This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here
This puzzle is the 10th Quick Crytic from Dice (12th including two specials). This puzzle has anagrams and last letters with all the letters in the clues, charades and deletions where the words and letters need to be found by the solver. Dice always has a theme or something extra, and I think this time the theme is toys and children’s entertainment, but I could easily be wrong, I can see a lot of double Ls and some character names too.
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) - Charade Combination of synonyms/abbrevs
‘Qualify to get drink for ID (8)’ gives PASSPORT (pass + port)
This definition has not moved on – charades can use abbreviations, see above. - Deletion Remove letters from another word for answer
‘Car trip with no parking, bad thing (3)’ gives SIN (bad thing) from S[p]IN (car trip). - Last letters Final letters give answer
‘Finally pulL thE ruG showing limb (3)’ gives LEG
| ACROSS | Click on “Answer” to see the solutions | |
| 1 |
All noobs could make party decorations (8)
|
AnswerBALLOONS |
Parsinganagram of (ALL NOOBS)* with an anagrind of “could make”, so these letters rearranged could make. |
||
| 6 |
Scrappy figure, from ends of leftover sofa covering and merino wool material (3,4)
|
AnswerRAG DOLL |
Parsinglast letters (from ends of) from leftoveR sofA coverinG anD merinO wooL materiaL for one of these traditionally scrappy figures. |
||
| 7 |
Ban not over for beastly doctor (3)
|
AnswerVET |
Parsingdeletion (not over) from VET[o] (ban) – so removing O (over) from a word meaning “ban”. “Beastly doctor” as in a doctor for beasts. O for over comes from cricket – abbreviations on score cards. |
||
| 9 |
Logo I redesigned for shelter in the north (5)
|
AnswerIGLOO |
Parsinganagram of (LOGO I)* with an anagrind of “redesigned” – and again the definition, like the clue above, is alluding to the solution. |
||
| 10 |
Call English beauty (5)
|
AnswerBELLE |
Parsingcharade of BELL (call) + E (English). In UK English “give us a call/bell” is a colloquialism asking to catch up on the phone. E for English is in Chambers the Big Red Book (BRB). |
||
| 11 |
Small bricks no good to make lion (3)
|
AnswerLEO |
Parsingdeletion (no good) from LE[g]O (small bricks) – with the G (for good) removed. |
||
| 12 |
Nutcase’s second place of torture (5)
|
AnswerSHELL |
Parsingcharade of S (second) + HELL (place of torture). S for second is the SI unit of measurement for time. |
||
| 14 |
Desert pool’s old, with nothing changed (5)
|
AnswerOASIS |
Parsingcharade of O (old) + AS IS (nothing changed) – O for old is found in the Old Testament. |
||
| 16 |
US theatre award avoided by new play (3)
|
AnswerTOY |
Parsingdeletion (avoided by new) from TO[n]Y (US theatre award) with the N (for new) removed (avoided). N for new is seen in the New Testament. |
||
| 17 |
Last bits of this hot chilli lobster chowder trouble for mixer (7)
|
AnswerSTIRRER |
Parsinglast letters (last bits of) of thiS hoT chillI lobsteR chowdeR troublE foR. |
||
| 18 |
Sci-fi movie craft his parts differently. (8)
|
AnswerSTARSHIP |
Parsinganagram of (HIS PARTS)* with an anagrind of “differently” – and the trick in this clue is working out that the definition is “sci-fi movie craft”, so the anagram fodder has to be HIS PARTS (not CRAFT HIS). |
||
|
DOWN
|
||
| 1 |
Bread in pack by eastern lake (5)
|
AnswerBAGEL |
Parsingcharade of BAG (pack) + E (eastern) + L (lake) – L for lake is an abbreviation found on maps, for this sort of bread. |
||
| 2 |
Crap cleaner will shampoo lino floor to feel useful, finally (3,4)
|
AnswerLOO ROLL |
Parsingfinal letters (finally) of wilL shampoO linO flooR tO feeL usefuL with a somewhat quirky definition. |
||
| 3 |
Bird dish, not British (3)
|
AnswerOWL |
Parsingdeletion (not British) from [b]OWL (dish) – B for British turns up in lots of abbreviations – for example the BAFTAs or BA. |
||
| 4 |
New endings to brighten demo TV programme reel (5)
|
AnswerNOVEL |
Parsinglast letters (endings to) of brighteN demO TV programmE reeL. |
||
| 5 |
Teaches alien Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, perhaps (8)
|
AnswerTRAINSET |
Parsingcharade of TRAINS (teaches) + ET (alien) – with a “perhaps” as this is a definition by example (DBE). ET is the perennial crossword alien, who if you haven’t come across before needs filing away for future use. |
||
| 8 |
Rue tears about precious belongings (8)
|
AnswerTREASURE |
Parsinganagram of (RUE TEARS)* with an anagrind of “about” – about is one of those crossword indicators that can indicate an anagram, a reversal or an inclusion. |
||
| 10 |
Studious/strong> snob, so blotto drunk, alibi proves zilch, ultimately (7)
|
AnswerBOOKISH |
Parsinglast letters (ultimately) of snoB, sO blottO drunK alibI proveS zilcH. |
||
| 13 |
African country, for example – year, part time (5)
|
AnswerEGYPT |
Parsingcharade of EG (for exanple) + Y (year) + P/T (part time). |
||
| 15 |
Prost’s unusual grumpy sulk (5)
|
AnswerSTROP |
Parsinganagram of (PROST)* with an anagrind of “unusual”. For the surface, Prost was a Formula 1 racing driver. |
||
| 17 |
Gentleman taking ecstasy from father (3)
|
AnswerSIR |
Parsingdeletion (taking ecstasy) from SIR[e] (father) without the E (ecstasy). E for ecstasy comes from the abbreviation of the illegal party drug back in the 1980s. Several of these abbreviations linger in crosswords, even if they are no longer used in the street cultures where they originated. (H for heroin/horse, C for cocaine, E for ecstasy). |
My only quibble was nutcase without a space doesn’t have a definition that matches shell, as far as I could find. Should it have a question mark?
Otherwise it was on the easier side, today, I thought.
I agree on the easier side today. Enjoyed the deletion clue types, where I need the practice. The only guess work was in 5D, where I deduced the answer without remembering about ET, and 16A where I had to search for types of US theatre awards.
I thought that 4D would have worked without the ‘to’ and wondered if it had a purpose?
Belle is a character in Beauty and the Beast. Treasure Island or chest? Owl is a character too.
Thanks Shanne for the excellent blog and Dice for the crossword.
Fun quick cryptic. TRAINSET was perhaps my favourite. SHELL was my last in. I had every other letter and was then stuck on ‘place of torture’. For some reason I couldn’t see the obvious, but then the penny dropped 🙂
Thanks Shanne for the blog, and Dice for the puzzle.
Jen @2 that’s what I meant about additional links – I dithered about BELLE, OWL and TREASURE, LEO I also wondered about, having just bought one this summer.
Good fun for a Saturday, lots of clever little clues.
5D was my favourite, and enjoyed ‘Beastly Doctor’ for VET.
Also liked ‘Nutcase’ for 12A – gave me a chuckle once I worked it out.
Thanks Shanne & Dice
I really enjoyed practising the deletions particularly and nutcase made me smile. A very pleasant workout.
#3 – SHELL was also my last in for exactly the same reason. TREASURE also took me a while as I didn’t associate about as being an anagram indicator. The additional ‘s on 15D had me thinking I was doing the wrong thing there.
Overall managed the whole puzzle on my own so pleased with that. I struggle with charade clues in general so this felt good to get to 100%
After last week and my inability to finish the QC crossword, I found today’s easier and managed to complete it okay. 5D was my last one in .. I’d forgotten my film history until the penny finally dropped.
Good fun and good timing! Two days ago, Dice and I discussed Quick Cryptics (and more) at length. Feel free to check out “Talking Cryptics with Dice! (aka Guinevere; aka Kybos)” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0sAQrWB9tM Thank you, and thanks Shanne for a typically stellar blog. – tpg
Hi Jen @ 2 — 4d wouldn’t have worked grammatically without the ‘to’, as the indicator saying to select the final letters of the subsequent words only makes sense as “endings TO” (or “endings OF” would also work) those words… just saying “endings these words” wouldn’t have made logical sense as a phrase.
The precision of letter selection is something good setters pay a lot of attention to 😁
I got a lot of these from the definitions without understanding why, almost like a quick crossword, eg a desert pool is an oasis, a lion can be leo, bagel a type of bread, belle = beauty, then come here to get the explanation? So not sure how much I’m learning, but enjoyed the last letters ones