As usual, Anto operates towards the trickier end of the Quiptic range, but there are some straightforward clues that should (I hope) get beginners started here.
We have some classic crossword tricks (sign, socialist, dry); a few quirkily cryptic definitions (I liked 1a), and some groan-worthy puns (8d). I must admit I got a bit tired of “remove the last letter”, which came up several times, but there are plenty of other clue types here. If I haven’t explained something fully below, please ask! Thanks to Anto.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CORONER | One finds reason for passing nothing during recess (7) |
| O (zero = nothing) inserted into CORNER (recess). A legal official who determines the reason why someone has died (passed). |
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| 5 | DEBACLE | Girl getting introduced by lecturer during professional disaster (7) |
| DEB |
||
| 9 | AUDIT | Inspect valued gift on a regular basis (5) |
| Alternate letters (on a regular basis) from [v]A[l]U[e]D [g]I[f]T. | ||
| 10 | CRESCENDO | Endless street party that’s getting louder (9) |
| CRESCEN[t] (a type of street; endlessly = last letter removed) + DO (a party). Musical term for “gradually getting louder”. |
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| 11 | CRASH-LAND | Family embracing headstrong daughter fail spectacularly (5-4) |
| CLAN (family), containing (embracing) RASH (headstrong) + D (daughter). | ||
| 12 | EMOJI | During demo, jihadis display sign of feeling (5) |
| Hidden answer (during) in [d]EMO JI[hadis]. A digital image conveying an emotion. |
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| 13 | ROPES | They’re known to have experience making boxing rings (5) |
| Cryptic definition: “know the ropes” = to have experience in a particular situation. The idiom might come from sailing ships, or from the theatre (where ropes are used to control curtains and scenery). The straight definition is as in “on the ropes” = up against the edge in the boxing ring, literally and figuratively. | ||
| 15 | OFF COURSE | Naturally embracing fellow that’s lost (3,6) |
| OF COURSE (naturally = certainly), containing F (fellow). Off course doesn’t necessarily mean lost – to continue the sailing image from the previous clue, a ship can be driven off its intended course by a strong wind but the crew still know where they are – but it’s close enough for crosswords. |
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| 18 | DATE NIGHT | Gent had it prepared for special meal with his partner (4,5) |
| Anagram (prepared) of GENT HAD IT. Time specifically set aside by a couple to spend time with each other, usually involving a meal. |
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| 19 | TASKS | Sounds of disapproval about American actions (5) |
| TSKS (tsk! =expression of disapproval), containing A (American). | ||
| 21 | PETAL | Part of a rose, say, that’s favourite with nearly everyone (5) |
| PET (favourite, as in “teacher’s pet” which now seems a more disturbing phrase than it did in my schooldays) with AL[l] (everyone; nearly = last letter removed). | ||
| 23 | TREASURER | Officer who will cherish organisation’s resources (9) |
| Cryptic definition: cherish = treasure = value greatly and take good care of, but the treasurer of an organisation is the officer who looks after its finances (resources). | ||
| 25 | SWEET SPOT | Confectioner’s outlet, the best place for making contact? (5,4) |
| Spot = place associated with something, so a confectioner’s shop could be called a SWEET SPOT. The definition refers to sports such as tennis or golf: the sweet spot is the area in the middle of the racket or club head, where the player gets the best control when striking the ball. |
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| 26 | AVAIL | Benefit from circulating hot stuff around island (5) |
| LAVA (hot stuff), with the first letter moved to the end (circulating), around I (island). As in “to no avail” = without gaining any benefit. |
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| 27 | TETANUS | Test missing section attached to waste outlet creating disease (7) |
| TE[s]T, with the S (section) removed, then ANUS (waste outlet). | ||
| 28 | DODGEMS | Freakishly odd stones are a fairground attraction (7) |
| Anagram (freakishly) of ODD, then GEMS (stones). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CHANCER | Sign over hotel is a dubious one (7) |
| CANCER (sign of the zodiac), containing (over) H (Hotel, in the radio alphabet). An unscrupulous opportunist; one who tries questionable ways to make money. |
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| 2 | RED CARPET | Rebuke socialist changing positions where celebrities are found (3,6) |
| CARPET (rebuke / harshly criticise) + RED (socialist), but in the opposite order (changing positions). | ||
| 3 | NOTCH | Feed is fetched using this step (5) |
| FETCHED with NO TCH becomes FEED. Step = notch = an increment, as in “turn it up a notch”. |
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| 4 | ROCK ALONG | Keep progressing area extended under foundation (4,5) |
| A (area) + LONG (extended), with ROCK (foundation) before it (above it, in a down clue). Rock along = slang for “continue successfully”, for example “the team’s season is rocking along nicely”. |
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| 5 | DREAD | Horror is not quite real when shown in 2-D (5) |
| REA[l] (not quite = last letter removed), inserted into D D (2 Ds). | ||
| 6 | BACKED OUT | Didn’t pursue report of second reservation (6,3) |
| Homophone (report) of BACK (second = agree with) + DOUBT (reservation = uncertainty). | ||
| 7 | CONDO | Property of double bluff (5) |
| CON + DO (both meaning bluff = cheat). Short for condominium = similar to an apartment / flat, but generally one that is owned rather than rented. |
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| 8 | EMOTIVE | Controversial reason for electronic crime, perhaps (7) |
| Motive = reason for committing a crime; prefix e- = electronic. So E-MOTIVE. | ||
| 14 | SINGLETON | Longest in bats for just one run (9) |
| Anagram (bats = crazy) of LONGEST IN. Cricket term for a score of only one run: I can’t find this in dictionaries but I’ve definitely heard it in commentary. |
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| 16 | FATHER TED | Comical cleric destined to take on the right (6,3) |
| FATED (destined), containing (taking on) THE R (right). Eponymous hero of a sitcom set in Ireland. |
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| 17 | RESURFACE | Come up again to put new top on (9) |
| Double definition: think deep-sea diving for the first, and tarmac on roads for the second. | ||
| 18 | DEPOSIT | Bound to involve bribe when turning over bank … (7) |
| TIED (bound), containing SOP (a bribe), all reversed (turning over). Bank, as a verb = deposit money in a bank. |
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| 20 | SURPLUS | … bonus almost certain before it’s over (7) |
| PLUS (bonus), with SUR[e] (certain; almost = last letter removed) before it. | ||
| 22 | TWEET | Message is dry with little content (5) |
| TT (teetotal = dry), with WEE (little) as its content. | ||
| 23 | TYPOS | Keying errors dame made from form, for example (5) |
| Definition by examples: DAME / MADE seems a slightly unlikely typo, but FROM / FORM is a frequent one. | ||
| 24 | STAND | Run? Strangely, yes and no (5) |
| Cryptic double definition, I suppose – referring to two opposite meanings of the word. Stand as in “stand your ground” = don’t run away. |
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I think the ‘deb’ in 5A signifies ‘debutante’ (girl getting introduced)
STAND for parliament = RUN for parliament.
Thanks Anto and Quirister
Some lovely clues. Favourites were CORONER for the definition, ROPES, and CONDO.
Thanks for the parses of NOTCH and STAND.
I think 14d would be better if the “run” at the end were simply omitted.
I’ve never heard ROCK ALONG.
Thanks to Hodge and blaise for tidying up some parsings I’d missed. Blog now corrected.
Certainly on the tough side for a Quiptic. I didn’t finish it, finding the N, especially the NE, quite hard. NOTCH seems to me a notch or two above the Quiptic level, I do not know the phrase ROCK ALONG, DEBACLE is quite convoluted (whether it wants ‘guess random girl’s name’, or as Hodge @5 suggests, the debutante – both are abbreviations, too). Is CRESCENDO a verb? I would have thought it was a noun (“coming to a crescendo”). But my technical musical knowledge isn’t strong. CONDO is an Americanism, isn’t it – but it wasn’t indicated. Thanks for the help, Quirister, and ANTO for (3/4 of) the puzzle.
24D did for me – that’s really quite tough for a quiptic, and the crossers/pattern were pretty common.
Largely enjoyed the rest. I agree with muffin than ‘run’ was superfluous in 14D, and never heard of 4D. Professional for ACE was rather loose…
Thanks Anto and Quirister.
Tassie Tim
I meant to congratulate Anto on avoiding “coming to a crescendo” 🙂 It’s the process of getting louder, not the loudest point, though I agree it’s works better as a noun than a verb.
muffin @7 – absolutely, crescendo is the process not the loudest point (it’s Italian for “growing”). But when written alongside a section of music it’s effectively a description of what the music should be doing; some composers insist on using English rather than Italian musical terms, so they would write “getting louder” instead.
I found that really difficult for a Quiptic. The NorthWest corner held me up for ages. For CHANCER I thought that over meant the H would be at the bottom. ROPES was clever but my LOI. I like this crossword better in retrospect than I did when struggling with it
Muffin @3, I agree that the run in 14d doesn’t quite sit right, and would be better removed. But quibbles aside, there are some real beauties in here. NOTCH and TYPOS both had me scratching my head over the clever secondaries, long after I was sure of the answer. I also enjoyed CONDO along similar lines. EMOTIVE raised a smile, and CORONER and ROPES were Rufus-like in the very best way.
Tough for a Quiptic but some excellent clues inc CRESCENDO, TETANUS, CONDO and EMOTIVE. I agree with you Muffin@1 that ‘run’ is superfluous. Nice to see FATHER TED turn up again so soon but no more TWEETS or TWITTERS please, they just seem incessant at the moment. Ta Anto & Quirister for parsing NOTCH.
One of the better Anto offerings, with several clues that raised a smile (e.g., CORONER, CRESCENDO, EMOTIVE). I missed a couple of the parsings, so thanks to Quirister for explaining NOTCH (quite clever now that I see it) and TYPOS (not sure that it quite works – ‘dame made’ doesn’t really indicate typing one instead of the other – though the intent is clear).
ROCK ALONG is not a phrase I’ve heard, but I put it in. TREASURER is a bit strange – is the R at the end an abbr for resources? Much harder than the Cryptic (as usual?). The sweet spot in 25a made me think of cricket (a bat has a sweet spot) so I interpreted 24d as: yes – the batsman had a stand, therefore at least one run; and no – stand, don’t run.
Forgive me for asking this here, but it seems like the best place for it. My kids (aged 9 and 11) have watched me getting into cryptics this year, and are desperate to have a go, but find even the quiptics challenging.
They really loved this crossword that uses only anagrams and hidden word clues, so I’m looking for other really simple examples of cryptic crosswords that they might be able to have a go at, or that are designed to teach the different types of clues. Does anyone know of any such resources out there? Books, websites, etc?
I had a hard time with this, more so than the Crytic, once again. But thank you Quirister for straightening me out, and thanks to Anto for the puzzle.
Couldn’t think of “tstks,” was stuck on “tuts,” leading to “tusts.” That is a word, believe it or not.
I did start with “Father Ted,” which I learned from a recent crossword, but surely 25a was SWEET SHOP. Is there a comic Father Pat? Yes, by gum, a cartoon one. I finally gave up on him, though, to preserve TYPOS.
NOTCH was too fiendish for me. Didn’t know ROCK ALONG.
14d is actually quite devious. the surface is all cricket but the answer is not a cricket term.
it refers to a holding in bridge the you wouldn’t bid on, or might discard to bring your
trumps into play. in crik it’s “a single” or “just a single”
a fun crosse, have to admit not parsing “typos”…
mtega @14: I learned the art of solving cryptic crosswords from the book linked below. It’s by American setting team Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, who set the crosswords in the Atlantic for decades, until the Atlantic stopped running a crossword. The book discusses each of the basic clue types (anagrams, double definitions, charades, reversals, insertions, deletions, homophones, etc.), tells you basic tricks for how to spot them, and then does a puzzle featuring nothing but that clue type. Then there are a few easy crosswords before they turn you loose on harder ones for the rest of the book.
It’s sadly out of print, but it looks like there are still used copies available to order. (A used book of crosswords—hmmm.) It’s American, so international shipping may be a bit steep–I’ll leave that for you to decide.
https://www.amazon.com/Random-House-Guide-Cryptic-Crosswords/dp/0812935454/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3OD1NBX70RQPN&dchild=1&keywords=emily+cox+and+henry+rathvon+cryptic+crosswords&qid=1608578527&sprefix=emily+cox%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-9
Another Tricky Quiptic… perhaps they should just rename it? DNF… TASKS wouldn’t click. TWEETs keep popping up whether you like it or not 😉 Found “controversial”=EMOTIVE, well, controversial; tho Collins online lists former as synonym for latter, defn for latter doesn’t appear to include “disagreement” aspect of former, just emotions in general (same goes for defns on lexico & Chambers online/hardcopy); anyone have a supporting defn ref?
[ mtega (note square brackets for off topic posts): Kudos to your kids! Hope they stick with it… can provide a lifetime of fun/learning. Seem to recall The Atlantic cryptics being more accessible back when I started out… at least a couple books were published (search Atlantic Cryptic Crosswords); looks like some are online (https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/puzzler/puzzler.htm)… not sure if same as the books or not. Another very light book is Sit & Solve Travel Cryptic Crosswords. Good luck! ]
And of course, props to our setter, blogger, and commenters!
[ mrpenny: Had that book too, and recall quite enjoying it. When starting out, found Britishisms in UK puzzles too daunting and was desperate for more accessible US cryptics… the various Rathvon/Cox offering were just right 🙂 Re “used”, have bought many xword books that way, usually w/out issue. Typically they were closeouts/blemishes, or occasionally w/just a few puzzles filled. Back before online puzzles were readily available, bought a big box of UK books (mostly Times, Telegraph) through a closeouts/used website for pennies on the dollar… still slowly working thru them, and entertaining to see what older puzzles were like, even back to the 60s/70s. ]
groniac7 @16, “singleton” for “single” is something I have occasionally heard from cricket commentators (why not just commenters?). It is just the sort of thing to annoy a typical cricket-loving pedant, and there are many of those!
[mrpenny I have Random House Puzzle-maker’s Handbook. Not to forget Crossword Puzzles for Dummies. I bought these during one or two US visits thatI made.]
[ mtega: Need to revise my earlier suggestions… it wasn’t The Atlantic puzzles that were lighter (tho I do like their puzzles), but The New Yorker. There’s at least one book (search “101 Cryptic Crosswords”), and they’ve also been republishing them online (https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/cryptic-crossword). Sorry for the confusion! ]
Anto – not my favourite and some of his/her earlier ones are horrid. I have 861 in front of me this morning…
Anyway – liked quite a few – coroner and emotive. Got quite a few without being sure why – typos is quite clever now I can see it. I get lots if those when accidentally switching to the Russian keyboard. Never heard of rock along so got the “voice of disbelief” from Mum when we did our walk through last night. Thanks to all! This blog is a life saver in the Quiptic front anyway!
Ha – so 861 Anto was probably worse than this one. Though weirdly more satisfying than this one in other ways…
[Thanks @mrpenney, @OddOtter and @Rishi for your suggestions, which look promising. I will explore these further.]
And thanks too to Quirister and everyone at fifteensquared for the wonderful job you all do, making this all intelligible.
Thanks Anto and Quirister. I found the puzzle mostly hard-but-fair with some brilliant moments.
Solved about half of this and gave up due to lack of time and interest.
Not a “Quiptic” in my opinion
Hello probably a bit late with this question, so hope someone is “listening”? I am struggling to understand 6D, Could someone explain, please?. Many thanks.
Martin @28: for your information, generally the original blogger will be notified when you add a comment, so even late questions will normally get an answer!
The definition for 6D is based on the verb phrase “to back out” = to abandon a planned action: for example “They planned to visit today, but they’ve had to back out because of the bad weather.”
The wordplay is: “report” = a spoken account of something, so it indicates that we’re looking for a phrase that “sounds like” another (a homophone). “Second” as a verb = back = to support something that’s been proposed, and “reservation” can mean a doubt as in “I have my reservations about that”. So second + reservation = back + doubt, which sounds like BACKED OUT.
Quirster@29. Many thanks for the explanation. I sort of understood the “Back” and “doubt” just could not see the homophone that connected them to the answer. Your explanation made it clear. Much appreciated.