An unexceptionable Quiptic from Moley this morning. Which is what Quiptics are meant to be.
Plenty of anagrams to get you going, and generally clear cluing otherwise. A good number of clues with less than 50% checking, but I know only some people find that objectionable.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 This part of the body turns me sick
STERNUM
(TURNS ME)* with ‘sick’ as the anagrind. Proper name for the breastbone.
5 Emotionally hardened state with warped soul
CALLOUS
A charade of CAL and (SOUL)*
10 Lively son to ask personal questions
SPRY
A charade of S and PRY.
11 Still basic new study of trajectories
BALLISTICS
(STILL BASIC)*
12 South Africa includes thanks to New Zealand as part of a poem
STANZA
An insertion of TA and NZ in SA.
13 Imagine criminal with dreadful vice at some point
CONCEIVE
A charade of CON, (VICE)* and E for the ‘point’ of the compass.
14 Tricky pedicure involving judge showing bias
PREJUDICE
(PEDICURE J)*
16 Sort of fiddle with a plant
VIOLA
A dd. Or it could be a charade of VIOL and A.
17 Authorised agent to make enquiries about animal
PROXY
PRY making its second appearance this morning. Here you have to insert OX into it.
19 Period in which terrible storm affected athlete
SPORTSMAN
This appears to be (STORM)* in SPAN, but if we take ‘terrible’ as the anagrind, then I can’t see what ‘affected’ is doing in the clue.
23 Here is a trap I designed for a beekeeper
APIARIST
(IS A TRAP I)*
24 Flash dash!
STREAK
A dd.
26 It’s about mannequin going first to get changed
REMODELLED
A charade of RE, MODEL and LED, but I can’t quite make the cryptic grammar work, since ‘going first’ would give us LEAD, surely?
27 Vegetable found in Staffordshire?
LEEK
A cd cum dd. The attractive market town in the Staffordshire Moorlands. The origin of the name of the town is uncertain, but it’s got nothing to do with the vegetable.
28 Under a mountain in Scotland with topsoil but no river
BENEATH
A charade of BEN and EA[R]TH.
29 Fans love to run on Sunday
ADORERS
A charade of ADORE, R and S.
Down
2 Racetrack tout‘s gratuity half in sterling
TIPSTER
A charade of TIP and STER[LING].
3 Light working fabric
RAYON
A charade of RAY and ON.
4 Rebuke for terrible pub attack
UPBRAID
A charade of (PUB)* and RAID.
6 Foreigners on a Nile cruise to the south
ALIENS
A charade of A, (NILE)* and S.
7 Gambling games: Tories let fly
LOTTERIES
(TORIES LET)*
8 Peacekeepers genteel? Not at all
UNCIVIL
A charade of UN for The United Nations, or ‘peacekeepers’ and CIVIL.
9 Stop Paris and Rome, for example, being written in large plain lettering
BLOCK CAPITALS
A charade of BLOCK and CAPITALS.
15 Jack’s universal tax problem? Pretend to sit side by side
JUXTAPOSE
A charade of J, U, (TAX)* and POSE.
18 Satisfied salesman’s permitted to take note
REPLETE
A charade of REP, LET and E.
20 Desired building once lived in
RESIDED
(DESIRED)*
21 Inept article on mother’s true, unfortunately!
AMATEUR
A charade of A, MA and (TRUE)*
22 Splendid way to get the best
FINEST
A charade of FINE and ST for street or ‘way’.
25 River with unusual lure for monarch
RULER
A charade of R and (LURE)*
Many thanks to Moley for this morning’s Quiptic.
I agree that this was a Quiptic that did exactly what it said on the tin. Enjoyable. The ADORERS/RESIDED crossers were my last ones in.
ADORERS and FINEST both suffered from the old problem where the word play is simply “root word” + “suffix” (ADORE+R+S, FINE+ST). “affected” however is OK, I think, in the sense of “to pretend to be something, to make a false display of” – SP(STORM)*AN affects SPORTSMAN.
Nothing too tricky (although I’d never heard of the town of Leek), but a fun Monday morning solve. Thanks Moley and Pierre.
I had a slightly different take on “affected” in 19A, reading it as “wearing the habit of”, as in “Queen Christina habitually affected men’s clothing”.
Thanks Pierre,
I think this is probably the easiest Quiptic that I’ve ever done and perfect for the beginner.
It’s certainly a long way away from most Nutmeg puzzles which I think are too difficult for the
beginner and some Hectence are often at the difficult end too. My last one in was VIOLA which for
some reason, took a long while to come. Thanks Moley.
Thank you Moley and Pierre,
Never heard of LEEK, tried BEET at first as thousands of acres are used to grow it in Staffordshire.
Yes, this seems much more like the Quiptic idea. The clues don’t have to all be startling, because a beginner gets most of their enjoyment from simply being able to solve the thing (the grumpy pedantry sets in later 😉 ).
Might have been nice to have thrown in a few of the other easy cluetypes, e.g. ‘Hidden Word’ clues for some variety; but I can see that keeping it to Anagrams, Charades and DDs does keep it nice and straightforward, and so easier for a beginner to know what to look out for.
Good job Moley.