please .
    3. Couldn’t agree more. After feeling I was ‘getting somewhere’ after around six months from an absolute beginner there have been too many DNF’s for me in the past few weeks. Today was the last straw. Far too obscure in places for a ‘quick’ cryptic. The 15×15 is there for the more experienced after all. I’m out.
    4. I finished it, as I almost always do, though it took me rather a long time. But why can’t we have a genuinely QUICK cryptic, which is what many of us would like, rather than a smaller version of the 15×15 puzzle? Crossword editor please note.

      Treesparrow
      (also getting fed up with the current trend of the QCs)

  17. Thought I was all done in under six minutes and feeling pretty smug – then I noticed 17d was still outstanding. And that’s the way it stayed. Completely foxed me so definitely my COD.

    Am I alone feeling mounting frustration at anonymous carping about the difficulty or otherwise of the QC? The opinions expressed may have some merit but cannot be taken seriously as long as the author(s) remains hidden.

    So a message to Anonymous(es)
    Please either create an account or add your name to your post. You may receive more sympathetic ear.

    Thanks as always to setter and blogger.

    1. If I may quote myself from The Rotter’s blog of QC 1213 I think it was:
      I must admit to getting a bit tired of all the anonymous–always anonymous, always–whining about how hard it is for us beginners. Sometimes a puzzle is harder, sometimes it isn’t; get over it. I don’t know about Anon and his brethren, but I do these for fun; and the better I get the more fun it is. But back when I was totally inept at these–before the QCs–I still had fun trying, and I kept on trying, without complaining about how difficult they were for such as I. [end of quote]
      I’m not sure, though, how much more seriously the anonymous carping should be taken if the carper had a username.
      1. I have tried to get a handle but it never seems to work. Don’t worry about the carping I won’t be doing them anymore so you will be spared.
        1. You can just type a name or pseudonym st the end of your message, you know. I did that for months before I managed to wrestle LiveJournal into submission.

          Templar [look – like that!]

    2. Tell me how to create an account and I’ll happily continue to counter the rather smug self-satisfaction which pervades this blog, darling.
  18. I’ve heard that Sepp Blatter is considering a bid for president of FAA – Federation of Angel Associations. Initial feedback indicates that it’s a step too faa and that he hasn’t got a prayer.
  19. Lovely and very taxing QC which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was misdirected several times, so well done setter. Some really good stuff in here. Biffed OWING and DOT, far too subtle for me. FOI ROTOR. LOI SCAM (I am becoming paranoid about 4 letter answers). COD DOT (now that I understand it).
    I have to agree with others about the level of difficulty recently. I am enjoying the harder QCs, but for someone just starting out the last few weeks must have been hard going.
    PlayUpPompey
  20. Lovely and very taxing QC which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was misdirected several times, so well done setter. Some really good stuff in here. Biffed OWING and DOT, far too subtle for me. FOI ROTOR. LOI SCAM (I am becoming paranoid about 4 letter answers). COD DOT (now that I understand it).
    I have to agree with others about the level of difficulty recently. I am enjoying the harder QCs, but for someone just starting out the last few weeks must have been hard going.
    PlayUpPompey
  21. I’ve been doing the QC on and off since it started. I have found this blog really informative and helpful – so thank you to all the bloggers and those who answer questions. I can’t usually finish all the clues but it is good to have the answers explained.I don’t mind about the variation in difficulty. One option might be a Sudoku style (Fiendish / Super Fiendish etc) header – but views seem to vary more about the difficulty of crosswords. I found today’s puzzle really hard (I got about half). I probably only got a few more yesterday but it felt easier.

    Hannah
    PS why is Archangel a Russian port?

    1. Wikipedia sez:

      Arkhangelsk (Russian: Арха́нгельск, IPA: [ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk]), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, in the north of European Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea. The city spreads for over 40 kilometers (25 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval and early modern Russia until 1703. A 1,133-kilometer-long (704 mi) railway runs from Arkhangelsk to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl, and air travel is served by the Talagi Airport and a smaller Vaskovo Airport. As of the 2010 Census, the city’s population was 348,783,[8] down from 356,051 recorded in the 2002 Census,[14] and further down from 415,921 recorded in the 1989 Census.[15]

  22. Another dnf which is becoming the norm now. Sadly the settlers have lost the objectives of a QC as now the majority of these puzzles are on the very hard side. I am joining the person who said they had had enough. Note to the editor decide whether you want another version of the 15*15 or a real QC. Still have appreciated the blogs which are very helpful. It would have been nice if a few more beginners added there views about the puzzle level maybe the editor would have taken some notice.

  23. No particular problems with this one. Like GUSHER and CUSSED. 11:12. Thanks Howzat and Chris.
  24. Two sittings to finish what I thought was a very tricky QC from Howzat – who would have thought Minorca was spelt Menorca? Either way, having A Minor for 17d certainly made 21ac a bit of a teaser… On the whole, this was an enjoyable challenge (with 8ac, Eyewash my favourite), but I can easily understand the frustration expressed by some posters. It does get easier the longer you stick at it, but that’s easy to say and not much help when you are new to these. Incidentally, I don’t want to unduly worry those upset by anonymous contributors, but Invariant doesn’t appear anywhere on my birth certificate! Invariant
  25. Quite happy to accept that as newish beginners we found this difficult but it was so clever. Without the blog we would have given up doing them long ago so a huge thank you to all the bloggers. The biggest frustration though is understanding it from the blog and then completely missing it next time it (or similar). Do any of you keep written notes? L&I
    1. I don’t keep notes and still miss some things the next time. The longer you do them the more you do retain which all helps – any extra crossing letter is valuable.
    2. When I started I got an A to Z note book and after solving each one (always with the use of the blog to explain several clues) I would write in all the new abbreviations/synonyms etc I’d learnt that day. Then when solving I would sometimes look up every word in the clue in my book looking for inspiration. I use it less and less now as gradually I’ve remembered the oft used chestnuts. Good luck! Chris
  26. May I suggest that the DNFers do not take it so seriously. I first started doing cryptic crosswords at school, 60 years ago, and am still at the QC level. My technique is to allocate an amount of time (say, 30 minutes) and see how much I can complete. If I haven’t finished, I then resort to aids (there are plenty of them around online). I can then normally complete the grid, even though one or two may be biffed. Then I look at this blog to check my answers and find out the cryptic solutions to the ones I had to bif. I then look back at an enjoyable half an hour or so, which is much better than only having an enjoyable 5 or 10 minutes, which the experts seem to have!
    1. That reminds me of golf – which in used to play so rarely that, although I could get the very occasional par, I felt I got better value out of the cost of the round as I had so many more shots for the money than anyone else.
      As for crosswords – I do the QC most days but always carry a printed version of a couple of 15x15s. Whenever I have spare time (waiting for airplanes, the wife shopping etc) the time is enjoyable rather than frustrating.
    2. That reminds me of golf – which in used to play so rarely that, although I could get the very occasional par, I felt I got better value out of the cost of the round as I had so many more shots for the money than anyone else.
      As for crosswords – I do the QC most days but always carry a printed version of a couple of 15x15s. Whenever I have spare time (waiting for airplanes, the wife shopping etc) the time is enjoyable rather than frustrating.
  27. I am still relatively new at the game and just couldn’t see Aloof , Cussed or A Major.
    But I know that I could have maybe eventually got them (having now seen the blog!!) but conceded after an hour or so.
    I was on the right tracks for all three clues but not quite forthcoming.
    I have had times when I thought that I too would give up but I now wouldn’t miss it.
    I suspect that the two persons saying that they will throw in the towel will have a furtive look again in the future and be back. To be into this blog suggests to me that they are secretly hooked already.
    Thanks all,
    John George
  28. Just wrote a longish comment that disappeared into the ether somewhere. To summarise I found this difficult but enjoyable, completed in 29.44 with LOI 17d and 10a unparsed. CoDs the Aidas.
    Thanks for the blog
  29. Having struggled with today’s challenge and finally managed to complete it in about an hour, how long is one classified as a ‘beginner ‘? ( we managed to do 6 in the main crossword yesterday, so are improving I think ! )
  30. Agree this was tough. Loved the two Aida’s – didn’t get Dot until I had both the D and the T, at which point it was suddenly obvious. Plenty of other sudden dawnings, which are a real pleasure. Took me about an hour, and I had to use an online tool to help me crack eyewash – not come across this meaning before.
    Only do the QCs occasionally, and still consider myself a beginner. As Malcolm above, if I get stuck I use a few aids to help, and generally manage to finish. I reckon this blog makes the hardest of QCs accessible, in that an explanation is always available in the end. Many thanks to the bloggers on behalf of us newbies.
  31. I LOVED today’s puzzle. I have no idea how long it took me to finish it as I solved some clues over breakfast, some on the train to Gatwick, some at the airport and then I finished it during my plane journey to Malta which is where I am as I write this! I no longer have the QC – alas, it ended up in a Valetta bin – so I can’t quite remember which answers were my favourites today but it seems to me that there was an overall cleverness to today’s clues. Of course, they’re AWAYS clever but I don’t think there was a single duff one today.

    As for the anonymous commentator who thinks this group is smug…. well, frankly, I’m amazed. I think this is a great group. Its always helpful and consistently encouraging. Thanks hugely, setter and blogger.

  32. I don’t keep records as such, but from memory this may be the only occasion to date on which the number of comments on the QC have exceeded the number on the 15×15. It may tell us something but I don’t know exactly what!
  33. As a beginner who sometimes succeeds but more often fails I have no problem with a difficult puzzle. There’s no need to expect to finish on every occasion, it’s all good training for the big boy!

Comments are closed.