A Quiptic that hits the spot from Pan this morning. Some clever cluing and nothing too controversial. I’m on a bit of a mission today, so just a brief blog (what do you mean, thank goodness for that?)
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Got upset about rubbish in cave
GROTTO
An insertion of ROT for ‘rubbish’ in (GOT)* The anagrind is ‘upset’.
4 Didn’t run into so-called vapour cloud
MISSED
A homophone of ‘mist’.
9 Useless English dandy
DUDE
A charade of DUD and E for ‘English’. I wouldn’t normally say that DUDE and ‘dandy’ are synonymous, although I guess you could say they were equivalents in British and American English.
10 Standards set for future performance worried idle genius
GUIDELINES
(IDLE GENIUS)*
11 Inventor of code left a little bit of food …
MORSEL
A charade of MORSE, as in Morse Code, and L.
12 … food taken into examination by court
TRIBUNAL
I do like spare ribs, but it’s the equally unhealthy BUN inserted into TRIAL. As usual, just ignore the ellipses.
13 Shopkeeper wants gene mutation
NEWSAGENT
(WANTS GENE)*
15 Not allowed to listen to musicians
BAND
People argue over clues like this, saying that it could be read either way, and I agree with them. But since it’s a four-letter answer, it can only be BAND as a homophone (‘to listen to’) of BANNED for ‘not allowed’.
16 Place to stop for refreshment in retro pie factory?
CAFE
Hidden, reversed, in piE FACtory.
17 New car tested in various locations
SCATTERED
(CAR TESTED)*
21 Enthusiast sat back before Gershwin’s penultimate American musical composition
FANTASIA
A charade of FAN, a reversal of SAT, I for the penultimate letter of Gershwin and A for America.
22 Astonished to get a degree with mark as far removed from A as possible
AMAZED
A charade of A, MA for ‘degree’ and ZED, which is indeed as far removed from A as possible.
24 Lip damaged during talk is flatter!
COMPLIMENT
An insertion of (LIP)* in COMMENT.
25 Place to sleep includes a cover
COAT
Another insertion: of A in COT.
26 Managed to get detectives off
RANCID
A charade of RAN and CID.
27 Good value and democratic way to serve cheese?
GRATED
A charade of G, RATE for ‘value’ and D. D for ‘democratic’? If you must.
Down
1 Sticky stuff coating lettuce produces sugar
GLUCOSE
An insertion of COS lettuce in GLUE.
2 Old fellows beginning to see signs of things to come
OMENS
A charade of O, MEN and S for the first letter of ‘see’.
3 Language used to label a piece of wood
TAGALOG
A charade of TAG, A and LOG. It’s spoken in the Philippines, and if it’s the first time you’ve come across it, make a mental note, because it crops up often in puzzles. I presume the letter order is helpful to setters.
5 One live broadcast upset part of Europe
IBERIA
A charade of I, BE for ‘live’ and AIR reversed.
6 Make a pretence of embracing technology’s lead with Kindle
STIMULATE
An insertion of T in SIMULATE.
7 Dad with heir surprisingly resistant to change
DIEHARD
(DAD HEIR)*
8 Pestilence has broken out in part of the Vatican
SISTINE CHAPEL
(PESTILENCE HAS)*
14 Means of keeping things from falling apart sure to add to endless work for secretary
SAFETY PIN
A charade of SAFE and TYPIN[G].
16 Lots of noise made when Eric and Ethel finally start a secret affair
CLAMOUR
A charade of C and L for the last letters of Eric and Ethel, followed by AMOUR.
18 Theatregoer losing heart to thespian in something with pulling power
TRACTOR
If you ‘dishearten’ theatregoer, you’re left with TR; put ACTOR for ‘thespian’ after that and you’ve got your answer.
19 Mere lad unfortunately turns green
EMERALD
(MERE LAD)*
20 A saint is hung upside down twice in this Italian town
ASSISI
A charade of A, S and IS reversed twice. Most famous for St Francis of Assisi.
23 Neckwear for a Glaswegian?
ASCOT
An ASCOT is a type of tie; and A SCOT could well be a Glaswegian.
Many thanks to Pan for our beginners’ puzzle this morning.
You might like to look again at 8d. Sistine Chapel is not an anagram of ‘pestilence has’ (Hint:count the i’s).
The anagram at 8d doesn’t quite work. The answer has two Is but the fodder has only one.
The “correct” answer for 8dn online is shown as “Sistene Chapel” which ties in with the anagram fodder, so I can only assume that Pan submitted the clue like that and Hugh didn’t pick it up. Very poor. Other than that it was a normal enjoyable Quiptic.
Delightful Quiptic, shame about SISTINE.
Thanks Pierre; I’ll make a mental note of TAGALOG for the future. I liked the SAFETY PIN clue even though it was 15 words long.
Well spotted. I must admit that I just stuck the answer in without carefully checking the anagram fodder. But then in my defence, you expect the answer to be spelt correctly …
9ac.
Dude … If you separate useless into “use less”, that gives “cut” + E for English, which gives “cute”.
A possible alternative answer for this clue. ?? Barbara
That’s an interesting way of looking at it, Barbara. Having had a bit more time to look at some reference books, DUDE is in fact given as a synonym of DANDY, along with COXCOMB, POPINJAY, DAPPERLING and BOULEVARDIER. So Pan is on solid ground, but I still don’t like it that much for ?U?E, which could be a squillion things.
As I have said on the cryptic page, I am surprised by the misspelling of Sistine, and, once again, I fail to understand why, although it is not too difficult, the Quiptic is more demanding than today’s cryptic.
I was sad about SISTINE too. I also wasted time trying to parse TRIBUNAL and its food – I was distracted not only by the RIB but but by some delicious TUNA too. Quite amused when I eventually clicked.