Guardian Quiptic 1,373/Turnstone

Turnstone is a name I haven’t come across before, and it appears this is their first Quiptic, having compiled a Quick Cryptic in the Guardian earlier this month.

Thoughtfully constructed, with one or two less common words clearly clued, and a nice variety of clue types. Well done to Turnstone on the debut (and of course for having an appropriate name for a Pierre blog …)

Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1 Pallid Offa defiantly holds revolutionary national emblem
DAFFODIL
Hidden reversed in PaLID OFFA Defiantly. ‘Revolutionary’ tells you that it’s a reversal.

6 Kind chap starts to lend encouragement
GENTLE
A charade of GENT and LE for the initial letters of ‘lend’ and ‘encouragement’.

9 Piece of cake and some cheeses, we’re told
BREEZE
Aural wordplay (‘we’re told’) for BRIES. ‘Solving the puzzle was a breeze/a piece of cake.’

10 Lively Margate embraces independent poet
ARMITAGE
An insertion of I in (MARGATE)* The insertion indicator is ’embraces’ and the anagrind is ‘lively’. Margate is quite lively these days, I hear.  The reference is to Simon ARMITAGE, the English poet and erstwhile Poet Laureate.

11 Stress when preparing pie and mash before suppertime on vacation
EMPHASISE
A charade of (PIE MASH)* and SE for the outside letters of ‘suppertime’. The anagrind is ‘when preparing’.

13 Charge in transistor mechanism
STORM
Hidden in transiSTOR Mechanism.

15 Ignore trickery in speech
SLIGHT
Aural wordplay (‘in speech’) for SLEIGHT.

17 Release standard expression of approval on the continent
PAROLE
A charade of PAR and OLE, the Spanish word used to express appreciation.

18 Linen not available for every year
NAPERY
A charade of NA, PER and Y.

19 A reed’s cultivated in area near Egypt
RED SEA
(A REEDS)* with ‘cultivated’ as the anagrind.

21 Fastidious cleaner back from factory
CHARY
A charade of CHAR and Y for the final letter of ‘factory’.

22 Reportedly fly staff in old aeroplane
HURRICANE
Aural wordplay (‘reportedly’) for HURRY followed by CANE.

25 Uncontroversial fashion degree
MODERATE
A charade of MODE and RATE.

26 Powerful ballad absorbs translator
STRONG
An insertion of TR in SONG. TR is an abbreviation for translator, used in bibliographies, dictionaries, and literary credits, I learned this morning. The insertion indicator is ‘absorbs’.

28 Partition badly set up before beginning of meeting
SEPTUM
A charade of (SET UP)* and M for the initial letter of ‘meeting’. The anagrind is ‘badly’.

29 Error when married nobleman loses head
MISCOUNT
A charade of M and [V]ISCOUNT.

Down

2 Broadcast top recipe
AIR
A charade of AI (A one) and R. R for ‘recipe’ is a crossword staple: it’s from the days of old doctors’ or apothecaries’ prescriptions, and is the imperative form of the Latin recipere, meaning ‘take’ (two tablets per day, for example).

3 Cheeky underling returns to hotel
FRESH
A charade of SERF reversed and H for the NATO/phonetic alphabet ‘hotel’.

4 Part of DJ’s accompaniment?
DRESS SHIRT
A cd. The DJ is not one who spins discs, but a dinner jacket.

5 Connect electric current in renovated aisle
LIAISE
An insertion of I, the symbol for electric current, in (AISLE)* The anagrind is ‘renovated’ and the insertion indicator is ‘in’.

6 It’s part of playing American football, say
GAME
Hidden in playinG AMErican.

7 Signs from states encircling capitals of Oklahoma and Texas
NOTATIONS
An insertion of O and T for the initial letters of the two states in NATIONS. The insertion indicator is ‘encircling’.

8 Finesse stage opening in England with finale of Tour tomorrow in France
LEGERDEMAIN
A charade of LEG for ‘stage’, E for the first letter of ‘England’, R for the final letter of ‘Tour’ and DEMAIN for the French word for ‘tomorrow’. A less common word, but clearly clued. Its origin is French, but nothing to do with ‘tomorrow’: literally translated it means ‘light of hand’ (LEGER DE MAIN).

12 She distrusts everyone working in metaphors!
MISANTHROPE
(IN METAPHORS)* with ‘working’ as the anagrind.

14 Those intent on advancement air secrets ill-advisedly
CAREERISTS
(AIR SECRETS)* with ‘ill-advisedly’ as the anagrind.

16 Tense, describing what was happening?
IMPERFECT
A bit of linguistic knowledge required here: the IMPERFECT is a verb tense describing actions in the past over a period of time, typically setting the scene before the simple past is used to describe an action completed all at once. In English, it’s usually was/were …ing. ‘Jane was watching TV when John knocked on the door.’

20 Employ in quiet place of study
MUSEUM
An insertion of USE in MUM. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.

23 Regularly scour port city for unusual object
CURIO
A charade of CU for the even letters of sCoUr and RIO.

24 Serenity derived from mathematical musings
CALM
Hidden in mathematiCAL Musing.

27 On reflection, this sister doesn’t change
NUN
The clue reflects the fact that the word is a palindrome.

Many thanks to Turnstone for the debut puzzle. Here’s the once-only Obligatory Pierre Bird Link.  A bird most often found in marine or intertidal habitats, creeping and fluttering over rocks, picking out food from under stones – whence the name.