Guardian Quick Cryptic 92 by Ludwig

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

The puzzle for this week is the 11th Quick Cryptic by Ludwig. Ludwig sets Quick Cryptic and other puzzles for the Guardian. Today we have anagrams, hidden, acrostic and last letter clues with all the letters given, which should be 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. haVE ALtered 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”
soundalike – is indicated by “Wilde” – so in the example, Oscar “Wilde”, the playwright and author, is indicating the soundalike WILD.
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. These are rare.
DBE or definition 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 Anagram of answer and hint that there’s an anagram
‘Senator arranged crime (7)’ gives TREASON
Hidden word(s) Answer hidden in clue’s words
‘Some haVE ALtered meat (4)’ gives VEAL
Acrostic First letters of answer
‘Initially get a good joke (3)’ gives GAG
Last letters Final letters give answer
‘Finally pulL thE ruG showing limb (3)’ gives LEG

	ACROSS	Click on “Answer” to see the solutions
1	In conclusion, saga – historical novel – showing everything (3)	Answer ALL
	Parsing last letters (in conclusion) of sagA historicaL noveL – the showing is just to make the surface work, but it does also work in the cryptic grammar as sort of saying that first part shows the definition.
3	Hopeless has-been, I’m prone to wail (7)	Answer BANSHEE
	Parsing anagram of (HAS-BEEN)* with an anagrind of “hopeless” – to find this mythical wailing character – which is what the definition is alluding to.
7	Some income taxed: it whizzes by (5)	Answer COMET
	Parsing hidden word(s) (some) of inCOME Tax and another allusive definition – this is something some setters do a lot in the full fat cryptic crosswords.
8	Leaders of republics allied; trade is orchestrated in proportion (5)	Answer RATIO
	Parsing acrostic (leaders of) Republics Allied Trade Is Orchestrated for a way of describing proportions mathematically.
9	Playing actor’s role that’s primarily … this? (4)	Answer PART
	Parsing acrostic (primarily) of Playing Actor’s Role That’s. I’ve underlined the “this” as the definition, but it’s almost a CAD (clue as definition) without the “this”.
10	Composer of Harlem Renaissance? (6)	Answer MAHLER
	Parsing anagram of (HARLEM)* with an anagrind of “renaissance” – with a question mark suggesting a slightly offbeat anagrind.
13	Taking finals, skip a class, set to anger one reading lessons? (6)	Answer PASTOR
	Parsing last letters (taking finals) of skiP A clasS seT tO angeR – and this indirect definition I’m quibbling about as it’s inaccurate: a PASTOR doesn’t usually read the lesson, that’s one of those things done by members of the congregation in most churches (through somewhat gritted teeth as I’ve been regularly lumbered with that task since I was a teenager).
15	Partially depict vast tale (4)	Answer EPIC
	Parsing hidden word(s) (partially) of dEPICt
18	Wrongdoer – but lifelong? Not entirely (5)	Answer FELON
	Parsing hidden word(s) (not entirely) in liFELONg
19	Partly reduced ‘budget items’: that’s a joke (3,2)	Answer GET IT
	Parsing hidden word(s) (partly reduced) in budGET ITems – and another indirect definition.
20	Silly magenta label (4,3)	Answer NAME TAG
	Parsing anagram of (MAGENTA)* with an anagrind of “silly”.
21	Raptor on wing, lethal principally (3)	Answer OWL
	Parsing acrostic (principally) of On Wing Lethal

	DOWN
1	Coppola mixed a drink (7)	Answer ALCOPOP
	Parsing anagram of (COPPOLA)* with an anagrind of “mixed” for these drinks which are apparently called different things in other countries, and have had several attempts to ban them since their heyday in the mid 90s (25-30 years ago! – I didn’t think they were still around).
2	Cathedral quite grim: au revoir finally, Primate (5)	Answer LEMUR
	Parsing last letters (finally) of cathedraL quitE griM aU revoiR for the Madagascan primates – and a clue surface trying to suggest the clergy primate with the links to the cathedral.
3	Bought up The Times at the outset – or in the end? (4)	Answer BUTT
	Parsing acrostic (at the outset) of Bought Up The Times with deliberate confusion between beginnings and endings in the clue surface.
4	Somewhat inhuman (or maniacal) invader (6)	Answer ROMAN
	Parsing hidden word(s) (somewhat) in inhumaN OR MANiacal for one of the invaders of the UK, this one in 1066 and all that.
5	At last, rush to resort like hell to find holiday accommodation (5)	Answer HOTEL
	Parsing last letters (at last) rusH tO resorT likE helL
6	Intros in esoteric grandiloquent opera displaying self-importance (3)	Answer EGO
	Parsing acrostic (intros in) Esoteric Grandiloquent Opera.
11	Show rewritten article (7)	Answer RECITAL
	Parsing anagram of (ARTICLE)* with an anagrind of “rewritten” to give a sort of musical show.
12	Bent on mending headgear (6)	Answer BONNET
	Parsing anagram of (BENT ON)* with an anagrind of “mending” some deliberate misdirection here as both “bent on” and “mending” could be anagrinds, but only BENT ON has the required 6 letters.
14	In the end, there’s a moral tale from American city (5)	Answer SALEM
	Parsing last letters (in the end) of there’S A moraL talE froM for the state capital of Oregon with the surface possibly trying to link to the witch trials, which were in what is now Danvers, Massachusetts.
16	Factor in anticipation of garden feature (5)	Answer PATIO
	Parsing hidden wor(s) (factor in) in anticiPATIOn.
17	Diva, soloing: so thrilling – ultimately excited (4)	Answer AGOG
	Parsing last letters (ultimately) of divA soloinG sO thrillinG
18	Frolic, ecstatically naked to begin with, in bog (3)	Answer FEN
	Parsing acrostic (to begin with) of Frolic Ecstatically Naked – for the boggy areas found in the East of England.

Guardian Quick Cryptic 92 by Ludwig

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