I’m standing in for the usual blogger as it’s summer holiday time, so had the joy of blogging a Picaroon Quiptic, as an additional Quiptic blog this month. The crossword can be found here.
I like blogging Picaroon’s crosswords as I find his crossword cluing contains clear instructions to follow and build the answers, even when the word is unfamiliar.
I don’t think there is anything particularly confusing about the terminology I’ve used but it mostly comes from the abbreviations given here. I tend to use the clue definitions as given by the Quick Cryptic crosswords, which are mostly in line with the usual nomenclature.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | IN DEPTH |
Section of Hawkwind EP thrills thoroughly (2,5)
|
| Hidden clue (section of) HawkwIND EP THrills | ||
| 5 | POWERED |
Gave energy to captive soldier, English revolutionary (7)
|
| charade of POW (captive soldier) + E (English) + RED (revolutionary) | ||
| 9 | PIANO |
Musical instrument, or instruction for how to play it (5)
|
| double definition – p for piano is the instruction to play softly | ||
| 10 | PSEUDONYM |
E.g. Picaroon in terrible dump? Yes and no (9)
|
| anagram of (DUMP YES NO)* with an anagrind (anagram indicator) of terrible | ||
| 11 | ON THE HOUSE |
Where solar panels are installed for free (2,3,5)
|
| double definition – using the literal meaning of ON THE HOUSE for where solar panels are installed and the usage in bars and restaurants for a complimentary drink or dish being provided ON THE HOUSE | ||
| 12 | PAWN |
Starts to plan attack with knight, or other chess piece (4)
|
| partial acrostic, indicated by “starts to” Plan Attack With + N (knight in chess notation).
The pieces or men in chess are the K (king), Q (queen), B (bishop), N (knight) and R (rook) |
||
| 14 | SUPERMARKET |
Big shop possibly making Starmer puke (11)
|
| anagram of (STARMER PUKE)* with an anagrind of making | ||
| 18 | CAPITALISTS |
City is walling off street for financiers etc.? (11)
|
| charade of CAPITAL (city) with IS (from the clue) around (walling off) ST (street) to give CAPITAL I (ST) S | ||
| 21 | USED |
Guardian compilers and our boss getting exploited (4)
|
| charade of US (Guardian compilers) and ED (our boss – the editor) | ||
| 22 | CONTROLLED |
Prisoner provoked people on-line, getting restrained (10)
|
| charade of CON (prisoner) + TROLLED (provoked people on-line) to give CON TROLLED
TROLLing meaning online provocation has been around for a while, as has a CON for a prisoner |
||
| 25 | ARCHITECT |
Wren perhaps in the Arctic, oddly (9)
|
| anagram of (THE ARCTIC)* with an anagrind of oddly
Oddly is often used as an alternate letter clue indicator, but it can also be used as an anagram indicator, as here.
The architect meant here is Christopher WREN, the architect who designed St Paul’s Cathedral and many of the City of London churches. Perhaps, as he is a definition by example (DBE) |
||
| 26 | INDIA |
Golf, then hotel, then this part of Asia (5)
|
| cryptic definition – in the radio (NATO) alphabet, Golf for G, Hotel for H, I for India. | ||
| 27 | ENTRAPS |
Stitches up parent’s pants (7)
|
| anagram of (PARENT’S)* with an anagrind of pants, as in the English meaning of a bit rubbish, not underwear. | ||
| 28 | RETIRED |
Withdrew sappers in need of a rest (7)
|
| charade of RE (sappers – Royal Engineers) + TIRED (in need of a rest). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | IMPROV |
Make better, mostly unscripted performance (6)
|
| IMPROV is short for improvisation, unscripted performances, and to IMPROVe is to make better, mostly. The mostly describes the word and instructs the removal of the last letter. | ||
| 2 | DEARTH |
Shortage of diamonds on ground (6)
|
| charade of D (diamonds) + EARTH (ground)
D for diamonds is bridge playing abbreviation, along with H for hearts, S for spades and C for clubs. |
||
| 3 | PROPENSITY |
Pity person’s corrupt tendency (10)
|
| anagram of (PITY PERSON)* with an anagrind of corrupt | ||
| 4 | HIPPO |
Animal that wades in cool Italian river (5)
|
| charade of HIP (cool) and PO (Italian river)
The Po is one of the most used rivers in crosswordland. HIP for cool and trendy another regularly used crosswordese equivalence, |
||
| 5 | PRESSURES |
Print media admitting certain stresses (9)
|
| insertion of (admitting) of SURE (certain) into PRESS (print media) to give PRES SURE S | ||
| 6 | WIDE |
Broad gets a run in cricket (4)
|
| double definition of WIDE meaning broad and WIDE meaning a Thank you to paddymelon: I really should look up cricket terms – a wide is a score given for an illegal delivery. Broad adds to the surface as Stuart Broad was an English cricketer. |
||
| 7 | RANSACKS |
Royal Artillery battalion ultimately fires rifles (8)
|
| charade of RA (Royal Artillery) + N (battalioN ultimately) + SACKS (fires – as in a job).
(corrected per Michelle below) |
||
| 8 | DOMINATE |
Command party friend hosts at home (8)
|
| charade of DO (party) with MATE (friend) plus insertion (hosts is the instruction to insert) IN (home) in the MATE to give DO M (IN) ATE | ||
| 13 | BASSOONIST |
Wind player with nothing on, caught by strings player (10)
|
| insertion of O (nothing) ON (from the clue) into BASSIST (strings player) to give BASS O ON IST – the player of the bassoon | ||
| 15 | PULLOVERS |
Jumpers turned up by Leicester’s number one fans (9)
|
| charade of UP< reversed (turned) to give PU + L (Leicester’s number one) + LOVERS (fans) to give another word for sweaters or jumpers | ||
| 16 | ACCURATE |
Account by clergyman is error-free (8)
|
| charade of AC (account) + CURATE (clergyman)
CURATE these days, in the Church of England, is a training role within a church, for someone not fully priested as yet |
||
| 17 | UPPERCUT |
Stimulating drug reduced – a kind of blow (8)
|
| charade of UPPER (stimulating drug) + CUT (reduced) for a particular form of boxing blow | ||
| 19 | GLIDER |
Aircraft heads for Greece’s largest island, doing extra refuelling (6)
|
| acrostic (indicated by heads) of Greece’s Largest Island Doing Extra Refuelling | ||
| 20 | EDWARD |
English King Lear who wrote nonsense (6)
|
| double definition – there have been 8 Kings named Edward in England since William the Conqueror in 1066, when the current regnal numbering began, (and a few before), including Edward VIII who abdicated. Second definition refers to EDWARD Lear who wrote limericks and other nonsense rhymes, amongst other achievements. | ||
| 23 | TUTOR |
Teacher’s disapproving word over losing heart (5)
|
| charade of TUT (disapproving word) + OR (OveR losing heart)
Losing heart is an instruction to remove letter(s) — here both the central letters of OveR, but it could just mean one letter. |
||
| 24 | PISA |
City with famous tower – Paris strangely not right (4)
|
| anagram of (PArIS)* – strangely is the anagrind, not right is the instruction to remove the R – to give the Italian city of Pisa with the famous leaning tower. |
6d WIDE – Maybe Stuart Broad is hiding at the front of the clue?
17d UPPERCUT – “blow” is slang for cocaine, so the surface is all drug-related. Nice.
My first thought reading 25ac was “Christopher’s too long” … dill !
For our friends unfamiliar with cricket, a WIDE is not a run scored by the batter hitting the ball and running, but a score equivalent to one run given to the batter due to an illegal ball bowled, eg a ball bowled wide, unfair, deemed unplayable.
Lovely Quiptic. Just right level with uniformly precise cluing.
Thanks Picaroon and Shanne
Some nice surfaces and clues. CONTROLLED and ACCURATE may have been my favourites. This is the second Picaroon puzzle I did today
I did not know a couple of terms/people but, as Shanne wrote, the cluing meant it was not a huge barrier.
Thanks Picaroon and Shanne
Favourites were ENTRAPS, BASSOONIST , SUPERMARKET and PSEUDONYM for the entertaining surface readings.
Pretty well a perfect Quiptic – thank you Picaroon and Shanne for the exemplary blog.
A good Quiptic puzzle which I would recommend to beginners.
Favourites: PISA, PULLOVERS (loi).
7d I parsed as RA + N (battalioN finally) + SACKS – perhaps this is what Shanne is saying but it looked a bit confusing in the blog.
Thanks, both.
Sorry, corrections made – Michelle @9 and paddymelon @4.
I dithered about adding this earworm to the blog and decided not to, but I’ll add it here, King of Birds by Karine Polwart
[typo in 5d PRESSURES. The PRESS is one medium, so media should be PRESSES, but isn’t.]
Nice informative and comprehensive blog. Ideal for beginners. And a nice earworm, too. Thanks P&S
I agree with chargehand@8
Enjoyable quiptic and great blog – thanks to both.
Flummoxed by several clues:
11a (embarrassingly so)
18a (tried to find a city name)
21a
25a
20d
It’s petty of me to say this, but the comments of people on the Guardian site who say it’s easy and “finished in under 15 mins” really annoys me.
Rant over.
What chargehand said @8.
Ta Picaroon & Shanne.
I noticed NINAS in the second down column but couldn’t find any!
AlanC @16 – the tool that bloggers have been mentioning includes a tool to look for Ninas, which I played with when I was putting this together. It didn’t identify anything, but it did tell me this wasn’t a pangram, and which letters were missing. That utility is some software that converts the pdf of a crossword into a format which is massively quicker for producing a blog. All the blogger has to enter are the answers (there is a cheat option, which I haven’t had to use yet), highlight the definition and type in any notes, plus the chatty bits to start and end, click a few more buttons and it used to appear with everything formatted, title and all under our names in the Fifteen Squared site. Currently the link to Fifteen Squared is broken, so we can’t log in as ourselves, but can now work around using the software.
I haven’t tried using it for the 11 x 11 grid of the Quick Cryptic Crosswords as I’m not sure it would work, I know how buggy it was for the FT News Puzzle I blogged, and how much I had to work around it, so I can compare how much easier it is to use than manually building all the information.
Steffen @14 – I realise it’s frustrating when people will boast about their times, but when there are crossword competitions out there where the winners are rewarded on the speed they solve it’s a losing battle. Just remember all the setters who aren’t/weren’t impressed by speed merchants – both Arachne and Nutmeg are on record saying they’d prefer solvers to appreciate the smoothness of their setting and surfaces, rather than speeding past. It is really frustrating to spend hours building a puzzle to watch solvers demolish it in 15 minutes (like cooking).
For 18a – you were meant to look for a capital city – that’s the misdirection in that clue – and the setter wants you to have to rethink your initial impression to solve the clue. For 25a, Wren is a gift to crossword setters as his name is both a bird and refers to the architect – that song I linked to is doing the same thing – in folklore, the wren is the king of the birds. 20d, Edward is General Knowledge – and that one I thought EDWARD when I saw it, but had to get the crossers to confirm it and work out the parsing. (One of the kings before the regnal numbering was Edward the Confessor – so 8 is a bit arbitrary.)
A really well-pitched and enjoyable Quiptic, and nice, clear blogging here. I got PULLOVER without parsing, I think occasionally my brain just hits a blind spot of sorts.
I hope we get more Quiptics like this. I know it can be hit and miss in all sorts of ways, but this one really hit the spot.
Oh and Steffen @14 – that comment on the site irritated me also, but I’ve restrained myself from responding.
I too took a silly amount of time to get ON THE HOUSE, for some reason it just escaped me til near the end of the puzzle.
Very enjoyable quiptic and blog, thank you Picaroon and Shanne. I still can’t fully understand 18A and how I would get capital from city. Is it a known convention in cryptics? I also have realised that I need to be sharper at spotting anagrinds. Lastly, having worked in a call centre where we routinely used the NATO phonetic alphabet I’m mortified that it took me so long to get India!
Hi Jaytee @20 – a capital could be defined as a city: in Chambers (the BRB) the second definition of capital is the chief town or seat of government and a city is defined as a large town, so it doesn’t feel a big stretch to me.
There are a ridiculous number of words that can be used as anagrinds – I counted out the list at the front of the book for one of the Quick Cryptic blog and the root words included nearly 1000 words. (One of the things I’ve been collecting is a list of the anagrinds used for the Quick Cryptic Puzzle and am planning to produce a summary post of the first 6 months of those crosswords in September, when we reach 26, but until I start building the blog, I won’t know how much I’m including)
A satisfying Quiptic.
Thank you, Picaroon and Shanne.
I thought it might be BALLOONIST at first – and was charmed by the idea that they’re wind-players – but then I noticed the rest of the clue made no sense at all, and plumped for BASSOONIST instead. Shame though, for balloonists do indeed play with the wind….
HIPPO made me grin.
Steffen@14: you’re not alone. I always find it tiresome reading other folks’ boasts about how quickly they completed a crossword – and, as Shanne points out, many setters are themselves equally unimpressed by such claims. Try not to let it get to you – and if you don’t unravel all the clues (as I often don’t) just remember, it’s only a flaming crossword!
Shanne @21 thank you for the reply, I’m happy with capital now, and looking forward very much to your anagrind blog.
Yes, the people who finished before their tea was cold (and make a point of saying so) are really annoying.
I enjoyed this: favourites INDIA (who else was looking for something beginning GH… before the penny dropped?) PSEUDONYM, CONTROLLED, ARCHITECT, HIPPO. They don’t have to be difficult to be fun.
PS: there are an awful lot of anagrams of PARENTS.
I’m fairly new to Cryptic Crosswords and thoroughly enjoyed doing this one. UPPERCUT and PULLOVER are the two words I got without quite understanding the wordplay. I loved the INDIA clue – it took me a while but once I got it, it made me realize how clever it was. Thank you for doing this – your explanations have helped me improve my solving skills.
Echoing chargehand@8. Thank you both this was perfect for me. Steffen@14 I looked for a city too before putting the puzzle down for an hour and when I returned the penny finally dropped.
Steffen@14, Amanda’s suggestion at 27 is a good one. Sometimes the brain fixates on a particular interpretation of a clue, and you can’t get past it to try other constructions. Go and do something else for an hour or two (or a day) and when you pick up the puzzle again, the fixation is gone and you can see the clue in a different light.
P.S. I once successfully completed a prize puzzle and wish that I had commented “I found this one incredibly easy – it only took me three days to finish it.”
Wonderful how the mind works; I gave up staring at the crossword and went to make a cup of tea, and had to dash back to fill in two answers. I thought of Balloonist at first, too, and was quite disappointed it wasn’t right :). Lovely Quiptic (well. I would say that, it’s the first one I’ve finished).
Thanks for the blog. Had ON THE SLATE originally for 11a but then in getting HIPPO realised it was wrong
Brain not working today but finished with some checks and a long walk between attempts. On my walk I saw a young tawny owl ( still with downy feathers) – treat of the day along with the excellent Karin Polwart song about the wren. Thank you Shanne for that reminder. And for the helpful explanations as several clues I guessed without parsing
[Shanne @17: very interesting, i always like to look for Ninas, intentional or not. I salute you and your fellow bloggers for always sticking your heads above…yours was particularly clear today].
Actually if anyone is interested, there is RRP (Recommended Retail Price) on the 4th and 12th rows. Come on Picaroon, throw me a bone 😊
Well done FlorrieB @ 29. Let’s hope for many more.
A delight from start to finish. Good surfaces, amusing and clever clues. Level of difficulty spot on.
I’m a little surprised not to have noticed anyone mentioning Stuart’s dad Chris Broad who also played for Notts and England, though as a batsman he would have been much less likely to be responsible for a wide (I’m not sure if he ever bowled, but if he did it was rarely).
And Shanne @21, if that’s the definition of “city” in Chambers, I’d like to take the editors to St David’s.
“Pants” as meaning a bit rubbish in English is new to me. But then I have not lived there for about 45 years. Or is it just that I am old?
Monkey @35 – that’s the first definition of city of several. St Davids is covered by the second: an incorporated town that has or had a cathedral. (I’ve been to St Davids, it’s lovely, but not large.)
Tasman @31, that version of pants as a bit rubbish isn’t in my Chambers 1998, but I use it, so it’s relatively new. (I youth work and/or have been in education so pick up yoofspeak.)
Lovely stuff – really enjoyed this. A few I thought were very clever: PULLOVERS, RANSACKS and DOMINATE, and the self-reference in PSEUDONYM.
I get CAPITALISTS now (and I got it when having a go) but the difficulty of that feels a little out of place compared to the rest – perhaps I am being the whining newbie 🙂 thanks again Shanne and Picaroon
Monkey@35: “a large town” is the first definition of city in Chambers 2016 p. 288. The third definition is “a town on which the dignity has been conferred by tradition or grant”, which I think covers St. David’s. (Sorry Shanne@37, I did not notice tbat you had already answered this.)
Shanne@37: pants n sing (sl) meaning “rubbish” is in Chambers 2011 p.1115 (and of course in the current edition also on p. 1115). I have not kept any of the earlier editions.
Well it took me two days, but a rare finish for me. I did have to Google the Italian river though (and it appears to be a common one, so I’ll have to remember it). The only clue I didn’t understand was 20, because I’d never heard of Edward Lear, but got it anyway as nothing else could fit.
Quite happy that even as a cricket disliker I had enough residual knowledge to be able to answer a question on it. I keep meaning to learn more about it to help my solving, but it’s *so* boring.
ON THE HOUSE was my favourite.
Thanks Shanne and Picaroon.
A lovely puzzle but not easy. I had to put it away and come back to it. I will never forget the Italian river as it appeared as an illustration in our geography text book in elementary school and we all giggled about it has many of our grannies lived in houses with outside toilets and had a po under the bed.
Just want to say as someone who is at a quiptic level this was an almost perfect puzzle for me. Good and challenging but doable and nothing that I basically had to give up on. Also, strong credit for the explanations here. Really appreciate the extra detail (e.g. Po being a common crossword clue).
Didn’t an almost identical Edward Lear clue appear in a different cryptic a few weeks back? I think the I maybe?
That was wonderful, just right for a Quiptic! My heart sang! Where some uncommon knowledge appeared, the other half of the clue was generally accessible. And, I believe all of the vocab is within reach for young adults, which is great to see given how many teens and uni students are showing interest in the hobby in my city.
I am eagerly awaiting the day we see a puzzle that doesn’t hope we know about cricket, golf, ships, or the military…!! These interests seem to cater to a rather specific demographic, which is fine sometimes, but would be lovely to mix it up.
I love that some people enjoy a tougher challenge, but given we have five days of the cryptic at various levels, it would be really nice if the Quiptic could consistently ease up on the obscure knowledge that excludes so many people.
This I the first ever non quick cryptic crossword I have finished with 0 reveals, and it only took me an hour or so over two sessions! I am beyond happy