Quiptic 1,264 by Anto – Fifteensquared

Our entry-level Monday puzzle is from Anto today.

Anto has often been criticised in the past for puzzles that don’t really fit the brief of being suitable for beginners. I can’t help thinking that 4d reads as a response to that; I thought this puzzle was generally more accessible than some of his previous ones, though you may disagree. I liked the anagrams, and the image of the surprisingly chilled-out toddler in 22a. 24d uses an old trick, perhaps not often seen in Quiptics, but the clear definition helps: beginners who haven’t seen this construction before would be well advised to remember it.

I will as usual grumble about a couple of clues where wordplay and definition use the same meaning of a word, which always seems a bit of a cop-out; and I’m not at all convinced by the not-very cryptic definition of 12d, though there may be something more clever that I’ve missed. But overall this was a fun solve – thanks Anto.

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

ACROSS
1	BACKHAND	Dubious deal on defender (8)
		HAND (deal = the cards given to one player in a card game) added to BACK (a defending player in team sports such as football).
6	OLD PRO	Seasoned actor provides well established benefit (3,3)
		OLD (well established) + PRO (as in “pros and cons” = a perceived benefit of a suggested course of action). Not a great clue because “old” means the same thing in both wordplay and definition.
9	STUNTS	Impedes risky undertakings (6)
		Double definition. As in “stunt one’s growth” = impede = have a detrimental effect on; or as in “circus stunt” = a showy but dangerous action.
10	BOLLARDS	Posts put up backward slob, full of fat (8)
		SLOB backwards, containing (full of) LARD (animal fat used in cooking). I’m not sure if “put up” adds anything to either definition or wordplay.
11	POLYNESIA	Lose pay in travelling around this island region (9)
		Anagram (travelling around) of LOSE PAY IN. Area of the Pacific Ocean north-east of New Zealand, containing a large number of islands.
13	PLUMB	Choice by bishop is sound (5)
		PLUM (as in “a plum job” = choice = desirable) + B (abbreviation for bushop). Sound, as a verb = plumb = measure the depth of water.
15	OUTLAY	Expense of turning around design (6)
		LAYOUT (a design) with the two halves of the word swapped (turning around?).
17	CHOSEN	Elected to store pipe in empty cabin (6)
		HOSE (a flexible water pipe) in C[abi]N (empty = inner letters removed).
18	FRILLY	Delicate edges in finer imperial livery (6)
		Outer letters (edges) of F[ine]R I[mperia]L L[iver]Y. I’m not sure “frilly” is quite the same as “delicate”, but either could be used for “lacy” I suppose.
19	RWANDA	Country artist holds spellbinding instrument (6)
		RA (Royal Academician = artist) containing (holding) WAND (magic wand = instrument used to cast spells).
21	AWAKE	Conscious about what all kings expect initially (5)
		Initial letters of A[bout] W[hat] A[ll] K[ings] E[xpect].
22	DOWNPLAYS	Doesn’t overreact when losing toys (9)
		DOWN (as in “1-0 down at half-time” = losing, in a sports match) + PLAYS (toys, as a verb).
25	STRIPOUT	Remove tear in strapping (5,3)
		RIP (tear) in STOUT (strapping = describing a person of large build).
26	OUTRUN	Surpass available series (6)
		OUT (available, as in “is the new book out yet?”) + RUN (series = sequence).
28	SHAGGY	Reluctant to acquire a horse so unkempt (6)
		SHY (reluctant), containing (acquiring) A + GG (gee-gee = slang or child’s word for a horse).
29	‘NUFF SAID	Dancing is fun fad – that’s my final comment (4,4)
		Anagram (dancing) of IS FUN FAD. Casual form of “enough said” = I’m not going to say any more about it.
DOWN
2	ACT	Alliance lacks power to make law (3)
		[p]ACT (alliance) without the P (scientific symbol for power). As in “the Riot Act” = the formal definition of a law.
3	KINKY	Colouring agent in jelly that’s provocative (5)
		INK (colouring agent) in KY (brand name of a lubricating jelly). Kinky = provocative in a sexual way.
4	ANSWERABLE	Bearing responsibility for clue type solvers can crack (10)
		Double definition. Responsible for a wrong action and liable for the associated punishment; or (loosely) descriptive of a crossword clue to which solvers can find the answer.
5	DEBRIS	Rubbish parade Bristol hosts (6)
		Hidden answer (. . . hosts = contains) in [para]DE BRIS[tol]. I’m sure Anto doesn’t intend any criticism of the city in south-west England or its public events.
6	OILY	Slick and regularly social yankee (4)
		Alternate letters (regularly) from [s]O[c]I[a]L, then Y (Yankee in the radio alphabet).
7	DEADLY SIN	Dylan side reworked will create wrath perhaps (6,3)
		Anagram (reworked) of DYLAN SIDE. Definition by example: wrath (or anger) is one of the seven deadly sins.
8	RUDIMENTARY	It’s simple to deploy army under it (11)
		Anagram (to deploy = put into position) of ARMY UNDER IT.
12	ON-OFF SWITCH	Device first to be used if computer stops working? (2-3,6)
		I think this is intended as a cryptic definition, though it doesn’t seem very cryptic – referring to the standard advice of “turn it off and on again” whenever some piece of technology doesn’t work as expected.
14	SHOWING OFF	Demonstrating about exhibition that’s been cancelled (7,3)
		SHOWING (exhibition) + OFF (cancelled, as in “this afternoon’s match is off due to bad weather”). Again, not a very satisfactory clue because “showing” has the same meaning in both wordplay and definition.
16	TWINKLING	Identical line contributed to ruler showing star quality (9)
		TWIN (identical), then L (abbreviation for line) inserted in (contributing to) KING (ruler). Doing what a star does – as in “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”.
20	BOLTON	Something that can be added to Pennine town (6)
		BOLT-ON = descriptive of an optional extra component = something that can be added. Town in Greater Manchester, in the Pennine hill region of northern England.
23	LOTUS	America supports group position taken by yogis (5)
		US (abbreviation for United States = America) after (below, in a down clue = supporting) LOT (group). A cross-legged sitting position in yoga.
24	GORY	Bloody choice between sides in galaxy (4)
		The outer letters (sides) of the word G[alax]Y give a choice of G OR Y.
27	UNI	Coalition working away to establish learning establishment (3)
		UNI[on] (coalition), taking away ON (working, as in “is the heating on?”). Short for university.

21 comments on “Quiptic 1,264 by Anto”

Lovely friendly start to the week.

Thought it just right for a quiptic.

Thanks Anto and Quirister

Thanks Anto and Quirister
Sorry, I disagree. I thought this was ridiculously hard for a Quiptic. A DNF in fact – I revealed BACKHAND, OLD PRO, STUNTS, and KINKY.

Quite tough for a Quiptic! Halfway through I started to dread how difficult the Cryptic might be, having opted to start with this one today. I do not criticise Anto for this puzzle not fitting the brief of being suitable for beginners. For me, it is the responsibility of the editor to choose where to slot puzzles.

I failed to solve 6ac OLD PRO and I wondered how to parse 12d.

Favourites: OUTLAY, SHOWING OFF, LOTUS.

New for me: BOLTON = town in the foothills of the West Pennine Moors – looks like a nice place to visit.

Thanks, both.

I also didn’t get OLD PRO. In hindsight it’s fair, but rather tricky for a Quiptic for a number of reasons. Would’ve been straightforward to have dialled that one down.

Not sure what ‘this’ is doing in POLYNESIA, but hey, it’s Anto.

I regularly visited my grandparents in BOLTON, although never thought of it as being in the Pennines. They lived there for so long that it was drummed into me that it’s in Lancashire, rather than Greater Manchester.

NUFF SAID was fun.

Thanks both.

I had a simpler reading of 24d, that didn’t require knowing the “old trick”. OR suggests a choice in general—A or B, p or q—and when inserted between G and Y, the sides of “galaxy”, gives GORY as the solution.

I had parsed 24d in the same way as Willbar@5 but now I prefer the way that Quirister explains it.

BOLLARDS
Def: posts put up?
(Of course, ‘posts’ is a good enough def. Trying to fit in the ‘put up’)

ON-OFF SWITCH
Agree with the blog. May be a weak one. May be too good to crack!

Thanks both!

I’m on the ‘this was tough’ side. I did get there – just. It’s news to me that Manchester – or Bolton – is in the Pennines. They all made a sort of sense once I got them, though. Thanks, Anto and Quirister.

Pleasant puzzle, though I share all Quirister’s quibbles – it wouldn’t be Anto without some rough edges!

POLYNESIA and RUDIMENTARY are well done. The wordplay for BOLTON is good, but I wouldn’t describe the place as a Pennine town – it isn’t far from the hills but its location is pretty flat.

Thanks to S&B

Found this chewy enough to be a medium Cryptic.
Parsed 10a BOLLARDS as “posts put up” – temporarily deployed on motorways, to the annoyance of petrolheads.
Especially Liked 12d ON-OFF SWITCH for reminding me of the catchphrase from The IT Crowd(2006-10,13) – “Have you tried turning if off and on again?“

I agree that this seemed tougher than average for a Quiptic. I failed to finish, but now I’m embarrassed to admit which ones I didn’t get, because they’re perfectly clear in hindsight! I also couldn’t parse a few, but again, when I look at the solution, I think the failure is entirely my fault. Maybe I’m just tired today.

I agree with those who think 12dn is a pretty weak cryptic definition. I think I see what the intended misleading reading is meant to be, but the (supposedly) cryptic reading jumps out at me far more readily.

12d ON-OFF SWITCH – “Device first to be used if computer stops working?” – You’d get on the phone and call The IT Crowd (Tech Support).
I used their catchphrase many more times than once in my IT career. Also first came across the word BOLT-ON (20d), used of a bespoke operating system.
28a SHAGGY – Always nice to see GG for horse, most recently used in CARAVAGGIO and TIGGER.
Thanks A&Q

I have only heard backhanded to mean dubious, but Collins says, if you dig far enough, that backhand=backhanded, so there you go.

A pet peeve: the negative of something is not the same as its opposite, for example the negative of hot is not hot, which includes cold but also warm. In the same vein, doesn’t overreact might just mean does nothing, not necessarily DOWNPLAYS. However it is a Quiptic, where people tend to be a bit more relaxed, so ok.

Had never heard the phrase BOLT-ON, so the clue for BOLTON was a mystery to me. I had heard of the town, though–Bolton Wanderers had a spell in the Premier League back when I first tried following football. I also met a woman from Bolton when I was in Manchester back in ’08–it was one of those memorable nights out drinking, when one makes many new friends.

Stuck on NW corner. Also didn’t get OLD PRO. I don’t really get Anto. Not a criticism, just not on same wavelength. This is quite hard for a quiptic.

Beginners and solvers in a hurry still like to be challenged, just mildly. This one took me 90 seconds less time than today’s Cryptic from Vulcan, so clearly the editor got it right. 😉

Thanks A@Q for the Monday merriment.

[ Rosa Klebb is in the FT for an extra treat to start the week. ]

For balance, I thought this was just right for a Quiptic 🙂 Thanks A&Q

Comments above show how personal perceptions of difficulty are; I thought this crossword felt as if the criticism of the quiptic (recently far too hard to be considered a beginner’s cryptic) had been taken to heart. Less than half the time taken for the cryptic and no missing parsings nor guesses. Might flick back to previous instances to see if I just “get” Anto’s mindset

Thanks Setter and Blogger

Always interesting to see people’s perceptions of difficulty being so different to your own. Last week’s was a horrible slog, this one took about 30 minutes – a PB!

I work in Bolton. It’s the biggest town in England, I believe, and was the centre of the cotton industry at one point. I don’t think most people there think of it as a Pennine town – maybe Penpennine!

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