Happy New Year to one and all! Thank you to Anto. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Fire that awful person taking pictures (3,5)
ART THIEF : Anagram of(… awful) FIRE THAT.
Defn: … unlawfully from an art gallery, say.
5. A craving to be settled (6)
AGREED : A + GREED(an intense and selfish desire/a craving).
Defn: …/having reached consensus.
9. Type of service frowned on in hairy location (8)
UNDERARM : Double defn: 1st: … in tennis; and 2nd: … on the body, viz. under the armpits.
10. Cringed, having bought drinks for about a hundred (6)
WINCED : WINED(brought drinks for someone, as in “wined and dined her”) containing(about) C(Roman numeral for “a hundred”).
Defn: …/shrank away from.
12. Player rings around when season is just starting (5,6)
EARLY SPRING : Anagram of(… around) PLAYER RINGS.
15. Refusal to take a check for tortilla (5)
NACHO : NO(refusal) containing(to take) [A + CH(abbrev. for “check”, in chess notation) ].
Tortilla-based chips:
17. Abusive about Victor being broke (9)
INSOLVENT : INSOLENT(ill-mannered/abusive) containing(about) V(abbrev. for “Victor”, a first name).
Defn: …/run out of money to pay one’s debts.
18. Take care of appearance at later stage (4,5)
LOOK AFTER : LOOK(appearance/outward form) + AFTER(at a later stage).
19. We often report substandard electrical leads – that’s not so good (5)
WORSE : 1st letters, respectively, of(… leads) “We often report substandard electrical”.
20. Forced criminals to get educated (11)
CONSTRAINED : CONS(short for “convicts”/criminals) plus(to get) TRAINED(educated/instructed).
24. In bed, I use less energy for sex (6)
COITUS : [ COT(a small narrow bed) contained in(in …, …) ] + “use” minus(less) “e”(symbol for “energy” in physics).
Defn: …/sexual intercourse.
25. Exhaust broken by stick (4,4)
WEAR DOWN : DOWN(not functioning/broken) placed after(by) WEAR(to tolerate or accept, as in “they would not wear his insolence”/to stick, as in “he couldn’t stick her airs”).
26. Delicacy is not commonly available in dingy housing (6)
DAINTY : AIN’T(“is not” in the vernacular/commonly) contained in(available in) 1st and last letters of(… housing) “dingy”.
Defn: …/something good to eat, eg. uni:
27. Identifies aisles to change (8)
ISOLATES : Anagram of(… change) AISLES TO.
Defn: …/singles out.
Down
1. A charming view that can’t be seen in square for example (5,5)
ACUTE ANGLE : A + CUTE(charming/adorable) + ANGLE(a particular way of looking at an issue/a view).
Defn: …, a square having four 90 degree angles.
2. Time VCR editor worked to become programme maker (2,8)
TV DIRECTOR : Anagram of(… worked) [ T(abbrev. for “time”) + VCR EDITOR ].
3. Quite resilient comic author (5)
HARDY : Triple defn: 2nd: One half of the American comic duo, Laurel and Hardy; and 3: Thomas, the English novelist.
4. Reconstruction of Paris letting gets very noisy (3,9)
EAR SPLITTING : Anagram of(Reconstruction of) PARIS LETTING.
6. Taking one’s time reversing difficult racing conditions (5,4)
GOING SLOW : Switching the order of words in(reversing) [ SLOW GOING](a measure of a horse racing track’s condition, which in this case is difficult for the horses and slows them down).
7. Preachings contain something that’s for everyone (4)
EACH : Hidden in(… contain) “Preachings”.
Defn: Every one.
8. Something not working with English chap (4)
DUDE : DUD(something not working/a failure) plus(with) E(abbrev. for “English”).
Defn: Slang for a …/a guy.
11. Food often seen walking around farm (4,8)
PIGS’ TROTTERS : Cryptic defn.
Smoked …
13. Proving position is not right (7,3)
BEARING OUT : BEARING(something’s position relative to a fixed point) + OUT(not right/off the mark).
14. They help stand a tent that’s knocked over (10)
ATTENDANTS : Anagram of(… that’s knocked over) STAND A TENT.
16. Getting credit for touching report (2,7)
ON ACCOUNT : ON(touching/on contact with something supporting) + ACCOUNT(a report/a description of, say, a happening).
Defn: … the purchase of goods and services.
21. Valuer calls regularly in relation to hearing (5)
AURAL : 2nd and every other letter thence of(… regularly) “Valuer calls”.
22. First class date passed without trouble (4)
ACED : ACE(first class/excellent) + D(abbrev. for “date”).
Defn: …, ie. passed an exam or test easily/scoring high marks.
23. Skirt that essentially limits riding (4)
MIDI : Middle 2 letters, respectively, of(essentially) “limits riding”.
Food, glorious food!
Oh good. I’ve learnt yet another word for sex. Since embarking on my cryptic experiences many moons ago, it’s amazing how many I’ve learnt. Don’t know whether it will ever be any use.
HARDY was a head-scratcher. I wasn’t expecting a triple definition. And I wasn’t aware till today that DAINTY could be a noun.
I’d have enumerated 2d as 1,1,8. I’m fine with acronyms, but prefer initialisms this way. Sorry to be pedantic, and I know I’m probably outnumbered.
Thanks Anto, and scchua for the pictorial.
I should have known that “comic author” needed to be separated: Thomas Hardy is one of the last you’d put in that category!
Good fun from Anto: I liked ART THIEF, PIGS TROTTERS and ACUTE ANGLE. Failed to parse WEAR DOWN.
Liked ATTENDANTS, HARDY, ART THIEF
A lot of clues seemed loosely worded.
Tell me, for 9 why is UNDERARM frowned on in tennis?
Thanks Anto and scchua
Martyn @3
I wondered about that too – surely it would give your opponent an advantage. However, it is frowned upon in cricket (and is now illegal unless agreed upon by both teams beforehand, following an infamous incident in 1981 when the last ball of the match being bowled underarm made it impossible for New Zealand to score the six they needed to tie the match against Australia) and so “delivery” might have been a better word than “service”.
On the other hand, we get rather a lot of cricket clues in crosswords.
I don’t think Anto belongs in the Quiptic slot, where clueing requires more precision. This was loosely clued and (in my opinion) not helpful to new solvers.
As ever, thank you for the interesting selection of illustrations scchua, and all food related! Didn’t know uni was Japanese for sea urchin. I think I’ll pass on all of them though. 😉
And thanks to Anto too, of course.
I enjoyed this, but I do like Anto and his quirky humour and setting. But I do wish the Guardian crossword editor wouldn’t keep putting him in the Quiptic slot – Monday this would have been wonderful.
Geoff down under @1 – you’ve never heard of COITUS interruptus?
I wondered about HARDY as a comic author too – he’s someone I keep meaning to read again having been put off him by reading him for O levels, but knowing that area well, he should be fascinating.
Thank you to scchua and Anto.
A bearing is a direction and is a line; position is a point.
WEAR DOWN is an example of a solution that I could not be sure of without the Check button. The definition for “wear” is not something I would have seen by the end of 2025.
The clue for ACUTE ANGLE is good in a Quiptic.
Thanks Anto and scchua
I thought my slow plodding solving was due to Christmas hangover and 5 days without even attempting a cryptic. Glad to see from above that there were less personal reasons.
Didn’t see why Hardy – very clever clue once explained.
Might be a bit harder than usual Quiptic but variety is spice of life etc.
Shanne – I would recommend Hardy with the proviso that some harrowing scenes might stay with you forever.
This did not seem like a Quiptic to me. I solved 3 across and 3 down clues on my first pass. I think that if I was a beginner or a person in hurry, I would not have had enough time to finish this puzzle by which I mean that I have always assumed that a puzzle “for those in a hurry” might take less than half an hour to complete?
I couldn’t parse 25ac, 6d.
9ac although this was about tennis serves, the clue reminded me of the shameful underarm bowling incident at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1981 for the final ball of the match. I was present that day and there was an audible gasp in the Members’ stand. A real disgrace. There is a good video of it on youtube, just search ‘From the Vault: The underarm incident’.
Favourite: ART THIEF.
Thanks Anto and scchua for an enjoyable Sunday morning puzzle. In a week with no structure or routine it is nice to know the quiptic persists!
Happy New Year all!
I agree that this should not have been a Quiptic. I also do not think that ‘Hardy’ works as a triple definition: if ‘quite resilient’ is counted as part of the wordplay, then the clue lacks an overall definition.
I knew it was HARDY, couldn’t think of the comic. Mike Harding, no, maybe someone I don’t know. Oliver never occurred to me.
GC@12: If it’s a triple definition, there is no overriding definition
Quiptic material? I don’t know
It is certainly easier than today’s Everyman, but it’s certainly on the harder end. Shanne is probably right, it’s a Monday.
I enjoyed it anyway, so thanks both.
I couldn’t parse 25a and 13d and I accidentally revealed EAR-SPLITTING while trying to work out the anagram but otherwise I found this approachable as a beginner. The clue for 3d seems utterly perverse to me. I spent ages trying to come up with an appropriate comic writer and didn’t twig the Laurel and Hardy reference. Thomas Hardy’s novels are about as depressing as they come, especially Jude the Obscure which is relentlessly tragic. I had to read it to teach it and do not plan ever to read it again.
I was kicking myself after reading this….I completely missed the important meaning of “leads” in 19A. A good mental workout, thanks to Anto and scchua.
I’d categorise this as Quiptic, but at the more difficult end. It’s certainly been easier than some by Anto. I can appreciate those saying it would fit better on a Monday, but for me I think I made harder work of it than I needed to: several clues eluded me for a good while but really it feels as though they were staring me in the face.
Bit surprised by the “not a quiptic” comments above… I’ve been doing cryptics for around 3 years, but even now don’t always finish a Quiptic or Everyman so definitely still a beginner. I really enjoyed this one and managed to finish it. 25A Wear Down was the only one I couldn’t parse, but the definition was clear enough it was easy to write in with crossers.
Loved 3D, but was thinking Jeremy rather than Oliver.
Perhaps I just particularly enjoy Anto, but very happy with this in the Quiptic slot.
Interesting nichbach@13 – I found the Everyman much easier than this, but it always takes me a while to get onto Anto’s wavelength. I was kicking myself for not spotting the anagrind earlier in 1A. I wouldn’t say I solved this quickly, but got there in the end and enjoyed the journey. A great workout and a few made me smile – HARDY especially!
Thanks Anto & scchua
I usually start with the Quiptic and move up a gear with Everyman but today I thought they were pretty much on a par and started with Everyman so
I was tickled to see 13d here . The spoonerisms almost always defeat me and so it was today in the Everyman. Loved ACUTE ANGLE and UNDERARM. Thanks all.
Excellent. Too many ticks to mention.
Ta Anto & scchua.
Count me as another slightly surprised by the “not a Quiptic” comments. As a rank beginner, I sometimes struggle to finish the Quiptic (especially when Anto is involved) but didn’t have too much trouble with this one. I did make one mistake (completely failed to think of MIDI and put in MINI figuring that there was probably some explanation involving British politics and/or antiquated slang for why riding = NI) but otherwise managed to complete it in fairly good time without cheating. Maybe I’m just having a good day though…
As a beginner (improving I feel) I thought this was reasonable as a Quiptic. Agree there were some chewier aspects in places but mainly it all seemed clearly signalled. Not having read Thomas Hardy I decided he was a comic author although I did that with with ‘raised eyebrows’ 😂 .
Thanks Anto and Scchua.
@Bittern @Lucy @thecronester I personally found this quite challenging as a quiptic. 🙂
@nibach I found the Everyman easier than this for some reason. I had completed all but one last night for Everyman, but only 5 or 6 in this quiptic. I completed the quiptic in stages today (but still have the one left over for the Everyman 🙁 ).
@Ricardo I’m sure you’ll like the Everyman spoonerism (23a) when you solve / see it!
This puzzle is nicely clued, but I could not parse “25a Exhaust broken by stick”. Triple cluing is a new one for me, I just guessed Oliver Hardy (although there is a Belgian author of comics, Marc Hardy). Probably the only “funny” thing I recall from Thomas Hardy is Laban Tall being constantly referred to as “Susan Tall’s husband”.
Nerdy physicist Sheldon Cooper from US sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” tends use “coitus” instead of “sex”.
Thanks sschua and Anto.
I found this harder than the Everyman today. Just couldn’t see PIGS TROTTERS but otherwise made my way through. Would like to think I would have got it if I had come back to this. They’re certainly not in my fridge though.
I also assumed ‘frowned upon service’ refered to cricket (with delivery being cryptically serve). Good to learn about tennis, a sport I have much more limited knowledge on.
Favourites: OBTUSE ANGLE, COITUS, HARDY.
I finished this, but I agree with those who comment that this is not a Quiptic. Anto should be in the Monday slot alongside Vulcan
My comment @12 about not being a triple definition is nonsense, for which I apologise.
Definitely agree this seems more of a Monday than a Quiptic.
Though reading through the comments, I think this is a ‘wavelength’ issue. There’s a lot of punny wordplay here and so if you’re only a little bit off the clues can be impenetrable. For example, PIGS TROTTERS is a perfectly fair clue, but there’s two or three things that have to click into place before it’s gettable – so it’s either not going to hold you up at all or take a long time. And that was a theme in many of the answers – the definition for ACUTE ANGLE was, ironically, somewhat oblique.
So a nicely constructed puzzle, but not a lot for a relative beginner like me to really feel they were getting their feet under them as they got into the puzzle.
In any case, thanks Anto and sschua
Re the UNDERARM clue: people may remember when Martina Hingis was in some match (if I had to say which I would say that it was versus Steffi Graf in the final at the US Open – but it probably wasn’t) and was very upset and losing. She started serving underarm which looked unsporting and pathetically defeatist. She received a lot of opprobrium for that.
Tricky for a Quiptic. I was beaten by HARDY. Though that was mainly my fault, what makes hardy “quite robust” rather than just “robust”? Seemed a bit misleading.
Also didn’t know that DAINTY was a noun and how does the “available” bit work in AINT or “isn’t” come to that? A bit iffy I thought.
Anto remains one of the most variable setters. He can come up with great clues — in this puzzle, I’d nominate ART THIEF and COITUS in particular — but he’s just too sloppy and imprecise.
I’ll add one item to the list of imprecisions that have already been mentioned: Nachos are made from tortilla chips (among other things), but a nacho is not a tortilla.
Relative newbie, learning cryptics. Found this tough, especially after Picaroon’s gentle intro in 1309, but learnt some more and eventually completed with no reveals, just lots of checks and groans!
and here I was pronouncing electrical WIRES substandardly…
Based on these comments I will check out the everyman, but I usually fall off those immediately so perhaps I am an extraordinary man 😉
This was great, thanks Anto and scchua. I don’t agree with the “not a Quiptic” idea. I have certainly struggled with some of Anto’s stuff in the past but I thought this one was very good and very fairly clued. Also some brilliant/hilarious moments, which always helps.