A fine Quiptic from Chandler, I reckon. Let’s see what the beginners and improvers thought about this Sunday’s offering.
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 For example, fine part of a football match
PENALTY
A dd.
5 Directors need these self-catering trips sorted out
SCRIPTS
A charade of SC and (TRIPS)* The anagrind is ‘sorted out’. SC for ‘self-catering’ is a new one for me, but no doubt it’s out there somewhere.
10 Boss in horse breeding establishment
STUD
A dd.
11 First person at work behind outlet for motor vehicles showing fatigue
EXHAUSTION
A charade of EXHAUST, I and ON. I for ‘first person’ is a grammatical term: I is the first person singular of the subject pronoun; we is the first person plural equivalent.
12 Gradually add joins, tiling? Not altogether!
INSTIL
Hidden in joINS TILing.
13 Put forward minister, one entertained by celebrity
NOMINATE
An insertion of MIN and A in NOTE. The insertion indicator is ‘entertained by’.
14 Obstacle covering street for legal professional
BARRISTER
An insertion of ST in BARRIER. The insertion indicator is ‘covering’.
16 Piece of dishonesty about dietary material
FIBRE
A charade of FIB and RE.
17 Fellow left to request container for liquids
FLASK
A charade of F, L and ASK.
19 In turn, refer to Green when mobilised being full of vitality?
ENERGETIC
An insertion of (GREEN)* in CITE reversed. The anagrind is ‘when mobilised’ and the insertion indicator is ‘in’.
23 Makes again word puzzle inspiring beginners to infer latest discovery
REBUILDS
An insertion of ILD for the initial letters of the last three words of the clue in REBUS. The insertion indicator is ‘inspiring’. A REBUS is a picture puzzle. And a fictional Scottish detective, whose surname was inspired by the word’s meaning.
24 Fight with European in predicament
SCRAPE
A charade of SCRAP and E.
26 Place where drivers begin proceedings?
GOLF COURSE
A cd.
27 Something that could be put across harbour in period of prosperity
BOOM
A dd.
28 René sadly trapped by second journalist had a contemptuous look
SNEERED
An insertion of (RENE)* in S and ED. The insertion indicator is ‘trapped by’ and the anagrind is ‘sadly’.
29 Awkward opening to show given a slant
STILTED
A charade of S for the initial letter of ‘show’ and TILTED.
Down
2 Son put in school on road heading north in EU state
ESTONIA
An insertion of S in ETON followed by IA for A1 reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘put in’. The A1, sometimes referred to as The Great North Road, is the route from the City of London to the centre of Edinburgh. So it certainly is a road heading north; but in the surface, it’s just ‘road’, since the ‘heading north’ in the surface is the reversal indicator.
3 Check German car close to roundabout
AUDIT
A charade of AUDI and T for the final letter of ’roundabout’.
4 Framework for plants still in a wild state around middle of area
TRELLIS
An insertion of RE for the central letters of aREa in (STILL)* The insertion indicator is ‘around’ and the anagrind is ‘in a wild state’.
6 Poor introduction to complicated card game
CRUMMY
A charade of C for the initial letter of ‘complicated’ and RUMMY.
7 Alteration of invites to incorporate two points is very thorough
INTENSIVE
An insertion of NS for North and South in (INVITES)* The insertion indicator is ‘to incorporate’ and the anagrind is ‘alteration of’.
8 Feature of a pig getting to move unsteadily? About right
TROTTER
An insertion of R in TOTTER. The insertion indicator is ‘about’.
9 Man encroaches in order to undertake something risky
CHANCE ONE’S ARM
(MAN ENCROACHES)* with ‘in order’ as the anagrind.
15 Note mix of cards for change of politicians?
RESHUFFLE
A charade of RE for the second note in the tonic sol-fa and SHUFFLE.
18 New idol after playing requires short sleep
LIE-DOWN
(NEW IDOL)* with ‘after playing’ as the anagrind.
20 Break to tour very large island? That’s extremely optimistic
ROSIEST
An insertion of OS and I in REST. The insertion indicator is ‘to tour’. OS is ‘oversize’ or very often ‘large’ in crosswords.
21 This person’s quietly over for treatment to get better
IMPROVE
A charade of I’M, P for the musically ‘quiet’ and (OVER)* The anagrind is ‘for treatment’.
22 Niche in a large seaside bay
ALCOVE
A charade of A, L and COVE.
25 Some deplore bellicose figure not toeing the line?
REBEL
Hidden in deploRE BELlicose.
Many thanks to Chandler for this week’s puzzle.
I thought this was a lovely Quiptic (I’m currently solving them thinking if I’d blog them comfortably).
The anagram for CHANCES ONE’S ARM was a nice find.
Thank you to Pierre and Chandler.
Loved GOLF COURSE and CHANCE ONE’S ARM.
Thanks Pierre and Chandler! Enjoyed the puzzle and the blog.
A couple of minor observations:
ENERGETIC
There is a typo/an inadvertent slip regarding the insertion indicator.
REBEL
The underlined part of the clue works fine. However, the ‘figure’ seems redundant
in that case. I feel the ‘figure’ should be part of the def.
Needed more time to do this one compared to previous week but eventually got there.5A:SC for self-catering is new to me too.
Good puzzle but not really a Quiptic. I would not recommend this one for beginners.
New for me: SC = self-catering.
Thanks, both
13a – apologies if this is a daft question…where do MIN, A and NOTE come from in the clue?
Steffen: MIN = minister, A = one, The second turns up a lot – one = A or I, a = 1 or per.
Enjoyable puzzle but I thought it was on the chewier side. Not to the extent of being off-putting but I can imagine it being so for some beginners at least. 1 and 5 felt firmly in cryptic territory, but I did appreciate the clueing overall.
19a – “CITE” – where does this come from?
refer to=mention/CITE
I recognised 4d
The bottom half was chewier than the easier top. COA was a great spot. Drivers aren’t alway used on the first tee, especially if it’s a par 3, but I suppose the ? covers it. Very nice Quiptic but quite tough for beginners I would think.
Ta Chandler & Pierre.
I enjoyed this. I seem to recall SC was used on cards you saw in newsagents windows for holiday rentals along with FB, HB, B and B etc.. I agree with others that COA is brilliant. Many thanks Chandler and Pierre.
I thought it might have been harder than the average Quiptic, but it’s not my call.
Where the AI passes through the North London district where I grew up, it heads due West. When I was little I didn’t know it as the Great North Road of course, or even the AI. It was “the shops”.
Lovely, well clued quiptic, very clear explanations.
I liked CHANCE ONE’S ARM, AUDIT, GOLF COURSE, ROSIEST.
Thanks Chandler and Pierre
I read 19a as a straight reversal of CITE (GREEN)*, with the whole “in turn” rather than having an insertion indicator quite far away from both of the elements it might refer to.
Josh@15
ENERGETIC
Your parse amounts to an indirect anagram, which is a strict no in Crosswordostan.
The cryptical reading below works fine (It’s the same as what is said in the blog):
In (turn CITE) GREEN* =In ETIC, GREEN*
13a: why does NOTE = celebrity? Notable, possibly. Even noted: not really.
Justigator @17 – I took it to mean, a celebrity = someone of note.
While I also used scraggs@18’s logic, I think it’s poor cluing. I think Roz would give it a serious Paddington stare
I am another who found this more difficult than expected. SC, MIN, and REBUS were new for me. As noted, GOLF COURSE seemed a bit iffy
Clues were OK, but none stood out for me.
Thanks Chandler and Pierre
Had an ok time with this (actually completed it). Not sure about beginner but certainly a good level for an “improver” like myself – mostly not too obscure and some of the weirder stuff I was able to fill either by GK, good crossers or lucky guesses so that’s all fine.
Also completely in the dark about how NOTE means celebrity, though. The one clue I didn’t manage to parse and still don’t understand (the rest of the clue makes sense, just NOTE = celebrity)
Yeh I also found this tricky. I actually managed all but 5 but a number of them were educated guesses. I thought that “road” being a specific road in London felt a little unfair. I don’t know why boss means STUD, and like others I’m unsure as to why celebrity = NOTE. I did like GOLF COURSE though.
REBUS and BOOM are new for me. I’d seen OS for very large and niche meaning alcove in previous crosswords but unfortunately I had forgotten them both. I’ll also have to remember “in order” being a potential anagrind (I missed it since they usually denote disorder).
Thanks both.
I enjoyed this, although I did find it a tiny bit on the harder side, especially in the lower half.
New to me: REBUS as a puzzle (although I enjoy the books and TV series); MIN for minister.
Probably a bit late for this to be useful, but I think there’s a mistake on the blog for INTENSIVE – it should be “insertion of NE in (INVITES)*” as opposed to “NS”
I liked EXHAUSTION for the misleading “outlet for motor vehicles”, and FIBRE for the simplicity of the construction.
Thanks to Chandler and Pierre.
Shaun @22 “boss: a knob, stud, or other circular rounded protuberance, esp an ornamental one on a vault, a ceiling, or a shield”
I think celebrity needs to be read as fame rather than a famous person, although it is still hard to find an example. A person of celebrity/ person of note, perhaps.
Thanks Judith. I did check Chambers before posting but my eyes must have skipped over that definition.
I parsed 19ac in the same way as Josh @15: CITE (“refer to”) + GREEN* (“Green when mobilised”), all reversed (“in turn”). This parsing is definitely not an indirect anagram: that term refers to a situation in which the anagram fodder is not explicitly contained in the clue, but in this case the only anagram fodder, namely GREEN, is right there.
I’m quite prepared to believe that Pierre’s parsing is the intended one, but I don’t think there’s any way to know for sure. I actually like mine and Josh’s a bit better, for fiddly grammatical reasons: if “In” indicates containment, then “turn” is the reversal indicator and must be taken as a verb in the cryptic reading. But if “turn” is a verb, then it doesn’t work grammatically after “In” (again, in the cryptic reading).
I didn’t know the expression CHANCE ONE’S ARM, and I didn’t know that STUD could refer to an establishment (I have always heard it used to refer to an individual animal).