Nutmeg started setting for the Guardian Cryptic a while ago and her puzzles there have been well-received. But I’m glad she’s still doing the Quiptic, because she generally manages to set an accessible puzzle with a good range of cluing devices, some clever wordplay and smooth surfaces. Just like this one.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Clergyman speaking on Dumbo, a Hollywood legend
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
A charade of CHARLIE for ‘Dumbo’ (‘he’s a right Charlie’) and a homophone (‘speaking’) of CHAPLAIN.
8 Poison? We’ve no more bottles
VENOM
Hidden in we’VE NO More.
9 Stonecutter‘s taunt fairly restrained
JEWELLER
An insertion of WELL in JEER.
11 Boys stripped in assembly with great style
ROYALLY
Nutmeg is inviting you to strip the outside letters from ‘boys’ and insert that in RALLY.
12 Area is reformed, inwardly united as a huge land mass
EURASIA
An insertion of U in (AREA IS)*
13 Correct errors in government after brief first attempt
DEBUG
A charade of DEBU[T] and G.
15 Takes no notice of what bargain hunters want
DISCOUNTS
A dd.
17 Easy-going, fit sailor in lead at sea
ADAPTABLE
An insertion of APT AB in (LEAD)*
20 Unblemished clubs heading list
CLEAN
A charade of C and LEAN.
21 Coming in to land, cricket side gets support
ONSHORE
A charade of ON for the leg ‘side’ in cricket and SHORE for ‘support’.
23 Hot drink — gripe water, essentially brewed?
BEEF TEA
BEEF for ‘gripe’ is followed by an anagram of ATE, the middle letters (‘essentially’) of wATEr, with ‘brewed’ as the anagrind.
25 Despot‘s schedule withdrawn after decree banishing leader
DICTATOR
[E]DICT plus ROTA reversed. The removal indicator is ‘banishing leader’ and the reversal indicator is ‘withdrawn’.
26 Peculiarity of Judas, having renounced gold?
TRAITOR
TRAIT[OR]. Both AU and OR are used to clue ‘gold’.
27 Cheeky kid who’s taken a shot of a shoplifter?
WHIPPERSNAPPER
A rather clever cd cum dd.
Down
1 Marshal gave one crowd transport across prairie
COVERED WAGON
(GAVE ONE CROWD)* with ‘marshal’ as the anagrind. The sort of wagons that you form a circle with when the injuns are coming for you.
2 Harry turning, say, on naval guards
ANNOY
Hidden reversed in saY ON NAval.
3 Travelling mile over land, celebrities long for it
LIMELIGHT
A charade of (MILE)* and LIGHT for ‘land’ in its ALIGHT sense.
4 Experienced Irish novelist caught out in finish
ENJOYED
An insertion of JOY[C]E in END, referencing James JOYCE, the author of Ulysees (and much else, of course).
5 Those bewailing ghastly errors
HOWLERS
A dd.
6 Old nuclear deterrent is missing from the Arctic, say
POLAR
The old submarine-launched nuclear missile was POLARIS. So it’s POLAR[IS].
7 Wreck since seen at bottom
IN ESSENCE
(SINCE SEEN)* with ‘wreck’ as the anagrind.
10 Provoking activity — consuming wine in car
CAUSING A STIR
Nice surface. It’s an insertion of USING ASTI in CAR. I suppose an indication that this is the Quiptic is that the setter has given us ‘car’ rather than ‘vehicle’.
14 What broomstick does at Hallowe’en no Catholic tolerates
BEARS WITH
Well, I put in HOLDS WITH to start with, which works, I think. But Nutmeg’s way is to suggest that the broomstick BEARS WITCH, so when you’ve removed C for ‘Catholic’ from the second word, you’ve got your answer.
16 Group of players running short race
ORCHESTRA
(SHORT RACE)* with ‘running’ as the anagrind. And the setter has left the carthorse safely in her stable.
18 Speak with quiet intensity about getting into swim
BREATHE
An insertion of RE for ‘about’ in BATHE. I wasn’t sure about the precision of the definition, but my Collins gives the example ‘to breathe words of love’, so fair enough.
19 Nutmeg turns up, yelps and takes flight
EMBARKS
A reversal of ME (‘Nutmeg’) and BARKS. If she ever decided to come to a Sloggers & Betters event, this would never happen, I’m certain.
22 Where H or C might appear handy?
ON TAP
A dd.
24 Merchant ship‘s master in role reversal
TRAMP
An insertion of M for ‘master’, as in MA for example, in a reversal of PART for ‘role’ gives you an ocean taxi.
Brava, Nutmeg. Keep them coming, please.
Thanks, Pierre and Nutmeg for an enjoyable puzzle.
I don’t know much about Charlie Chaplin films but ‘Limelight’, ‘The Great Dictator’ and ‘The Tramp’ spring to mind. There may well be more but I’m too pushed for time today to go googling.
Thank you, Eileen. I am sure you are right: there is a ghost theme of Chaplin films. Can’t find any more than the three you have listed.
My excuses: the Quiptic never does ghost themes; I’m rubbish at spotting them anyway; and in my rush to get the blog out, I didn’t revisit the finished grid. [That’s enough excuses now. Ed]
Thanks to Nutmeg and to Pierre.
I was a bit unsure about EMBARKS at 19d, since I’d always thought it meant “gets on a barque” (of course, it’s perfectly possible to “take flight” on a ship or indeed on a scooter).
So I looked in my Chambers.
In my older one (1990, the definition of embark is, essentially, “to get on a ship”
However, in my newer 12th ed., the def. is “to get on a ship or aircraft”
Funny old game, this evolution of language
Welcome, baerchen. I think your sense of the current use of EMBARK and DISEMBARK is right. It used to be to do with ships, but now it’s widely used for aircraft. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now ready to disembark through the front doors.’ At least it avoids the horrid American English version: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time we are ready to deplane.’
I found this a little more difficult than today’s cryptic, and a lot more fun. I really do like Nutmeg’s puzzles.
Another very enjoyable Nutmeg puzzle. I think I may have made the observation in the past that some of her Quiptic puzzles were on the difficult side, but this one seemed just right. BEARS WITH was my LOI after DEBUG.
I spotted TRAMP and DICTATOR in relation to CHARLIE CHAPLIN but missed LIMELIGHT. I wondered whether COVERED WAGON might have had something to do with Chaplin, but although there was a 1923 film called The Covered Wagon he had nothing to do with it as far as I can tell, and it seems too tenuous a connection to THE GOLD RUSH. Similarly, WHIPPERSNAPPER (which made me smile) has but a tenuous connection to THE KID.
Nice puzzle but I thought a bit too difficult for a Quiptic – at least it caused me more problems than today’s cryptic.
Thanks Pierre; I loved BEARS WITH after I at last got it and WHIPPERSNAPPER.
I thought that the Quiptic was supposed to be for beginners!
Far, far, far tougher than today’s Cryptic!