(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) Thanks to Pan for a puzzle that’s par for the Quiptic genre. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
7 Jack certain to return badly cooked meal in old city (9)
JERUSALEM : J(abbrev. for “Jack”, as in card games) + reversal of(… to return) SURE(certain) + anagram of(badly cooked) MEAL.
8 Type to adopt quiet pastime? (5)
SPORT : SORT(type;kind) containing(to adopt) P(abbrev. for “piano”, musical direction to play softly).
9 German company invested in US currency to produce neckwear (3,6)
DOG COLLAR : [ G(abbrev. for Germany) + CO(abbrev. for “company”, a commercial firm) ] contained in(invested in) DOLLAR(the US currency).
10 Plane crash in mountainous country (5)
NEPAL : Anagram of(… crash) PLANE.
12 Son’s characteristic water passage (6)
STRAIT : S(abbrev. for “son”) + TRAIT(a characteristic).
13 Beat side suffering from medical condition (8)
DIABETES : Anagram of(… suffering) BEAT SIDE.
14 Strong drink put in rest of soft drink (7)
LIMEADE : MEAD(an alcoholic drink made from honey and water – strong?…only for the surface, I guess) contained in(put in) LIE(to rest on, say, a bed).
17 Inferior education’s received by those insisting on strict adherence to rules (7)
PEDANTS : PANTS(inferior;rubbish) containing(…’s received by) ED(abbrev. for “education”).
20 Sinful Eve ruins God’s creation! (8)
UNIVERSE : Anagram of(Sinful) EVE RUINS.
Defn: …, according to the non-explanatory explanation of its origin, as suggested by the exclamation mark? And the latter is also there for the surface reading?
22 Impede progress of picnic basket (6)
HAMPER : Double defn.
24 Soprano taking central part in musical arrangement (5)
SCORE : S(abbrev. for “soprano”) plus(taking) CORE(the central part).
25 Humiliated, when grids are reworked by a crossword’s first editor (9)
DISGRACED : Anagram of(… are reworked) GRIDS plus(by) A + the 1st letter of(…’s first) “crossword” + ED(abbrev. for “editor”).
26 Blacksmith’s tool found in Tuscan villages (5)
ANVIL : Hidden in(found in) “Tuscan villages“.
27 Booze claiming a large young male singer (9)
BALLADEER : BEER(a booze) containing(claiming) [A + L(abbrev. for “large”) + LAD(a young male) ].
Down
1 Statement about Felixstowe, say (6)
REPORT : RE(about;with reference to) + PORT(an example of which;say, is Felixstowe).
2 Buy small bag containing tea (8)
PURCHASE : PURSE(a small bag) containing(containing) CHA(tea).
3 Fit of pique about a pound left in straw mattress (6)
PALLET : PET(a fit of pique;sulkiness) containing(about) [A + L(£, symbol for the pound sterling) + L(abbrev. for “left”) ].
4 Woman getting Dan drunk in porch (7)
VERANDA : VERA(a feminine name) plus(getting) anagram of(… drunk) DAN.
5 Each excellent dish eaten (6)
APIECE : ACE(excellent;first-rate) containing(… eaten) PIE(a pastry dish).
6 Largest secondary route set to be redeveloped (8)
BROADEST : B-ROAD(a secondary road in the UK) + anagram of(… to be redeveloped) SET.
11 Sound of fruit peel (4)
PARE : Homophone of(Sound of) “pear”(a fruit).
15 Pub taking old money is blameless (8)
INNOCENT : INN(a pub) plus(taking) O(abbrev. for “old”) + CENT(a unit of money).
16 Bogarde‘s knife? (4)
DIRK : Double defn: 1st: The actor.
18 Soldiers, carrying tin and gold, finally find someone attractive to be seen out with (3,5)
ARM CANDY : ARMY(soldiers, collectively) containing(carrying) [ CAN(a metal tin container) + the last letter of(…, finally) “gold ” ].
19 Head ill-prepared for biblical temptress (7)
DELILAH : Anagram of(…-prepared) HEAD ILL.
21 Silver mine infested with rats (6)
VERMIN : Hidden in(… infested with) “Silver mine“.
22 Unpleasant old woman with deformed leg, offering to negotiate price (6)
HAGGLE : HAG(an unpleasant old woman) + anagram of(deformed) LEG.
23 English league’s first regular football team? (6)
ELEVEN : E(abbrev. for “English”) + the 1st letter of(…s first) “league” + EVEN(regular;uniform).
Defn: An example of which;? is a football team.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks, scchua. I thought this was a fine Quiptic by Pan, with some elegant but straighforward clues. The only thing I’d mention is that nearly half the clues had less than 50% checking, which beginners might not find helpful.
My favourites were BALLADEER, PURCHASE & APIECE (LOI).
I was unable to parse 6d and 17a (was wondering if “pants” = inferior). I think that both of these clues are difficult for non-British solvers, as well as 1d with its reference to Felixstowe.
I agree with K’sDad@1 about the grid. I do not think this is an ideal choice of puzzle for beginners.
Thanks Pan and scchua.
In reference to my comment above, I have just realised that I entered GREATEST @ 6d and was unable to parse it. (I was only able to parse the anagram of SET). I had not realised it was incorrect. Anyway, I never thought of BROADEST, and I doubt that I could have parsed that.
Thanks Pan and scchua
I wrote in ALPEN for 10a, while thinking “I din’t realise it meant mountains as well as muesli”. Not surprisingly, I found the NE difficult; it remained so even when I had made the correction.
I’ve heard of “eye candy”, but never “arm candy”.
Not convinced about “pants” = “inferior” either – even in that sense, “pants” is an absolute, while “inferior” is a comparitive.
In 14a, ‘strong drink’ is any alcoholic drink, so not just for the surface. Not sure what the ‘of’ is doing, though – it doesn’t seem to be part of the clue or the answer.
Thanks Pan & scchua.
Same as KD @1. I hadn’t heard of ARM CANDY either.
Thanks Pan and scchua.
This fitted the Quiptic spot nicely, although the grid was not ideal.
I also first entered ALPEN at 10a and GREATEST at 6d, and first thought 1a might have something to do with Felix’s toe. ARM CANDY was new to me.
I forgot to mention that initially I also entered “alpen” at 10a but had to do a rethink on that
You are all making me feel better about my “ALPEN”!
muffin, it is sort of a word, at least in German, meaning alpine, think of ALPENstock and ALPENhorn…