Thanks to Anto for today’s Quiptic. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 She can’t grasp novel I mused about (5,2,4)
VENUS DE MILO : Anagram of(… about) NOVEL I MUSED.
Defn: … as she’s armless – and a statue to boot.
9 Italian scorer‘s second offence in Ireland (7)
ROSSINI : [S(abbrev. for “second” in time notation) + SIN(an offence)] contained in(in) ROI(abbrev. for the Republic of Ireland).
Defn: … of music, of course.
10 Chance of finding furry creature in outskirts of Laxey (7)
LOTTERY : OTTER(a furry creature) contained in(in) 1st and last letters of(outskirts of) “Laxey“.
Defn: …/an event that is dictated by chance.
11 Career knock will slow your progress down (5,4)
SPEED BUMP : SPEED(to career/to move very fast) + BUMP(a knock/a light blow).
Defn: It … when in a moving vehicle.
12 She inspires weary author occasionally (5)
ERATO : 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th letters of(… occasionally) “weary author“.
Defn: The mythological Greek Muse who inspired writers of love poetry in ancient cultures.
13 Only half of them wait for discharge (4)
EMIT : Last 2 letters, respectively, of(Only half of) “them wait“.
14 Energy firm recruits city guide — it could spark something off (4,6)
FIRE HAZARD : FIRE(energy/fervour) + HARD(firm/not giving way) containing(recruits) A-Z(the city guide in written form).
16 Calculate moth deaths resulting from mutation (2,3,5)
DO THE MATHS : Anagram of(… resulting from mutation) MOTH DEATHS.
As constructed, the clue has to be read as “more deaths” result from mutation of the solution.
19 Entertainer gets laugh changing square to circle … (4)
HOST : “hoot”(a short outburst of laughter) with “S”(abbrev. for “square”) replacing(changing … to …) “o”(letter representing a circle).
As constructed, the clue has to be read as one gets “hoot” by changing the “s” in the solution.
21 … it starts mostly in response to humour (5)
MIRTH : 1st letters, respectively, of(starts) “mostly in response to humour“.
Defn: Amusement as a result/in response to humour.
22 We stop for broadcast that’s quietly influential (4,5)
SOFT POWER : Anagram of(… broadcast) WE STOP FOR.
24 Note stink over ball delivery (7)
OBSERVE : Reversal of(… over) BO(abbrev. for “body odour”/a stink) + SERVE(a ball delivery initiating play in games like tennis and badminton).
25 Overlooked bidder on giving piece back (7)
IGNORED : Hidden in(… piece) reversal of(… back) “bidder on giving“.
26 Not the main way nurses get assigned to teams, reportedly (4,7)
SIDE STREETS : Homophone of(…, reportedly) [“treats”(nurses/provides care and cure) placed after(get assigned to) SIDES(opposing teams in a competitive match)].
Down
1 Compile ten diverse tests for those claiming special needs (6,9)
VESTED INTERESTS : Anagram of(Compile) TEN DIVERSE TESTS.
Defn: Persons or groups with their own particular reasons/special needs for being involved, usually for gain of some sort.
2 Female spirit essential to sonata Grieg made (5)
NAIAD : Middle letters, respectively, of(essential to) “sonata Grieg made“.
3 Spanish agreement to adopt multi-variable incentives (7)
STIMULI : SI(Spanish word for “yes”/agreement) containing(to adopt) anagram of(…-variable) MULTI.
4 Extra! Extra! Leaders concealing crops loss (7)
ECLIPSE : 1st letters, respectively, of(… Leaders) “Extra! Extra!” containing(concealing) CLIPS(crops/cuts short with, say, scissors).
Defn: … of significance or power, as in “the rise of online shopping will lead to the eclipse of the brick-and-mortar shops”.
5 Breathing excitedly with run out secured (2,3,3)
IN THE BAG : Anagram of(… excitedly) [“Breathing” minus(with … out) “r”(abbrev. for “run” in cricket scores)].
6 Invite trouble when preparing early bird meal? (4,1,3,2,5)
OPEN A CAN OF WORMS : …(whimsically, prepare to feed the early birds, who proverbially get the worms).
7 Castaway picked up broadcast by sailors (6)
CRUSOE : Homophone of(picked up) [“sow”(to broadcast/to strew, say, seeds on the ground) placed below(by, in a down clue) “crew”(a group of sailors working on a ship).
Defn: Robinson, the protagonist of Daniel Defoe’s book.
8 Legend next to Bond? (2,4)
BY WORD : BY(next to spatially, as in “by my side”) + WORD(a bond/an undertaking, as in “I give my word that I’ll do it”).
Defn: …/someone or something cited as a notable and outstanding example or personification of something.
I didn’t quite get this one, being misled by the wrong numeration: it should be either (2-4) or (6), not (2,4).
15 It gives potter one after table ends secured (8)
TETHERED : [THE RED](it/one of the red balls, that when potted gives/adds one point to the score of a snooker player) placed below(after, in a down clue) 1st and last letters of(… ends) “table“.
Defn: …/tied an animal to restrict its movement.
16 Fools buttonholed doctor in pairs (6)
DUMBOS : MB(abbrev. for “Medicinae Baccalaureus”/Bachelor of Medicine/a doctor to you and me) contained in(buttonholed … in) DUOS(pairs of people or things in music or entertainment, say).
17 Rawness surprisingly can give you what you’re looking for here (7)
ANSWERS : Anagram of(… surprisingly) RAWNESS.
Defn: …, ie. you as a solver and here as in the crossword.
18 That woman’s taking in newspaper that is more powerful (7)
HEFTIER : HER(that woman/third person feminine pronoun) containing(…’s taking in) [FT(abbrev. for the Financial Times newspaper) + IE(abbrev. for “id est”/that is).
20 Outburst, as I get stuck in traffic (6)
TIRADE : I contained in(get stuck in) TRADE(traffic/the buying and selling of goods or services, usually illegally).
23 Punishment after removing an extremely small amount of money (5)
PENCE : “penance”(punishment inflicted on oneself for a wrongdoing) minus(after removing) “an“.
Thanks both. Rather tough for a Quiptic imho
Thanks Anto and scchua
Very hard for a Quiptic. I spent ages, particularly in the SW. I didn’t parse FIRE HAZARD, and I’ve never heard the term SOFT POWER – does anyone use it?
The wordplay for 19a seems to lead to HOOT, but the definition would be misplaced then.
Sorry, ECLIPSE does not mean “loss” in any sense, despite your best efforts, scchua!
I liked VENUS DE MILO and IN THE BAG.
Maybe a bit tough for a Quiptic but so much better than Anto of old.
Collins gives for eclipse: ‘a loss of importance, power, fame, etc, esp through overshadowing by another.’
I liked TETHERED and SIDE STREETS.
Thanks Anto and scchua.
Good clear puzzle but much too hard for a quiptic. Agree with your quibble about BY WORD. Thanks all.
muffin @2. Soft power has rather gone out of fashion of late:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/20/the-rise-and-fall-of-soft-power/
Agreed that this was perhaps too hard for a Quiptic and that the enumeration for 8d was wrong (I put in a half-parsed MY WORD). Having said that, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Anto can be quite good when he attaches some wordplay to his whimsical definitions. VENUS DE MILO and OPEN A CAN OF WORMS in particular made me smile.
Thanks to Anto and Scchua.
Very nice. Just what I needed to get the week going. Thanks Anto and scchua
Agree it was tough for a quiptic, although it was welcome after the rather easy cryptic. Loved VENUS DE MILO!
I loved VENUS DE MILO too, but there were too many problematic clues for this to be a satisfying puzzle.
The construction of 19a is the wrong way around, and it could so easily have been fixed by swapping “square” and “circle”. The surface would have made just as much (or just as little) sense that way, so why not?
The definition of 26a seems to want a singular, but the answer is plural, and the elements of the wordplay don’t seem to fit together: even if you accept that “gets assigned to” means “is placed after” for some reason, “reportedly” is modifying the wrong element (SIDES instead of TREATS).
The incorrect enumeration in 8d is unfortunate, but it’s made worse by the loose definition.
I didn’t read the word lengths 2 3 5 for 16 across and so spent ages trying to find a 10-letter word. Duh. Apart from that, I really liked this, but if you swapped it with today’s Vulcan, it would have suited the Cryptic & Quiptic slots better.
Sichuan, re 15: if you potted the red in billiards you’d get 3 points. To get 1 you’d need to be playing snooker.
Yes, Gasmanjack, snooker player it is. Blog corrected.
I quite liked this, though I agree it’s a bit hard for a Quiptic–harder than the regular Monday offering in my opinion. Happily, today is a holiday for me, so I had all the time in the world. I particularly liked Venus de Milo. Did not parse FIRE HAZARD or TETHERED [this not being snooker country]. Thanks to blogger and setter.
Thanks to sschua and Anto
Mostly very nice I thought.
I know these things can happen occasionally, but it did seem strange that PENANCE, LOLLIPOP, and ROSSINI appeared in both the Times and Guardian today.
More fun than the cryptic today, I thought.
Did anyone else get SPEED HUMP? It parses perfectly as”hump” and “knock” are synonyms, if a bit close to the knuckle. (Paul has a lot to answer for!)
Anto should be promoted. Thanks to him and to scchua.
Yes, difficult for a quiptic but much better than the usual Anto. Enjoyed it, especially Venus de Milo and open a can of worms. Agree that ‘eclipse’ cant be made to mean’loss’
My favourite was FIRE HAZARD.
I was unable to parse 19a and 15d.
Thanks B+S
I am a cryptic / quiptic beginner. I enjoy them, unless they ate too hard, so very relieved by the collective verdict that this is harder than the usual quiptic. Also liked 1a, and would have liked to get 9a or 26d. Working towards.