Times Quick Cryptic 1276 by Izetti

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I was merrily firing in the answers and found that all were complete except for 9ac in 7 minutes. For once I didn’t have too much trouble with long anagrams and even the clues that sounded tough, including 11, 19 and 20ac, turned out to be fine. Then 9ac proved to be the rake that you stand on and the handle flies up, hits you between the eyes, and stops you dead in your tracks. I had all bar two letters and, for two minutes, couldn’t find a word for fix which fitted into an instrument I only barely remembered when at last the answer came. Still, I’ll always take a sub 10 solve for an Izetti – to whom thanks – especially for the rake handle which did, at least, wake me up this morning. Cod 13ac.

ACROSS

1. PROCRASTINATE – put off. Anagram (wild) of SPECTATOR I RAN.
8. STRUCK – hit. Second (S), vehicle (TRUCK).
9. SPINET – old instrument. A small harpsichord with the strings set obliquely to the keyboard, popular in the 18th century or, in US, a type of small upright piano. Group (SET) around fix (PIN).
10. ROOT – that goes underground. Ring (O) inside rubbish (ROT).
11. CLARENCE – carriage. A Clarence is a type of carriage that was popular in the early 19th century. It is a closed, four-wheeled horse- drawn vehicle with a projecting glass front and seats for four passengers inside. The sort of thing you may see around Buckingham Palace. Woman (CLARE), one (I) going from (N)i(CE).
12. MORON – half-wit. Maureen (MO) meets Ronald (RON).
13. EERIE – spooky. Far side of th(E), lake (ERIE).
15. TRAPPIST – monk. Time (T) and right (R) to meet (A), very quiet (PP), one (I), saint (ST).
17. TART – dish. Part of (component of) s(TART)er.
19. PILATE – Roman procurator – thankfully this is a well-known one. Very holy (PI), not punctual (LATE).
20. GRIEVE – be sad. Smile endlessly (GRI)n meeting temptress (EVE – famed for aiding and abetting scrumping).
21. UNDER-THE-TABLE – secret. Anagram (freely) of AUNT BLETHERED.

DOWN

2. RATIO – proportion. In ope(RATIO)n.
3. COUNTER – double definition.
4. ASK – request. Time (T) off job t(ASK).
5. TESTAMENT – will. Anagram (newly) of MATES inside temporary shelter (TENT).
6. NOISE – sound. Hooter (NOSE) around one (I).
7. TREACLE – sweet stuff. Bill (AC) and left (L) inside box maybe – box (TREE).
11. CONTINENT – double definition. Part of the world and as well as, eh hem, rest-room control, it means exercising self-restraint, esp from sexual activity; chaste.
12. MARTIAN – anagram (ridiculous) of IN A TRAM. Red planet yesterday, Martian today – is this a theme?
14. RETSINA – wine. Anagram (when spilt) of STRAINER.
16. PLACE – spot (a lovely spot for a picnic). Material (LACE) under piano (P).
18. REVEL – make merry. Rod (lever) is turning (REVEL).
20. GEE – gosh! Homophone (can be heard) of G.

51 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1276 by Izetti”

  1. 9 minutes continuing my run of sub-10 minute solves. I needed all the checkers for the long anagram at 1ac and then to write down the unused letters before the answer came to mind.

    For newcomers, CLARENCE is worth remembering along with many other types of carriage. There a list of 40 here, and all but a couple can be horse-drawn. My favourite, not yet appeared in a Times cryptic, is a ‘sulky’: http://www.arnkarnk.plus.com/glossary.htm

    1. Wow! Thanks for the link. Too many for me to memorise though. I’ll be in trouble if the setters ever get hold of that list.
      1. I guess you’re (we’re) in trouble then – see anonymous/Izetti comment at 9:28 below.
    2. I would guess that PHAETON, STANHOPE, LANDAU, and CLARENCE are perhaps the most common in normal cryptics however here are a few others from Chambers not on that list, several of which I have seen careering round the streets of Mephistoville or Listenerland:

      ARABA: “A Central Asian wheeled carriage (also arba or aroba)”
      BANDY: “(Ind) A carriage or (bullock) cart”
      BERLIN: “An old four-wheeled covered carriage, with a seat at the rear covered with a hood (also berline)”
      BRITZKA: “An open four-wheeled carriage with a folding top (also britzska, britska or britschka)”
      BUCKBOARD: “(N. American) A light horse-drawn vehicle consisting of a flexible board on four wheels, with a two-person seat”
      CARIOLE: “A small open carriage (also carriole)”
      CAROCHE: “A stately carriage used on ceremonial occasions (historical)”
      CARRYALL: “A light four-wheeled one-horse carriage”
      COUPE: “A four-wheeled carriage with interior seating for two and a separate seat for the driver”
      DESOBLIGEANTE: “A carriage for one”
      DRAG: “A long open carriage, with transverse or side seats”
      DROSHKY: “A low four-wheeled open carriage used in Russia (also drosky)”
      EKKA: “A small one-horse carriage”
      GROWLER: “A four-wheeled horse-drawn cab (old slang)”
      HERDIC: “A low-hung two- or four-wheeled carriage with a back entrance and side seats”
      HURLY-HACKET: “(Scot) A carriage, gig”
      JINKER: “(Aust) A sulky or other light horse-drawn passenger vehicle”
      PILLBOX: “A kind of one-horse carriage (archaic)”
      RATH: “A four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage or chariot (also ratha)”
      ROCKAWAY: “An American four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, formerly made at Rockaway, New Jersey”
      SPIDER: “Formerly, a light high-wheeled horse-drawn carriage (in full spider phaeton)”
      SURREY: “(US) A light four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for four, usu with two seats”
      TARANTAS: “A four-wheeled, horse-drawn Russian vehicle mounted on horizontal flexible poles (also tarantass)”
      TILBURY: “A light, open, two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage seating two people”
      TRAP: “A light carriage”
      TROIKA: “A Russian vehicle drawn by three horses abreast”
      UNICORN: “A team of two abreast and one in front, or a carriage drawn by it”
      VETTURA: “In Italy, a carriage, cab, or car”
      VOITURE: “A carriage”

  2. 19 minutes, quick for an Izetti puzzle.

    Last few grieve, gee, and spinet which was a bit hit and hope.

    Couldn’t see continent for chaste.

    Cod revel or moron, which though easy, made me laugh.

    Thanks

  3. All the trouble was in the NE. Never heard of CLARENCE but will heed advice to remember (or at least I plan to) or SPINET (another to commit to memory) and couldn’t parse EERIE (didn’t know there was only one E in the lake so I wasn’t sure what the bits of the clue I didn’t need were doing). Early feeling of dread as I went through to 10a for FOI (ROOT) before finding the bottom half more accommodating. Still took 18.45 but all green and all is well!
  4. Sub 9 mins with FOI 10a ROOT and LOI 11a CLARENCE. Both 1a PROCRASTINATE and 21a UNDER THE TABLE required quite a few checkers before I could solve the anagrams. Unlike Chris I had no problem with 9a SPINET but I did dither over 7d TREACLE. Normally with Izetti puzzles the definition and parsing flow smoothly but with TREACLE it got sticky. I wanted the answer to be treacle but it took me a while to understand the parsing. Lovely puzzle as always. Thanks Chris for the blog.

    Edited at 2019-01-29 07:56 am (UTC)

  5. I was a bit slow getting into this starting with TART and ASK, but then things flowed pretty well. I am never confident about the spelling of EERIE and could not see the parsing at the time. CLARENCE unknown but I managed to work it out. LOI was SPINET which perhaps I have heard of, but I needed the checkers. Time 15:42.
    A rewarding puzzle combining pleasure with education. David
    PS thanks for the carriage list.
  6. I put off 1A until I got some checkers from the Down clues. Fortunately I knew both the instrument and carriage. Possibly my fastest Izetti as a result. COD to EERIE. 5:02.
  7. The list mentioned above does not appear to include STANHOPE, which is an anagram of PHAETONS, as experienced solvers will know. Glad the puzzle went down reasonably well. Izetti
  8. 11 minutes for me, so quickish for one from the Don. CLARENCE was LOI, and like others, I needed checkers for the long acrosses. Thanks Setter and Blogger. And thanks for the comment above Izetti – it’s nice to see the Setters looking in on us.

    Edited at 2019-01-29 09:43 am (UTC)

  9. Did anyone else spend time trying to work “Virginia” into 11dn? Just me then … It was only once I’d got that out of the way and found CONTINENT (very neat, COD from me) that I could get the unknown CLARENCE. (As a fan of the C19 novel I thought I knew most carriages, but I have now discovered that the Clarence was the smart name for what I knew only as the Growler – another name missing from jack’s daunting list!)

    Done in sub-11 which I suppose would be 2 Kevins today.
    An elegant and enjoyable puzzle; thanks Izetti, and thanks for the blog Chris.

    Templar

  10. ….and by some way ! I’ve been doing Don’s puzzles for many years (including the one I solved for BBC3’s “How to Tackle a Cryptic Crossword” a few years ago), and I can usually get on his wavelength fairly easily. Nailing PROCRASTINATE immediately was the ideal start.

    FOI PROCRASTINATE
    LOI GEE
    COD COUNTER – concise and elegant
    TIME 2:39 – I have no expectation of improving on that effort any time soon !

    1. 2:39? I’ve only ever gone sub 10 minutes once!
      12:38 today for me but I obviously got onto Izzetti’s wavelength quickly.
      1. As an experiment I just completed the grid online. Obviously I already knew the answers and so all I had to do was type accurately, with the very occasional glance at some of the clues to remind myself.

        The clock stopped at 2:09. So that suggests that Phil read and processed all the clues – all of them – in a total of about 30 seconds. Absolutely astonishing!!

      2. You’ll note my decision yesterday to stay with pen and paper. I’ve always been a very fast reader/information processor. One of my best achievements was finishing all four 15 x 15 puzzles at a Northern final 20 years ago in a total of just under 30 minutes – they were easier then ! And Neil Robinson was half a minute quicker than I was.

        Edited at 2019-01-29 02:49 pm (UTC)

    4. Hey Phil, is BBC3’s “How to Tackle a Cryptic Crossword” still available to watch anywhere online ? I’d love to see it !
      1. Unfortunately not. Pity, because it was a really good examplar for the less experienced solver
  11. About 8 minutes for this lovely puzzle. 11a is a bit obscure for a QC. Loved the surface of 7d. Thanks to Izetti and Chris.

    Adrian

  12. Seeing Izetti’s name at the top of the puzzle, I thought it was going to be tough, and then was surprised to find myself making light work of it (for me). Thought I might be on for a pb at one point, but then I got down to my last four at about 19 minutes and just stopped. I should have seen testament as a ‘temporary shelter’ is often a tent, but I can’t really fault myself for not getting 9a, 11a and 11d. Eventually, and I’m talking after another half hour here, I managed to get continent. I can see why it could mean chaste now, but I’d never come across it before. Then something in the back of my mind suggested clarence to me and somehow I knew it was right. I think it must have appeared in the QC before. Then I kicked myself for testament, before an alphabet trawl finally made spinet seem the most likely option. Ended up with 1:03:58, but always good to learn a few things.
    1. This is the sort of grit and determination to finish which we like to see in crosswordland. Qualities which can only lead on to better things.
    2. This is the sort of grit and determination to finish which we like to see in crosswordland. Qualities which can only lead on to better things.
  13. Can someone go into a bit more detail about 7d please? As a bit of a newbie, i’m not sure how Bill = AC? Also, not 100% sure I understand box = TREE either?! Thanks in advance 🙂
    1. Bill is account – ac- frequent in cryptics. Box is a type of tree. There is (or was) a long-standing restaurant called the Box Tree at Ilkley.
    2. Bill is account, often abbreviated to ac. Box is a type of tree, the ‘maybe’ at the end (which I missed, as it is on the next line in the paper, indicating it’s an example of the type.

      Best wishes, I’m still very much a beginner but improving, I think.

    3. AC is a fairly common crossword abbreviation for ‘account’, hence ‘bill’. ‘Box’ is a type of tree although more commonly found in its sculptured hedge form.

      A very placid stable block this morning with no unknown vocabulary and succinct parsing.

      Many thanks to setter and blogger.
      4’45”

    4. Thanks to all 3 explainers here! I hope you won’t think me rude not replying individually 🙂
  14. 10.20 with CLARENCE unknown and SPINET a delayer, unsure of spelling. We had RETSINA last week, I think. Some clever and amusing clues, 13 and 15 in particular.
  15. I was tripping away quite merrily until I reached the bottom half of this puzzle, then got slowed down a bit. Like Chris, it also took me a while to see the PIN bit of SPINET. PLACE and CONTINENT took a while and then CLARENCE, vaguely remembered, was my LOI. 9:46. Thanks Izetti and Chris.
  16. As I said, I’m still very much a beginner and often struggle to finish but i managed this one. I’m rubbish at anagrams and had to use a tool for 1 ac. I struggled with 9ac, although I knew the word (wasn’t sure about the spelling, though).
    I do hate clues with random names in (11ac). They only help to check the parsing, once you’ve worked out the answer and, seeing as I’d never heard of the carriage, it was my loi and even then I wasn’t sure how it could be correct.
  17. Never heard of a CLARENCE, although there are so many types of carriage that it was worth a punt. ROD = LEVER was a bit of a stretch I thought. PROCRASTINATE came quickly which helped. UNDER THE TABLE has other connotations for me so that took me a while. Lots to enjoy and about average in time.
    PlayUpPompey
  18. Tout an alternative for 10ac?

    Tut as in rubbish and tout as in someone who deals in an underground market for tickets?

    Clutching at straws having inexplicably missed root as the obvious answer!!

    1. Good try which nearly works, but doesn’t quite. It’s really hard to get rid of an idea once it’s in there in order to look again. Keep up the good work!
  19. I had the same difficulties as others, apart from Spinet which for some reason I knew. My loi was 11ac, Clarence, which proved to be quite a challenge as I wasn’t even sure if the required answer was a woman or a carriage. I eventually saw the ending was probably ‘nce’ and an alphabet trawl then gave me Clare as a woman’s name, but I had never heard of a Clarence so I still hesitated but couldn’t think of anything else. Overall a slow 30min solve, with 19ac Pilate my favourite. Invariant
  20. We also had trouble parsing 7d, thanks for explanation. Did not know the carriage, but the long anagrams went in fairly easily and we were satisfied to finish an Izetti puzzle in our target time of 30m. Thanks for entertaining comments.
  21. All done in 11.31 with LOIs SPINET and CLARENCE, where I showed my literary level by deciding that it might refer to the name of a carriage in Thomas the Tank Engine!
    An ideal puzzle to unwind with after a day in the office.
    Thanks for the blog
  22. Enjoyed this one – about an hour and a half while watching the House of Commons fun..
    Knew spinet as I play the piano and Mozart had one!
    Guessed Clarence as there weren’t many other names that fitted
    18d Surely Rod Lever the tennis player as well..?
    Nick
  23. Found this pretty difficult and finished in 22 mins. Had to write down the letters for both the long anagrams which used up a lot of time. LOI clarence as I hadn’t heard of it. I think the carriages from Thomas were Annie and Clarabel?
    Apricorn
  24. Clarence was my LOI but I wrongly assumed that he was a friend of Thomas the Tank Engine. I must have spent too long with my grandchildren over the years!!

    As a permanent member of the SCC, I was quite satisfied with my 18 minute solve. I thought this was an excellent QC (thanks, Izetti), so it is hard to decide on a COD – maybe 20a or perhaps it’s the procrastinator who is too busy spectating to get anything done!

    Thank you to Chris and all contributors. Your help is invaluable. I use this site most days, but usually solve in the evening and sometimes the following day – so too late to add a comment. MM

    1. Never too late to comment. If you get a free Live journal account, your email gets an alert if someone replies – so you (and bloggers) get to see responses. Never say ‘permanent’ re SCC – see sonofjim who is zooming up the timings.
      1. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I really must work out how to get a live journal account!

        I’m afraid that I can’t see myself “zooming up the timings”. I’ve been doing these puzzles for quite a long time now and feel happy that I can almost always finish and with clues satisfactorily parsed… on the whole. My fastest time was 12 minutes (just once), but I usually hover around the 20 minute mark. The important thing is that I thoroughly enjoy the challenge and I love this blog. Thank you again. MM

  25. I think some of you are confusing your childhoods. Clarence was the cross eyed lion in Daktari. Johnny
  26. 27.33 which was over twice the time I took doing one yesterday but still it was satisfying to finish.
    COD: Time right to meet a very quiet one, saint and monk (8)
    FOI: Procrastinate
    LOI: Clarence

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