Orlando’s got the hang of this Quiptic thing, you know. A delightful puzzle, full of clear cluing and fine surface readings. I’ll be farming this one out to my friends who are just getting into the dark arts.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Birds in fisherman’s boots?
WADERS
A dd to kick us off.
4 Trees in middle of Seattle to start with
AT FIRST
An insertion of FIRS in ATT, which are the middle letters of ‘Seattle’.
9 Do one and all come in? Not entirely
PARTIALLY
An insertion of I ALL in PARTY.
10 Child following master craftsman
MASON
A charade of M and A SON.
11 Roman date to take in Caesar’s second thoughts
IDEAS
An insertion of A for the second letter of ‘Caesar’ in IDES. Beware the Ides of March, and all that.
12 University clubs before midday game
CAMBRIDGE
Fen Polytechnic is a charade of C, AM and BRIDGE.
13 Family member with a really empty store
GRANARY
A charade of GRAN, A and RY for the outside letters of ‘really’.
15 Monaco’s first in lists as race venue
LE MANS
An insertion of M for the first letter of ‘Monaco’ in LEANS.
17 Tender touch worries head of security
CARESS
A charade of CARES and S for the first letter of ‘security’.
19 True as true, ignoring the odds
SINCERE
A charade of SINCE for ‘as’ and RE for the even letters of ‘true’.
22 Eccentric eats filth? C’est la vie!
THAT’S LIFE!
(EATS FILTH)*
24 Little folk chopping themselves in half
ELVES
They must be beside themselves; but they are half of themsELVES.
26 Award kept in De Niro’s caravan?
OSCAR
I’m sure he keeps it on the mantlepiece, but according to the setter, it’s hidden in De NirOS CARavan.
27 Crime concealed by attendant in minister’s house
PARSONAGE
An insertion of ARSON in PAGE.
28 Good slimmer, one gathers
GLEANER
A charade of G and LEANER.
29 Baskerville’s capital resource — a hound
BASSET
The first letter of ‘Baskerville’ is followed by ASSET.
Down
1 Start off from exchange in London area
WAPPING
[S]WAPPING
2 Giggle’s beginning to interrupt dreadful sad song
DIRGE
An insertion of the first letter of ‘giggle’ in DIRE.
3 Restore part of harness, say
REINSTATE
A charade of REIN and STATE.
4 Lousy letters from Lamb, say
ABYSMAL
(LAMB SAY)* with ‘letters from’ as the gentle nudge towards making an anagram. Nice surface, because Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was a well-known essayist (and is often clued as such in crosswords).
5 Part of leg iron? Flipping odd!
FEMUR
A charade of FE for the chemical symbol for ‘iron’ and RUM reversed.
6 Rough cider seen in home
RESIDENCE
(CIDER SEEN)*
7 Singer’s sound note
TENNER
A homophone of ‘tenor’.
8 Game player initially favoured by fortune
PLUCKY
A charade of P for the first letter of ‘player’ and LUCKY.
14 A fall of snow or lava he can fix
AVALANCHE
(LAVA HE CAN)*
16 State nominates oddball
MINNESOTA
(NOMINATES)*
18 Small fish for the captain
SKIPPER
A charade of S and KIPPER. English has a long tradition of nicking words from other languages, and in this case it’s from Middle Dutch, scipper, which is formed from scip for ‘ship’ (modern Dutch has schip). Which is why the SKIPPER is in charge of the ship. The usage denoting a team captain dates from the 1800s.
19 Retiring, slip inside for a drink
SHERRY
An insertion of ERR in SHY.
20 See it as anagram — nothing could be simpler
EASIEST
And indeed it couldn’t be simpler: it’s (SEE IT AS)*
21 Lusty saint in error, ignoring leader
STRONG
A charade of ST and [W]RONG.
23 Father meets northern temptress
SIREN
You need to think ‘father’ in its verbal sense. SIRE plus N.
25 Eastern European turns up with iodine in medicine bottles
VIALS
A reversal of SLAV with I inserted.
Many thanks to Orlando for an excellent Quiptic.
I agree with Pierre. A very appropriate puzzle for beginners and improvers, but with enough in it to provide entertainment for older hands.
Very good clueing; most enjoyable.
I missed S KIPPER, as I was thinking of these fish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudskipper
Apparently they don’t come hyphenated, though!
A skipper is a small fish, but s kipper is neater.
Thanks Orlando and Pierre
This was an enjoyable Quiptic, with my favourite clues being 9a and 7d (LOI).
Thanks Orlando and Pierre.
Fine for a Quiptic, I thought, with precise cluing and nothing too difficult.
I liked LE MANS with lists=leans.
I agree that this an ideal Quiptic and it was an enjoyable solve. SINCERE was my LOI.
Did wonder who was blogging when I saw 1a immediately thinking this is right up Pierre’s street.
very nice, pity it was over so quickly.
For a change Rufus was harder! Thanks to Pierre and Orlando for a bit of fun.
A kind thought, flashling, but according to the Fifteensquared memorandum of association, I can only give the obligatory Pierre bird link when a specific species is mentioned. You are right, though – a very pleasing puzzle.
As a beginner, this was the first Guardian cryptic, I have completed in full, unassisted and without cheating. A landmark has been reached and I am inspired to continue. Thanks Pierre and Orlando.
Well done, Wilber! I think we all remember that first one. Keep solving and keep commenting: it’s always interesting to hear from the real Quiptic target audience.