Anto has the Quiptic for us this morning.
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 Strike by those who provoke tough questions …
BRAIN-TEASERS
A charade of BRAIN and TEASERS.
8 … fighting to report atmosphere in docklands?
WARFARE
A homophone of WHARF AIR.
9 Organic food processor
STOMACH
A cd.
11 Way of doing complex scores on page
PROCESS
A charade of P and (SCORES)*
12 One records attack being repulsed first
DIARIST
A charade of RAID reversed and IST.
13 Woman capturing the hearts of both Miro and Genet
IRENE
A charade of IR and ENE for the middle letters of both the proper nouns.
14 Put the men into another formation — the last of many?
UMPTEENTH
(PUT MEN INTO)*
16 Checked out clothing and got fresh
TRIED IT ON
A dd.
19 Issue that’s supertough, oddly
SPROG
The odd letters of SuPeRtOuG.
21 Issue from available supply
OUTFLOW
A charade of OUT and FLOW.
23 Plant that’s yellow, say, with an orange head
OREGANO
A charade of OR for the heraldic ‘yellow’, EG, AN and O for the first letter of ‘orange’.
24 One who sees the truth about top celebrities
REALIST
A charade of RE and A-LIST.
25 Drop a fellow outside bar
ABANDON
An insertion of BAN in A DON.
26 The owner soon redesigned a dull place to live
ONE-HORSE TOWN
(THE OWNER SOON)*
Down
1 First farm building that includes everything
BAR NONE
A play on words for BARN ONE.
2 Reform made in first-class community of scholars
ACADEME
An insertion of (MADE)* in ACE.
3 Muse tends to get moving, when absolutely unavoidable
NEEDS MUST
(MUSE TENDS)*
4 Relieved after cold is finished
EASED
[C]EASED
5 Pull into sensible space for parking items in transit
STOWAGE
An insertion of TOW in SAGE.
6 Adjust position of concrete sign having small omission
REALIGN
A charade of REAL and [S]IGN.
7 Couple indicate boundary for averge children in the traditional family?
TWO-POINT-FOUR
A charade of TWO, POINT and FOUR. The clue should read ‘average’ and it’s referring to the traditional number of children considered to make the standard nuclear family.
10 Lie flat before running for a quick start
HIT THE GROUND
A dd, with the second definition referring to the phrase HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
15 A poem Dante hasn’t finished about outrageous stage character
PANTO DAME
(A POEM DANT[E])*
17 Split is happening as Romeo turns to whiskey
IN TWAIN
IN TRAIN with the R replaced by W.
18 Stupid to get told off over his mess
DOLTISH
A charade of (TOLD)* and (HIS)*
19 In haste, fan offered accommodation for Italian chap
STEFANO
Hidden in haSTE FAN Offered.
20 African managed to acquire magic rod
RWANDAN
An insertion of WAND in RAN.
22 What all totally empty reservoirs principally lack
WATER
The initial letters of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth letters of the clue. A cad.
Many thanks to Anto for this morning’s Quiptic, and apologies for mis-numbering my last Quiptic blog. This one really is 998.
That was an enjoyable solve. My favourites were REALIST and BAR NONE. SPROG was a new word for me, but came from the parsing. I felt the clue for 21A was weak but liked many of the others. Thanks to Pierre and Anto. Happy New Year to everyone.
Thanks both. Good stuff from Anto.
I was thrown by the American/Irish spelling of “whiskey” in 17 (scotch is often misspelt in this way) but I think that the NATO alphabet uses this version.
Thanks Anto and Pierre
I liked most of this a lot – favourites were DIARIST, UMPTEENTH, ONE HORSE TOWN, and RWANDAN. A DNF as I had an unparsed STORAGE @ 5d
I also thought OUTFLOW was weak. I won’t bother to complain about the definition for STOMACH!
Pierre and Anto.
I’ve been doing the Quiptic archives backways since I found them last summer and am at number 897. This is the first live one I’ve finished :-). Good feeling.
Best wishes to everyone for the new year.
I thought this was a very pleasant quiptic, good surfaces and many good clues. Thanks A (& P)
Well done, Joshua. It is a good feeling, isn’t it? Keep having fun with the crosswords in 2019.
Having started, for once, with today’s cryptic (which was a goody, btw – if you haven’t tackled it yet, I can thoroughly recommend it) I turned to this for some gentle amusement, and found lots. WARFARE, BAR NONE and TWO-POINT-FOUR were deliciously clued, SPROG made me grin – and STOMACH had a decidedly Rufusian air to it. What a lovely way to end the year! Thanks to Anto & Pierre, and a happy 2019 to all setters, bloggers and FS regulars.
It took me a while to accept that FLOW = supply but I can see it now. Overall a very fun solve with ACADEME having an exceptionally good surface.
Thought it was a bit on the tricky side for a quiptic.
Thanks Anto and Pierre. I loved 23a. I’d forgotten about OR so it caused me much brow-furrowing trying to parse it through other (daft) routes!
An interesting Quiptic, I struggled with some of the explanations. 1AC, not sure how Brain relates to “Strike by”? Assuming those who provoke are “Teasers”.
I also struggled to relate “Organic” to Stomach, sort of see it but a tenuous link for me.
If anyone can help with an explanation I would be very grateful.
Martin @11, the stomach is an organ.
Martin @11 it’s a slightly loose connection but if you brain someone you hit them, I suppose in the head. If that’s correct then the “by” just connects the two bits lying together.
… Ah yes just checked Chambers: Brain, transitive verb
1. To dash out the brains of
2. To hit hard over the head (informal)
Many thanks, Louise and Vogel421. Appreciate the response and explanations. I understand the use of the word “brain” as to hit someone, I thought it was a local colloquium that I’d never see in a crossword. Actually the same goes for “Sprog”. Again many thanks,
I am so out of practice. In 21 I can get supply = flow if I squint, but can’t find my way to out = available. I guess “out now” as in “in stores today”?
In 7 I had two (couple) point (indicate) but how do you get four from the rest of the clue?
Bettina @7d, hadn’t seen it when I solved the clue but just realised reading your comment, four comes from the cricket score you get from hitting a ‘boundary’