Thanks Matilda. A puzzle for those who like anagrams. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Delight for mad cats? Yes! (7)
ECSTASY : Anagram of(mad) CATS? YES.
5 Unfairly blames husband for awkward gait (7)
SHAMBLE : Anagram of(Unfairly) [BLAMES + H(abbrev. for “husband”)].
10 Nag daft wife and cause distress (4)
GNAW : Anagram of(… daft) NAG + W(abbrev. for “wife”).
11 Trip from drug — mostly horrid time (10)
PILGRIMAGE : “pill”(a drug, in tablet form) minus its last letter(mostly) + GRIM(horrid/terrible) + AGE(a period of time).
12 Mark a bit of headscarf (4)
SCAR : Hidden in(a bit of) “headscarf“.
14 Pair accepts ongoing army training to begin with for Thames battle (4,4)
BOAT RACE : BRACE(a pair of something, typically bird or animals killed in hunting) containing(accepts) 1st letters, respectively, of(… to begin with) “ongoing army training“.
Defn: …, specifically the competition on the Thames river between the Oxford and Cambridge rowing teams.
15 Trendy cool hat is childish (9)
INFANTILE : IN(trendy/in fashion) + FAN(to cool with eg. a fan) + TILE(slang for a hat).
17 Fish can be obtuse (5)
ANGLE : Double defn: 1st: To … with a rod and line; and 2nd: The space, measured in degrees, between two intersecting lines is an obtuse one when it is more than 90 degrees.
18 Silly Superman ran out of froth (5)
SPUME : Anagram of(Silly) [“Superman” minus(… out of) “ran“].
20 Janitor finding joyrider around the middle of Leeds (9)
CARETAKER : [CAR TAKER](how you might call one who steals a car for a joyride) containing(around) middle letter of(the middle of) “Leeds“.
24 Meat provided by standard mother (one who overacts) (5,3)
PARMA HAM : PAR(standard/the norm, as in “par for the course”) + MA(familiar term for one’s mother) + HAM(a stage player who overacts).
25 Reportedly go off bird (4)
TERN : Homophone of(Reportedly) “turn”(to go off/to go bad).
26 Nap, then shower — editor’s calm! (10)
RESTRAINED : REST(a form of which is a nap/a short period of sleep) plus(then) RAIN(to shower/to spray on) + ED(abbrev. for “editor”).
27 Change over hands (4)
PAWS : Reversal of(… over) SWAP(to change one thing for another).
Defn: Informal term for one’s hands.
29 Get over Brexit rapidly or Kent’s economic leaders lose their shirts (2,5)
GO BROKE : 1st letters, respectively, of(… leaders) “Get over Brexit rapidly or Kent’s economic“.
30 A guess? A cuckoo? A dog? (7)
SAUSAGE : Anagram of(… cuckoo) A GUESS? A.
Defn: …, specifically a dachshund, so-called because of its body shape.
Down
2, 13 Be capable of potty dance (6)
CANCAN : CAN(be capable of/be able to) + CAN(like “potty”, an informal term for the toilet).
3 Stop twerp undressing in part of castle (5)
TOWER : “Stop twerp ” minus its first and last letters, respectively(undressing).
4 Loyalty for Proust admitting penny dreadful (7)
SUPPORT : Anagram of(… dreadful) PROUST containing(admitting) P(abbrev. for “penny”, the British monetary unit).
6 Expression of joy could be the last (6)
HURRAH : Double defn: 2nd: A last one of this is someone’s final act or performance.
7 Man-made or plastic notes (9)
MEMORANDA : Anagram of(… plastic) MAN-MADE OR.
8 I go and call afresh, being reasonable (7)
LOGICAL : Anagram of(… afresh) [I GO plus(and) CALL].
9 Change law or gambling could get us all heated up? (6,7)
GLOBAL WARMING : Anagram of(Change) LAW OR GAMBLING.
Defn: It …
13 See 2
16 School mums involved in reform (4,5)
ALMA MATER : [MA,MA](twice/plural of the familiar term for one’s mum/mother) contained in(involved in) ALTER(to reform).
Defn: … from which one graduated.
19 Pretend drug put down bog, in the main (7)
PLACEBO : PLACE(to put down on/to set on) + “bog” minus its last letter(in the main).
21 In speech I’d name an egg-laying mammal (7)
ECHIDNA : Hidden in(In) “speech I’d name“.
22, 28 Insect‘s shell-like rug? (6)
EARWIG : EAR(slang for which is “shell-like”) + WIG(a hairpiece, slang for which is “rug”).
23 Quiet order became smaller (6)
SHRANK : SH!(an exclamation to tell someone to be quiet) + RANK(to order/to give someone or something a place within a grading system)
25 Step off around axis of sorts (5)
TYPES : Anagram of(… off) STEP containing(around) Y(an axis/one of the fixed reference lines along which the position of a point is measured)
28 See 22
Thanks Matilda and scchua
Perhaps a bit anagram-heavy, but overall a delight. Too many favourites to mention, but GLOBAL WARMING stands out.
Minor misprint in 11a, scchua – PILL, not PILE
Thanks muffin. Blog corrected.
Knew the name of the mammal, but didn’t know it was egg-laying. Appreciate the photo in the blog of the amusing-looking critter
Very enjoyable puzzle. My favourites were SAUSAGE, ALMA MATER, PLACEBO (loi).
Thanks Matilda and scchua.
Thanks, scchua.
I don’t think the number of anagrams is excessive for a quiptic, especially when they’re as clever as these: I particularly enjoyed ECSTASY and SAUSAGE.
I like the wit and precision of Matilda’s puzzles and I should like to see her given a chance in the Cryptic slot. Many thanks to her.
loved this, fun AND easy!
Favourites were PARMA HAM, RESTRAINED and the lovely SAUSAGE.
Now this was another splendid Quiptic (and, indeed, a crossword that wouldn’t be out of place in the actual paper).
While I am usually not bothered about grids, I was rather surprised to see this one. Is it really part of the Guardian set?
I admit to be an occasional sinner myself but 11 (!!) entries that were less than 50% checked – that’s a bit much, isn’t it?
And what about 4d and 21d? Both have three unchecked letters in a row. Most unusual, to say the least.
That said, no problem to finish the puzzle and no complaints about the cluing itself.
Fun.
Many thanks to scchua & Matilda.
Yes, good Quiptic but I was about to mention the clues with three unchecked letters – I don’t think that’s a Guardian grid, although I think the Telegraph allows it – however, I wouldn’t use it in a beginner’s puzzle (or not at all!)
I did like CARETAKER and SAUSAGE.
Thanks Matilda and scchua.
Never attempted a Quiptc before but muffin you are always mentioning them, and as the Cryptic was over quickly I thought I’d give it a go. Glad I did great aplomb and fun. Many thanks Matilda, Scchua and muffin.
PS, Sil does have a point about the grid though.
I found this a bit harder than the usual Quiptic, especially in the SE. I would blame the words with three unchecked letters, but as it happens ECHIDNA was one of my first ones in, so I guess not. I’ve never heard the term “shell-like”, so EARWIG took me ages. After I got the final G, I kept trying to work in some sort of BUG.
Nice one! I liked the way the wordplay in the non-anagram clues was clearly signposted, very appropriate for a Quiptic, I thought. Thanks Matilda and scchua