This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here
Since I blogged this at 6am, there has been a correction to 13A – which now reads:
13. Milieu lacking energy, broken bone (5)
with a note to say that was corrected at 7:28am.
This week’s puzzle is the 16th puzzle by Ludwig, now a regular setter for the Guardian, but initially a tie-in with the TV show. Originally the first puzzles were set by Alan Connor (Everyman/Guardian crossword editor) and Enigmatist, but according to one of the blogs, the name is used by several setters, although Alan Connor feels like a constant. A 16th puzzle means he too has now equalled the number set by Picaroon. This puzzle which has acrostic, hidden reversals and anagram minus clues where all the letters are present, plus soundalikes where the solvers have to find the words. All these clue types have been seen before, anagram minus once before back in puzzle 40, hidden reversal 7 times previously and acrostic and soundalikes are regulars.
The whole point of these crosswords is support and encouragement of new solvers, so special rules for these crosswords apply – see here – those rules include not posting solving times.
This blog was developed in response to suggestions. We hide the answers and the wordplay descriptions (parsing) too. To find the solution click on “Answer” and to find how the word play works, click on “Parsing” which will reveal the hidden information. You can choose to reveal everything using the “Expand All” button. If you have partially revealed the page, refreshing it will clear that, and allow you to expand all. The definition is in bold and underlined, the indicator is in red.
For additional help click here
There is a summary of the tricks used in the first six months here and a Guardian Crossword blog called the ultimate beginner’s guide has tips which may be useful for some solvers.
For abbreviations and clue tips click here
Fifteen Squared uses several abbreviations and jargon tricks, there’s a full list here, of which I’ve used the following in this blog:
- underlining the definition in the clue – this is either at the beginning or end of the clue
- indicators are in red.
- CAPITALS to indicate which bits are part of the answer, e.g. haVE ALtered for the example.
- anagram – letters being used shown in brackets (SENATOR)* for the clue below to give TREASON.
- anagrind – anagram indicator – in the case below it is “arranged”
- soundalike – is indicated by “Wilde” – so in the example, Oscar “Wilde”, the playwright and author, is indicating the soundalike WILD.
- charades – the description below only gives the example of words being added together, but charades can be more complicated, adding abbreviations or single letters to another word. Examples previously used in this series are: Son ridicules loose overgarments (6) S (son) + MOCKS (ridicules), Get rid of dead pine (5) D(dead) + ITCH (pine) – D ITCH, and early on DR (doctor) + IVE (I have) to give DRIVE.
- reversals – the reversal element of a clue is indicated by < – so in the example clue below, VieTNAm <.
- CAD or clue as definition– where the whole clue gives the definition, sometimes called an &lit. These are rare.
- DBE or definition by example – e.g. where a dog might be clued as a setter – often using a question mark, maybe, possibly or e.g. to show that this is an example rather than a definition.
- surface – the meaning from reading the clue – so often cryptic clues use an English that could only be found in a cryptic crossword, but a smooth surface is a clue that has a meaning in English, which can be pointed or misleading.
TODAY’S TRICKS – from the crossword site – because the clues have moved on from the clue descriptions below, I am now adding more to the descriptions hidden above. Clues begin or end with a definition of the answer. The rest is one of these:
- Soundalike Something that sounds like answer
‘Excited, Oscar’s announced (4)’ gives WILD – from Oscar “Wilde” (the playwright) - Acrostic First letters of answer
‘Initially Get A Good joke (3)’ gives GAG - Hidden reversal Answer defined and hidden backwards
‘Insect returns in VieTNA(3)’ gives ANT - Anagram minus Remove one letter, jumble the rest
‘Crazy Thor runs off, steaming (3)’ gives HOT (from THO[r])*
| ACROSS | Click on “Answer” to see the solutions | |
| 1 |
Demoniacs mostly spooked joker (8)
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AnswerCOMEDIAN |
Parsinganagram minus of (DEMONIAC[s])* with an instruction to drop a letter, in this case the final letter in “mostly” and an anagrind of “spooked”. As miserableoldhack says below – mostly is an instruction to remove the last letter (or occasionally the last couple of letters in the full fat cryptics). |
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| 6 |
Reckless alteration of side door, wanting entrance (2-2-3)
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AnswerDO-OR-DIE |
Parsinganagram minus of ([s]IDE DOOR)* with a split instruction – “wanting entrance” tells us to delete the “S” from Side Door and an anagrind of “alteration of” – these clues with two stage instructions often have those instructions split across the clue. |
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| 7 |
Bounder, at the beginning, cuts a dash (3)
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AnswerCAD |
Parsingacrostic (at the beginning) of Cuts A Dash. |
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| 9 |
Song that will introduce praiseful and eulogistic, adulatory notes? (5)
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AnswerPAEAN |
Parsingacrostic (that will introduce) of Praiseful And Eulogistic Adulatory Notes with the question mark suggesting that the clue as a whole describes the song being defined. |
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| 10 |
Primarily as good as I needed once more (5)
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AnswerAGAIN |
Parsingacrostic (primarily) of As Good As I Needed. |
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| 11 |
Flipping chambermaid nimbly conceals a state (5)
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AnswerINDIA |
Parsinghidden reversal (flipping … conceals) in chambermAID NImbly <. |
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| 13 |
Milieu lacking energy, broken bone (5)
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AnswerILIUM |
Parsinganagram minus of (MILI[e]U)* with an anagrind of “broken” and an instruction to remove a letter |
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| 15 |
Refusal in Scotland: starters of neeps aren’t edible (3)
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AnswerNAE |
Parsingacrostic (starters of) Neeps Aren’t Edible. From the surface, neeps is the Scots for swede / rutabaga. As a veg box user, swede is a winter staple and there are moments when I have a surfeit, so am digging around for recipes to use them. Some are less edible than others. |
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| 16 |
With end missing, tenon saw in need of repair? Easy (2,5)
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AnswerNO SWEAT |
Parsinganagram minus of (TENO[n] SAW)* with an instruction to take the end off TENO[n] (end missing) and an anagrind of “in need of repair”. And I’ve back parsed the instruction to remove a letter. |
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| 17 |
Bloomer in auditorium: played tuned percussion as if it were a flute (8)
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AnswerBLUEBELL |
Parsingsoundalike (in auditorium) of “blew” (played … as if it were a flute) + BELL (tuned percussion) – see handbells being played. Adding later, sorry, had to set up a recruitment stall at 9:00am on Saturday and was trying to recruit volunteers in yesterday’s sun – bloomer in this case means a flower. In the same way in crosswordese, rivers can be flowers (they flow) or bankers (run between banks). |
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DOWN
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| 1 |
Witch holding back some misshapen orchids (5)
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AnswerCRONE |
Parsinghidden reversal (holding back some) of misshapEN ORChids < |
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| 2 |
Pop icon: crazy about ‘er, you say? (7)
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AnswerMADONNA |
Parsingsoundalike (you say) of “mad on ‘er” (crazy about ‘er). |
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| 3 |
We’re hearing moisture expected (3)
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AnswerDUE |
Parsingsoundalike (we’re hearing) of “dew” (moisture). |
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| 4 |
Making comeback (in some measure): Marc Casado, somewhere in Ghana (5)
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AnswerACCRA |
Parsingreverse hidden (making comeback (in some measure)) of mARC CAsado – for this place in Ghana. For the surface, Marc Casado is a Spanish footballer (I don’t follow football, I have to look these things up). |
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| 5 |
Taking on piano; told learner must go, sadly (8)
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AnswerADOPTION |
Parsinganagram minus of (PIANO TO[l]D)* with an anagrind of “sadly” and an instruction to remove the L (learner must go). |
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| 8 |
Explosive announcement of the power of a café customer? (8)
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AnswerDYNAMITE |
Parsingsoundalike (announcement) of “diner might” (power of a café customer), with a question mark to suggest that that definition is quirky. |
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| 10 |
Sound of a sneeze is under discussion (2,5)
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AnswerAT ISSUE |
Parsingsoundalike (sound of) of “atishoo” (a sneeze). |
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| 12 |
Live down workplace embarrassment – lewd licentiousness for starters (5)
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AnswerDWELL |
Parsingacrostic (for starters) of Down Workplace Embarrassment Lewd Licentiousness. |
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| 14 |
Looking back, part of formula edifies: perfect (5)
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AnswerIDEAL |
Parsinghidden reversal (looking back, part of) in formuLA EDIfies <. |
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| 16 |
Once known as Greene? Not entirely taken aback (3)
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AnswerNEE |
Parsinghidden reveresal (not entirely taken aback) in grEENe < for the feminine form of the French word for “born” (we tend to see the feminine, only). |
This rattled along nicely for me until 13A where I ran into a wall. Had to go away and come back with a list of bones. Clue 17A also felt like another order of difficulty. But I enjoyed this puzzle, thank you Ludwig, and Shanne!
I failed to solve 17ac.
13ac there is typo in the blog – it is an anagram of MILI[e]U. I wondered if restricted meant an incomplete version of the word milieu.
Michelle @2 – corrected. I think restricted does mean an incomplete word, but all the other clues tell you which letter to remove, one way or another.
In the digital edition of the Guardian, 13a is actually: ‘Milieu lacking energy, broken bone’, which is a much more reasonable clue.
And adding, that clue has been updated. I’ve shown my original clue, because it will only be corrected on the website, not on the apps or paper.
As an additional note, I’m on another recruitment stall today, so may not be around much: it depends on how busy we are.
I thought this was going to be tricky but actually found it more approachable than last week’s Quick. Enjoyed the ‘anagram minus’ and soundalike clues.
Thanks for the updates, AlanJ@4 and Shanne@3 and 5 – and yes, the updated/corrected clue for 13ac makes better sense than the original one that was there when I did the puzzle earlier today.
Thanks.
This time it was pretty much a write in (although I didn’t understand some of the clues), until I got to 17a and 10d.
Thanks goodness for Shanne who can explain to me some of the more mysterious soundalikes 😀
Agree re 17A – not sure what “as if it were a flute” is doing? (Maybe bluebells look like flutes?)
Very good puzzle, thanks Ludwig and thanks Shanne for your blog.
I don’t remember puzzle 40 but I’ve definitely done it LOL, so it felt interesting to get a variant on one of the regular clue types. I was happy with all of this grid including the soundalikes which are not usually my strongest suit until 17a. This held me up for ages even with all the crossers. Then the penny dropped for a doh! moment and a big chuckle.
MichaelC#9: You blow into a flute but as the clue says played then it’s blew which is the soundalike for blue.
Not sure I love “sadly” as an anagrind, but fairly straightforward for me. I’m never sure if there’s a way to tell which letter you’re supposed to remove with clues like 1A – is it just a case of “try the first and last letters first”?
I thought 16A was tricky. I thought “with end missing” was referring to the end of “tenon saw” and hence removed the “w” and couldn’t find a workable anagram. Eventually, I got “NO SWEAT” from the crossers and worked back to the parsing.
I’m glad 13A was corrected before I got to it, because I didn’t know the bone in question, so it would have been quite the guessing game without knowing what letter to remove.
Kieran @11 – it’s pretty much an iron law of cryptics that the letter you’re meant to subtract is indicated more or less clearly, which is why the original clue for 13ac had to be changed. There are many ways of doing this… but in 1ac, the “mostly” tells you to ignore the last letter (on the basis, I suppose, that you’re reading the word from left to right and must stop just before the end). “Beheaded”, “headless”, “leaderless” etc will indicate that the first letter must go. Internal letters are another matter, but will usually be indicated by an abbreviation of some sort – so “energy”, “ecstasy”, “east” could all signal that an e is to be ignored. I found this to be at the trickier end of the quick cryptic spectrum, but no less enjoyable for that. Thanks to Ludwig and to Shanne for the ever-admirable blogwork.
Enjoyed this one and chugged along quite steadily until I came to a halt with 10D, 16D &17A. Then the penny dropped with 10D (which made me groan inwardly when I realised what the answer was) and 16D. And they helped me work out 17A.
Thanks to Ludwig and to Shanne for the bloggage.
I also was stymied by 17A.
Oddly enough, my wife was “nee” Greene.
MichaelC@9 The idea is that if you were to play a bell as if it were a flute, you would blow it rather than ringing it.
This contained some nice clues, and I best liked CAD for its clever surface.
I frowned at ILIUM, and was happy to discover it was a mistake. I also frowned at 6. Side door is two words and the word order in the clue is telling me to delete the first letter of door, not of side. I would be interested to hear what others think
Thanks Ludwig and Shanne
My UK paper edition has ‘lacking energy’ for 13A but I know my bones so I was fine. I got 8D because of checked letters but had to come here for the parsing, and 17A was a no-hoper. I like Ludwig but those soundalikes were too tough for me
Thank you Ludwig and Shanne.
In which English, British, or UK accent does BLUEBELL sound like bloomer?
aemmmnost@19 Bloomer is the definition. Blue sounds like “blew”. Bell is a percussion instrument.
@20. Oh, you’re right. Now I see.
17A is a bit &litty isn’t it. You take the percussion instrument both literally (bell) and you have to use it in the wordplay as explained so carefully in #16 (thank you for making this clue comprehensible Petert!)
That tuned percussion is doing some heavy lifting!
Martyn@17: I agree that the clue for 6a could reasonably be read as requiring an anagram of side followed by a word for door minus its first letter (which of course is not the intention). Because of this ambiguity, and because the letters of door are not jumbled in the solution, I think it’s a fairly weak clue. The surface reading doesn’t make a lot of sense either. I suspect many solvers thought of DO-OR-DIE as a 2-2-3 synonym of reckless, possibly with help from crossers, and then addressed parsing.
Yes Hector@23 I had to use crossers for 17A but knew it had to be a flower. I didn’t have a clue with 8D but now I see it’s typical Ludwig humour. My favourite was 3D. Thanks both
Thanks Shanne and Ludwig.
Came here to understand milieu -> ilium having done the crossword first thing, but glad to see the clue has been corrected!
Perhaps harsh, but I thought many of the clues felt a little contrived and lacked smooth surfaces. Maybe it’s the nature of wanting to telegraph “this clue is constructed using approach X” for each one….?
Sorry, I have finally gone through and put through any corrections. Yesterday was hot, record temperatures in the UK, so standing at a stall trying to recruit volunteers from 9am yesterday was on the wam side and I came back just wanting to cool down for a bit.
(It’s worth putting through corrections because these blogs still get comments until they are closed.)