Moley always produces a good Quiptic for us, but there were one or two here which didn’t quite work for me.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
1 A wizard of a bird
MERLIN
Cookie and the lads scrape home in Bangladesh, and a bird in the first clue. Good start to the week, and as I write, it’s still dark. A dd – MERLIN is the wizard in Arthurian legend. The winged version, giving the opportunity for the obligatory Pierre bird link, is the UK’s smallest bird of prey. Even smaller birds should be afraid, be very afraid.
5 After ten years, not extremely corrupt
DECADENT
A charade of DECADE and NT for the outside letters of ‘not’.
9 Stressed out making puddings
DESSERTS
This clue should probably be taken to a retirement home to live out its last days in peace, but it’s a Quiptic, so I’ll say no more. (STRESSED)* although Moley could also have used a reversal indicator.
10 Near to shelter, originally in darkness
NIGHTS
A charade of NIGH for ‘near’ and TS for the first letters of ‘to shelter’.
11 Open-air sex at assembly causes annoyance
EXASPERATION
Please. This is before the watershed. (OPEN AIR SEX AT)* with ‘assembly’ as the anagrind.
13 Ask Edward to stay
BIDE
A charade of BID and E (as in ER, Edward Rex)
‘Tis you, ’tis you, must go and I must bide
14 Discretionary rendering too plain
OPTIONAL
(TOO PLAIN)*
17 Game fellows, 32 found on board
CHESSMEN
A charade of CHESS and MEN.
18 Fish where else — at sea?
EELS
(ELSE)* with ‘at sea’ as the anagrind.
20 Room where the food of love is produced in classical style
CHAMBER MUSIC
I might have fancied a question mark at the end here, since it’s a bit whimsical, and the surface leads more to MUSIC CHAMBER anyway. CHAMBER for ‘room’; and for MUSIC you need Twelfth Night:
If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
23 Breakfast food mum endlessly lies about!
MUESLI
A charade of MU[M] and (LIES)*
24 Close call for armies out of step between two points
NEAR MISS
An insertion of (ARMIES)* in N and S for two ‘points’ of the compass.
25 Think again about people who are foolish
REASSESS
Unless I’m being completely thick, I think this clue is faulty. A charade of RE and ASSES would mean we’ve got nothing to account for the final S.
26 Passion about brilliance
LUSTRE
Another use of RE for ‘about’. A charade of LUST and RE.
Down
2 Sees those that agree, we’re told
EYES
A homophone of AYES.
3 Inclination, having seen about Romeo, to be all ears
LISTENERS
I can’t really make this work either. I think the setter is asking us to put R for the phonetic alphabet ‘Romeo’ in (SEEN)* and precede that with LIST for ‘inclination’. But then you’d need ‘about’ to be the anagrind and the insertion indicator, and I don’t see that.
4 Girl student is conventional
NORMAL
A charade of NORMA and L for learner or ‘student’.
5 Diana’s schedule leads to setbacks
DISAPPOINTMENTS
A charade of DIS and APPOINTMENTS.
6 Sorry — the prisoner’s worn out
CONTRITE
A charade of CON for ‘prisoner’ and TRITE. You need to take ‘prisoner’s’ as ‘prisoner has’.
7 We have a number like this to hand
DIGIT
A (not very convincing) cd.
8 People’s friend is known countrywide
NATIONALLY
A charade of NATION and ALLY.
12 Is the ghoul, perhaps, a warning to mariners?
LIGHTHOUSE
(IS THE GHOUL)*
15 Wins with cunning core moves
OVERCOMES
(CORE MOVES)* with ‘cunning’ as the anagrind.
16 One doctor brought ice back, the French fool
IMBECILE
Plenty of fools in today’s Quiptic. A charade of I, MB for ‘doctor’, a reversal of ICE and LE for one of the French words for ‘the’.
19 Attack animal that’s unwell
ASSAIL
More ASSES, but I can’t make this work either. It’s a charade of ASS and AIL, but if the ‘that’s’ is to be read as ‘that has’, then ‘unwell’ can’t translate as AIL, can it?
21 Thinks a bit of how anagram uses tricks
MUSES
Hidden in how anagraM USES tricks. I’m not overly keen on hiddens where there are superfluous words in the fodder.
22 Employer to practise on river
USER
A charade of USE and R.
Many thanks to Moley for today’s Quiptic.
Thanks Pierre and Moley
I agree that 25a is faulty.
My favourites were EXASPERATION, CONTRITE, LIGHTHOUSE
Thanks Pierre,
I agree they REASSESS and LISTENERS were faulty, which is a shame because the rest was perfect quiptic – quick for experienced solvers and not too challenging for beginners.
Thanks both.
25a now has “about Sunday” tacked on the end – they must be reading you Pierre!
Thanks Moley and Pierre
There is a correction now for the clue to REASSESS. As I hadn’t seen the faulty one, I wondered if it had been changed because…………..I’ll say no more!
I liked DECADENT and EXASPERATION.
I didn’t like the ones you mention Pierre, and I’m also not happy about Edward to give E – yes, ER is Edward Rex,as you say, but I don’t think it works by itself. Also “worn out” for TRITE is a bit of a stretch.
muffin @4, the COED gives “hackneyed, worn out by constant repetition” for TRITE, but perhaps “worn out” on its own is not enough?
muffin @4 again, the LAPD radio alphabet gives E for Edaward, I guess it is familiar to people who watch American television series – now don’t lets get started on “American”.
Thank you Moley and Pierre.
An enjoyable Quiptic. I read the clue for ASSAIL as ASS plus (“that has”) AIL, but agree about LISTENERS.
EXASPERATION and LIGHTHOUSE, among others, were fun.
Some good clues, but far too sloppy! I got to it after the correction to 25a, so I didn’t have a problem with that one, but I see about five other clues with serious problems (10a, 20a, 3d, 7d, 19d, 21d). Others have explained what’s wrong with most of these. 10a bothers me because I don’t see how to get the plural NIGHTS from the singular “darkness”.
21d is less serious than the others: I agree with Pierre about the undesirability of extra padding in hidden clues, but it seems to be pretty common.
Might something like this work?
Hunter-gatherers do not go hunting in the darkness/NIGHTS at the time of the new and crescent moon.
perhaps this is clearer?
Hunter-gatherers do not go hunting in the darkness/NIGHTS of the new and crescent moon.