Hectence is one of the longest-standing setters of the Quiptic, and she has compiled, as always, an elegant, tractable, and pleasing puzzle for us this morning. The blog, as always, is aimed at beginners and improvers, so if there is anything that needs more explanation, just 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
9 Change oar arrangement to reach harbour
ANCHORAGE
(CHANGE OAR)*
10 Sooty’s pal Soo’s beginning to cry
SWEEP
More than a ‘pal’, I can reveal. According to her online profile, Soo has been Sooty’s girlfriend since 1964 and remains so to this day. And, get this, ‘in many episodes, they kiss’. Where SWEEP fits into this ménage à trois, I know not, but this morning he’s a charade of S for the first letter of the said panda, and WEEP.
11 Time of year for company return to be run
OCTOBER
A charade of CO reversed (‘return’), TO BE and R for the cricketing ‘run’.
12 Comprehensive is gone and Academy is taking students
OVERALL
A charade of OVER, A and LL for two ‘students’ (L for ‘learner’ [driver] is very common in cryptics).
13 Picked up legal documents for posh hotel
RITZ
A homophone (‘picked up’) of WRITS.
14 Utopian cities laid waste
IDEALISTIC
(CITIES LAID)*
15 I am unable to get even mains in new condo
NO CAN DO
An insertion of AN, the even letters of ‘mains’ in (CONDO)* The anagrind is ‘new’.
17 Shabby trunk emptied contents
UNKEMPT
Hidden in trUNK EMPTied. One of those words that doesn’t really have an equivalent positive form: KEMPT is in some dictionaries as ‘tidy’, but is given as a 20th century back formation.
19 Heard I could be wisest to hide name of person at the scene
EYEWITNESS
A charade of EYE for a homophone (‘heard’) of I and an insertion of N in (WISEST)* The anagrind is ‘could be’.
22 E–copy?
ECHO
Hectence’s clue relies on the fact that E is ECHO in the phonetic alphabet, so it’s a dd.
23 Pass on advice for putting out candle
SNUFF IT
A dd cum cd.
24 Field behind cove has fine ingredient for a stew
BAY LEAF
A charade of BAY, LEA and F.
26 Very trendy young lady’s first record
VINYL
A charade of V, IN for ‘trendy’, then Y and L for the first letters of the middle words of the clue.
27 Layabout lout never one to offer help freely
VOLUNTEER
(LOUT NEVER)* The anagrind is ‘layabout’.
Down
1 Party as part of special event is in need of a lot of work
LABOUR INTENSIVE
A charade of LABOUR, IN for ‘as part of’ and (EVENT IS)* The anagrind is ‘special’.
2 Enraptured about church still
ECSTATIC
A charade of CE reversed and STATIC.
3 Grave disease consuming old man
TOMB
An insertion of O and M in TB for tuberculosis or ‘disease’.
4 Setter involved in RAC road trip’s given music device
CAR RADIO
An insertion of I for our ‘setter’ in (RAC ROAD)* The anagrind is ‘trip’.
5 Spread fear about cheat in a brimmed hat
FEDORA
An insertion of DO in (FEAR)* The anagrind is ‘spread’ and the insertion indicator is ‘in’. ‘If I’m not careful, he’s going to do/cheat me.’
6 Heartlessly takes dodgy chance to be a star
ASTERISK
A charade of (TA[K]ES)* and RISK. ‘Heartlessly’ is telling you to remove the middle letter; the anagrind is ‘dodgy’.
7 Meal‘s about done
REPAST
A charade of RE and PAST.
8 Way to go for a job with commitment and class
APPLICATION FORM
A charade of APPLICATION and FORM.
16 Join queue to get something for a manicure
NAIL FILE
A charade of NAIL and FILE.
17 It’s obvious, but sun damage has beginnings of lasting effects
UNSUBTLE
A charade of (BUT SUN)* and LE for the first letters of the last two words of the clue.
18 Rising Cam before long draws in a thousand fish
MACKEREL
An insertion (‘draws in’) of K for ‘a thousand’ in CAM reversed and ERE L. ‘Rising’ works because it’s a down clue.
20 Provide endless space to raise a horse
EQUINE
A charade of EQUI[P] and the printers’ ‘space’, the EN, reversed. The definition is a noun, but EQUINE is only given as an adjective in my dictionaries.
21 A vine cultivated over time becomes indigenous
NATIVE
An insertion (‘over’) of T in (A VINE)* The anagrind is ‘cultivated’.
25 American ox’s crossing point
YANK
An insertion (‘crossing’) of N for one of the four ‘points’ of the compass, in YAK.
Many thanks to Hectence for this week’s Quiptic.
Thanks Hectence and Pierre
Very good. Favourites were SWEEP (I knew about Soo too!), ECHO, VOLUNTEER, and UNSUBTLE.
Two very minor points. Instead of “reach” in 9a, “make” would have been better (it can mean the same in this context – “when will we make port?”). Is “brimmed” necessary in 5d? I prefer clues to have no superfluous words.
15a should be AN, no?
Perfect quiptic by a lady setter.
Who can forget Sooty?
This was fun – thanks Hectence and Pierre. I completed the left hand side really quickly, but found the right a little trickier. SNUFF IT and RITZ made me smile.
Pierre, my partner insists it was actually a case of Soo muscling in on a pre-existing bromance: Sweep and Sooty had been besties for a while, before she appeared on the scene. I’m taking his word for this, being a tad young to remember the sequence of events that clearly myself. I’m more of a Muppets person…
Nice crossword and good blog – thanks both. Mirriam-Webster gives ‘equine’ as a noun as well as an adjective – perhaps it’s an American usage.
I found it quite difficult, definitely more difficult than today’s Quiptic, but maybe I am tired as it is the end of my day.
I could not parse EQUINE.
Thanks Pierre and Hectence.
Shame that, having entered UNSUBTLE in today’s Quick, I moved on to the Quiptic and entered UNSUBTLE, clued as obvious.
Thanks to Hectence and Pierre. I found this to be a good and enjoyable quiptic-level puzzle, although I inexplicably failed to get BAY LEAF, being convinced that the second word had to be “beef.”
Allison@5, as far as I know, “equine” as a noun is not an American usage, and I questioned the definition, but the clue is certainly fair in that it pointed unambiguously at the answer.
Pierre, in 27a, I took “one to” to be part of the definition. Otherwise those two words are superfluous except for the surface.
Equine is in Oxford as a noun, so it would seem to pass muster.
Thanks Hectence and Pierre.
I didn’t even raise an eyebrow at EQUINE as a noun, Pierre – I’m surprised that it’s not in your dictionaries. An “equine” is an animal of the horse-like persuasion – e.g. a zebra, a donkey, a mule, or even a horse!
Lovely Quiptic and brilliant blog – thanks, both!
re michelle@6
I meant, of course, to write “I found it quite difficult, definitely more difficult than today’s Cryptic” not Quiptic. I guess that I was tired. It was not an easy Quiptic-style puzzle for me to solve last night.
I’m not familiar with Sooty, Soo, or Sweep. What’s the context? Thanks!
Charlie @13 – Sooty and Sweep were (and I suppose still are) glove puppets who featured in early children’s television programmes. Sooty is a bear who never says anything aloud, but only whispers in the ear of the puppeteer (originally Harry Corbett*). Sweep is a kind of dog who “speaks” in a kind of kazoo voice. Soo was a later addition to the menage: she’s a panda who can actually speak in a little-girlish voice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sooty
*not to be confused with Harry H Corbett, who played Harold in Steptoe and Son.
Thanks, Brian @14. I’m American, which is perhaps unnecessary to say, as I see now that Sooty has been a big deal in the UK for a long time. I appreciate the cross-cultural education.