Quick Cryptic 42 by Ludwig

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This is the forty-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 – those rules include not posting solving times.  This puzzle can be found here.

Following a number of comments we now hide the answers and the wordplay descriptions too.   To find that hidden information, click on “Details” and it will pop up, or you can choose to reveal everything using the new “Expand All” button.  The definition is in bold and underlined, the indicator is in red.

This week we have a new setter in Ludwig to the Quick Cryptic, a newish setter to the Guardian stable, and someone who first appeared as a tie in to the TV series Ludwig.   Today we see anagrams and hidden clues with all the letters present, charades and something called most of a word, where the last letter is removed (we’ve seen something similar with deletions and decapitations).

There is a summary of the tricks used in the first six months here and a recent Guardian Crossword blog called the ultimate beginner’s guide 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
  • indicators are in red – adding later and some of these are split.
  • CAPITALS to indicate which bits are part of the answer, e.g. some haVE ALtered meat, Get A Good,
  • anagram *(SENATOR) shows letters in clue being used, see clue below – in this crossword, there is a subtraction of one of the letters before it is rearranged.
  • 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 .
  • 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/42 – 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:

  1. Anagram An anagram of the answer and a hint that there’s an anagram
    ‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON
  2. Hidden word Answer is hidden in the clue’s words
    ‘Some have altered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
  3. Charade A combination of synonyms
    ‘Qualify to get drink for ID (8)’ gives PASSPORT (pass + port)
  4. Most of a word Remove last letter from another word for the answer
    ‘Almost detest headgear (3)’ gives HAT

ACROSS
 Click on “details” to see the solutions
1 Dog (lab) sadly to lose hair (2,4)
GO BALD
anagram of (DOG LAB)* with anagrind of “sadly” 
4
Corporals vocal in part (4)
ORAL
hidden (in part) in corpORALs – and this is going against the instructions above in that the definition isn’t at the end, it’s in the middle of the clue – with the indicator at the end – something that sometimes turns up in full fat cryptic crosswords too, but not often. 
8
Finally shortened book of maps (5)
ATLAS
most of a word  (shortened) AT LASt (finally) with the final t deleted
9
Wanderer is certainly not crazy (5)
NOMAD
charade – somewhat whimsically –  of NO (certainly not) + MAD (crazy)
10 Spoil film, Traitor (8)
TURNCOAT
charade of  TURN (spoil – as in the milk has turned/spoiled) and COAT (film – coat/film of paint) – and this particular phrase for a traitor came from the English Civil War, according to a re-enactor who was big on this history.  At that time, coats were often lined in the colour of the opposing army, so the way to change sides safely was to turn coats inside out. 
13
Joke I abandon, being penalized (8)
PUNISHED
charade of PUN (joke) + I (from the clue) + SHED (abandoned) 
16 Move Chancellor’s announcement that hasn’t been finished (5)
BUDGE
most of a word (that hasn’t been finished) – BUDGEt (Chancellor’s announcement) losing the t (hasn’t been finished).
17 Distinguishing mark: striped mammal has no tail (5)
BADGE
most of a word (has no tail)  BADGEr (striped mammal) – referring to this mammal
18
Long periods – endless – wipe out (4)
ERAS
most of a word (endless) ERASe (wipe out) losing the final E 
19
Seine’s unusually revealed monster from Loch (6)
NESSIE
anagram of (SEINE’S)* with anagrind of “unusually” for this monster 
DOWN
1
Allows big rant surprisingly (in some measure) (6)
GRANTS
hidden in (in some measure) in biG RANT Surprisingly 
2 Spanish dance somewhat superb: ‘Olé!’ roared (6)
BOLERO
hidden in (somewhat) superB OLE ROared – famously performed here
3
Cassoulets ruined: there’s no hope for them (4,6)
LOST CAUSES
anagram of  (CASSOULETS)* with anagrind of “ruined”
5
More intoxicated in Eternal City (4)
ROME
anagram of (MORE)* with anagrind of “intoxicated” – the reference for the definition is explained here
6 Covering nothing in outdoor pool (4)
LIDO
charade of LID (covering) + O (nothing – zero) – several of these around London, most of which I’ve swum in at some stage
7 Hungry, wanting banalities – odd! (10)
INSATIABLE
anagram of  (BANALITIES)* with anagrind of “odd” and a double definition
11
Some dudes had Estonian sunglasses (6)
SHADES
hidden in (some) dudeS HAD EStonian 
12
Stick commercial in this place (6)
ADHERE
charade of AD (commerical) + HERE (in this place) 
14
Competent to make up part of timetables (4)
ABLE
hidden in (to make up part of) timetABLEs 
15
Notion is perfect? Not entirely! (4)
IDEA
most of a word  (not entirely) IDEAL (is perfect) with the final L deleted

 

28 comments on “Quick Cryptic 42 by Ludwig”

  1. So that is what a LIDO is. Why are there cinemas called LIDO, I wonder? And badgers are striped? Good to learn.

    I loved Cassoulets ruined in 3d, and I thought for a while that 13a was a “most of word” clue dropping “I” – nice deception.

    And I see you commented on 4ac. As well as the definition being in the middle, shouldn’t “in part” be next to Corporals, not next to vocal?

    Thanks Imogen for an enjoyable puzzle and thanks Shanne for the blog

  3. Thanks Shanne. INSATIABLE I was going to quibble about Ludwig/Everyman’s penchant for using ”wanting” in clues, leading to the wordplay and solution. I thought it was a bit much in a Quickcryptic, but I see from your explanation that I totally missed the double definition!

    I wonder if we’ll see more of Ludwig/Everyman/Guardian crosswords editor, now that Picaroon is leaving us to go over to the Tele to be deputy editor and then presumably editor. Will miss Picaroon very much from the Quickquiptics.

  4. Some old chestnuts in there from Ludwig and the puzzle is none the worse for them. Will help those starting out on their journey to see them.

    My live talkthrough available at … https://youtu.be/jblg3P8Gyo4 … for those looking for tips and tactics on how to approach solving.

  5. Martyn @1 badgers have striped faces, their bodies are pretty nondescript sandy grey. But those heads are iconic.

  6. Thanks Ludwig and Shane

    I thought a touch easier than last week – but some of the shortening clues might trip up the less experienced solver. A good balance of clues. Two good long anagrams too

  8. I couldn’t finish this one because I got 5D wrong. First I thought it was NOUT, then changed it to NUDE. I just couldn’t manage ORAL. I’m not managing charades at all well I got 10A but not clear why. So as usual I am really grateful for the explanations but I really enjoyed the challenge this week instead of worrying about solutions which means I must be getting better!

  9. Thank you for the blog Shanne. I didn’t pick up on 4ac not meeting the rules when I was doing the crossword as I spotted the hidden word, but yes the setter should always adhere to the stated rules across the entire grid.

  10. Nice to see Ludwig compile a QC. Enjoyable mix and good to learn new clue type. Sad to read about Picaroon as is a favourite. NESSIE made me smile and I liked PUNISHED.

    Thanks Shanne for the excellent blog and to Ludwig for the QC.

  11. Very enjoyable puzzle. Liked the ‘remove a last letter’ clues. Agree with everyone’s quibbles about the word ordering of 4a. TURNCOAT was my last one in. Even with all the crossers I had to do some thesaurus digging for both Spoil and Traitor as I wasn’t quite sure which was the definition 😄
    Thanks Ludwig – must watch the TV series; and thanks Shanne for the detailed blogging.

  12. Thanks Ludwig and Shanne

    The original LIDO is the island at the entrance to the Venetian Lagoon. There are lots of hotels giving access to swimming in the Adriatic.

    I thoroughly enjoyed Ludwig, and am looking forward to the next series. The current series Patience has a similar feel to it.

  13. @9

    I always tell newer solvers that the first rule of crosswords is: There are no rules.

    As long as the clue leads to the correct answer, then anything’s fair.

    Remember: The setter needn’t say what he means but he must mean what he says!

  16. The thing I found strange about 4A is that I don’t think the surface is notably improved by having the definition in the middle of the clue. Ludwig/Everyman’s style is quite staccato anyway, and this could easily have been reworked to fit a more regular construction.

    I did think this was nicely done – a few clues where you do have to double check to make sure you’re identifying the correct clue type. And I thought ATLAS was particularly instructive – that you can lose a letter from a phrase as well as a word.

  17. Thanks Ludwig for a thoroughly enjoyable puzzle and Shanne for the superb, clear and as ever concise explanations. The quick cryptics have become my regular warm-up puzzle for the Quiptic and Everymans. I think this was a nice Quick Cryptic, just the right difficulty level and some clever clues.

  18. Admin@13.
    I believe Jaytee53’s comment@9 about the setter keeping to the stated rules is referring to the preamble to the Quick Ccryptic on the Guardian site, and repeated above by Shanne:

    Special instructions: TODAY’S TRICKS Clues begin or end with a definition of the answer.

    Perhaps the preamble should be changed, or a future QC may give clues which are specified as not having the definition at either end, but in the middle., to make it fair to newer solvers for which the QC is designed to help learn the ”rules’, and how they can be ”broken”.

  19. I think we’re blowing it too far out of proportion here, and the real story is probably that Alan made an error. “Corporals in part vocal” works fine, doesn’t make any less sense on the surface (or at least not much less), and fixes the error.

  20. I also thought “Vocal corporals, in part” worked, but it also works as a way of introducing other clue types to the Quick Cryptic, as definitions do appear in the middle of clues occasionally.

  21. Striped is not the first adjective which springs to mind when I think of badgers. How many stripes are needed to make something striped? I don’t think one is enough; imagine a zebra crossing with just one white line in the middle of the road…..🙂
    Most enjoyable quick cryptic. Thank you.

  22. I wasn’t quite able to finish this, had to reveal TURNCOAT. Was stuck for a while on 4a (word order) and 6d (always thought a lido was a floating aid you sit on in a pool, not the pool itself) for a while, but got there in the end.

    Thanks Shanne and Ludwig.

  23. Oh no computer @22 – do you mean a lilo is floating aid, ISH. I’ve more used them camping. Definitely more for pools than the sea as there have horrible stories of children being swept out to sea on them.

  25. There have been a few instances where the setter has dropped in a bonus clue that doesn’t quite fit the quoted options, so I’m taking 4A as an example of that.

    I thought this was particularly tricky, compared to other QCs, but v enjoyable!

  26. SW had 3 out of 4 clues where end letter is chopped off word. Also, BADGE closed by at 17a. It would’ve made for a more interesting puzzle if there were a little more variety there.

    My favourite is 13a Joke I abandoned…

    Thanks Shanne and Ludwig.

  27. Wow all but turncoat in one sitting- new record for me! (I usually need a few looks at it and then still a few gaps)
    Laughed out loud at 1 across then had to explain it to bald husband who is a human labrador when it comes to spare food!

  28. Not to bang on too much about 4a, but while I do think it’s quite mean to have the definition in the middle (I’ve hardly ever seen that even outside of beginner crosswords, and it directly contradicts the instructions), the bigger problem for me is that the wordplay read doesn’t make much sense. I can’t think of a way that “Corporals vocal in part” could possibly be parsed as meaning taking part of “Corporals” rather than “vocal”. I knew what it had to be from the checked letters, but I really don’t think it works. I can only assume it was an honest mistake – not a big deal by any means, but I don’t think it’s correct to rationalise it as valid-but-unconventional.

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