Thank you to Kite. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Appeal from lover to flirt heartlessly (6)
BEAUTY : BEAU(lover/boyfriend) plus(to) “toy”(to flirt/to lead on as if sexually attracted) minus its middle letter(heartlessly).
4. Large thick pad on hair (8)
MATTRESS : MAT(a large thick pad of hairy or woolly material) plus(on) TRESS(a lock/a piece of a person’s hair that hangs together).
9. Top president (5)
TRUMP : Double defn: 1st: To surpass; and 2nd: … Donald.
10. A bloke not changed footwear (5,4)
ANKLE BOOT : Anagram of(… changed) A BLOKE NOT.
11. A bit funny old Penny’s missing list (4)
ROLL : “droll”(a bit funny/subtly or matter-of-factly comic) minus(…’s missing) “d”(abbrev. for “penny”, in the old British currency).
Defn: …/a register.
12. Not originally well-upholstered block (4)
LUMP : 1st letter deleted from(Not originally) “plump”(well-upholstered, humorous description of someone fleshy/well padded).
13. College prop is spotless (5)
CLEAN : C(abbrev. for “college”) + LEAN(to prop/to place at an angle against something else).
15. Compare short stick with weapon (7)
BALANCE : Last letter deleted from(short) “bat”(a stick/an elongated piece of wood for hitting the ball, in cricket, say,) plus(with) LANCE(a weapon with a wooden shat and a pointed steel head).
16. Shot guide (4)
LEAD : Double defn: 1st: Informal term for bullets/lead shot.
19. About to change course (4)
TIDE : Reversal of(About) EDIT(to change/to modify written material).
Defn: The progression/surge of events.
20. Yellow layer (7)
CHICKEN : Double defn: 1st: Like …, slang for cowardly; and 2nd: … of eggs.
23. Sea cow at ergonomic pens (5)
WATER : Hidden in(… pens/encloses) “cow at ergonomic”.
24. Tiny one with energy to produce spell (4)
TIME : TIM(Tiny … Cratchit, a character/one in Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol”) plus(with) E(symbol for “energy” in physics).
Defn: A short period of which is a ….
25. Before Italian smoker came back (4)
ANTE : Reversal of(… came back) ETNA(a smoker/volcano in Sicily, Italy).
27. Lands a few jumps – promising situation that comes to nothing (5,4)
FALSE DAWN : Anagram of(… jumps) LANDS A FEW.
28. Poet collects ordinary panel (5)
BOARD : BARD(a poet) containing(collects) O(abbrev. for “ordinary”).
29. Spooner’s finished it, creating platforms at sea (8)
SUNDECKS : Spoonerism of(Spooner’s) “done sex”(finished/completed + it, a euphemism for sexual intercourse).
30. Contest has excellent finish (6)
DEFEND : DEF(slang for “excellent”) + END(finish/completion).
Defn: To …, as with a lawsuit brought against one.
Down
1. One that covers up clean habit (8)
BATHROBE : BATH(to clean/wash oneself while in a, well, bath) + ROBE(a habit/a long loose garment).
2. African plant, a strange bulbous one (4,4)
ARUM LILY : A + RUM(strange/odd) + LILY(a flowering plant that grows from a bulb).
Defn: …, native to southern Africa.
3. Strip and review private patient’s inside (4)
TAPE : Hidden in(…’s inside) reversal of(review) “private patient”.
Defn: A long narrow … of material.
5. Form enquiry for PC (3,1,9)
ASK A POLICEMAN : Cryptic defn: Reference to a PC, a police constable, not a personal computer.
6. System of government that Cicero condemned (10)
THEOCRATIC : Anagram of(… condemned) THAT CICERO.
7. Arranged away match? (6)
ELOPED : Cryptic defn: Reference to running away to get married/make a match.
8. Observing broadcast for putting (6)
SITING : Homophone of(… broadcast) “sighting”(observing/catching sight of).
Defn: …/placing at a specific location/site.
10. Unfortunately, men take up arms in fairground (9,4)
AMUSEMENT PARK : Anagram of(Unfortunately) MEN TAKE UP ARMS.
14. Something to avoid – ice tea Firenze produces (10)
ANTIFREEZE : Anagram of(… produces) TEA FIRENZE.
Defn: …, in the form or a liquid poured into water, such as that used in car radiators in cold freezing weather.
17. Type of revitalising product that comes from film concern (8)
SKINCARE : SKIN(a film/a thin outer covering) + CARE(a concern/a feeling of worry or anxiety).
18. Proposed bride-to-be (8)
INTENDED : Double defn: …/planned to do something; and 2nd: A person one intends to marry.
21. Birds flying south (6)
SWIFTS : SWIFT(flying/moving fast) + S(abbrev. for “south”).
22. German cake half-heartedly taken (6)
STOLEN : “stollen”(a German cake/a rich fruit and nut loaf) minus one of its 2 same inner letters(half-heartedly).
Defn: … illegally.
26. Clever wire top of champagne is missing (4)
ABLE : “cable”(a wire/a thick rope) minus(… is missing) 1st letter of(top of, in a down clue) “champagne”.
Thank you kite and scchua. I enjoyed this but found it harder than the Everyman. Came to the site to understand the second half of 2 down. 27a and 29a were great clues.
I’m beginning to think that the Crossword Editor is having a laugh with his Quiptics – for me, a struggle to finish what should be a bit if a doddle. I still don’t understand MATTRESS – is “thick pad” doing double duty?
Two weeks in a row,another mislabelled quiptic.Just as tough if not more than last week.I have become disillusioned with cryptic crosswords,not my cup of tea perhaps.Will find another hobby to engage in on weekends.Good luck to all who love solving riddles.I’m outta here.Cheerio.
Thanks for parsing the answers.
I don’t understand the answer for 3d. The ‘stripe’ part of it I get, but not how ‘and review private patient’s inside’ helps with the answer. Has anyone got any further insight for me please? TIA
Thanks scchua for your illustrated blog.
The tiny one in 24 TIME I read as Tiny Tim. I found that ARUM LILY is related to the tulip. Earworm alert.
Tatiana2@4 – privatEPATient – reverse the capital letters
Tatiana2@4. 3d TAPE. Review is a reversal indicator. Then you have to look at the inside backwards, of private patientl
DR.MENARD ZOMBI 2@3. I agree with you about the last two week’s Quiptics. Please come back again. I hope the Crosswords Editor is listening.
[As I understand it, the Guardian/Observer Crossword Editor is the setter of the Everyman. So why is the Quiptic harder than the Everyman?]
Shirl@9. The way I understand it is that Everyman/Alan Connor sets for the Observer, which has no crosswords editor, and is the editor of the Guardian crosswords. A very strange scenario, especially with some paper and some online only. He has no obligation to grade the crosswords in order of difficulty across the puzzles, or across the week. WYSIWYG.
Shirl@6 & paddymelon@7 Thank you for the explanation.
Thanks kite and scchua.
During the week this would have gone over my allotted morning solving time. I am a little worse for wear but some of those clues were a struggle this morning. Hoping the Everyman is easier going
Paddymelon. Whilst the gradual toughening from Monday to Prize/Saturday is merely traditional and non-binding. The Quiptic is billed as for beginners (and those in a hurry) so there is a small obligation to keep it reasonably straightforward
Brutally difficult.
Not at my beginner level.
Not a Quiptic imho
I found this tough and was delighted I wasn’t blogging – it took me longer than yesterday’s Prize!
I think pad is doing double duty in MATTRESS too.
I think it’s difficult because there are very few anagrams (5) or hidden (1 forwards, 1 backwards) and lots of deletions, charades, insertions and cryptic clues, plus one Spoonerism, that needs the solver to think of words to import into the answer.
Thank you to scchua and Kite.
Thanks to scchua for the good pictorial blog. I submitted this as a Quiptic, so it’s unfair to blame the editor. I thought with a reasonably friendly grid and no real obscurities, people would find this easier than they did.
Nobody seems to have noticed that there is a theme, which might have aided the solving.
I was held up a bit at 2D as Arum lilies are also native to Europe/UK https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/lords-and-ladies
Not sure about a theme despite Kite’s nudge, but thank you to setter & blogger.
PS, the clue for MATTRESS is an extended definition, CAD or semi-&lit; think of ‘hair MATTRESS’.
There’s a theme? Thanks Kite. Can anyone see it?
I found the NW corner tricky. While I finished it, some parsing was lacking. I missed ‘droll’ for ROLL, and the ‘toy’ bit in BEAUTY. My ticks for SUNDECKS, ANTIFREEZE, FALSE DAWN and ASK A POLICEMAN.
Lovely graphics. I’ve never seen such elegant ankle boots. (Easily distracted.)
Thanks for the blog, scchua and the challenge, Kite. 🪁
As someone who usually goes theme, what theme for the Cryptics, no hope I’d look for a Quiptic, which doesn’t usually have them.
Not a Quiptic. I start to think that the Guardian should forget about the Quiptic slot as it is too often not providing what it proclaims: a ‘cryptic puzzle for beginners and those in a hurry.’ Totally misleading description and damaging for beginners’ confidence. The Quiptics will end up turning beginners off from cryptic crosswords and without new blood aka beginners, who will do the puzzles in the future?
I gave up on 1ac, 19ac, 3d.
New for me: DEF = excellent; LILY = bulbous one (for 2d).
4ac – MAT+TRESS – is pad doing double duty? or is the whole clue the definition? Oh, I see that Kite has explained @18.
Thanks, both.
I got about 1/4 in and checked the btl comments which confirmed my own thoughts as to the difficulty level. So I proceeded as though it was a cryptic, and it was fine, a perfectly good puzzle on its own merits. But again, it’s just not quiptic and frustrating to see how people are starting to become put off.
Kite @16: thanks for posting. There’s a theme?
Also Kite @16 – I agree that the grid is a friendly one, but suspect that my mileage on ‘no real obscurities’ may be at variance with yours on this occasion. It may well be subjective – of course – but for me I got LUMP from the definition only, and didn’t make the link between ‘plump’ = ‘well-upholstered’, to give one example.
None of which is a quibble about the clueing, which I think is perfectly fair (as I mentioned above I enjoyed it), but for me just a mismatch in terms of its labelling as Quiptic. I’m not a beginner, nor in a hurry, and don’t think I would have got very far with this if either of those things applied this morning!
Thanks for the puzzle anyway.
For the theme, think seasonal, but not at this time of the year …
Ive been staring at the completed puzzle trying to see a theme, and with Kite’s (hefty) clue the answer has sprung to mind!
Aha, I see the theme now, but don’t think it would have helped much. Too hard for me and had to reveal a few in the NW corner. Thanks to scchua and to Kite for the puzzle and the comments here.
Everyman way easier than Quiptic today for sure.
I enjoyed this and did quite well until I got to the last 3, two of which I’d NHO (DEF and the lily). Some definitions were tricky for a quiptic but most wordplay was relatively simple single-device stuff. Needed a dictionary to check DEF. However, I do commend its inclusion as it is beyond the usual palette of cultural knowledge that is expected in crosswords (coming from hip hop culture according to Chambers), and I think that kind of diversity is good for the hobby
Nope. Sorry. I still I can’t see a theme. Help please? I can see various possible links between 2 or 3 words at a time (e.g. 19 and 24 or 1D, 13 and 17 or 7 and 18) but no overarching theme.
Percybass @29 – same. Theme, anyone?
Judging the difficulty of a puzzle is tricky. I didn’t solve this one, just read the clues and blog. It is obviously harder than it looks, because most of the clues appear to be quite uncomplicated. Going by the problems he’s had with Everyman puzzles, Alan Connor is not a good judge of difficulty. I don’t know if he solves the Guardian puzzles or just reads them, but since he likes solving difficult puzzles perhaps he couldn’t distinguish between shades of easiness even if he did test solve them.
Kite @16 it is quite fair.
@18 you are suggesting that ‘large thick pad on hair’ suggests a hair mattress. In what language? How does ‘on’ suggest what something is made of, or stuffed with?
What does ‘A bloke not changed footwear’ mean? A test solve is not needed to realise that makes no sense.
Percybass@29 and scraggs@30 – same here! Considering going out to 5a …
The theme relates to a word that can prefix many of the solutions. Kite gave a big hint with “seasonal”.
And thanks for the puzzle… I enjoyed it!
Percybass@29 and scraggs@30 of the four seasons which goes best with board, mattress, tide, water, time, chicken and balance?
Jay @33 he did, yes, and I was no wiser from the hint.
Petert @34 – thank you!
I’m a beginner and have had success with the Guardian’s Saturday Quiptic, usually completing it now without much trouble. I struggle with the daily cryptics and have to reveal a few answers to start me off. With this one, I managed about half on my own and found it quite taxing. The tricks I’ve been learning with the Saturday Quiptic didn’t often apply. Did well with the anagrams, less so with some of the more tortuous clues, 1a, 30a and 3d especially. I would never have come up with ‘def’ meaning excellent!
Add to PeterT’s list @34 roll and clean.
Like Shanne @15, I found this harder than yesterday’s prize Paul. Indeed, I found it as hard as any of last week’s puzzles.
FALSE DAWN was def, apparently.
Thanks Kite and scchua
I agree that this ws far too hard for a Quiptic. It was a DNF for me, as I had to reveal DEFEND – never heard DEF for “excellent”.
Okay I missed that theme entirely. The only thing I noticed was Stollen and Tiny Tim are associated with a different seasonal theme
So just how do UK setters and editors grade the difficulty of cryptic crossword puzzles? Is there something like the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages which grades proficiency levels from A1 (beginner) through A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 (proficient)? Serious question.
I thought this was a tough solve, especially for a Quiptic. The two long down clues helped and THEOCRATIC was lovely. I didn’t get the theme until Kite’s very broad hint @24. Thanks for dropping in Kite, in hindsight it’s amazing no one got the theme without your input.. Thanks for the colourful blog sschua.
Dr MZ2, I do hope this isn’t the last we see of you….
Thanks Peter @ 34. I now see the very tenuous link between some of the words: no wonder it flew over (almost) everybody’s head! As someone new to themed crosswords though, should the theme not apply to all the words? Otherwise it’s a bit hit and miss. Harrumph! 🙂
Definitely not for beginners/improvers. With years, nay, decades of solving experience we struggled with this.
Percybass @43: that would be a remarkable feat, although it may have been done before by the masters. I saw TIME and TIDE wait for no-one, and then did notice the theme, not expecting to see one in a Quiptic. One could add Spring TAPE and LILY at a push. I really enjoyed the clever clueing in this one although it was quite tricky. SUNDECKS was delightful.
Ta Kite & scchua.
What Shanne@15 said.
Thanks Kite and scchua
AlanC @45 Don’t forget Spring ROLL.
Well, I got all the solutions finally but there were far too many checks for it to be enjoyable. I’d say the difference between a Quiptic / Quick Cryptic and a Cryptic is the levels of complexity in the clue. For example 29a required you (a) to know about spoonerisms (that’s Quick level), (b) to know that “finished” is a euphemism for completing sex, (c) to find the phrase “done sex” – not a phrase I have ever heard, and then (d) do the spoonerism. That’s too many levels for a QkC or a Quip. If the phrase to be spoonerised were one that is commonly used or, better, the usual one, maybe, but this phrase definitely isn’t.
I also found this very difficult, only managed 7 of the clues. After revealing, a few felt a bit loose to me, e.g. 1d, if the word clean is to be read as a verb, shouldn’t it clue for BATHE rather than BATH? Also THEOCRATIC, rather than THEOCRACY, for system of government, etc
Thanks Kite and scchua.
SUNDECKS is very good though
No disrespect intended please but OH MY GOSH!
I’m a beginner but now hooked on Quiptics. I find them hard but love a challenge. Lots of guesses, reveals and checks and then heavy reliance on fifteen squared for this one. But I really enjoyed it and I love seeing the light dawn after much head scratching. Loved 7d. Never heard of that spoonerism. Only really heard of him travelling on the town drain. Thanks Kite and scchua (just got Schiaparelli auto text for your name!)
Thanks Kite & scchua. This goes down as the first time I’ve failed to finish a Quiptic. I appreciate Kite’s comments, but I found a lot of the clues quite loose, and didn’t feel this was at Quiptic level.
It wasn’t helped by the fact that, today, I was in a hurry, but even after two sittings, I ended up revealing much of the NW corner.
I feel much better after reading all these comments.
I’m a beginner although now I can almost canter through the Saturday Quick Cryptics, but the Quiptics floor me. It takes me almost as long to understand some of the explanations of the ones I didn’t get, as it did to solve the ones I did get. (That sentence is almost as convoluted as the clues.)
Half straightforward, half tough. Had to reveal 1a, spent a long time trying to make word ending in ft…beauft? Not sure I’d connect toy with flirt. And Arum Lilies are native to U.K. I thought? They grow in the hedgerows near here, and are not like the one in the picture kindly provided . Thanks for the explanations Schua and Kite.
Balfour @47: Jay @37 already mentioned that one but it’s hard to pick up on everyone’s contributions. As an aside, I’ve never seen so many comments on a Quiptic, so kudos to Kite for eliciting so many.
This was really obscure I felt (at least for this improving beginner). Managed to complete after dipping in and out all Sunday but didn’t find it that enjoyable unlike most times with the quiptic. Checked in here for understanding of some of the wordplay for that I didn’t get or only partly got, so thanks scchua for the explanations. As for theme, nope: didn’t see it and still not sure of it despite all the hints in the comments. Is SPRING the theme? Why? And it doesn’t fit everywhere does is it? As for 9a, least favourite, did not like at all.
Agree with others….took an eternity to unravel this and ended up doing an a-z and check to tease an extra letter for several. “Quick” equated to many hours over the course of the day. I remember when I could do the Quick, Quip and Cryp in a couple of hours on a Monday.
As for DEF = Excellent. I did a reverse ferret here as have seen this so many times so here goes…..
It’s NOT in Chambers.
Far too hard for a quiptic.
Arthur Ellis@58
DEFEND
excellent=DEF
Under def my Chambers mobile app has this:
(slang)
adjective
excellent, brilliant (orig. in hip-hop culture).
I finished this today Monday, 5 clues holding out. 2 of them I solved quickly, but MATTRESS and ELOPED took longer.
I needed all the hints to see the theme, but on the rare occasions I do pick one up, I usually forget all about it when solving.
Thanks both.
paddymelon @10
if there is no Editor for the Quiptic, I think that the Guardian should drop the Quiptic category or at least remove the description: “cryptic puzzle for beginners and those in a hurry” as it is misleading and deceptive. Just call it a Cryptic or Sunday Cryptic. Whatever. Anything but Quiptic!
Many of the Quiptics have the reverse effect of turning beginners off attempting cryptic crosswords.
Maybe this comment is better posted at the Guardian blog but I have a feeling that Alan Connor reads posts here?
This was a swine. Far too difficult for what it claimed to be, and what’s the point of a theme if no one can spot it?
Can anyone explain why chicken = layer?
TheGreatArturo@63
I have never been good at spotting themes. This year I decided to ignore looking for themes as much as possible. I decided that it is something that is more enjoyable for the setter than the solver. I think that the setters create themed puzzles as an extra challenge to themselves – they are not really doing it for us. I think of it as being similar to another sort of activity but not sure I can post that here…
ZombieCat @64
Kite seems to think that a chicken lays eggs, though it is of course the hen that does that.
Ah .. as in one who lays … obvs!
I, too, thought that was a hard one. The unexpected trickiness is harder – you’re looking for something “easy” that you’re missing rather than looking for something more tricky.
Don’t listen to them Kite, this was a good puzzle. And anyone complaining about there being a theme to a puzzle honestly needs their head examined. What could you possibly be annoyed about in having an extra little garnish on top of just filling out a grid?
Got nowhere with NW and SE corners. Bit tough for a quiptic. Never heard of the context of 5D. It’s not a phrase or saying I’m familiar with.
I agree that this was much harder than a daily cryptic or even a prize puzzle. I had to give up on a couple of clues, which I definitely don’t expect to happen in a Quiptic.
I still don’t think that 4ac (MATTRESS) makes sense, and while I think I get how 5dn (ASK A POLICEMAN) is meant to work, I’m not sure. And the surfaces of many clues don’t make any sense.
After fifteen minutes and no answers I resorted to a cuppa and doing something else.
Came back to it this afternoon, a slow start… But some progress.
Some clues, many mentioned above left me scratching my head, many solved by brute force (filling gaps in in my head and seeing what worked – even with an answer not all clues worked for me). Shanne and others mention the most obvious ones
I found this difficult, without a doubt the hardest to date. I definately went way over my best and average times of 20 and 35 minutes, dare I say I was an hour and forty five minutes.
My tea had gone cold.
Another vote for “this was tough for a quiptic” though now that Kite points out the friendly grid I do see that. “Ask a policeman” was tricky for me as a CD with a phrase that I hadn’t heard as something set. DEF… well I guess many of the commentators here were not fans of Run DMC or the Def Jam label, though I did think “wow I haven’t heard that word in a long time.”
Thanks Kite and scchua!
Completely the wrong tone for this spot, very unsatisfying. Why do setters put so much effort into a crossword and then make it so arcane that it’s wasted on 95% if the audience? More like this and I’ll be looking elsewhere.
This was harder than Sunday’s Everyman and more difficult than any Cryptic that has since appeared this week. A good example of why can be found in BEAUTY, which is a typical Kite clue in that it requires the solver to identify two broadly defined synonym words from the clue (beau and toy) and then amend one of them to arrive at a very broadly defined solution. No problem with that, but hardly Quiptic level.
The hardest Quiptic yet IMHO
Theocratic (That Cicero) doesn’t quite work does it? A theocracy would be a system of government, no?
Thank you Kite. People are very confident in their opinions btl.
Thanks both for the puzzle and the blog!
I gave up completing in the end, but enjoyed what I did manage. As someone who sits squarely in the intended audience for these puzzles, it felt in the right ballpark. Interesting to read about different grids making things easier/harder – I suppose that’s to do with crossers occurring at first letters?
Thanks again!
Been on holiday so missed this for a while, hence the late post. Like others, I needed a few hints to get it out.
I’m posting because I wanted to thank Kite for their insight. It’s easy to be harsh with hindsight but judging difficulty is really tough. Also, it’s a good reminder that setters are real people, many of whom probably read the comments even if they don’t reply. We should remember to be kind!
Absolutely fair as a grid
Absolutely not a quiptic.
In general the difficulty comes with how loose the general definitions are, and how much work there is to do to think of x many synonyms out of thin air that may (very loosely) be related to the clue Word and then be manipulated in some way. I don’t think it’s overly hard to judge the level of difficulty in cryptics