An excellent Quiptic this morning. But what do you expect? Look who the setter is. I’ll be recommending this one to my friends who are still trying to learn the Dark Arts.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Blasphemous academic — an eye-opener!
PROFANE
A charade of PROF, AN and E for the first letter of ‘eye’.
5 In short break, class turns over a new leaf
REFORMS
An insertion of FORM in RES[T]
9 Take back religious education pamphlet
RETRACT
A charade of RE and TRACT. RE is high on the political agenda at the minute.
10 Sort out middle section of tune with composer
UNRAVEL
A charade of [T]UN[E] and RAVEL, most famous I suppose for his Bolero.
11 Drunk put on coat
PLASTERED
A dd.
12 Angrily rebuke son lacking warmth
SCOLD
A charade of S and COLD.
13 Bonus for the crowd scene actor
EXTRA
A dd.
15 Excessive praise from grown-up shielding a particle
ADULATION
An insertion of A in ADULT followed by ION.
17 Can anyone get treatment for pain in the neck?
ANNOYANCE
(CAN ANYONE)*
19 I passed in US city or North African country
LIBYA
An insertion of I and BY in LA.
22 Colours in music
BLUES
Another dd.
23 Assess greeting heard somewhere over the rainbow?
WAY UP HIGH
A homophone of WEIGH UP and HI. It’ll be on this holiday season sometime, no doubt. ‘Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.’
Q: Where do you weigh a pie?
A: Somewhere over the rainbow
25 Lone Ranger’s companion gets gold in Canadian city
TORONTO
I swear that the Lone Ranger has been littering puzzles these last couple of months. OR in TONTO.
26 One more part of flower absorbing oxygen
ANOTHER
An insertion of O in ANTHER. Not to be confused with your PISTIL or your STAMEN. How flowers make babies.
27 See real novel as issue
RELEASE
(SEE REAL)*
28 In academies, say, education’s attempted
ESSAYED
Hidden in acadamiES SAY EDucation.
Down
1 Type of hat that may be eaten
PORK PIE
A dd.
2 Pariah not in shed
OUTCAST
A charade of OUT and CAST.
3 Separated father turns up with paintings
APART
Since it’s a down clue, it’s PA reversed plus ART.
4 Have guests dressing tree at inn
ENTERTAIN
(TREE AT IN)*
5 Circular portion of toast
ROUND
A dd.
6 Prevent everyone supporting Nottingham players
FORESTALL
Again, because it’s a down clue, it’s ALL under FOREST. Nottingham Forest are struggling a bit in the Championship at the minute.
7 Italian dish for a violinist? Not entirely
RAVIOLI
Hidden in foR A VIOLInist.
8 Healthy food at home for Lionheart’s foe
SALADIN
A charade of SALAD and IN. Saladin was born in Tikrit and died in Damascus, and Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) travelled over to his place in the Crusades to go to war. Any contemporary parallels?
14 Great hole in one — amazing start in old country
ABYSSINIA
A charade of ABYSS, IN, I and A for the first letter of ‘amazing’. Currently Eritrea and part of Ethopia.
16 A seedy tub that’s off? It’s no good after this
USE-BY DATE
(A SEEDY TUB)* Not to be confused with ‘best before’ or ‘sell by’.
17 Judge with hard heart, one using teeth
ARBITER
[H]AR[D] plus BITER.
18 Non-combatant in new Renault
NEUTRAL
(RENAULT)*
20 Disease found by youth leader in Tommy’s home
BLIGHTY
A charade of BLIGHT and Y for the first letter of ‘youth’. ‘Tommy’ is slang for a British soldier (the origin is disputed). BLIGHTY is also slang for ‘Britain’ and apparently comes from Urdu.
21 Awkward redhead may be stuck
ADHERED
(REDHEAD)*
23 Western part of golf course is complete
WHOLE
A charade of W and HOLE.
24 Supporters for empty pits
PROPS
A charade of PRO and P[IT]S. Nice surface, alluding to the use of PIT PROPS.
Many thanks to Orlando for this morning’s Quiptic. Top puzzle.
Thanks Orlando and Pierre
Lovely crossword by any standard, not just as a Quiptic. I particularly liked ANNOYANCE, WAY UP HIGH, PROPS and FORESTALL.
Very, very minor quibble – TORONTO and SALADIN required general knowledge that some solvers might not have.
Its amazing how Orlando can switch from quite tough to this Quiptic level and always keep that concise elegance.
Great crossword, well pitched for the slot, with too many nice clues to pick favourites.
Thanks to Orlando and Pierre.
Thanks to Orlando & Pierre.
Just right for the Quiptic slot, very enjoyable.
I particularly liked WAY UP HIGH.
Thanks Orlando and Pierre.
I had great fun with this. First of all by entering SARACEN at 8d, our family eats a lot of it here in France, I believe it is called buckwheat in the UK, and is supposed to be very healthy. Then more fun at 22a, ‘Colours in music’, a toss up between TONES and NOTES. All sorted out ‘correctly’ in the end.
If you weigh whales in a whale weigh station where do you weigh pies?
Thanks Pierre & Orlando. I think you erroneously underlined ‘pamphlet’ in 9A. Unless I missed something, the definition for RETRACT is ‘take back.’
Thanks, Kim. Now corrected.
sidey, that is even worse than some of my rubbish jokes, and that’s going some …
I solved this whilst sitting in the choir section of the Royal Albert Hall yesterday morning, during a rehearsal. The orchestra (Royal Philharmonic under John Rutter) were rehearsing some film snippets during the choir’s ‘downtime’. I kid you not, but just as I entered the solution to 23ac, the orchestra struck up with “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.’ The sort of coincidence that sometimes boggles the mind.