Guardian Quiptic 1,397/Harpo

Harpo is on the oche throwing some gentle Quiptic darts at us this morning. This one went in steadily for me: some well-positioned anagrams to give me a foothold in the grid, then some cryptic definitions to wrestle with to get me over the line.

There is a nina in the puzzle. For newbies, a nina is a hidden message, and today it’s along the top and right-hand side of the grid, spelling OUTSIDE THE BOX. Whether this is to do with having to think outside the box to get the cryptic definitions, I know not.

Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

8 Wild goat seen in prehistoric period
STONE AGE
Great surface reading and an easy anagram to start us off. (GOAT SEEN)* with ‘wild’ as the anagram.

9 Sweet nothing when alpha ousts husband
NOUGAT
Harpo is inviting you to replace the H in NOUGHT with A for ‘alpha’ in the NATO/phonetic alphabet. Strictly, it’s ALFA, since not all languages have the PH to F correspondence. It’s also JULIETT, but setters ignore that too and everybody gets on with their life.

10 Poor stooge and journalist decline through neglect
GO TO SEED
A charade of (STOOGE)* and ED. The anagrind is ‘poor’.

11 Mentioned rugby forward’s pipe
HOOKAH
A soundalike clue (‘mentioned’) for HOOKER.

12 Locksmith that’s scored?
BARBER OF SEVILLE
A cd. There are two bits of cryptic whimsy: you have to think of a BARBER as someone who looks after your ‘locks’; and it’s ‘scored’ because it’s an opera buffa by Rossini.

15 Ally ousts Republican devil
FIEND
F[R]IEND

16 Clergyman cut grass border
VERGE
VERGE[R]

20 Capacity to talk big: ‘get off that,’ he exploded
THE GIFT OF THE GAB
(BIG GET OFF THAT HE)* with ‘exploded’ as the anagrind.

21 Sick owners deteriorate
WORSEN
(OWNERS)* with ‘sick’ as the anagrind.

23 Passionate love for bird
FLAMINGO
A charade of FLAMING and O and an opportunity for the Obligatory Pierre Bird Link.  What the pair shown here are doing, I’m not quite sure.

25 Cancel permit to enter river
DELETE
An insertion of LET in DEE. The insertion indicator is ‘to enter’.

26 Clever clogs needing support with primary email folder?
BRAINBOX
A charade of BRA and INBOX.

Down

1 Old male cat occupying bronze padded seat
OTTOMAN
A charade of O and TOM inserted into TAN. The insertion indicator is ‘occupying’.

2 Definite nasty bug in donut
UNDOUBTING
(BUG IN DONUT)* with ‘nasty’ as the anagrind.

3 Nick cheers on vacuous karaoke
TAKE
A charade of TA and K[ARAOK]E.

4 Dismiss son, nothing to add over fine
SEND OFF
A charade of S, END OF and F. The reference is to the beautiful game (and a few others). The usage is colloquial. ‘We are not going on holiday with your mother. End of.’

5 As things transpired, where athletes would compete
IN THE EVENT
A cd cum dd.

6 Spanish American silver peso found in corduroys
DURO
Hidden in corDUROys.

7 Shell of areca (betel) nuts fit for consumption
EATABLE
(A[REC]A BETEL)* with ‘nuts’ as the anagrind.

13 On which being in a union is often indicated
RING FINGER
A cd.

14 Component of engine dirt ruined
INGREDIENT
(ENGINE DIRT)* with ‘ruined’ as the anagrind.

17 Article more dodgy – it requires proof
THEOREM
A charade of THE and (MORE)* with ‘dodgy’ as the anagrind.

18 Votes against suppressing super chats
CONFABS
An insertion of FAB in CONS. The insertion indicator is ‘suppressing’.

19 Overseas capital gains initially put into Barclays? All right
BANGKOK
An insertion of G for the initial letter of ‘gains’ in BANK and OK. The insertion indicator is ‘put into’.

22 For some, Jupiter rises in Middle Eastern port
SUEZ
This was my last one in, but it shouldn’t have been, really. SUEZ isn’t an obscure port. The Jupiter bit was the deception I couldn’t initially see: ZEUS is the equivalent god and you need to reverse that (‘rises’ since it’s a down clue) to get your solution.

24 Sadly, dish of cold vegetables mostly thrown up
ALAS
SALA[D] reversed. Again, ‘thrown up’ works as a reversal indicator because it’s a down clue.

Many thanks to Harpo for this week’s Quiptic.