This week’s 11 x 11 crossword from the Guardian intended to teach cryptic crosswords, found here
This week’s puzzle is the 15th puzzle by Ludwig, who originally appeared as a tie in with the TV Show, but has since set a number of Quick Cryptic, Quiptic and Cryptic puzzles. The first puzzles were acknowledged to be a collaboration between Alan Connor (Guardian crossword editor/Everyman) and Enigmatist. Since then the crossword blog (written by Alan Connor) has said that there have been a number of different collaborations. In this puzzle we have anagrams and alternate letters where all the letters are present, plus double definitions and dropped letters where the solvers have to find the words.
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 was developed 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 – (SENATOR)* arranged - Double definition Both halves are definitions!
‘Search scrub (5)’ gives SCOUR - Alternate letters Choose every other letter for answer
‘Oddly £nViEd First Lady? (3)’ gives EVE - Dropped letter Remove a letter from another word
‘Time away from coach in wet weather (4)’ gives RAIN from tRAIN (coach).
| ACROSS | Click on “Answer” to see the solutions | |
| 1 |
Somehow outstare fish (3,5)
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AnswerSEA TROUT |
Parsinganagram of (OUTSTARE)* with an anagrind of “somehow” – one of Everyman’s trademark clues, a single word anagram here. |
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| 7 |
Brownish coach-horse intermittently falling (5)
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AnswerOCHRE |
Parsingalternate letters (intermittently falling) of cOaCh HoRsE – intermittently falling suggests letters disappearing occassionally, so is suggesting alternate letters. (Alternate letters do not have to be every other letter, there was a full fat cryptic this week where the alternate letters were every 4th letter, and I’ve seen every 3rd.) |
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| 8 |
Radiator perhaps lacking energy: I’m full of bile (5)
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AnswerHATER |
Parsingdrop a letter (lacking energy) from HeATER (radiator perhaps). Lacking energy is an instruction to drop an E, E = energy in scientific abbreviations. Radiator perhaps, because it’s a DBE (definition by example) – a radiator is one example of a heater. |
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| 9 |
Quorate knitting circle (7)
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AnswerEQUATOR |
Parsinganagram of (QUORATE)* with an anagrind of “knitting” – I think the surface is suggesting that a knitting circle / knit & natter group should have a quorum. |
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| 10 |
Monster appearing every so often: correct! (3)
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AnswerORC |
Parsingalternate letters (appearing every so often) in cOrReCt for one of Tolkein’s monsters. |
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| 11 |
Overweight? Avoid food, not having seconds (3)
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AnswerFAT |
Parsingdrop a letter (not having seconds) from FAsT (avoid food). “Not having seconds” is an instruction to remove s – the SI (scientific) unit for time, |
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| 12 |
Senior church figure’s an ape? (7)
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AnswerPRIMATE |
Parsingdouble definition – this is a regular in cryptic crosswords, where these varying meanings from the same word are often used to mislead. |
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| 14 |
German name for German flower in her rocks (5)
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AnswerRHEIN |
Parsinganagram of (IN HER)* with an anagrind of “rocks”. The convoluted definition is because the English spelling varies from the German, and we need the German. We’ve also got one of the regular full-fat crossword tricks – a river is often defined as a “flower” because it flows, or a “banker” because it runs between banks. |
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| 16 |
Runs away from seaside areas in sandals? (5)
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AnswerSHOES |
Parsingdrop a letter (runs away) from SHOrES (seaside areas) with a question mark to show it is definition by example (DBE), just one example of the solution. R is a cricketing abbreviation for “runs”, so “runs away” means remove “r”. |
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| 17 |
Performances arranged, it’s clear (8)
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AnswerRECITALS |
Parsinganagram of (IT’S CLEAR)* with an anagrind of “arranged”. |
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DOWN
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| 2 |
Drain pipe (7)
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AnswerEXHAUST |
Parsingdouble definition with one a verb meaning wear out / drain and the other a houn, a specific pipe. |
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| 3 |
Oddly, a three-part reward given to lab? (5)
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AnswerTREAT |
Parsingalternate letters (oddly) from ThReE-pArT the lab in the definition is a labrador dog not, as suggested, a laboratory. |
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| 4 |
Second parent, not married (5)
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AnswerOTHER |
Parsingdrop a letter (not married) from mOTHER (parent). Not married is an instruction to drop “m”, an abbreviation from genealogy. |
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| 5 |
I disapprove when trust regularly breached (3)
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AnswerTUT |
Parsingalternate letters (regularly breached) from TrUsT. The solution is an expression of disapproval. |
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| 6 |
(Tax divisions) (8)
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AnswerBRACKETS |
Parsingdouble definition the usual rule with cryptic crosswords is ignore all punctuation, until you don’t. This is one of these examples when the punctuation isn’t there to make sense of the surface, but is part of the clue. In this case it is one of the two definitions. |
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| 7 |
Attack the enemy, that’ll keep you warm (4,4)
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AnswerOPEN FIRE |
Parsingdouble definition one being the instruction to “attack the enemy”, the other a description of someothing that will keep you warm, possibly – not the most efficient or cleanest heating system. |
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| 10 |
Where Lancashire may be found enjoying repeated wins (2,1,4)
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AnswerON A ROLL |
Parsingdouble defintion the first is playing with Lancashire coming to my mind as a cheese type. The other is a description of someone on a winning streak – see here. When I googled for this, I found a number of sandwich shops and businesses called this. |
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| 12 |
Alarm as sprains itch periodically (5)
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AnswerPANIC |
Parsingalternate letters (periodically) of sPrAiNs ItCh. |
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| 13 |
Part of map where creepy-crawly’s not about (5)
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AnswerINSET |
Parsingdrop a letter (not about) from INSEcT (creepy-crawly) in this case we are dropping C, about, (not about) from INSEcT. C for about comes from the Latin circa, and appears as c or ca. |
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| 15 |
Are changes coming to The Listener? (3)
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AnswerEAR |
Parsinganagram of (ARE)* with an anagrind of “changes”. This surface is referring to the much lamented Listener magazine with the famed crossword – which still continues as commented on in the Wikipedia article (and blogged on fifteen squared). |
New for me: PRIMATE=bishop.
Favourite: BRACKETS.
Good to have some practice with dropped letter clues. I found this mostly straightforward though INSET took a while and I didn’t pick up on Lancashire as a cheese. I could see 10d was a double definition but not why Lancashire would be ON A ROLL. Thanks Shanne.
Tough for me today. Not up on Catholic religion so Primate was new to me. I couldn’t see what Rhein meant and still not sure why inset is part of map?
Paula@3 – an inset is a map within a map – this is one example
https://gisgeography.com/inset-maps/