Times Quick Cryptic 1266 by Izetti

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Izetti is at his gentlest today. Even with an unnecessary mix-up in the NE (caused by loi 11ac) this took me 8:45. A good spattering of anagrams, double definitions and homophones helped make this fun – thanks Izetti.

ACROSS

1. SECOND BEST – a less convincing alternative. Another like footballer George (BEST) – so a SECOND BEST.
8. MINIMUM – least possible. A bit of time (MIN) needed by one (I), mother (MUM).
9. LARCH – tree. Some of pop(LAR CH)estnut.
10. PELT – double definition – hide (skin/fur) and shower e.g. with snowballs.
11. RELEASED – let out. Let/hired out again is RE-LEASED. I put rerelease – not realising that the final letter (E) overtyped the S which caused lots of problems for 6 and 7 down.
13. ROMAN – double definition. Description of type = the most common style of printing in books and magazines which consists of upright letters. The second is of the Italian capital city.
14. CLOGS – shoes. Hundred (C), bits of wood (logs).
16. CAREERED – rushed. Vehicle (CAR), double energy (E E) before danger signal (RED).
17. HELP – assist. Fellow (HE) with record (LP).
20. LATHE – machine tool. Endless panic (LATHE)r – he was all in a lather.
21. SERVILE – obsequious. Anagram (awful) of RELatIVES – without the ‘AT’ (a time to avoid).
22. STONEHENGE – ancient monument. Anagram (messed up) of GETS with one (ONE) and bird (HEN) inside (nesting in it).

DOWN

1. SUM UP – review the evidence. Problem (SUM), at university (UP).
2. CONGLOMERATE – business group. Anagram (going bust) of EG MONTE CARLO.
3. NAME – star. English (E) and fellow (MAN) all backwards (brought up).
4. BUMPER – double definition. Very large (bumper crop)/thing on front of car (possibly called a fender elsewhere?).
5. SALIENCE – importance. Conveyed (carried) by thi(S ALIEN CE)rtainly.
6. ARISTOTELIAN – following a certain philosopher. A plus an anagram (dodgy) of ORIENTALIST.
7. RHODES – Island. Homophone (being reported) of highways – roads.
12. INTEREST – double definition. An interest engages one/extra cash paid out on savings accounts (not that it amounts to much these days).
13. RECALL – remember. Engineers (RE) on (top of) phone (CALL).
15. LESSEN – reduce. Homophone (in the auditorium) of teaching session – lesson.
18. PIECE – bit. Baked food (PIE). I attended Oldham vs Forest Green Rovers on Saturday – not much of a match but the steak with cracked paper pepper pie was very good! Cake devoid of content (unlike my pie) (C)ak(E).
19. ARCH – cunning. Concealed in p(ARCH)ment.

32 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1266 by Izetti”

  1. 8 minutes here, so I’d agree with Chris’s assessment that this is relatively easy for an Izetti puzzle. For me the most difficult bit was the SE where, I confidently wrote in ARISTOTL as the first 8 letters at 6dn and then tried to juggle the remaining anagrist to complete the word and failed to do so. It took me a while to realise I’d already put the L in the wrong place and I was then left wondering why the L and the E in ARISTOTLE change places in the adjectival form. If anything, I’d have expected it to be ARISTOTLIAN or ARISTOTLEAN. Just shows up my lack of a classical education I suppose!
  2. All green and all parsed in 13.42, comfortably my fastest in 2019. Not without hold ups though, even once I knew Aristotle was involved it took me a while to work out what to do with the rest of the angrist. SALIENCE was LOI ahead of SERVILE. Very pleasant not to have two crossing clues holding me up at the end. Thanks for the blog Chris, the Forest Green Rovers reference reminds me of the seasonal “local” derbies the Yeovil Town fixture list used to throw up – once Weymouth went south.
  3. I don’t get the setter’s name on the phone app but I would never have guessed this was by Izetti – there were no ecclesiastical garments or parts of a church for a start, but the clues were well up to his usual standard.
    I also finished in 23 minutes, fast for one of his. I had 3 to go at the 13 minute mark, but LESSEN, PELT and finally SERVILE took up the remaining 10, with just the last answer un-parsed. Thanks to Chris for the blog and Izetti for the puzzle.

    Brian

  4. I think ChrisW91 missed of the literal “A” before the anagrind (dodgy) – otherwise the clue doesn’t parse. But I could be wrong.
  5. Was on a train to an English city yesterday;it was not Carlisle and there was no panic in the streets.
    Back at my computer today, I started very quickly with 1a and then raced through many clues before hitting delays.
    I could not parse PIECE and went back to it without seeing the parsing so thanks for that; memo to self -must attend more football matches.
    My LOI was INTEREST which I was sure must end in CENT; INDECENT was a candidate for a while but clearly not what Izetti had in mind.
    14:45 in the end. David
  6. With the first three across clues write-ins, I thought we were on for an uncommonly easy Izetti today, but then it got harder… but not too hard. Held up most by my LOI, SALIENCE. Nicely hidden and I wasn’t expecting a third one after LARCH and ARCH. I liked RELEASED but PIECE my COD. 6:15
  7. 22 minutes, only held up by Aristotle, salience, interest and loi roman.
    Didnt twig the type bit for Roman.

    Cod released.
    Thanks

  8. 12 mins for me today. I agree with Chris that this was mild for an Izetti but no less enjoyable for it. LOI was Pelt
  9. 10:19 here, and much forehead slapping when SALIENCE finally emerged. “If all else fails look for a hidden”, as someone once kindly told me on here. Shame it took me so long to remember that excellent advice!

    A lovely puzzle, the sort that you are enjoying so much you’re sorry when it’s over. Thanks Izetti and Chris. COD to CLOGS from me, since they are made out of bits of wood.

    Templar

  10. I think it was a pb for me – about 7 mins so I must have been in tune! Watching some quiz shows I’m amazed at how some things have ‘passed out’ of general knowledge. Not too many youngsters have seen footage of George Best. Unrelated I’m amazed that many – not even younger people –
    cannot put Matthew Mark Luke and John together and do not know that they are called gospels.

    Edited at 2019-01-15 09:49 am (UTC)

  11. Once again, just outside my target time at 16 minutes. I wonder if I am slowing down now I’m retired? Nice puzzle from the Don and succinct blog – thanks.
    1. Since I retired early last year I’ve speeded up (but not to the rate I achieved in my 40’s alas !)

      I hope Chris’s pie was cracked PEPPER rather than paper, or it would have been much chewier than this gentle offering from Don. I expect Forest Green fans enjoy the prospect of away game catering, rather than all that tofu and Quorn at home matches !

      FOI SECOND BEST
      LOI INTEREST
      COD PELT
      TIME 3:32

      1. Thanks – maybe spell check also couldn’t believe such a tasty offering at a football ground – so guessed it was wrapped in paper! Correction made.
    2. I had begun to share your concern that some ‘slowing diwn’ might be accompanying my change of lifestyle after retirement, Rotter. I used to achieve an average of less than half my recent QC times and I only occasionally drop below the 10 or 12 min mark now. I do keep lots of activities, responsibilities, and interests alive (and seem to do better than quite a few of the recent contestants on University Challenge – a nod to the comment by gcook above). I think we should resolve to see current times as a blip and not let a self-fulfilling prophesy take over! We’ll see… I look forward to seeing your (our) times shorten. John M.
    3. I’ve speeded [sped?] up through having time to do crosswords regularly but it’s a bit up and down. 21.07 today with a good 10 mins on the last four: ARISTOTELIAN (despite my classical education!), STONHENGE (thought FINCH might be in there), INTEREST (also got hooked on INDECENT) and RELEASED (nice clue). COD INTEREST, RELEASED
  12. Well, I thought it was my day today – well over half of an Izetti completed in record time – but then reality kicked in. I liked CLOGS and INTEREST, had trouble with PELT. I biffed SALIENCE before the penny dropped and needed help from chrisw for SERVILE (thanks for the blog). Held up by a couple of silly typos (more haste, less speed) before crawling to the finish line in just under 22 mins. Nice puzzle – thanks Izetti. John M.
  13. A big wooden spoon for me today. Having solved all bar 12d in around 9 minutes, I stared and stared with no inspiration forthcoming for another 6 or so minutes and then typed in INTERSET, also turning my LATHE into LATHS. Eeejit! 15:15 W2E. Thanks Izetti and Chris.
  14. Thought this would be a fast one when the first few went in straight away, then slowed down in the bottom half, before picking up again with the downs.

    Then PELT refused to show itself until a D’Oh moment at the very end.

    Ended up at 4.33. Still, as mentioned above, there were neutrino-fails to gloat over so wasn’t all bad.

  15. This was a lovely puzzle, which I finished in about 9 minutes. I got held up by 6d for a while. 5d was a great hidden. Thanks to Izetti and Chris.

    Adrian

  16. I didn’t find today’s puzzle as straightforward as some of today’s contributors did. I think I was just being a bit thick. I was okay apart from the north west corner which troubled me muchly. I just couldn’t see “minimum” nor “name” and it was only once I’d put those in – having read the, as always, super blog – that I saw, from the new checkers, that 4 down had to be “bumper “. I’d toyed with “big end” which, though wrong, did make me giggle. CODs for me are 10 across and 7 down. Thank you so much, blogger and setter.
  17. Spotted the anagram and definition at 6d but needed all the checkers to unravel it. Liked SALIENCE and SERVILE. Loved finding my avatar 22a.
    Thanks as always to setter and blogger.
    5’05”
  18. I admit to using help with anagrams, but it’s a joy to have finished another one. Thanks to setter, blogger and all the comments.

    Diana.

  19. 9 mins today. I was slowed up by not seeing the hidden at 5d SALIENCE and then needing all of the checkers and a little thinking time for 6d ARISTOTELIAN. Enjoyable Izetti as always. Thanks Chris for the blog.
  20. …but still comfortably SCC. Would have been even quicker without the frequent check backs to see that it reallly did say Izetti, and for some reason struggling with LOI pelt, took ages to see the shower connection .
    Have to admire the speed merchants, much of this was done as fast as I could read and write and still took twice as long as Chris. Thanks to Izetti for an enjoyable puzzle that might provide encouragement for the slower of us.
    Pwliv
  21. An easier than usual Izetti, but I still managed to take nearly 27mins to finish. I had Node for 3d (E + Don) until I decided 8ac just had to be Minimum, and loi 12d, Interest, took ages to see because I was trying to include Cent as the cash element. A few weeks ago I questioned whether two forward hidden words in a single QC was exceptional: clearly Izetti doesn’t think it was, and gave us three today to prove the point. Any advance on three? Invariant
  22. Like others I did double checked that this was an Izetti puzzle as I flew through most of this. Like Invariant I initially put Node in at 3d before getting MINIMUM. Only prevented from a sub 10 minute time by being held up by INTEREST, where I wanted to put Interact for some reason. Completed in 10.04.
    Thanks for the blog
  23. Three hiddens! No wonder I was stymied for such a long time by SALIENCE.
    Like many, a quick start — by my standards, anyway — but took a long time to get over the line.
    Wondered at one point whether the first part of 11A (Let out? Let out again!) might be an anagram of let (already had checker ‘e’ for second letter so was playing with tel-something. Evidently not!

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