Quick Cryptic 43 by Picaroon

This is the forty-third 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 the return of Picaroon to the Quick Cryptic, one of the two setters who has set most of the Quick Cryptic crosswords.  Elsewhere in the FifteenSquared site, there’s a notice that Picaroon is taking the assistant crossword editor role at the Daily Telegraph, which is likely to mean he can only set for that paper, so this may be the last time we see his work.   Today we see anagrams and hidden clues with all the letters present, charades and palindromes – which we have seen once before.  There’s a fair bit of general knowledge, including sports, expected in this puzzle.

There is a summary of the tricks used in the first six months here and a 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/43 – 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. Palindrome Hint that answer reads the same backwards
   ‘Holy woman going back and forth (3)’ gives NUN
3. Hidden word Answer is hidden in the clue’s words
   ‘Some have altered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
4. Charade A combination of synonyms
   ‘Qualify to get drink for ID (8)’ gives PASSPORT (pass + port)

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