Guardian Quiptic 954/Anto

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It’s fairly well-known that I don’t have a high opinion of Anto as a setter, so here’s a brief blog in order that you can decide what you think.

 

 

 

 

Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing

definitions are underlined

Across

9 Basic cricket tactic for which everyone hopes you get caught
HIT-AND-RUN
A cd cum dd.

10 Refuse to abandon first husband in crush
TRASH
T[H]RASH

11 Recite bitter sounding verses from controversial book
SATANIC
Referring to Salman Rushdie’s book, The Satanic Verses. A homophone of ‘say’ and ‘tannic’, with ‘sounding’ as a not wholly convincing homophone indicator. If Anto pronounces SATANIC as SAY TANNIC then he is living on a different planet to the rest of us, I think, because the ‘a’ sounds in SATAN and SATANIC are certainly different where I live.

12 American girl one spies in part of Spain
GALICIA
A charade of GAL, I and CIA.

13 Click with second best tip
SNAP
A charade of S and NAP for the betting ‘tip’.

14 Bandits eat stew? How vulgar
IN BAD TASTE
(BANDITS EAT)* for an alleged substitution of ‘how vulgar’. ‘His action was in bad taste.’ Check. ‘His action was how vulgar.’ I don’t think so.

15 Precise instruction by lady removing notice
ORDERLY
A charade of ORDER and L[AD]Y

17 Treat hero with tender loving care? That’s a laugh
CHORTLE
(HERO TLC)*

19 Scientist who may have difficulty working under a cloud
ASTRONOMER
A cd.

22 Leaders of industry don’t easily accept proposal
IDEA
The first letters of words three, four, five and six of the clue.

23 Her consuming T-bone, for example, knocked back fresh start
REBIRTH
The most meaningless surface reading I’ve seen for some time. An insertion of T and RIB in HER reversed.

24 One-time sporting gear
SINGLET
A charade of SINGLE and T.

26 Truly rich setting for song
LYRIC
Hidden in truLY RICh.

27 Navies not deployed for chap from these parts
NATIVE SON
(NAVIES NOT)*

Down

1 Danish trio still playing? It’s really happening!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL
(DANISH TRIO STILL)*

2 Government support for figure with innovative idea
STATE AID
A charade of STAT and (IDEA)*

3 Before long, regular insomnia returns
ANON
The odd letters of ‘insomnia’ reversed.

4 Attractive escort shows endlessly positive attitude with host around
ARM CANDY
An insertion of CAN D[O] in ARMY.

5 Mystery at heart of agent’s slight remark
ENIGMA
The middle two letters of agENts, slIGht and reMArk.

6 Steps taken initially to put together a weapon
STILETTO
A charade of STILE, T for the first letter of ‘taken’ and TO.

7 Charge dioceses, having picked up droppings
FAECES
A homophone of FEE and SEES with ‘having picked up’ as another doubtful homophone indicator.

8 Chorus created for late performance?
WHY ARE WE WAITING
A cd.

16 Evidence trail leads off to where traveller’s cases are held
ROOF RACK
[P]ROOF [T]RACK

17 Island holds nothing so useful for preservation
CREOSOTE
An insertion of O and SO in CRETE.

18 Action plan to create rumpus over tip?
TO DO LIST
A charade of TO DO and LIST.

20 Brutes scrabbling for roots
TUBERS
(BRUTES)*

21 Convenient place to keep rings
ON HAND
A cd cum dd.

25 Bright star can turn savage into sage
NOVA
To turn ‘savage’ into ‘sage’ you need NO VA.

Many thanks to Anto for this morning’s Quiptic.

15 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 954/Anto”

  1. “Say” + “tannic” is the first pronunciation of the word in American English that Collins gives.
    I’m a fan of the variety that regional variants give to the language.
    I recently came across ‘dunny-diver’ for plumber; priceless.

    Thanks Pierre and Anto.

  2. Quite difficult for a “Quiptic”.

    I needed help to parse 10a, 6d, 8d (presumed it was the chorus of a song that I do not know), and 25d – ah, very clever!

    Was 11a a homophone of SAY TANNIC? I pronounce that word differently.

    New word for me today was nap = 2 Brit. a tipster’s prediction of the probable winner of a race.

    My favourite was CHORTLE.

    Thanks Anto and Pierre

  3. Thanks Anto and Pierre

    I raised an eyebrow at the pronunciation of SATANIC too. I did like CREOSOTE and NOVA, though.

    Most tubers aren’t roots, but stems. Apparently “root tuber” is (incorrectly?) used for some – e.g. sweet potatoes.

  5. Thanks both. Ah, a homophone controversy again! I had no problem with FEE-SEES but SUH-TANNIC is the way we say it at my local coven.
    Some clever clues and some rotten surfaces

  6. Took me longer than today’s cryptic. I thought it was OK – rotten surfaces (?) notwithstanding. Cheers Anti and Pierre

  8. I had trouble parsing 4D and 7D (you say FEE-SEES, I say FEE-SAYS, but then I also say SAY-TANIC), but very nearly didn’t come here for enlightenment because I find the pervasive negative attitude of some toward this setter so wearisome. I enjoy Anto’s puzzles — they stretch me, and they often make me grin.

    Thanks, Anto and Pierre.

  9. Thanks for the blog, but IMO criticisms a bit harsh. I read “vulgar” as the def, with “how” as equivalent to “that’s” (which would have been better). Didn’t mind the homophone indicators, didn’t mind the conflation of standard pronunciation of SATAN and SATANIC (isn’t spoken English weird?). I agree the surface for 23 was terrible and there were another 4 or so clunky clues – but compare it with e.g. Brummie on a bad day whose clues often look as if they have been automatically generated by an AI system with no semantic understanding; most of Anto’s surfaces were good/acceptable IMO.

    Thanks Anto, I enjoyed your puzzle.

  10. Probably a bad day for me to return to the fold in Pierre’s opinion!

    Where does army come from in 4d – host? I really like 25d, following Pierre’s explanation…

    Thanks both.

  11. You’re always welcome back in the fold, greenandblack.  My opinion is only one of many.

    ‘A host of angels’ is probably the best example of its use as a synonym for ‘army’, with both words meaning ‘a large group’.

  12. I also have negative impressions of Anto based on past puzzles, so I come in with a prejudice against him (or her). But if I try to look past that, this was mostly OK. I would gently suggest that the criticism of the homophone indicators may be partly due to that prejudice: I don’t think that they’re any worse than those used by other setters all the time. On the other hand, I won’t dispute that some surfaces were very weak.

    I failed to parse about 4 or 5 clues, which is very high for a Quiptic for me, but on looking at the explanations, most of my failures were my own fault. I think that I expected faulty clues and so gave up trying to parse more quickly than I would have with another setter.

    The phrase “for example” in 23a seems wrong to me. You’d use that phrase if the definition were an example of the thing being defined, but in this case it’s the other way around. That is, the phrase would belong there if a bone were an example of a rib, but in fact a rib is an example of a bone.

  14. I  quite enjoyed this and also don’t quite see why Anto is so unpopular – a lot of the clues are no worse than other setters.  I did miss the homophone indicator in ‘faeces’, but had no trouble with satanic, even though it’s not the way I pronounce it. I’m also familiar with the use of ‘host’ for an army – it comes up quite a bit in historical contexts, as well as the bible.

  15. I had never heard the expression “Arm Candy” before today guess I have led a very sheltered life.

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