It’s been quite a while since the last Beale Quiptic, so it took a bit of re-orientation to his style. The NE corner was last to be completed. Thanks to Beale. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Drivers tucked into fresh motel porridge (7)
OATMEAL : AA(abbrev. for Automobile Association;the drivers’ organisation) contained in(tucked into) anagram of(fresh) MOTEL. Note the separation of the As.
5 Drink alcohol for comfort (7)
SUPPORT : SUP(to drink, in small sips) + PORT(an alcoholic drink).
Answer: To sustain a person or thing under trial or affliction.
9 Letter about current agreement (9)
CHARACTER : AC(abbrev. for alternating current;electricity suppy) contained in(about …) CHARTER(a document incorporating an institution, or an agreement for the hire of a ship). The clue is to be read “Letter about current, agreement.” as an alternative construction to “Letter agreement about current.”
10 Decided to change depot (5)
OPTED : Anagram of(to change) DEPOT.
11 Ready with rent rebate at last (4)
RIPE : RIP(to rent;to tear) + last letter of(… at last) “rebate”.
12 In a manner of speaking, without a clue (10)
INDICATION : IN + DICTION(a manner of speaking;of enunciating words and sounds) containing(without) A.
14 Remains with newcomer and retired teacher (6)
DEBRIS : DEB(short for “debutante”, a young woman who is newly introduced into society) plus(and) reversal of(retired) SIR(a polite form of address for a teacher).
15 Exclamation comes out of the blue! (7)
HEAVENS : Double defn: 2nd: What’s up there;the sky;the blue.
16 One has to retain extraordinary stillness (7)
INERTIA : I(Roman numeral for “one”) plus(has to) anagram of(extraordinary) RETAIN. I thought “has” was redundant and could be omitted without affecting the surface.
18 Glances saucily away from game when drunk (6)
TIDDLY : “winks”(glances saucily;opens and closes one eye in a suggestive gesture) deleted from(away from) “tiddlywinks”(a game played with plastic discs).
Answer: British slang for being slightly intoxicated.
20 General discussion of liberal floral arrangement (4-3-3)
FREE-FOR-ALL : FREE(liberal;without limitation) + anagram of(arrangement) FLORAL.
Answer: An argument;heated discussion open to everyone in general and without organisation or rules.
21 The actors are shy (4)
CAST : Double defn: 2nd: A quick sudden throw;a cast.
24 Deterioration of worn central engine part (5)
ROTOR : ROT(a deterioration;a disintegration) plus(of) middle 2 letters of(… central) “worn”.
25 Spontaneously smile upon stumbling (2,7)
ON IMPULSE : Anagram of(stumbling) SMILE UPON.
26 Affectionate address by veteran runner (3,4)
OLD BEAN : OLD(veteran) + BEAN(a runner plant).
27 Dance performed with exaggerated content (7)
GAVOTTE : GAVE(performed as entertainment, as in “he gave a recital”) containing(with … content) OTT(abbrev. for “over the top”;too much;exaggerated).
Down
1 With nothing to mark award? (5)
OSCAR : O(the letter that looks like zero;nothing) + SCAR(a mark of a healed wound).
2 Return to market place escaping, opening crush (7)
TRAMPLE : Reversal of(Return to) MART(a market place, as in a “car mart”) + PL(abbrev. for “place”, as in a street address) + first letter of(…, opening) “escaping”.
3 Style shown by some private landlords (4)
ELAN : Hidden in(shown by some) “private landlords”.
4 Relax when London weather is unsettled (3,4,4,4)
LET ONES HAIR DOWN : Anagram of(unsettled) LONDON WEATHER IS.
5 Frank expression clearly winning round student (8,7)
STRAIGHT TALKING : STRAIGHT(clearly;logically as in “thinking straight”) + TAKING(winning;charming) containing(round) L(the plate for a learner;student driver).
6 Stay to have a look at reported information (10)
PROPAGANDA : PROP(a stay;a support) plus(to) homophone of(reported) “gander”(slang for “to have a look at”).
Answer: Information deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, nation, cause, etc.
7 Unlikely to be away with the team (7)
OUTSIDE : OUT(to be away;not at home) plus(with) SIDE(a team in a contest).
Answer: Extremely unlikely, as in “an outside chance of winning”.
8 Old news (7)
TIDINGS : Cryptic defn: A term often used in former;olden times for “news”.
13 Sheer power might be shown by animal (5,5)
BRUTE FORCE : FORCE(might;power) plus(be shown by) BRUTE(an animal;a brutal beast). Or it’s just a cryptic defn.
16 Refusal to conclude this is hellish (7)
INFERNO : NO(an expression of refusal) placed under(to, in a down clue) INFER(to conclude;to derive by reasoning).
17 Chose to miss start of exclusive by journalist (7)
ELECTED : “select”(exclusive; carefully chosen, as in “a select group of friends”) minus its initial letter(to miss start of…) plus(by) ED(abbrev. for “editor”;a journalist).
19 Allow to look through brochure (7)
LEAFLET : LET(to allow) placed under(to, in a down clue) LEAF(to look through the pages of a book).
22 Subject: not us (fourth-rate) (5)
THEME : THEM(not us;third person plural pronoun) + fourth letter of(fourth-) “rate”.
23 Big names turn up with shady character (4)
SPIV : Reversal of(turn up) VIPS(abbrev. for “very important persons”;big names).
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For the answer to the last picture, there’s a pointer or two in the picture and in its caption: “This lady would be good in a photo finish.”
For answer to last pic please click here
Thanks, scchua. Indeed, we haven’t seen Beale for a while, and you’re right, you do get used to individual setters’ styles.
Enjoyed this one – just one or two tricky moments, but it all fell into place in the end. I liked TIDDLY, and thought the surface for LET ONE’S HAIR DOWN was good too.
Thanks scchua.
A nice crossword, although I am not sure about 19 – seems in the wrong order to me.
[[1 and 3 are Steve McQueen and Paul Newman from towering INFERNO]]
Quite good Quiptic, although I was unfamiliar with the use of ‘to’ in a down clue to mean ‘attached to.’ Presumably in 19, the ‘to’ has a similar role to that in 16.
Thanks scchua; I particularly liked TIDDLY and PROPAGANDA.
[[#2 is, of course, Burton and Taylor who both bagged an OSCAR for ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.’
#4 are Fred Astaire and Jennifer Jones, who also appeared in Towering INFERNO.
#5 looks like she has a bit too much SUPPORT or PROP, and she might be a DEB or she has ‘exaggerated content…………’
[[Muffyword & Robi, yes, those were Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Jennifer Jones and Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno. However, Burton and Taylor were in other movies, and that lady is what you say – maybe not a deb – and more, but, in addition to the picture, the caption gives another hint to the answer.]]
I enjoyed this Quiptic by Beale. My favourites were LET ONE’S HAIR DOWN, INDICATION, SUPPORT, GAVOTTE, RIPE, PROPAGANDA & TIDDLY.
A new word for me today was SPIV.
Thanks for the blog, scchua.
Thanks to Beale for the puzzle and scchua for the blog.
[[Burton and Taylor co-starred in The VIP’s in 1963. The final picture and quote are from Ladies Day at Ascot. Maybe she needs to Let Her Hair Down. Maybe not.
Cheers…
[[grandpuzzler, right about The VIPs, and you’ve got the Ascot part right. I’ve added a link under the picture to the answer.]]
I thought it was tough enough for a quiptic.