Comments on: Guardian Quiptic 690 / Moley

By: Rodger

Rodger — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:02:51 +0000

Thanks, Big D. We have “smart aleck” in our language, but not “clever Dick.” Thanks, too, for glossing the puzzles here. I read the blogs very carefully, and find them keenly instructive.

Best,
R

By: Big Dave

Big Dave — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:44:34 +0000

@Rodger

Well done for tackling a UK puzzle.

12a has nothing to do with small California markets. “Small California” is the abreviated form of California, i.e. CAL, and “markets” is the rest of the anagram fodder. Smart Aleck and Clever Dick are both UK colloquial terms for someone who is too clever for their own good.

The first rule for solving cryptic crosswords is to ignore what is called the surface reading of the clue and just read it as a word puzzle.

By: Rodger

Rodger — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:35:09 +0000

A New Yorker, cryptic puzzles are a fresh continent for me. I spent a bit of practice on the 12×12 “Coffee Break Cryptics,” and am now ascending to the Guardian Quiptic. As Crypticsclue suggests above, the average level of difficulty of the Quiptic is just right for an apprentice like me. There is a language barrier. In 12a, for instance, I imagined that “California markets” must be a UK term for what we call strip malls, (small, confused) and that maybe “Clever Dick” might be a UK comic strip. Obviously, this leap left the entire northeast corner of the puzzle unsolvable. I got the rest, though.

By: una

una — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:51:22 +0000

Thanks to Moley and Blogger.

By: una

una — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:49:55 +0000

Thanks for the tip, CS.I enjoyed this ,more or less my level.Favourites wer 10a and 15d.

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:19:20 +0000

Thanks Moley and Big Dave.

Just about right for a Quiptic, apart from the Scottish shudder. I thought at first that the definition in 8d was ‘compressor’ and was about to complain, when I latterly saw ‘The way compressor;’ very nice!

I liked SMART ALECK, although I spent some thinking about ‘malls’ for markets. I lazily started to put ‘morose’ into 5a although it didn’t parse properly.

By: crosser

crosser — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:54:29 +0000

Thanks, Big Dave. I couldn’t parse 8d and your explanation showed how important it is not to be misled by intonation!

No problem solving 18a but I’d never heard of “squeaker” for “close call”, only “near squeak”.

By: jezza

jezza — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:16:28 +0000

I wondered at the time about 21a, and even put a question mark against it, then I suddenly thought it must be something to do with GRUE(SOME).
Thanks to Moley, and to Big Dave.

By: michelle

michelle — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:11:19 +0000

This was a very enjoyable puzzle. I think it was just the right level of difficulty for a Quiptic, easy in parts because of the many anagrams and not so difficult that a beginner like me might give up without finishing. It took about 40 minutes to complete, which is fast for me. Thanks to fifteensquared, I think I have made some improvement.

First in was 18 and I solved most of the lower half quite quickly but then slowed down in top half. I found the SE corner most challenging.

I liked 8a, 12a, 1d, 3d.

Last in was 21a which I solved but could not parse.

Thanks for the blog, Big Dave. As one of the solvers from “south of the border” I appreciate your explanation. No, I had never, ever heard of GRUE but I certainly will store it for future use in solving cryptic crosswords.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:56:45 +0000

This ‘usual suspect’ did enjoy this quiptic greatly, even if it didn’t take long. Thanks to Moley for the entertainment and BD for the explanations.

I wonder how many people new to cryptics actually know the Quiptic exists? Although fun for us addicts, they would help the newcomers get to grips with all the mysteries of cryptic clues in a fun and straightforward way.