A delightful Quiptic from Hectence, with nothing to frighten the horses, as it should be.
I have given full explanations for those in the ‘beginner’ category, but please ask if there is something that’s not clear. For said beginners, I will point out that the puzzle is a pangram: it contains all 26 letters of the alphabet at least once. Most setters do it just for fun, but Hectence seems to do it often. Perhaps she’s just a fun-loving girl.
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 Complete louts on the rampage in Lincoln
ABSOLUTE
An insertion of (LOUTS)* in ABE for the US President. The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the anagrind is ‘on the rampage’.
5 Vacancies for experts after sponsorship ends
SPACES
A charade of SP for the first and last letters of ‘sponsorship’ and ACES.
9 Crucifix with bend in arm
CROSSBOW
A simple charade of CROSS and BOW.
10 First half of injury time sees City come in and shoot
INJECT
An insertion of EC in INJ for the first half of ‘injury’ and T. EC for ‘city’ is crosswordspeak: the postcode of the City of London is EC (originally East Central).
11 Shot on green, briefly to one side, straightened out
PUT RIGHT
A charade of PUT[T] and RIGHT.
12 Heading off on piste, broke part of foot
INSTEP
([O]N PISTE)*
14 Distress when stuck inside taxi home with father hugging girl
CABIN FEVER
A charade of CAB, IN and EVE inserted into FR for the religious ‘father’. The insertion indicator is ‘hugging’.
18 Idiot, finishing sulkily, spoils reward for last place
BOOBY PRIZE
A charade of BOOB (mainly US usage, I fancy), Y for the last letter of ‘sulkily’ and PRIZE.
22 Fear abandoning old battleship for nothing
NOUGHT
[DREAD]NOUGHT
23 Annoyance with former partner replacing account during holiday
VEXATION
Hectence is inviting you to replace the AC in VACATION with EX.
24 Pretending to be about to retire can start to gall
ACTING
A charade of a reversal of CA for circa or ‘about’, TIN and the initial letter of ‘gall’. The reversal indicator is ‘to retire’.
25 Command less authority, when without electricity?
POWER CUT
A cd cum dd.
26 Picked up drink to go in tent
TEEPEE
A charade of a homophone (‘picked up’) of TEA and PEE. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.
27 Returning vessels very suddenly come to a halt
STOP DEAD
A charade of a reversal of POTS (‘returning’) and DEAD. She’s a dead good setter, that Hectence.
Down
1 Admit carbon copy record in a first trial
ACCEPT
An insertion of CC and EP in A and T for the first letter of ‘trial’. Carbon copies haven’t been around for a generation or more, but the CC abbreviation still appears in electronic mail.
2 Son left university at last keen on games
SPORTY
A charade of S, PORT and Y for the final letter of ‘university’.
3 Become very angry and look ready to get hold of me
LOSE IT
A charade of LO! and I for ‘me’ inserted into SET. The insertion indicator is ‘to get hold of’.
4 Children’s fantasy character is beautiful, young and, above all, also extremely tough
TOOTH FAIRY
Quite a convoluted parsing, but perfectly fair. A charade of TOO for ‘also’, TH for the outside letters (‘extremely’) of ‘tough’, FAIR and Y for ‘young’. The ‘above all’ element is there, in a down clue, to give you the instructions about the order of the particles.
6 Writer represented Nike protecting fellow in small cutter
PENKNIFE
A charade of PEN and F inserted into (NIKE)* The insertion indicator is ‘protecting’ and the anagrind is ‘represented’.
7 On filling initial curriculum vitae, set out to be original
CREATIVE
An insertion of RE for ‘on’ in C for the first letter of ‘curriculum’ and (VITAE)* The anagrind is ‘set out’.
8 Noticeably different leading actor in TV role
SET APART
An insertion of A for the first letter of ‘actor’ in SET and PART.
13 Flopped when champagne taken away?
FIZZLED OUT
If the champage were taken away, then the FIZZ would be LED OUT, wouldn’t it?
15 Key worker’s supporting sailor’s international body is more than enough
ABUNDANT
A charade of AB, UN, D for the musical ‘key’ and ANT. ‘Supporting’ tells you the word order in a down clue.
16 King abandons game having note from flirtatious lady
COQUETTE
A charade of C[R]OQUET and TE for the seventh note of the tonic sol-fa.
17 Unexpectedly, Bach work’s unknown within northern church
BY CHANCE
An insertion of Y for the mathematical ‘unknown’ in (BACH)* followed by N and CE. The insertion indicator is ‘[has] within’ and the anagrind is ‘work’.
19 Very happy with politician embracing a top deal with European Union
MADE UP
An insertion of A, D for the first letter of ‘deal’ and EU in MP. The insertion indicator is ’embracing’. MADE UP in this sense is more northern than southern English usage, I would posit.
20 Some feel Cricklewood’s about to get a London Underground line
CIRCLE
Hidden reversed in feEL CRICklewood.
21 Leeds team announced second person to be given an honour
UNITED
A homophone (‘announced’) of YOU and KNIGHTED. Leeds are, in full, Leeds UNITED. Sunderland beat them 1-0 in the 1973 FA Cup Final. Ian Porterfield’s goal in the 32nd minute and Monty’s gravity-defying double save. And Bob Stokoe running on at the end in his trilby hat. I’ll stop now and say thank you to the Manchester City supporting Hectence for today’s puzzle.
Very pleasant pangram. I liked FIZZLED OUT but was unsure about ‘y’ for young? Ta Pierre & Hectence
BOOBY can also mean idiot, so ‘finishing sulkily’ seemed redundant. I also thought COQUETTE was a lovely clue.
Thanks both. Great Quiptic.
I believe that MADE UP in the “happy” sense has infected the South now. I blame the television.
Nice. Unusually, I realised it was likely to be a pangram, and that cued me to think there was a Q in 16d. To my utter shame (being the secretary of the Sandy Bay Croquet Club) it took me far too long to pick up on which game was being referenced. I did not know that meaning of MADE UP but the cluing was clear. Indeed, that was true for lots of these, and I often found myself following the instructions straight to the answer as defined. Thanks Pierre and Hectence.
Nice to see Hectence back after a few weeks break. TEEPEE was fun and I very much enjoyed FIZZLED OUT, although a couple clues (notably ACCEPT) felt like they were phrased awkwardly.
Me @1 : of course – young YMCA etc.
I liked COQUETTE and the all too topical CABIN FEVER when the penny dropped. I tried to make CAVITIES work for 7d, but they need filling rather than being on filling. A nice Quiptic that took me a bit longer than usual.
I am happy that the Quiptic finally appeared online!
Favourites: TEEPEE, TOOTH FAIRY.
I could not parse NOUGHT; DEAD in 27ac.
Was able to parse 19 but I never before heard that MADE-UP = very happy.
New: Leeds United team.
Thanks, B+S
Thanks Hectence and Pierre
Yes, a lovely Quiptic, though my last two – COQUETTE and TEEPEE – took as long as the rest put together!
Lots of favourites. I must mention ABSOLUTE, CIRCLE (Cricklewood would love to have a Tube station, I expect!), and UNITED.
Pierre
Thanks for the blog and the football reminiscence. Whatever happened to Sunderland?
That would take a long and very much off-topic reply, rullytully. Let’s just say I keep the faith. More on-topic, I’ll just add that the other Sunderland fan in this neck of the woods is the Indy setter Raich, whose moniker comes from Raich Carter (he is known elsewhere as Gurney and Hurley, which tells you that he’s even more red-and-white than I am).
Another who went Eh?! at that meaning of made up, loi, and given what Shirl said I’m surprised I haven’t come across it in one Brit show or another. [Talking of shows, 24ac reminded me of DI Thursday in Endeavour after he lost the retirement nestegg]. Nice puzzle, ta both.
That was very good and now of course I wonder why I could not parse everything straight off. COQUETTE was brilliant! Thanks to Pierre and of course to Hectence for a dead good start to the week that left me made up.
Sorry I am a bit late to the party but it is worth pointing out 22a could also be NAUGHT, as both spellings are acceptable and that is the one I recall from my youth.
Thanks for the puzzle Hectence – I thought it an excellent Quiptic. Thank you for the explanations Pierre.
Dropping in from the US to say that I’d assumed BOOB was UK usage — I don’t think I’ve encountered it in the sense of “idiot” in any source from at least the past 50 years, it having been superseded by the alternative meaning. Can’t answer for all the regional dialects, of course, but I wouldn’t recommend it for use if you visit our shores (!). Thanks Pierre and Hectence!
Hello Pierre, I didn’t realise you were a “Mackem” I’ve always tried to be Black and White about things myself, hope that will not stop you from offering help when I request it!
Many thanks for the answers, great explanations. The clues were a little ambiguous in parts, at least it got the old grey matter moving.
I will endeavour to be assiduously neutral when it comes to helping you with the crosswords, Martin. You need to make friends with one of my fellow bloggers on Fifteensquared, twencelas. He’s of a similar persuasion to you (and likes anagrams).
Hi, L. I hadn’t come across ‘boob’ for ‘idiot’ before, although in British English it can of course mean ‘mistake’ or ‘breast’. It was my dictionary that alerted me to the US meaning, so maybe it’s Collins that needs revision.
Thanks, Pierre, I had one of those “I should not have made that comment” moment after I sent it. I promise to stay on topic in future. Many thanks.