I liked this Quiptic from Pan, but found it tricky in places.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
9 Return promptly with English hangman’s equipment
NOOSE
A charade of SOON reversed and E.
10 A lad wearing aftershave is going up in the world
ASCENDANT
An insertion of DAN for ‘a lad’ in A SCENT.
11 Tradesperson to re-staple faulty end of spear
PLASTERER
(RE STAPLE)* followed by R for the last letter of ‘spear’.
12 Theologian featured in Time is child’s father
DADDY
DD for Doctor of Divinity in DAY.
13 Regular gin drunk at sundown
EVENING
A charade of EVEN and (GIN)*
15 Very happy after start of birth that’s overdue
BELATED
A charade of B for the first letter of ‘birth’ and ELATED.
17 Part of village about to be let into inside information
GREEN
An insertion of RE for ‘about’ in GEN for ‘information’.
18 Small dog found in experimentation facility
LAB
I don’t do dogs, preferring birds, but this is a dd, with the first part being an abbreviation for LABRADOR.
20 Symbol to know?
TOKEN
A bit of dialect. TO KEN could be ‘to know’. Mainly Scottish, I think. Do you ken John Peel …
22 Practise move before spell of bowling
RUN OVER
A charade of RUN and OVER.
25 Spanish fellow takes in visiting politician
SENATOR
An insertion of AT for ‘visiting’ in SENOR for the Spanish guy.
26 Choral composition with very small piece for tenor
MOTET
A charade of MOTE for ‘very small piece’ and T. MOTE is archaic, but features in the Bible: Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye.
27 Bird exhibited by student entering art examination
GUILLEMOT
Now we’re talking. A chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link. It’s L for ‘learner’ inserted in GUILE, followed by MOT for ‘examination’ of your car.
30 Tailors are mostly upset by this description of their trade
SARTORIAL
(TAILORS AR[E])*
31 Conservative welcoming a new member of the clergy
CANON
An insertion of A and N in CON.
Down
1 Break in card game
SNAP
A dd.
2 Staff turning up bearing instruction to pay close attention
NOTA BENE
This took me a long time to get. It’s a reversal of BATON for ‘staff’ over ENE for ‘east north east’ as a ‘bearing’.
3 Adventurer provides a means of escape
VENT
Hidden in adVENTurer.
4 Cross European capital to pick up minstrel’s last song
MADRIGAL
A charade of MAD for ‘cross’, RIGA for the ‘European capital’ and L for the last letter of ‘minstrel’.
5 Sign of damage on top of sailor’s old lucky charm
SCARAB
A charade of SCAR and AB.
6 Tiny blonde foreign writer
ENID BLYTON
(TINY BLONDE)* with ‘foreign’ as the anagrind.
7 Ring taken by Italian robber
BANDIT
A charade of BAND and IT.
8 Stop agricultural leader being put in pen
STAY
The first letter of ‘agricultural’ inserted into STY.
13 Awfully large composer
ELGAR
(LARGE)*
14 Pub gets huge applause for start of something new
INNOVATION
A charade of INN and OVATION.
16 Opportunity to welcome in new benefactor
DONOR
An insertion of N in DOOR.
19 Foot of wall lit up in lower part of old Paris prison
BASTILLE
An insertion of L for the last letter of ‘wall’ and LIT reversed in BASE for ‘foot’.
21 Take me in for treatment with anaesthetic
KETAMINE
(TAKE ME IN)*
23 One hundred turned up to meet a railway’s legal official
NOTARY
A charade of TON reversed and A RY.
24 Get back in case of 13 across in wet weather
REGAIN
Are we doing Quiptic stuff here? The ‘case of 13 across’ is EG because the answer is EveninG, so you need to insert that into RAIN to get your answer.
26 Engage in home shopping
MESH
Hidden in hoME SHopping.
28 Tie up Latin master
LACE
A charade of L and ACE.
29 Fish in large barrel on top of aquarium
TUNA
A charade of TUN and A for the first letter of ‘aquarium’. A TUN is a ‘large barrel’ used for storing beer and is often seen in pub names.
Many thanks to Pan for this morning’s Quiptic.
Thanks both. Pretty straightforward, compared to some recent Quiptics. Glad you got your bird link in!
Thanks Pan and Pierre.
Largely OK as Quiptic, although I didn’t parse NOTA BENE.
I quite liked the bird.
Thank you Pan and Pierre, especially for the bird link, a good photograph.
This seemed just right for a Quiptic. It took me a while to fully parse NOTA BENE, should the definition be “instruction to pay close attention”, i.e. NB?
Thanks Pan and Pierre
Quite a good crossword, though some on the tricky side for a Quiptic (GUILLEMOT, for instance). I didn’t parse NOTA BENE at the time, and on reading the blog I realised that I had forgotten to go back to it.
Inside No 9 – 28/2/17
Posted by Admin on 27th February 2017
Admin.
I have received the following from Alan Conner (the blue italics are my additions):
“A quick heads-up to say that there’s a programme on BBC Two tomorrow (28/2/17 at 10pm) which I suspect will be of interest to all people 225. It’s a one-off episode of Inside No 9 (a 30 minute dark comedy): the lead character is a cryptic setter (Professor Squires) who is visited by a woman called Nina, and the whole thing is based around a puzzle. (Disclosure: I feature briefly and needlessly in the credits as “crossword consultant” or similar.)”
Some of you might not have seen this announcement.
It is that definition in 2dn, Cookie. Thank you.
Relatively easy Quiptic, I thought.
That said, I was fooled by VENT (3d).
Throughout nice clueing, although my stomach started to play up a bit after seeing ‘for’ in 26ac meaning ‘+’.
Thanks, Pierre.
SvdH @7
Is “for” actually being used as “+” in the clue for 2a? There is no need for a “+” as “for tenor” immediately follows “a very small piece”, and the T in SATB indicates that a piece includes a part “for tenor”.
I am not getting much time for crosswords at the moment, so I am particularly appreciating the Quiptic and Everyman giving me a chance to scratch that itch without too much guilt.
Thanks, Pan and Pierre.
I failed to solve VENT. New word for me was KETAMINE.
Thanks Pan and blogger
Still can’t parse ‘run over’ despite the explanation…
paul @11
RUN = “move”, before OVER = “spell of bowling” in cricket.
@jennyk
Thank you! I was defining ‘run’ as a ‘spell’ – as in a sustained period of something. That’s why I was completely up the wall with the rest of it. Thanks for clearing it up 🙂
jennyk @8, unfortunately I have no idea what you’re trying to point out here.
So, I am still unconvinced.
I did like SATB though, way back when.
SvdH @14
Sorry, I meant in the clue for 26a, just a typo. I thought that @7 you were saying that the “for” in the clue for 26a was indicating adding T to MOTE. I was saying that the T in SATB (did you follow that link?) is used to indicate that the piece of music contains a part for a tenor, hence “for tenor”, so the “for” is not being used to mean “+”.
But in the clue it is.
‘Very small piece’ for ‘tenor’ = MOTE + T.
I just don’t like it.
Perhaps, ‘for’ in the sense of ‘given to’.
Araucaria sometimes did it but that was Araucaria.
Nowadays, hardly any other setter uses ‘for’ that way.
But Pan did.
Oh, and to me SATB was Siouxie And The Banshees – I liked them way back when.
True, not really what SATB stands for in the musical world you are referring to.
🙂