Anto has the Quiptic for us this morning. A very generous, solver-friendly, grid made up for some tricky clueing, I thought. You?
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 Mob on boundary with some beer
SIX-PACK
A charade of SIX for the ‘boundary’ in cricket and PACK. For our US solvers, I should perhaps explain that a SIX-PACK is an informal term for six cans of beer held together by a plastic ring device which is not a marine animal’s best friend if it is littered and ends up in rivers or lakes. The appearance of the abdominal muscles in ripped males is also referred to as a SIX PACK, because they resemble said beer cans when laid out flat. I speak not from personal experience or appearance.
5 Investigative assistant takes hour creating current programme
WHAT’S ON
Anto is inviting you to insert H into WATSON, Sherlock Holmes’ redoubtable ‘assistant’. The insertion indicator is ‘takes’.
10 Go out of your way to be boring about film
DETOUR
An insertion of ET for the setters’ fave film in DOUR. The insertion indicator is ‘about’.
11 Stone’s condition, maybe, while search is still ongoing?
UNTURNED
A kind of cd, referencing the phrase often used while a search is in progress: leave no stone unturned.
12 Model order for setter perhaps to settle
SIT
Not a dd but a td: a triple definition. The ‘setter’ part is of course referring to the dog and not the compiler.
13 Support centre providing source of meat
RIB-EYE
A charade of RIB and EYE gives you the cut of steak.
14 Cross section pulled back to reveal hidden entrance
TRAP DOOR
A reversal of ROOD and PART. ROOD in this sense is seen in, for example, the Holyrood area of Edinburgh, which is ultimately derived from Holy Rood, or ‘Holy Cross’.
15 It’s the end of a traditional match
DEATH
I didn’t like this one much for three reasons: it’s got less than 50% crossing; there are lots of words that fit ?E?T?; and it’s a very vague cryptic definition referring to the fact that ‘a traditional match’, or wedding, contains the promise ’till death us do part’.
16 Idle crowd unlikely to be tolerated in totalitarian states
FREE PRESS
A simple charade of FREE and PRESS.
19 Reportedly settled for house name on mad ruin being renovated
DUNROAMIN
(ON MAD RUIN)* Again for our overseas solvers, I should explain that this is a (rather naff) name that people give to their house when they retire, suggesting that they are ‘done roaming’ and have settled down.
21 Consequence of initiating kettling, as rioters may attack
KARMA
The initial letters of the last five words of the clue.
24 No good playing it safe before having a hearty meal
FEASTING
A charade of (IT SAFE)* N and G. The anagrind is ‘playing’.
26 Wine region producing drink in pouch? Au contraire
ALSACE
Not ALE in SAC, but the opposite. ALSACE is a region in Eastern France bordering Germany which is famous for its architecture and its wines, which are sold in typically German style bottles rather than the traditional French version.
27 Take in tenants regularly
EAT
The even letters of tEnAnTs.
28 Name ship after James Joyce?
DUBLINER
A charade of DUB and LINER. The question mark is there because it’s a definition by example.
29 Secret attacker‘s affectionate partner
HUGGER
A dd. The first part I am more familiar with as MUGGER.
Edit: in fact this is a devious wordplay on HUGGER-MUGGER, meaning ‘secret’. Spooner’s catflap has kindly and clearly explained it in the comments below.
30 Mess is complete after carnival emptied out
CLUTTER
A charade of CL for the outside letters of ‘carnival’ and UTTER.
31 Wager outside chance will provide a beefy cut
BRISKET
An insertion of RISK in BET. The insertion indicator is ‘outside’.
Down
2 List some of the obstacles I met in climbing
ITEMISE
Hidden reversed in obstaclES I MET In. The reversal indicator, since it’s a down clue, is ‘climbing’.
3 One objecting to 50% reduction in proper sample
PROTESTER
A charade of PRO[PER] and TESTER. The definition for the latter particle is most often seen in cosmetics products, I think.
4 County clubs replace director — it keeps things tight
CORSET
The setter is asking you to replace the D (for ‘director’) in DORSET with C (for ‘clubs’).
6 Cooks throw tea into it to make trouble!
HOT WATER
I’m not sure you need to be a ‘cook’ to make a cup of tea, but it’s a kind of cd cum dd.
Edit: Commenters suggest that this is an anagram of (THROW TEA)* but in that case the cryptic grammar is wrong, because you can’t have ‘cooks’ as an anagrind.
7 Note on wine that’s no longer fresh
TIRED
A charade of TI for the seventh note of the sol-fa and RED.
8 Heavy individual with sour disposition
ONEROUS
A charade of ONE and (SOUR)* with ‘disposition’ as the anagrind.
9 Spread measures of drink for one who can’t hold it?
BUTTER FINGERS
A charade of BUTTER for the ‘spread’ and FINGERS for the parts of the body used to ‘measure’ out spirits, particularly whisky.
17 Rambling is so grand, but you may need these directions
ROAD SIGNS
(IS SO GRAND)*
18 Tolerance where you are required to follow suit
PATIENCE
A dd cum cd. In the card game PATIENCE, you need to ‘follow suit’.
20 Regularly suing peer is not being fair
UNEQUAL
A charade of UN for the even letters of ‘suing’ and EQUAL.
22 Chopper landing revolutionary in China
MACHETE
An insertion of CHE [Guevara] in MATE. The insertion indicator is ‘landing … in’ and ‘china’ is cockney rhyming slang for MATE.
23 Quite right — heart is fluttering
RATHER
(R HEART)*
25 Row about large impact noise
SPLAT
An insertion of L in SPAT, with ‘about’ as the insertion indicator. SPLAT! BOOM! and KAPOW! are ‘impact noises’ best known from superhero comics, I think. Too many exclamation marks for my liking.
Many thanks to Anto for this morning’s Quiptic.
Thanks Anto and Pierre
Far too hard for a Quiptic – first pass yielded only KARMA, BRISKET, ONEROUS, and ROAD SIGNS. Various question marks, most of which you’ve highlighted, Pierre, though I would also question “follow suit” for PATIENCE – there are lots of varieties, only some of which require this. Also, why is a TRAP DOOR “hidden”?
I did like SIT and DUBLINER.
Perhaps a bit trickier than the usual Quiptic (though more approachable than last week’s). I took the second bit of 12a to be “the order the owner of a red setter might give the dog to make them settle” – not two separate definitions. Agree with you on DEATH, Pierre. Thanks, Anto.
You could certainly parse SIT your way, TassieTim. Works either way, doesn’t it?
Re. 29a, this is Claudius talking to Gertrude in Act IV, scene v of Hamlet:
… the people muddied,
Thick, and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers
For good Polonius’ death, and we have done but greenly
In hugger-mugger to inter him. Poor Ophelia
Divided from herself and her fair judgment,
Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts.
‘Hugger-mugger; here means ‘secret’, so ‘the ‘affectionate’ HUGGER’ is the partner of MUGGER in (the phrase meaning) ‘secret’. It is a devious clue.
I agree with muffin @1 that this was not a Quiptic. There were some excellent clues such as DUNROAMIN, ALSACE and MACHETE.
I take your point Pierre about DEATH but I thought it was a devious definition and nothing is more traditional than marriage, I would suggest. It also reminded me of a clue in the Cryptic today.
I also had UPTURNED as there will be many stones in this condition during a search, so both work for me. Ta Anto & Pierre.
Pierre
I share your reservations about DEATH, which was my LOI.
I also parsed 29a like Spooner’s catflap, which makes it a good cd.
I struggled with some of this. HUGGER was certainly not obvious, and, I agree, the need to follow suit doesn’t apply to all PATIENCE games. I did initially cosider VESTA for the match, but finally settled on the reasoning you gave, Pierre. I think that ‘cooks’ in 6D suggests an anagram of ‘throw tea’. Thanks to Anto and Pierre.
I enjoyed this puzzle, although it was perhaps better suited to the Cryptic slot than a ‘Quiptic’.
Favourites: DUBLINER, SIX-PACK, WHAT’S ON, UNTURNED, ALSACE, SPLAT, KARMA.
New: hugger-mugger for parsing of 29ac HUGGER [hugger-mugger noun 1 confusion or disorder. 2 secrecy. adj, adverb 1 secret; in secret. 2 confused; in confusion or disorder]; and DUNROAMIN = A stereotypical name for a cottage or guesthouse / hom. of done roaming.
I parsed 6d as an anagram (cooks) of THROW TEA with def = into it to make trouble / to be in hot water = to be in trouble or disgrace. Perhaps I was overthinking this?
Ta for the blog.
Michell@8 – you are IMO on the money re 6d, me too.
Thanks for the different thinking for HUGGER and HOT WATER. The former is undoubtedly correct and my bad for not seeing it. The latter is no doubt what Anto intended, but you can’t have ‘cooks’ as an anagrind where I live. Cook? Sure. Cooked? Yep. Cooks? No way.
Blog amended.
6d: one cooks THROW TEA to get HOT WATER.
…and you get into HOT WATER to be in trouble.
So cooks (anagrind) throw tea: into it to make trouble = Hot water. Doesn’t quite work for me, but it’s more than a CD.
Some nice Quiptic clues (DUBLINER, CORSET and ONEROUS) amid some (for me) trickier stuff. “Cooks” had to be the anagrind as you don’t need to be a cook to make tea and you don’t throw it in the water to do so.
I like WHATS ON, UNTURNED and DUNROAMIN – not all of which I got. Not really sure exactly how HUGGER works except that it’s obviously all about it being half of HUGGER MUGGER.
Agreed that this was more difficult than the cryptic, but enjoyable.
I think HOT WATER is an anagram using ‘(he) cooks the books.’ I ticked ITEMISE, CORSET, HOT WATER and BUTTER FINGERS.
Thanks Anto and Pierre.
What is the purpose of a Quiptic? Surely it is to be easier than the Cryptic and to introduce people to the usual crossword tricks, not deter them with the vague and difficult. Today’s Cryptic took me half the time of the Quiptic.
Pierre, SIX-PACK has both ot the meanings you give in the US. It’s the cricketing term that needs translation.
“Dour” means “boring”? I thought it meant “grim.”
Thanks, Pierre and Anto.
I agree with Valentine @17 DOUR has no meaning relating to BORING, not in Chambers or Oxford online.
11a is likely a ‘cryptic definition’. I’ve never seen one in a North American cryptic. It’s not a pun. It belongs in a regular crossword not in a cryptic one.
Another American testifying that “Six-pack” is very familiar and six/boundary is not! And “dunroamin,” well. (I get the impression that in the UK it’s fairly common for individual houses to have names, but in the US I think it’s considered very wealthy/pretentious; when an extremely wealth US senator was unsuccessfully running for reelection I saw some mockery of her for living in a mansion called “Descante.”)
Agreed on the objections to “Death” which I had to reveal; I thought perhaps it was also somehow referring to “Deathmatch,” so perhaps a traditional match could be “deathmatch” while death is defined as “it’s the end”? But the wedding vows interpretation is more likely. Not that fond of “patience” either, as there are many other card games involving following suit and I’m not even sure one does follow suit in many kinds of patience! [As an aside, there’s a passage in Wittgenstein where he talks about the proposition “one plays patience by oneself” and it always throws my US students for a loop because they don’t know he’s just talking about what we call “solitaire.”]
I didn’t mind “cooks” as an anagrind; is the objection that it’s the wrong conjugation? I liked that clue and also DUBLINER and SPLAT. Also TRAP DOOR–I have a design document somewhere for a game in which you have to immerse a ROOD PART into a reflecting pool to turn it into a TRAP DOOR which you can open to drain it.
I’m curious about why Pierre regards the grid as “solver-friendly”. The main thing I notice about the grid is that there are quite a few lights with less than 50% checking.
I remembered the word “hugger-mugger” from Hamlet, but even so I still can’t see how this clue works.
I failed on “dunroamin”, as that’s not a word I’ve ever seen before, but I don’t begrudge Anto that.
I agree with the consensus that this was too hard for a Quiptic, but I’d go further — several dodgy clues and vague cds made this a weak puzzle independent of difficulty.
With just 15a left to solve, I considered VESTA, but couldn’t parse it.
I was just directed here by muffin over on the cryptic side (re: 5a). Anto: it was very nice of you, but you didn’t have to, really!
Ted, for me the grid is ‘solver-friendly’ in the sense that there aren’t many black squares, so you get value for money when you do start to complete the grid. Some of the Grauniad grids are effectively split into four quarters with little connectivity, so it’s like solving four separate puzzles. But you’re right, there are quite a few less than 50% crossing clues, which makes life harder.
Matt W – yes, my objection to ‘cooks’ as an anagrind is that it is not the imperative form of the verb. The setter needs to give me an instruction to change the order of the letters, and ‘cooks’ is not that. I think most setters would always follow this convention (although folk are happy with appropriate nounal anagrinds too) and I’m surprised other commenters haven’t expressed objections.
I didn’t comment to this effect in my preamble so as not to guide the discussion overmuch, but I found this a rather clunky and humourless effort which was often strained. I blogged Anto’s first Quiptic (which was borderline dreadful) and while he has improved, he still isn’t a setter that puts a spring in my step if I see his name come up when I’m blogging.
Why can’t the Graun produce a Quiptic of appropriate difficulty ? How are inexperienced solvers supposed to parse the likes of 29a which is a toughie. That aside a very enjoyable crossword.
A bit of a curate’s egg. Some stuff which is nice and straightforward as one expects in a Quiptic. A few which are really rather neat, particular favourites being 24A and 2D. Some good misdirections, 9D probably being the best. One or two clues which are frankly sloppy, 15A and 18D being the worst offenders. And a couple which just seemed downright unfair – DUNROAMIN (really?) and HUGGER (which, hands up, I failed to get, despite being a pretty experienced solver).
Thanks to Anto and to Pierre.
Going backwards through these Quiptics (like Merlin) with my Mum we both dread the Anto – only one left to go and the blog has not been a fan at any time. However, this was hard – some dodgy clues, but some I really liked for a change – Alsace, Dubliner, Brisket, rib eye and butterfingers. So Anto has improved a bit over the 5 years and 8 months of setting!!!!
I am trying to start solving the guardian cryptic and the answers I do not solve i read the parsing on 15 squared, this on when I read the answers left me thinking “what on earth”, I feel any Quiptic should be a learning experience and I accept that crossword will differ from paper to paper and in terms of solving, the Guardian is a paper I am trying to start to learn how to soIve so am a Rookie, but when I read the answers I should not have to start scratching my head.
Thank you to Pierre and Anto
Make it clear why James Joyce for naming the ship? (He wrote ‘Dubliners’, a collection of short stories)
Thank you for the notes for US solvers, very helpful for me!
Morning Phil. James Joyce did indeed write Dubliners, but that’s not the reason he’s part of the wordplay. James Joyce was born in Dublin, and is therefore by birth an example of a DUBLINER. That’s what I meant by ‘definition by example’ and why there’s a question mark in the clue.
Thanks Anto and Pierre. Pierre I know what you mean but I do agree with those saying Anto is getting better and better. This felt to me like a hard but fair Quiptic and I really enjoyed it. I was very slow at first but I felt I got more into Anto’s way of thinking.
I was ok with “throw tea” and I’m embarrassed to say that the cryptic grammar issue just sailed over my head. Oops. “Death” was my last in, by a long time. I was unaccountably stuck with “detour” for ages too till I hit that familiar moan of recognition and admiration for a nice clue.
That was a struggle! I had parked the Quiptic earlier in the week and now it seems to me that it needed a level of clairvoyance bordering on the unreasonable for clues leading to DEATH, DUNROAMIN, WHAT’S ON, HUGGER and (for reasons cited in the heretofore) PATIENCE.
I was reminded of the question posed by King John at 1:36 of this – one of my all time favourites.
Alphalpha @ 33: great song! I got very excited for a moment in case it was the BBC Shakespeare one: I am playing on that and living in unimaginable luxury from my lavish royalties But this is better anyway.