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I’m off the bench as substitute blogger this week and was delighted when I found out that I would be playing against Carpathian, because she always loses gracefully. This is her in Mary Poppins mode – practically perfect.
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 Old boy with new cow, perhaps, promises to be offensive
OBNOXIOUS
A charade of OB, N, OX and IOUS for monetary ‘promises’.
10 Bird dashed into church
CRANE
A bird. I love Carpathian in a special way. An insertion of RAN into CE, and an opportunity for the obligatory Pierre bird link. This one is a Sandhill Crane. They are related to herons, but while herons fly with their necks retracted, cranes – like this one – take to the air with outstretched necks.
11 European sailor managed to return report
NARRATE
A reversal (‘ to return’) of E, TAR and RAN.
12 Let up on revolting rich
OPULENT
(LET UP ON)* with ‘revolting’ as the anagrind.
13 Avoid removing top after length to gatekeeper’s house
LODGE
A charade of L for ‘length’ after [D]ODGE.
14 Southern private investigator has custom that’s unworldly
SPIRITUAL
A charade of S, PI and RITUAL.
16 Where’s tradesman travelling for charity?
WARM-HEARTEDNESS
(WHERES TRADESMAN)* Nice spot by Carpathian for the anagram.
19 Left holding stiffly formal article, getting severe reproof
REPRIMAND
An insertion (‘holding’) of PRIM and AN in RED.
21 Row about German feline
TIGER
An insertion (‘holding’) of G in TIER.
22 One of three allowed to follow tour
TRIPLET
A charade of TRIP and LET.
23 He wears fool’s garments
CLOTHES
An insertion (‘wears’) of HE in CLOTS.
24 Oddly deficient importation logo
MOTTO
The even letters (‘oddly deficient’) of iMpOrTaTiOn.
25 Bank clerk accepting rupees and vatu, initially for tourist
TRAVELLER
An insertion (‘accepting’) of RAV for the first letters of ‘rupees’, ‘and’ and ‘vatu’ in TELLER. For those of you that were in cba mode to look it up, I will tell you that the vatu is the currency of Vanuatu. If you’re in cba mode to look up where Vanuatu is, get over yourself and do it.
Down
1 Run into nook to find plant
CORNFLOWER
An insertion (‘into’) of FLOW in CORNER.
2 Trespasser in time gets less polite
INTRUDER
A charade of IN, T and RUDER.
3 No longer healthy to breathe out
EXHALE
A charade of EX and HALE.
4 Male animal on air is weary
BORE
A homophone of BOAR.
5 Idiot to ring spies Edward joined
ASSOCIATED
A charade of ASS, O, CIA and TED.
6 Engaged epic duo to dance around clubs
OCCUPIED
An insertion (‘around’) of C for ‘clubs’ in (EPIC DUO)* The anagrind is ‘to dance’.
7 Entrance with a posh pud
GATEAU
A charade of GATE, A and U for ‘posh’ (as opposed to NON-U). Is a GATEAU a ‘pud’? If it’s BLACK FOREST GATEAU, I suppose. Or is it a dessert? Or a sweet? Or afters?
8 Overcome echo in club
BEAT
An insertion (‘in’) of E for the phonetic alphabet ‘Echo’ in BAT.
14 Something hanging from roof in untidy attic with musty surroundings
STALACTITE
An insertion (‘in’) of (ATTIC)* in STALE. The anagrind is ‘untidy’.
15 The French way to holiday spot is only course available
LAST RESORT
A charade of LA for one of the words for ‘the’ in French, ST for street or ‘way’ and RESORT.
17 Atmosphere heard to hang over family treasure
HEIRLOOM
A charade of a homophone of AIR and LOOM. There can’t be any debate about the homophone, since HEIR is one of the few words in English where the H isn’t aspirate, and which therefore requires ‘an’ rather than ‘a’ as the indefinite article. Off the top of my head, the others are an hour, an honour, and an honest [opinion]. Even some careful speakers say ‘an historical day’ but the h is aspirated there, unless you come from the cast of Eastenders.
18 Put bird products on inferno to produce fine porcelain
EGGSHELL
A charade of EGGS and HELL.
20 Sharp petty officer popular outside of Torquay
POINTY
A charade of PO, IN and TY for the outside letters of ‘Torquay’.
21 Tool runs into dryer
TROWEL
An insertion (‘into’) of R for the cricketer’s ‘runs’ in TOWEL.
22 Dull carpeting returned by European
TAME
A charade of MAT reversed and E.
23 Stretch a point to include male
CHAP
Hidden in stretCH A Point.
Many thanks to Carpathian for the start to the cryptic week.
I had supposed that 19a was PRIM + AN in RED – but why does left = red? I still don’t get it – I must be having a mental block.
My favourites were 3d and 17d.
Thanks Pierre and Carpathian
RED is the colour associated with socialism and the left wing, Michelle. REDS UNDER THE BEDS and all that.
Thanks to Carpathian and Pierre the super sub – back of the net with a bird link!
19a gave me trouble too – trying to work out why REND = LEFT. Doh!
Pierre@2 – thank you!
I should have realised that.
Thank you Carpathian and Pierre.
I had 8a as a triple definition: overcome, echo, & club, but your parsing is better, Pierre. Or, maybe it’s both?
Perfectly judged quiptic from Carpathian.
Lots of devices used for newbies to cut their Cruciverbalist teeth on.
Thanks too to Pierre for parsing
A typical Carpathian Quiptic, precisely clued and pitched at the right level. I was another who had trouble parsing 19a until coming here, so thanks to Pierre for the explanation.
8ac kind of works as a triple, Bear of little brain. Suspect Carpathian had the way I’ve parsed it in mind, but who knows? She sometimes drops in to the blog so perhaps she’ll clarify if she does.
For what it’s worth, red is also used to denote starboard, and the “left” field in stereo recording/broadcasting. Though it’s possible they both come from the political use of red…
This puzzle was a pleasant to while away some of a rainy afternoon, and I enjoyed the neatness of SPIRITUAL, TIGER and POINTY. Thanks to Carpathian – and also to Pierre, who always includes a few fun facts in his blog. Today’s were that cranes take off with necks stretched out (their poor shoulders must ache) and the three-letter-acronym cba. Love it to bits!
I meant, of course, “port”, not starboard. (The rain’s got into my wiring)
8ac was definitely as Pierre parsed it, Carpathian assures me. She is very proud of having memorised the phonetic alphabet and likes to use that knowledge wherever possible. She has also, possibly, visited Vanuatu but it was a long time ago.
How is Edward TED with the associated clue?
Ed, Ted, Eddy, Teddy, are all familiar versions of Edward.