MOO kicks off the week…
Month: September 2024
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Independent 11,848/Twin
I enjoyed solving and blogging this offering from Twin. Easier to solve than parse in a number of places, I would say.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removeddefinitions are underlined
Across
1 He’s clinging to top of pear tree
MAPLE
An insertion of P for the initial letter of ‘pear’ in MALE. The insertion indicator is ‘clinging to’.4 A brief stopping place for space traveller
SATELLITE
An insertion of A and TELL in SITE. The insertion indicator is ‘stopping’.9 Weird sort breaking zip’s opening below bridge
NOSTRIL
An insertion of (SORT)* in NIL. The insertion indicator is ‘breaking’ and the anagrind is ‘weird’.10 Recording equipment in case BMW crashed
WEBCAMS
(CASE BMW)* with ‘crashed’ as the anagrind.11 Strike briefly, like this politician
THUMP
A charade of THU[S] and MP.12 Deadpool, possibly naked, about to recover of course
NATURALLY
A charade of UTAN reversed and RALLY. UTAN comes from [M]UTAN[T], because Deadpool in the Marvel comic series is a mutant. No, I hadn’t either.13 Cold beach, popular with an eccentric
UNAPPROACHABLE
(BEACH POPULAR AN)* with ‘eccentric’ as the anagrind.17 Penny replaced one percent RRP nominal fee
PEPPERCORN RENT
A charade of P (ONE PERCENT RRP)* with ‘replaced’ as the anagrind.21 Distract party with dog
SIDETRACK
A charade of SIDE and TRACK.24 Council secretary’s exterior show of support
SYNOD
A charade of SY for the outside letters of ‘secretary’ and NOD.25 Liberal continuing to spend zero yen
LONGING
A charade of L and ONG[O]ING.26 European breaking tooth, perhaps, over herb
OREGANO
A charade of E inserted into ORGAN and O. The insertion indicator is ‘breaking’.27 Natural environment welcoming check on energy
ECOSYSTEM
A charade of E, COSY and STEM.28 Retired businessman penning tense book
TITUS
An insertion of T in SUIT reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘penning’ and the reversal indicator is ‘retired’. TITUS is one of Paul’s three pastoral epistles in the New Testament.Down
1 Cretan resident‘s maiden name found in letter to Greek city of old
MINOTAUR
A charade of M, an insertion of N in IOTA and UR. The insertion indicator is ‘found in’.2 Suggest tossing out staple
POSTULATE
(OUT STAPLE)* with ‘tossing’ as the anagrind.3 Continental style reflected French way with repeating work
EUROPOP
A charade of RUE reversed and OP twice.4 Quiet sub getting resentful about spectacle
SPLENDOUR
An insertion of P and LEND in SOUR. The insertion indicator is ‘getting … about’5 That is what one might do with broken-down car
TO WIT
If your vehicle broke down, you might TOW IT.6 Country‘s mostly malign atmosphere recalled
LIBERIA
A charade of LIBE[L] and AIR reversed.7 Summarising at length, not taking sides
IN ALL
[F]INALL[Y]8 Aides, say, shouldn’t carry papers
ESSAYS
Hidden in AidES SAY Shouldn’t.14 Screen upcoming Othello, say, where people go?
CLOAKROOM
A charade of CLOAK and MOOR reversed. CLOAKROOM is a rather dated, slightly upper class word for toilet.15 Prepare to attack Sunday morning choice, perhaps spoken mass
LIE IN WAIT
A charade of LIE IN and aural wordplay (‘spoken’) of WEIGHT. Mass and WEIGHT are not the same thing. We know. But in common use, they are; and in crosswords they certainly can be.16 Academic boss is touring Oxford University
STUDIOUS
A charade of STUD and OU inserted into IS. The insertion indicator is ‘touring’.18 Maybe cat on railway crossing provided scare
PETRIFY
A charade of PET and IF inserted into RY. The insertion indicator is ‘crossing’.19 Beginning and ending of Norman conquest
NASCENT
A charade of N for the final letter of ‘Norman’ and ASCENT.20 Princess carried inside in other words
ISOLDE
An insertion of SOLD in IE for id est. The insertion indicator is ‘inside’. ‘The shop sells/carries a wide range of haberdashery items.’22 In the end, did you policemen mean to search me?
DUNNO
The final letters of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth words of the clue.23 French menu item missing key idiom
ARGOT
[ESC]ARGOTMany thanks to Twin for the start to the crosswording week in the Independent.
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Guardian Cryptic 29,501 by Yank
A tougher than usual Monday challenge.
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Financial Times Sunday No.60 – News by Leonidas
Your monthly dose of current affairs in crossword form. Find it to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword
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Guardian Quiptic 1,297/Picaroon
Picaroon on fine form with this week’s Quiptic. A pleasing and tractable puzzle with some delightful surface readings. Bravo.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removeddefinitions are underlined
Across
1 Some overhear trend in government is causing distress
HEART-RENDING
One of the longest hidden clues I have seen for a while: it’s in overHEAR TREND IN Government.9 That man with styling product is a famous thinker
HEGEL
A charade of HE and GEL. The German philosopher.10 Absurd notions of processions including farm animal
PARADOXES
An insertion of OX in PARADES. The insertion indicator is ‘including’.11 Turn over headgear – small, medium or large?
CAPSIZE
A dd cum cd. Your CAP SIZE would determine whether you’d need S, M or L when it came to choosing your flat cap.12 European gets regular servings of not bad Italian dish
POLENTA
A charade of POLE and NTA for the even letters of NoT bAd.13 Time chart I arranged to show activity for summer?
ARITHMETIC
(TIME CHART I)* with ‘arranged’ as the anagrind. The question mark at the end hints at the alternative definition of ‘summer’ as someone who adds up.15 Present wrapped by mother eagerly
HERE
Hidden in motHER Eagerly.18 What American sits on, nevertheless needing time
BUTT
A charade of BUT and T.19 Loathed touring one Swiss city, and slept a long time
HIBERNATED
An insertion of I and BERN in HATED. The insertion indicator is ‘touring’.22 Hotel is dilapidated and unfriendly
HOSTILE
(HOTEL IS)* with ‘dilapidated’ as the anagrind.24 Chanel fan’s tropical tree
COCONUT
A charade of COCO [Chanel] and NUT.25 Make standard mineral so malleable
NORMALISE
(MINERAL SO)* with ‘malleable’ as the anagrind.26 Many London stores stocking material, perhaps
NYLON
Another hidden: in maNY LONdon. An enduring urban myth is that it was called NYLON because the inventors of it were working in New York and London. In fact it was named by a Du Pont committee because it sounded good. George Eastman chose KODAK as a trade name for the same reason.27 Ronaldo fares badly in a wild-goose chase
A FOOL’S ERRAND
(RONALDO FARES)* with ‘badly’ as the anagrind.Down
1 Drunk, Oscar tucked into beer – it’s the best part
HIGH POINT
A charade of HIGH and O for the phonetic alphabet ‘Oscar’ inserted into PINT. The insertion indicator is ‘tucked into’.2 Fine everybody on the side of the Tories
ALL RIGHT
A charade of ALL and RIGHT. ALL RIGHT has has traditionally been regarded as right, and alright as not all right; but most modern style guides are relaxed about the alternative, since there is no reason not to prefer it if you follow the model of ALTOGETHER or ALWAYS.3 In North America, the home of the brave?
TEPEE
A cd.4 Remainer and I hope rule must get changed
EUROPHILE
(I HOPE RULE)* with ‘must get changed’ as the anagrind.5 Empty duke swallowing rum and large piece of cake
DODDLE
An insertion of ODD and L in DE for the outside letters of ‘duke’. The insertion indicator is ‘swallowing’.6 Macron’s refusal to receive one cross old president
NIXON
An insertion of I and X in NON. The insertion indicator is ‘to receive’.7 Repeatedly drink and dance
CHA-CHA
A charade of CHA twice. CHA is slang for tea, a drink with jam and bread.8 Kind of car in ultimately dire condition
ESTATE
A charade of E for the final letter of ‘dire’ and STATE.14 Record by medic is altered for medical problems
EPIDEMICS
A charade of EP and (MEDIC IS)* with ‘altered’ as the anagrind.16 Caught in net at sea, did some fishing
ENTANGLED
A charade of (NET)* and ANGLED. The anagrind is ‘at sea’.17 Cold-blooded killer working in Canada, surprisingly
ANACONDA
An insertion of ON for ‘working’ in (CANADA)* The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the anagrind is ‘surprisingly’. All snakes are cold-blooded, of course.18 Following Harris’s lead, Biden gets confused
BEHIND
(H BIDEN)* with ‘gets confused’ as the anagrind. Great clue.20 Dang it! Strangely, this is why people use Tinder
DATING
(DANG IT)* with ‘strangely’ as the anagrind.21 Michael’s brief fuss in Gilbert and Sullivan role
MIKADO
A charade of MIK[E] and ADO.23 Dismisses revolutionary, a bit of a character
SERIF
A reversal of FIRES. A serif is a short line stemming from the upper or lower ends of the strokes of a letter. Typefaces are generally classified as being SERIF or SANS SERIF (like the one you are reading now).24 Approving cry from Fidel’s ex-comrade and queen
CHEER
A charade of CHE [Guevara] and ER, Elizabeth Regina, who strictly speaking is now an ex-queen. She is no more.Many thanks to Picaroon, who has also been working hard to tempt beginners into the dark arts with puzzles in the Quick Cryptic series which my colleague Shanne – to whom also thanks – has been blogging for the last six months.
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Independent on Sunday 1,805/Filbert
The hard-working Filbert brings us this Sunday’s Independent offering.
Filbert is very much the Indy regular these days. I always enjoy his/her puzzles: they can be devious and occasionally left-field, but they are always fair and invariably feature good surfaces. Several mentions of the humble potato here. Does that constitute a theme? Probably.
Across
1 Top Charlotte perhaps that 7A 17 wouldn’t buy?
JERSEY ROYAL
A cross-referenced clue is never favourite for stuck in their ways solvers like me who always want to start by solving 1 across. Further down, you will discover that 7A 17 gives you POT and ATOMISER. So what, you may well say. Until finally (literally, in the case of this solver) you realise that POT and ATOMISER can be rearranged to give you POTATO MISER. And one of them wouldn’t buy the variety on offer as the solution to this clue. A charade of JERSEY and ROYAL, Charlotte being one of the future King’s rugrats.7 Cup to clear from the table
POT
A dd. The second reference is to snooker.9 Chum, say, keeps near sons to watch them
BABYSIT
An insertion of BY and S in BAIT and a slightly extended definition. The insertion indicator is ‘keeps’. ‘Chum, say’ is BAIT because Pedigree Chum is a brand of dog food and dog food is an option as bait for anglers to catch certain types of fish. Unless someone has a better idea.10 Stock nice and hot, apparently
KINDRED
A charade of KIND and RED.11 Water now overheating changed at once, saving time
OCEAN
(A[T]ONCE)* with ‘changed’ as the anagrind. A nod to the warming climate.12 Six ancient characters in salmon river, fun they’re too old for?
VIDEO GAME
A charade of VI for ‘six’ and OGAM inserted into DEE. The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the definition is again slightly extended. OGAM is an ancient Irish alphabet.13 Charlie avoids metaphysics that’s tricky to understand
SYMPATHISE
(METAPHYSI[C]S)* with ‘that’s tricky’ as the anagrind. C for Charlie is from the phonetic alphabet.16 Maybe love one’s self
EGO
A charade of EG for exempli gratia and O.18 Reduction in blue-green colour makes water browner
TEA
TEA[L]20 Possible mistake will happen, adding 24 to 1A?
MURPHY’S LAW
A charade of MURPHY, slang for a potato (1A) and SLAW, a salad (24d). The law that says whatever can go wrong will go wrong, named after American aerospace engineer Edward A Murphy Jr. Its corollary is Muphry’s Law, which states that any comment correcting a typo or other written error will itself contain a typo. This latter law has been shown to be true on Fifteensquared threads. Often.23 Germans cooked King Edward, presenting fish-eater with bill
MERGANSER
More potatoes, in the surface at least. A charade of (GERMANS)* with ‘cooked’ as the anagrind, and ER for Edward Rex. The obligatory Pierre bird link shows you the Common Merganser, sometimes called the ‘fish-duck’; other names are goosander and sawbill. Look carefully at the picture and you’ll see its serrated bill, which it uses to catch its piscatorial prey.25 Authoritative police officer grabs teacher from behind
CRISP
An insertion of SIR in PC, all reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘grabs’ and the reversal indicator is ‘from behind’. More potatoes.26 Small Swiss bank given BP’s business finds hidden dirt
SUBSOIL
A charade of S, UBS and OIL.27 City I see returning after holiday
TRIPOLI
A charade of TRIP and I, LO reversed.28 Verity’s inside a trench
RUT
[T]RUT[H]29 Washington research probes lately formed humanitarian group
RED CRESCENT
An insertion of DC for District of Columbia and RES in RECENT. The insertion indicator is ‘probes’.Down
1 Various purchases stain after juice tipped
JOB LOT
A charade of a reversal of OJ for orange juice and BLOT.2 Elastic gets old for uniform, a worry for security guard?
ROBBERY
Filbert is inviting you to replace the U for the phonetic alphabet ‘uniform’ in RUBBERY with an O.3 Stain entered beneath the first of eight o’s
EOSIN
A charade of E for the initial letter of ‘eight’, OS and IN.4 Tiller that goes up and down?
ROTAVATOR
The clue relies on the fact that ROTAVATOR is a palindrome.5 Bound to serve half of your King Edward
YOKED
A charade of YO[UR], K and ED. A word most commonly heard in The Norman Yoke, the alleged feudalism imposed after William the Conquerer’s arrival in 1066. Before potatoes were invented.6 Unsociable types bored by fellow citizens
LONDONERS
An insertion of DON in LONERS. The insertion indicator is ‘bored by’.7 Freight left on time
PORTAGE
A charade of PORT and AGE.8 Irresistible mashed, fried too
TO DIE FOR
(FRIED TOO)* with ‘mashed’ as the anagrind. Don’t forget roasties.14 Clean up old man with grim haircut
POMPADOUR
A charade of MOP reversed, PA and DOUR. The reversal indicator is ‘up’, since it’s a down clue.15 Someone who got what was coming to them?
INHERITOR
A cd.17 Spray from storm in Timor Sea
ATOMISER
(TIMOR SEA)* with ‘storm in’ as the anagrind.19 Label whale starting from the rear flipper?
ACROBAT
A reversal of TAB and ORCA.21 Fatty ordered pie and soda
ADIPOSE
(PIE SODA)* with ‘ordered’ as the anagrind.22 River choked by sediment not so nice now
SPOILT
An insertion of PO in SILT. The insertion indicator is ‘choked by’.24 Upset daughter regrettably shows cold side
SALAD
A reversal of D and ALAS.25 US police show cool in case of crisis
CHIPS
An insertion of HIP in CS for the outside letters of ‘crisis’. The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and CHIPS is a US TV police show that no-one has ever heard of. But it keeps the potato theme going.Many thanks to Filbert for this Sunday’s puzzle.
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Azed No. 2,727 – Plain
A medium-difficulty Azed plain. I was a bit surprised to see two homophone clues: these always excite comment from people whose regional accents don’t make them obvious and Azed has in the past expressed misgivings about using such clues, for just this reason. In my case although I don’t have a regional accent one of them I pronounce differently from what is intended. But never mind; I won’t (like some) make an issue of it: it’s quite obvious what is intended.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics.
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Everyman 4,066 by Everyman
Sunday, so time to take Jenny the dog for a walk in the woods and swim in the sea & then retire to the pub for gravy bones for her, beers plural and the Everyman for me.
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Independent No. 11,847 by Rodriguez
Good morning Indy solvers. A relatively pleasurable stroll today courtesy of Rodriguez.
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6 months of the Quick Cryptic Crosswords
This is an experiment – but it seemed a useful point to summarise the new tricks developed by the Quick Cryptic Crosswords in the Guardian after the first 6 months. The 26th crossword in this series of 11 x 11 crosswords to support new solvers has been published and so far…
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Quick Cryptic 26 by Maskarade
This is the twenty-sixth 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.
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Guardian Prize 29,494 by Qaos
Apart from a few tricky/innovative clues, this Prize entry felt relatively straightforward.
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Financial Times 17,848 by Julius
Puzzle from the Weekend FT of September 21, 2024
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Guardian Cryptic 29499 Enigmatist
Thank you to Enigmatist. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Apologies again for the late posting.
The crossword has a little of this:
Across
1. Coo! Perhaps it is time to put on ring (8)
BIRDCALL : BIRD(slang for time/prison sentence) plus(to put on) CALL(ring someone up on the phone).5. Minority backing a little Conservative chap following probes (3,3)
THE FEW : Reversal of(backing) [ WEE(little/small) + HT(Conservative chap?) ] containing(… probes) F(abbrev. for “following”).9. Female we bet I will spoil with love (4-2-2)
WIFE-TO-BE : Anagram of(… will spoil …) [ F(abbrev. for “female”) + WE BET I plus(with) O(letter representing 0/love in tennis scores) ].10. Substance secreted by oleasters, side by side (6)
STEROL : Hidden in(secreted by) “oleaster oleaster” (oleasters side by side)11. Cycle around Herts town in the direction of Iron Age settlement (4,4)
RING FORT : 1st letter moved to last position(Cycle around) of [ TRING(town in Hertfordshire) FOR(in the direction of, as in “I’m heading for London” ].12. Writing on edge of pot (6)
HEMPEN : PEN(writing as a profession) placed after(on) HEM(edge/rim).
Defn: …/of the hemp plant/cannabis/pot.14. Start of briefing is not as in agenda: answer party with opening issue at table (3-7)
BIG-ENDIANS : 1st letter of(Start of) “briefing” + II(2 x the letter “i”/is) replacing(… not … in) “aa”(2 x letter “a”/as) in “agenda” + ANS(abbrev. for “answer”).
Answer: In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the group/party of people in Lilliput who believed that boiled eggs should be broken at the big end, rather than the small, as commanded by the Emperor of Lilliput. This could thus be described as an opening issue at the dining table.18. After heated clashes with many, agree fixture for big match (4,3,3)
NAME THE DAY : Anagram of(… clashes) HEATED plus(After … with) MANY ].22. Say to a person (3,3)
FOR ONE : FOR(to/inn the direction of) + ONE(pronoun refering to a person).
Defn: …/for example.23. Drunken evolutionary bar rant expressed heartfelt feelings (1,4,3)
I LOVE YOU : Anagram of(Drunken) [ “evolutionary” minus(bar/excluding) “rant” ].24. Maybe excel with muscle, rippling amount! (6)
OUTMAN : Anagram of(rippling) AMOUNT.
Defn: …/surpass in manliness.25. Such eliciting notice from potential addressees? (3,5)
DES-RESES : “ad”(short for “advertisement”, promotional notice) deleted from(eliciting … from) anagram of(potential) “addressees”.
Answer: Plural of “des-res”/short for “desirable residence”, which potential house owners/tenants will take not of.26. One’s first moved to travel on e.g. bus with three conductors? (6)
TRIODE : 1st letter of(…’s first) “One” shifted(moved) in [TO RIDE](to travel say, on a bus).
Defn: An electronic valve having 3 electrodes/electrical conductors.27. Poor school rings out each time for a progress-checker (5,3)
BRAKE PAD : [ “broke”(poor/having run out of money) + “pod”(a school/herd of marine animals such as whales) ] replacing(… out each … for …) “o”(letter shaped like a ring) with “A”.
Defn: That which checks/slows down the progress/movement of a vehicleDown
1. Gathering with hostility in cave (6)
BEWARE : BEE(a gathering/meeting for communal work or amusement) containing(with … in) WAR(hostility/conflict).
Defn: …/term for “look out!”2. Deliver clarification on penalty (6)
REFINE : RE(on/with reference to) FINE(a form of penalty/punishment).3. Isolate copper, in contact with fluorine repeatedly (3,3)
CUT OFF : CU(symbol for the chemical element, copper) + TO(in contact with/attached) F,F(twice/repeatedly, symbol for the chemical element, fluorine).4. At Centre, valet is catching Wooster purloining last of garden rakes (10)
LIBERTINES : [Middle letter of(At Centre) “valet” + IS ] containing(catching) BERTIE(Wooster, character in the Jeeves stories by P.G. Wodehouse) containing(purloining) last letter of(last of) “garden”.6. Impetuous folk stop TV show’s interruptive material (8)
HOTHEADS : HO(abbrev./stop for “House”, a TV series/show) + THE ADS(short for “advertisements”/promotional material shown during/interrupting a TV show, say).7. American university academic merging upcoming pre-Congress activities (8)
FOREPLAY : Reversal of(… upcoming, in a down clue) [ YALE(an American university) slotted with(merging) PROF(short for “professor”/academic) ].
Defn: …, “congress” as in sexual intercourse.8. Good health points effecting switch in what paper shops do (8)
WELLNESS : “s” and “w”(abbrev. for “south” and “west”, compass points) exchanging positions in(effecting switch in) “sell news”(what paper shops do).13. Was sorry about adopting writing system with no ‘B’ mechanism (10)
DERAILLEUR : Reversal of(… about) RUED(was sorry/regretted) containing(adopting) “braille”(writing system for the blind) minus(with no) “B”.
Defn: Gear … on a bike.
15. Reason a trip to the tobacconist is on and off? (5,3)
SNUFF OUT : Double defn: 1st: A reason to make a trip to the tobacconist could be that you’ve run out of snuff; and 2nd: To put a sudden end to.16. Lovers – bonkers – at it again indoors (8)
AMORETTI : Anagram of(bonkers) AT IT containing(… indoors) MORE(again/repeat).
Defn: Representations of Cupid/symbol of love, in a work of art.
17. Ways to engage with a model (8)
STANDARD : [ ST(abbrev. for “street”) + RD(abbrev. for “road”) ]/two ways/thoroughfares containing[AND A](to engage with a) .19. Admitting Arts Academy deserted very fine composer (6)
DVORAK : RA(abbrev. for the Royal Academy of Arts) contained in(Admitting …) [ D(abbrev. for “deserted” + V(abbrev. for “very”) + OK(okay/fine) ].20. Plant U-turning keeps of course wasting energy (6)
HYSSOP : Reversal of(…-turning) POSH(upper class represented by “U”) containing(keeps) “yes”(of course/agreed) minus(wasting) “e”(symbol for “energy” in physics).
21. Planted smackers on breasts, so reported (6)
BUSSED : Homophone of(…, so reported) “bust”(a woman’s breasts). -
Financial Times 17,853 by NEO
A solid challenge from NEO this Friday.
