Setters will tell you that compiling a Quiptic is hard, despite the fact (or because of the fact) that it’s an ‘easy’ puzzle. There are limitations on what you can do and the words you can use. Pan has, in my opinion, shown how it’s done this morning. Many excellent surfaces and unambiguous cluing throughout. If there is anything that needs explaining further, please just ask.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
8 Church built of black American quartz
BASILICA
A charade of B, A and SILICA. A bit of an old chestnut, but someone will be doing today’s Quiptic and seeing it for the first time.
9 Onion originally included in stir-fried potato dish
ROSTI
An insertion of O in (STIR)* with ‘fried’ as the anagrind. Lovely clue (and lovely dish, if you’ve never tried it; everyone has a different technique, it seems). More strictly, it’s RÖSTI or ROESTI.
10 Pole position
POST
Simple clue, but clever. It’s a dd.
11 Records attempts to make wall hangings
TAPESTRIES
And another: a charade of TAPES and TRIES.
12 Organism spreading disease discovered by a north European
GERMAN
A charade of GERM, A and N.
14 Bird taking sunfish
STARLING
Another charade: of STAR and LING for the ‘fish’. My delight at being able to give you the obligatory Pierre bird link © is tempered by the fact that, whichever way you look at it, it’s one of the ugliest birds on the planet which is third from the STAR mentioned in the clue. It’s not called Sturnus vulgaris for nothing.
15 Drained wife has heart trouble to face bravely
WEATHER
Pan is inviting you to remove the inside letters of ‘wife’ and add (HEART)*
17 Has to accept the limitations of giving to people asking for money
BEGGARS
Inside letters in the previous clue; outside letters in this one. GG for the first and last letters (‘limitations’) of ‘giving’ inserted into BEARS for ‘has’.
20 Olive spread developed a deep tan
TAPENADE
(A DEEP TAN)* Bit of a food theme this morning. The olive and caper dip is (DEEP TAN)* Its name, I discovered this morning, comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapenas.
22 Pressure bandage applied round top of ulcer
DURESS
An insertion of U for the first letter of ‘ulcer’ in DRESS.
23 Sections of poem about a sick French city
VERSAILLES
Another insertion: of A and ILL in VERSES. If you were planning to visit the château tomorrow, don’t: the French are on strike and opening times at the Palace are affected. Plus ça change …
24 Beast next to end of steep slope
RAMP
A charade of RAM and P for the last letter of ‘steep’.
25 Foreign lager gets a disapproving look
GLARE
(LAGER)* because it can’t be REGAL.
26 Useless to turn weapon on a politician
NUGATORY
I did know this word, although it’s perhaps not in most people’s active vocabulary. A reversal of GUN, followed by A TORY.
Down
1 Fuel in gallons on sale after moving east
GASOLENE
A charade of G for ‘gallons’, (ON SALE)* and E. The anagrind is ‘moving’. I’d always write GASOLINE, but both spellings are given, so no problems there.
2 The main point of logistics?
GIST
Hidden in loGISTics.
3 Points out engine part
PISTON
(POINTS)* Nice clue.
4 Rips hat off a musician
HARPIST
(RIPS HAT)* The anagrind is ‘off’.
5 Arrange time for an equestrian event
DRESSAGE
A charade of DRESS and AGE.
6 Fortune-teller and rock star featuring on old record by Queen
ASTROLOGER
Some delightful surfaces in this crossword. A charade of (STAR)*, O, LOG and ER for Elizabeth Regina or ‘Queen’. The anagrind is ‘rock’, cleverly hidden as part of ‘rock star’.
7 West Indian close to running one out for a duck
WIGEON
Some delightful surfaces in this crossword. And a second chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link ©. A medium-sized duck, with attractive colouring (well, more attractive than a starling, anyway). Quite widespread in the UK, especially in winter; one of the best spots to see them is on the Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire. Oh, and it’s WI, G for the last letter of ‘running’ and (ONE)* The anagrind is ‘out’.
13 Month during which different son and daughter find time to honour parent
MOTHER’S DAY
An insertion of OTHER, S and D in MAY. Sadly MOTHER’S DAY is in March, but you can’t have everything.
16 Returned fabric, cut and inspected
EXAMINED
A reversal of DENIM and AXE.
18 Plant needing two women
ROSEMARY
A simple charade of ROSE and MARY, and more of a food theme (in our house at least). Excellent with roast potatoes cooked in goose fat (don’t forget the garlic).
19 Beautiful girl dropping drug in setter’s cocktail
BELLINI
A charade of BELL[E], IN and I for ‘setter’. Made me think of Pretty girl in crimson-rose (8), which if you’ve been doing cryptics for a bit will ring a bell(e).
21 Get one’s own back with a volume on gene mutation
AVENGE
A charade of A, V and (GENE)*
22 Map discovered by soldiers going back into cave
DESIGN
An insertion of GIS reversed in DEN.
24 Vermin running around two state capitals
RATS
I think that this is a charade of ST and AR reversed (‘running around’), with the idea being that ST (for a generic ‘state’) and AR (for ‘Arkansas’) are both ‘states’ expressed in capital letters. If you have a better idea, please say.
Edit: not a better idea, just a simpler one. It’s the first letters of Running Around Two State. Thanks to those who explained this correctly.
Many thanks to Pan for a fine Quiptic.
Thanks Pan and Pierre
I have to disagree with you twice, Pierre! I thought that there were several clues here that were too hard for a Quiptic, and I don’t think starlings (if you look at them closely) are ugly at all.
I’m not so happy about GASOLENE. I found a reference to say that this spelling is only in general use in Jamaica, so “Jamaican fuel…” would have been fairer (and more confusing!)
I tried PASS first for RAMP – a pass through mountains will involve slopes.
Favourite was the lovely ASTROLOGER.
[btw your link is to an American Wigeon. A European Wigeon can be found here.]
Thanks, Pan and Pierre. Very quick but very enjoyable. 24a is an acrostic: Running Around Two State.
(I mean 24d, of course, and now I understand why people don’t bother with a or d when there’s no ambiguity).
RATS is simply first letters (not actually upper case here) of “running around two state”.
Pierre, I think that 24a is simply the first letters (capitals) of “running around two state”.
Never heard of tapenade and virtually impossible to get from the crossers
Thanks to S&B.
Thank you Pan and Pierre.
A pleasant Quiptic with some lovely clues, especially those for STARLING, ASTROLOGER and DRESSAGE.
No problem with GASOLENE for me, perhaps because the last English speaking country I lived in was Jamaica, over 40 years ago (it is given as an alternative spelling in the COED) – and MOTHER’S DAY is in May in Jamaica (and in most other countries, in the UK the date is really that for Mothering Sunday).
Thanks Pierre. In fact a lot of countries, notably the USA, celebrate Mother’s Day (or should it be Mothers’ Day?) on the second Sunday in May. Strictly speaking the day we celebrate in the UK is Mothering Sunday; it’s the fourth Sunday in Lent, and in extreme cases be up to the 4th of April (it was the 3rd in 2011; the next time it’s on the 4th will be in 2038).
Oops, my research into the obscurities of the ecclesiastical calendar took so long that Cookie beat me to it.
Interesting about Mother’s Day and Mothering Sunday. I’d forgotten about that. All a bit over-commercialised for my taste.
How could I have missed the parsing of RATS? When in doubt, KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
Starlings ugly !!!! Mais Non ..Firstly anyone watching their evening dancing would suggest mesmerising and their species name Vulgaris means Common as in Frequent not offensive
I considered Bellini for 19d but couldn’t make it work from the potential parsing so had to come here for the answer and…I still can’t. If anyone is still l reading please explain!
Rösti is best with calf’s liver, a specialty here in Basel where I recommended the Restaurant Hasenburg (Rabbit Castle) just around the corner.
dicty @12
I can’t improve on pierre’s parsing, so possibly it’s the definition that’s causing problems. It’s a drink made from prosecco and white peach pulp (I’ve made it once – very sticky, and not worth the effort). It was invented in “Harry’s Bar” in Venice (as was raw beef carpaccio, apparently, named after a Venetian painter).
The “drug” dropped from BELLE is E, slang for “ecstasy”.