Quiptic 1,157 by Pan

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A well-designed Quiptic: the usual tricks for beginners to learn, and nothing too obscure.

I liked the small, medium and large trousers in 10a, the neat anagram in 23a, and the Frankenstein tomato in 26a. Beginners might want to note tin = SN (non-obvious chemical symbols are a crossword favourite), record = EP, boss = STUD, original = UR, drug = E, king = R, and “doctor” (verb) as an anagram indicator; they’ll all be useful in future. Thanks Pan as always.

Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

ACROSS
1 ENDORSE
Sellers wanting source of valuable drug back (7)
[v]ENDORS (sellers), without the first letter (source) of V[aluable], then E (short for the drug ecstasy).

Back, as a verb = endorse = give one’s support to.
5 SMIDGEN
Very small amount of insect in tin (7)
MIDGE (insect) in SN (Sn = chemical symbol for tin, from Latin stannum).

Also spelled smidgin or smidgeon.
9 VENOM
Upset move to seize assassin’s last poison (5)
Anagram (upset) of MOVE, containing (to seize) the last letter of [assassi]N.
10 PLUS FOURS
Trousers that come sizes 8, 12 and 16? (4,5)
Definition and cryptic definition. Baggy trousers often associated with golf and other sports, named for being four inches longer than knee-length knickerbockers; or a numerical sequence in which each number is the previous number PLUS FOUR.
11 LEGENDARY
Part of journey close to a railway is famous (9)
LEG (a part of a longer journey) + END (close) + A + RY (short for railway).
12 NUDGE
Encourage German to enter naked (5)
G (German) in NUDE (naked).
13 PLANS
Industrial facilities not given time to make arrangements (5)
PLAN[t]S (industrial facilities) without the T (time).
15 INSPIRING
Setter’s new and unusual RIP sign is thought-provoking (9)
I (the setter of this crossword) + N (new) + anagram (unusual) of RIP SIGN.
18 SPEEDWELL
Deep back in flashy plant (9)
DEEP backwards, in SWELL (flashy = stylishly dressed).

Common name for a small flowering plant: pretty blue flowers, or an annoying weed in lawns, depending on your point of view.
19 EAGER
Agree cooking is keen (5)
Anagram (cooking) of AGREE.
21 BLURB
Obscure book gets the usual spiel on the cover (5)
BLUR (obscure, as a verb) + B (short for book).

Short introductory text, usually on the back cover of a book.
23 GODPARENT
Pet dragon repaired by one supposed to have child’s interests at heart (9)
Anagram (repaired) of PET DRAGON.
25 ESPERANTO
Managed to penetrate English poet’s creative language (9)
RAN (managed), contained in (to penetrate) E (English) + anagram (creative) of POET’S.

Artificially-constructed language, designed as a universal second language for international communication.
26 STOMA
Mouth-like opening found in enormous tomato (5)
Hidden answer (found in . . .) in [enormou]S TOMA[to].
27 TUNISIA
Is island surrounded by fish here in North Africa? (7)
IS + I (short for island), surrounded by TUNA (a fish).
28 LAMBKIN
Research facility receiving money for family for this young thing (7)
LAB (research facility) containing (receiving) M (abbreviation for money, used by economists), then KIN (family).

A young lamb, or an affectionate term for a small child.
DOWN
1 ENVELOP
Cover of record featuring foreign novel (7)
EP (short for extended-play record), containing (featuring) an anagram (foreign) of NOVEL.
2 DENIGRATE
Run down to shelter with one place to make a fire (9)
DEN (shelter) + I (one, in Roman numerals) + GRATE (place to make a fire).

Run down = denigrate = talk disparagingly about.
3 ROMAN
Gold returned to fellow Italian (5)
OR (heraldic term for gold or the colour yellow) reversed (returned) + MAN (fellow).
4 EMPHASISE
A hip seems fractured with stress (9)
Anagram (fractured) of A HIP SEEMS.
5 STUDY
Examine boss on the end of slavery (5)
STUD (boss = something protruding from a surface like a nail-head) + end letter of [slaver]Y.
6 INFANTILE
Popular enthusiast playing piece that’s childish (9)
IN (popular = fashionable) + FAN (enthusiast) + TILE (a playing piece in games such as Scrabble or Mahjong).
7 GOURD
Creator of Adam and Eve eating original fruit (5)
GOD (creator of Adam and Eve) containing (eating) UR (prefix meaning “primitive” or “original”).

Botanically a fruit, but typically used as a vegetable; or the hard outer shell may be used as a container or a musical resonator.
8 NEST EGG
Savings made by doctor sent to meet leaders of emergency governance group (4,3)
Anagram (doctor, as a verb) of SENT, then first letters (leaders) of E[mergency] G[overnance] G[roup].

Money set aside for a particular purpose (such as retirement), typically invested for growth. (The name comes from the practice of putting an artificial egg in a hen’s nest to encourage it to lay real eggs.)
14 SIDEBURNS
After dancing, US bride extremely nervous of facial hair (9)
Anagram (after dancing) of US BRIDE + end letters (extremes) of N[ervou]S.

Facial hair left to grow in front of the ears.
16 SALAD BOWL
Item of tableware found when old lab was demolished (5,4)
Anagram (demolished) of OLD LAB WAS.
17 INGLENOOK
Nigel excited by new reading material heading off for a seat by the fire (9)
Anagram (excited) of NIGEL, then N (new) + [b]OOK (reading material) with its heading letter taken off.

An alcove containing a fireplace, typically with bench seating or armchairs because it’s a nice warm place to sit.
18 SUBJECT
Vehicle turning up to meet plane containing Canada’s foremost citizen (7)
BUS (vehicle) reversed (turning up = upwards in a down clue), then JET (aeroplane) containing the first letter (foremost) of C[anada].
20 RETRAIN
King imprisoned in keep gets to prepare for a new job (7)
R (abbreviation for king, from Latin rex) contained in RETAIN (keep).
22 UNPIN
Let loose by heads of unusually nice prison in Norway (5)
First letters (heads) of U[nusuall] N[ice] P[rison] I[n] N[orway].
23 GANJA
Michigan jailbird in possession of drug (5)
Hidden answer (. . . in possession of) in [michi]GAN JA[ilbird].

Another name for marijuana, derived from Sanskrit.
24 ASSAM
A second South American found in Indian state (5)
A + S (second) + S AM (short for South American).

North Indian state known for growing tea.

32 comments on “Quiptic 1,157 by Pan”

  1. Excellent Quiptic. Thanks both.
    UR =original (as opposed to ancient city) is new to me (after all these years!) so I’ll try to stash that away in the memory bank.

  8. “Railway” for RY in 11ac is another one for beginners to watch out for — sometimes indicated by ‘lines’, too. Also “close to” used deceptively like that to indicate the last letter of a word.

    Pet dragon (23ac) was a great find.

    In 20ac, I thought the “for” in “money for family” was surplus verbiage, playing no part in the cryptic reading, only the surface.

  9. Thanks Pan! Excellent puzzle today. I finished it before lunch! Was convinced I was never going to get one or two, but with the crossers they fell into place. And thanks to Quirister for the explanations – I didn’t miss anything, apparently.

  10. Easier than the Cryptic today, and lovely clear crossword. Enjoyed this and some of the anagrams, particularly PET DRAGON.

  11. PLUS FOURS is a superb clue – lovely work, Pan. And thanks Quirister for the thorough blog – I endorse all your comments.

    Shirl @1 – I’m sure we used to see both meanings of UR in crosswords a lot more often, but it seems to be out of fashion. I was contemplating this recently because I used it in a clue of my own. Perhaps slightly towards the obscure side for a Quiptic but perfectly fair.

  12. Good Quiptic, although I’ve never come across ur=original before. Would anyone use it in a sentence these days?

    Nice anagram of GODPARENT/PET DRAGON, although I see it’s been done before.

    Thanks Pan and Quirister.

  13. Thanks Pan and Quirister
    Perfect Quiptic. I was a fan of the pet dragon too.
    A movement from Mahler’s Symphony no.2 (Resurrection) is called Urlicht, which translates as “Primal Light”. It’s adapted from his “Wunderhorn” songs. I think that it’s gorgeous!

  16. Nice and straightforward, nothing untoward.

    One query for the hivemind: as a relative newcomer, I’ve noticed recently that the first across clue is often one of the last I get. Does anyone else find this? I thought it should be one of the easier clues to get you started.

  17. WhiteDevil @16
    I always start with ones that give me first letters, so ones across the top or down the LHS. It worked today on the Cryptic, but none of the ones here were early ones.

  19. Thanks, Pan, just what a quiptic should be. I thought 1 across was really too good for a quiptic! Like others, I’d never come across UR in English, but knew it as a prefix in German. Thanks, too, Quirister.

  21. @WhiteDevil 16.

    I dont always start with 1 ac. Sometimes last down clue. Some times clue with a word pattern like 3,2,3,2,3. Sometimes clues that will give me lots of first letters …

  22. TonyC@8, your complaint about the “for” in “money for family” (20a) reflects the different importance solvers place on surfaces. Without that “for”, the surface would be gibberish – “research facility receiving money family”? I would say that makes the “for” essential, and not surplus verbiage.

    Gladys@4, I like the idea of being my godchild’s pet dragon.

    [ Muffin@13, the Wunderhorn songs are wonderful – Mahler really knew how to write for voices, didn’t he? My personal favourites are the Songs of the Wayfarer. ]

    Thanks Pan and Quirister for the suitably quiptic puzzle and blog.

  24. cellomaniac @22 – some of us value both good surfaces *and* sound cryptic grammar. It doesn’t have to be an either/or choice. The superfluous “for” in 28a is slightly misleading in what might be considered an “unfair” way, though I didn’t think it worth mentioning myself.

    Pan might also claim it was intended in the archaic sense meaning “before”, in which case it would be grammatically fine.

  25. Great Quiptic. Stand out favourite is pet dragon. As an atheist I’ve always felt uncomfortable being a “god parent” to three girls – I shall ask them to refer to me differently from now on.

    Thank you P&Q

  27. Josh, I think the idea is that “pet dragon” (the fodder) can be seen as a ‘faulty’ way of writing GODPARENT, which therefore needs to be “repaired” to produce the answer. However, “by” is then not a very good way of expressing this ‘to produce’, so you are perhaps right to question it here.

  28. Cellomaniac@22. Yes, the surface would be gibberish without it — but it doesn’t appear to form part of the definition or wordplay or any logical link between them, as far as I can see; that’s why it’s “surplus”: it’s only there for the surface.

    If, as Widdersbel@24 suggests, it in fact means ‘before’, then it is not surplus. However, I would like some evidence that ‘for’ can or could mean ‘before’, because that’s not something I was aware of and not something a cursory look in the dictionary confirms. If it’s archaic usage, that in itself should probably be indicated in some way, at least ideally.

  30. Tony @28 – I was being facetious, I don’t think that’s what Pan intended, but it is supported* by the OED, so a useful get-out!

    *if you allow Old English prefixes

  31. Thanks Pan, Quirister and commenters. I liked the pet dragon too! Also PLUS FOURS and INGLENOOK which I thought was very nicely done.

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