This little baby took some considerable time to put to bed. I tried singing and cuddling, but there’s still one I don’t understand; so Nutmeg’s puzzle is still not quite asleep.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Lack of interest socialist’s shown in fast economic growth
BOREDOM
An insertion of RED in BOOM.
5 One such as bag lady Virginia needs handout
VAGRANT
A charade of VA for the American state and GRANT.
9 Demands placed on clubs for lots of liquor
CASKS
A charade of C for the card suit and ASKS.
10 Freed husband’s not occupied on the outside
UNLEASHED
An insertion of H in UNLEASED.
11 Reverse M represents melody
MISFORTUNE
A charade of M, IS and FORTUNE
12 Deep devotion at heart of antipodean country
ZEAL
The middle letters of New ZEALand.
14 Recompense initially withheld by duke — result, penury
DESTITUTION
[R]ESTITUTION with the initial R replace by D for ‘duke’.
18 A charge by landlord cut by devious German deal
ARRANGEMENT
An insertion of (GERMAN)* in A RENT.
21 West coast city with fairly soft form of lighting
LAMP
A charade of LA for Los Angeles or ‘west coast city’ and MP for the musical notation for ‘fairly soft’.
22 Relative troubles are genetic
GREAT NIECE
(ARE GENETIC)* Good anagram.
25 Grace’s lie wrongly taken as profanity
SACRILEGE
Another good anagram and surface reading. (GRACES LIE)*
26 One fine century recalled in different circumstances
IF NOT
A charade of I, F and TON reversed. TON is mostly used in cricket for ‘century’.
27 String of clues, say, editor had a go at
ESSAYED
Hidden in cluES SAY EDitor. English has nicked so many words from other languages that it hurts. This is straight from the French essayer, to try.
28 Eager beginner in a study, working for one day a week
TUESDAY
An insertion of E for the first letter of ‘eager’ in (STUDY)* with ‘working’ as the anagrind.
Down
1 Looked good on Fenland river with insect buzzing round
BECAME
An insertion of CAM for the river that flows through the Fens and Cambridge in BEE. ‘That top really becomes you.’
2 Selection of wares is taken to counter
RESIST
Hidden in waRES IS Taken.
3 Raucous rave gatecrashed by daughter after dance
DISCORDANT
An insertion of D for ‘daughter’ in RANT after DISCO.
4 Like Robin, periodically cast down?
MOULT
I think that this is just a whimsical way of saying that birds, like the Robin, cast their feathers (‘down’) and therefore MOULT. And Nutmeg has – only just – denied me the opportunity for the obligatory Pierre bird link.
5 Batman in East, bearing note for sweetheart
VALENTINE
An insertion of N in VALET for ‘batman’ followed by IN and E.
6 Chew up pasty with a tiny bit of gravy
GNAW
A reversal of WAN for ‘pasty’ in the sense of being pale and G for the first letter of ‘gravy’.
7 Wild cat, lithe and vigorous
ATHLETIC
(CAT LITHE)*
8 High water mark from great river flowing north during season
TIDELINE
I think this is NILE reversed in TIDE, but I can’t really see it.
13 Like judge, topping current sentence at the last minute?
JUST IN TIME
A charade of JUST (‘like judge’) IN for ‘current’ and TIME for ‘sentence’ in the prison sense.
15 Take the lead in run through Cape
SPEARHEAD
A charade of SPEAR and HEAD.
16 Vehicle left island’s cathedral city
CARLISLE
A charade of CAR, L and ISLE.
17 Wry expressions Nutmeg’s used in prayers before dinner
GRIMACES
An insertion of I’M for ‘Nutmeg’s’ in GRACES. Are GRIMACES ‘wry expressions’? Not for me.
19 Republican ignored by intellectual is tipped
LEANED
LEA[R]NED. I do hope that Trump will be ignored come November.
20 Ex exits in masterly fashion with sauce
PERTLY
[EX]PERTLY
23 Make changes, putting down time on watch
ALERT
Nutmeg is asking you to think of ALTER for ‘make changes’ and then put T at the bottom.
24 Pretty big container for odds and ends
TIDY
I think that this is a dd.
Many thanks to Nutmeg for this morning’s Quiptic.
Thanks Nutmeg and Pierre
I don’t see the problem with TIDELINE – I parsed it as you say, though it’s a little unfortunate that TIDE is in the answer as well as the word play. For TIDY I think you need to adjust your underlining – it’s TIDY = Pretty big” (“a tidy sum of money” for instance.
I didn’t understand how BECAME worked as a definition, so thanks for the explanation. I still don’t get MOULT, though!
Nice crossword, as ever from Nutmeg, but too difficult for a Quiptic. I wouldn’t suggest a swap with Rufus today, though, as that one was harder than usual, I thought.
I think that I’ve got 8dn now, having posted the blog and re-read it. TIDE for ‘season’ is in things like SHROVETIDE, YULETIDE, MICHAELMASTIDE and so on.
I see what you meant now. It’s TIDE = season, for example Eastertide.
We crossed, Pierre!
You might adjust 11ac also: M is for tune.
A bit too good for a Quiptic. I loved it.
The clueing for “became” is even tighter if you take “looked good on” as the definition.
Thanks both. A little on the tough side. I think you need the “a” from “a study” to make 28 ac work
Thank you Nutmeg and Pierre.
Quite hard for a Quiptic, but I got there in the end and enjoyed the solve. I found GRIMACES fine, the COED gives wry 2 (of a face or smile) contorted in disgust, disappointment or mockery, grimace a distortion of the face made in disgust etc. or to amuse.
NB, before anyone comments, I know “solve” is not a noun – yet.
4d, perhaps something to do with Cock Robin?
According to Celtic calendar traditions, Lugh is the sun god who dies as the nights get longer after the summer solstice; a traditional feast in his honour was held on Lughnasadh or “Lammas” day on the first of August, a day marked in the old Celtic pictographic calendar with a bow-and-arrow shape. As Lugh was the primary god representing the red sun, his name in common parlance would have been “Coch Rhi Ben” anglicised to “Cock Robin” – a leftover from the belief that souls became birds after death. This idea is still sustained in the old folk song “Who Killed Cock Robin” in which the sparrow kills him with “my bow and arrow.”
PS, I should have noted that the quote at @10 was copied from Wikipedia, apologies.
That was hard! First Quiptic in some time that I didn’t finish: TIDY stumped me. I didn’t know the second definition, although with the crossers I still should have guessed it from the first definition.
I think MOULT is just a CD: a robin periodically casts down its feathers when it moults.
I couldn’t see how to make DISCO = DANCE: to me, it’s a nightclub or a type of music. But Chambers says it can be a dance party, and the word dance can also refer to such a thing, so I guess that’s fine.
And what do we see in the middle column?
We see NUTMEG, Sil. I was going to point that out in the initial blog, but didn’t want to show off.
This was very hard for a quiptic, I thought, and wouldn’t have been out of place in a midweek slot. I didn’t know that melody = fortune and it took me (embarrassingly as I’m from NZ) a very long time to get ZEAL. MOULT was also tricky – I was looking for Batman & Robin references for M-O-T.
I failed on TIDY and don’t see how “big container for odds and ends” is a definition?
Over all, a strong challenge that I would have enjoyed more in a different slot however I think there’s too much here for beginners and those in a hurry.
Thanks to Pierre and Nutmeg.
matrixmania @15 re “tidy”
See mine @1. It’s “pretty big” (as in “a tidy sum”) and a container for odds and ends. I don’t know if you have this in New Zealand (lovely place, btw – whereabouts are you?), but we have a “sink tidy” for draining cutlery, for instance.
M IS FOR TUNE is a wonderful clue. I was totally absorbed in this solve (noun, to me) – a much swifter one than Nutmeg’s cryptics are – although LEANED, PERTLY & IF NOT took their time.
`Prayers before dinner` and the surface for JUST IN TIME had me grinning. Thanks to S&B. I haven’t come across `fairly soft` before.
Sil @13 – thank you… icing on the cake.
I enjoyed this very much, but I too found it on the tough side for a Quiptic (though much more solvable than some recent ones). I’ve only just seen TIDY, even though I’ve looked at that clue on and off since lunchtime. I wasn’t familiar with “mp” as a music term, so I assumed the M must be for “medium” (as in clothes sizes) and thus “fairly”, along with the P for “piano”.
Thanks, Nutmeg and Pierre.
Thanks for the explanation of tidy, muffin. I’ll store that away in the memory banks! Yes, NZ is a lovely place – especially with blue skies appearing and summer beckoning. If only I didn’t have to work today!
mp is musical shorthand. Mezzo piano
This was an excellent cryptic crossword.
But as others said not a Quiptic.
MOULT (4d) and TIDY (24d) were my last two in.
Nutmeg could have chosen MOUNT instead of the former – certainly less obscure.
And 24d has plenty of other options too.
That said, I think 11ac (MISFORTUNE) has a lovely construction (even if, oh misfortune, the surface doesn’t make much sense).
Yes, dirkybee, the eighth column was a nice touch (though others recently accused Serpent (Indy) of self-indulgence for doing a similar thing).
Thanks Pierre (and hope to see you & others in just over a couple of weeks time).
I could not parse 14a and 15d.
I liked ZEAL.
Thanks s&b
Read 11a as “M IS FOR TUNE” and all becomes clear.
I don’t understand what Sil is on about in middle column. Please explain
@Phyllida #24 – the middle column reads “NUTMEG”…