Hectence shows off her skills as a Quiptic setter this morning.
If you are in the ‘beginner’ category, then have another look at the surface readings in this puzzle. They are all beautifully put together, each telling a mini-story. The first across clue is a fine example. There are one or two clues where the parsing might take a bit of working out, but it you’re still at an early stage in your solving career, that’s no bad thing. I and my fellow Quiptic bloggers are always here to help if you’re really stuck.
The last thing of note is that it’s – as so often with this setter – a pangram. All 26 letters of the alphabet are featured in the puzzle.
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 DNA playing part catching armed robber
BANDIT
An insertion of (DNA)* in BIT. The anagrind is ‘playing’ and the insertion indicator is ‘catching’.
4 Many appeared before Arthur’s court
CAMELOT
A charade of CAME and LOT.
9 Report may serve short-term
TEMPORARY
(REPORT MAY)* with ‘serve’ as the anagrind.
10 In France I get discontented wife large gemstone
JEWEL
A charade of JE for the French word for ‘I’, W[IF]E and L. ‘Discontented’ usually means ‘remove the middle letters from’, as here.
11 Finished receiving commercial success
HAD IT
An insertion of AD in HIT. The insertion indicator is ‘receiving’. ‘I’ve had it with the Guardian Quiptics. They’re just too hard.’
12 Post-lunch get a paper, nobody around to hamper reading
AFTERNOON
A charade of A, FT for the pink’un, and R inserted into NO-ONE reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘to hamper’; the reversal indicator is ‘around’; R is one of the three Rs (reading, writing and arithemetic).
13 Exhausted, having ridden a storm
DRAINED
(RIDDEN A)* with ‘storm’ as the anagrind.
15 Dangerous obstacle has the Italian horse retiring
LETHAL
A charade of LET, then LA for one of the Italian words for ‘the’ and H all reversed. The reversal indicator is ‘retiring’. H for ‘horse’ can be derived from its use as a slang word for heroin; but it’s also found on racecards. On that basis, you could have c (colt). g (gelding), m (mare) and f (filly), but I can’t remember seeing them and I don’t want to give setters any more ideas. The LET bit comes from the sense of ‘let and hindrance’.
17 Get the better of inappropriate comedian
OUTWIT
A charade of OUT and WIT.
19 Huge admiration expressed for birds
OSPREYS
A bird. Excellent. A charade of OS for outsize or ‘huge’ and PREYS as a homophone (‘expressed’) of PRAISE. The obligatory Pierre bird link shows you the bird doing what it does best. If you’re a fish, be afraid. Be very afraid.
22 Blame left’s incompetence, with election finally lost
LIABILITY
A charade of L and I[N]ABILITY.
24 Long film got abridged for release
LET GO
A charade of L for ‘long’, ET for the setters’ film of choice and GO[T].
26 Queen’s broken toe is tender
QUOTE
A charade of QU and (TOE)* ‘We’re going to tender/quote for the business.’
27 Carry on, leaving after quick look back
KEEP GOING
A charade of PEEK reversed and GOING. The reversal indicator is ‘back’.
28 Team always has large number following
EVERTON
A charade of EVER and TON. They do have a large following, especially for a team that will be playing Championship football next season.
29 Taken plenty turning over both of 18’s banks
STOLEN
A charade of LOTS reversed and EN for the outside letters (‘banks’) of EighteeN.
Down
1 Made a mess of the cod, awfully black on top
BOTCHED
A charade of B and (THE COD)* ‘Awfully’ is the anagrind and ‘on top’ works because it’s a down clue.
2 American actor, Matt, becomes a drifter
NOMAD
The American actor is Matt DAMON, and if you reverse that you will get your solution. The instructions to do so are a bit left-field, unless I’m missing something: ‘becomes a drifter’ is serving that purpose, I think. Someone may have a better idea.
3 Kind to yield immediately? Not sure!
I DON’T KNOW
A charade of (KIND TO)* and NOW. The anagrind is ‘yield’.
4 Oddly curvy stalactite’s 40% quartz
CRYSTAL
A charade of CRY for the odd letters of ‘curvy’ and STAL for the first four letters, which constitute 40%, of ‘stalactite’.
5 Key officer
MAJOR
A dd. The first particle is a musical reference, to a major – as opposed to a minor – key.
6 Further shortage in cheap beer causes group despondency
LOW MORALE
An insertion of MOR[E] in LOW and ALE.
7 Story books make a special gift
TALENT
A charade of TALE and NT for New Testament or ‘books’.
8 Difficult crossing area with unknown danger
HAZARD
An insertion of A and Z for the mathematical ‘unknown’ in HARD. The insertion indicator is ‘crossing’.
14 Much better having unexpected U-boat victory described by expert
A CUT ABOVE
An insertion of (UBOAT)* and V in ACE. The insertion indicator is ‘described by’.
16 Leading thinker’s work on female brilliance is outstanding
TOP-FLIGHT
A charade of T for the initial letter of ‘thinker’, OP, F and LIGHT.
18 Become more involved with semi-empathic understanding
THICKEN
You have to consider ‘semi’ as indicating ‘half’, in which case it’s [EMPA]THIC followed by KEN. The plot thickens.
19 Orthodoxy generally includes a common element
OXYGEN
Hidden in orthodOXY GENerally.
20 No thugs mess with this weapon
SHOTGUN
(NO THUGS)* with ‘mess’ as the anagrind.
21 Turning pale, question filling for dental problem
PLAQUE
An insertion of QU in (PALE)* The anagrind is ‘turning’ and the insertion indicator is ‘filling’.
23 Clumsy, spilling pint over partner at the table
INEPT
An insertion of E for a bridge ‘partner’ in (PINT)* The anagrind is ‘spilling’ and the insertion indicator is ‘over’.
25 Robber’s first into cash register, getting high-pitched sound
TRILL
An insertion of R for the initial letter of ‘robber’ in TILL. The insertion indicator is ‘into’. A bandit in the first across and a robber in the final down. Is Hectence trying to tell us something? Many thanks to her for the bank holiday entertainment.
Thanks Hextence and Pierre
Nice puzzle. I didn’tparse NOMAD, and am still not sure it quite works,
Impressed by the hidden OXYGEN!
As Pierre says, great surfaces. I think it’s a pangram. I wondered about American as the reversal indicator in NOMAD. Australian might have worked.
Very nice bar a couple of iffy-feeling indicators (‘yield’? Whatever it is that’s going on in NOMAD?). I didn’t know that sense of LET, and as a result that was my LOI.
Thanks Hectence and Pierre.
More criminal implications in the answers, I think! An armed robber might well have a LETHAL SHOTGUN to acquire a STOLEN JEWEL
Liked TOP FLIGHT, KEEP GOING.
I failed to parse 18d and wondered about damon/nomad.
Thanks, both.
Yes, a nice little puzzle, though I guessed NOMAD without knowing the American actor.
Unusually I have done both the puzzles before lunch, don’t normally even start till the evening.
Thanks Hectence.
You could be onto something, Martin …
Nice surfaces, but:
one anagram indicator that doesn’t make much sense (serve), another that’s pushing the boundaries (yield)
a reversal indicator that isn’t there at all – NOMAD
a dubious device – ‘leading thinker’ = first letter of thinker?
some yoda-speak at 11ac
E is W’s partner in bridge, but without the W, E = ‘partner’ is a stretch
some off-centre equivalences:
OUT = inappropriate?
LIABILITY = blame?
KEN = understanding? (ken is knowledge, but not sure it can mean understanding)
All in all not terribly helpful for beginners, I would have thought.
Nevertheless thanks H & P
Isn’t “becomes” the anagrind for Damon, to be inferred from “American actor, Matt”, giving the solution NOMAD? That it’s a reversal is irrelevant.
eb@8 I agree with most of your reservations, but “beyond our ken” refers to something you don’t understand as much as it does something you don’t know about. I think.
It could be that, Willbar, but then we are into ‘indirect anagram’ territory, which is generally not considered good form.
Pierre@11: Assuming essexboy@8’s reservations are justified (not that I agree with all of them) an indirect anagram should not surprise us.
I don’t agree with most of essexboy’s criticisms either, Willbar. The NOMAD clue is the only one I raised any eyebrow at.
Hi Folks.
The Toronto Star started carrying The Guardian Cryptics a few years ago. We really enjoy them, thanks to all the setters. Also the bloggers. Sometimes we’d be lost without you.
Just came across puzzle 27816 which we finished but forgot to check in the Blog.
We got the answer to the following clue (Dump) but don’t understand the parsing.
Can anyone help?
Jan and Tom, Toronto.
============================
Dump below? (5,8)
BOWEL MOVEMENT : A reverse clue: “below” is: Anagram of(… MOVEMENT) BOWEL.
[Tom @14
This is a very helpful site.]
Ignore my previous question.
Just got it. Anagram of Below. Movement is the signal.
Thanks.
Tom.
Thanks Pierre and Hectence. Super blog of a very nice Quiptic. I agree with your assessment, Pierre – NOMAD was the only one that had me raising an eyebrow.
I don’t know what beginners would make of this puzzle, I’ve given up trying to guess.
How about “Wanderer puts Runyon up (5)”?
I agree with essexboy’s list @8: lots of the indicator words struck me as a little too much of a stretch for a Quiptic. “Served”? Can literally any verb be an anagrind now–is that what we’re saying? And I won’t pile on to poor Matt Damon, who is standing on his head without having been told to (though my sincere guess there is that a word was inadvertently omitted).
I think you may be right, mrpenney, that a word has been omitted from the NOMAD clue. It wouldn’t be the first time in the Grauniad. Something simple like ‘American actor Matt, returning, becomes a drifter’. Only Hectence knows (no point asking the editor …)
Widdersbel – this beginner found the puzzle fairly doable. But there were a few clues where I worked out the answer (from a definition or available letters) but couldn’t parse the clue fully.
i was able to do it. A mild bit of UKGK in Everton being a team. Did not get Nomad for Matt Damon. Apparently Matt Damon was a voice actor for the movie High Plains Drifter. But how it helps the clue I dont know.
A good puzzle for beginners. Thanks Pierre and Hectence.
This beginner also got on well with this one – and found it a very helpful blog, thanks Pierre. Needed help with 19a as didn’t know the OS parsing. Very much enjoyed the surfaces for OXYGEN and BANDIT.
I agree with Garson, I’m very much a beginner and have only recently started to finish a quiptic with regularity. I actually found the clueing for NOMAD straight forward and it was one I got quickly. I think I’ve gotten used to expecting the Guardian crytpics to edge around ‘normal’ conventions
As a relative novice I am unsure why both “question” and “queen” can be used for “QU”. For both I have only ever seen them used for “Q”.
Can’t see why inappropriate + out
Sorry + should be = (typo)
Thanks Hectence and Pierre. Sorry I’m so late to the party: RL intervened. Lovely Quiptic, great blog, can’t wait for tomorrow …
tony+smith @26 my Chambers thesaurus makes the link – it lists “inappropriate” along with a load of connections along the lines of forbidden, impossible etc. Like in the Monty Python Holy Hand Grenade scene: “ Five is right out!” That kind-of works for me. I hope this helps.
It took me a long time to finish this one (started last week) but that allows me to point out the Pierre’s football predictions are not up to the standard of his parsing and blogging! Thanks all.