Turnstone has the Quiptic for us this week. Nothing too much to frighten the horses here, I fancy, which is as it should be.
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 Buffet’s ban on lettuce?
SALAD BAR
A dd cum cd. Whimsically, a ‘ban on lettuce’ could be a SALAD BAR.
6 Writing in small underground chamber made out
SCRIPT
A charade of S and a soundalike (‘made out’) of CRYPT.
9 Picture of OT lawgiver
MOSAIC
A dd. MOSAIC is the adjective describing the prophet Moses.
10 Cooks up good puzzles
GRIDDLES
A charade of G and RIDDLES.
11 Large tins moulded into shapes
TRIANGLES
(LARGE TINS)* with ‘moulded’ as the anagrind.
13 Speedy incursion arresting leader of party
RAPID
An insertion of P for the initial letter of ‘party’ in RAID. The insertion indicator is ‘arresting’.
15 Coloured pencil made from carbon and artificial substance
CRAYON
A charade of C and RAYON.
17 Former students of university in Milan mingled
ALUMNI
An insertion of U in (MILAN)* The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the anagrind is ‘mingled’. Former students need a bit of basic Latin to get right: ALUMNUS and ALUMNI for boys and ALUMNA and ALUMNAE for girls.
18 Some butter in a film
PATINA
A charade of PAT, IN and A.
19 Penguin eagerly shelters another kind of fowl
GUINEA
Hidden in PenGUIN EAgerly.
21 Overheard by some, trapped in enclosed space
COURT
A soundalike clue (‘overheard’) of CAUGHT. In a nod to rhotic speakers, Brockwell has included ‘by some’ in the clue.
22 French crew at first enthusiastically rows boat
FREIGHTER
A charade of FR, EIGHT and ER for the initial letters of ‘enthusiastially’ and ‘rows’.
25 A farm animal hiding in lots of wood
MAHOGANY
An insertion of A HOG in MANY. The insertion indicator is ‘hiding in’.
26 Just polish stone
HONEST
A charade of HONE and ST.
28 Return some balls in nets for game
TENNIS
Hidden reversed in ballS IN NETs.
29 Sends out starters of rich arancini – a diet’s abandoned
RADIATES
A charade of R and A for the initial letters of ‘rich’ and ‘arancini’ and (A DIETS)* with ‘abandoned’ as the anagrind.
Down
2 Fuss about party
ADO
I want this to be a charade of A and DO, but A for ‘about’ seems a bit of a stretch.
3 Like a new academic position
ASANA
A charade of AS, A, N and A. The yoga position.
4 Previous history of support crushed
BACKGROUND
A charade of BACK and GROUND.
5 River bird’s lament
REGRET
A charade of R and EGRET.
6 Quickly moves up short drive
SPIN
A reversal of NIPS. ‘Moves up’ works because it’s a down clue.
7 Lands more jumping fish
RED SALMON
(LANDS MORE)* with ‘jumping’ as the anagrind.
8 Sudden rain
PRECIPITATE
A dd.
12 Give and take list of instructions accommodating appalling actor
RECIPROCATE
An insertion of (ACTOR)* in RECIPE. The insertion indicator is ‘accommodating’ and the anagrind is ‘appalling’.
14 Waved to attract attention if shoulder broken
FLOURISHED
(IF SHOULDER)* with ‘broken’ as the anagrind.
16 PM behind back-to-back denials
AFTERNOON
A charade of AFTER, NO and NO reversed.
20 Maybe Grace and Ray taken in by sales agent in retrospect
PRAYER
An insertion of RAY in REP reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘taken in by’.
23 Dye found in lichen naturally
HENNA
Hidden in licHEN NAturally.
24 Cools down enthusiasts
FANS
A dd.
27 Prosecute woman
SUE
Another dd.
Many thanks to Brockwell for this week’s Quiptic.
Are Brockwell and Turnstone the same person?
No, they are not, Crispy. That was just muppetry on my part. Blog now corrected.
It’s Sunday morning – these things happen. Feel free to delete my first comment in case it confuses people
Nothing too taxing. I learnt that Moses had his very own adjective. The yoga position my only blind spot.
Good fun.
Thanks Turnstone and Pierre
A DNF for me – nho ASANA.
AFTERNOON very clever!
Is “previous” superfluous in 4D? Surely “previous history” is tautological, and the clue works just as well without it.
That certainly was quick!
No probs at all – simple surfaces and clueing throughout.
‘back to back denials’ the only tricky bit of wordplay for me, but once PM meaning ‘after lunch’ was seen, it became obvious.
Some lovely clues with MOSAIC being my LOI. I thought PRAYER and AFTERNOON were delightful.
Ta Turnstone & Pierre.
Some lovely clues with MOSAIC being my LOI. I thought PRAYER and AFTERNOON were delightful.
Ta Turnstone & Pierre.
Just a note: the last line of the blog thanks Brockwell instead of Turnstone.
So MOSAIC is the adjective for Moses. That’s a new one for me. (I mean, twas an obvious guess, but I didn’t know the connection.) Shall now have a happy browse to discover why the artwork acquired that name.
(Maybe Moses was notoriously clumsy, and tried to make amends by creating pictures…)
PRAYER and AFTERNOON were my favourites.
Thanks Turnstone & Pierre
Some lovely surfaces there
I quite liked the clue for TENNIS, which pretty much describes how it goes whenever I try to play tennis.
Wellbeck @11 The ‘Mosaic books’ are the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Torah or the Pentateuch, traditionally thought to have been authored by Moses. That’s where I know it from.