Guardian Quick Cryptic 99 by Ludwig

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

This week’s puzzle is by Ludwig, their 13th crossword in this spot. Today we have anagrams, hidden word(s) and acrostic clues with all the letters present, plus soundalikes which mean the words come from the solvers general and cryptic knowledge.

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.
reversals – the reversal element of a clue is indicated by < – so in the example clue below, VieTNAm <.
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 (joke)
Soundalike Something that sounds like answer
‘Excited, Oscar’s announced (4)’ gives WILD, from Oscar “Wilde”

	ACROSS	Click on “Answer” to see the solutions
1	That woman’s part of the Resistance (3)	Answer HER
	Parsing hidden word(s) (part of) in tHE Resistance – and the definition needs to be “that woman’s” – that woman is SHE in crossword parlance – but something belonging to “that woman” is HER part – and this one I left until later as I wondered if we were down wiv the yoof and saying “sis” – so waited until I had crossers.
3	Criticises a government levy on the radio (7)	Answer ATTACKS
	Parsing soundalike (on the radio) of “a tax” (a government levy)
7	Dream about young producer in Spain (5)	Answer MADRE
	Parsing anagram of (DREAM)* with an anagrind of “about” – and MADRE is a mother in Spanish, so we have a cryptic definition here – “a producer of young” could be a mother – in Spain means translate that into Spanish.
8	Eton’s arcane remarks (5)	Answer NOTES
	Parsing anagram of (ETON’S)* with an anagrind of “arcane”. Arcane I think of as meaning secret or mysterious – so it’s a bit of an arcane anagrind.
9	Called votes in favour of lookers (4)	Answer EYES
	Parsing soundalike (called) of “ayes” (votes in favour of) – and the definition of “lookers” is because EYES look.
10	Damage sundry Rotovators, taking component (3,3)	Answer DRY ROT
	Parsing hidden word(s) (taking component) from sunDRY ROTovators – and anyone dealing with DRY ROT might reckon damage is an understatement.
13	Steak, and what to do with the wineglass, we’re told (6)	Answer FILLET
	Parsing soundalike (we’re told) of “fill it” (what to do with the wineglass) – and this is the UK spelling of this steak (US spelling is different)
15	Intros to banging anthems startle sensitive singer (4)	Answer BASS
	Parsing acrostic (intros to) of Banging Anthems Startle Sensitive – with a slightly odd image conjured up by the surface.
18	Improvise openings to a drama, Love Is Blind (2-3)	Answer AD-LIB
	Parsing acrostic (openings to) A Drama Love Is Blind
19	Starts to dig up bones across inner city (5)	Answer DUBAI
	Parsing acrostic (starts to) of Dig Up Bones Across Inner – and this time the solution is the name of a city.
20	Area in which teacher confused (7)	Answer HECTARE
	Parsing anagram of (TEACHER)* with an anagrind of “confused”. Ludwig does like his one word anagrams when he sets the Everyman in the Observer.
21	Attention: extremely amorous raccoons in entrances (3)	Answer EAR
	Parsing acrostic (entrances) of Extremely Amorous Raccoons – and this is an almost Shakespearean use of the word – “lend me your EARs”/pay attention.

	DOWN
1	Doctor, Flemish, in command of his faculties (7)	Answer HIMSELF
	Parsing anagram of (FLEMISH) with an anagrind of “doctor” as in doctoring results. For the definition, think of someone recovering consciousness – coming to themselves.
2	Band’s horrible dirge (5)	Answer RIDGE
	Parsing anagram of (DIRGE)* with an anagrind of “horrible”. Here we’ve got the setter playing with the different meanings of apostrophe s – in the clue surface it reads as belonging to the band, but in the cryptic decoding it means band is
3	Beer becomes sickly, you say? (4)	Answer ALES
	Parsing soundalike (you say) of “ails” (becomes sickly) – and “beer” can be a plural – different beers as in different types of beer, more beer.
4	Declared cash from Pavarotti, Domingo etc (6)	Answer TENORS
	Parsing soundalike (declared) of “tenners” (cash) – tenner is UK slang for the ten pound note, so cash. And the answer relies on knowing that Pavarotti and Domingo were TENORS – some decades ago, together with Carreras, they were part of a super group called the The Three Tenors active between 1990 and 2003 and initially to sing in the opening ceremony of the 1990 Football World Cups.
5	Provide food – starters – in Cath and Tom’s engagement reception (5)	Answer CATER
	Parsing acrostic (starters in) Cath And Tom’s Engagement Reception – with an evocative surface.
6	Relative hiding in Assisi (3)	Answer SIS
	Parsing hidden word(s) (hiding in) asSISi – and this clue is what convinced me 1A wasn’t also SIS – clues in cryptic crosswords don’t normally repeat words
11	More delectable performing artiste (7)	Answer TASTIER
	Parsing anagram of (ARTISTE)* with an anagrind of “performing”
12	Rabies treated somewhere in Europe (6)	Answer SERBIA
	Parsing anagram of (RABIES)* with an anagrind of “treated” for one of the Balkan countries.
14	Purple shred of Bengali lace (5)	Answer LILAC
	Parsing hidden word(s) (shred of) in bengaLI LACe.
16	Saunter among bramble-bushes (5)	Answer AMBLE
	Parsing hidden word(s) (among) in brAMBLE-bushes
17	Lazy superstar in conversation (4)	Answer IDLE
	Parsing soundalike (in conversation) of “idol” (superstar).
18	Tree seen in Nashville (3)	Answer ASH
	Parsing hidden word(s) (seen in) in nASHville – lots of trees to learn for cryptic crosswords, but the ash is definitely one, and it’s still alive(-ish) in the British countryside (ash die-back disease)

3 comments on “Guardian Quick Cryptic 99 by Ludwig”

Janet Mundy

#1 - Sat 21st Feb 26, 09:03

Had to do the puzzle online today as I’m away. But I get to join a WhatsApp group later this morning for their weekly go at the Guardian full cryptic – wish me luck! I had the same problem with SIS for 1A until I discovered the answer to 6D.
HumbleTim

#2 - Sat 21st Feb 26, 09:52

Thanks Shanne. I must admit I didn’t know the meaning of MADRE until I looked it up afterwards, or that wineglass could be a single word (but it’s in the dictionaries). Nice diversion this morning – thanks Ludwig.
Good luck Janet@1 !
thecronester

#3 - Sat 21st Feb 26, 10:23

Thanks Shanne and Ludwig. Enjoyable puzzle with the soundalikes as ever giving me the most trouble – 13a was my LOI. Liked the cryptic definition in 7a and I was familiar with the word MADRE. Like Shanne and Janet#1 I first thought of SIS for 1a until I saw 6d. 99 not out for me on the QC journey looking forward to number 100 🙂

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3 comments on “Guardian Quick Cryptic 99 by Ludwig”

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