(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) A standard Quiptic puzzle, with lots of anagrams to help the solver. Enjoyable. Thanks to Moley. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Crooked cop able to identify fake pill (7)
PLACEBO : Anagram of(Crooked) COP ABLE.
5 Music coming from the French boat first (7)
SKIFFLE : LE(French for “the”) placed after(… first, in an across clue) SKIFF(a small flat-bottomed shallow-draft boat).
Defn: … featuring the washboard and the tea-chest bass.
9 Play a tune in observatory initially, then on terrace (5)
PATIO : 1st letters, respectively, of(initially) “Play a tune in observatory “.
10 Spoiled turf to throw when collecting fungi (9)
TRUFFLING : Anagram of(Spoiled) TURF + FLING(to throw;to cast off). Nowadays trained dogs can do it too, and they don’t eat what they find.
11 Bon vivants are an infamously supine race (10)
EPICUREANS : Anagram of(infamously) SUPINE RACE.
12 Jewel in ring father left (4)
OPAL : O(letter representing a ring shape) + PA(informal term for one’s father) + L(abbrev. for “left”).
14 Unfeeling prelate dealt with vehicle identification (6,5)
NUMBER PLATE : NUMB(unfeeling;without sensation) + anagram of(… dealt with) PRELATE.
18 Censored bowlers died tragically (11)
BOWDLERISED : Anagram of(tragically) BOWLERS DIED.
Answer: From Thomas Bowdler who published an edition of Shakespeare with what he considered indecent material removed.
21 Poems of almost all styles (4)
ODES : “modes”(styles;fashions) minus its 1st letter(almost all).
22 Gypsies‘ move set in train (10)
ITINERANTS : Anagram of(move) SET IN TRAIN.
25 Secured, after pause for a meal (9)
BREAKFAST : FAST(secured;firmly fixed, or, well, fastened) placed after(after, in an across clue) BREAK(a pause;a temporary interval of rest).
26 Villain‘s gore spilled around university (5)
ROGUE : Anagram of(spilled) GORE containing(around) U(abbrev. for “university”).
27 Journalist recalled retinue had to get off at a station (7)
DETRAIN : Reversal of(… recalled) ED(abbrev. for an editor;a journalist) + TRAIN(a retinue;a procession of people in attendance). Defn: … from a train.
28 Dress at one’s home ground (7)
HABITAT : HABIT(a distinctive dress or costume, especially of a religious order) + AT.
Down
1 Enthusiasm of up and coming salesman for spice (6)
PEPPER : PEP(enthusiasm;liveliness) + reversal of(up and coming) REP(abbrev. for a sales representative).
2 Rob from boat train on the way up to reach one’s goal (6)
ATTAIN : Reversal of(… on the way up, in a down clue) “Rob ” deleted from(from) “boat train “.
3 Silver-tongued Liberal unknown speaks in a spell-binding way (10)
ELOQUENTLY : ELOQUENT(silver-tongued;speaking persuasively) + L(abbrev. for a Liberal politician) + Y(one of the symbols in mathematics for an unknown variable). A not very satisfying kind of clue – where a (major) part of the wordplay is essentially the root word for the definition.
4 Bizarre route in need of repair (5)
OUTRE : Anagram of(… in need of repair) ROUTE. 5
Wastes new day inside square’s compound (9)
SQUANDERS : ND(abbrevs. for “new” and “day”, respectively) contained in(inside) anagram of(… compound) SQUARE’S.
6 Gen to illuminate notes Foreign Office initially assembled (4)
INFO : 1st letters, respectively, of(… initially assembled) “illuminate notes Foreign Office “.
Defn: Information.
7 Just tolerable drama (4,4)
FAIR PLAY : FAIR(of a tolerable standard, not good nor bad) + PLAY(a drama work on stage).
8 Somehow need to protect breach before being overwhelmed (8)
ENGULFED : Anagram of(Somehow) NEED containing(to protect) GULF(a breach;a wide gap).
13 Crustacean able to trap flies? (6,4)
SPIDER CRAB : Cryptic defn: … named after the insect that is able to trap flies.
15 Note two alluding to American author (4,5)
MARK TWAIN : MARK(to note;to indicate something that is to be distinguished from the rest) + TWAIN(two). I presume that “alluding” signifies that it is a pen name for the author.
16 Sailor, to a great extent badly bred, becomes engaged (8)
ABSORBED : AB(abbrev. for “able-bodied seaman”;a sailor) + SO(to a great extent, as in “she’s so fine”) + anagram of(badly) BRED.
17 Dainty, unusual set that’s most delightful (8)
SWEETEST : SWEET(dainty;cute) + anagram of(unusual) SET. Same comment as for 3 down.
19 Hero in audition in audition after sundown (6)
KNIGHT : Homophone of(in audition) “night”(the period after sundown).
20 Facet of dreadful spa using shock therapy (6)
ASPECT : Anagram of(dreadful) SPA plus(using) ECT(abbrev. for “electroconvulsive therapy”;shock therapy using electric currents). It would really come as a shock if that were part of the treatment at a spa … unless it was one that masochists went to – and a dreadful spa for others.
23 Negative church score (5)
NOTCH : NOT(indicating a negative) + CH(abbrev. for “church”).
Defn: A mark made for keeping tally, eg. with a V-shaped cut.
24 Lady’s fingers drawn by fine artist (4)
OKRA : OK(fine;okay) + RA(post-nominal letters indicating a member of the Royal Academy of Arts). Defn: Vegetable shaped like, well, lady’s or ladies’ fingers.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks, scchua
Yes, an enjoyable puzzle as usual from Moley but I agree about the lack of solver satisfaction in 3d. I felt that 8d was going a bit that way, too.
There were a few places where I thought that the wordplay was a bit lacking – 17d and 27a have the same problems that 3d has, and I didn’t massively like 5d either – anagramming “SQUARES” into “SQUA[nd]ERS” seems a bit weak. Still, it’s a Quiptic, and it’s well-pitched for that level. Just enough well-placed standard crosswordisms (“gen”, “AB”, “RA”) to help a beginner learn, but not so many that it gets overwhelming.
I found this to be one of the more straightforward Quiptic puzzles we’ve had for a while, but it was a pleasant solve while it lasted. ODES was my LOI in after SWEETEST. With ODES I found it unusual that it was the first letter dropped from “modes” rather than the last letter as there was no indication of this in the wordplay.
2d just doesn’t work for me: I don’t see a reversal, it’s simply the letters of rob deleted from ‘boat train’.
Good straightforward cluing for a Quiptic.
Thanks scchua; I assume in 21 you meant first letter.
George @4; I guess what was meant was that if you write BOAT TRAIN in the down clue, you are removing ROB going up.
Thanks Robi, I did mean the 1st letter (I guess, my subconscious didn’t accept the unusualness of it, as Andy B mentioned). Blog corrected.
I agree completely with Schroduck @2.
This was an almost perfect fit for the Quiptic brief. A few of the most common Crossword Abbrevs…some easy Anagrams…and simple CDs.
The only thing which grated slightly was so many clues where the solution-words in charade clues were split up into their obvious constituent parts (as others have commented), rather than something more artful…but maybe that does make it easier for a novice to solve – in which case, well done Moley!…great to see a Quiptic delivering what is promised.
As others have said, a fine Quiptic. Well done, Moley.
Yes: beginner here and this is what I expect unlike other recent Quiptic!
Thanks Moley and Scchua
I am learning how to solve these crosswords for about 10 days now. This is only the 6th quiptic I have attempted and it is just right for me.