Guardian Quiptic 1,226/Bartland

43 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 1,226/Bartland”

1. I thought that there might be something terribly clever about 1d, but it seems that the Grauniad has, once more, been at home to Captain Cockup.

2. Indeed, Shirl – that’s the problem with something like 1dn. Because it’s a cryptic crossword, you’re on the lookout for something left-field.

   The clue is:
   CO2 emissions from wagon carrying fluid pint of boron (6,9)

   So it’s an insertion of (PINT OF BORON)* in CART.

3. I am totally lost with 1d.

   Where do you even begin to know what the clue is?

4. Very enjoyable puzzle.

   Favourite: TWO-TIMERS.

   Was not sure why Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood = northern but guessed that maybe they are from north England.

   Thanks, both.

   Luckily, I was able to find the corrected clue for 1d in the comments of the Guardian blog as Bartland posted there earlier.

5. Re 19 across ‘Pull over to identify urban district
   Answer: WARD
   A ward is not a ‘parliamentary urban area’, it is a local government electoral area used to elect local councillors. Although it can be urban it doesn’t have to be – I live in a rural ward in my district council area

6. Solved all except WARD. I don’t think we have them here, or if we do no one talks about them. I suspected UK knowledge was also required for NORTHERN. I wasn’t sure whether the clue for 1d — or absence thereof — was an error or whether it was trying to send a message. If the latter it elicited more of a groan than a smile. I vaguely recall irises/flags, but only from the surreal world of cryptic crosswords rather than real life. And I’m not sufficiently au fait with pistols to have heard of Beretta. I pronounce CARBURETTOR with “you” as its second syllable, unlike the implied homophone, which would need to be a schwa.

7. That is true, David.

8. Anyone remember…
   (1,6,1,4)

9. I’m giving the editor the benefit of the doubt on this one – I suspect it’s more likely to be a technical problem. Anyway, that aside, the puzzle seemed well suited to the Quiptic slot – a gentle start to Monday morning.

   Thanks, Bartland and Pierre.

   blaise @8 – Good grief. Not sure if I would be more amused or irritated if I’d come across that clue in an actual crossword.

10. A totally missing clue is peak Grauniad.

    Apart from that, a good quiptic.

11. As per GDU @6, Beretta is the pistol, biretta the ecclesiastical headgear. As Bond aficionados will know, 007 was told to exchange his for a Walther PPK.

12. Re the homophone, Collins has CARBURETTOR with a schwa in the second syllable, and so does Roger Taylor, so all’s well 🙂

13. My mistake with BIRETTA and BERETTA – apologies. Blame the unconscious bias from my long forgotten Catholic upbringing.

14. Thanks to Pierre for the clarifications, and to Bartland for the puzzle: nicely-judged for the slot, if a little anagram-heavy. I was thinking the ‘6’ of (6,9) was Carbon, as in its Periodic Table number! (Wasn’t able to make 9 into footprint though, even once I’d guessed than answer.)

15. The clue wasn’t missing on the app, so I didn’t have any problems. Sometimes it pays to subscribe.

    Thank you Pierre and Bartland for a lovely Quiptic.

16. I was going to say this was a lot easier than the Everyman – even with the missing clue – but then found out I’d got WARD wrong (I had ‘band’, as it was in urBAN District, although it didn’t feel right). RAIN CATS AND DOGS was my CoD.

17. As a first time poster here, can I chip in with my angle on what I thought to be a clever and subtle 1d. Given that carbon is atomic number six and nine is a pretty common shoe size, I think you have it right there. And you might also think that a minimalist clue points to the way our 6,9 should be heading. Only quibble; I think a ? might have helped

18. Other than being a bit heavy on the anagrams, this was very enjoyable. Thanks Bartland and Pierre.

19. 1a is ambiguous – both CARBURETTOR and CARBURETTER are possible solutions. Chambers and Collins give both spellings.

20. Some people comment here that their heart lifts when they see a particular setter’s name. Me, my heart lifts when I see that Pierre has written the blog – for, Pierre, your blogs are as entertaining as the crosswords!
    I’m another who thought the lack of clue to 1D was, in itself, the clue…but fortunately I managed to guess correctly once I had all the crossers.
    Dear old Grauniad: laudably-high journalistic principles and laughably-inept human failings…
    And thanks also to Bartland for a fun start to my week.

21. So many topical and entertaining clues. I really like Bartland’s word and sound pictures.
    SQUELCH is such a lovely, squelchy word. Ticks for LADETTE, RAIN CATS AND DOGS, BRUTAL. COD TENTERHOOKS.

    That’s interesting GDU@6 and eb@12, especially following on the dyooty/jutey (duty) discussion in yesterday’s Everyman blog. I tend more towards CARBURETTOR as carbyooreta (sorta kinda slurred), but I I’ve heard both and did know Beretta so no trouble solving the clue.

22. Blaise @8
    Widdersbel seemed to understand but can you give a hint to the rest of us, please?

23. Perhaps Bartland just doesn’t have a carbon footprint.

24. That’s really funny blaise@8.
    Pork Scotch@22 I googled it.
    Don’t know whether I should reveal it here as others may be trying to figure it out.

25. Pork Scotch @22
    [ I haven’t a clue ]

26. Shanne@15. I subscribe, but the clue still isn’t visible, so the fault lies somewhere deeper and darker….

27. I didn’t get CARBURETTOR until this morning, when I remembered that’s how you guys spell ‘carburator.”

    “Flags” has four meanings, all of which I’ve met in British fiction. There’s irises, as here, flat paving stones, things on flagpoles, and “gets tired” as a verb.

    Thanks to Bartland, Pierre and blaise.

28. Good Quiptic that I thought matched the brief.

    I liked TWO-TIMERS for the surface and TRANSMIT for ‘send pictures back’. I thought at first (6,9) was a dingbat clue, but I see it’s been amended.

    Thanks Bartland and Pierre.

29. I thought this was the perfect Quiptic, despite 1d.

    Further to Valentine@27’s comment on CARBURETTOR: I knew many of the US persuasion pronounce the third syllable as “ate”, but didn’t know the spelling went with it. I think that takes it beyond the range of “approximate homophone” (for them).

30. At first I thought that the (6,9) clue was brilliant thinking it was C=carbon (atomic number 6) and F=fluorine (atomic number 9) until I realized that that still left FOOTPRINT itself kind of undefined.

31. Could we update the dictionary definition of “optimist” to “one who reads Pierre’s comments on homophones and assumes that’s the last we’ll hear on the subject”?

    Cheers P&B

32. One must live in hope, Bodycheetah …

33. It didn’t occur to me to complain about the homophone in 1ac — not that I would have anyway — because I was distracted by the spelling of the word we in the US spell CARBURETOR. I didn’t have that on my list of words that we spell differently from you.

34. The 1D clue had already been added when I did this and I wasted a minute looking at the special instructions wondering if there was something clever going on, “initially failed to print out” being an ok clue for FOTPRINT.

    Had to remind myself it was only Monday!

35. This was a fun crossword, even with the SNAFU at 1d. Conservative pervert at 12a raised a chuckle (but didn’t narrow the field 😉 ) and thumbs up for splicing Slim Shady and the NT at 24a.

    Very, very approachable Quiptic, hit the sweet spot and managed a fast completion (albeit in two goes).

    Thanks to Bartland and Pierre. No thanks to whoever it was who furrowed so many brows this morning when 1d failed to make an appearance.

36. I knew about the CARBURETTOR spelling and pronunciation from Roger Taylor, picking up the spelling from having scrutinized the liner notes from that album carefully when I was much younger. Back then I thought it was wrong rather than merely British.

    Here in America, a WARD in most states is a district represented by a city council member, so it’s necessarily urban. (I live in Chicago’s 46th ward (out of 50).) It didn’t even occur to me that that might be controversial in Britain, so for once that’s a clue that works better here than there.

37. Thanks to Pierre for the entertaining and erudite analysis, and to everyone else for the positive feedback. Delighted to hear that the puzzle hit the spot for a Quiptic and I will look forward to sharing the next one with you all soon?

38. Thank you Bartland for a straightforward Monday Quiptic, even with the missing clue! Thank you too to Pierre for a delightful analysis (especially the comments about homophones) but I think Rain was a homophone of Rein rather than Reign.

39. We certainly have wards here in The Hills Shire, don’t know about rural or regional councils.

40. Yes, knowing your 007 was very useful for CARBURETTOR.
    But I was defeated by IRISES, having no idea that they were yet more flags.
    Good Quiptic – fun.

41. Zero carbon footprint!

42. Pierre: surely (4, 3, 4) [offensive, often abbreviated]?

43. Pierre and bodycheetah @32 and 31, would it help if you abandoned the use of the unnecessarily restrictive word “homophone”, and substituted “pun” or “aural wordplay”?

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