Nutmeg continues to set the Quiptic, although she is now a regular compiler of the Guardian cryptic as well. It took me as long to do the NE corner of this puzzle as it did to do the rest. Nothing too controversial, but one or two clues might have been tough for less experienced solvers.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Office chat about the letters
POSTBAG
A charade of POST for ‘office’ and a reversal (‘about’) of GAB.
5 Spy soon replaced retiring agent
SNOOPER
I found this hard to solve, even when I had the first letter. It’s (SOON)* followed by PER for a reversal of REP. The anagrind is ‘replaced’ and the reversal indicator is ‘retiring’.
9 Miss West’s heard about source of meal
MAIZE
The setters’ favourite actress seems to be MAE WEST, she of the double entendre. So it’s a homophone of MAE’S. What the ‘about’ is doing in the clue I can’t say.
10 All English extremely stiff
EVERYBODY
A charade of E, VERY and BODY.
11 Rich altos arranged liberal accommodation for singers
CHOIRSTALL
(RICH ALTOS)* followed by L.
12 Head-to-head encounter unsettled Labour leader
DUEL
It no doubt will if they do decide to have a televised debate one of these days. DUE for ‘unsettled’ or ‘unpaid’ and L.
14 Favourites in form — trainer takes return flight
TEACHER’S PETS
A charade of TEACHER and a reversal of STEPS.
18 Editor-elect’s strange means of finding fiction?
LIE DETECTORS
(EDITOR ELECTS)*
21 Hearts of pirate crew not widely known
RARE
The middle letters (‘hearts’) of piRAte and cREw.
22 Cuff led to a tailored garment
DUFFLE COAT
(CUFF LED TO A)*
Edit: My apologies: I have mistranscribed the answer when writing up the blog. It needs to be DUFFEL COAT, but see the discussion below. Pierre
25 Limit of main route certain to be announced first
SHORELINE
A charade of SHORE and LINE. Nutmeg is suggesting that SHORE is a homophone of SURE. It isn’t where I come from.
26 Spare grand member of the family
GAUNT
A charade of G and AUNT.
27 Surplus tax changing hands in public
OVERTLY
A charade of OVER and TLY. ‘Tax’ is TRY and if you ‘change hands’ (R to L) then you get TLY.
28 Tackle difficulty Democrat avoided
HARNESS
HAR[D]NESS. ‘Tackle’ in the horsey, rather than wedding sense.
Down
1 I’m standing in purplish brown lava, turned to stone
PUMICE
An insertion of MI, ‘I’m standing’, in other words reversed in PUCE. Widely used industrially for polishing.
2 Former capital (SA) I left abruptly
SAIGON
A charade of SA, I and GON[E]. ‘Former’ because it’s now called Ho Chi Minh City.
3 Not seeing clearly, you once got into bed early at sea
BLEARY-EYED
An insertion of YE for an old word for ‘you’ in (BED EARLY)* The insertion indicator is ‘got into’ and the anagrind is ‘at sea’.
4 Queen comes back in to receive welcome
GREET
An insertion of ER reversed in GET.
5 Most appropriate to appear in case clutching one
SEEMLIEST
It’s fair, but is it most appropriate for a Quiptic? A charade of SEEM and I inserted into LEST (‘in case’). Lest we forget …
6 Just short of 50, 10 stone
ONYX
ON[L]Y followed by X for the Roman numeral for ’10’.
7 Got better under expert
PROCURED
Since it’s a down clue, it’s CURED under PRO.
8 Cavalier king beheaded stalwart supporter
ROYALIST
A charade of R for Rex or ‘king’ and [L]OYALIST.
13 Forecaster pulling orator’s leg
ASTROLOGER
(ORATORS LEG)* with ‘pulling’ as the unlikely anagrind.
15 Naivety ruled out in metropolis
CREDULITY
The setter is inviting you to put (RULED)* in CITY. I wouldn’t immediately think of these two words as synonymous, but my Thesaurus gives them as such, so fair enough.
16 Great king’s daughter lacking company out of doors
ALFRESCO
ALFRE[D]’S the Great followed by CO. He beat the crap out of the Viking invaders, then made friends with them and became the first King of ‘England’. Top bloke.
17 More safe cracking causing alarm
FEARSOME
(MORE SAFE)*
19 Stubborn chap keeps turning up to fix unit
MODULE
An insertion of OD, a reversal (‘turning up’) of DO in MULE. DO has myriad meanings and I suppose ‘to fix’ is one of them: ‘I’ll do the brakes on your bike this afternoon’.
20 Data, including university’s rank
STATUS
An insertion of U in STATS.
23 Meat served in Raffles Hotel
FLESH
Hidden in RaFLES Hotel. Bring me flesh and bring me wine … and still used in this sense in many Germanic languages: German itself has das Fleisch.
24 Amphibian from west caught in snare
NEWT
An insertion of W in NET for the inebriated amphibian.
Bloke goes into a bar with his pet newt. Barman sees the animal and asks ‘What’s his name?’ Man replies: ‘Tiny’. ‘Really’, says the barman. ‘Why is he called that?’. ‘Because he’s my newt.’ Good job Nutmeg’s crosswords are better than my jokes.
Another delightful puzzle from Nutmeg, but, once again, I thought that this one would have been more appropriate as a daily cryptic rather than a Quiptic. Some of the clues were quite tricky, and it would be counterproductive to intimidate inexperienced solvers for whom the Quiptic is intended.
I agree with George – his comment says exactly what I was going to put in mine.
22a should be DUFFEL not duffle…. Pip!Pip!
A very enjoyable puzzle that I thought was on the border of Quiptic/Cryptic territory. I finished in the SE with MODULE after HARNESS.
Re: UncleAda@3’s comment, I waited until I had the checker from 13dn before I entered DUFFEL COAT because I honestly couldn’t remember if it was spelt that way or “duffle”.
There must be an error. The correct “DUFFLE” coat at 22AC will not permit 13D ASTROLOGER; the incorrect “DUFFEL”, however, will.
With the exception of OVERTLY, I thought this was pitched about right for a quiptic. Nutmeg illustrates a variety of cluing techniques in some nice surfaces.
Thanks, Nutmeg and Pierre.
My bad@ 5. I see now that DUFFEL is a rare, though alternative, spelling.
Jeff @ 5 & 7:-
DUFFEL in the Belgian province of Antwerp
The town gives its name to a heavy woollen cloth used to make overcoats, especially for the military, and various kinds of luggage. (Wiki) Neither rare nor alternative in Belgium!
In fact, my bad. The correct answer is DUFFEL COAT, which gives the correct crossers. In my haste to type the blog I have mistakenly put DUFFLE COAT. Both are accepted, but as Uncle Ada says, it’s the town in Belgium where the material comes from, so should really be – as Nutmeg has clued it – DUFFEL.
Thanks Nutmeg and Pierre
Some very clever clueing – in fact DUEL was so clever that I failed on it and cheated. Easily full cryptic standard, I thought – it took me longer than today’s Shed.
Is it reasonable to censure the phrase “My Bad”?
Your Bad What?
Just trying to get down with the kids, Hizzoner …
Not sure whether this is quiptic or cryptic standard, but it’s excellent entertainment either way.
In 9, I think the homophone indicator is HEARD ABOUT rather than just HEARD. In 19, DO could be FIX in the sense of “cheat”.
Loved the newt joke, Pierre! Thanks for that and the blog, and thanks to Nutmeg, too.
Thanks, phitonelly – HEARD ABOUT as the homophone indicator makes perfect sense.
Too hard for me (beginner)
A couple of weeks now where the Quiptic is not what it says on the tin…..