Quick Cryptic 15 by Carpathian

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This is the fifteenth Guardian Quick Cryptic, a series of 11 x 11 crosswords designed to support beginners learning cryptic crosswords.  The whole point of these crosswords is support and encouragement of new solvers, so special rules for these crosswords apply – see here.  The puzzle can be found here.

Fifteen Squared uses several abbreviations and jargon tricks, there’s a full list here, of which I’ve used the following in this blog:

  • underlining the definition in the clue – this is either at the beginning or end of the clue
  • CAPITALS to indicate which bits are part of the answer, eg R in CEASE means that ‘in’ is not part of the answer
  • anagram *(SENATOR) shows letters in clue being used,
  • anagrind the anagram indicator (arranged)
  • surface – the meaning from reading the clue – so often cryptic clues use an English that could only be found in a cryptic crossword, but a smooth surface is a clue that has a meaning in English, which can be pointed or misleading.

TODAY’S TRICKS – from the crossword site – which can be found at  www.theguardian.com/crosswords/quick-cryptic/15

Clues begin or end with a definition of the answer. The rest is one of these:

    1. Anagram An anagram of the answer and a hint that there’s an anagram
      ‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON
    2.  Hidden word Answer is hidden in the clue’s words
      ‘Some have altered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
    3. Charade A combination of synonyms
      ‘Qualify to get drink for ID (8)’ gives PASSPORT (pass + port)
    4. Alternate letters Choose every other letter for the answer
      ‘Oddly envied First Lady? (3)’ gives EVE

ACROSS
1 MISCONSTRUE
Wrongly interpret tenor’s music playing (11)
anagram (TENOR’S MUSIC) anagrind playing
A straightforward anagram to start, using a word that’s more used diplomatically to explain misunderstandings.
7 RELIEVE
Excuse bizarre lie Veronica hides (7)
hidden (hides) in bizaRE LIE VEronica
One of the definitions in Chambers for excuse is to release or dispense with temporarily, and in that sense, RELIEVE and excuse could be swapped in a sentence – as in being relieved or excused from duty (to add something said in the crossword comments)
8 TAR
Tea urn regularly serving hot black substance (3)
alternate letters (regularly serving) from TeA uRn
I like the surface here as it suggests the over-stewed bitter tea sometimes found when served tea from an urn.
9 CEDAR
Raced around tree (5)
anagram (RACED)* anagrind around
Lots of different names of trees turn up in crosswords – CEDAR is a regular, as are ash, oak, elm for their letter groupings for other words, elder for its ambiguity, chestnut, acacia – an endless list.
12 TASTE
Sample bit of defeat as team (5)
hidden (bit of) defeaT AS TEam
Hopefully this isn’t a foretaste of tomorrow’s Euro result.
15 COMET
Heavenly body company encountered (5)
charade of  CO (company) + MET (encountered) to give the space wanderer.
Co for company is so common it’s the first thing I think of, coming from business names, e.g. M&Co and suggesting that the organisation is more than a sole trader.   The other business abbreviations aren’t usually that much use in crossword setting (Ltd, plc, etc), although MBA, the business qualification was used to clue rumba this week.
16 EAVES
Partly weave straw section of roof (5)
hidden (partly) in wEAVE Straw
18 REFIT
Match official with appeal in fix again (5)
charade of REF (match official) with IT (appeal) to give REFIT
REF as a match official is another regular, as it’s such a useful abbreviation for building other words.
IT for appeal, along with SA (sex appeal) appears a lot – as in She’s got it, IT also gets clued as information technology or computers/computing and to mean sex as in the act (I could write sentences to include that one, but they are euphemistic).
20 EEL
Resells oddly deficient fish (3)
alternate letters (oddly deficient) of rEsElLs to give one of crosswordland’s favourite fish.  The oddly deficient tells you to take out the odd letters, leaving the evens.
Cod, hake, smelt are all regulars, as is kipper, although it’s not really a fish, but a fish product, it is often clued as such.
21 ROMANIA
A manor I rebuilt somewhere in Europe (7)
anagram (A MANOR I)* anagrind rebuilt – for the country in south-east Europe.
23 OPTOMETRIST
Eye doctor of topmost tier dancing (11)
anagram of (TOPMOST TIER)* anagrind dancing
I ended up using this anagram to work out how to spell this one, although I see them often enough.
DOWN
1 MIRACLE
Reclaim extraordinary phenomenon (7)
anagram of (RECLAIM)* anagrind extraordinary
These single word anagrams are often difficult to spot, but are great finds.
2 SALAD
Dish made by South African boy (5)
charade of SA (South African) + LAD (boy) to give SALAD
SA for South African turns up, when it’s not ZA from the domain name or RSA from Republic of South Africa.
LAD for boy is another regular, if it’s not a SON or a boy’s name such as Ted, Ron, Des, and etc (the last Quiptic I blogged had Rob clued as boy).
3 ORE
Mineral aggregate hoarded on and off (3)
alternate letters (on and off) of hOaRdEd to give ORE, which really is a mineral aggregate, but gets clued as a mineral or rock less accurately in cryptic crosswords.
4 SHELTER Lets her remodel hut (7)

anagram of (LETS HER)* anagrind remodel.   For hut as SHELTER, I think of mountain huts.
5 RATES
Judges in bar ate samosas (5)
hidden (in) baR ATE Samosas
To judge something could be to RATE it, but rate also turns up in other meanings – value, speed or to chide, coming to mind immediately.
6 EAR
Repairs every other bit in organ (3)
alternate letters (every other bit) of rEpAiRs
organ in crosswords could be the musical instrument or various organs of the body, including the liver, brain, skin or ear (most commonly as useful in other words)
10 ACE
One marched periodically (3)
alternate letters (periodically) of mArChEd to give ACE
ACE could be clued as here as the card value of one, or as a professional, outstanding, exceptional, hole-in-one – and then used to build other words.
11 ROSTRUM
Rum sort reconstructed platform (7)
anagram of (RUM SORT)* anagrind reconstructed
A ROSTRUM is another familiar crossword form of platform, along with dais.
13 ATE
Consumed piece of gateau (3)
hidden (piece of) gATEau
ATE gets clued as consumed, as here, but also worried (it ate away at him) or eroded (the acid ate away at) or the soundalike of eight, but again it’s a useful component of other words, so is used a lot.
13 EXTRACT
Former lover with pamphlet showing passage taken from book (7)
charade of  EX (former lover) + (with) TRACT (pamphlet) = EXTRACT
EX for former lover is another crossword regular, not always clued as clearly
TRACT is another useful multi-meaning word, but as TRACTs handed out by street preachers (which reminds me, I haven’t seen one at Oxford Circus tube for a while), it’s a meaning that gets used regularly.
17 VALET
Rival eternally imprisoning servant (5)
hidden (imprisoning) in riVAL ETernally for the sort of servant encountered in Jeeves or Bunter with Wooster or Lord Peter Wimsey – not sure how often the gentleman’s gentleman still occurs outside that era of literature.
19 FUNGI
Entertaining American soldier gets mushrooms? (5)
charade of  FUN (entertaining) + GI (American soldier)
GI for American soldier is used a lot.  It’s originally from WWII, and according
to this History article it comes from Galvanized Iron not Government Issue, as stated in Chambers.
20 EGO
I somewhat agree good-naturedly (3)
hidden (somewhat) in agreE GOod-naturedly for EGO, “the I or self that thinks” according to Chambers.
22 MET
Ignoring the odds Amnesty gathered (3)
alternate letters (ignoring the odds) of aMnEsTy – here the solver is told to take the even letters.

 

28 comments on “Quick Cryptic 15 by Carpathian”

  1. Wonderful blog again, Shanne. The puzzle seemed easier than the last few weeks. I love good anagrams and Carpathian gave us a few beauties

    Thanks Carpathian and Shanne

  4. Thanks for the blog, Shanne and the puzzle, Carpathian! Higher proportion of anagrams, hidden words and alternating letter clues made this a significantly easier solve (or am I really getting better?). Didn’t have to check or reveal a single clue, and there is something to be said about the confidence boost one receives from such a grid. Nice, gentle Saturday morning solve!

  5. Great blog Shanne yet again!
    And HG’s YouTube channel continues to be excellent!
    I hope these puzzles, blogs and vids reach hundreds of new solvers and benefit them immensely.

    Steffen@3 and exp16@4
    Congrats!

  8. Has anyone managed to print one of these?

    Since they are smaller than dailies I would expect there to be no problem printing on one page but (from iPhone, at least) it wants to use three pages.

  9. No, I haven’t tried printing anything, and can’t check now as I’m about to disappear for the morning but does the pdf work?

  11. Many thanks to Carpathian for another enjoyable puzzle, and to Shanne for your detailed explanations. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a crossword like this on weekdays too ?

  12. The only one I hadn’t completely parsed was 18a. I’d forgotten that in crosswords “appeal” often means sex appeal, or “it”.

  13. @8 Admin. I just did a trial on a Window laptop using chrome. Clicking on the “Print” link gives me a one page print out. The “PDF” link opens a three page *,pdf

  14. Good crossword, Carpathian. Great examples of the clue types, well-crafted, and entertaining as well.

  15. Great explanations again Shanne, thanks. And thanks to Carpathian for leisurely Saturday morning puzzle. Managed this one a lot quicker than last weeks.

  16. Like Martyn@1 I did find this much more doable than the previous couple of weeks. I seem to be getting better at spotting hidden clues, which is encouraging as they have historically been a blind spot for me.

    Thanks Carpathian and Shanne.

  17. A great relief to have a puzzle I could solve, confidence has taken a dip in the last few days as the main puzzle has seemed v. difficult. Am smiling. Thank you Carpathian and Shanne.

  18. Anyone wondering about “appeal” for IT should know about the 1927 film of that name, which didn’t originate that meaning of “it”, but certainly solidified it in the lexicon. Clara Bow, the star of that film, became known thereafter as “the it girl,” a title later applied to other persons who had It.

  20. Felix @19 – so it is, but as there’s no hidden indicator while there is an anagram indicator, I chose to go with the one that fitted the clue types and cryptic clue “rules” as far as they go. (When you get to some of the other setters, rule breaking is standard, but until you know the “rules”, it’s difficult to understand how those trickier clues work).

  21. Thanks Shanne, very new to cryptics and finding your blog very helpful. I got the right answer the wrong way!

  23. @18 , thanks for the background. Didnt know about IT. The only one I had to reveal.
    and thanks Shanne for an excellent blog, extends the learning potential of the QC beautifully
    (and yes optometrists are not docs)

  24. Just a query here – when I click on link to the actual puzzle no 15, it takes me to puzzle no 13, so I can’t seem to access the no 15 puzzle sadly.

  25. Liked: MISCONSTRUE – meaning/anagrind could easily have been at start/end of nicely worded clue.
    Also liked: MIRACLE – “extraordinary” is doing double duty as an anagrind and it could also be part of def, in a nicely worded clue with a one word anagram.
    I’ll stop there, I could go through all clues saying I liked them all. This was the most pleasing Quick Cryptic yet. I don’t know how to describe it, elegant maybe? None of the clues felt contrived or patronising, all of them brought a smile.
    Sorry, I have to single out one more: EGO (for the def: “I”)
    Very informative blog, Shanne, thanks.

  26. Sorry, Kim @24 – corrected now – although the link further down the page was linked properly.

    Dougal @22 and tmdoc @23 – yes, an optometrist isn’t a doctor, but I’m afraid in cryptic crosswords, near enough is good enough. You both knew what was meant – a professional who works with eyes.

  28. After the last one by Brummie, which kicked my ass, I breezed through this one in about 5 minutes! Is it just me, or are a lot of similar clues coming up now (TAR, CEDAR, OPTOMETRIST, ROMANIA, RATES, SHELTER, etc.)?

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