Thank you to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
7. Dietary supplement‘s almost essential minimum with beginner to cooking (7,1)
VITAMIN C : “vital”(essential/absolutely necessary) minus its last letter(almost …) + MIN(abbrev. for “minimum”) plus(with) 1st letter of(beginner to) “cooking“.
9. Team’s curtailed debuts in local league in gusty weather (6)
SQUALL : “squad”(a team/a group with a particular task) minus its last letter(…’s curtailed) + 1st letters, respectively, of(debuts in) “local league“.
10. Finally loses cup being complacent (4)
SMUG : Last letter of(Finally) “loses” + MUG(a large cup used without a saucer).
11. Omens not good after virulent gluttony and lust? (6,4)
DEADLY SINS : “signs”(omens/forewarnings) minus(not) “g”(abbrev. for “good”) placed after(after) DEADLY(virulent/extremely harmful, as with a disease).
Defn: Example of which/? are …
12. Zen, surprisingly, stopping cook’s mad behaviour (6)
FRENZY : Anagram of(…, surprisingly) ZEN contained in(stopping) FRY(to cook in hot oil or fat).
14. Lecturer at church has code which unlocks the door (8)
LATCHKEY : L(abbrev. for “lecturer”) + AT + CH(abbrev. for “church”) plus(has) KEY(code/that which allows something inexplicable to be understood).
Defn: That ….
15. Swung off line and went round camper on bend (7)
SWERVED : [WEED(went/urinated, as in “I went just before I wet my pants”) containing(round) RV(abbrev. for “recreational vehicle”/a large motor vehicle with living accommodation/a camper)] placed after(on) S(type of bend in a road shaped like an S).
Defn: …/direction of movement.
17. Legal bill’s going ahead with small changes (7)
ADJUSTS : [JUST(fair/within the law/legal) placed after(…’s going ahead) AD(short for “advertisement”, an example of which is the bill or handbill/leaflet)] plus(with) S(abbrev. for “small”).
20. Surprise: IOS hasn’t worked (8)
ASTONISH : Anagram of(… worked) IOS HASN’T.
22. Cocaine’s cut and ground (6)
CHEWED : C(in slang, an abbrev. for “cocaine”) + HEWED(cut/chopped, with an axe, say).
Defn: … in the mouth with the teeth.
23. Mixes up drink for fundraising event (6,4)
JUMBLE SALE : JUMBLES(mixes up/puts into disorder) + ALE(an alcoholic drink).
24. Times and service reduced in festive season (4)
XMAS : X(sign for multiplication/times, as in “2×2=…”) plus(and) “mass”(a church service) minus its last letter(reduced).
25. Pieced together design in short time when back in charge (6)
MOSAIC : MO(short for “moment”, a very short period of time) + reversal of(… back) AS(when/at that moment, as in “as you enter, look around”) + IC(abbrev. for “in charge”).
26. Faint smell around pet’s penetrating (4,4)
KEEL OVER : Reversal of(… around) REEK(to smell strongly of) containing(…’s penetrating) LOVE(like “pet”, an affectionate form of address).
Defn: …/to lose consciousness suddenly.
Down
1. Trail round Manchester with team making movie … (4,4)
FILM CREW : FILE(to trail/to walk slowly in a line behind) containing(round) MCR(abbrev. for the Manchester City Region) + W(abbrev. for “with”).
2. … taking case that contains new boom (4)
BANG : BAG(a case/a container used for carrying things) containing(contains) N(abbrev. for “new”).
Defn: …/a loud noise.
3. Requiring delicate fingering – like a violin? (6)
FIDDLY : Cryptically, “fiddly” = like a fiddle/a violin, in the same manner as “spindly” = like a spindle.
Defn: … to do or use.
4. Old Satie composition is untypical (8)
ISOLATED : Anagram of(… composition) OLD SATIE.
Defn: …/exceptional, as in “an isolated instance”.
5. Hugest building by river is a bed and breakfast (10)
GUESTHOUSE : Anagram of(… building) HUGEST plus(by) OUSE(river in north-eastern England).
6. Swallow rising over November landscape at last making dive (6)
PLUNGE : Reversal of(… rising, in a down clue) GULP(a swallow/a large mouthful of liquid drunk hastily) placed above(over, in a down clue) N(letter represented by “November” in the phonetic alphabet) + last letter of(… at last) “landscape“.
8. King died shielded by porter and nurse (6)
CRADLE : CR(abbrev. for “Charles Rex”, King Charles) + [D(abbrev. for “died”) contained in(shielded by) ALE(porter/a dark brown bitter beer)].
13. Brown rat scuttled, occasionally so far, aboard barge (10)
NARROWBOAT : Anagram of(… scuttled) BROWN RAT containing(…, aboard) 2nd and 4th letters of(occasionally) “so far“.
16. Papers in flat about drug used to support testimony (8)
EVIDENCE : ID(abbrev. for “identification”, provided in this case by the relevant documents/papers) contained in(in) EVEN(flat/without any undulations) + C(abbrev. for “circa”/about or approximately when refering to dates) + E(abbrev. for the drug, ecstasy).
Defn: That ….
18. Young person born to be raised in great turmoil (8)
TEENAGER : Reversal of(… to be raised) NEE(born/named at birth) contained in(in) anagram of(… turmoil) GREAT.
One in a typical teenage turmoil:
19. Heartily wished class was smaller (6)
SHRANK : Middle 2 letters of(Heartily) “wished” + RANK(class/one of the groups into which society is divided based on some sort of status).
Defn: Became smaller?
21. Deconstructing Proust produces lethargy (6)
STUPOR : Anagram of(Deconstructing) PROUST.
22. College student’s constantly brilliant (6)
CLEVER : C(abbrev. for “college”) + L(letter displayed by a student driver) + EVER(constantly/always).
24. Console cross and upset old boy with kiss (4)
XBOX : X(a cross) plus(and) reversal of(upset, in a down clue) OB(abbrev. for “old boy”, a former student of an educational institution) plus(with) X(symbol representing a kiss in a letter or message).
This felt quite hard for a quiptic, but after finishing I am not sure why.
Some lovely clues, favourites were GUESTHOUSE and NARROWBOAT, even though I would usually write both as two words.
I liked SWERVED as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and realised early on it would be a pangram. I was unable to parse 1d, not having heard on MCR as the Manchester region. At first I thought ‘crew’ might have been doing double duty. A bit chewy for a quiptic, but enough easier elements to give a foothold. Thanks Hectence and Schumacher.
Couldn’t parse ADJUST, SWERVED & FILM CREW. MCR a bit out of reach. Otherwise good fun, but I found it a bit harder than the cryptic.
Scchua is what I wrote – honestly!
Thanks Hectence and scchua
I failed to parse several, and now I see them, I think the parsings aren’t Quiptic suitable (11a, 13a, 26a, 1d, and 8d – surprised to see ALE turning up twice in the same puzzle).
Favourite JUMBLE SALE.
Thought this was hard for a Quiptic, and my personal stats confirm, with this taking 25% longer than average. 15 across (swerved) was, for me, particularly difficult, but others also held me up significantly.
Couldn’t parse FILM CREW as I’ve never heard of MCR (other than as Middle Common Room). Several of these clues were harder than today’s Cryptic.
This was lovely, I thought. SWERVED was a tricky parse. I agree with Larry that there were enough footholds for a Quiptic.
Thanks both.
Quite a difficult Quiptic today, I think the Editor switched the two puzzles by mistake today. This is a hard one for beginners & those in a hurry and my fear is that it would turn off some beginners.
I could not parse 15ac and 1d – never heard of MCR = Manchester City Region.
Favourites: PLUNGE, CRADLE, JUMBLE SALE, SHRANK.
Thanks, both.
Unlike others I found this a bit easier than today’s cryptic – certain finished it more quickly (tho’ not quick).
In several cases I got the answer straightaway and then parsed it – so although I too had not seen MCR for Manchester it had to be that.
Liked: CRADLE (for the misleading “porter”), LATCHKEY, GUESTHOUSE, NARROWBOAT
Thanks Hectence and sschua
Didn’t parse SWERVED because I couldn’t get past thinking the camper was a VW. Didn’t know MCR for Manchester – guessed it might be the airline code for their airport. Lovely surface for TEENAGER.
This would make a decent Cryptic: for a Quiptic some of the parsing is a bit FIDDLY.
Engaging puzzle. Some of the constructions are rather too complex for a Quiptic, I think, but it made for a more interesting challenge for the experienced solver.
Canal enthusiasts get very huffy if a NARROWBOAT is described as a ‘barge’, which is a different sort of vessel, but it works for crossword purposes and the clue is a good one.
MCR (just Manchester and not Manchester City Region, which isn’t a recognised expression anyway – Greater Manchester would be the correct term) is a familiar abbreviation to North-Westerners like myself.
Thanks to S&B
I agree with sschua’s suggestion that SHRANK seems to better fit “became smaller” than “was smaller”.
I was wondering if MCR was the 3-letter code for Manchester Airport, but it isn’t (it’s MAN).
Thanks
I thought X-BOX should be clued (1-3) and GUESTHOUSE (5,5) and I didn’t get MCR for Manchester but otherwise a good breakfast companion
Nice puzzle. I tried to make CODDLE work for CRADLE with Cole for Porter around the d for died. I am all for a bit of North west oriented general knowledge for a change, do I liked MCR.
In defence of scchua, I discover that Wiktionary gives Manchester City Region as a possibility for MCR. Complete nonsense, as no such expression exists (except perhaps for Manchester NH?). It refers just to the city itself, and is usually represented as M’cr or M/CR.
I’m another that found this and the Cryptic the right way round as I found the cryptic took significantly longer significantly harder. I did find with this that I found the answer first and then the parsing which might explain the difference.
Pangram alert!
A bit tough for a Quiptic but nothing too complicated. I liked the surfaces of FRENZY and PLUNGE, the definition for MOSAIC, and the wordplays of FRENZY, SWERVED and ADJUSTS.
Thanks Hectence and scchua.
Lots of “relative difficulty” complaints. The fault clearly lies with Vulcan for making today’s Cryptic too easy. 🙂 If this puzzle had been published on Thursday (as I have suggested before), there would have been no such complaints.
I also wonder if the grid, with no first letters at the top and left sides, adds to the perceived difficulty.
My favourites were 21d STUPOR for the surface that describes my response to Proust, and 24d XBOX for the verb/noun deception of “console”.
Thanks Hectence for the 22d Quiptic, and sschua for the illustrative blog.
Petert @16 You are not alone. I too wrestled with Cole Porter and the intractable extra D in an effort to justify ‘coddle’, which still seems the more natural synonym for ‘nurse’.
Cellomaniac @21
I’m not sure if you saw my final comment the last time we werev discsussing this (or, indeed, if you are being entirely serious!), but surely it’s the crossword editor’s job to put the right crossword in the right slot?
muffin@23, but Vulcan “owns” the Monday cryptic slot, and if his puzzle is very easy, it can be difficult for the editor to find an easier one for the Quiptic slot.
And besides, relative difficulty can be a very subjective assessment. What you might find more difficult, the editor might find easier. Who has the right to say who is right?
I try (with varying success) never to be too serious on this site. After all, we do this for fun, and there is nothing earthshaking about our delightful hobby. (That also applies to our exchanges, which I thoroughly enjoy.)
Largely impenetrable.
Cellomaniac @24
In that case, 🙂
Hectence has been setting the Quiptic for many years and is a bit of a specialist in the form. I reckon she knows what she’s doing. I don’t think she has ever appeared in the main Cryptic slot, and nor has Vulcan ever appeared in the Quiptic slot, so a mix-up seems somewhat unlikely. I agree with Cellomaniac – difficulty is largely subjective, as evidenced by the comment from Fiona @11.
My own view is that both were towards the easier end of the scale and both were good fun, the latter being all I really care about. I thought DEADLY SINS and MOSAIC were particularly good. Thanks, Hectence and scchua.
Re MCR for Manchester – this abbreviation is familiar to me but I agree with Gervase that the given explanation is almost certainly nonsense since there is no such thing as “Manchester City Region”. Unfortunately, it seems to be one of those things that has become established as “fact” through the snowball effect of repetition on the internet but there are no reliable sources to support it as far as I can see.
Widdersbel @27
Surely the parsings of SWERVED and FILM CREW in particular were rather beyond what one would expect in a Quiptic? RV? Who knew? Similarly MCR!
Too difficult for a Quiptic. By far.
What hope do beginners/idiots like me have?!?
Well, both RV and MCR are familiar to me so…
MCR is one of those things that’s common knowledge but apparently not listed in dictionaries, so some editors would reject the clue for that reason.
General knowledge elements aside, the parsing of those two clues seems reasonably straightforward.
Steffen, the cryptic is easier. Not easy, easier.
Muffin @48: RV as a camper is common knowledge here in that vehicle’s home territory, so that one was almost a write-in for me. (And when thinking of an RV, please don’t picture a cute little European-style trailer with a pop-up tent–oh no no no! Here, you either see a giant bus-like road hog (class A RV), or a still-large thing built onto a pickup chassis, invariably underpowered, so always taking mountain roads at 20 mph with angry car drivers queued up behind them (class C). I have dim opinions of RVs. Dim indeed. I even once had to live in one for a week, so my opinion is an informed one.)
But I had no chance with MCR for greater Manchester. I wrote that one in from the definition.
MrP
Do you mean a Winnebago, as featured in Spaceballs?
Mrp@52 I own an RV which I bought from a friend for $300 about twenty years ago. It is forty-five years old and not particularly big — it has a camper shell built on the chassis of a Toyota pickup, so it up takes no more road space than that. You might say it’s a pickup in a camper costume. It drives at normal road speeds, as a pickup would, though in its old age I don’t take it terribly far or fast.
Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle with its lovely surfaces and being a pangram too. Agree with most of the comments re favourite clues too, and as to difficulty level would concur it was on the tougher side of the easier part of the spectrum if you know what I mean. Nho MCR but it had to be from the definition. Luvvly grub!
@31 Peter
I wish it was.
I wish it was.
I must have been on Hectence’s wavelength this time, as I found it a pitch-perfect quiptic (and I stick only to quiptics, finding most Guardian cryptics way out of my skill range). Some chewiness but eminently digestible. And some really lovely surfaces too. Thanks Hectence!
I always thought MCR was just short for ManChesteR!
Absolutely magnificent. Only tried it today, and glad I did. Too many ticks to list, even though I didn’t parse a couple.
Sorry I’m so late to the party (health) but with an eye on posterity I wish to add my voice, please, to those saying that Mcr is simply Manchester and has been for many a long year. I believe the other suggestion to be just straightforwardly wrong.
Best to all and thanks to setter, blogger and commenters.