I don’t think we’ve ever had a dud Quiptic – barely a dud clue – from Matilda in the time she has been setting for this slot. Another good’un this morning to get the cruciverbal brain in gear for the week ahead. Please ask if I haven’t explained anything clearly enough.
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 Lecturer parks jeep without bumpers badly
SPEAKER
(PARKS [J]EE[P])* The instruction to remove the outside letters – ‘without bumpers’ – fits in seamlessly with the surface reading. The anagrind is ‘badly’.
5 1’s bird?
TWEETER
This, and 6dn, are cds, and rely on you twigging the fact that the SPEAKER (referenced in 1ac) in question is a part of your hi-fi. TWEETERS handle the high-range frequencies and WOOFERS handle those in the low range. These two were my LOIs, but cds often are – and once you’d got one, you’d get the other. I got excited briefly about an OPBL, but no deal.
10 Part of Shakespearean range
AREA
Hidden in ShakespeAREAn.
11 Cleaner works for Doctors, Casualty and General Hospital?
SOAP OPERAS
A charade of SOAP for ‘cleaner’ and OPERAS for ‘works’. The three capitalised elements of the clue are all TV soaps based in hospitals; the last mentioned was aired way back in 1963.
12,13 Terribly sad now dud shipment moved
DOWN IN THE DUMPS
(NOW DUD SHIPMENT)*
14 Biter lurking in boy’s bits
SMIDGEONS
An insertion of MIDGE in SONS.
16 They say young person could be a gold-digger
MINER
A homophone of MINOR.
17 Square one jump
START
A dd, the first part referencing the expression ‘back to square one’.
19 After game soldiers in casualty say sorry
APOLOGISE
An insertion of POLO and GIS in A [and] E.
23 Husband and I put lid on hamper
HANDICAP
A charade of H, AND, I and CAP.
24 Baby deer mostly loves grass
BAMBOO
Great surface and simple but misleading clue: it’s a charade of BAMB[I] and O, O.
26 An ever-changing man is a dangerous thing
NERVE AGENT
A charade of (AN EVER)* and GENT.
27 A couple take part in placebo therapy
BOTH
Hidden in placeBO THerapy.
28 Musician still playing after church
CELLIST
A charade of CE and (STILL)* The anagrind is ‘playing’.
29 Macbeth may be back, for example with pictures — extremely dreary
TRAGEDY
A reversal of EG and ART followed by DY for the outside letters of ‘dreary’.
Down
2 Hairdo holding for play
PERFORM
An insertion of FOR in PERM.
3 Military official at home once more
AGAIN
A charade of AGA and IN.
4 Cheesiness, without his free spirit
ESSENCE
(C[H]EE[S][I]NESS)* The removal indicator is ‘without’ and the anagrind is ‘free’.
6 1’s dog?
WOOFER
A cd. See my parsing of 5ac for an explanation.
7 Carrying out killing
EXECUTING
A dd.
8 Old enough model
EXAMPLE
A charade of EX and AMPLE.
9 Pen pals parted over shades of light and dark
SALT AND PEPPER
(PEN PALS PARTED)* The anagrind is ‘over’.
15 Read about fiend or risk-taker
DAREDEVIL
A charade of (READ)* and DEVIL.
18 Swing net with ease, say
TRAPEZE
A charade of TRAP and EZE for a homophone (‘say’) of ‘ease’.
20 Seafood best cooked in liquid, or roasted to begin with
LOBSTER
An insertion of (BEST)* in L and OR for the first letters of ‘or’ and ‘roasted’.
21 Seen as a Dalmatian
SPOTTED
A dd.
22 Leftovers of small game
SCRAPS
A charade of S and CRAPS for the card game.
25 Heads in mafia racket bring in godfather as supremo
MR BIG
The first letters of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh words of the clue.
Many thanks to Matilda for this morning’s Quiptic.
Sadly, I have had a very unsuccessful start to the week. Couldn’t finish this puzzle (or Arachne). Failed to solve 5a, 11a, 17a, 16a, 6d, 18d. One of my worst-ever attemtps at solving a QUIPTIC.
Of the ones I did not solve, I could not parse WOOFER, TWEETER until I saw this blog.
Luckily I could solve the Prize puzzle on Saturday and the Everyman on Sunday – so there is still hope for me.
Thanks B+S.
Thanks Matilda and Pierre
I got SPEAKER and TWEETER as my first two, so immediatley looked for WOOFER.
START was a correct guess – thanks for explaining it, Pierre.
This took me longer than usual for a quiptic, but I thought that it was a very well clued puzzle and good entertainment.
A Goldilocks Quiptic, not too easy or too hard, and lots of smooth surfaces to enjoy. It took way too long for TWEETER and WOOFER to dawn on me, and I had a laugh at myself when they did.
Pierre, I may be especially dense this morning, but I’ve never seen A and E to represent casualties, and I still can’t figure it out. Can you enlighten me? In the meantime, thanks for the blog and thanks to Matilda for a good start to the week.
DinC
Accident and Emergency. Well-known over here.
Thanks Matilda & Pierre.
Pierre: re 5a – “OPBL”?
I think I’ve worked out an answer to my own question. “Obligatory Pierre Bird Link”?
Oh this was good fun! At first, once I’d got SPEAKER I thought 6D might be NIPPER (the dog listening to “his master’s voice” on the HMV logo) but the crossers didn’t work. And anyway, I didn’t think Matilda would be so far up herself to be that obscure. Then WOOFER and TWEETER suddenly occurred to me – and they’re way better!! I also enjoyed SOAP OPERAS and BAMBOO. An all-round classy puzzle – thanks Matilda. Thanks also to Pierre for the explanations: I’d guessed AGAIN, but, slow-wittedly, still don’t understand the “aga” part…
Wellbeck @8
Aga was a high-ranking person in Ottoman Turkey, often (though not always) in the military.
Thanks Muffin. I hadn’t realised they were military leaders. Hey ho. And I’m guessing they didn’t have a sideline in creating cookers….
Hi Wellbeck
No, the cooker was invented by a Swede (called Dalen, of something like that?) 🙂
You’ve probably heard of the Aga Khan, though.
muffin @5, thanks for that. It’s one that I filled in without understanding. I’ll file it away for future use.
In Dave’s country and mine, A&E refers to a cable TV channel, “Arts and Entertainment,” or at least it did at some point. Since I’ve never had cable, I don’t keep track.
Pierre — at 20d, it’s the first letters of lobster, or and roasted.
Sorry, I meant first letters of “liquid,” “or” and “roasted.”
A clarification regarding 11a: It’s correct to say that General Hospital “was aired in 1963”, but it’s also been aired in every year since then, and is still around today. It’s one of the most famous soap operas in the US.
I’m sorry to say that I failed to figure out WOOFER and TWEETER, but that’s my fault, not Matilda’s.
In my defense, I would like to add that the crossers for WOOFER and TWEETER are particularly unhelpful: –O-E- and —E-E-. Once you get one of them, you get the W, which is a much more helpful crosser, for the other. But once one of these two falls, the other is sure to follow anyway.
That’s how WOOFER and TWEETER fell for me, Ted.
Thanks to Pierre and Matilda
I’m curious.
What is the role of:
LURKING in 14a, and AFTER in 19a
9d OVER as an anagrind? A new one for me and I’m struggling to justify it.
Mostly very nice.
Dansar @19
14 LURKING is the inclusion indicator
19 AFTER to give the first A? Not entirely convinced
9 OVER is better than some anagrinds I’ve seen recently!
For me, Dansar, ‘lurking’ is a synonym of ‘hiding’, so that works as an insertion indicator. ‘After’ simply indicates the order of POLO and GIS.
‘Over’ as an anagrind? Hmm, I might share your struggle on that one.
Pierre @21
I had forgotten the A&E explanation I gave earlier!
I agree that 14 & 19 both work, but AFTER and LURKING, as the only examples of “gratuitous” additional words in the puzzle, stood out.
A delightful Quiptic, Matilda. Many Thanks again for a Goldilocks puzzle indeed. I loved the 1/5/6 combination in particular.
Thanks to Pierre too.
While, indeed, I had a question mark ‘against’ over as an anagram indicator too, I think this was a smashing Quiptic.
Matilda is a setter who has thus far shown that his or her crosswords are perfect for the daily Monday (or Tuesday) slot.
No obscurities, no silly cryptic definitions, solid technique.
No devices to put those new to crosswords immediately off the beaten track.
I would say to the editor: have a think!
Many thanks again, Pierre & full marks to Matilda.