Budmo in the Quiptic slot this week, with an accessible and enjoyable puzzle.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Company receiving genuine anonymous warning
FIRE ALARM
An insertion of REAL and A in FIRM. The insertion indicator is ‘receiving’. A for ‘anonymous’ is in Chambers.
6 Possesses heroin and cannabis
HASH
A charade of HAS and H.
8 Mad brute altering rhythm?
DRUMBEAT
(MAD BRUTE)* with ‘altering’ as the anagrind.
9 Anger a volatile US President
REAGAN
(ANGER A)* with ‘volatile’ as the anagrind.
10 Despot hurried into tryst regularly
TYRANT
An insertion of RAN in TYT for the odd letters (‘regularly’) of TrYsT. The insertion indicator is ‘into’.
11 A friend with addiction, briefly, in emirate
ABU DHABI
A charade of A BUD and HABI[T].
12 Large snake that gets one climbing?
LADDER
A charade of L and ADDER.
15 Integral changes in shape
TRIANGLE
(INTEGRAL)* with ‘changes’ as the anagrind. This is multi-option anagram: it also makes ALERTING, ALTERING, RELATING and TANGLIER.
16 Wasted set point in hurry
STEP ON IT
(SET POINT)* with ‘wasted’ as the anagrind.
19 Announcement of oil in country
GREECE
A soundalike (‘announcement’) for GREASE. Greases and oils are chemically distinct, but in everyday usage, particularly as a verb, they are cruciverbally synonymous.
21 Tell story about Blake Lively being nice
LIKEABLE
An insertion of (BLAKE)* in LIE. The insertion indicator is ‘about’ and the anagrind is ‘lively’. Blake Lively is an American actress who was besties with Swiftie but has now fallen out with her. But you didn’t need to know that.
22 Try again: what is stuck in bottom?
REHEAR
An insertion of EH in REAR. ‘Try’ is here in its judicial sense. The insertion indicator is ‘is stuck in’. EH? is a request to your interlocuteur to repeat something. WHAT? is a step up in politeness; but as every mother knows, PARDON is the only real choice.
24 Where you might need to go, some might say, in Pacific islands
TUVALU
A soundalike (‘some might say’) for TO THE LOO. The ‘some’ who might say this would include the many English speakers who indulge in th-fronting. Know what I mean, bruvver?
25 Rebuke beautiful Greek husband pinching millions
ADMONISH
An insertion of M in ADONIS H. The insertion indicator is ‘pinching’.
26 Lake shimmered, somewhat
MERE
Hidden in shimMEREd.
27 Receipt of disappointing news for rep?
SALES SLIP
A dd.
Down
1 Score twice, like A Castle?
FORTY
A score is twenty. Twice that is forty. A castle, whimsically, could be ‘forty’ in the same way as an octopus might be ‘army’. Andy Castle is a former tennis player and broadcaster. But you didn’t need to know that either.
2 French poet traumatised Vietnam veteran on film, reportedly
RIMBAUD
Soundalike (‘reportedly’) for RAMBO. Sly Stallone played the character in the series of films. Actually, if you say it in French it sounds very like the big man.
3 American chap is spy
AGENT
A charade of A and GENT.
4 Content of dustcart taken up to entice
ATTRACT
Hidden reversed in dusTCART TAken.
5 Sacking main guard after reshuffle
MARAUDING
(MAIN GUARD)* with ‘after reshuffle’ as the anagrind.
6 Hard to consume chicken for non-believer
HEATHEN
A charade of H, EAT and HEN.
7 Claims hob broken, which is chaotic
SHAMBOLIC
(CLAIMS HOB)* with ‘broken’ as the anagrind.
13 Virtue of watching Björn Again show, perhaps
ATTRIBUTE
Björn Again are an Australian ABBA-inspired tribute band, so if you decide to catch them at Darlington Rugby Club on 9th August, you’d be AT TRIBUTE.
14 Organise a contest with son in small cars
RUNABOUTS
A charade of RUN, A, BOUT and S.
17 Walk around official introduction
PREFACE
An insertion of REF in PACE. The insertion indicator is ‘around’.
18 NATO lie about providing protective cover
TOENAIL
(NATO LIE)* with ‘about’ as the angrind.
20 Loan the drunk something bad for them?
ETHANOL
(LOAN THE)* with ‘drunk’ as the anagrind. An extended definition: ETHANOL is an alcohol which we normally just refer to as ‘alcohol’, so it wouldn’t be the best idea to offer it to a drunk.
22 Legendary brother beginning to raise flightless birds
REMUS
A charade of R for the initial letter of ‘raise’ and EMUS.
23 A model upset Greek storyteller
AESOP
A charade of A and POSE reversed.
Many thanks to Budmo for this week’s Quiptic. Happy Summer Solstice (it was at 0924 BST, so the nights are drawing in already). And Happy Winter Solstice to our antipodean friends.
Thank you, Budmo and Pierre, I enjoyed this. Or, I mostly enjoyed this very much, but I didn’t enjoy 24A TUVALU (which I got, but felt horribly contrived) and 13D ATTRIBUTE (which I didn’t get on my own, and having seen the explanation feel no pleasure).
24A. No sorry, this just isn’t right at all.
I enjoyed this too.
Yep, TUVALU was indeed a tad contrived, but then, the quasi-spoonerisms are generally way more laboured and tortuous: I’ve just come to accept that that sort of thing is seen as acceptable. (As is, “it’s in Chambers” being cited as the sole justification.)
As usual with this setter, plenty of pleasing surfaces, with ADMONISH getting the rosette.
FORTY made me grin (and reminded me of the old gag: where does Napoleon keep his armies? Up his sleevies!)
Many thanks Budmo, and Pierre for the enjoyable blog.
A good challenge, not particularly easy.
Favourite: FORTY.
Thanks, Pierre, for a good explanation of 24ac th -> v as found in muvver/bruvver etc which is a distinctive feature in Cockney English for one.
With the Y in tYrant pretty solid and a vague suspicion that the genuine in one across might cue in REAL something, I wasted far too much time trying to justify ROOKY for One down (fits “like A Castle” beautifully).
My COTD when I finally twigged.
Thanks Pierre. NHO Rimbaud, and the only thing I remember about Rambo was a a critic describing Stallone as a graduate of the Mogadon school of acting 🙂 Otherwise a very pleasant solve, with just a raised eyebrow at TUVALU.
Thanks Budmo
I have to say that TUVALU tickled me rather than annoyed me. If you’re new to the dark arts, then the debate about homophone clues has been going on for ever. Which is why I, and most other bloggers here, call them ‘soundalike’ clues. There are wide varieties in the pronunciation of Englishes around the world. My view is let’s embrace that and not get tied in knots saying that it’s not a homophone in Received Pronunciation. RP is a minority: only about 2% to 3% of the UK population speak it nowadays.
Not especially easy, nor especially difficult, with plenty to smile about in both the crossword and the blog. So thank you to both Budmo and Pierre for an enjoyable morning.
Much like last Sunday, I found some of this too easy. Probably a very good puzzle for beginners but not my cup of tea. There seemed to be a lot of easy anagrams for me, which filled the grid too easily. And then I spent half the time on my last five clues 1A 1D 2D 25A and 23D but got them all in the end (except for the i in RIMBAUD).
I think there was too much general knowledge for my preference. Of course I’ve heard of Adonis, Aesop and Remus if not the French poet but I have to rack my brain until I remember the names.
FORTY was quite a nice clue once it clicked. I kept thinking how does scoring twice in tennis give you forty. FIRE ALARM I should have got sooner but warning is a bit vague and receiving is often used just to add the word rather than insert.
Not sure about wasted as an anagram indicator when I’m sure there are lots of appropriate words for messing up set point in tennis.
I was under the impression that Tuvalu was pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable — tuvarlu. Isn’t that what its people say? It certainly isn’t like “toodle-loo”.
Didn’t know the French poet, let alone how to pronounce it.
It’s never occurred to me that a toenail was a protective cover. What does it protect from?
Geoff @10 it supposedly sounds like ‘to the loo’. But I don’t know anyone who would say the word the as ver. Da maybe but not va.
Kestell @1, not sure if it’ll make any difference … but despite living next door in NZ, I’d never heard of the Australian tribute band. Whereas I did know of the famous Björn Borg … So I parsed 13d as “a t (for tennis) tribute”.
Pierre @7 – “… only about 2% to 3% of the UK population speak it nowadays,” you write, referring to ‘Received Pronunciation’. Ah, if only 2% to 3% of ‘soundalikes’ in cryptic crosswords depended on an appeal to RP as enshrined in the pronunciation guidelines in dictionaries … But I had a rant recently about the specious, but indelible, historical authority awarded to RP in such matters, so I shall withdraw forthwith.
Enjoyed this very much. I liked FORTY and RIMBAUD, and TUVALU made me laugh. I only know of the existence of Tuvalu from watching Pointless!
As someone who has been to Tuvalu twice, I can say that Geoff@10 is correct. In most South Pacific languages, words(including names) never have the stress on the last syllable.
I for one enjoyed TUVALU and the soubdalike works pretty well in my accent, albeit that it seems the assumed pronunciation of the word is incorrect! So it was a case of blissful ignorance I suppose.
it’s hard with GK to know what is Quiptic level, and what isn’t. Is Remus better known than Rimbaud? The latter, apparently well-known in French culture but less so internationally outside of the field, was a nho for me and the cause of my DNF.
I thought REHEAR was fun, and ptobably the hardest, technically speaking. STEP ON IT had a lovely surface, and ATTRACT was very well hidden.
Overall all good stuff. Thanks both!
Mostly enjoyable. Lots of anagrams to get me started all over the grid. Didn’t like ‘to the loo’ for TUVALU doesn’t really work for me. I managed to get RIMBAUD quite early as I had all the crossers and had heard of him; but I couldn’t see the wordplay. I think though overall this was just about on the money for a Quiptic. Thanks Pierre for clearing some things up for me, and to Budmo for the puzzle.
Thanks Budmo and Pierre
Thanks for explaining RIMBAUD – he’s more familiar to me than Rambo! (Referred to in an Bob Dylan song)
I thought ADMONISH was a great clue.
Fun and no problems. I needed that.
Favourites: RIMBAUD, FIRE ALARM and ADMONISH.
Thanks Budmo and Pierre.
I’d never heard of Tuvalu, and had to go searching for possible Pacific islands. I got Rimbaud more easily but am now questioning my French pronunciation, as I wouldn’t rhyme it with Rambo!
The blog alone is a pleasure and the crossword was quite good too.
Rachel @20
For me the pronunciation of Rimbaud and Rambo would be exactly the same, but the stress would be different – Rimbaud would be stressed on the second syllable, but Rambo on the first.
Great stuff, a good mix of difficulty, just over par difficulty for a Quiptic in my experience.
Bit distraught to realised I have been pronouncing RIMBAUD incorrectly all these years.
I see TUVALU getting some flak but that was my favourite today.
Thanks Budmo and Pierre
OddIy enough, I guessed TUVALU from the “TU VA” which can mean, or at least sound like, “you go” in some European languages (e.g. Spanish, French)! The “some might say” I attributed to the speakers of those foreign languages.
I knew it was a hell of a stretch but I got the right answer (for completely the wrong reason)!
What is the deal with “castle” and “forty” again??
Andrea @25
A castle is like a fort, so it’s “forty”.
Thank you Budmo and Pierre.
As someone with an unhealthy, if inexpert, linguistic bent, TUVALU is really going to nerd snipe (xkcd 356) me. I’m pretty convinced it’s not traditional th-fronting, at least of the kind in cockney accents. The example on the th-fronting wikipedia page explicitly notes “Pronouns (they, them, their) and the are not affected”. I’d be interested to know if anyone has an example accent where to the loo and tuvalu are actually homophones.
Otherwise smooth sailing, apart from RIMBAUD (which, despite the clue, I still can’t read as anything other than “rim-bod”) and the blake lively trick (which was fair play, I just wasn’t switched on enough for it).
These flew in, but in 13D sure our setter is playing fair ball: I’m not entirely convinced that AT TRIBUTE is in any way a reasonable turn of phrase that we might be expected to attribute (!) to being at (a) tribute (show).
I also didn’t see the DD of SALES SLIP until I read SLIP as a verb, but that’s on me.
Spent ages trying to work out how scoring twice in tennis could ever lead to score of forty, as I assumed that’s what the A Castle reference was meant to misdirect towards. But I’d never have got that castles are simply “fort-y”.
Overall I enjoyed this a lot, I just wish I didn’t always come away with a minor sense of injustice!
Muffin, @26, aaaahhhh!!!!! Thanks!
I enjoyed it too, wrows. A minor sense of injustice is often part of the experience. But the other thing is, everyone’s minor sense of injustice is different, meaning that perhaps it wasn’t an injustice after all …
A puzzle of two halves for me. Top half went in very quickly, but then got slowed somewhat on the bottom.
I liked both the homophones. I knew 2D had to be a Rambo soundalike, and a google search quickly revealed the (nho) poet. Likewise, a scan of a map of the Pacific and TUVALU was obvious.
NHO Bjorn Again, and I was thinking of the holographic ABBA show, so ATTRIBUTE took me a while. Finally got it from the crossers.
Did not parse the EH in REHEAR.
Ta Budmo and Pierre.
Pierre @30 – I think “a minor sense of injustice is often part of the experience” should be the motto of the Cruciverbalists’ Guild in a fantasy setting. Brilliant.
I know Tuvalu from playing Globle. I thought it might be a French/English homophone as in tu va(s) loo or you go loo! Anyway it was my favourite.
Both blog & puzzle very enjoyable. I didn’t fare so well in the SW quadrant, but an education nonetheless.
Thank you!
Thanks Budmo and Pierre Great Quiptic and blog. I knew about Tuvalu because of their ownership of the .tv domain, which I gather makes them a pretty penny!
24a might at a stretch sound like tu vas lieu – you go there en Francais as spoken badly… tho I agree the “have to go” means toilets usually.