A delightful Quiptic from Hectence, I thought. Because it’s a beginners’ puzzle, I have tried to give full explanations, but if there is anything you don’t get, just ask.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Wave line in front of fish heading off
BRANDISH
A charade of BRAND and [F]ISH.
5 Fine crab’s roaming island tucking into stuff
FABRIC
A charade of F and I inserted into (CRAB)* The anagrind is ‘roaming’ and the insertion indicator is ‘tucking into’. Or perhaps ‘tucking in’ if you want to do lift-and-separate stuff to make more sense of the surface.
9 Lounge endlessly redone to keep French wine cold
UNLOVING
An insertion of VIN in (LOUNG[E])* The removal indicator is ‘endlessly’; the anagrind is ‘redone’; the insertion indicator is ‘to keep’.
10 Walks angrily and halts in a mile
STOMPS
An insertion of M in STOPS. Some might object that the instruction should be ‘a mile in halts’, but then the surface is bollocksed.
11 Most of farce has now gone into decline
COMEDOWN
A charade of COMED[Y] and (NOW)* The removal indicator is ‘most of’ and the anagrind is ‘gone’.
12 Take a breather during exercise dive
PLUNGE
An insertion of LUNG in PE.
14 Calm cop’s ruffled by cool partner in crime
ACCOMPLICE
A charade of (CALM COP)* and ICE. The anagrind is ‘ruffled’.
18 Letter-writers‘ enclosure with note has one in tears
PENFRIENDS
A charade of PEN, F for the musical ‘note’ and I inserted into RENDS.
22 Shame main performance involves female unknown
INFAMY
An insertion of F in (MAIN)* followed by Y. The insertion indicator is ‘involves’; the anagrind is ‘performance’.
23 Unexpectedly picked up bargain opportunity
BY CHANCE
A homophone (‘picked up’) of BUY CHANCE.
24 Partisan‘s often beyond Zimbabwe’s borders
ZEALOT
A charade of ZE for the outside letters of ‘Zimbabwe’ and A LOT.
25 Some paper’s covering annual meeting in Slough
QUAGMIRE
An insertion of AGM in QUIRE.
26 I’m not sure following fish is a way to steer boat!
RUDDER
A charade of RUDD and ER. No, hang one, er, I’m not sure.
27 Precipitation from pillow failure?
DOWNFALL
A cd. DOWN in its feathery sense.
Down
1 Manage to sit next to bishop at church meal
BRUNCH
A charade of B, RUN and CH.
2 Pal in trouble with mob affected calmness
APLOMB
A charade of (PAL)* and (MOB)* The anagrinds are ‘in trouble’ and ‘affected’.
3 Daughter’s 16 on day sweetheart split
DIVIDE
A charade of D, I, VI for ‘six’, D and E for the middle letter of ‘sweet’. Some folk object to E for ‘the heart of sweet’ as a device but I tend to ignore them, because it’s perfectly clear what the setter means. ‘Gateshead’ for G? Check. ‘Midnight’ for G? Check.
4 Women’s Institute on beach has endless box of butties
SANDWICHES
A charade of SAND, WI and CHES[T].
6 Mount Etna’s bound to have deer
ANTELOPE
A charade of ETNA reversed and LOPE. The reversal indicator is ‘mount’, which works because it’s a down clue.
7 Idyllic old Italian metropolis briefly recollected
ROMANTIC
A charade of ROMAN and CIT[Y] reversed. The removal indicator is ‘briefly’ and the reversal indicator is ‘recollected’.
8 Spoiled rotten coeds take over group
COSSETED
An insertion of SET in (COEDS)* The insertion indicator is ‘take over’ and the anagrind is ‘rotten’.
13 What to say on meeting an awkward situation?
HOW-DO-YOU-DO
A cd cum dd.
15 Leaders of Sao Paulo race given bottled Tizer to drink
SPRITZER
SP and R, the first letters of the third, fourth and fifth words of the clue, followed by (TIZER)* The rather unlikely anagrind is ‘bottled’.
16 Not scared when embroiled in a fraud
UNAFRAID
(IN A FRAUD)*
17 Spring flower initially planted in front of border came up
PRIMROSE
A charade of P for the first letter of ‘planted’, RIM and ROSE.
19 Modern weapon disheartened old Japanese dictator
SHOGUN
SHO[T]GUN
20 Alcoholics Anonymous name spirit involved in heart disease
ANGINA
An insertion of N and GIN in AA. The insertion indicator is ‘involved’.
21 Broadcast Madrid team bagging victory in Europe
REVEAL
An insertion of VE in REAL, referencing Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.
Many thanks to Hectence as always.
Thanks Hectence and Pierre
Yes, a very nice puzzle, but I found it harder than Vulcan in the paper. LOI and favourite was QUAGMIRE.
I’m not seeing how “line” gives BRAND in 1a.
Nike are introducing a new line/brand of sports clothing in the autumn …
Enjoyable puzzle. My favourites were 14a, 1a, 25a.
Thanks Hectence and scchua
Thanks both.
Maybe I’m being picky, but I had several reservations about this, especially since, being a ‘Quiptic’, it’s supposed to be suitable for beginners and therefore IMO should not include dubious clues such as:
10a: As you say, Pierre, it should indeed be ‘a mile in halts’. As written, the clue just doesn’t work.
6d: The definition is wrong. Antelopes are not deer – they are in separate families. However I expect one or more dictionaries will allow them as synonyms.
15d: A pet peeve of mine – sometimes it seems almost any word (in this case ‘bottled’) can serve as an anagrind. Surely there should be at least some hint of shuffling/rearranging?
Nevertheless, I did like some clues, especially 18a, 25a and 4d.
Pierre @2
Surely Nike are the “brand” with many “lines” of product? I don’t think the equivalence quite works.
Thanks both. I enjoyed this, but I agree with some of the reservations above. Perhaps in 15d the Tizer should be shaken rather than bottled?
15d: Chambers gives “bottle” as “to attack using a bottle as a weapon (slang)”. That sort of works as an anagrind.
Tom_I @7
Chambers also has under ‘bottled’: “drunk (slang)” which is even better as an anagram indicator.
I had DOWNPOUR for 27a at first, which messed up my attempts at the last two down clues for a while.
Brand = Line confused me, but I can see how it sort of works.
Also a bit confused by “an awkward situation” = “how do you do”, even though I got it from the other part of the clue.
Anyway, thanks for the explanations
Thanks Pierre. I’m new to cryptics and have yet to do a complete solo solve, but I’m getting very close! My complete and utter lack of football knowledge let me down this week.
I definitely found 10a a tad objectionable (these things are tricky enough as it is!) and I wonder if “walks angrily and halts a mile in” might have worked better?
Even as a beginner I’m used to almost anything passing as an anagrind, but “bottled” immediately made me think of an envelope. Thankfully the otherwise simplicity of the clue quickly sorted me out.
I have yet to meet a cryptic fan in real life, so reading the comments always makes me feel less crazy for liking these things.
Have a nice week everyone!
Matt @9 — I think it’s a reference to expressions like “Here’s a fine how-do-you-do”. I don’t know if anyone says that anymore. It sounds awfully old-fashioned to me. (Speaking of old-fashioned, … ).
BRAND = LINE is a bit imprecise, but it didn’t really bother me. A certain amount of latitude in definitions helps the setter make good clues, and this seemed mild enough to me, although I can understand why someone might disagree. 10a, on the other hand, did bother me. Binzer @10’s version of the clue seems to me to solve the problem perfectly.
I didn’t know the abbreviation AGM, but the clue was perfectly gettable anyway, and now I do know it. I failed to parse 7d, but that’s my fault, not Hectence’s.
I found this somewhat more difficult than the average Quiptic, but maybe I was just having a bad day. In any case, it was certainly enjoyable.
Thanks to Hectence and Pierre!
Ted @11 Oh thanks, that does make sense. Or at least enough sense to justify it with the ? at the end of the clue. Cheers!
Thanks setter, blogger and commenters. I was very struck by the lovely “quagmire” one. “Brandish” caused me great pain because I’d convinced myself, twit, that its last four characters must be “dash” for the “line”. A bad bee to have in the bonnet. 🙂