Times Quick Cryptic 1826 by Teazel

Author   ChrisPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

FOI 5ac and then headed south and worked clockwise round the grid. I made startlingly good time for what felt like a tricky puzzle – having completed all but 17ac in less than 7 minutes. On 8:07 I realsied what the answer had to be and completed but then sat staring at the clue trying to work out what was going on. I was starting to think that there had been a slip up somewhere but it all became clear when I realised what the deception was. At least, I was deceived, but those with better memory of airlines may have found this a doddle. For these reasons I award it COD.

I have a small question on 13dn.

Definitions are underlined.

Across
1 Be back in frills and checks (7)
REBUFFS – be backwards (EB) inside frills (RUFFS).
5 Part of sacred area (4)
ACRE – part is s(ACRE)d.
7 In this industrial action, energy not very intelligent (2-4)
GO-SLOW – definitions are only usually at the front or back of a clue. Energy (GO), not very intelligent (SLOW) – e.g. my performance at 17ac.
8 Cheers a couple of extras (3-3)
BYE-BYE – two extras in cricket (BYE BYE).
9 Writes to pal to arrange toy for child (5,6)
WATER PISTOL – anagram (to arrange) of WRITES TO PAL.
10 Wine tasting’s beginning at Cambridge college (6)
CLARET – Cambridge college (CLARE), (T)asting. NHO Clare college but maybe I should as it was founded in 1326 as University Hall and is the second-oldest surviving college after Peterhouse.
12 Puff, no longer fit? (6)
EXHALE – no longer (EX), fit (HALE).
14 What’s taken in fun: computer device — ridiculously easy (6-5)
MICKEY-MOUSE – what’s taken in fun the (MICKEY), computer device (MOUSE).
17 Airline that collapsed beside a canal (6)
PANAMA – NOT BA plus an anagram of THAT. It took me a long time to get over these thoughts and just see a canal that fitted. It is remarkably simple – ‘airline that collapsed’ is (PAN AM) beside a (A). Pan Am was the principal and largest international air carrier of the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991 – which I should have thought of much earlier.
18 Marriages showing problems afoot? Not the first (6)
UNIONS – problems afoot b(UNIONS) without the first letter.
20 Scrap a vehicle test requiring reversing (4)
ATOM – a (A), vehicle test backwards (TOM).
21 Reluctant to join Scotsman in part of his country (7)
LOTHIAN – reluctant (LOTH) to join Scotsman (IAN).
Down
1 With right hand, start to open letter from abroad (3)
RHO – right hand (RH), (O)pen.
2 Belts or elastic support (7)
BOLSTER – anagram (elastic) of BELTS OR. I liked the anagram indicator.
3 Not so many sheep kept by father (5)
FEWER – sheep (EWE) kept inside father (FR).
4 Glorious, under tree (7)
SUBLIME – under (SUB), tree (LIME).
5 Spy is a decent chap (5)
AGENT – a (A), decent chap (GENT – as in a real gent).
6 Prince unhappy in the shade (5,4)
ROYAL BLUE – prince (ROYAL), unhappy (BLUE).
9 Let lawmen loose with good intentions (4-5)
WELL-MEANT – anagram (loose) of LET LAWMEN. Another pleasing anagram indicator.
11 Those people without exception find the way to the Palace (3,4)
THE MALL – those people (THEM), without exception (ALL).
13 He provided the ultimate in escapist entertainment (7)
HOUDINI – I see just the cryptic definition and can’t make any parsings work out. I’m left to think that Teazel is referring to Houdini providing/giving/risking the ultimate (his life) for escapist entertainment. Any other thoughts welcome.
15 Damage after cold spell (5)
CHARM – damage (HARM) after cold (C).
16 Quantity missing initial rise (5)
MOUNT – quantity a(MOUNT) missing the initial letter.
19 Sister nobody’s spoken of (3)
NUN – homophone (spoken of) of none.

79 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1826 by Teazel”

  1. 8:08 for me, so pretty average. I assumed that HOUDINI was just a cryptic definition and didn’t think about it too much. No problem with CLARET since I was a student at Cambridge. No problem with PANAMA, I used to fly from London to San Francisco on Pan-Am regularly. My LOI was AGENT.
  2. 1733, bang on average for me.

    Downs first strategy again proved effective, with FOI RHO and clockwise solve until the tricky ROYAL BLUE, LOI, looking for a word for “unhappy” inside a word for “shade” . Teasel also designed a clue with two eleven letter potential anagrists next to “arrange “ at 9a WATER PISTOL. As my first 3 checkers were T, R and I it took time until the initial W dropped to eliminate anagramming “toy for child” meaning writes to pal.

    MER at HOUDINI, bit of a weak clue IMHO. If our top bloggers are hunting for a construction then the cryptic didn’t really land.

    Also MER For scrap=atom, I guess the phrase “Camilla didn’t have an atom of sympathy for Meghan” could be example usage. ROYAL BLUE was a potential headline in the main paper after last nights “revelations”.

    15a is a classic need for “lift & separate” with cold and spell cleverly fused together.

    COD EXHALE, but plenty of quality clues in there.

      1. In my honest opinion — a common text abbreviation. You’ll also see IMO from time to time 😊
  3. 8 minutes.

    BA is not defunct, or at least not yet, so I didn’t go down that route at 17ac.

    HOUDINI seems perfectly satisfactory to me as a cryptic definition. He was an escapologist who in his day and for many decades later was considered to have set the gold standard in that field. ‘He provided the ultimate in escapist entertainment’ reflects both those achievements.

    Edited at 2021-03-09 04:01 am (UTC)

      1. I had an idea that was the case but on checking this morning I was reminded that he died of peritonitis following a ruptured appendix believed to have been caused by a dressing room incident in which he was repeatedly struck in the stomach. This was initially with his agreement in order to prove he could take it, but the puncher caught him when he had not prepared himself to withstand the blow.
        1. I had the feeling I should have checked, as my main source was my recollection of the Tony Curtis movie.
  4. PANAMA was a doddle, as was CLARET. I’m a fellow of Clare Hall, a 1960s graduate offshoot of Clare College; dined once at Clare, at high table (Clare Hall has no high table, and faculty and students are encouraged to eat together). 5:07.
  5. To begin with very little would go in and the top half remained ominously empty. However, I fair raced through the bottom half and gradually went back through the top half, albeit with lots of biffing. The best clue for me was 12a EXHALE, LOI was 1d RHO. I came in at under thirty minutes with the first mug of coffee of the day well and truly tepid. (That said, I did both need a loo break and to rescue a blackbird that flew into my lounge window.)

    Edited at 2021-03-09 07:11 am (UTC)

  6. Pleasant puzzle with some smooth surfaces I thought

    FOI RHO
    LOI GO-SLOW
    COD ROYAL BLUE — surface rather topical

    Thanks all

  7. Great puzzle. Only three on the first pass of acrosses but none seemed totally out of reach. Downs were more accessible and the checkers allowed me to go pretty fast to an all green 12m finish. In the end the biggest hold up was CHARM where I wasn’t sure which end to start — and nearly bunged in claim but fortunately couldn’t convince myself ‘laim’ might mean ‘spell’ even if I was halfway there convincing myself ‘damage’ could mean ‘claim’. Took PANAMA for me to see the light.

    Edited at 2021-03-09 07:30 am (UTC)

  8. Just sub 20. All fair with usual leftfield Teasel tricks. Thanks gor the blog. Is there an Oprahesque theme here?
  9. That was a strange solve. I only got BYE BYE in the top half of the grid on my first run through so I thought it was going to be a toughie. But the bottom half was a write in and when I returned to the top it suddenly seemed an awful lot easier. Lots to enjoy along the way but my standout clues were THE MALL and EXHALE. Finished in 8.05 with LOI REBUFFS.
    Thanks to Chris
    1. What’s going on here? This is word-for-word Paulmcl’s comment (first comment above). Is this a case of identity theft or split personality?
      1. This happens quite frequently, Rotter; I have no idea why anyone bothers, but. Jack will delete it in a mo.
      2. Rotter, somebody beat me to deleting this one, but this sort of ‘mirror-posting’ spam occurs quite frequently. I think it’s pretty harmless computer generated stuff, but a pest, so we have to keep on top of it.
  10. Scraped in without any pink squares just before my 30 minutes were up. Very happy to finish this one after yesterday’s shambles!

    Enjoyed 5a; it’s the sort of clue I would show a complete beginner as an example.

    Had to scrape LOTHIAN out of the depths of my memory; I’ve heard it before somewhere but was only dimly aware of it being in Scotland. Otherwise no quibbles with the required general knowledge.

    Thanks all for the explanations and comments.

    WB

  11. Rather easier than yesterday’s v enjoyable but chewy tussle. Lots to like today and 3 mins from achieving my usual SCC membership, without rushing. Slight delay assuming “prince” wasn’t simply any old ROYAL but a few checkers cleared that up. Any younger solvers without an interest in defunct airlines might have been a bit bemused, but the checkers and overall clue made PANAMA doable. Liked the simplicity of THE MALL.
  12. More cryptic than usual which made a pleasant challenge. 22 minutes. Agree with most of the foregoing comments. No problem with CLARET since I drink it regularly, besides other associations. LOI REBUFFS as I needed all the checkers. Pan Am flight 103 and Lockerbie remembered RIP.
    Was told yesterday that Oprah suffers from very painful bunions so maybe another interview related clue, in which case my COD. Anyone that managed to watch more than the first 5 minutes of the simpering, shameless performance last night needs to find a hobby.
    Thanks Teazel and Chris
    1. She’s an actor, so would anyone expect any different?
      N.B. I didn’t watch, because I’m not interested in the personal lives of the rich and famous.
  14. I found this more straightforward than I sometimes do with Teazel. FOI ACRE, LOI UNIONS. No problem with PANAMA as I’ve seen it before (unlike the first time I saw it). Like Chris I had a slight question mark over HOUDINI wondering if something else was going on, but concluded it was just a cryptic definition. Lots of nice clues. Hard to pick a favourite, but I go for the neat CHARM as my COD. 3:51.

    Edited at 2021-03-09 09:17 am (UTC)

  15. A very sluggish start for me but a dogged crawl from the south became a walk and then a late sprint back to the NW corner. This was a very good puzzle despite being somewhat forbidding at first and, to my relief after yesterday, I finished within my target by over a minute. Too many excellent clues to list. Thanks to Teazel and Chris. John M.

    Edited at 2021-03-09 09:29 am (UTC)

  16. And one that tends to BOLSTER my prejudice that the Times aims its Quick Cryptic at a target audience of pension-age Oxbridge classicists (CLARE – honestly…). Luckily my penchant for red wine meant that I was able to get that one easily enough, and PAN AM was mentioned regularly on the news in my youth due to the Lockerbie disaster, so a 30-years-defunct airline didn’t stop me either.

    Some lovely witty clues once the penny dropped – UNIONS and BYE-BYE being my favourites. I’m not sure what was going on with HOUDINI either, but there aren’t too many famous escapologists so it was simple enough to get.

    Thanks Teazel and Chris.

    1. I’m still waiting for my Red Brick Hall of Residence to make an appearance. Larger than any Oxbridge college, as many Halls are.

  17. I enjoyed this and was well within 10 minutes for a change.
    I acknowledge that Mickey Mouse can mean easy according to the dictionary, but I think these days it’s nearly always used to refer to something insignificant – eg a sports competition of little standing. Thanks setter and blogger!
  18. I found this straightforward enough …
    … and finished in 9 minutes. Clare is one of the quietly competent colleges one hears little about outside Cambridge, by the river on the Backs and with, as an alumnus friend described it to me, “a nice position undershadowing King’s”.

    I also tried to over-elaborate 13D Houdini and ended up thinking it was barely a cryptic clue at all. “Provided the ultimate” seems simply to mean “was the best at”.

    Many thanks to Chris for the blog
    Cedric

  19. FOI: 5a ACRE
    LOI: 15d CHARM

    Time to Complete: DNF

    Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 18

    Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 15d

    Clues Unanswered: 1a, 17a, 21a, 1d, 2d

    Wrong Answers: Nil

    Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 19/24

    Aids Used: Chambers, Bradford’s

    A lot better than yesterday’s puzzle, but still a DNF for me.

    13a. HOUDINI – I really cannot see how this is a cryptic clue. It seems like a more traditional general knowledge type clue to me.

    1a. REBUFFS – This was one of those clues in which I just had no idea where to start, or even at which end of the clue to look for the definition. I did lean toward checks, but just could not get it.

    1d. RHO – What? Is RHO even a word? It is not in my dictionary. Is it an abbreviation? Can an answer in a cryptic crossword be an abbreviation rather than a word?

    20a. ATOM – I did answer this one by getting A + MOT (reversed), but I was a little hesitant as I had not heard of the word atom meaning scrap.

    Well, as I declared yesterday, I surely could not have done any worse than yesterday with Izetti’s puzzle. I fared better with this crossword, but I have to say that I did not get a lot of enjoyment out of this one. In the three months that I have been learning to solve cryptic crosswords, I have come to notice that some setters are far better than others at setting clues. Some appear to be mindful that this QC is used by beginners to learn cryptic crossword solving, others clearly are not so mindful. In his introduction to volume 1 of The Times Quick Cryptic Crossword books, Richard Rogan explains how the Times QC differs from the 15×15. He states, … “we hope to cater for newer or less experienced solvers.” I wonder how many of the setters themselves have read that introduction. Oh, well. Let us see what tomorrow brings.

    Out of curiosity, I wonder if many of the setters, if any, regularly read the Times for the Times blog.

    Edited at 2021-03-09 09:48 am (UTC)

    1. Rho is the 17th letter in the Greek alphabet (Ρ, ρ), a consonant transliterated as r or rh – as listed in Collins online.
    2. Rho is a letter in the Greek alphabet. I’ve seen alpha, delta and gamma before so it seems they are considered fair game for a cryptic. They’re familiar to anyone with a background in mathematics, which is of course not everyone!

      WB

      1. Thank you Chrisw91 and anon. for explaining that one to me. I appreciate it very much.
        1. For some reason, I can’t really remember, I learnt the Greek alphabet as a youth and somehow it has stuck. It certainly comes in handy for both cryptic and GK crosswords.
    3. I saw 20a ATOM = SCRAP as in ‘if you had an atom of common sense, then you’d understand that…’.
  20. 11 minutes in an unhurried solve for me, which is pleasing. LOTHIAN is rarely seen on its own in my (limited) experience, usually being split into east, west or mid sections, which may go some way to explain its unfamiliarity to some. Like others, I stumbled over the parsing for HOUDINI, but not for long. A nice puzzle, thanks both.
    2. The main bus company in Edinburgh, and some way beyond, is LOTHIAN Regional Transport.
  21. That is, CHARM which shd have been easy. That helped me to get PANAMA (COD). THEM ALL made me smile, ditto EXHALE and UNIONS. Yes, I thought MICKEY MOUSE meant unprofessional/slapdash..

    FOI RHO. Fairly quickly round the rest, though slow on SUBLIME as I biffed Aye Aye at first. Also had a penny drop moment with ROYAL BLUE.

    Thanks as ever, Chris

  22. Done in under 9 minutes with LOI CLARET.
    A nice puzzle. Nothing particularly held me up.
    COD to LOTHIAN which did require some thought and seemed original to me.
    David
  23. RHO and REBUFFS went straight in and a quickish run around the grid with a slight pause to try and read more into HOUDINI than appeared at first sight saw me submit at 7:11 after a quick proof read. Thanks Teazel and Chris.
  24. This kind of QC suits my solving style with lots of clever wordplay and no obscure words. PANAM was certainly not a problem for me. My only hold ups were 1a REBUFFS which was my LOI and HOUDINI. I thought of HOUDINI straight away but I decided I was missing something so I waited for checkers. 7:47
  25. Hardly any solved at first glance, but got a few of the down clues and gradually worked through the rest apart from 1a and 1c – NHO RHO and did not see what could fit -EB-f-s, so DNF today. I agree that HOUDINI is hardly cryptic but answer obvious (when a couple of letters in).
  26. Really enjoyed this, with a good smattering of clues that needed thinking about. As a result, came in at 23 mins.

    I particularly liked 18ac “Unions”, 11dn “The Mall” and 6dn “Royal Blue”. An uncanny coincidence indeed. Whilst 17ac “Panama” should have been obvious with the canal reference, I did toy with BA and TWA for a while.

    Wasn’t as convinced by 20ac “Atom” for scrap nor the Houdini cryptic. Might be being stupid but in what context is “Cheers” = Bye Bye? I know it in relation to saying thanks and obviously when drinking, but am I missing something?

    FOI — 5ac “Acre”
    LOI — 12ac “Exhale”
    COD — 6dn “Royal Blue”

    Thanks as usual.

    1. Is it a bit out of date now? People definitely used to say Cheers for Goodbye in my youth (which is longer ago than I care to remember 😉)
      1. Just had a look and it’s blatantly there for farewell, goodbye etc. – so it must be just me.
          1. I certainly do – and it’s obvious now that I see it – but, for whatever reason, I never associated the two words before.
    2. “Cheers” is my default sign-off for all my emails. Certainly better than “Sent from my iPad”.

      Cheers,
      Merlin

    3. I saw 20a ATOM = SCRAP as in ‘if you had an atom of common sense, then you’d understand that…’.
  27. Like others have said, this seemed very tricky at first. I got hardly any on the first pass through the acrosses, but I’ve learnt not to waste time puzzling on them and just move on. The downs proved kinder and then everything I’d missed went in in reasonable order. I still thought I’d done quite well to finish in 25:57, but as usual, coming on here has brought me down to Earth. Lots to enjoy though. I liked SUBLIME and BOLSTER, and MICKEY MOUSE raised a smile as I have won more than my fair share of what my late coach used to describe as Mickey Mouse races. COD though has to go to BUNIONS. FOI ACRE, LOI CLARET. Thanks Teazel and Chris.
  28. I too was entertained by some of the references today — REBUFFS, GO SLOW, BYE BYE, ROYAL BLUE, THE MALL, UNIONS! Read into them what you will but I’m sure there’s some sort of theme 😉

    Of course, I was also much entertained by this puzzle itself which I completed a tad over my target 10 minutes. Lots to enjoy but with the same quibble about HOUDINI as others. Several ticks and smiles by clues today inc SUBLIME and THE MALL.

    FOI Acre
    LOI Exhale
    COD Unions

    Many thanks Teazel and Chris

  29. 17 minutes; quite straightforward after a slow start. Like the blogger I was looking for something more in the Houdini clue. Thanks to Teazel. I always enjoy his/her puzzles.

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