Guardian Quiptic 1143 Hectence

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Thanks to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Tourist needs face mask going round city centre (7)

VISITOR : VISOR(archaic language for a “face mask”) containing(going round) central 2 letters of(… centre) “city“.

5. Lend SMS a hidden meaning (7)

SUBTEXT : SUB(to lend an advance sum against expected income) + TEXT(a message sent using SMS/Short Messaging Service technology).

Defn: …/an implied or underlying message.

9. Saleswoman recalled trouble over carbon copy (7)

REPLICA : REP(short for a sales representative/a saleswoman or salesman) + reversal of(recalled) AIL(to trouble/to cause suffering to) containing(over) C(symbol for the chemical element, carbon).

10. State-backed broadcast interrupted by Love Island (7)

ROMANIA : Reversal of(backed) AIR(to broadcast, say, a radio or television programme) containing(interrupted by) [ O(letter representing 0/love in tennis scores) + MAN(Isle of, an island in the Irish Sea) ].

11. Flying down the touchline? (2,3,4)

ON THE WING : [ON THE WING](on/up and down along the wing/that part of a football or rugby field near the touchline/sideline).

12. Model basically embracing rejection of fur (5)

SABLE : Reversal of(rejection of …) hidden in(… embracing) “Model basically“.

From this: to this: , unfortunately.

13. Cut up joint that’s not top grade (5)

SHRED : “shared”(used or held by two or more persons/joint) minus(that’s not) “a”(letter signifying the best/top grade).

15. Son feebly playing alone (2,7)

BY ONESELF : Anagram of(… playing) SON FEEBLY.

17. Leader described by prominent journalist as ‘conceited’ (9)

BIGHEADED : HEAD(the leader of a group or organisation) contained in(described by) [ BIG(prominent/important) ED(abbrev. for “editor”/a journalist) ].

19. Look, I’m not sure about coming in as substitute (5)

LOCUM : [ LO(“look”, as in “lo and behold”) + UM(an expression of hesitation/”I’m not sure”) ] containing(… coming in) C(abbrev. for “circa”/about, when used with years or other time periods).

22. Number 10 cut directive originally taken on board (5)

NOTED : NO(abbrev. for a “cardinal number” like 10) + “ten”(10) minus its last letter(cut) + 1st letter of(… originally) “directive“.

Defn: …/taken into consideration.

23. Turn to see ladies joining king’s circle (4,5)

LOOK ROUND : LOO(slang for the toilet, the examples of which are “the Ladies” and “the Gents”) plus(joining) K(abbrev. for “king” in chess notation) + ROUND(a circle/something in the shape of a circle).

25. Release international organisation’s credit (7)

UNSTICK : UN(abbrev. for the United Nations, the international organisation)‘S + TICK(credit, as in “on tick”/with an agreement to pay for something later).

26. Although small, couple accepted sandwiches … (7)

BUTTIES : [ BUT(although/however) + S(abbrev. for “small”) ] containing(accepted) TIE(to couple/to link together).

27. … and little Edward eating roll expressed gratitude (7)

THANKED : TED(short form of the name/little “Edward”) containing(eating) HANK(a roll/a coil, of hair, say).

The ellipses help to paint a picture of a family outing.

28. Unconventional Tory ally — one long excluded from privileged family (7)

ROYALTY : Anagram of(Unconventional) [TORY + “ally” minus one of its(one … excluded) “l”(abbrev. for “long”) ].

Down

1. Several problems with our visa (7)

VARIOUS : Anagram of(problems with) OUR VISA.

2. Empty seat next to nobleman’s finally sat in by church founder (2,5)

ST PETER : “seat” minus its inner letters(Empty …) plus(next to) PEER(a nobleman) containing(… in) last letter of(finally) “sat“.

3. Rubbish drug experience with ecstasy (5)

TRIPE : TRIP(a hallucinatory experience by taking a psychedelic drug) + E(abbrev. for the drug, Ecstasy).

4. City trimmed part of garden to do post-retirement activity (4,2,3)

READ IN BED : “Reading”(city in England) minus its last letter(trimmed) + BED(a part/an area of a garden where flowers and plants are grown).

Defn: Something to do after retiring into bed before falling asleep.

5. Set up support for Special Branch (5)

SPRIG : RIG(to set up, equipment, say, for a particular purpose) placed below(support for, in a down clue) SP(abbrev. for “special”).

6. Shock in underworld after rising Mafia boss cleared out (9)

BOMBSHELL : HELL(the underworld of the dead) placed below(after, in a down clue) [ reversal of(rising, in a down clue) MOB(the Mafia/the criminal organisation) + “boss” minus its inner letters(cleared out) ].

7. Honour East German city backing end of coal energy (7)

ENNOBLE : E(abbrev. for “east”) + reversal of(… backing) BONN(German city) + last letter of(end of) “coal” + E(symbol for “energy” in physics).

8. Used to make drink when working late each first Friday (3,4)

TEA LEAF : Anagram of(working) LATE + EA(abbrev. for “each”/per) + 1st letter of(first) “Friday“.

14. Nutrition doctor’s writing stuff on low-calorie soda (4,5)

DIET DRINK : DIET(nutrition/that which nourishes one) + DR(abbrev. for “doctor”) plus(…’s/has) INK(fluid stuff/material used for writing).

16. Not even a famously patient person is right to be a handyman (3-6)

ODD-JOBBER : ODD(not even, refering to numbers) + JOB(the famously patient person in the Bible) + BE(is/exists) + R(abbrev. for “right”).

The oddjobber’s done: 

17. Catch up on rest, missing island feast (7)

BANQUET : Reversal of(… up, in a down clue) NAB(to catch/to take hold of, especially a wrong-doer) placed above(on, in a down clue) “quiet”(rest/calmness) minus(missing) “i”(abbrev. for “island).

18. Set sail, turn craft east heading for Okinawa (2,2,3)

GO TO SEA : GO(one’s turn to do something, in a multi-player game, say) + anagram of(craft) [EAST + 1st letter of(heading for) “Okinawa” ].

20. Vital for credit union agents to be online (7)

CRUCIAL : CR(abbrev. for “credit”, in a bank statement, say) + U(abbrev. for “union”) + CIA(abbrev. for the US Central Intelligence Agency, of secret agents, that is) placed above(to be on, in a down clue) L(abbrev. for “line”).

21. Do my best trick banishing boy’s shyness (7)

MODESTY : Anagram of(… trick) “Do my best” minus(banishing) “b”(abbrev. for “boy”).

The name’s Blaise, …

23. Validated on social media almost the same day (5)

LIKED : LIKE(almost, but not, the same/similar) + D(abbrev. for “day”).

Defn: Validated/showed approval or support for something or someone on social media.

24. Luxury line includes zit treatment (5)

RITZY : RY(abbrev. for “railway line”) containing(includes) anagram of(… treatment) ZIT.

26 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 1143 Hectence”

  1. I have a Reading postcode, and I know that Reading is not officially a city (4d), however much it would like to be.
    Other than that, thers’s not a lot to say; a good typical Quiptic.
    Thanks both.

  2. Smoothly done. I enjoyed this more than the cryptic today. A few somewhat complex wordplays for a quiptic perhaps?

    Thanks Hectence and scchua.

  3. Enjoyed this although there were a few I didn’t quite get the full parsing of – not sure why – brain not in gear I think.

    Favourite BOMBSHELL

    Off to the cryptic

    Thanks Hectence and scchua

  4. Nice to get a mention as Modesty Blaise… I don’t know where scchua dug up my old photo but it’s more than flattering nowadays…
    By the way, it’s a pangram, which helped me get BANQUET when only the Q was missing.

  5. Thanks Hectence and scchua
    I would consider this on the hard side for a cryptic, let alone a Quiptic. The NE was blank for some time. I didn’t parse ROMANIA or SHRED, and several of the other parsings were complicated too, Not a Quiptic.

  6. Very good Quiptic with suitable clues for beginners. That said, I could not parse 13ac.

    Favourites: BOMBSHELL, BANQUET, CRUCIAL, ODD-JOBBER, ROMANIA, ENNOBLE

    Thanks, both.

  7. I agree with Muffin @5 and Blah @2 here – felt like there were too many charades for the Quiptic slot, many of which needed extra things doing to at least one part of them. They’re by far my least favourite clue though, and a type I regularly struggle with, so can see how somebody else’s mileage may vary.

  8. Yes I thought this was quite tricky for a Quiptic. I also wondered like beaulieu @1 about Reading being a city but only a minor quibble. I liked ODD JOBBER, BOMBSHELL and BANQUET

    Ta Hectence & scchua

  9. I guess the S missing from your parsing in UNSTICK, scchua, comes from the ‘S on the international organisation. I agree with others above that this had some tricky clues/parsing. Isn’t BUTTIES a uniquely Pommy word? I was aghast when I first came across chip butties – you mean you put greasy potato in buttered bread? Really??? Thanks, Hectence and scchua.

  11. A good crossword but rather tricky for a Quiptic.

    I missed the parsing for SHRED, which was a good clue in retrospect. Others I enjoyed were VISITOR, ROMANIA, BOMBSHELL and GO TO SEA.

    Thanks Hectence and to scchua for a good pictorial blog.

  13. As a relative newbie, I enjoyed this – stretching my capacity right up to, but never beyond, its limits. I didn’t parse everything – subtext, shred, banquet – but the crossers and definitions made them straightforward enough.

  14. Failed to parse 13a – thought the E&D were the iffy grades & hadn’t a clue what to do with the remainder. Otherwise all good & nicely pitched Quiptic

  15. Agreed on Reading’s not being a city, and like others I found this tricky, though when I looked back I couldn’t quite see why. The cryptic was easier for me today. Good fun none the less Thanks both!

  16. I had no trouble with ODD-JOBBER, but doesn’t the substitution of BE violate the rules/standards that other verbs are held to? In other words, in other clues, you can substitute “punch” for “hit” or “punches” for “hits”, but cross-matching will meet with complaints. Am I missing something?

  17. Dr. WhatsOn: Edmund Blackadder would agree with you.

    Blackadder: Tell me, young crone, is this Putney?
    Young Crone: [cackling] That it be! That it be!
    Blackadder: “Yes, it is,” not “That it be”! And you don’t have to talk in that stupid voice to me, I’m not a tourist!

  18. On a related topic, round here the dialect uses “was” and “were” exactly the wrong way round – it’s almost invariably “I were” and “we was”.

  19. 10a Oh life is a glorious cycle of song,
    A medley of extemporanea,
    And love is a thing that can never go wrong
    And I am Marie of Roumania. (Dorothy Parker)

    19a Cartoon in the New Yorker, way back when:
    Two matrons admiring an amphora in a glass case in a museum. One is saying, “Oh, look,it’s circa.”

    26a “But” doesn’t really equal “although.” “I was very tired, but I agreed to do it.” “I agreed to do it, although I was very tired.” (Minor quibble.)

    I enjoyed both this and the Cryptic, thanks to Hectence and scchua. (Great pix as ever!)

  20. Thank you Hectence and scchua. I very much enjoyed this and it didn’t quite take me all week! A win/win. 🙂

  22. I parsed 17a as “Leader described by prominent” saying to put BIG before HEAD, because that’s how adjectives work.

  24. I didn’t catch up with this puzzle till now but I would like to defend Hectence here: the Reading in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania is legally a city, even if the Reading in Berkshire is not.

    crosser, I thought that might just be justified by thinking of it as subjunctive; “If he be ready” = “if he is ready…”

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