Times Quick Cryptic 1461 by Breadman

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Hmph! For me, the ‘Q’ in this one stood for Quite hard and I felt lucky to come in on 14 minutes. The odd tea and haircut I could have lived with, but what was Breadman thinking by crossing a thankfully unknown ailment with a chap who was the life and soul of the party some two and a half thousand years ago?

As usual, if you know the answers it’s all plain sailing but do let me know if you’ve joined me in the grump club.
To make matters worse, I’m also having some problems with the font in the blog – let me know if you can read it.

ACROSS
1. Characteristic of a dog to obstruct kennel’s opening (4)
BARK – to obstruct (BAR), (K)ennel.
2. Sportsperson modified heat around rental property (7)
ATHLETE – anagram (modified) of HEAT around rental property (LET).
8. 1970s novel — what Amazon has in abundance to despatch southwards (9,4)
WATERSHIP DOWN – what (the) Amazon has in abundance (WATER), to dispatch (SHIP), southwards (DOWN).
9. Teacher, on reflection, is right (3)
SIR – reflect is (SI), right (R).
10. Terribly stern European painter (5)
ERNST – anagram (terribly) of STERN, A German (European) painter.
12. Grass, spare, to mix together (7)
ESPARTO – anagram (mix together) of SPARE TO. Not your everyday back garden grass for lawns but ones that yield a fibre used to make ropes/mats.
14. Widely influential person backing business with leading American (7)
OCTOPUS – back business – co (OC), leading (TOP), American (US). Think some James Bond villain.
16. Training in casual shirt, shelter under canvas (5)
TEPEE – training (PE) in casual shirt (TEE).
17. When to expect the arrival of Greek character (3)
ETA – double definition.
20. Barrister in New York borough, no use, sadly, in case of criminal (6,7)
QUEEN’S COUNSEL – New York borough (QUEENS), anagram (sadly) of NO USE inside the case of (C)rimina(L).
21. Digestive ailment: papa is affected, without energy (7)
APEPSIA – anagram (affected) of PAPA IS outside energy (E). I knew dyspepsia so made this up.
22. Recently received information four different ways (4)
NEWS – four different ways/directions (N E W S).
DOWN
1. Become aware of website broadcasting nothing (2,4,2)
BE WISE TO – anagram (broadcasting) of WEBSITE, nothing (O).
2. One who shops primarily examines price (4)
RATE – one who shops in the sense of ‘tells on’ (RAT), (E)xamines.
3. Source of wood and source of metal on land (6)
ASHORE – source of wood (ASH tree), source of metal (ORE).
4. New photomap is up showing large animal (12)
HIPPOPOTAMUS- anagram (new) of PHOTOMAP IS UP.
5. Bill recalled policeman obtaining right haircut (4,4)
ETON CROP – bill (note) recalled (ETON), policeman (COP) obtaining right (R). It’s a short mannish style hairstyle worn by women in the 1920s.
6. Leader of ecologists regularly ringed eagle (4)
ERNE – (E)cologists, (R)i(N)g(E)d.
7. Noble pen has excited old playwright (12)
ARISTOPHANES – not an anagram of noble pen has with old (O) but noble (ARISTO), anagram (excited of) PEN HAS. Old is right – during c 460 – c 380 BCE he was the most famous writer of old comedy plays – I suspect he’d have got on with Ian Hislop.
11. Mark well: wrecked boat in English river (4,4)
NOTA BENE – anagram (wrecked) of BOAT) in English river (NENE).
13. Completed everybody’s workwear (8)
OVERALLS – completed (OVER), everybody’s (ALL’S).
15. Variety of tea somewhat less enchanting (6)
SENCHA – somewhat les(S ENCHA)nting. A green tea made using whole leaves.
18. A landing-place without variable shade (4)
AQUA – a (A), landing-place (QUA)y – without the mathematical variable ‘Y’. Apparently aqua is the same colour/shade as aquamarine.
19. Detached land mass exists outside of Lahore (4)
ISLE – exists (IS), (L)ahor)(E).

43 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1461 by Breadman”

  1. Did a lot of biffing–ARISTOPHANES, HIPPOPOTAMUS, ETON CROP (fortunately, that had appeared in a recent 15×15), QUEENS COUNSEL. NHO SENCHA, though, and my chronic inability to spot hiddens came through again. You would think that with 4 checked letters, with ‘tea’ likely CHA, and with ‘somewhat’, I could have come up with the N; you would think so, wouldn’t you? Think again.
  2. I don’t know where to start writing about this puzzle and I didn’t know where to start when solving. ISLE was FOI. Then I struggled and realised that this was a 15×15 in disguise and I nearly stopped after 20 minutes for a rest. But I had the right GK eventually for ARISTOPHANES (not parsed as surely NOBLE was part of the anagram -very 15×15 that one) and then I thought of Watership Down,but again the tricky parsing came later. The last three were BE WISE TO, RATE and ASHORE (COD).
    Very hard but thankfully all correct in 29:28. David
  3. 12 minutes. One on the harder side for a QC which I know will not please some but they’re an established part of the mix now.

    SENCHA was unknown but fortunately I spotted the hidden indicator and the ‘tea/cha’ element so I wrote it in with confidence. On looking it up I find we might also expect ‘matcha’ to come along some time – tea made from powdered green leaf whereas ‘sencha’ uses it whole.

    APEPSIA wasn’t familiar either although I knew ‘dyspepsia’ so it wasn’t much of a leap having spotted the wordplay.

    Lost time parsing 14ac thinking the second part of wordplay was somehow making use of the abbreviation POTUS.

    Edited at 2019-10-15 05:37 am (UTC)

  4. Blimey! Where do I begin. I count 4 unknowns ESPARTO, ETON CROP, ARISTOPHANES and SENCHA so I was very much relying on checkers and the wordplay to solve them. I came across OCTOPUS in a cryptic recently so was able to write the answer in although I couldn’t see the anagram indicator for POTUS because there wasn’t one. The SW corner proved very tricky and my LOI after NOTA BENE was APEPSIA. 15:46

    Edited at 2019-10-15 06:44 am (UTC)

  5. Another crossword not set at the appropriate level for the target audience.

    Haven’t heard of aristophanes, think I had trustyphenas.

    Also nene, esparto, apepsia.

  6. You reminded me that I’d meant to say that I’ve never seen OCTOPUS refer to an individual, only an institution, especially a corporation.
    1. Good point. In QC 1458, last week, the descriptor used for OCTOPUS was ‘Powerful body’ which I interpreted as a powerful group or organisation.
  7. Took a long 15.07 today which seemed disappointing after the first theee acrosses went in. Took ages to see (and spell) ARISTOPHANES and guessed several words including ESPARTO and APEPSIA. But maybe if others found it hard then that’s not such a bad effort

    NeilC

  8. I had only 4 filled in after reading through the across clues, so it was already clear this wasn’t going to be easy. HIPPOPOTAMUS and ARISTOPHANES got me going, though. Like others, I didn’t know APEPSIA (but did know dyspepsia). SIR my LOI only because I overlooked it. I liked RATE best, I think. 6:46.
  9. That was tough and having worked my way through the really hard clues and trusted that the many unknowns were plausible I chucked in NOTE BENE so had a DNF. I think my brain must have been frazzled by that point. On the bright side my vocabulary has increased by 4 words/phrases.
    Thanks for the blog
  10. Courage, mes braves! I am a very middle of the road 15 – 20 minute solver, usually finish but sometimes defeated. I did finish this, without aids, in 29 minutes. The sense of achievement and progress is highly satisfying. No way would I have got near this a year ago, but thanks to the loyal devoted bloggers I have slowly improved.

    I might even let go of the side of the swimming pool and try the 15×15 soon. So onwards and upwards.

    1. Felicitations! Good luck in the main pool – you might take a peak at the 15×15 blog preamble before venturing in. Have a go at one described as easy first to make sure you set off in the shallow end.
      A free live journal account will both identify you to others and send you an email should someone reply to you.
  11. I’m normally first to complain if the QC is a 15×15 in disguise but I actually didn’t think that was too bad and finished in 12 mins. Had my fingers crossed for the SENCHA and APEPSIA crossing though! Nice to see the ERNE out and about again.

    Thanks for the blog, Chris, I couldn’t understand how “without” worked in 21ac and was grateful for the explanation.

    FOI BARK, LOI ASHORE, COD ARISTOPHANES. Thanks Breadman.

    Templar

  12. Too tricky for a quickie. My checker didn’t recognize SENCHA even though I knew it was likely. A handful of iffy clues for tenuous answers – much more suited to 15 x15 in my view
  13. I was feeling pleased when most of the clues went in straightforwardly – especially NOTA BENE, ASHORE, and the longer anagrams. And then came my downfall – I biffed ARISOCRATIC for ‘noble’ without parsing and it all fell apart because it completely confused the SW corner, not least QUEENS COUNSEL ( I set aside the obvious QUEENS because it didn’t fit the down crosser). I finally saw my error and I worked out APEPSIA wIthout knowing the word but had serious trouble with AQUA, OCTOPUS, SENCHA. Ah well. I did finish but ended up in serious SCC territory today. Thanks to Breadman for a really testing tease and to Chris for a concise but very helpful blog which showed me where AQUA came from! John M.

    Edited at 2019-10-15 08:56 am (UTC)

  14. I was going very well at first with the first five across clues going in straight away (assuming Ernst was a painter). I then missed a few, but got news and most of the downs, so I thought I was on for a good time. The unknown haircut, grass and tea gave me pause for thought, but with the wordplay and checkers I was confident I had those right. So then I was just left with the SW corner and unteasing all that took me right up to 43 minutes. Given what others have said though, I am pleased to finish. Never heard of apepsia, but it sounded reasonable, and the same went for that meaning of octopus. Almost spelt Aristophanes and Nota Bene wrong, but the word play made me correct myself. Overall a satisfying and educating solve with CsOD going to 2 and 3d. LOI 7d.
  15. Left to myself I would’ve spelled ARISTOPHENES with a second A, by my cursory glance at what I assumed was the anagrist showed only one A. Drat! NHO APEPSIA or SENCHA. 11:38 WOE. Typos in both Concise puzzles so far this week. A bad start to the week. Thanks Breadman and Chris.
  16. I think there may have been one difficultish word too many in this one, for absolute noobs, and perhaps even an anagram of said difficultish words too many also. So I can see why some struggled. Some easy ones too however, which will have assisted with the checking. Perhaps.
  17. Absolutely not a QC not even a hard QC. Breadman has got this one so wrong. This is a main puzzle and had no place set as a QC. I almost never write a comment but I feel this puzzle was way off line and absolutely will discourage those new to the solving world.
    My only advice to newbies, of which I am one, is don’t despair most are not as off base as this one was.
    1. My sentiments entirely. So discouraging for newbies and not so newbies. I sometimes think that one or two of the setters haven’t a clue -or maybe they are trying to show how clever they are.
  18. He isn’t really all that unknown, so why did Breadman think it was necessary to include the word ‘European’? To make it easier or to make it more difficult? Either way it’s unnecessary and a Quick Cryptic should have some nice easy clues like ‘Terribly stern painter’.
  19. Another solve on the wrong side of 20m, at 22m for me. I knew SENCHA and ESPARTO, but had to guess at APEPSIA and ARISTOHANES. I was another who looked for an anagram indicator for POTUS before the penny dropped, and TOP US displaced that thought. ETON CROP was only vaguely familiar. This was both hard and slightly unsatisfying, despite everything being fairly clued.

    With 2 from 2 the wrong side of 20 minutes so far this week, I hate to think how Thursday will go when I am blogging!

  21. Flew to begin with, apart from the Greek, overcame some hurdles but succumbed to the last few in the SW corner. Another incomplete, but pleased to have worked out several other hard or unknowns along the way. Vocabulary expanded!
    Plymouthian
  22. This was, for me, a stinker. Probably completed the least number of clues than ever before over the last 18 months of so. In a difficulty range of 1 being easy to hard being 10 I would rate this as an 11. On some of them even after reading through the (as ever excellent) blog explanations I am not a lot wiser. There’s always tomorrow. Bill70
  23. Picked the wrong day for my twice weekly attempt. On the plus side, the eastern side did gradually reveal itself. Spotted the hidden tea (I’m learning slowly) but couldn’t get a hold on the eastern side. The playwright, Octopus (would never guess and obs didn’t know), 11 down including the cryptic element, the ailment, 18 down all too tough for me and having read the blog not sure I would be able to spot again in later puzzles.

    However many will appreciate it given the wide mix of abilities who attempt these so no complaints and I’ll target Thursday for my next crack.
    Graham

  24. We thought that although tough, this was an excellent puzzle – to be able to confidently put in three words we had never heard of purely from the wordplay is deeply impressive. I must confess I started to put Aristophenes until I checked the anagrist, but that’s what it is there for. We are QC only, apart from very rare 15×15 ventures (usually prompted by comments here), but after 2 years now have very few DNFs, even on the ones rated as very hard, so I would say persist, don’t worry about times, put it down and start again if necessary, but it is usually possible to get there in all the QCs.
    Paan
  25. I found this a toughie today. But was pleased to finish around the 22min mark (solved on paper).

    I did double check the spelling of ESPARTO before entering it. And biffed APEPSIA, and ETON CROP. I was aware of the old playwright which helped.

    RC

  26. Breadman usually poses few problems and indeed is at the easier end of Jack’s ratings, normally a reliable guide. However, this was a different kettle of fish (or loaf of bread) entirely. I eventually finished after 29 minutes of what seemed like pulling teeth. No complaints, though. If they were all too easy, there would be no point in solving them, so, through gritted teeth, I say: ‘Nice one, Breadman.’
  27. ….but every clue is capable of being parsed, and to my mind there’s little cause for complaint. I’d never heard of SENCHA, but that wasn’t why it was LOI – it just happened to fall that way, and the “somewhat” sent me straight to it.

    I’m surprised that so few know of ARISTOPHANES, and I admit that breaking down the anagrist wouldn’t be easy for them. He’s probably best known for “The Birds”, from where our language gained the expression “cloud cuckoo land”.

    I did wonder about the usage of OCTOPUS for one influential person, but Chambers concurs, and that’s good enough for me.

    FOI ATHLETE
    LOI SENCHA
    COD WATERSHIP DOWN

  28. I didn’t find this as tricky as some recent offerings but didn’t work out the Queens bit of 20a or get 18d so DNF. I only got OCTOPUS and ERNE. because they have been in QCs before. In 7d I tried ARISTOCRATIC and ARISTOTELEAN before realising that I needed Aristophanes. (GK note: there are just three Ancient Greek playwrights, Aristophanes, Sophocles and Euripides). I thought 4d was a splendid anagram but COD 8a or 17a. Thank you Breadman for an enjoyable puzzle.
    1. You’ve missed out my favourite – the father of Tragedy – Aeschylus! A tragedy indeed. Jeffrey
  29. My partner in crossword crime and I finished this one with just a couple of look-ups for sencha (I saw it but hadn’t heard of it) – she had CEYLON in which confused that whole confusing corner for a while. As medical librarians we should have got 21a but also had to look that one up. The shame. But actually the rest of it was done fairly quickly between the two of us. -CHS
  30. Took us longer than usual, nearly double our 30m target.However finished with most trouble on the east. Devised 7d from Aristotle with some help, loi 15d missed the hidden. A challenge, but enjoyable. Thanks to Breadman and other helpful contributions.
  31. Too specialised for a quick cryptic. DNK Sencha, Octopus, Aqua, Apepsia (even underlined in red on Ipad!!), Eta. Did not get Be Wise To or think of Queens. Hey ho. Hope for better tomorrow.
  32. No one has complained about ‘aristo’. Is it really fair to use an abbreviation without signposting it?
    1. ARISTO has its own listing in all the usual dictionaries. But in any case, cryptic crosswords use abbreviations and abbreviated forms all the time. If these had to be indicated it would make the setter’s task impossible and the solver’s too easy.
  34. I only got to this one this evening but know these do get read by the Setters, so – I think this called for more GK than usual in a QC so I understand some of the gripes but even tho I probably spent well over an hour I got a great sense of accomplishment from finishing. Happily aware of Aristophanes once I found the N denied aristocratic. Some 15×15 tricks too I thought. But thoroughly enjoyed this tricky solve. Helpful blog to point out the anagram for 1d. Well done Breadman and Blogger – can sleep better having completed this one!
  35. I only got to this one this evening but know these do get read by the Setters, so – I think this called for more GK than usual in a QC so I understand some of the gripes but even tho I probably spent well over an hour I got a great sense of accomplishment from finishing. Happily aware of Aristophanes once I found the N denied aristocratic. Some 15×15 tricks too I thought. But thoroughly enjoyed this tricky solve. Helpful blog to point out the anagram for 1d. Well done Breadman and Blogger – can sleep better having completed this one!

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