Times Quick Cryptic No 1578 by Izetti

Author   rolytolyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
I found this quite tough, and fared very similarly to yesterday’s, which is to say a DNF around the 17 minute mark, all following a bruising hour with yesterday’s 15x. I was feeling my enthusiasm for puzzles wane a bit towards the end, if you want a shoddy excuse. I was supposed to be going on an exciting holiday tomorrow as well. (Yes, boo hoo for me, like there aren’t bigger concerns out there.) So I’m not best equipped to comment on the enjoyability of this puzzle, but everything seemed to be in the top-notch working order that we’ve come to expect from Izetti – many thanks!

Across
1 Inferior cow girl catches cold (5-5)
LOWER-CLASS – LOWER (cow – as in a low-er, a thing that lows/moos) LASS (girl) catches/holds C(old)
8 Valuable coin found in item of food (7)
RAREBIT – RARE (valuable) BIT (coin). Is there anything on Earth that’s rare and isn’t valuable? (Anything not unpleasant, that is.)
9 Animal fancied occupying the back of your house (5)
RHINO – IN (fancied/fashionable) occupying R (“back” of youR) HO (abbrev. for house)
10 One going round hospital in pain (4)
ACHE – ACE (one) round H(ospital)
11 Dad has system of paying — such is his family duty (8)
PARENTAL – PA (dad) RENTAL (system of paying)
13 Manage to secure superior type of vehicle (5)
COUPE – COPE (manage) to secure U (superior, vs. non-U/inferior). I gave up on this, unable to see past CAUSE, which was clearly wrong.
14 Fellow ejected from chapel, the German high-up in congregation (5)
ELDER – CHAP (fellow) ejected from CHAPEL leaves EL ; DER (the, German)
16 Declare times in statistical information (8)
AVERAGES – AVER (declare) AGES (times)
17 Crew said something at Chiswick in boat race (4)
EYOT – is pronounced/said as EIGHT (crew, in rowing). Variant spelling of “ait”, a small island, especially in a river. The Chiswick Eyot is the halfway mark in the Boat Race. I also gave up on this – got the sounds-like-eight bit, but the spelling could have been a few things, and I’d already given up on 13ac.
20 Taking newspaper (5)
THEFT – The FT (newspaper). “Taking” as a noun.
21 Fantastic eagle in descent (7)
LINEAGE – anagram (fantastic) of EAGLE IN
22 Sour disposition of US men, prigs being awkward (10)
GRUMPINESS – anagram (being awkward) of US MEN PRIGS

Down
1 This girl is hugged by sailor, naturally (5)
LORNA – “hugged” by the letters of saiLOR NAturally
2 Chaps who should know what’s in store (12)
WAREHOUSEMEN – cryptic definition, the literal referring to men anticipating, the cryptic to warehouse stock.
3 King with honour producing garment (4)
ROBE – R (Rex/king) with OBE (honour)
4 All the changes of a deadly nature (6)
LETHAL – anagram (changes) of ALL THE
5 Hidden under lots of loose rocks is Edmund (8)
SCREENED – under SCREE (lots of loose rocks – especially on a mountainside) is NED (Edmund)
6 Bakery — I’d chat about one of its products maybe (8,4)
BIRTHDAY CAKE – anagram (about) of BAKERY ID CHAT
7 Model and artist turned up to make a bit of money (6)
DOLLAR – DOLL (model) and AR (RA = artist, “turned up”)
12 Margaret, a very good type, a right “superperson” (8)
MEGASTAR – MEG (Margaret) A ST. (a Saint/very good type) A R(ight). In my (dubious) haste when solving, I misparsed the good type as “a star”.
13 Sings about Hampshire (6)
CHANTS – C (Circa/about) HANTS (Hampshire)
15 Commotion in place of rest left in the morning (6)
BEDLAM – BED (in place of rest) L(eft) AM (in the morning).
18 Rows with ferocious beasts, not good (5)
TIERS – TIgERS (ferocious beasts, minus the G for good)
19 Some frantic person opposing something (4)
ANTI – “some” of frANTIc

54 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic No 1578 by Izetti”

  1. This took me 13 minutes and 30 seconds – just four minutes less than the 15×15!
    Mr. Roly I share your pain. That’s a damn shame about the holiday.

    FOI 10ac ACHE

    LOI 1ac LOWER CLASS

    COD 21ac LINEAGE

    WOD 22ac GRUMPINESS most Meldrewvian. And I did enjoy the Birthday Cake.

    Have a bash at the 15×15 most of it is a doddle.

  2. I biffed RHINO, never did parse it, and now I see why not: ‘fancied’=IN would never have occurred to me. Also biffed CHANTS, but I remembered HANTS post-submission. What slowed me down was LOI EYOT, which I (and ODE) pronounce as 2 syllables. No idea what Chiswick was doing there. I second Horryd’s suggestion re the 15×15; just be more careful than I was about typos. 7:20.
  3. Took me 32m but it passed in a flash – good challenge. One my first passes I got one of the acrosses (21a) and then six of the downs so still lots of work to do. Made a mess of the NE, got scree straightaway but NED for Edmund didn’t occur to me so I was trying to make ‘secreted’ work which although I knew couldn’t be right fitted all the checkers except for LOI RHINO. Once I’d untangled SCREENED I felt could risk a biff for an animal fitting R_I_O, much less confident of EYOT but sort of knew it – although not from the boat race. Not sure a MEGASTAR is a ‘superperson’ but close enough I guess.
  4. 8 minutes. I thought Chiswick EYOT was a bit of an ask for those without particular local knowledge but had forgotten about its regular mention in coverage of the boat race. Even so, if following the event on TV or radio that wouldn’t draw one’s attention to the unusual spelling. I was okay with it though, as I spent the three happiest years of my life (up to that point) as a student in Chiswick in the mid-1960s.

    Edited at 2020-03-26 07:08 am (UTC)

  5. Fine with this except for Eyot. Even when I knew this word existed and fitted, I could neither parse the clue nor see the straight answer. So thanks!
  6. I didn’t know EYOT was pronounced like that so hesitated for a while on that and then took a good couple of minutes and an alphabet trawl to find COUPE, my LOI. It didn’t help that I started to write MERCHANDISERS in for 2D, before I discovered it was too long. So I made a bit of a mess of this rather nice puzzle with typically smooth Izetti surfaces. I liked BIRTHDAY CAKE, THEFT and CHANTS. 8:14.
  7. Almost every clue irritated me, and then one late on was faultless which irritated me even more
  8. I think this was a puzzle which couldn’t be rushed. My FOI was ROBE then I biffed CRUMBLE at 8a. As a fan of the Boat Race I immediately thought of Chiswick Eyot which is often mentioned in the commentary. I even remembered there are two spellings – AIT and I put in AYOT. The computer prompted me at the end and I immediately changed to EYOT, so one wrong.
    I needed to write out the long anagrams but I feel no grumpiness about this puzzle. Congrats to everyone who completed correctly.
    My LOI was SCREENED after correcting Shrouded.16:28. David
  9. Done in about six minutes but without EYOT, one of the dodgiest homophone clues ever. Even seeking the pronunciation after the event it is given as two syllables.

    Bah

  10. 21 minutes of chipping away and being grudgingly impressed with each clue and how it had fooled me. Hold ups all over the grid but the last blank area was the NE. Once I’d shifted from shale to sree then this started to work out. DNF after all this as I, like David, put Ayot – for the one clue I didn’t like. A homophone of a variant spelling of a word with a strange/questionable pronunciation – this is the QC – so it brought on a certain touch of 22ac. Thanks to Izetti for all the others, though and to Roly for unpicking this lot.
  11. A rare technical DNF for me, defeated by EYOT, even though the crew / eight occurred to me. I have never knowingly pronounced EYOT as ait, even though Chambers agrees with it, which I discovered after using aids to complete the grid. Oh well!
  12. DNF because DNK EYOT, what it is or how it’s pronounced. Was testing for me anyway, with a discouragingly slow start – FOI ACHE – but always seem to struggle with the Don. COD CHANTS.
  13. Some excellent clues, on reflection. I failed to meet my target and found my time was close to that of chrisw but EYOT defeated me. Never heard of Chiswick Eyot and would never have seen it as a homophone of eight. Just a step too far, even for Izetti. I biffed COUPE. Credit to Izetti for a chewy challenge – very enjoyable, in the main – and thanks to roly for a helpful, honest blog.

    Edited at 2020-03-26 09:49 am (UTC)

  14. Commiserations – hope you stay well and have some fun here and there. This was really tricky but although most of it was fair Eyot was just plain ridiculous! (maybe just me!)
  15. I’ve never heard of Chiswick Eyot, but managed to justify EYOT with a dodgy homophone, A YACHT, and tied it into boat race:) I also found this very tough, taking 15:03 to solve. Thanks Izetti and Roly.
  16. Tough going today and I didn’t help myself at the start by reading the definition at 1a as interior – it became a much easier clue once I had my glasses on! The NE was particularly tricky and I toyed with SECRETED for a while but couldn’t make it work. I knew what an EYOT was and assumed that would be the answer but it gets a GR from me – not even close to being a homophone in my language. That aside an enjoyable workout which I finished over target in 16.45.
    Thanks to Roly
  17. As a former oarsman and rowing coach, I can affirm that in rowing circles, at least, Chiswick Eyot is definitely pronounced like eight. So, for me, this was one of the more accessible clues in a very challenging but ultimately enjoyable QC. And thanks for the tip of the 15 x 15 – I managed to do nearly all of it.

    FOI Ache
    LOI Rhino
    COD Eyot

    Thanks to setter and blogger.

  19. Izetti joins Pedro (twenty xwd1518) in the finals of the year’s worst clue with EYOT. I got the eight bit, but would have gone for AYTT, or AYHT as potential homophones.

    this is the Quick cryptic to help newbies. How about:

    Small island entices yachts on Thames initially.

    Finished the 15×15 so not too unhappy…

  20. DNF in 78 mins. Aargh! Still at least my problems were those of others. Biffed coupe, got shale stuck in my head rather than scree, knew the word eyot but not how pronounced or the boat race connection.
  21. Started with 1d, 10ac, 2d, and 1ac, at which point I thought this was going to be a steady solve. Forty minutes later, via a Paternal cul de sac at 11ac, I was down to my last two – Theft and Eyot. I needed aids for both of these – I should have seen Theft, but to clue Eyot as a homophone of eight, based on a variant spelling, in a QC merits a GR. Bit of a shame, as up until that point I was enjoying the challenge. Invariant
  22. Did not get THEFT, stupid. Struggled with SCREENED but got there in the end having biffed RHINO.
    Knew Eyot! Bit of a long stretch all round though.
    Thanks to all.
  23. ….in his many guises for longer than I care to remember, and I’m usually quick to get on his wavelength. I knew this was above the usual standard of difficulty when I hit the fourth clue before starting. However, I then got quickly into my stride, and my only problem was whether it was EYOT or ayot. George Bernard Shaw lived in the Hertfordshire village of Ayot St.Lawrence for many years, and I knew the pronunciation was in line with “ait”. Luckily, I plumped correctly.

    My time of a smidgen over 0.5K puts me in 11th place on the leader board, two places above Verlaine, so a very good day.

    This comes in the wake of learning yesterday that I’d won the Sunday Times Clue Writing Competition. The clue certainly isn’t QC level, but I’ll air it on the 15×15 blog later.

    FOI ACHE
    LOI THEFT
    COD WAREHOUSEMEN

    2. I have just started entering the Sunday Times Clue Writing Competition….it is a bit of a learning curve but I did get a ‘good clue’ mention for my fifth attempt. Congratulations on your success.
  24. Thought EYOT was spelled AYOT, although I knew the pronunciation. I used to live in HERTFORDSHIRE and may have picked it up from there. COUPE defeated me. Just wouldn’t come. Stiff challenge all round and most enjoyable.
    PlayUpPompey
  25. After being very grumpy yesterday – a silly spelling error here and utterly bamboozled by the 15×15 – I’m in a much better mood today 😊

    This still took me a!most as long as today’s biggie but I’m not complaining.
    Several options for COD – warehousemen, birthday cake and (controversially) eyot. I was born and bred in the Thames Valley and come from a rowing family, so eyot posed no problem, but I do understand why it would to others. I’ve always pronounced it ‘eight’ whereas I’ve always said ‘ett’ for ate – pronunciation is a minefield.

    FOI Lower class
    LOI Screened
    COD Chants
    Time 14:15

    Thanks as ever to Izetti – I used to be apprehensive when I saw his name but look forward now to inventive, tight clues with lovely surfaces, and don’t mind if it takes a bit longer. Frankly, we’ve got time to fill, haven’t we!

    Thanks to you too Roly – sorry to hear about your hols. We came back early from ours last week, so understand your disappointment.

  26. Been doing the QC since inception, having never tried before and it’s been a revelation thanks to you lot.
    However, the last few weeks have been really tough which is ok for me but for a newbie would surely make them give up.
    In the current poo there will be many out there looking to fill their days. Can I ask you expert setters and bloggers to think how we might achieve this with maybe graded QCs. Just an idea
    Indebted to you all.
    Johnny
    1. Inclined to agree with you – the last few weeks seem to have gone up a notch.
  28. I really enjoyed that but my beginner sons got really cross with it and me (principally me). Izetti really does have a knack for a smooth surface. It took a long trawl to find COUPE and my last two (RHINO and DOLLAR) required many visits and much pen chewing. All done and parsed in 2K for a Good Day.

    Thanks Izetti and roly.

    Templar

  30. To enable Izetti to be more wilfully obscure at a later date, allow me to suggest “Shown under lots of loose rocks is Benedict.” DoTW
  31. Another lovely puzzle for a Very Good Week so far. Being a Boat Race fan I had no trouble with EYOT but thought that would cause problems for many. I confused myself by putting in PATERNAL and SECRETED initially but spotted the error and eventually biffed RHINO. All done in 30 minutes including getting a second cup of tea.
    FOI 3d
    COD 12d
    LOI 9A
    Thank you Roly and Izetti
    Blue Stocking
  32. Another DNF. Undone by both RHINO and EYOT. I gave up just short of 20 minutes but I was still pleased to have solved all but two of the clues given the level of difficulty.
  33. Well, I see I’m not alone in not finishing this.

    Did not get 17ac “Eyot” and felt this was somewhat obscure for the QC. Other difficulties included 9ac “Rhino” which I couldn’t parse for the life of me and most of the SW corner which is odd as none of them seem too difficult in retrospect.

    FOI – 10ac “Ache”
    COD – 1ac “Lower Class”

    Thanks as usual.

    Edited at 2020-03-26 06:06 pm (UTC)

  34. Didn’t get EYOT so thanks for that! Loved THEFT… must be a chestnut but I don’t think I’ve seen it. Definitely on par with today’s 15×15!
        1. Very good! I’m sure a number of the 20th century giants of composing would have given anything to be able to create the sound of aproximately -6 hands.
  35. I’ve watched my son row often enough to get Eyot.
    There needs to be a pointer towards the acute accent in coupe!
    Not quite finished but completed far more than I usually do on a Thursday.
    Diana
    1. Accents in answers, along with apostrophes are never indicated in clues.

      Edited at 2020-03-26 08:08 pm (UTC)

  36. … for a 12 minute finish. Having lived in SW London for over 40 years I had an advantage on EYOT, and I can confirm the locals often pronounce it Eight!

    No real problems but I thought 2D Warehousemen a strange clue – it seemed to me to be just a straight literal clue with no cryptic element at all.

    COD 20A Theft – lovely clue, deceptively simple and not often one sees a real cryptic clue packed into just 2 words.

    Thanks to Roly for the blog and to Izetti
    Cedric

  37. DNF – in the same boat as everyone else re eyot. We knew the answer was something that sounded like eight but our efforts were wrong. Never mind, lots of good clues. Really like theft – made us chuckle.

    Thanks for heads up on the 15×15. Will give it a go.

  38. Glad to see explanation for COUPE: I had worked it out with definition as ‘superior type of vehicle’ and ‘manage to secure’ as something being effected on COUPLE, but not being able to work out how to drop the L other than ‘manage’. Never spotted alternative. Like others DNFed on EYOT.
  39. Mostly the same issues as others but wanted to ask if secreted at 5D could be scree + ted? Thanks- really appreciate the support on this blog off to the 15×15 now👍
    1. One of the rules in this game (thank goodness) is that you are not allowed to use ‘unseen’ words (in this case Scree and Ned) as anagram fodder – they have to appear intact, so it’s definitely Scree + ned.
        1. No problem. I should perhaps add that occasionally you can be told to reverse an unseen word (back or some such hint), or even to remove or reposition a letter (with temperature {ie T} rising, on a down clue for example).
  40. I got 5 down as secreted! Then couldn’t do 9 across. Anagram (loose) of scree – plus ted!
  41. About 10 minutes solving time, though 13 elapsed, as didn’t get started on clues straight after opening. No particular problems, 17a known from course of Boat Race (of course!) Two errors, which puts me at bottom, but don’t know where, as I can’t get ‘review’ to display what I submitted – presumably there’s a typo at the intersection of an across and down somewhere.
  42. It is unfortunate that this word should be used. To quote the section on true and false etymology in “Fowler’s Modern English Usage”, “Welsh rabbit is amusing and right, and Welsh rarebit stupid and wrong”. KevinS

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