A bit of a collector’s item – Pasquale in the Quiptic slot. In his various avatars, he has the ability to turn the heat up or down; here it was a very gentle simmer, and a crossword that beginners would undoubtedly have enjoyed.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Down
1 What cook needs ready for eating outside city area
RECIPE
An insertion of EC in RIPE. EC is compiler-speak for the ‘city’ of London, since it falls within the EC postcode area.
4 Soldiers getting round lake — this will provide shade
PARASOL
A charade of PARAS for ‘soldiers’, O and L.
9 Flirting daughter joins friendly group
DALLIANCE
A charade of D and ALLIANCE.
10 Chopped up food finally covered with sweet stuff
DICED
The last letter of ‘food’ followed by ICED.
11 A fight in the vicinity
ABOUT
A charade of A and BOUT for ‘fight’.
12 Dear Pete’s awfully full of hopelessness
DESPERATE
(DEAR PETES)*
13 Bother, finishing in airport with foreign currency
TROUBLE
The last letter of ‘airport’ followed by ROUBLE for the Russian ‘currency’.
15 Harry, a snooker player?
POTTER
You must have been living on Planet Zog for the past decade or so if you haven’t come across the young wizard, Harry POTTER. And of course a snooker player is a POTTER as well. So it’s a dd.
17 Leave behind a land with limited opportunity for growth
DESERT
Another dd.
19 Last-minute note to change church book
PSALTER
PS for post scriptum, or the note you leave at the end of an e-mail or letter, and ALTER.
22 European Union record is set down by editor and praised
EULOGISED
A charade of EU, LOG, IS and ED.
24 Burglar’s collection’s thrown back in seat
STOOL
A reversal of LOOTS. LOOT is a noun and a verb, so you can have LOOTS as the plural, I guess. Pasquale and his alter egos have been setting crosswords since I was in nappies, so I’m not going to argue with him.
26 Alarm not initially the cause of fault
ERROR
[T]ERROR
27 A maiden to exploit men — time for fun!
AMUSEMENT
A five-part charade: A plus M plus USE plus MEN plus T.
28 What could be seaside illness
DISEASE
(SEASIDE)*
29 Something a bit ropy in London thoroughfare
STRAND
A dd, the second part being the London street that runs from Trafalgar Square. It’s only three-quarters of a mile long, I discovered.
Down
1 A little woman in rave beaming
RADIANT
Hands up if you were looking for Amy, Beth, Meg or Jo. None of those: it’s an insertion of A and DI in RANT.
2 Music-maker entertained by chancellor
CELLO
Hidden in chanCELLOr.
3 Dad at home with item of furniture that can be given a coat of gloss?
PAINTABLE
Not a word I’d use much, if at all, but it exists and is PA plus IN plus TABLE.
4 Exercise getting journalists into a happy mood
PRESS-UP
A charade of PRESS and UP.
5 Something high in cooler — first thing to be thrown out
RIDGE
[F]RIDGE
6 Man reacts unexpectedly in religious ceremony
SACRAMENT
(MAN REACTS)*
7 Peril ultimately with snake? Run!
LADDER
The last letter of ‘peril’ followed by ADDER. Think women’s tights.
8 Nervous in an act of brinkmanship?
ON EDGE
A dd.
14 Supreme rulers finished on cricket ground
OVERLORDS
A charade of OVER for ‘finished’ and LORDS (strictly LORD’S in the real world) for the home of cricket, where today the lads will comfortably ease past South Africa in the third ODI to complete a series whitewash.
Edit: second bit of muppetry of the day: first I can’t distinguish between Quixote and Pasquale; and I got this a bit wrong, didn’t I?
16 New entrant is fly-by-night
TRANSIENT
(ENTRANT IS)*
18 Having the will to help others following on?
TESTATE
If you have a will, then you are TESTATE. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that this is &lit.
19 Platform bringing disgrace to president
PODIUM
A charade of P and ODIUM.
20 Members of a family are told
RELATED
A dd.
21 Member to perform final act in story
LEGEND
A charade of LEG and END.
23 Police officer held in regard, always
GARDA
Hidden in reGARD Always is the Gaelic name for a police officer from the Republic of Ireland.
25 Here’s old piano — time for musical entertainment
OPERA
A charade of O, P and ERA.
Many thanks to Pasquale for the Bank Holiday Quiptic.
Mainly nice and easy, but IU slipped up by putting DEFECT in for 17 – doh!
Thanks Pasquale/Quixote & Pierre
Thank you for a kind review. However, this appeared under my PASQUALE name. QUIXOTE has no place in The Guardian!
Thanks Pierre and Pasquale. In 24a I think the reversal is of LOOT’S (Burglar’s collection’s), so no dodgy plural required. Also 18d is (IMHO) just a cryptic definition, as there’s no separate wordplay.
Errors (Quixote/Pasquale) corrected.
Whoops, sorry Don. Too many avatars … Thanks for the correction, Gaufrid.
Thanks both. Lovely crossword, just right for the slot, except for the appalling lack of birds for Pierre!
Over the past few months, Pasquale has become one of my favourite setters.
I thought that this was a perfect Quiptic. My favourites were PSALTER & OVERLORDS.
Thank you Pierre and Pasquale
Thank you Pasquale and Pierre.
Lovely surprise to see the Don here, a puzzle just right for the Quiptic spot. The charades, culminating in the five-part one for AMUSEMENT, were good examples for beginners.
This is as a quiptic should be and the Don has shown the way. A veritable template for the slot.
Another strong endorsement from me: a perfect quiptic for a Monday morning. I thought that I didn’t understand the wordplay in TESTATE, but now I see it’s just a perfectly good CD.
Thanks Pasquale and Pierre.
A good level for a Quiptic, I thought.
I was another sloppily putting in defect at first before correcting it. Nice anagram for SACRAMENT.
Beautiful Quiptic, matching Pasquale’s first (?) in this section on Dec 26 last year.
Just like Arachne (and, to a lesser extent, Nutmeg) he is capable of gearing down appropriately.
Or, as you call it Pierre, turning the heat down.
To be clear, I have nothing (read: nothing) against Moley, Pan, Hectence or Provis.
Actually, I have a soft spot for the latter’s Quiptics.
They may not be experienced as the easiest here but I like her precision and the surfaces of most her clues.
From my first one in (ABOUT, 11ac) to my last TESTATE (18d, don’t always expect a CD in Pasquale’s puzzles) a delight to solve.
No laddish humour, true, so some solvers may be missing something today.
[they should turn to the hugely talented Hoskins, in that respect the Independent’s own ‘Paul’ who is mostly not too difficult]
Thanks, Pierre, if LORDS should be LORD’S it still leads to OVERLORDS in 14d, doesn’t it?
I agree with Andrew’s look at STOOL (24ac).
In 20d (RELATED) you should underline ‘Members of a family are’ and ‘told’.
That’s where Pasquale’s precision comes in!
Finally, I was looking for a clue-of-the-day but I couldn’t find one.
Should be seen as positive not negative.
Agreed, this is a model Quiptic; chapeau to Pasquale. I parsed 27a A MUSE MEN T, leading to the right solution but missing the cricketing clue and “exploit”. Lessons for a novice. Thanks, Pierre.
Thanks Pierre. As you said it would be, this is my favourite puzzle since you encouraged me to take up Quiptics. I am still not sure about 1 down though.Why is DI a little woman?