This week’s Sunday cryptic crossword from the Guardian – found here
I found this a mostly straightforward Quiptic from Pangakupu – there are links where I suspect the general knowledge may be less well known. And there’s one clue where I really cannot see how the word play works.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BUTCHER |
Make a mess of Schubert, missing opening when playing (7)
|
| anagram minus – ([s]CHUBERT)* with an anagrind of “playing” and the instruction to remove the first letter (missing opening) – and the definition is misleading as it too could be an anagram indicator | ||
| 5 | CHICAGO |
US city smart in the past (7)
|
| charade of CHIC (smart) + AGO (in the past) | ||
| 9 | GROAN |
Sound of discomfort from good red horse? (5)
|
| charade of G (good) ROAN (red horse) with another misleading definition – “sound” is often a soundalike indicator | ||
| 10 | COMPLAINT |
Frenchman not elaborate in bed, leading to protest (9)
|
| insertion (in) of M (Frenchman) + PLAIN (not elaborate) inserted into COT (bed). M for Frenchman is the abbreviation for Monsieur | ||
| 11 | TESTAMENT |
What’s left in religious text? (9)
|
| double definition – ish (which is why the question mark) – what’s left is the last will and testament – and the Bible is divided into Old and New TESTAMENTS | ||
| 12 | EQUIP |
Provide material for joke after end of game (5)
|
| charade of QUIP (joke) after E (end of gamE) – with an instruction to order the clue components (after) | ||
| 13 | DRESS |
Garment rejected among lesser designs? (5)
|
| hidden reversal (rejected among) leSSER Designs < – the indicators do two jobs rejected (reversal) + among (hidden) | ||
| 15 | TRAMLINES |
Rebuilt terminals for transport routes (9)
|
| anagram (rebuilt) of (TERMINALS)* | ||
| 18 | PLUTOCRAT |
Cartoon dog and cat seizing tail of another fat cat? (9)
|
| charade of PLUTO (cartoon dog) + CAT (from the clue) around (seizing) R (tail of anotheR) | ||
| 19 | HAREM |
Area of New York evicting 50 women living together? (5)
|
| deletion – HARLEM (area of New York) removing (evicting) L (50 in Roman numerals) | ||
| 21 | LINED |
End of quatrain, say, showing signs of age? (5)
|
| double definition – ish (with another question mark) – a quatrain is a verse of four lines, so the end of a quatrain could be LINE D, if the lines are numbered A, B, C and D. | ||
| 23 | SWEET PEAS |
Multiple bloomers in having veg after dessert (5,4)
|
| charade of PEAS (veg) after SWEET (dessert) for these flowers – bloomers is a crosswordese way of saying flowers becasue they bloom. Sweet peas could be multiple bloomers either because there are several flowers on a stem or because the keep flowering if they are regularly cut. | ||
| 25 | RESILIENT |
Is taken aback by deception in lease? Readily recovering (9)
|
| insertion of IS < (IS taken aback) + (by) LIE (deception) in RENT (lease) = RE SI LIE NT. Yes, there are technical differences between “rent” and “lease” but they are often used interchangeably in many circumstances. | ||
| 26 | BRACE |
Support British competition (5)
|
| charade of B (British) + RACE (competition) | ||
| 27 | MALAYAN |
Some south-east Asian fellow penning a song (7)
|
| insertion (penning) of A LAY (a song) into MAN (fellow) – a LAY is a poem designed to be sung – see here | ||
| 28 | CHEDDAR |
Gorge in Somerset? He had to take daughter in car (7)
|
| insertion (to take) of HE’D (he had) + D (daughter) in CAR (from the clue) – for this place | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BIGOTED |
Substantial religious books edited, ignoring alternative views? (7)
|
| charade of BIG (substantial) + OT (religious books) + ED (edited). OT is the abbreviation for the Old Testament and is a regular in crosswords | ||
| 2 | TROUSSEAU |
Uses a tour to move around? It’s for after the wedding (9)
|
| anagram (to move around) of (USES A TOUR)* – and traditionally the TROUSSEAU was the bundle of clothes made by a bride to be to wear after her marriage, it comes from the French, means small bundle, and meant the personal possessions of the bride. | ||
| 3 | HENNA |
Hair dye Anne Hathaway initially promoted (5)
|
| this looks like a hidden reversal – found in ANNE Hathaway, when solving, I read it as an anagram of ANNE* + H is brought to the front (Initially promoted) – but there are no indicators for an anagram or something hidden. Promoted suggests a reversal in a down clue | ||
| 4 | ROCHESTER |
List includes revolutionary romantic hero (9)
|
| insertion (includes) of ROSTER (list) around (includes) CHE (revolutionary). CHE is crosswordlands favourite revolutionary. ROCHESTER is a romantic hero in Jane Eyre | ||
| 5 | COMET |
Old aeroplane company satisfied (5)
|
| charade of CO (company) + MET (satisfied) for the de Havilland COMET – the first commercial jet airliner | ||
| 6 | ILL HEALTH |
I left the hall, struggling – sickness? (3,6)
|
| charade plus anagram of I (from the clue) + L (left) + (THE HALL)* (struggling) | ||
| 7 | ADIEU |
Finish investing in a University? Farewell (5)
|
| insertion (investing) of DIE (finish) in A (from the clue) + U (university) | ||
| 8 | OCTOPUS |
A month’s work to get sea creature (7)
|
| charade of OCT (October – month) + OPUS (work) | ||
| 14 | SWORDPLAY |
Small component of clue? It’s combative stuff (9)
|
| charade of S (small) + WORD PLAY (component of a clue) | ||
| 16 | AUTHENTIC |
Real gold subsequently getting mark of correctness? Not quite (9)
|
| charade of AU (gold) + THEN (subsequently) + (getting) TIC[k] (mark of correctness) – not quite is an instruction to remove the last letter from “TICk”. | ||
| 17 | NURSEMAID |
Nanny with fake surname on documents? (9)
|
| anagram (fake) of (SURNAME)* to get NURSEMA + ID (documents) | ||
| 18 | PILGRIM |
Large house dismissing last dour religious traveller (7)
|
| charade of PIL[e] (large house, dismissing last) + GRIM (dour) | ||
| 20 | MISHEAR |
Fail to understand I’m upset over cut (7)
|
| reversal of IM < (I’m upset) + SHEAR (cut) | ||
| 22 | NASAL |
American agency taking line regarding the nose (5)
|
| charade of NASA (American agency) + (taking) L (line) | ||
| 23 | STERN |
Rear of ship is part of coaster, note (5)
|
| hidden word (is part of) coaSTER Note | ||
| 24 | TABLE |
Furniture item not likely to wobble? Not at first (5)
|
| decapitation (not at first) from [s]TABLE (not likely to wobble) |
It’s this setter’s third puzzle this week (counting Phi in the Independent) and another TESTAMENT to his clueing, if made easier here. My favourites were OCTOPUS and SWORDPLAY. I couldn’t parse LINED, which is another great clue. Thanks Pangakupu and Shanne!
I didn’t check the setter until I came here. It was a fitting puzzle for the slot with no resistance to talk of and just that meaning of LAY that I didn’t know.
I liked ROCHESTER, SWORDPLAY and PILGRIM.
Thanks Pangakupu and Shanne.
3d is perhaps better interpreted as a charade of ANNE (from the clue) + H (Hathaway initially) reversed (promoted in down clue).
Thanks to Pangakupu for a well-judged Quiptic and to Shanne for the usual clarity of her explanations.
Comment #4
Enjoyable Quiptic. My only quibble was with 3d as I couldn’t see a hidden indicator only the reversal although the answer was clear. Reading here I think AlanJ#3 has got it right in how the wordplay operates. Thanks Pangakupu and Shanne.
A very pleasant puzzle, maybe a bit on the easier end even for a Quiptic: but no complaints from me about that. Sunday breakfast crosswording is not for giving one a hard time!
ROCHESTER and SWORDPLAY were my favourites.
LINED was a bung-in, on the simple basis that “well, poems have lines, don’t they?”, so thank you, Shanne, for the deeper explanation (and the rest of the blog), and to Pangakupu for the entertainment.
Very good, and a nice clear blog. I wondered whether there should have been some indication that MALAYAN is the former (colonial) term for present-day Malaysians, as otherwise it comes across as a bit dated, possibly also slightly dismissive given the definition (‘some south-east Asian’). But otherwise all good, particularly PLUTOCRAT and RESILIENT.