Guardian 24311/Quantum
Posted by Colin Blackburn on February 14th, 2008
Too many cryptic definitions for my taste. The answers I’ve not blogged are probably CDs. Quantum’s best clues here are the short simple clues rather than the CDs.
* = anagram
< = reversal
“…” = homophone
dd = double definition
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PEGASUS | (EU GASPS)* | |
| 5 | COPYCAT | COP +Y + (ACT)* | |
| 9 | RAMBO | RAM + B.O. | |
| 10 | ABOMINATE | A + MOB< + IN + (EAT)* | just how I feel when I need a tea break and the queue in the cafe is too long. |
| 12 | STEM | dd | one of those annoying double definitions that took ages to get as I ran through synonyms of both words in my head. |
| 14 | ARCHIPELAGO | (A PAIR EG + LOCH)* | strange surface |
| 21 | TATE | (s)TATE | flap = state |
| 22 | BESTSELLER | BEST + “cellar” | I was surprised that the enumeration of (10) is correct. |
| 26 | MANSE | hidden &lit | excellent. |
| 27 | REDHEAD | (HAD REED)* | REDHEAD is often used to refer to the pochard. |
| 28 | SINCERE | CE in SIN+RE | nice clue. |
| Down | |||
| 1 | PARODY | DO< for T in PARTY | not sure what the surface means but I like the dual use of party. |
| 3 | SHORT RANGE | (GRANT HORSE)* | |
| 6 | PRIM | P+RIM | another simple but effective clue |
| 7 | CLAPTRAP | CLAP+TRAP | |
| 16 | COTTAGER | COT + (GREAT)* | the definition of COT here requires referring back to the main definition. |
| 17 | FESTERED | TREES* in FED | |
| 19 | PLUNGE | LUNG in PE | |
| 20 | BREEZE | dd | |
| 24 | MATE | dd | MATE = china (plate) = tea |
February 14th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I think Mate, 24 down refers to Mate tea found in south america. Any one help on 13 down ?
February 14th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Thanks for that, never heard of Mate tea.
13d I read as a CD referring to a WEATHERMAN being interested in bars (pressure) and glass (temperature measurement).
February 14th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Sorry, glass is a device for measuring pressure not temperature.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
1d Parody = skit. Party = Do, reversed and replacing T(ime) in Party
February 14th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Yes, I got the word play in 1d. However, I like surfaces to have some sense, I didn’t think this one did.
February 14th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Can anyone help on 25a? Its the last one I need….
February 14th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
GARGANTUA is a giant from a Rabelais book, ie a character “largely appearing”, it’s another cryptic definition.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Thanks Colin.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I just read a little about Rabelais and it turns out that his first book was published under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier, his real name was François Rabelais. He would have enjoyed cryptic crosswords!
February 14th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Ars magna (*)
Gentle Giant, anyone?
February 14th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
12 Annoying indeed! My first choice was HOLD which I wrote in in pen, only to discover moments later that obvious answer to 7 didn’t fit…
February 14th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hi, not posted before, but really enjoy coming here and looking up answers I can’t get. I couldn’t get 8d this time. Anyone like to enlighten me?
February 14th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
8D is THERMION.
I thought it was funny that the last down clue in today’s puzzle was “Friend for tea (4)” and the last down clue in yesterday’s puzzle was “Mate for tea? (5)”.
February 14th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Hey Kate – 8d is the following (yet another cryptic definition) – http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thermion. I don’t have any problems with Physics, but I only know about three sorts of plant and two of those come in a BLT. Note the setter’s name is “Quantum” – not much of a leap to suggest he is a fellow science geek.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I agree with what I think Colin is saying, and I found the whole puzzle rather unsatisfactory? Far too many CDs, some not very good (especially weatherman!). As for me expecting to know Rabelais – well…
February 14th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
8dn: Thermion is in Chambers (under ‘therm’) as ‘an electrically charged particle emitted by an incandescent body’. I agree with Stan that the setter being Quantum may be relevant, but his link to wiki ‘did not compute’.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thermion – my full-stop messed up the link.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Quantum is also Quark in the F.T – so it’s not strange that his crosswords have have a certain flavour.
February 15th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Q is my old Cheltenham friend Eric Burge, a retired lecturer and administrator who has a First in Physics from that great university for physics (Bristol).