This is the thirty-second 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. There is a summary of the tricks used in the first six months here. This puzzle can be found here.
Following a number of comments we are continuing to tweak the blog. The first suggestion was to to hide the answers and the last couple of weeks, following another request, we hid the wordplay descriptions too, to mixed reviews. To find that hidden information, click on “Details” and it will pop up.
This week we have a new Quick Cryptic setter in Fed, who sets Guardian Cryptic puzzles, to my delight as I really enjoy his standard puzzles. Fed is fairly well known in his other guises. He has continued consolidating clue types learned earlier in the series but has added some new and different indicators. This crossword uses anagrams and hidden clues, which provide all the required letters, with charades and soundalikes.
A recent Guardian Crossword blog is called the ultimate beginner’s guide and has tips which may be useful for some solvers.
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, e.g. PASS (qualify) to get PORT (drink)
- anagram *(SENATOR) shows letters in clue being used, see clue below.
- anagrind the anagram indicator (arranged)
- charades – the description below only gives the example of words being added together, but charades can be more complicated, adding abbreviations or single letters to another word. Examples previously used in this series are: Son ridicules loose overgarments (6) S (son) + MOCKS (ridicules), Get rid of dead pine (5) D (dead) + ITCH (pine) – D ITCH, and early on DR (doctor) + IVE (I have) to give DRIVE
- soundalike / homophone is indicated by “Wilde” (Oscar, the playwright) for WILD, see below.
- CAD or clue as definition– where the whole clue gives the definition, sometimes called an &lit.
- DBE or defintion by example – e.g. where a dog might be clued as a setter – often using a question mark, maybe, possibly or e.g. to show that this is an example rather than a definition.
- 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/32 – because the clues have moved on from the clue descriptions below, I am now adding more to the descriptions above.
Clues begin or end with a definition of the answer. The rest is one of these:
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- Anagram An anagram of the answer and a hint that there’s an anagram
‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON - Hidden word Answer is hidden in the clue’s words
‘Some have altered meat (4)’ gives VEAL - Charade A combination of synonyms (but see above)
‘Qualify to get drink for ID (8)’ gives PASSPORT (pass + port) - Soundalike Something that sounds like the answer
‘Excited as Oscar’s announced (4)’ gives WILD (Oscar “Wilde” the playwright)
- Anagram An anagram of the answer and a hint that there’s an anagram
| ACROSS |
Click on “details” to see the solutions | |
| 1 | Adventurous, so vacation in part of Canada (4,6) |
NOVA SCOTIA
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anagram of (SO VACATION) with anagrind of adventurous
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| 7 |
20% off if these bits go missing (5)
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FIFTH
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Hidden clue (bits go missing) in ofF IF THese
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| 8 |
Held by general on guard throughout (5)
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ALONG
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hidden clue (held by) in generAL ON Guard – as in: all along/throughout the waterfront
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| 9 |
Has snow melted (4)
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OWNS
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anagram of (SNOW)* with anagrind of melted
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| 10 |
Fashion models rarely … (6)
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SELDOM
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anagram of (MODELS)* with anagrind of fashion. The trick here of an ellipsis (the dots) linking clues to make more sense of the surfaces is something we sometimes see in cryptic crosswords. This time the two words in the solutions do link and the clues read together make a better surface, sometimes the clues link even more than this.
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| 13 |
… required what a masseur did in broadcast (6)
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NEEDED
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soundalike of (in broadcast) – “kneaded” (what a masseur did)
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| 14 |
Sign some need nurses (4)
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OMEN
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hidden clue (nurses) in sOME Need – this clue has two possible hidden indicators – some and nurses, so it took a bit more checking to know where to look in the clue to find the answer.
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| 16 |
Next race contains more (5)
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EXTRA
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hidden clue (contains) in nEXT RAce
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| 18 |
Smashing goals for City (5)
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LAGOS
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anagram of (GOALS)* with anagrind of smashing for this city
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| 19 |
Clears the way and spits a seed out (5,5)
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STEPS ASIDE
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anagram of (SPITS A SEED)* with anagrind of out
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DOWN
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| 2 |
Crime of person handling stolen goods (7)
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OFFENCE
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charade of OF (from the clue) and FENCE (person handling stolen goods)
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| 3 |
Pain of a revolutionary (4)
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ACHE
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charade of A (from the clue) and CHE (revolutionary) – as in CHE Guevara, the crossword world’s favourite revolutionary, who may have died in 1967, but lives on as a useful group of letters.
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| 4 |
Wine from criminal cartel (6)
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CLARET
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anagram of (CARTEL)* with anagrind of criminal. CLARET also turns up meaning blood in crosswords as well as a colour and a wine, so it’s a useful ambiguous word for setters.
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| 5 |
On the phone number as well (3)
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TOO
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soundalike (on the phone) of “two” (number)
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| 6 |
Disputes turn games unfortunately (9)
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ARGUMENTS
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anagram of (TURN GAMES)* with an anagrind of unfortunately
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| 7 |
Eccentric lends four fish (9)
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FLOUNDERS
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anagram of (LENDS FOUR)* with anagrind of eccentric – to give this sort of fish
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| 11 |
Barrier elderly vandalised (7)
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DAMAGED
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charade of DAM (barrier) + AGED (elderly)
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| 12 |
By the sound of it, fiddles awards for bravery (6)
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MEDALS
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soundalike of (by the sound of it) “meddles” (fiddles) adding later – as in: The bride’s mother meddles/fiddles with all their arrangements …
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| 15 |
Dictator’s a girl, sadly (4)
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ALAS
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soundalike of (dictator’s – when dictated by a dictator) – “a lass” (a girl) – adding later – Dictator is another of those usefully ambiguous words – when a teacher gives the class French dictation, he’s being a dictator. But we immediately think that means he’s a bully to the class, not just dictating a French exercise.
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| 17 |
Sweetheart’s penning article (3)
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THE
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hidden word (penning) in sweeTHEart. adding later: In English grammar, the and a/an are the definite and indefinite articles.
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Nice puzzle. No issues
Thanks Fed
I’d add, re Shanne’s comment on 10ac, that on rare occasions–like maybe one time in fifty–the ellipsis linking two clues might mean that you do have to consider the two clues or their answers together to solve them. It’s rare, and it’s a device you’ll never see in an easy crossword like these, but–just be on the lookout for that.
Enjoyed this one.Thought 15D.was a bit tricky but got it eventually.Homophones are my pet peeves.Tq Fed and Shanne.
I was sure that (elderly) vandalised was an anagram (particularly as I had the initial D), which meant LAGOS didn’t fit, so the SE corner took me a bit of head scratching.
Thank you for the explanations which were most needed.
I found this the hardest QC of all, only being to solve 7 clues.
Practice makes perfect…
Good one this. Only one I didn’t get from parsing, which I am now kicking myself for was ALONG. Looking at it it’s obvious… I was looking for a charade and was expecting held by to mean some sort of insertion.
Enjoyable puzzle from Fed. I thought that hit the spot perfectly. Used stuff beginners need to learn but also a couple of more challenging anagrams/answers
My livesolve going through clue by clue and explaining my impressions of clues available over here … https://youtu.be/Uax0mcEYLoE … may be useful for those look for how to approach the puzzle
I solved this in record time (for me, that is), then referred to the explanations for a deeper understanding. It was nicely pitched at beginner’s level with four key themes to consider, thus narrowing options.
Thank you very much Fed & Shane.
I got this without any reveals but I still don’t understand ALAS even though I guessed that’s what it was. Thanks
Enjoyable challenge. For some reason I found it a bit trickier than normal, probably because I am not used to this setter. Or maybe it’s my state of mind today…
Thank so much for this national service shanne, MBE is in the post.
Your “reveal” coding came in handy for me today when I was stuck knowing 12a was a soundalike but thinking the definition was “bravery” and the soundalike was “fiddles awards” (I was thinking rigs, fixes, scams, even googling violin competitions…). Your coding made me feel less bad when I came here and could see just from the underlining that i was on slightly the wrong track without instantly seeing the answer!
Jean@9. ALAS. I can see the difficulty. The apostrophe s is one of those tricky things that often comes up and reads differently in the surface and the solution. In the surface reading it looks like Dictator is a girl. But the wordplay is dictator’s possessive, pronunciation of a lass. A soundalike of alas.
12 cont. “Dictator’s” being the soundalike indicator, also a bit tricky, but meaning as someone would say in dictation.
Hope this helps,
Thanks for explaining 15D. I was trying to think of a dictator called Ala.
I actually found this one less tricky than usual thanks to the over-generous helping of anagrams (I counted 8). Maybe I just got lucky spotting them. Many thanks Fed and Shanne
This was a tricky one and took me a while to get into it. Lots of newish anagram signalling. Got there in the end though. Checked in here to confirm my thinking and always useful reading through everyone’s comments.
Thanks Shanne for the blog and Fed for a nice challenge this morning.
I really need someone to explain 17D to me. What suggests it’s a hidden word- and would we know to look for the word “the” – can’t seem to get my head round this one
I’m just here for now to say how hard this is. Only 7 clues completed and apart from the anagrams I don’t understand the clues. No way will I get even close to completing this.
An interesting variety of responses, both here and in the Guardian. I would have thought that the number of anagrams would have made it easier for beginners, but on reflection I can see that some of them aren’t signposted too clearly. Thanks Shanne.
Wayne Killos @ 17: Article is the definition and THE is an Article in English grammar. The hidden in indicator was ‘penning’ as in something’s been penned in – as locked in a pen like sheep or something.
@17 I agree. It’s obviously penning and THE is an article (grammatically)
Still don’t understand 12D – how does meddels sound like fiddles? Just cos of the ddels at the end? It still don’t sound similar!
Still don’t understand 15D. Not even the explanation makes sense. I get A LASS sounds like ALAS (sadly) but no idea what “ dictator’s – when dictated by a dictator” means or how it helps.
Admittedly I’ve got a bad cold but this one made me remember why I’ve never enjoyed cryptic crosswords
[edit – I think I see. It’s not a dictator, it’s someone dictating ie speaking] Jesus.
Charles @21 “meddles” sounds like MEDALS and the mother of the bride meddles/fiddles with all their arrangements …
@22 oh… wow so you have to see fiddles not think of the instrument, get the synonym meddles and then meddles sounds like Medals… bloody hell…
Yes, and fiddles will have been used for the ambiguity.
I’ve been having some bad luck on these in recent weeks, so it was nice to actually finish one. Some other people are finding it hard so maybe I’m just on Fed’s wavelength (I don’t remember if I’ve done on of their puzzles before).
Thanks Fed and Shanne.
Fed has been setting more or less monthly in the Guardian Cryptics this year, and has been a regular setter since June 2021 (when he set in alternate months). He’s been around as Bluth in the Independent since April 2020 and setting more or less monthly there. He started setting during lockdown as the day job disappeared, but I’ve been following him in the day job for over a decade and was as involved in photography as a hobby as he was 10-15 years ago. His amazing photographs during the 2012 Olympics got a lot of coverage.
@thecronester thank you so much! Makes sense
Funny–seeing 32nd spelled out in full at the top of the blog made me think 00:30. For the record, no one can solve this in thirty seconds!
There’s a good cryptic clue in there somewhere. Here’s one that needs work:
FDR, among the presidents, taking half a minute (6-6)
Wait Fed is Bluth? Isn’t Bluth Dave Gorman? That’s cool.
I’ve seen Simon from Cracking the Cryptic solve a couple of his crosswords, and my favourite clue that I’ve seen is one of his.
Yes, Fed is Bluth is Dave Gorman, the comedian. He also sets other crosswords, not covered by 15^2.
@Paddymelon I don’t know if you’ll come back and see this but thanks for the explanation. Thank you if you do.
Thanks Fred and Shanne,
An enjoyable Sunday morning with coffee and yesterday’s quick cryptic.
The right amount of head scratching for me to enjoy the puzzle.
These “Beginner level” cryptics remain a fabulous learning environment and have led me to regularly tackle harder things with a modicum of success.
Ooh, I’m very keen on the answers being hidden for each clue and would love to see that implemented for other puzzles on this site!
I often find myself keeping a list of answers I want to check on here for when doing a puzzle, because I can’t do it mid-solve without accidentally seeing other answers I haven’t got yet, but it would be much nicer to be able to do it as I go without spoilers 🙂
Thanks to Fed for this one. Either I was on Fed’s wavelength or I’m getting better at these quick cryptic crosswords (next weeks will probably bite me on the bum to put me back in my place!). But I managed to finish this one inside 15 minutes – or the time it took to eat my lunch.
I’ve been really enjoying these but if this had been my first go I would have abandoned all hope of ever learning. Even reading through the answers an awful lot I was left going “huh?”
How is melted = owns? Held by = along? Smashing goals for city was one of the few I went “aha” though lagos isn’t my first thought of city. Thrown by “in broadcast” in the masseur sound alike, I guessed needed from kneaded but had no idea what was the radio or tv connection. I hope I have a better week next week!
Sara @35 – melted isn’t OWNS – that’s HAS – melted is the anagram indicator – red is showing the indicator, bold and underlined is the definition.
ALONG is clued by throughout, and it’s held by (so hidden in) generAL ON Guard – along / throughout the High Street.
In broadcast is another way of saying soundalike – there’s a long list of soundalike indicators on the 6 months summary linked at the top of the page.
My sympathies to the folks who found this one tough!
I was fortunate to click with the setter and only got really stuck on ‘the’, as I couldn’t identify a hidden word indicator.
Thank you as always for providing clarity.