A carefully constructed Quiptic which hits the spot. I’d like to think that there’s a newer solver out there today for whom this has been the first completion without help. We all remember that one, I think – I do, anyway (it was an Everyman, since you ask).
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Philip and Elizabeth repeatedly meeting southern Lotharios
PHILANDERERS
It’s been round the block a bit, but if you’re meeting it for the first time, enjoy. A charade of PHIL, AND, ER, ER and S. The ‘Elizabeth’ in question is our gracious queen, Elizabeth Regina.
8 Peacekeeping force with storm left to resolve
UNRAVEL
A charade of UN, RAVE and L.
9 Sell vehicles
TRAFFIC
A dd.
11 Fault returning, discards device
GUBBINS
A reversal of BUG followed by BINS.
12 Judgement of love tie
OPINION
A charade of O and PINION.
13 Landscape observed on the radio
SCENE
A homophone (‘on the radio’) of SEEN.
14 Regulation unfortunately constrained, lacking sanctions initially
ORDINANCE
Carpathian is inviting you to take the S for the first letter of ‘sanctions’ out of ‘constrained’ and make an anagram (‘unfortunately’). So it’s (CON[S]TRAINED)*
Edit: at the request of Vigo, Carpathian’s agent, the clue has now been amended to:
Regulation unfortunately constrained, losing way
Which works like this: (CON[ST]RAINED)*
16 Influenced journalists and editor to follow that bloke from EastEnders
IMPRESSED
A charade of ‘IM, PRESS and ED.
19 Portray agony with hint of tenderness
PAINT
A charade of PAIN and T for the first letter (‘hint of’) ‘tenderness’.
21 Fear the Daleks surrounded and connected to ground
EARTHED
Hidden in fEAR THE Daleks. The cryptic grammar is a bit clunky, imho.
23 Credit grain with first class returns for Balkan country
CROATIA
A charade of CR, OAT and AI reversed.
24 Expressed longing for period of time with new edition
YEARNED
A charade of YEAR, N and ED.
25 Kill baby bear with European item found in drink
ICE CUBE
Our regular contributor baerchen won’t be pleased. A charade of ICE for ‘kill’, CUB and E.
26 Irrational to exchange first of rains for sun — not fitting for the time of year
UNSEASONABLE
If you exchange the R for the first letter of ‘rains’ in UNREASONABLE with S for ‘sun’, you’ve got your answer.
Down
1 Fit to follow standard moral lesson
PARABLE
A charade of PAR and ABLE.
2 Account popular to air
INVOICE
A charade of IN and VOICE.
3 Every American is welcoming touching references
ALLUSIONS
A charade of ALL, US and ON for ‘touching’ inserted into IS.
4 Heads of department initially tried turning out the same thing
DITTO
The first letters of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh words of the clue.
5 Genuine gin cocktail set one straight again
REALIGN
A charade of REAL and (GIN)*
6 Loudly coarse Scotsman is bully
RUFFIAN
A charade of RUFF for a homophone (‘loudly’) of ROUGH and IAN for the alleged Scotsman.
7 Lusty veggies dancing erotically
SUGGESTIVELY
(LUSTY VEGGIES)*
10 Prisoner with money judged to be focused
CONCENTRATED
A charade of CON, CENT and RATED.
15 Notice dud working in reasoning
DEDUCTION
(NOTICE DUD)*
17 Apply fresh rations regularly
PERTAIN
A charade of PERT and AIN for the even letters of rAtIoNs.
18 Improve luck, having lost head after being oddly lost
ENHANCE
A charade of EN for the even letters of bEiNg and [C]HANCE.
19 Saying in favour of part of speech
PROVERB
A charade of PRO and VERB.
20 Thrust oneself into untried ground
INTRUDE
(UNTRIED)*
22 Stylish men expected to embrace daughter and son
DUDES
An insertion of D into DUE followed by S.
Many thanks to Carpathian for this morning’s Quiptic.
Thanks Carpathian and Pierre
Near perfect Quiptic – would it be churlish to suggest that it was on the easy side even for this slot?
Thanks both. Excellent, apart from 14a, where the “T” from CON(S)TRAINED seems to have gone AWOL
So it has, Shirl. Well spotted.
Does what it says on the tin, apart from CON(st)RAINED; thanks Carpathian. I guess we all miss an odd letter in anagrams occasionally.
Thanks Pierre for a good blog. There is quite often a theme in Carpathian/Vigo’s puzzles but I can’t see anything here.
I liked the lusty veggies dancing.
I agree this was easier than usual, but it was still great fun. I originally had SOUND for 13A, till the crossers put me straight, and my faves were OPINION, REALIGN and PHILANDERERS – which may be old hat to seasoned cruciverbalists, but I hadn’t encountered it before and it made me smile. Thanks to Carpathian and Pierre.
Oh dear, Carpathian does indeed seem to have slipped up at 14a. I’m sure she is very embarrassed and apologetic and hoping her lovely editor might fix it for her.
She is probably also thankful for Pierre’s lovely blog and the kind, forgiving comments here and there.
Thanks for the blog – the clue for 14a has now been corrected online. I had reluctantly assumedpreviously that “st” was an abbreviation for sanctions.
For the benefit of future generations, and to demonstrate the value of humility and the power of forgiveness, I have amended the blog.
muffin @ 1
Yes it would! I found the RHS went in easily enough but the LHS was more taxing
Yes, just the right kind of confidence-boosting completion that I enjoy on a Monday. Just had to check the blog for a couple of the explanations, even if I had worked out what the word must be! Thanks.
Well – just completed my first Quiptic! Great fun!
Pierre @8 – you are hereby nominated for sainthood. Let’s hope for a few birds in the solutions of future puzzles, as your rightful reward
I also didn’t find this too easy for a Quiptic. I thought it fit the bill very well. The clue for 14a had been corrected by the time I got to the puzzle, so that didn’t hold me up. My main problem is that I didn’t know the word “gubbins”, but I had a very satisfying moment when I worked out what it must be, looked it up, and found that it actually exists.
I agree with Pierre that the grammar for 21a seems off, but they can’t all be perfect.
A nice easy puzzle; took less than ten minutes.
For the record, my first unassisted solve (since you brought it up) was somewhere in this book, which I see is out of print. I had tried the cryptics in Games Magazine and the Atlantic (two of the few publications in the US that had cryptics at the time), and mostly bashed my head against them pointlessly. Then I picked up the above-noted book. The first eight puzzles in the book are each devoted to one type of clue, with an extensive explanation first about how that type works. (E.g., one puzzle will be all anagrams, then another all charades, all reversals, all hidden words, all double definitions, etc.) Then there are a few easy puzzles mixing the types to warm you up; the back half of the book lets you loose on the real thing. I wish I knew of a similar primer still available at a reasonable price (and more British, for that matter) that I could point folks to. To any setters reading this: a hint for your next project?
I don’t usually time myself, but I did this one over breakfast and did notice the time when I started and when I finished – 6 minutes. In contrast, the Chifonie took me over 3/4 of an hour.
Congratulations, Patricia @ 11. Is this your first comment? If so, welcome – and don’t let the people who post that they can do it in six minutes put you off. It’s about enjoying it, improving when you can, and learning some stuff along the way. Let us know how you get on next week.
Yes, sorry – I don’t usually make comments like that.
Hello Patricia! I just wanted to support Pierre’s latest comment and to add I’ve long been of the suspicion that I’m a total doofus in comparison with all the regular FS commenters. The Guardian crosswords get harder and harder as the week progresses, and I rarely manage to complete any after Tuesday or Wednesday. I suspect, mind you, that some of the FS cruciverbalists have enough free time to sit down and concentrate fully on the puzzle in wuestion, without any interruption. I keep popping back to it, inbetween work and other matters, over the course of a day – and so often don’t finish (or give up) until very late or even several days later. But hang in there – certain setter-tricks really do become easier to spot over time…..
I finished too. Took me rather longer than muffin, but a win’s a win and I enjoyed it.
Wouldn’t a proper Scotsman spell it Iian though?
… or Iain even. Stupid fingers.
You’re probably right, notareallawyer. IAN is just accepted crossword-speak for ‘Scotsman’ – I’ve never really thought much about it other than bringing it to mind when it crops up.
After a few near misses recently, this is a first complete one for me too! 🙂
Thanks for the blog
A lovely Quiptic and excellent blog, thanks both. I enjoyed the “ping” moment that the obvious-now-I-know-it 22D gave me after much muttering and swearing and barking up wrong trees.
On 14A I note that Vigo’s magical powers don’t extend to the app, which (on my phone anyway!) still has the malfunctioning clue. Maybe the app just can’t correct once it’s downloaded … ? I’m surprised, but perhaps shouldn’t be.
Thanks again, all.
A guy at my work asked me to recommend where to go for good easier puzzles as an introduction to cryptics, so I told him to look out for Vigo in the Indy or Everyman. I noticed that it was a Carpathian Quiptic though, so printed it out, and we worked through it over a few break times – fortunately I could do it, and so could he, with a bit of prompting and advice over the abbreviations used. Perfect starting crossword, with lots of different clue types, but everything understandable,and he had a few Aha moments too (‘im fromEastenders etc).
Thanks to Pierre and Carpathian.
I was wondering if someone can help clarify a couple of clues? Not sure how “Lost” fits into 18D?
With 16AC I am perhaps out of touch with Eastenders so not clear on the reference to “Ed”. I saw “Des” reversed at the end which probably dates me somewhat where Eastenders is concerned. However not sure where “IM” fits in or “Press” for that matter in? Appreciate any help on this matter.
Dear Martin, Belatedly,
RE 18D
Luck = CHANCE
Luck, having lost head = CHANCE – C = HANCE
bEiNg oddly lost = remove the odd letters from being = EN
EN + HANCE = improve
RE 16A
That bloke from Eastenders = ‘IM
Journalists = PRESS
Editor = ED
IM + PRESS +ED = Influenced