Always a pleasure to solve and blog an Orlando Quiptic. He’s good at this stuff, you know.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Queen Anne finally bit hazel nuts
ELIZABETH
A charade of E for the last letter of ‘Anne’ and (BIT HAZEL)* gives you the current incumbent. The anagrind is ‘nuts’.
6 Change the course of a revolution
TURN
A dd.
8 Unnecessary pointers start to spin
NEEDLESS
A charade of NEEDLES and the first letter of ‘spin’.
9 Writing seen after university rebelled
UPROSE
A charade of U and PROSE. Pretty girl in crimson-rose, for seasoned readers.
10 Jacket’s back on reference book, after much delay
AT LAST
The last letter of ‘jacket’ preceded by ATLAS.
11 Boffins, for example, with good leaders
EGGHEADS
A charade of EG, G and HEADS.
12 Horrified scallywag has taken part
AGHAST
Hidden in scallywAG HAS Taken.
15 Monsters devouring old mounted soldiers
DRAGOONS
An insertion of O in DRAGONS.
16 Grand eel, when wriggling, became bigger
ENLARGED
(GRAND EEL)*
19 Perfect starter in fabulous meal
SUPPER
The first letter of ‘starter’ inserted in SUPER.
21 Drink for a bad teenager?
GREEN TEA
(TEENAGER)* This one has been around the block a bit, but hey ho, it’s a Quiptic.
22 Church area making capital hot
PARISH
A charade of PARIS and H.
24 Delay robbery
HOLD-UP
A dd.
25 Time taken in horrid retreats
HIDEOUTS
An insertion of T in HIDEOUS.
26 Exploited American editor
USED
A charade of US and ED.
27 Skilled hand and master at sea
TRADESMAN
(AND MASTER)* with ‘at sea’ as the anagrind.
Down
1 Old Testament female, New Testament incident
EVENT
A charade of EVE – she of the snake and apple incident – and NT.
2 State currently popular with goddess
INDIANA
A charade of IN and DIANA for the Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals.
3 Turn away from lifesaver, tearfully
AVERT
Hidden in lifesAVER Tearfully.
4 A street in dire need in part of London
EAST END
An insertion of A ST in (NEED)*
5 Shapely sort of figure for an old timer
HOURGLASS
A dd.
6 Newly promoted male avoided underwater missile
TORPEDO
(PRO[M]OTED)* The anagrind is ‘newly’ and the removal indicator is ‘avoided’.
7 Eric needs new abode
RESIDENCE
(ERIC NEEDS)*
13 Huge drink for mouse avoiding extremes
GINORMOUS
A charade of GIN and [F]OR MOUS[E].
14 Drunk, see awkward situation
TIGHT SPOT
A charade of TIGHT for one of the squillion slang words in English for ‘drunk’ and SPOT.
17 Dead men chopped and changed
AMENDED
(DEAD MEN)*
18 Play outside church with old Greek coin
DRACHMA
An insertion of CH in DRAMA.
20 Play for each class
PERFORM
A charade of PER for ‘each’ (‘fifty miles per hour’) and FORM.
22 Cushion concerning chaplain
PADRE
A charade of PAD and RE gives you the military chaplain.
23 Laurel traps a devil
SATAN
Oliver Hardy’s partner in comedy needs A inserted.
Many thanks to Orlando for this morning’s Quiptic.
Textbook cluing and approachable as Quiptic should be.This is perfect with the difficulty turned down and the excellent wit turned up.
Thanks both. Just right
Thank you Orlando and Pierre.
Perfect Quiptic. I failed to parse SATAN, could kick myself – GREEN TEA from (teenager)* was new to me.
Beautifully written clues and blog – thanks to you both.
My favourite clues were the ones for EVENT and TRADESMAN.
Very nice. I particularly liked SUPPER and EVENT. Thanks, Orlando and Pierre.
You’re right Pierre, he is good at this stuff. Orlando has got this down to a fine art. Perfect quiptic.
Uprose is a strange word, isn’t it and I’ve never heard it said. If there was an uprising, one might say ‘the people rose up’ but not the people uprose.
I liked ELIZABETH, GREEN TEA (must have been used many times before), HIDEOUTS and it was nice to see Stan Laurel getting a mention.
Many thanks to Pierre and Orlando.
Thanks Orlando and Pierre
Just what a Quiptic should be (although I had some blanks in the SE for longer than I care to admit!)
I couldn’t parse 19A but I finally figured it out. Shouldn’t it be the 1st letter of (starter) ‘perfect’ in ‘super’?