Pan usually sets us an accessible Quiptic, but I have to say that I struggled with this today. Nothing unfair, but if beginners were expecting a gentle one, this probably wasn’t it.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Small charge for back duty list recorded
DETONATOR
A reversal (‘back’) of ROTA NOTED.
6 Short spell without judge is legally questionable
IFFY
[J]IFFY. ‘I’ll be there in a jiffy.’ Not sure what ‘legally’ is there for, since IFFY just means ‘questionable’. Just for the surface, perhaps.
10 Broke body’s defence against source of typhoid
SKINT
A charade of SKIN and T for the first letter of ‘typhoid’.
11 Sienna pox disorder is spreading
EXPANSION
(SIENNA POX)*
12 Impressive woman taken in to see Mao post-revolution
AWESOME
An insertion of W in (SEE MAO)* with ‘post-revolution’ as the anagrind. An adjective beloved of younger people, mostly.
13 Declare season satisfactory
AVERAGE
A charade of AVER and AGE.
14 Cancel tests on unconventional help to see
CONTACT LENSES
(CANCEL TESTS ON)*
17 People standing too close to video game
SPACE INVADERS
A cd cum dd, which is unusual for a Quiptic; setters seem to avoid them. But no problem with this one: Pan is suggesting that if someone is standing too close to you they are invading your space. The electronic game from the 1970s, which is apparently making a comeback.
21 Judge and a clergyman eating snack?
ARBITER
An insertion of BITE for ‘snack’ in A RR. The ‘clergyman’ is Right Reverend.
22 Islamic school where hot curry’s served about midday
MADRASA
I couldn’t get this to work at first, but it’s an insertion of A for the middle letter of ‘day’ in (MADRAS)* with ‘served’ as the anagrind. I think.
24 Writer in residence’s last novel is more gloomy
WINTERIER
(WRITER IN E)* I’m sure the word exists, but it looks a bit clumsy to me.
25 Brother’s pointed tool used in fight
BRAWL
A charade of BR and AWL. Mostly used to poke holes in leather.
26 Relative returning hospital food
A charade of SON reversed (‘returning’) and H.
NOSH
27 Plan showing heights giving help to woman on her way back
RELIEF MAP
A charade of RELIEF for ‘help’ and PAM reversed.
Down
1 Gamble to keep man in space
DISTANCE
Pretty tricky for a Quiptic, I think. An insertion of STAN in DICE, as in ‘dicing with death’. And there are lots of men.
2 Unoriginal end to infant’s baptism?
TRITE
A charade of T for the last letter of ‘infant’ and RITE. The question mark is there because ‘baptism’ is just one kind of RITE.
3 Lone hitman at an alternative rendition of a patriotic song
NATIONAL ANTHEM
(LONE HITMAN AT AN)*
4 European in danger at that event
THEREAT
An insertion of E in THREAT.
5 Substitute one fabric with another
REPLACE
REP is a woven cloth, I discovered half an hour ago. Add LACE to that and you’ve got your answer.
7 Cafes rise to produce a stew
FRICASSEE
(CAFES RISE)*
8 Chimney on derrick’s distant but visible
YONDER
Hidden in chimneY ON DERrick. You need to take the apostrophe ‘s’ to mean ‘has’.
9 Inferior base given to sailor by the French is to be expected
UNDERSTANDABLE
A charade of UNDER, STAND, AB and LE.
15 Numbers found on tops of equestrian’s boots and small bridle parts
NOSEBANDS
I sense that we’re venturing out of Quiptic territory here, but it’s a charade of NOS, EB for the first letters of ‘equestrian’s boots’, AND and S. Mostly sheepskin, I think, although I’m no equestrian.
16 Eskimo leaders get everyone in to see sea creature
ESCALLOP
See my previous comment. ESCALLOP is given as an alternative to SCALLOP, thus ‘sea creature’. So it’s ES for the first two letters of ‘eskimo’ and an insertion of ALL in COP for ‘get’. ‘He copped/got it.’
18 Nobleman taking setter to visit monarch yesterday, perhaps
EARLIER
A charade of EARL, I for ‘setter’ and ER for Elizabeth Regina. Charles Rex, when it happens, will be just as useful to setters, I’m sure.
19 Figure used to express a number and letter by master with time for learner
NUMERAL
A charade of NU for the Greek ‘letter’, M for ‘master’, ERA for ‘time’ and L for ‘learner’.
20 Scientist‘s lawyer has recipe for success
DARWIN
A charade of DA for District Attorney or ‘lawyer’, R for ‘recipe’ or prescription-speak for ‘take’, and WIN. One of the great scientists of all time and author of
On the Origin of Species.
23 Warning of trouble from a republican involved in strike
ALARM
An insertion of R in A LAM, the last bit being a dialect word for hit or ‘strike’.
Many thanks to Pan for this Monday’s Quiptic.
I was unable to parse 5d and 22a – and I agree that this was not the easiest of Quiptics!
Thanks Pierre and Pan
Went in fairly steadily except for NW corner. While it involves quite a few obscure terms for a Quiptic, most of the wordplay is fair and reasonably straightforward.
MADRASA looks like it should simply be MADRAS + A, but that doesn’t follow from the clue. I think you’re right that it’s an anagram, which is a bit tricky given that you’re asked to manipulate the letters more than is necessary to get the solution. I guess it makes the surface work though.
SPACE INVADERS was my favourite.
Thanks Pan and Pierre
Yes, quite tricky. LOI THEREAT isn’t a word that features in my vocabulary. I didn’t parse NUMERAL. I agree about the “man” in 1d; we have an equally random woman in 27a too. TRITE was my favourite, and I liked the big anagrams at 14a and 3d as well.
22 would work better as “Islamoc school where hot curry’s served before midday.”
“Islamic”, not “Islamoc”!
Quite liked this apart from WINTERIER”
I found this harder than today’s cryptic.. Is winterier a synonym for gloomier?? Horrid word, anyway. Muffin@ 3 much better than the original. Thanks Pan and Pierre.
Muffin @3
Agreed. Or just “Islamic school where hot curry’s served at midday.”
24A seems to be a valid alternative spelling of “wintrier”; Chambers doesn’t list it per se, but gives “wintery” as an alternative to “wintry”.
Thanks Pan and Pierre.
Yes, more difficult than Rufus and probably too hard for a Quiptic; who’s ever heard of REP as a fabric?
I think 22 is supposed to be MADRAS + A; otherwise, it’s a no-no indirect anagram. ‘At’ or ‘by’ instead of ‘about’ might make it work as suggested above.
I didn’t much like ‘post-revolution;’ I thought it was going to be rod <. The 's as a hidden indicator is a bit mean in a Quiptic.
I think Pan had painted him(?)self into a corner with W?N?E?I?R – even OneLook only finds WINTERIER.
Yes this was rather challenging for a Quiptic. My favourite was 3d which had a nice surface.
I agree with the previous comments about MADRASA, which doesn’t quite seem to work as it stands.
In 16d I understood COP to be “see” rather than “get”, as in “cop a load of this”. Having checked, this meaning of “cop” isn’t in my paper dictionaries. The only place I can find it is in the online Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, which gives “cop something” = “to notice something”.
Thank you Pan and Pierre.
I also found this challenging for a Quiptic. REP is well known, at least it was in the recent past, it is a fabric with a corded surface used mostly for curtains and upholstery. Agree with muffin @3 as regards the clue for MADRASA.
Thanks to Pan and Pierre
Agree with everything said heretofore (same family as THEREAT?) i.e. a lot of obscurities, both in terms of cluing devices and solutions. Wasn’t going to offer, but can’t let UNDERSTANDABLE=to be expected to pass without an eyebrow wiggle; there is an equivalence, but only in a negative context (for me anyway) so a further layer of obscurantism.
And,by the way, when did a fricassee become a stew?
Cookie@11 Indeed REP was very common at one time; have never seen the word outside of a crossword.
Let me first say that, IMHO, Pan is one of the best in the Quiptic department.
Probably one of the reasons (s)he was promoted to the daily section [presumably as a compensation for too much Picaroon, Pasquale, Enigmatist or Vlad].
Unfortunately, this one didn’t fully fit the bill.
That said, solving the puzzle didn’t take much longer than on any other Monday (Anto aside).
Yet, I have some ‘complaints’ that haven’t cropped up thus far.
‘Eskimo leaders’ for ES (16d) is something that is not really my cup of tea and something that I criticised many times before, especially in Provis/Magwitch puzzles.
That setter stopped doing it but not because of me, I presume.
[By the way, she is another one that really deserves a place in the daily issue (think Tuesday or Wednesday), although since we haven’t seen her much – in either guise – lately I have to be careful what I say]
The apostrophe-s in 5d to indicate that it’s a hidden is all right but at the same time somewhat lazy clueing as there are two adjectives following (for the definition).
I mean, if you can come up with two adjectives you could have come up with one as an indicator too – see what I mean?
Much has been said about 22ac but let’s face it, it’s just a faulty clue.
I think it is exactly as Robi said @8 while meanwhile others have offered useful alternatives.
Two things are more serious, I think.
The use of W for ‘woman’ is not right, W stands for ‘women’.
Easy to adjust, perhaps a typo.
And the use of ‘for’ in both 19 and 20 down is absolutely out of place.
I know, even Araucaria did it every now and then but I’m afraid it is bad clueing in my book of crosswords.
Altogether, an OK puzzle but not top-notch.
Many thanks to Pan and, as always, to Pierre.