Hi everybody. I haven’t encountered Izetti on blogging day for ages so this was a refreshing change. Perhaps a little stiffer than some Mondays, but I still completed in a typical QC time despite holding myself up slightly with a typo. No real favourites, but I quite liked Tom Dick and Harry (2d) and the whiskey drink at 23a. Cheers Izetti!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, I generally italicise indicators unless it seems clearer not to. Where the removed part is specified, [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. I sometimes omit link words and juxtaposition indicators if it doesn’t feel necessary to explain them. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section.
| Across | |
| 1a | Began to hug learner suffering from shock? (8) |
| STARTLED — STARTED (began) surrounding (to hug) L (learner) | |
| 6a | Bishop introducing a church composer of cantatas (4) |
| BACH — B (bishop) preceding (introducing) A + CH. (church) | |
| 8a | Artist crushed by a black horse (4) |
| ARAB — RA (Royal Academician, artist) between (crushed by) A and B (black) | |
| 9a | Set of characters needing help by mountain height (8) |
| ALPHABET — ABET (help) by ALP (mountain) and H (height) | |
| 10a | Beautiful fairy — she had died (8) |
| PERISHED — PERI (beautiful fairy) + SHE’D (she had) | |
| 11a | Garment left in sporting equipment? (4) |
| KILT — L (left) in KIT (sporting equipment?) | |
| 13a | Activity needing footwear with revolutionary elements (6,7) |
| ROLLER SKATING — A cryptic definition | |
| 16a | Provision for air conditioning in Coventry (4) |
| VENT — Hidden in coVENTry | |
| 17a | Old lady finally cut hair in bed (8) |
| MATTRESS — MA (old lady) + the last letter of (finally) cuT + TRESS (hair) | |
| 19a | Attractive person that’s wicked inside, very wicked (8) |
| DEVILISH — DISH (attractive person) that has EVIL (wicked) inside | |
| 21a | Thus a piano is provided for TV series (4) |
| SOAP — SO (thus) + A + P (piano) | |
| 22a | Lazy one worshipped, from what we hear (4) |
| IDLE — IDOL (one worshipped), soundalike (from what we hear) | |
| 23a | Cheers father having imbibed whiskey drink (3,5) |
| TAP WATER — TA (cheers) + PATER (father) having taken in (imbibed) W (whiskey) | |
| Down | |
| 2d | See mother out with Tom, Dick and Harry? (9) |
| THREESOME — SEE MOTHER anagrammed (out) | |
| 3d | Teacher, poor sportsman for the most part? (5) |
| RABBI — RABBIt (poor sportsman) except the last letter (for the most part) | |
| 4d | Shakespearean king swallowing the tough stuff (7) |
| LEATHER — LEAR (Shakespearean king) taking in (swallowing) THE | |
| 5d | Given drug, do physical exercise with first hint of drowsiness (5) |
| DOPED — DO + PE (physical exercise) with the beginning of (first hint of) Drowsiness | |
| 6d | Group together book and sporting implement (7) |
| BRACKET — B (book) and RACKET (sporting implement) | |
| 7d | Rod you found in church (3) |
| CUE — U (you) found in CE (church) | |
| 12d | Picture of place with sand blowing around (9) |
| LANDSCAPE — An anagram of (… blowing around) PLACE with SAND | |
| 14d | Top room protected by the Parisian framework (7) |
| LATTICE — ATTIC (top room) inside (protected by) LE (the, Parisian) | |
| 15d | Sauce in vessel, cup chipped on top (7) |
| KETCHUP — KETCH (vessel) + cUP missing its initial letter (chipped on top) | |
| 17d | Duck in fog is slightly damp (5) |
| MOIST — O (duck) in MIST (fog) | |
| 18d | Religious follower a celebrity that’s taken right to the top (5) |
| RASTA — A STAR (a celebrity) having moved R (right) to the beginning/top of the word (that’s taken right to the top) | |
| 20d | Put right, losing first and last (3) |
| END — Omitting its initial letter (… losing first), mEND (put right) | |
All done in a sprightly 14.16. Thanks Kitty for the parsing of perished, the fairy was NHO in these parts, but the crossers were helpful. Also enjoyed the threesome (!) and the misdirection looking for a whiskey drink.
Thanks Izetti
Sprightly indeed! Well done – we so often echo your times… not today!
And we usually learn something most days – today’s lesson prompted by your comment. We find that whiskey (with an ‘e’) is usually American/Irish… whereas whisky (without) attaches to Canadian, Japanese and Scotch offerings…. so there we are. : )
Breezed though this in 15:39 which for me is good
Drew a blank in the NW but the rest of it went in without any problems. Once returning to the NW what had once looked intractable seemed a lot easier, mainly by realising that 1a didn’t start with an ‘h’ and THREESOME was an anagram 🤦♂️.
Started with BACH and finished with RABBI in a slightly sluggish 8.10.
Thanks to Kitty and Izetti
12 minutes. I knew PERI as fairies but wasn’t aware of their being particularly associated with beauty, however Wiki confirms this. Whilst checking I also learnt that ‘pari’ is a alternative spelling and apparently more authentic.
Authenticity is all very well, but Gilbert used “peri” in Iolanthe and as far as I’m concerned that’s definitive!
Iolanthe is the only time I have ever come across this word(peri) in the wild.
Moon network, the place where peri is found (8)
Rusty Bombazine of this parish will be having fifty fits at the number of people not knowing peri, given that Iolanthe’s alternative title is “The Peer and the Peri”!
Possibly thanks to missing a train and therefore having time for an espresso before catching the next one, I ripped through that in 04:39 for a sub-John and a Red Letter Day. Scenes! Could have been a PB if I hadn’t got stuck on LOI END – despite only needing one letter I just couldn’t see it. (I was looking for a word meaning “put”, which also meant “right” with its first and last letters removed.). DEVILISH also took a moment to see.
COD ROLLER SKATING. Many thanks Izetti and Kitty.
🔥🔥
That three letter one was hard. I liked BID from ABIDE.
Whoosh!
I hope that I’m more understanding than that, Templar! I have only ever come across ‘peri’ in Iolanthe and crosswordland, and can appreciate the DNKs.
Incidentally I had a great sing-through of Iolanthe last Monday on what is designated in some quarters as Gilbert and Sullivan Day.
Incidentally (2), three previously lost songs from Iolanthe have recently been discovered by Marc Shepherd in the British Library, wrongly catalogued and misfiled. This, in G&S circles, is a pretty big deal!
And, as I expect you know, Templar, Iolanthe is where my ‘name’ (nom de croix?) comes from.
No particular problems (I knew the fairy) in a 7.03 completion. Thanks Kitty and Izetti.
Quite quick today, though slowed in NW, despite FOI STARTLED. Amused by THREESOME when penny dropped. Decided it had to be PERISHED, though NHO Peri.
Then went back to 20d which I parsed in the END.
Liked TAP WATER, ARAB, ALPHABET and MATTRESS.
Many thanks, Kitty.
6:21. Held up by a feeble BALLET DANCING for 13A at first and thinking MATTRESS had only one T. Like our blogger I liked the THREESOME and non-alcoholic drink with whiskey in it. Thank-you Izetti and Kitty.
Ran in every direction bar the right one. NHO fairy Peri (spent too long working the non existent anagram), plumped for Mistress (unable to parse of course) in lieu of MATTRESS so sullied that area …and went for To Pa as cheers, thereby holding up matters in the SW corner. NHO Rabbit in context. That said, what a clever offering. Very much enjoyed doing it as it should have been done via the excellent blog.
Waving thanks to Izetti and Kitty from deep within the SCC.
20:16 – not a bad time for an Izetti puzzle. NHO PERI, but guessable. A couple of others unparsed, but answers clear once crossers in. A pleasant start to the week.
Hoped the good Don wouldn’t let me down and indeed just managed it though SE corner was hardest, TAP WATER Mrs M’s PDM, LOI RASTA. Thanks Don and Kitty. NHO RABBIt = poor sportsman?
RABBIt typically a number 11 batsman sent back to the hutch in short order.
Thanks! You’re very kind to try and rescue me, but unfortunately I have zero knowledge or understanding of any sport so DNK what hutch or “in short order” mean. No worries!
Just a bad batsman in cricket – the hutch being the pavilion.
My dad talked about a Lancashire batsman who was so bad he was known as a ferret, sent in after the rabbits.
Collins:
“rabbit
in British English
3. British informal
a novice or poor performer at a game or sport”
A good puzzle in that ultimately it was solvable – for me in a much slower than par 15:35. LOI was PERISHED – had not heard of the fairy so thank you Kitty for blog.
No problems today. Knew PERI from Iolanthe. Slight MER at MATTRESS = bed, but otherwise found this straightforward with the clever clueing expected from Izetti. COD THREESOME with DEVILISH a close second. Thanks Kitty.
Recent Izetti QCs have either been completed in low teens or SCC times for me and, sadly, after a good start this one turned into the latter. I biffed RABBI (NHO rabbit in cricket) and part-parsed a couple if I am honest.
I have been looking forward to approachable Monday puzzles recently but today’s offering didn’t fit the bill for me. Lots of good clues but I was really not on wavelength.
I fear this is the start of another tough week.
Thanks, both.
10:08, but with one error
Off to a bad start with 1a where I had “begin to hug” (h) + (LEARNER)* [suffering] looked like a typical QC clue.
Turns out I don’t know how to spell MATTRESS. (I had MATERESS)
COD THREESOME
NHO peri. Slowed down by putting in roller blading rather than skating. Thanks Izetti and Kitty
15 mins…
A good test from Izetti on a Monday morning. NHO of the term “Rabbit” for a bad sportsman – from above it seems like a cricket term, but it was a new one on me. Similarly, can’t recall “Peri”, although I’m sure it’s probably been used here before. Some good answer connections from reading the grid: Startled Bach, Perished Kilt, Devilish Soap and Idle Tapwater.
FOI – 6ac “Bach”
LOI – 23ac “Tap Water”
COD – 23ac “Tap Water”
Thanks as usual!
5:43 – not terrific for a Monday, but I actually thought this was rather hard, and quite a lot was not parsed in-flight. NHO PERI at all, and there were quite a few obscurities, like PATER and RABBIT.
COD to my LOI, ROLLER SKATING. A really fun puzzle, if not what I was expecting Monday AM.
DNK Peri or Rabbit, but both were gettable. Had to reveal Roller skating and Tap Water despite getting the drift of the parsing. Nothing unfair or unreasonable though and I gave up fairly early as I have things to get on with. Thanks Izetti and Kitty.
14:22
Progress was as slow as roller skating through ketchup.
Ta KAI
I always enjoy your playful commentary. What an image!
8:44, for a sprightly start to the week. PERISHED held me up as Peri was dragged out of the nether reaches of my memory, and I had a moment’s hesitation over whether a MATTRESS is actually a bed, but otherwise no problems. TAP WATER made me laugh as it was probably the last drink I was thinking of.
Many thanks Kitty for the blog.
5:44
Gentle Monday fare with plenty to enjoy. Knew of Peri only from these parts – never read Iolanthe.
Thanks Kitty and Izetti
10:29, which I’m happy with for an Izetti. Hadn’t heard of RABBIT in that context, vaguely heard of “peri” but only from crosswords. I gather from the comments above that it’s got something to do with “Iolanthe”, which I expect is probably a skin disease of some sort. My condolences to any sufferers amongst us.
Thank you for the blog!
Loved your comment. Nice to know there may be another non-classicist in our midst!
A pretty swift start to the week finishing in 6.52. My finishing time was extended by the best part of a minute by my last two, STARTLED and finally THREESOME.
A strange solve. Good progress around the grid left me with four to go and an outside chance of a sub-20. At which point I became fixated on Blanket for 6d, which obviously didn’t parse, even though it successfully prompted Roller Skating, Ketchup and Devilish (every dark cloud, etc).
Bracket eventually came to the rescue, but I was forced to give up trying to ‘parse’ Roller Skating to preserve the chance of an aisle seat. Not my best effort.
CoD to the tricky End, just ahead of Tap Water. Invariant
Finally solved in 19.22. As always with Izetti an enjoyable puzzle but frustrated by my slow-working brain!
12.47 so slightly easier than average for me, except I lazily chucked in blanket instead of bracket without bothering to parse it properly.
No problems apart from that.
Thanks Kitty and Izetti
Not real problems today.
First Lap: 15
Answered (no help): 24
Answered (with help): 1
Time: 15:08
From STARTLED to ROLLER SKATING in 6:14. Knew PERI so no holdups there. I had R-B-I before I looked at 3d, so biffed it and missed the rabbit part of the clue altogether, although I did know the expression for the inept sports person. Liked TAP WATER and ROLLER SKATING. Thanks Izetti and Kitty.
13:43 today which I’m content with.
NHO PERI and the clued meaning of RABBIt.
Pi ❤️
As usual I was straight on The Don’s wavelength, and cleared the puzzle on what was a very short second pass after clearing all the down clues on first reading.
FOI STARTLED
LOI ROLLER SKATING
COD THREESOME
TIME 2:56
For me, much gentler than of late. RABBI wasn’t parsed – didn’t know rabbit in that context (but I do now!). Peri known from crosswording only. Slight pause sorting out MATTRESS otherwise a very speedy solve for me. Liked the surface for PERISHED. Many thanks both.
I whizzed through this in a super quick time of 4:01 and a new PB. The only clue I wasn’t a hundred percent sure of was RABBIT. Thanks for confirming my guess Kitty.
Congratulations!
🔥🔥
Whoosh!!
Zowie!⚡️
14 mins, so must have been on wavelength. I had HO peri from reading Chalet School books- the Peri’s cave features as a stall in one of the themed Sales of Work. Probably more niche than G&S.
FOI Startled
LOI Bracket
COD Tap water
Thanks Izetti and Kitty
Oh, Chalet School books! Loved them!
6.51 Almost a straight through solve but last two DEVILISH and END took a minute. I was looking up the same blind alley as Templar. Rabbit was new. Thanks Kitty and Izetti.
The NW did not immediately come to me, so started at the bottom, which went in very smoothly. Coming back toward the upper part of the grid I got held up only by 2d, until I realised it was an anagram. No unknowns apart from RABBIt, but it was obvious from the crossers.
Another week comprehensively ruined.
37 minute DNF.
Put BOILER PLATING instead of ROLLER SKATING (no understanding of the clue, so just picked something that fitted – how stupid is that?) and so no chance of KETCHUP. In any event, I thought last four letters of that clue were SHIP for vessel, so I would probably have failed in any event.
Totally depressed by the whole experience today, which I see most of you found pretty straightforward.
On Saturday, I completed the 15 x 15 and yesterday I came within two of completing the ST puzzle. Both of these ‘achievements’ have now been rendered irrelevant by today’s debacle. Too often I have nightmares like this.
Not sure I’ll bother coming back to this site to comment after today’s humiliation. I am regularly beaten here by solvers who never go anywhere near the 15 x 15. That drives me up the wall and it’s no fun being one of the poorest solvers after all the time and effort I have put in to this.
PS Failed by three on 15 x 15 in over an hour. Appalling performance given the Snitch rating. I’ve spent 5 years on this and I’m nowhere.
I must have been on form (or very lucky) today as I crossed the line in just 15 minutes, which is extremely fast for me.
My fingers were crossed here and there as I DNK the fairy (PERI) and could not fully parse ALPHABET, DEVILISH or KETCHUP, but I was sufficiently confident not to spend ages checking and re-checking at the end.
A genuine QC, IMO.
Thanks to Kitty and Izetti.
Vaguely recall coming across PERI before but would have struggled if PERISHED wasn’t readily guessable. Hadn’t heard of that meaning of rabbit but again RABBI was obvious with the R and B. Thanks for the explanations, Kitty, and thanks to Izetti. TAP WATER, ROLLER SKATING and ALPHABET all v. good. 9:59.
9.39.
Loved this one and got there on 15m despite a wrong biff early on (TUTOR for teacher with tut for poor and then or for oar coming up short: spot of overthinking there!) But STARTLED ruled that out and thereafter the clues fell one by one. I do like Izetti’s logical parsing or – maybe – I’ve just managed to get onto his/her wavelength. Peri easy for all G&S aficionados and in the end a very satisfying solve. As I worked away two red kites were in a dogfight with a crow in our Suffolk garden – and our nightingale is back! So not all doom and gloom despite politics at present. Bring back Iolanthe for our times and update that Lord Chancellor’s song!
9.12
Ouch! Biffed DOSED and never recovered, scratching my head over the impossible ALPHABET at the end. But apart from that didn’t find this the easiest so well done to all the swift times (here’s looking at you Mr Templar!).
Thanks Kitty/Izetti
16:54 for me, a little above my average. I had mislaid my anagram hat, so I was held up by both 2 and 12 down. But no excuses for STARTLED being my LOI: just didn’t see it until all the crossers were in place. COD to TAP WATER today.
Thanks to Izetti and Kitty.
Quietly settled in the SCC today but still wondering why I am expected to know about Persian fairies 🧚♂️🧚♀️🧚
But living on the edge of Poole Harbour means I recognise KETCH as a vessel.
Slowish start the picked up the pace, then stared at -E-ISHED for a bit. I did recognise Peri for fairy once PERISHED made itself know but I think from something low brow I watched with my daughters a good few years ago. Solid start the week, all green in 10.21.
A good start with 9 across and 9 down going straight in and providing plenty of crossers. Then screeched to a halt and couldn’t budge. So frustrating, especially as I generally find Izetti a joy to solve. Got there in the end.
FOI 1a Startled
LOI 20d End
COD 23a Tap Water.
Now to tackle Saturday’s QC.
A steady solve after golf, no unknowns. I was a bit sleepy but finished in about 15 minutes.
STARTLED and THREESOME were my last two in.
Fun puzzle.
David
A smooth solve until I got stuck on a wrong parsing of the (simple!) clue for KETCHUP, and could not see that ROLLER SKATING was a straight cryptic. So 12:06 with the final 3 minutes spent on those two. A fine puzzle from Izetti, as always. I loved DEVILISH although it didn’t hold me up long. CsOD to THREESOME and LANDSCAPE. Did not know the required meaning for “rabbit” at 3d.
Thanks Izetti and Kitty.
Went through this quite fast, finishing in 13 minutes. My only real hold-ups were rethinking ‘blanket’ at 6dn because I couldn’t parse it and KETCHUP which was slow to come. Knew the fairy but not the poor sportsman.
FOI – 1ac STARTLED
LOI – 23ac TAP WATER
COD – 15dn KETCHUP. Also liked TAP WATER.
Thanks to Izetti and Kitty
Oh my poor brain!
Love an Izetti but being on hols time is different and thought I’d start with the 15×15 to give myself a quiet moment with the Don when ‘things’ weren’t happening. So, started on the biggie, got interrupted, came back, started the QC, got interrupted, started again…couldn’t understand why it was so difficult, the snitch was low, very odd. Battled away and finally finished at around 40 minutes, totally baffled, came here to discover I’d been doing the big one!!
Ah well, went back to the QC, completed in around an average time. Happy now.
Thanks both.
No time to read the blog yet so I will come back to it later! But in the meantime, I thought I was on for one of my fastest ever times for an Izetti, at under 6 minutes, but got a bit stuck on THREESOME. I liked it a lot once I worked out what was going on. I was just about to stop the clock when I realised that I hadn’t done 20d either!
Anyway, I enjoyed this – a nice start to the week.
6:48 FOI Startled LOI End (appropriately 😅) COD Bach – it may have been quite a simple clue, but what a great surface!
Thanks Izetti and Kitty