Times Quick Cryptic No 1208 by Izetti

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
A gentle enough puzzle by Izetti’s standards. After Jeremy’s excellent blog yesterday, detailing his very good approach to solving a cryptic crossword, I’ll just say I rushed through this, paying scant attention to the artfully crafted clues, biffing were possible, and ended up staring impatiently for a few seconds at the last remaining clue (21ac) before guessing SLAKE (got the Unlucky! sign), guessing SLATE for no reason other than irritation (got the Unlucky! sign), and stared even more impatiently for a few more seconds before cheating and clicking for the answer: all done and dusted in 7 minutes. Not very edifying, but there we are. For what it’s worth, count me as another who goes through all the acrosses first. I wouldn’t recommend this strategy if you are a beginner, as it does make things a bit harder (and is therefore probably a somewhat inefficient way to solve an individual puzzle), but for those with more experience, trying to improve, I have found it good practice to try to solve clues specifically without any helpful checkers, because then it makes things that much easier when you do have them. The number of acrosses you get also gives a good yardstick for the difficulty of a puzzle. Anyway, lovely puzzle as always from Izetti – many thanks!

Across
1 Electrical problem? One may find a way around it quickly (5,7)
SHORT CIRCUIT – nice cryptic definition, although the surface reading is perhaps rather fancifully optimistic.
8 Way short line is shown in pattern (5)
MODEL – MODE (way) L (short/abbreviated “line”). I initially thought “strip”, but couldn’t get RIP_
9 Role taken by loveless emperor and associate (7)
PARTNER – PART (role) taken by NER (NERO = emperor, loveless = less the O) 
10 Express in song (3)
AIR – double definition
11 Trendy Italian, one person on the same side to begin with (9)
INITIALLY – IN (trendy) IT (Italian) I (one) ALLY (person on the same side).
13 Fellow’s beginning with Heather in hasty romance (5)
FLING – F (Fellow’s “beginning”) LING (heather). Ling for heather crops up enough in crosswords to make it worth remembering. I have yet to find a use for it outside of crosswords, but never say never.
14 Nasty person, see, wanting employment (5)
LOUSE – LO (see) wanting USE (employment)
16 Exotic gins dipso’s ordering (9)
DISPOSING – Anagram (exotic) of GINS DIPSO. So not a word for “exotic”. “Dispose” in the sense of “arrange” is the original meaning, from the Latin disponere, arriving at the now primary sense of “get rid of” via things like settle/finish/deal with once and for all.
17 Content of this obituary makes one weep (3)
SOB – the content of thiS OBituary gets one the answer.
19 Old lover has an inclination and carries on (7)
EXTENDS – EX (old lover) TENDS (has an inclination)
21 Encrustation to mount (5)
SCALE – Double definition: the first as in limescale, say. Nice clue, and quite a lot of options with S_A_E – I think I’d have been slow getting this.
22 Fellow at home being nasty abused son, huh? (12)
HOUSEHUSBAND – anagram (being nasty) of ABUSED SON HUH.
Down
1 Son gets a business qualification in Dance (5)
SAMBA – S(on) gets A (a), MBA (business qualification)
2 Hospital employees tell stories (9)
ORDERLIES – ORDER (tell) LIES (stories)
3 Spotting a link that’s contrived for items under discussion (7,6)
TALKING POINTS – anagram (that’s contrived) of SPOTTING A LINK
4 Spoil naughty child, 10 (6)
IMPAIR – IMP (naughty child) AIR (10 [across]). I agree with those who dislike clues that refer to other clues in the puzzle. It generally ruins the surface reading of the clue without adding anything. This is a rare exception as the number actually means something both cryptic and literal.
5 Medical specialists and doctors I repeatedly slag off (13)
CARDIOLOGISTS – anagram (off) of DOCTORS, I I (I, “repeatedly) and SLAG. NIce
6 Number one turns up — one cannot be neutral (3)
ION – NO I (number one) turns up = reverse.
7 Pattern of melody ultimately spotted in composition of Elgar (6)
ARGYLE – Y (melodY “ultimately”) spotted in an anagram (composition) of ELGAR
12 A liaison that’s naughty enthralling university somewhere in America (9)
LOUISIANA – anagram (that’s naughty) of A LIAISON enthrals/absorbs U(niversity)
13 Female stranger provides something to eat (6)
FODDER – F(emale) ODDER (stranger)
15 Trashy equipment given to school (6)
KITSCH – KIT (equipment) given to SCH. (school). Great word, straight from the German. The OED has a 1967 quote: “I have never seen such kitsch,” someone wrote in the Spectator, “not even in French provincial towns or Irish church bazaars.” Where on god’s earth was this person, you might ask? Well, it was very close to Christmas time (29th Dec), so all we know is they could have been be pretty much anywhere.
18 Money raised in auditorium (5)
BREAD – in an auditorium, sounds the same as BRED (raised)
20 Couple in ardent wooing (3)
TWO – “In” the letters of ardenT WOoing

21 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1208 by Izetti”

  1. Ling is also erica, which sometimes shows up. Note also EX (old lover and other such definitions). I biffed 5d from checkers. I also dislike cross-referencing clues; and especially when ’10’ could also be, say, X; wasted some time on this clue. 4:46.
  2. 8 minutes. Had to think an extra moment about the definition at 16ac before realising it’s fine. The QCs have been a little gentler the past three days in my view. Last week taken as a whole was tricky and Monday’s puzzle was hard.

    Edited at 2018-10-25 06:26 am (UTC)

  3. I was nodding off when I did this, and several obvious answers(looking back of course) refused to come to mind easily, 18d, 21a and CARDIOLOGISTS(my LOI) in particular. HOUSEHUSBANDS required pen and paper despite having HOUSE…. However I eventually got there in 12:38. Thanks Izetti and Roly.
  4. I also did a bit of impatient staring at 21ac but when it came it made loi 18dn frustratingly easy and I wondered how I hadn’t got it without the crossing ‘e’. 10 minutes.
  5. Just not on Izetti’s wavelength today. I slowed dramatically after writing in the first few. Most of the longer answers seemed to drop out fairly readily but the checkers didn’t always help. LOsI were Disposing (didn’t like this), Argyle (tricky?) and Model. Didn’t enjoy it as much as usual. John M.

    Edited at 2018-10-25 08:55 am (UTC)

  6. Well I don’t remember ever cracking an Izetti in under 10 mins so I am mightily pleased with my time of 9:52. Just like Roly my LOI was 21a SCALE (no cheating here). I biffed 5d CARDIOLOGISTS once I had most of the checkers and deliberated over 16a DISPOSING but what else could it be. COD for me is 11a INITIALLY simply because I enjoyed typing and reading the clue at the same time. Presumably this is how the seasoned solvers get sub 5 mins completions.

    Did anyone else try REPORTERS for 2d ORDERLIES?

    Edited at 2018-10-25 09:08 am (UTC)

  8. Plenty to enjoy today (although I’m not a fan of 4d) whilst being at the gentler end of the Izetti spectrum. Thought 7 and 15d were particularly good. Completed in 14.03 with LOI 6d, which I found strangely difficult.
  9. 11 minutes, which seems quick for an Izetti for me. SCALE also LOI here. Thanks Don and Rolly.
  10. Started quickly (always feels good to get 1ac and 1d straight away), and made steady progress, so that after 25mins I had just 22ac and 18d left. And there I came to a full stop. Couldn’t think of either answer, so I had a cup of tea and when I came back looked at 21ac again, but without thinking about mounting horses. That gave me Scale, and hence Bread. My favourite today was 13d, Fodder. Invariant
  11. I never forget LING because as a boy I read one of the “Doctor in the House” novels and Sir Lancelot Spratt solved a Times crossword clue – “Poet asleep on the heather”. I resorted to the OED to understand it and I think this was my first encounter with a cryptic crossword!

    Anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed that, thanks Izetti. Only got stuck on ARGYLE (even though I saw the anagram straight away and got all the other anagrams immediately in my head, this one took an age and required writing down and much pen sucking! I think I was looking for the wrong sort of pattern.)

    Ended up at over three Kevins which is disappointing but then again the great man was particularly rapid today …
    how on earth can you log 4:46 and then say that you “wasted some time” on a clue, Kevin?!

    Thanks for the blog roly; your description of your quick and dirty methodology made me chuckle.

    Templar

  12. I am never on Izetti,s wavelength and really don’t believe he is a QC puzzler. He is the only regular setter that I never get anywhere with. Whist I never finish many after 6 months I get close with Izetti I rarely get started. Ce la vie I will just accept his puzzles are at a level that is too difficult for me.
  14. Couldn’t get Argyle or Scale. Struggled with this and don’t like obscure meanings such as disposing =ordering and order=tell etc.
    Thanks all
    John George
  15. About 12 minutes for me today. FOI was Two and LOI was Scale. Cardiologists was unparsed early but every subsequent answer confirmed it.
    An enjoyable puzzle and not too difficult I thought.
    David
  16. another fun puzzle from Izetti, a favourite setter for me.
    I loved 11a, definitely COD.
    I was stuck on 21a and 18d for the best part of today with scale finally dropping and immediately thinking of bread, but I’d parsed incorrectly, thinking a for auditorium. I’d forgotten the homophone indicator.
    there should be a term/acronym other than LOI clues like that.
    thanks to blogger, setter and all who contribute.
    Carl
  18. Generally a good puzzle, but I really don’t like DISPOSING, not only is it an edgy definition, it is also a very contrived clue. Not as subtle as Izetti usually is.
  19. Generally a good puzzle, but I really don’t like DISPOSING, not only is it an edgy definition, it is also a very contrived clue. Not as subtle as Izetti usually is.
  20. Generally a good puzzle, but I really don’t like DISPOSING, not only is it an edgy definition, it is also a very contrived clue. Not as subtle as Izetti usually is.

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