Quick Cryptic 48 by Maskarade

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This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian, intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here

Maskarade sets this week’s Quick Cryptic. Today we see anagrams and hidden clues with all the letters present in the clue, plus double definitions and reversals, which require the solver to work out the word(s) to manipulate, so can be less accessible.

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 blog continues to develop in response to suggestions. We hide the answers and the wordplay descriptions (parsing) too.   To find the solution click on “Answer” and to find how the word play works, click on “Parsing” which will reveal the hidden information. You can choose to reveal everything using the “Expand All” button. If you have partially revealed the page, refreshing it will clear that, and allow you to expand all. The definition is in bold and underlined, the indicator is in red.

For additional help click here

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

 

For abbreviations and clue tips click here

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.
  • CAPITALS to indicate which bits are part of the answer, e.g. some haVE ALtered meat, Get A Good,or in the example given for naked clues oRANGe shows the answer RANG, plus the fruit “orange”.
  • anagram *(SENATOR) shows letters in clue being used, see clue below.
  • anagrind the anagram indicator (arranged) – for the clue below
  • reversals are shown by the < symbol, so in the example below, DOG < (pet) reversed.
  • 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 here – because the clues have moved on from the clue descriptions below, I am now adding more to the descriptions hidden 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 words Answer is hidden in the clue’s words
    ‘Some have altered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
  3. Double definition Both halves are definitions!
    ‘Search scrub (5)’ gives SCOUR
  4. Reversal The answer backwards, and a hint that we’re reversing
    ‘Deity’s pet coming back (3)’ gives GOD

ACROSS Click on “Answer” to see the solutions
1
Composer butchers medley (8)
Answer

SCHUBERT
Parsing>

anagram (BUTCHERS)* with anagrind of “medley” which I think is a slightly confusing/unconventional anagram indicator.
7
Fears one is concealing crime (5)
Answer

ARSON
Parsing>

hidden clue (is concealing) in feARS ONe
8
Craggy hill in West Orkney (3)
Answer

TOR
Parsing>

hidden clue (in) wesT ORkney – we’ve come across TOR for rocky hill before in this series – what comes to my mind is Mam Tor in the Peak District (because I’ve climbed it).
9
Info backed just a little (4)
Answer

DATA
Parsing>

reversal of A TAD (a little) <
10
Emotional outburst in part of play (5)
Answer

SCENE
Parsing>

double definition with both parts meaning the same thing
11
Say Royal Engineers and this person return and come into view (6)
Answer

EMERGE
Parsing>

reversal of (return) of a charade of EG (say) RE (Royal Engineers) ME (this person) to give EG RE ME <.

RE for Royal Engineers is a regular crossword abbreviation to file away, either as REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) or RE. Sometimes RE is clued as soldiers or sappers. Soldiers also can indicate OR (ordinary ranks) or MEN
13
Two-year old sheep in waste ground (3)
Answer

TEG
Parsing>

hidden (in) wasTE Ground – for a slightly obscure specific bit of vocabulary from sheep-farming. I had a suspicion I knew this word from reading Far From the Madding Crowd for GCSE and/or hearing Dorset farmers, so searched, to find that Sotheby’s sold some letters last December written by Thomas Hardy to James Murray, a compiler of the Oxford English Dictionary, suggesting words for inclusion, including TEG, which Hardy collected at Dorchester market. (That market is not there now, but was when I lived there, and is next to where I was staying last weekend).
14
Somewhat legless – otherwise drunk (3)
Answer

SOT
Parsing>

hidden (somewhat) in leglesS OTherwise – for a noun meaning drunk, whereas in the clue, the drunk is an adjective, to add to the misdirection, for a word met last week too.
18
Raptor attacked talkative bird (6)
Answer

PARROT
Parsing>

anagram of (RAPTOR) with anagrind of “attacked”
19
Composer out of the glare (5)
Answer

ELGAR
Parsing>

anagram of (GLARE)* with anagrind of “out of the” for the second composer of this crossword – this one Edward Elgar.
21 The very best place, on reflection (4)
Answer

TOPS
Parsing>

reversal (on reflection) of SPOT < – there’s a Cole Porter song, anglicised by P G Wodehouse in the show Anything Goes called You’re the Top (this version is Cole Porter himself) – which leads to an album of Cole Porter’s best songs called You’re the Tops.
22 River in Chester and in Aberdeen (3)
Answer

DEE
Parsing>

hidden (in) or maybe double definition – the DEE is hidden in AberDEEn, but there are two River Dees in the UK, one that goes through Aberdeen and gives that city its name, and another in Wales that goes through Chester – there was some discussion about this when I blogged another puzzle with DEE as a solution recently.
23 Pete’s wrong. It’s too expensive (5)
Answer

STEEP
Parsing>

anagram of (PETE’s) with anagrind of “wrong”. I’m not sure how international this usage is, but it’s the sort of thing said in English English when bargaining, with a whistle and “That’s STEEP!” on hearing the price.
24 Laid it on the line backing seconds (8)
Answer

DESSERTS
Parsing>

reversal (backing) of STRESSED (laid it on the line) <. Again, I’m not sure how international either of these uses is – He laid it on the line/stressed how important this sale was and Does anyone want seconds/desserts? although I’d say seconds is ambiguous, second helpings or a second course, which implies that the meal on offer is a main course and pudding.
DOWN
1 Could be me and my dog (6)
Answer

SETTER
Parsing>

double meaning this is a regular trick in cryptic crosswords -the person setting the puzzle is a SETTER and there are various breeds of SETTER dogs (Irish/red or Gordon).
2
Stinger damaged throne (6)
Answer

HORNET
Parsing>

anagram of (THRONE)* with anagrind of “damaged”
3
Unreliable fellow that spoilt breakfast? (3,3)
Answer

BAD EGG
Parsing>

double definition from the clue types being used this week, but I think this is more a cryptic clue. A BAD EGG is an unreliable type in a certain old-fashioned English; I thought Jeeves and Wooster stories, where people are good eggs, bad eggs or even hard-boiled eggs. And a BAD EGG would ruin breakfast – as it did for the poor curate who described his bad egg as good in parts, (in a Punch cartoon) leading to the Curate’s Egg.
4
Celebrity going north for traitors (4)
Answer

RATS
Parsing>

reversal (going north – in a down clue) of STAR (celebrity) <. RATS in crosswords are often traitors, as they leave sinking ships, so it’s a usage worth remembering if you haven’t come across it before
5
Farm vehicle and rubbish truck overturned (7)
Answer

TRACTOR
Parsing>

reversal (overturned) of ROT (rubbish) + CART (truck) < to give ROT CART < for the farm vehicle – another combination charade and reversal.
6
Marijuana cigarette for Sunday lunch! (5)
Answer

JOINT
Parsing>

double definition – two meanings of the same word
12
Told of kinship? (7)
Answer

RELATED
Parsing>

double definition as a verb: he told of/RELATED tales of derring do, and an adjective – with a question mark to show that it’s slight dodgy, i.e. these meanings don’t so easily replace each other in a sentence. I’d have to use: they are in kinship/RELATED
14
Saucy dances? (6)
Answer

SALSAS
Parsing>

double definition – and again, both the clue type and the question mark to indicate slightly questionable equivalence – a SALSA is both a sauce, traditionally a Mexican sauce made from tomatoes, chillies and coriander, and a SALSA is a Latin American dance.
15
Russian painting upset dealer (6)
Answer

TRADER
Parsing>

reversal (upset – in a down clue) of another charade – RED (Russian) + ART (painting) < to give RED ART <
16
Hasten around capital (6)
Answer

ATHENS
Parsing>

anagram of (HASTEN) with anagrind of “around” for the capital city of Greece, Capital is a useful word to use in cryptic crosswords as there are lots of possible meanings: of the head, upper case letters, capital cities as here, money and that something is good.
17
Choice of deli terrines (5)
Answer

ELITE
Parsing>

hidden word (of) of dELI TErrines
20
String of Pearls – some Meyerbeer opera (4)
Answer

ROPE
Parsing>

hidden in (some) MeyerbeeR OPEra for another word used to describe pearl necklaces.

 

 

30 comments on “Quick Cryptic 48 by Maskarade”

  1. Interesting puzzle from Maskarade. It wasn’t a write-in but enough easy answers to be able to circle back and pick up the stragglers. I wouldn’t have said seconds is dessert; in our house it always meant “Do you want a second helping?” i.e. more of the same

    My talkthrough solve is over at … https://youtu.be/yVXX5Y3lhxw … useful for anyone looking for tips and tactics on how to solve; as well as explanations of the parsing of clues and answers.

  2. Really enjoyed this one, especially after recent weeks.

    Not sure about “Red” as a synonym for Russian though! The Soviet Union fell 34 years ago, after all.

  3. For 9 to work as described it has to be a reversal of “just a little”. Personally, I think it would have been easier without the word “just”, but it is a good clue.

    14 isn’t really a DD (the question mark is a giveaway here), but is a CD. The answer is, of course, SALSAS, not SALSA.

    A delightful puzzle nonetheless.

  5. Whoa! Those reversals can be tricky. Basically I had to get the answer and then afterwards parse it. Especially emerge. Great practice. Many thanks Maskarade and Shanne.

  6. Steffen @5, have you read the blog for the Enigmatist prize crossword from last Saturday? Those of us who completed it took hours, pretty much universally, and kept returning to the puzzle over several days to solve it. Mostly it was determination not to be beaten that made us just keep going, and for me that each time I went back, mostly another clue would fall out, so the grid gradually filled. I also know that a lot of us who solved it started solving on paper without as much available to help.

    That one’s a prize, so no check button until now.

  7. Fun puzzle, perfect for a beginner.

    New for me: TEG.

    I agree with Shanne and HG about 24ac seconds = DESSERTS. Collins defines seconds as either ‘a second helping of food’ or ‘the second course of a meal; dessert’ but obviously meals can also consist of more than just a main course and a dessert. Italian is much better in this respect with antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni and dolci where the secondo is always a secondo regardless of how many courses you eat at a particular meal 😉

  8. I solved it all but couldn’t immediately parse 11a, 24a or 15d, all of which seemed more complicated than usual in the Quiptics. I’ve never heard of TEG though I have read Hardy.

  9. Well HG@2 and Michelle@8, as a working class child I always wanted to know what was for seconds, so I did understand that one. The reversals were tough. I got them but like other people struggled with how the answers to 24A and 15D were worked out. ( what would i do without Shanne?) It took me a while to see why 9A and 21A worked but eventually i saw the trick with those. The reversals provided a very good challenge for us beginners. Thankyou Maskarade.

  10. Enjoyable puzzle from Maskarade. I was going really well until the SE corner. 14d with SALSAS was LOI. I felt that it just about fitted its clue type but was too fast and loose for a QC. Like JamesB@3 I think 15d should be clued as ‘Soviet painting’?
    18a with PARROT was my favourite for the imagery invoked from its surface reading and solution 😄
    Thanks Maskarade and Shanne.

  11. Thanks Maskarade and Shanne
    I liked the anagram for PARROT.
    The “the” in 19a was a bit unfortunate.

  12. Really enjoyed this puzzle and learned a few new words as I went.

    Incidentally, I’m a first time poster having made heavy use of this fantastic blog over the last few weeks to try to graduate beyond the beginner stage. I’m very grateful for all the blogs and comments, which has provided a flood of information that would be even more helpful if I could manage to retain it all in my brain.

    Anyway, thank you very much Maskarade and Shanne!

  13. I found this to be relatively easy, guess the clues suit how my mind works.
    Enjoyable and fun, thanks all.

  14. A great puzzle, but needed the crossers to help with some of the clues. Don’t forget there were “White” Russians as well as “Reds”…. might be useful in solving a future clue……

  15. 12D could have just been “told of kin?”.(Or even told of blood).
    Missed that “say” was “eg”, assumed it was something that sounded like an abbreviation to do with royal engineers I didn’t know.

  16. A few unknown words and some loose cluing made this more difficult than usual. Most have been touched on above. I do want to ask about JOIINT to mean Sunday lunch. How is it used? Would one say “come over for joint”, for example?

    There were some nice surfaces – I ticked TOPS,,HORNET, and RELATED

    Thanks Muskrade and Shanne

  17. Martyn @17
    A “joint” of lamb, beef, or pork is often how what is roasted for Sunday lunch is referred to. It has always puzzled me too, as the roast is rarely actually one!

  18. Thanks muffin@18 for the etymology of JOINT. In addition, how is “joint” actually used in a sentence?

  19. Martyn @17 – What are we having for Sunday lunch (dinner)? The usual JOINT! is how I’d hear that one, meaning a lump of beef, pork or lamb, as against roast chicken say.

    Dylan N @16 – I did think, when I was proof-reading the blog a lot later, that the other way I could have parsed:
    12D Told of kinship?
    is “told” = “related” and “of kinship” = “related” – but I still can’t get “of kinship” and “related” as equivalents in a sentence.

    Michael @13 – congratulations on getting better – really glad that the blogs are proving useful. There is a list of all the abbreviations and equivalents from the first 6 months linked above, which may help with the vocabulary of cryptic crosswords.

  20. Thanks Shanne. So as the two cannot be used interchangeably, strictly speaking I would say 6d is not really a double definition. No wonder it was my last one in.

    Thanks again to Muskrade and Shanne

  21. I think the SALSA clue works just fine as a cryptic definition, but it’s a complete fail as a double def: salsa doesn’t mean saucy, it means sauce (literally, it’s the Spanish for sauce). There are many excellent Mexican salsas–in addition to pico de gallo, which is just diced tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and cilantro (coriander), they also have salsa verde (tomatollos are the main ingredient), salsa arbol, salsa molé (dark and smoky, chocolatey even if actual chocolate isn’t always involved), and dozens of other main ones. But of course, I once saw SALSA clued in a British crossword as “dip,” so you people are hopeless.

    Regarding Shanne’s queries about AmEng, STEEP as “expensive” translates here, but seconds as DESSERTS doesn’t. But the stressed-desserts reversal is such a chestnut that it caused no problems here in Chicago.

  22. [PS: coriander is an interesting one on the transatlantic difference scale. We call the leaves of the plant cilantro (since most uses we see are imported from Mexico) but the seeds coriander (since most uses of those came from Europe). So if you ask an American for some coriander, they’ll give you whole or ground coriander seeds, not cilantro.)

  23. mrpenney @22 – SALSA gets sold here as a dip to go with tortilla chips (along with a pretty grim guacomole, heavily laced with cream). My daughter and I mourn that neither chilli/jalapenos nor coriander/cilantro seem to make it in to what is sold, based more or less on pico de gallo. I make both pico de gallo and a guacamole without cream and eat them as accompaniments to Mexican style food a fair bit, have made my own corn meal tortilla as they are sold here made with wheat.

    I got to the point blogging that crossword thinking “how many times can I say that this is clued loosely” – I did on the saucy for SALSAS, but there were a number of other clues where I could have said the same.

    I wasn’t just thinking American English, but also Australian English.

  25. Hey–want to make pico de gallo? Here you go:

    Half a medium onion, quarter inch dice.
    Three Roma (plum) tomatoes, quarter inch dice.
    One jalapeño, eighth inch dice.
    Fresh coriander, finely chopped, quarter cup.
    The juice of one lime.
    Put all of that in a bowl and stir well, and you have pico de gallo, Mexican cuisine’s simplest salsa.

  26. I agree with JamesB – “Russia” is a poor clue for “red” in the year 2025.

    Last week, the Quiptic introduced a new type of trick, or a variation on a trick – an anagram of part of a word. There were two clues where you had to drop the last letter of a word before seeking the anagram. Perhaps this would be worth exploring in a future Quick Cryptic?

  27. JOINT. I’m a butcher’s daughter so know what a ”joint” is, (and I do admit to knowing the MJ reference from the 60s/70s.)
    These days I don’t get a ”joint” for my Sunday lunch. Would rather not pay for the weight of the bone. If I want a bone I’ll put it in a slow cooker for flavour and all that goodness in the marrow. )

  28. I struggled last week but found this one more manageable. Got a few answers on first scan – it took a bit longer for the rest and some groans were emitted when the penny finally dropped 😉

  29. On 16D i failed to recognise that ‘around’ was an anagrind. I was thinking that there must be a capital in some sense contained within the answer (ie the rest of the word would be ‘around’ it. Needless to say I didn’t solve the clue! Enjoyed it otherwise. Regarding 13A i realised on finishing that i had solved it entirely by virtue of getting 2D, 12D and 3D. 14A could have been solved in the same way but i solved in before attempting the interlinking verticals. It seems a bit too easy for a clue to be solvable entirely by crossing it???

  30. Thank you, Shanne!
    Lots of useful information. JOINT and TEG were new for me. Also thanks for the discussion about the SECOND for DESSERT.

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