Guardian Quick Cryptic 121 by Maskarade

This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here

This week’s puzzle sees the 11th Quick Crytic from Maskarade and back to familiar clue types. This puzzle has anagrams and hidden words with all the letters in the clues, and charades and reversals where the words and letters need to be found by the solver.

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.
anagram minus – letters being used are shown as capitals in brackets, with the unused letter in lower case and square brackets – so fluttering (OWLET[s])* becomes TOWEL.
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:

Anagram Anagram of answer and hint that there’s an anagram
‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON (crime)
Hidden word(s) Answer hidden in clue’s words
‘Some haVE ALtered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
Charade Combination of synonyms/abbrevs
‘Qualify to get drink for ID (8)’ gives PASSPORT (pass + port)
(see also above as this description misses abbreviations).
Reversal Answer backwards, and a hint that we’re reversing
‘Deity’s pet returns (3)’ gives GOD (deity) from DOG < (pet reversed).

	ACROSS	Click on “Answer” to see the solutions
1	Spy moving centre stage (6,5)	Answer SECRET AGENT
	Parsing anagram of (CENTRE STAGE)* with an anagrind of “moving”.
7	Drive off composer (5)	Answer VERDI
	Parsing anagram of (DRIVE)* with an anagrind of “off”, for this composer.
8	He drinks and is a bit blotto, perhaps (5)	Answer TOPER
	Parsing hidden word(s) (a bit of) of blotTO PERhaps for a word that the dictionaries say has been around since the 1600s and is known in both British and American English.
9	Space around heath (4)	Answer ROOM
	Parsing reversal (around) of MOOR < (heath) – and I needed the crossers to know which way round this went in: the definition here does come from the first word in the clue, so the grammar does follow the usual direction in English, definition = (reversal indicator) (word to be reversed), but I don’t think it’s clear without the crossers. Some people argue that clues should be soluble without crossers, but others think that it’s a crossword puzzle, so use of crossers is expected.
11	Advanced, specialist component of White Christmas (2-4)	Answer HI-TECH
	Parsing hidden word(s) (component of) in wHI-TE CHristmas, and the usual trick of ignoring punctuation (I’ve added it in here) – which you can usually ignore, until you can’t.
13	Backing graduates, an Uncle from USA (3)	Answer SAM
	Parsing reversal (backing) of MAS < (graduates) – and this reversal is clear as the grammar of the cryptic clue tells us that reversing (backing) a word meaning graduates (MAS) gives us an uncle from the USA.
14	Lives with duke by cathedral (6)	Answer DWELLS
	Parsing charade of D (duke) + WELLS (cathedral). D for duke is old and when I checked, the references suggested that it is more often seen in crosswords and the usual abbreviation is Dk., but is a recognised abbreviation for “duc”, the French for duke.
15	Lives – again – on river (4)	Answer ISIS
	Parsing charade of IS (lives) + IS (again – so lives again), for this river. IS for lives comes from the crossword trick of using the verb “to be” to mean “live” and then using different forms of that verb – so in the third person “to be” or “he lives” becomes “he is”. It also occasionally appears as am or are.
17	Attack’s concerning where filming takes place (5)	Answer ONSET
	Parsing charade of ON (concerning) + SET (where filming takes place). “Concerning” in crosswordese often means “re” (from business jargon) but it can also mean “on” – re/on/concerning the next item on the agenda.
18	Composition taken from Penelope Radcliffe (5)	Answer OPERA
	Parsing hidden word(s) (taken from) in PenelOPE RAdcliffe. Some setters of the full fat cryptics often use names of well known people in their clues, as a way of misleading. I cannot find anyone famous called Penelope Radcliffe.
20	Battle spear damaged piece of armour (11)	Answer BREASTPLATE
	Parsing anagram of (BATTLE SPEAR)* with an anagrind of “damaged”.

	DOWN
1	Deserve, injured and cut (7)	Answer SEVERED
	Parsing anagram of (DESERVE)* with an anagrind of “injured”.
2	Some discarded vehicle (3)	Answer CAR
	Parsing hidden word(s) (some) in disCARded.
3	The hour is up – give out (4)	Answer EMIT
	Parsing reversal (is up) of TIME < (the hour), and this reversal, the cryptic grammar says that: word to reverse (meaning “the hour”) is reversed (is up, in a down clue) to give something that means to “give out”.
4	Martin out in NI county (6)	Answer ANTRIM
	Parsing anagram of (MARTIN)* with an anagrind of “out” to give this NI (Northern Irish) county.
5	Train former journalists (7)	Answer EXPRESS
	Parsing charade of EX (former) + PRESS (journalists) for this sort of train.
6	One of the high points in history (3)	Answer TOR
	Parsing hidden word(s) (in) hisTORy for this sort of high point – using a different example from the last few times I’ve linked to one of these geographical feature.
10	Supervise, when finished with bishop’s office (7)	Answer OVERSEE
	Parsing charade of OVER (when finished) + SEE (bishop’s office) – see is an old word for a diocese, which is still in regular use in crosswordland, office as in role.
11	Possesses some purchases (3)	Answer HAS
	Parsing hidden word(s) (some) of purcHASes with another word hidden inside another.
12	One’s been taken to house with platform (7)	Answer HOSTAGE
	Parsing charade of HO (house on maps) + STAGE (platform) and a cryptic definition.
13	Flapping tassel on tiles (6)	Answer SLATES
	Parsing anagram of (TASSEL)* with an anagrind of “flapping”.
16	Croquet arch Piglet’s friend flipped over (4)	Answer HOOP
	Parsing reversal (flipped over) of POOH < (Piglet’s friend), referring to this friend of Piglet and the second time I’ve been reminded of Alice in Wonderland in this puzzle.
17	Part of the regalia small brother overturned (3)	Answer ORB
	Parsing reversal (overturned) of BRO < (small brother) for part of this regalia.
19	Greek letter and a note turned up (3)	Answer ETA
	Parsing reversal (turned up) – but I think this is a reversal of a charade – of A (from the clue) + TE (note). The note comes from the sol-fa scale, doh/do re me/mi fah/fa so/soh lah/la ti/te doh, with various spellings

7 comments on “Guardian Quick Cryptic 121 by Maskarade”

Shanne

#1 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 08:25

Today’s entertainment is one of the horticultural shows and I’ve got to place exhibits (not mine) and collect them later.
Mary

#2 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 08:42

This was a total pleasure that made me feel that I am learning after all. Thankyou both!
Mary

#3 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 08:44

Shanne@2 sounds like you are doing things for everyone! Enjoy the show!
Pob

#4 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 08:57

9a does seem more logical to read the other way, unless I’m missing some subtlety. Without the crosser, I definitely would have confidently played MOOR.
Jen

#5 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 09:15

Thanks Shanne. Straightforward solve with a few new words to add to crossword vocab eg ‘backing’ signifying a reversal.

9A: I had already solved 1D so automatically deduced it was ‘ROOM’ and not ‘MOOR’. But had I not, I enjoy the ambivalence; all part of the solve.

Thanks Maskerade.
thecronester

#6 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 09:49

Good fun. Held up by some of the reversals as I needed a crosser here and there to resolve. 12d was my last, took me ages to spot how things worked for that one with the house abbreviation. Nice QC, thank you Maskarade, and Shanne for your clear explanations of the wordplay.
Andrea

#7 - Sat 25th Jul 26, 10:31

Mas is totally new to me. I got it from the solution, but wasn’t sure. Even on Google I had to search for it, it wasn’t anywhere near the top.
Also, it seems to me that musical notes can be spelled with any number of random letters. Today’s is a new one to me.

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7 comments on “Guardian Quick Cryptic 121 by Maskarade”

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