This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian, intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here
This week we have a new setter, Budmo, a name I don’t recognise from the Guardian (or Financial Times or Independent). Today we have anagrams, acrostics and hidden reversals with all the letters given, plus the return of lose the middle, met for the first time in week 63. I don’t find losing the middle letter clues easy to solve cold (without any crossers). When I solved this, I filled in the rest of the grid (barring one which I could solve cold) and came back for those answers when I had crossers to give me a starting point. Adding later – paddymelon points out below that there’s a possible nina down the middle of the puzzle.
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. Get A Good joke for the example.
- anagram – letters being used shown in brackets (SENATOR)* for the clue below to give TREASON.
- anagrind – anagram indicator – in the case below it is “arranged”
- reversal – shown using the < symbol, so ‘Insect returns in VieTNAm (3)’ <
- CAD or clue as definition– where the whole clue gives the definition, sometimes called an &lit. These are rare.
- 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 – 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:
- Anagram An anagram of the answer and a hint that there’s an anagram
‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON - Acrostic The first letters of the answer
‘Initially Get A Good joke (3)’ gives GAG - Hidden reversal Answer defined and hidden backwards
‘Insect returns in Vietnam (3)’ gives ANT - Lose the middle Answer is another word with central letter(s) removed
‘Entrance heartless benefactor (4)’ gives DOOR (from DOnOR)
| ACROSS | Click on “Answer” to see the solutions | |
| 1 |
Eviscerate alarming songbird (8)
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AnswerSTARLING |
Parsinglose the middle (eviscerate) STARtLING (alarming) to give this bird which I know is in problems (code red) but I see far too much of them on the feeders I have on the windows as they are big and noisy. |
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| 7 |
Sign Blair is confused (5)
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AnswerLIBRA |
Parsinganagram of (BLAIR)* with anagrind of “is confused”. The sign is a star sign / sign of the Zodiac, and it’s another thing that if you don’t know them, they are worth learning as several are regulars in cryptic crosswords, including this one and Leo for their letter clusters. I enjoyed the surface here – Tony Blair was a previous Labour Prime Minister in the UK, who is hitting the news a lot currently. |
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| 8 |
Meat starters in fancy London eatery smell horrible (5)
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AnswerFLESH |
Parsingacrostic (starters in) Fancy London Eatery Smell Horrible – and another surface I like – in one job, a long time ago, I briefly worked in offices above Langan’s Brasserie which I worried would mean I was made permanently hungry by the smells of cooking, but said smells were so unpleasant as to be offputting. |
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| 9 |
Courage shown by sweetheart lacking focus (6)
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AnswerDARING |
Parsinglose the middle (lacking focus) – of DARlING (darling = sweetheart). |
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| 11 |
Car essentially lost in heathland (4)
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AnswerMOOR |
Parsinglose the middle (essentially lost) of MOtOR (car). |
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| 12 |
Assault recalled in media room (4)
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AnswerRAID |
Parsinghidden reversal (recalled in) of meDIA Room <. |
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| 13 |
Heartlessly memorable phrase in advertisement for Moroccan dish (6)
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AnswerTAGINE |
Parsinglose the middle (heartlessly) of TAGlINE (tagline – memorable phrase in advertisement) for this Moroccan dish or the pot in which it’s made. |
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| 16 |
Heading west, Russian eradicated boxing stadium (5)
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AnswerARENA |
Parsinghidden reversal (heading west … boxing) of russiAN ERAdicated <. This clue has a split indicator for the hidden (boxing) reversal (heading west), which is something we’ve seen recently. |
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| 17 |
Brown bread terribly overrated and somewhat tasteless, primarily (5)
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AnswerTOAST |
Parsingacrostic (primarily) of Terribly Overrated And Somewhat Tasteless – and the answer could either be the verb or the noun. |
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| 18 |
Nurse got changed for swimmer (8)
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AnswerSTURGEON |
Parsinganagram of (NURSE GOT)* with anagrind of “changed” – where swimmer is being used to indicate a fish. This is a regular in cryptic crosswords – an indirect or cryptic definition, preferably a misleading cryptic definition. |
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DOWN
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| 1 | Rascal made terrible condiment (5,5) |
AnswerSALAD CREAM |
Parsinganagram of (RASCAL MADE)* with anagrind of “terrible”. Adding later, and I always forget that this condiment is a very British thing – as someone who grew up on homemade mayonnaise, it’s a taste I haven’t acquired, but those who like it protested when Heinz tried to discontinue it. |
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| 2 |
Ensure I bag up vegetables (10)
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AnswerAUBERGINES |
Parsinganagram of (ENSURE I BAG)* with anagrind of “up” as in excited (to work as an anagram indicator). |
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| 3 |
Memorise lines early and reimagine Nightcrawler’s principal characters (5)
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AnswerLEARN |
Parsingacrostic (principal characters) of Lines Early And Reimagine Nightcrawler – and for the surface, Nightcrawler is a 2014 film starring Jake Gyllenhall. |
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| 4 |
Vulgar stuck-up toff fancies nurses (4)
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AnswerNAFF |
Parsinghidden reversal (stuck-up …. nurses) in tofF FANcies < – with another split indicator – in English slang (of a few years ago), something tasteless or vulgar was known as this, but having heard it said everywhere for a few years, I haven’t heard it for a while. Adding later – stuck-up says to reverse in a down clue, nurses says it’s hidden (or an insertion) |
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| 5 |
Call revolutionary Tibetan; I’m on edge, somewhat (10)
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AnswerDENOMINATE |
Parsinghidden reversal (revolutionary … somewhat) in tibETAN I’M ON EDge < – for a really long reverse hidden over 4 words, and another split indicator. Adding later – the revolutionary is the reversal indicator and somewhat indicates the hidden element |
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| 6 |
Barking closer than city in South Carolina (10)
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AnswerCHARLESTON |
Parsinganagram of (CLOSER THAN)* with anagrind of “barking” for this city. |
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| 10 |
Receive gifts every Thursday, to begin with (3)
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AnswerGET |
Parsingacrostic (to begin with) of Gifts Every Thursday |
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| 14 |
Perhaps Cynthia Erivo’s rejected portion of carrot cake (5)
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AnswerACTOR |
Parsinghidden reversal/reverse hidden (rejected portion of) in carROT CAke < with the surface referring to this actor. |
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| 15 |
Gasp, as central component removed from emulsion? (4)
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AnswerPANT |
Parsinglose the middle (central component removed from) PAiNT (emulsion) – with a question mark to indicate a definition by example (dbe), as emulsion is only one type of paint. |
Highlighting the possible Nina down the central columm – which says I GET U – in textspeak.
I am with you on thinking the deletion clues difficult. There were a few misdirections too that had me looking for one kind of clue when I should have been thinking of another.
Some nice clues and I thought DENOMINATE wonderful
PANT was LOI and took me some time to see.
Thanks Budmo and Shanne
1A was loi for me as I tried to anagram songbird [alarming] until I got the rest of the crossers. I’ve been pushing myself to try more regular cryptics during the week, so I was pleased that this went quite smoothly by comparison. Thanks Shanne and Budmo.
I’ve never been a fan of “up” as an anagrind.
Some of the anagrinds just seem too open season.Really didn’t enjoy this one.
Another tough week for the pure beginners. Bit of a tough one for me as an old hand. Like @2Greg, my LOI was 1A having assumed anagram. Seems like it would be an offputting clue for anyone picking up the QC for the first time.
A messy talkthrough this week as I didn’t read the instructions carefully and was wondering why we had hiddens which were backwards … https://youtu.be/W8UFebEmReo … nonetheless it will give some tips and tactics on how to solve.
Hadn’t noticed 5D was a reversal, just interpreted “revolutionary” as an anagrind – are hidden anagrams a thing? Wasn’t actually hard to solve.
I guessed the answer but could not parse 1ac (my LOI) and I think that clue is a bit hard for a beginner.
New for me: SALAD CREAM. I’ll stick to mayonnaise.
In 4D, I can understand that stuck-up indicates hidden reversal but does nurses mean hidden reversal as well?
Gavin @8 – no, stuck-up tells you it’s reversed in a down clue, nurses tells you it’s hidden (or it’s an insertion). Both bits are needed, but they are separated in the clue, so what I called a split indicator.
I enjoyed this grid. The epic reversal for DENOMINATE; loved the surface of 1d as I think SALAD CREAM is a ‘terrible condiment’. Not sure I would count STARLING as a songbird just noisy, but that’s just my opinion. Some tricky anagram signals and the split hidden reversal signals to make it interesting. Perhaps Budmo could do a Quiptic? Thanks Budmo and Shanne.
I thought BUDMO might have been an anagram of DUMBO but, as I was informed on the Guardian site, BUDMO means Cheers (as a toast) or Let us Be in Ukrainian. And is that a hidden message in the central column/line 6? I GET U?. I don’t think we’ve had a ”nina” (hidden message) in the Quick Cryptic yet.
@6 Dylan – hidden anagrams … don’t think you’ll ever see that as it would be difficult to know which part to select.
That said The Times QC recently had “Dynamism new in excerpt from Peer Gynt (6)” which is an insertion into a hidden and was a clue type no-one had seen before.
I too came here to understand the anagrind in 2d, although I saw the answer pretty quickly from the crossers. I agree with someone who commented on the crossword page that “mixed” may have been a better choice.
Oh, and also to say that I find mayonnaise to be tasteless pap compared to 1d, but I still liked the clever clue.
Lots of head scratching plus a second coffee. Denominate and salad cream both good. Enjoyed this one, thanks Budmo and Shanne
I have added in some clarifications where there are queries – indicated as additions.
Shanne@15 and paddymelon@11 We also see NAFF ACTOR in column 7 does that also count as a Nina, and hopefully not a critique of Cynthia A in 14d or maybe Budmo has a different opinion 😄
Loved this one, particularly having got stumped on one or two clues in recent puzzles. Favourite was TAGINE. Stumbled at first as had BRAIL instead of LIBRA at 7A (one commonly sees brail signs next to buttons in lifts), and I initially had SWALLOWS as my song bird(s). Thank you Budmo and Shanne.
thecronester@16 – did you read the link on ninas? I GET U is a message of sorts, and it’s down the middle of the puzzle, but we need the setter to tell us if it was intentional or not.
There are setters where knowing there’s usually a nina can help – Bobcat in the FT usually has a cat hidden somewhere. But there have been other amazing ninas – this one from Philistine, which hit the news, had articles about it in the Daily Mail, or this more recent one from Fed. And if you spot a nina going round a puzzle, it can really help with the odd clue, so they are worth looking out for.
Tim @17 – we spell it as Braille in the UK, after Louis Braille, who invented the system.
Shanne@18 I didn’t read the link but will do so. So NAFF ACTOR is just a coincidence then, I guess.
Shanne @19. Mmm, yes…. I think it was a throwback to my learning ITA in the ’60s!
Thanks again for the explanation, Shanne.
What I learned today is that for a hidden reversal we need two indicators: one for hidden and one for reversal
* heading west … boxing
* stuck-up … nurses
* revolutionary … somewhat
* rejected … portion of
Today it was easy because we knew about this trick and were looking for hidden words. But I’m not sure I can see such indicators in a big cryptic clue…
I also agree with others that “up” or “barking” are weird anagram indicators.
Anyway, the puzzle was a big fun!
@12 HG
Is it ENERGY?
A clue for those who played Scrabble or its analogues?
LunaLo @22 – barking in British English can mean crazy/silly/mad – which gives rise to lots of jokes about the Bishop of Barking (she exists, I knew a previous incumbent of the post), and London jokes like describing someone as few stops past Dagenham (on the District Line is Barking going west). If you read it as the crazy meaning, it works as an anagram indicator. I am so used to it being used as an indicator that I didn’t realise it would cause problems.
Up as in excited is also used a lot as an anagram indicator, often to criticism, but there is justification in Chambers.
@23 LunaLo – yes it is ENERGY. Well worked out.
@24 Shanne, thanks. I should have checked it up in a dictionary before jumping to conclusions. Well, today is a good day to learn something. I also googled Bishop of Barking and there is a small article on Wikipedia.
Deriving some further fun from 18A to make a hypothetical clue / answer . Doctor remodelled by degrees. Any thoughts? (7)
Yes, it’s taken me a while to recognise that as an anagrind, “barking” is a UK speciality. Our Australian cryptocruciverbalist extraordinaire, David Astle, lists in one of his books a fairly comprehensive “sampling” of ninety anagrinds. “Barking” ain’t one of them.
thecronester@10 ”enjoyed this grid”. I wonder if that was referring to the crossword or the layout of the grid itself? Not sure if we’ve had this discussion yet in the Quick Cryptics, but the grid chosen by the setter can aid or hinder the solve. In this case, there aren’t many points of intersection between the quadrants which could have added to the difficulty, almost like 4 mini crosswords. However, the 4 answers around the perimeter are helpful, with first or final letters being an aid to solving . The Guardian has a set library of grids for the main cryptics (15×15), but I think it’s been said that there are no predefined grids for the Quick Cryptic (11×11).
When I first started out on my cryptic journey I was oblivious to grids, but comments on 15sq enlightened me as to how they can make a difference, and even have you looking for ninas! 🙂
paddymelon@29 I meant the overall puzzle, but get what you’re saying re structure of the grid could help or hinder.
@28 Geoff Down Under … David Astle may have listed 90 anagrinds but it’s probably only the ones you’ll come across regularly.
Last year Shanne noted there were 91 different anagrinds used in the first 22 puzzles they appeared … https://www.fifteensquared.net/2024/09/28/6-months-of-the-quick-cryptic-crosswords/
Expect almost like anything to be an anagrind if it indicates some form of being mixed up. In this case, barking=mad. (Edit: just noticed Shanne gave this explanation @24)
HG @31 – we were up to 179 anagram indicators by #60. (I need to update that spreadsheet and maybe produce another summary after 100 puzzles, by which time that’s enough).
I also got the “a few stops short of Dagenham” phrase the wrong way round. (I worked in Dagenham and Barking when I was peripatetic and/or supervising peripatetic tutors – and Hampton Wick, High Barnet, Merton, Islington, Bow, Bethnal Green, Hangar Lane, Wembley, Custom House, Stratford, Maryland, Romford … I spent a lot of time writing stuff up on the tube)
‘
Shanne – I find that we’re up to 179 hilarious and it just goes to show how random they are. Actually I suppose “random” is one too!!
A lot of interesting comments to digest here!! I’m late doing this again and just could not get 5D at all as a beginner. I managed the other clues except 14D where I kept trying other approaches unsuccessfully because I didn’t realise CE was an actor until I looked it up. Then the carrot made sense. Thanks for the solution and thanks to Budmo for the challenge!
I enjoyed this one and did it quite quickly for me. Though I only remembered today I’d forgotten it at the weekend
Thecronester @10 whether starlings make an attractive noise or not is a matter of opinion (personally, I like them) but it is nevertheless perfectly fair to clue them as ‘songbirds’ since they are classified taxonomically as being members of the sub-order passeri (aka ‘songbirds’) in the order Passeriformes (perching birds).