Guardian Quiptic 1,228/Matilda

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Top puzzle, that. Clearly clued and with concise and meaningful surface readings. Brava, Matilda.

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 Bugs trendy cults
INSECTS
For those who habitually start with 1ac, a simple charade to start the gridfill: of IN and SECTS.

5 Some sneakers and also other footwear
SANDALS
Hidden in sneakerS AND ALSo.

9 Dish of rice pudding in large amounts unacceptable for starters
PILAU
The initial letters of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh words of the clue.

10 Sounding extra large, fast and superb
EXCELLENT
A charade of EXCEL, which ‘sounds like’ the clothing abbreviation XL for ‘extra large’ and LENT for the Christian ‘fast’.

11 Boss upset by party’s tales of woe
SOB STORIES
A charade of (BOSS)* and TORIES for ‘party’. You have to read ‘party’s’ as ‘party is’. The anagrind is ‘upset’.

12 Couple owing the last bit of debt
DUET
A charade of DUE and T for the last letter of ‘debt’

14 Basic enjoyment lad meant to organise
FUNDAMENTAL
A charade of FUN and (LAD MEANT)* The anagrind is ‘to organise’

18 Magazines for dicks
PRIVATE EYES
A dd, with a clue that wouldn’t be out of place in the crossie in the satirical magazine itself, although Cyclops (aka Brummie) has been known to be much ruder than this.

21 Googled godforsaken look
OGLE
Matilda is asking you to remove ‘god’ from ‘Googled’; so it’s [GO]OGLE[D]. Clever clue.

22 Fuss about heartless lie by a devotee
AFICIONADOS
An insertion of FIC[T]ION and A in ADO. The insertion indicator is ‘about’.

25 A Labour leader in one country or another
AUSTRALIA
An insertion of A and L for the initial letter of ‘Labour’ in AUSTRIA. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.

26 Understood diplomacy in India? On the contrary
TACIT
An insertion of I in TACT. The insertion indicator is again ‘in’. I for ‘India’ is from the phonetic/NATO alphabet, and no doubt elsewhere too.

27 Drug for Lewis, say, overwhelmed by Yeats composition
ECSTASY
Referencing CS Lewis, of The Chronicles of Narnia fame. It’s an insertion of CS in (YEATS)* The insertion indicator is ‘overwhelmed by’ and the anagrind is ‘composition’.

28 Weird holy man found next to mountains
STRANGE
A charade of ST and RANGE.

Down

1 Dictate poem is to be rewritten
IMPOSE
(POEM IS)* with ‘to be rewritten’ as the anagrind.

2 Date announcement by a very confused stockbroker?
SELL-BY
The pun here is that a confused stockbroker might not be able to make his or her mind up, so could give the instructions SELL! BUY! The homophone is indicated by ‘announcement’.

3 Judges here to find weakness after company organised tour
COURT OF LAW
A charade of CO, (TOUR)* and FLAW. The anagrind is ‘organised’.

4 Season’s first fruit: some asparagus?
SPEAR
A charade of S for the first letter of ‘season’ and PEAR.

5 Assistant is classified fairly regularly
SECRETARY
A charade of SECRET and the even letters of fAiRlY.

6 River‘s meandering line
NILE
(LINE)*

7 Cadet squad stew served without trimmings is enough
ADEQUATE
The central letters of cADEt, sQUAd and sTEw.

8 It’s twice ordered: learners don’t move!
SIT STILL
A charade of (ITS)* twice and LL. The anagrind is ‘ordered’.

13 Weapon found using nose to follow vacant private address
PEASHOOTER
A charade of P[RIVAT]E, A[DDRES]S and HOOTER.

15 Necessarily led fuel riot in New York
NEEDFULLY
An insertion of (LED FUEL)* in NY. The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the anagrind is ‘riot’.

16 Modern: fit for going out?
UP TO DATE
A dd, with the second element a rather whimsical way of asking whether someone is ready for a romantic night out.

17 Sister poorly, at last laid up to get treatment
DIALYSIS
A reversal of SIS, Y for the last letter of ‘poorly’ and LAID. The reversal indicator, since it’s a down clue, is ‘up’.

19 John is able to dance
CANCAN
A charade of CAN in its ‘toilet’ sense and CAN in its ‘ability’ sense.

20 (Source of Dutch) courage
BOTTLE
A dd, with the first definition being the whole clue and the second only the last word.  Dutch courage comes from having a snifter or two before taking the necessary action.

23 Elegance of form
CLASS
A dd.

24 Song from southern Bulgaria
ARIA
Again, since it’s a down clue, you need to look for the ‘southern’ half of the country: so it’s [BULG]ARIA.

Many thanks to Matilda for the Bank Holiday puzzle.

31 comments on “Guardian Quiptic 1,228/Matilda”

  1. Now this was a quick Quiptic, just as it says on the tin. I’d finished almost before I’d started. Good fun though, with no obscurities and no quibbles.

    Thanks Matilda & Pierre.

  2. I really enjoyed this one – just right for a quiptic with some lovely clues.

    Favourite was AFICIONADO.

    Others I liked included COURT OF LAW, PEASHOOTER, PRIVATE EYES, OGLE

    Thanks Matilda and Pierre

  3. Thought this was brilliant! 18a, 21a, 2d,8d, 13d, 19d. Loved them all! Thanks to Matilda and Pierre.

  4. I do like Matilda both as a Quiptic and Cryptic setter, she’s someone who pitches beautifully for the Quiptic slot.

    Several grins along the way, particularly PRIVATE EYES and OGLED.

    Thank you to Pierre and Matilda.

  5. Somewhat ironically, I had the country as INDONESIA, which parses beautifully – apart from Labour = S. D’oh! Still, it didn’t survive the crossers and all was finished in good fashion. I agree with the praise above. Thanks, Matilda and Pierre.

  8. I enjoyed this puzzle but I did not find it to be very “quiptic”.

    Favourite: ECSTASY, DIALYSIS, OGLE, PEASHOOTER, UP TO DATE (loi).

    I did not parse 2d and 10ac apart from LENT = fast.

    Thanks, both.

  9. I totally agree with Pierre’s opening remarks.

    Some lovely clues. I particularly enjoyed SOB STORIES, ECSTASY, ADEQUATE, DIALYSIS and the clever OGLE.

    Many thanks to Matilda and to Pierre.

  11. Exemplary quiptic!
    Shaun, if it’s any comfort 12 &22 were my last two in
    Thanks, Matilda and Pierre

  12. A delight. Once I’d remembered how to spell AFICIONADO the SE corner fell into place. Nice and easy, but a few chuckles along the way.

  14. I totally agree with Eileen’s opening remarks @9. Great fun. Particularly liked UP TO DATE, BOTTLE, ARIA and OGLE.

    Thanks, Matilda and Pierre.

  16. WhiteDevil and Eileen @12-13: me too! Fortunately the directions in the clue were clear, and no extra F was clued, so Matilda told me how to spell it. Thanks to her for that as well as the puzzle. I might not forget again, but I make no promises.

  17. Love Matilda’s clues. This was perfect quiptic for me (not a skilled solver) and still very clever clues though I raised an eyebrow at 22d ( class / elegance?) Thanks to M & P

  18. I’d always assumed that the use of “bottle” to mean “courage” came from the idea of Dutch courage. As a result, I didn’t think much of this clue, as it seemed to me to be using the same definition twice. But a little googling seems to indicate that I was wrong about the origin of this meaning of “bottle”, so never mind.

    I found this to be a very satisfying and entertaining Quiptic.

  20. Samovar@17: Proving that there’s a showtune for every occasion, that definition of class is (primarily) the one that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah can be heard expounding on here.

  21. Thank you mrpenny for that classy link.

    When it comes to EXCELLENT surfaces Matilda is in a CLASS of her own – not a FLAW in this puzzle. (She CAN do no wrong.)

    For me, meaningful and witty surfaces are what makes crosswords fun. (Roz would say I am superficial.)

    Thanks, Matilda for making my day and Pierre for the clear and concise blog.

  23. Really enjoyed this puzzle, and as a relative beginner, I’m now fairly consistently completing these in one or two sittings.

    But could somebody explain a bit more about 26 – TACIT?
    Pierre’s explanation doesn’t reference the “On the contrary” element of the clue. How does that contribute?
    And the way I read it, the position of “in” as insertion indicator would suggest that it is the “tact” that is inserted, rather than the “I”.
    I got the clue OK – just not fully understanding the parsing.
    Thanks.

  24. I stumbled over 26 too, but I think Nick has answered his own Q. I guess ‘On the contrary’ relates to inserting I in TACT, not TACT in I?

  25. Nick @ 23 – I think you are right, the first part of the clue says that tact is inserted into India. But “On the contrary”, in the answer India is inserted into tact.

  26. I stumbled over TACIT not because I didn’t understand the surface, but because I dismissed it as an option before considering what it really meant! I had confused it with TACET, from music, meaning silent, and decided it was wrong! Ay ay.

    Very enjoyable puzzle nonetheless.

  27. Very enjoyable for me as a beginner, thank you Matilda! And possibly the first cryptic where I managed to parse every clue alone! (Well, except for the sell-buy homophone actually, but close enough!)

  28. My first finish, although on my first read through I thought I was going to struggle to start!
    Many thanks for this site, I’ve been using it to help as I learn – and as I continue to. Not much of a poster, by wanted to mark my first full success. Many thanks all here.

  30. V good puzzle for this beginner as well. I failed outright on 17D and had a couple of cracks (cheats) at 23D, but otherwise the best I’ve ever done

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